Adaptation of an Inquiry Visualization Curriculum and its Impact on Chemistry Learning
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Adaptation of an Inquiry Visualization Curriculum and its Impact on Chemistry Learning Hsin-Yi Chang • Zhihui H. Zhang • Shu-Yuan Chang
De La Salle University 2013
Abstract Efforts to make effective use of technology offer a promising direction for science education research. In this study, we investigated how a teacher and students used an inquiry-based, visualization-focused chemistry unit. The chemistry unit was designed for American students and takes advantage of dynamic, interactive computer visualizations. Features of the unit enable innovative learning activities such as online construction and critiquing of dynamic visualizations of chemical reactions. These kinds of activities are unfamiliar to teachers and students who are used to traditional teacher-centered instruction. We investigated how a teacher in Taiwan customized and implemented the unit to address the needs of her teaching in Taiwan, and what the impact of the unit was on the students’ understanding of chemical reactions. The results provide insights into the impact of innovative practices that new technology brings to local classrooms, and reflections on the adaptation of reform-based science instruction are made. Keywords Adaptation Web-based inquiry curriculum Visualization Chemical reaction
H.-Y. Chang (&) S.-Y. Chang Graduate Institute of Science Education and Environmental Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, No. 62, Shenjhong Rd., Yanchao District, Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] S.-Y. Chang e-mail: [email protected] Z. H. Zhang School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, Tolman Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1670, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Introduction Science standards and curriculum guides around the world emphasize the need for students to develop literacy in using computer technology to visualize, explain, and understand scientific phenomena (Fensham 2008; National Research Council [NRC] 1996, 2010 [twenty-first century skills]; Osborne and Dillon 2008; Tytler 2007). In addition, research shows that these visualization activities, when introduced in inquiry activities, can promote scientific thinking and reasoning (Gilbert 2008; Osborne and Dillon 2008; Tytler 2007). To address these new global standards, we explore the advantages of open-source, online curriculum materials that feature visualization and inquiry activities and which can be customized in multiple contexts. Advances in technology make it possible to bring innovations such as visualization tools into classrooms to support students’ inquiry activities. We investigated to what extent such innovations change what students can learn in the case of learning about chemical reactions in one class in Taiwan. As revealed by the latest science education framework (NRC 2011), it is important to investigate whether new designs of curricula and assessments apply equally well to diverse populations of learners as the community of science education moves toward globalization. However, successful
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