Multimedia reporting in science problem solving

Abstract

The increasing availability of CD ROM based interactive multimedia packages to support learning in science classrooms offers science teachers new pedagogical opportunities for student-centred and cooperative learning. However, many of the current products do not make full use of the existing technology in schools and even when they do they tend to constrain the student to a very limited view of information and how it can be used as part of student reporting of inquiry projects.Interactivity in many packages has been limited to "point and click" rather than employing instructional strategies that immerse and challenge students. The Interactive Multimedia Learning Laboratory at the University of Wollongong has developed two interactive multimedia packages designed for Australian schools that not only attempt to develop problem solving skills but also allow students to express their ideas with different forms of representation in their reports.Investigating Lake Iluka, based on the ecology of a coastal lake environment uses a text based notebook which allows the student to select text and edit it into their report on their problem investigation A second package, Exploring the Nardoo, based on water management issues extends the concept to include multimedia elements in the student's notebook. The evaluation of both packages has examined the ability of students to express themselves in text together with static and dynamic aural and visual forms. This paper also reports on improvement of scientific understanding and improved problem' reporting based on metacognitive supports included in these interactive multimedia packages, especially the use of genre templates and guides.Current interactive multimedia technologies can represent ideas in almost any mediated form, and provided we can generate a comprehensible metaphor for organising our functional options and the underlying knowledge structures, the student can roam through the resources creating their own meanings and understandings of the phenomena they encounter. This rich context allows the novice to work with authentic

Tracks for learning: Metacognition and learning technologies

“…Simulations and support tools which allow: multimedia reporting are embedded in the package and are supported by several metacognitive tools for the writing process. These tools not only include details about genre but also scaffolding templates to support the learners (Harper, Hedberg, Wright and Corderoy, 1996) in constructing their own realities using the constructs and processes in the environment on a new content domain.…”

“…They greatly enrich the quality of the problem solving process for students by providing the student with unhindered access to act and become immersed in a real situated process. They also promote the adoption by the student of the active learner mode and in so doing support the active construction of knowledge during the process of solving a problem (Harper, Hedberg, Wright and Corderoy, 1996). A necessary skill in problem solving is the ability to collect and manipulate and analyse many different forms of data and then present them in meaningful and useful ways to any of the many different discourse communities.…”

“…Exploring the Nardoo offers teachers the opportunity to individualise instruction, place learners in open-ended student centred investigation and shift from their traditional instructor role to that of mentor and co learner (Harper, Hedberg, Wright and Corderoy 1996). The computer and the students use of metacognitive support tools has the potential to change not only what teachers teach in terms of subject matter or content but how they teach in terms of process.…”

Students’ Use of Multimedia Activities in an Open University Introductory Science Course

“…Kenny & Schroeder (1994) reviewed the provision of note taking facilities in multimedia packages and observed that guidance on the making of effective notes was rarely provided. Harper et al (1995) expressed the fear that without such guidance, students would replicate the Downloaded by [Newcastle University] at 08:48 20 December 2014 120 C. Lawless & S. Freake failures in 'pencil and paper' notes identified by Kierwa (1987), a failure to give structure to their notes or to add further information.…”