Providing Guidance in Virtual Lab Experimentation: The Case of an Experiment Design Tool

Autor/inn/en	Efstathiou, Charalampos; Hovardas, Tasos; Xenofontos, Nikoletta A.; Zacharia, Zacharias C.; deJong, Ton; Anjewierden, Anjo; van Riesen, Siswa A. N.
Titel	Providing Guidance in Virtual Lab Experimentation: The Case of an Experiment Design Tool
Quelle	In: Educational Technology Research and Development, 66 (2018) 3, S.767-791 (25 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1042-1629
DOI	10.1007/s11423-018-9576-z
Schlagwörter	Virtual Classrooms; Laboratories; Science Laboratories; Laboratory Experiments; Research Design; Quasiexperimental Design; Computer Assisted Instruction; Scaffolding (Teaching Technique); Elementary School Students; Cognitive Processes; Science Process Skills; Experimental Groups; Control Groups; Worksheets; Skill Development; Science Experiments; Feedback (Response); Inquiry + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Laboratory; Laboratorium; Laboratory work; Laborarbeit; Forschungsdesign; Computer based training; Computerunterstützter Unterricht; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Kompetenzentwicklung; Qualifikationsentwicklung
Abstract	The present study employed a quasi-experimental design to assess a computer-based tool, which was intended to scaffold the task of designing experiments when using a virtual lab for the process of experimentation. In particular, we assessed the impact of this tool on primary school students' cognitive processes and inquiry skills before and after the study's treatment, using pre- and post-tests. Our research design involved a group of students who used the computer-based tool/scaffold to design the study's experiments (experimental condition) and a group of students who used a paper-and-pencil worksheet as a scaffold to design the same experiments (control condition). The primary finding of the study was that the use of the computer-based experiment design tool had a more positive effect on students' inquiry skills related to identifying variables and designing investigations than the paper-and-pencil one. This might be attributed to the functionalities provided only by the computer-based experiment design tool, which enabled students to focus their attention on crucial aspects of the task of designing experiments through (1) maintaining values for constant variables when planning experimental trials and (2) the provision of instant feedback when classifying variables into independent, dependent and controlled variables. Moreover, students in the two conditions displayed differing patterns of interactions among cognitive process and inquiry skills. Implications for designing and assessing similar computer-based scaffolds are discussed. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01