With teachers continuing to report challenges in classroom management and difficulties in implementing scientific inquiry, the current manner in which science practical work is conducted in schools suggests the need for added teacher support. In this regard, we can leverage computer vision to provide instructional support by relieving teachers of…

This study investigated how students' and teachers' pedagogical roles in mobile learning moderated the relationship between high school students' perceived usefulness of mobile technology and the actual use frequency, as well as how students' perceived usefulness impacted their physics learning achievement. We examined 803 high school freshmen who…

Central to evolution is the concept of a common ancestry from which all life has emerged over immense time scales, but learning and teaching temporal aspects of evolution remain challenging. This study investigated students' interpretation of evolutionary time when engaging with a multi-touch tabletop application called DeepTree, a dynamic…

The goal of this study was to investigate the timing of online homework completion and its effects on student performance. Data was collected from two large, first-semester general chemistry sections at a southwestern university. Specifically, this study aims to explore the link between when students complete their homework relative to the date…

When solving a scientific problem through experimentation, students may have the responsibility to design the experiment. When students work in a conventional condition, with paper and pencil, the designed procedures stay at a very general level. There is a need for additional scaffolds to help the students perform this complex task. We propose a…

This study investigates the effects of using interactive computer animations based on predict-observe-explain (POE) as a presentation tool on primary school students' understanding of the static electricity concepts. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control group design was utilized in this study. The experiment group consisted of 30…

Despite the promise of technology in education, many practicing teachers face several challenges when trying to effectively integrate technology into their classroom instruction. Additionally, while national statistics cite a remarkable improvement in access to computer technology tools in schools, teacher surveys show consistent declines in the…

This position paper proposes the enhancement of teacher and student learning in science classrooms by tapping the enormous potential of information communication and technologies (ICTs) as cognitive tools for engaging students in scientific inquiry. This paper serves to challenge teacher-held assumptions about students learning science "from…

The effects of two types of two well-established microcomputer-based teaching methods were examined for their effect on teaching high school students kinetics. The use of data acquisition probeware and digital video analysis were studied for their impact on students' conceptions and ability to interpret graphical relationships to real world…

The use of computer simulations as educational tools may afford the means to develop understanding of evolution as a natural, emergent, and decentralized process. However, special consideration of developmental constraints on learning may be necessary when using these technologies. Specifically, the essentialist (biological forms possess an…

Political and institutional support has enabled many institutions of learning to spend millions of dollars to acquire educational computing tools (Ficklen and Muscara, "Am Educ" 25(3):22-29, 2001) that have not been effectively integrated into the curriculum. While access to educational technology tools has remarkably improved in most schools,…

Designed-based research principles guided the study of 51 secondary-science teachers in the second year of a 3-year professional development project. The project entailed the creation of student-centered, inquiry-based, science, video games. A professional development model appropriate for infusing innovative technologies into standards-based…

The present study examined continuity of learning between face-to-face and online environments in a "blended" professional development program designed for 16 physics teachers. The program had nine face-to-face meetings as well as continuous online exchanges between them through a website. The program focused on "knowledge…

We present an active way to use a computer animation in secondary molecular genetics class. For this purpose we developed an activity booklet that helps students to work interactively with a computer animation which deals with abstract concepts and processes in molecular biology. The achievements of the experimental group were compared with those…

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a dynamic software simulation on the understanding of the kinetic molecular theory by 7th graders. Students in the control group (n = 62) studied a curricular unit that addressed the differences in arrangement and motion of molecules in the three phases of matter. The experimental group (n…