including online labs in science education classrooms

© Go-Lab Project - Global Online Science Labs for Inquiry Learning at School Co-funded by EU (7th Framework Programme)

Including online labs in science education classrooms: theory, evidence, and the Go-Lab technological affordances

Ton de JongDepartment of Instructional TechnologyUniversity of Twente

Inquiry Learning

Go-Lab online laboratories

Occuring problems & solutions

Offers by Go-Lab

Contents

2 © Go-Lab Project - Global Online Science Labs for Inquiry Learning at SchoolCo-funded by EU (7th Framework Programme)

We need engaging (science and engineering) instruction


Trends and technology


Constructive (inquiry)

learning

Collaborative learning

Situated learning

Computer simulations/

games/online laboratories

Modeling (design) environments

Shared objects

Chatsm, video conferencing

Simulators/Online laboratories

Inquiry is an approach to learning that involves a process of exploration, that leads to asking

questions and making discoveries in the search for new understandings

Based on „Foundations“, Vol. 2, NSF, 2000

Inquiry learning


Example projects


ZAP

Example projects


SCY

Example projects


SimQuest

Example projects


Co-Lab

Example projects


Virtual laboratories Mimic physical equipment in software

Remote laboratories Physical equipment that can be operated on a distance

Data sets and their analysis tools Data gathered in real experiments

Go-Lab online laboratories


Virtual laboratory - buoyancy


Remote lab


Remote laboratory – Methyl Orange


Data-set/analysis tools - Hypatia


They don‘t know how to state hypotheses

They create poor experiments

They do not monitor what they have done

There is poor planning

Etc. etc.

Do students know how to perform inquiry processes?


Guidance


Process contraints

Prompts/ assignments

Heuristics

Scaffolds

Background info

Hypothesis scratchpad

Experiment design tool

Data interpreters

Monitoring tool

Etc. etc.

If well designed, guidance included, inquiry-based learning with online labs and simulations shows an advantage over expository instruction

Are simulations/online labs effective?


de Jong, T. (2006). Computer simulations - Technological advances in inquiry learning. Science, 312, 532-533.

Students in online labs gain the same level of knowledge or a more advanced level of knowledge than students who learn in a real laboratory

Are simulations/ online labs effective?


de Jong, T., Linn, M.C., & Zacharia, Z.C. (2013). Physical and virtual laboratories in science and engineering education. Science, 340, 305-308.

For students Go-Lab organizes the work according to an inquiry

cycle

Go-Lab offers guidance specific for each phase

For teachers A searchable database of online labs

Authoring facilities for teachers to adapt the guidance for their students

What Go-Lab offers


The Go-Lab Inquiry Cycle


Experiment design scafforld


Concept map

Hypothesis/question scratchpad

Experiment design tool

Data analysis tool

Conclusion tool

Reflection tool

Scaffolds in Go-Lab


Example Go-Lab environment


Go-Lab portal (www.golabz.eu)


Go-Lab authoring


Create Inquiry Space button

Go-Lab in one slide


Federation of online labs Embedding into educational

resources and guidance Sharing with the community of

users

Educational Science and Technology in Twente (click on the picture)


Thank you

for your attention!


including online labs in science education classrooms

Documents

inquiry learning

framework programme

lab inquiry cycle

school cofunded

inquirybased learning

lab contents

inquiry processes

collaborative learning