Internet Environments for Science Education

Internet Environments for Science Educationsynthesizes 25 years of research to identify effective, technology-enhanced ways to convert students into lifelong science learners--one inquiry project at a time. It offers design principles for development of innovations; features tested, customizable inquiry projects that students, teachers, and professional developers can enact and refine; and introduces new methods and assessments to investigate the impact of technology on inquiry learning. The methodology-- design-based research studies--enables investigators to capture the impact of innovations in the complex, inertia-laden educational enterprise and to use these findings to improve the innovation. The approach-- technology-enhanced inquiry--takes advantage of global, networked information resources, sociocognitive research, and advances in technology combined in responsive learning environments. Internet Environments for Science Educationadvocates leveraging inquiry and technology to reform the full spectrum of science education activities--including instruction, curriculum, policy, professional development, and assessment. The book offers: *the knowledge integration perspective on learning,featuring the interpretive, cultural, and deliberate natures of the learner; *the scaffolded knowledge integration framework on instructionsummarized in meta-principles and pragmatic principles for design of inquiry instruction; *a series of learning environments,including the Computer as Learning Partner (CLP), the Knowledge Integration Environment (KIE), and the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) that designers can use to create new inquiry projects, customize existing projects, or inspire thinking about other learning environments; * curriculum design patterns for inquiry projectsdescribing activity sequences to promote critique, debate, design, and investigation in science; *a partnership modelestablishing activity structures for teachers, pedagogical researchers, discipline experts, and technologists to jointly design and refine inquiry instruction; *a professional development modelinvolving mentoring by an expert teacher; *projects about contemporary controversyenabling students to explore the nature of science; *a customization processguiding teachers to adapt inquiry projects to their own students, geographical characteristics, curriculum framework, and personal goals; and *a Web siteproviding additional links, resources, and community tools at www.InternetScienceEducation.org

Marcia C. Linn received her B.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. She is professor of development and cognition specializing in mathematics, science, and technology at the University of California at Berkeley. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Linn investigates science teaching and learning; gender equity; and design of learning environments. The American Educational Research Association gave her the Willystine Goodsell Award in 1991. In 1998, the Council of Scientific Society Presidents selected her for its first award in educational research.
Elizabeth A. Davis is an assistant professor of science education at the University of Michigan. Davis received a Ph.D. in education in mathematics, science, and technology from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research focuses on student and teacher learning and how learning can be supported by technology. Currently, she is investigating the knowledge integration processes of prospective and new elementary teachers. In 2001, Davis received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, in recognition of the promise of her work.
Philip Bell is an assistant professor of cognition and technology at the University of Washington. His research investigates how innovative technologies shape human development, learning, and collaboration. Bell received his doctorate in cognition and development from the University of California at Berkeley with an emphasis in education in mathematics, science, and technology. His current research looks at the longitudinal influence of technology on human development and social interaction in this era of increasingly pervasive information and communication technologies.