How do different components of a learning environment contribute to learning in science? The study examines the contribution of laboratory experiments and computer model explorations to the learning of chemistry through a complex-systems approach. Specifically, junior high-school students' learning of chemistry via four different methods were…

Research on how epistemic beliefs influence students' learning in different contexts is ambiguous. Given this, we have examined the relationships between students' scientific epistemic beliefs, their problem solving, and solutions in a constructionist computer-simulation in classical mechanics. The problem-solving process and performance of 19…

Currently, there are a number of educational applications that allow students to reinforce theoretical or numerical concepts through an interactive way. More precisely, in the field of the analytical chemistry, MATLAB has been widely used to write easy-to-implement code, facilitating complex performances and/or tedious calculations. The main…

Pedagogic Conversational Agents are computer applications that can interact with students in natural language. They have been used with satisfactory results on the instruction of several domains. The authors believe that they could also be useful for the instruction of Secondary Physics and Chemistry Education. Therefore, in this paper, the…

The application of psychology and technology are used in the learning process while we use programmed learning modules. In programmed learning we use the small steps of learning resulting in mastery. The modules helps to respond the learners activity and to give immediate feedback. The learners will get their own timing to go through the lessons…

This qualitative study provides student perceptions of interactive whiteboard (IWB) use in a secondary biology classroom. The use of the IWB was alternated with the overhead on an ABAB and BABA design in two classrooms. The study was based on semi-structured interviews of thirty-six individuals, representing a sample of rural, high school…

Describes the use of the Brown scale and reports the results of its use in an experiment. Describes the instrument and details the experiment. Concludes that the Brown scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring attitude toward computer instruction. A copy of the instrument is included. (CW)

The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), with support from the National Science Foundation, is conducting a three-year project to develop a model for implementing educational computing in school science. This paper explains the tentative model in detail and presents the results of a pilot test of the model, which project staff conducted…

The purpose of this survey was to examine science education in the state of New Jersey. It is the sixth in a series of secondary school surveys which began in 1968-69. In this survey, 205 schools (38%) responded to the survey which contained over 150 questions. To facilitate comparisons, results have been summarized as percentages wherever…

The purposes of this study were to determine how experienced high school physics teachers were in using computers, how computers were being used for high school physics instruction, what the teachers perceived the use of computers in their physics classes should be, and what the enabling and constraining factors were in developing the use of…

Describes procedures for choosing process skill materials for evaluation. Steps include selecting software titles, reading descriptions, and skimming for key phrases associated with process skills, examining courseware, considering cost versus time, and the selecting process. Sample forms for the evaluation process are included. (RT)

This document represents the final report of a project which was designed to improve the quality and quantity of microcomputer use in science teaching. The five major goals of the project were met, and 22 essential competencies for computer literacy among science teachers were identified. The model and materials developed tended to be successful…

The high percentage of students not participating in or completing a science research project has been a recurring problem for science teachers. In this project, three variables influencing the problem are identified: (1) students' failure to engage in an active search for science research topics; (2) inadequate resource materials at the middle…

In recognition that computers are becoming an integral part of science teaching, the British Department of Education asked the Royal Society of Chemistry to investigate the current use of microcomputers and microelectronics in teaching chemistry at the secondary school level. This document presents the results of that study. It includes: (1) an…

The Biological Science Curriculum Study with support from others conducted a three-year project (ENLIST Micros II) to develop and test a model for implementing educational computing in science courses. Descriptive data on background characteristics, prior experience with microcomputers, and educational level of the leaders and new participants was…