Bringing advanced science inquiry tools in for a soft landing: report of a five year study

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Bringing advanced science inquiry tools in for a
soft landing report of a five year study
Northwest Council for Computers in
Education Seattle, Washington March 2005

• Mike Charles Bob Kolvoord
• (Pacific University) (James Madison
  University)
• Research supported by the National Science
  Foundation

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The promise

• Scientific visualization tools provide...
• Rich use of the computers available in schools
• Connections to science/math for visual learners
• A vehicle for inquiry-based science
• Use tools which were originally designed to help
  scientists understand and explore data
• Goal To draw todays increasingly visual
  learners into in-depth study of science/math
  topics

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The opportunity

• How to get more teachers involved in using
  visualization tools in their classrooms?
• A promising tool that requires advanced skills
• Extended training in the tools is often too much,
  too soon...

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Project VISM

• Three week summer institutes sponsored by the
  Interdisciplinary Science and Technology program
  at James Madison University
• Cross-training in different visualization
  techniques, including image processing, GIS,
  molecular modeling and simulation
• Middle and High School science and mathematics
  teachers with some higher education participants
• Teacher educators who work with prospective
  science and mathematics teachers
• Summers of 2000, 2001, and 2002--118 participants
  total

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Tools taught in Project VISM

• Image processingNIH Image/Scion Image/Image J
• Geospatial AnalysisArcView GIS
• Molecular VisualizationRasMol/Chemscape Chime
• Systems modellingSTELLA

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NIH Image/Scion Image/ImageJ

• Public domain image processing software
• Software and free classroom activities available
  at http//www.evisual.org/
• Animal hands identifying x-rays of animal hands
  by describing the hand and identifying its
  function

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ArcView GIS

• Available for educators--See the ESRI homepage
  http//www.esri.com/
• Classroom activity available at
  http//www.evisual.org/
• Plate Tectonics visualized mark earthquake and
  volcanic sites on a world map using spreadsheet
  data. Observe patterns and identify plate
  boundaries.

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RASMOL/Chemscape Chime

• Public domain software for mol viz
• Presented as molecular storytelling
• Resource page http//www.isat.jmu.edu/users/klevi
  cca/vism/vism.htm
• "Come See the MoleculesUsing 3-D Modeling
  Programs to Learn Chemistry" in ISTE's Learning
  Leading with Technology
• http//www.iste.org/LL/archive/vol29/no4/index.ht
  ml
• (Note Must be a subscriber to the periodical in
  order to access Acrobat files of the articles)

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STELLA

• Commercial systems simulation software
• Strong educator user base
• More info at
• http//www.hps-inc.com/
• Pictured here simulation model for a cup of
  coffee cooling using stocks and flows

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The ACOT model of stages of teacher development
in using technological tools

• Entry level-competent using the tool at the
  workshop
• Learned the Animal Hands activity at a workshop
• Adopt the tool into their teaching practice
• Successfully used the Animal Hands activity with
  my students
• Adapt the tool into their teaching practice
• Made significant modifications to the Animal
  Hands activity to make it work better with my
  students
• Innovate with the tool in their teaching practice
• Brought in new images from a local zoo of animal
  hands to add to the activity

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The VISM matrix The ACOT model described for
each of the four tools

• Created based on conversations with the
  instructors over the duration of the project
• Posed as a hypothetical path that teachers might
  follow
• We did NOT expect teachers to reach the innovate
  level with all four tools, but instead to make
  professional choices among their visualization
  options
• VISM Matrix

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Critical attributes of advanced tools

• Competency with the software tool (ACOT model)
• Competency with the scientific data that the tool
  uses
• Competency with the pedagogical content knowledge
  needed to teach curricular content using the tool
• Pedagogical content knowledge identifies the
  distinctive bodies of knowledge for teaching. It
  represents the blending of content and pedagogy
  into an understanding of how particular topics,
  problems or issues are organized, represented,
  and adapted to the diverse interests and
  abilities of learners, and presented for
  instruction. Pedagogical content knowledge is the
  category most likely to distinguish the
  understanding of the content specialist from that
  of the pedagogue. (Shulman, 1987)

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Follow-on interviews

• 10 interviews conducted thus far
• 35 questionnaires from Summer 2003 and 2004
  reunion workshop participants
• Starter questions for open-ended interviews
• ? Briefly describe 1 or 2 projects you carried
  out last year with your students using one or
  more of these visualization tools.
• ? What were your greatest obstacles in using
  these tools with your students during the year?
• Briefly describe what you think you accomplished
  this year based on your participation in the VISM
  workshop, and one thing you had hoped to
  accomplish but perhaps did not.

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Summary of implementation of the tools
Adopt-used an activity Adopt-used several acts. Adapt Innovate
Image processing 7 17 14 15 38
Geospatial Analysis 9 5 8 16 27
Systems modeling 7 5 4 10 19
Molecular Visualization 11 3 3 6 16
Totals 34 30 29 47
24 21 21 34
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Changes in your ability with these tools
Less competent Less competent More competent More competent
1 2 3 4 5 total
ArcView 3 5 7 6 23 44
Image J 4 1 12 13 14 44
STELLA 9 7 12 8 7 43
RASMOL/Chemscape Chime 8 7 15 7 5 42
total 24 20 46 34 49
14 12 27 20 28
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Obstacles
Greatest obstacle for your use of these tools? (1--not an obstacle5--serious obstacle) Average
Lack of space in a crowded curriculum to do projects that use these tools 3.4
Lack of adequate teacher preparation time to prepare activities 3.0
Lack of teacher knowledge of these software tools 3.0
Lack of well-designed curriculum-based materials using these tools 2.8
Relating the use of these tools to increasing student achievement scores 2.6
Lack of adequate hardware/software 2.6
Student difficulty learning the tools 2.3
Incompatibility of these tools with districts stated educational objectives 2.3
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Obstacles

• Time--to develop classroom ready activities
• Space in the curriculum
• Higher demands of NCLB and high stakes testing
• Changes in teaching assignment and personal life
• Hardware/software access--
• negotiating adequate computer time for students
  to do their work is nonetheless a major challenge
  for these teachers.

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Case study examples

• In-depth interviews with 9 teachers

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Exemplary uses of all four tools by experienced
scientific visualization tool users
Teacher One Teacher Nine
Image processing Innovate Physics Image projectphotographing and dropping a ball and determining acceleration rate of gravity. Adapted from discussions with a VISM participant. -90 minutes period to do -90 minute period to analyze
Geospatial Analysis Innovate Would watering holes in the desert reduce mortality rates for illegal aliens? Plotted paths on an image of the southwest -2 week activity Built an online eAtlas database of economic indicators for 6 border crossings between AZ and Sonora -8 week project
Molecular Visualization Adapt RASMOL model of a number of different inorganic solid structures which they observed the shape of and predicted the polarity -90 minute lab activity
Systems modeling Adapt Teacher created STELLA model of immigration rates with or without watering holes -90 minute lab activity
Comments Already at the innovate level with NIH Image and ArcView prior to VISM
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More typical implementations
Teacher two Teacher three Teacher four
Image processing Adopt Completed Travel USA activity with 9th grade computer apps course as part of a population sampling activity 1 period activity Adopt Demonstrated one NIH Image activity to students. No student activities or projects 1 period activity Adapt Maintained her use of this tool. Demos several activities-- students may investigate hands on outside of class. Offered summer institutes for 20 teachers in NIH Image.
Geospatial Analysis Innovate 11th/12th grade elective GIS course with 22 students in each of 2 semesters. Students complete GIS projects-ESRI text Multi-week mapping projects Adopt Demonstrated one GIS activity re the distribution of volcanoes. No student activities or projects 1 period activity Innovate Taught a GIS applications course to a broad range of professionals in the region Applying for an NSF grant to design a GIS program on campus Scholarship to GIS in Ed. conference
Molecular Visualization Not yet Adopt Demonstrated 3D capabilities of software No student activities or projects 1 period activity Not yet RASMOL Saturday workshop and materials given to a colleague in chemistry
Systems modeling Not yet Not yet Not yet Considering using as part of a BLM prairie dog town research project
Comments Pursuing further instruction in ArcView Intends to do student projects in advanced courses next year. Greatest need more GIS training
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VISM tools not yet landed in teaching practice
Teacher five Teacher six Teacher seven Teacher eight
Image processing Not yet Not yet Not yet Conducted workshops with teachers--minimal results in classrooms
Geospatial Analysis Not yet Not yet Not yet Conducted summer workshops using Mapping Our World
Molecular Visualization Not yet Not yet Adopt Authored a webpage tutorial re polar and nonpolar molecules Used once with students with limited effectiveness Not yet
Systems modeling Not yet Not yet Greatest interest for use with calculus class Not yet Not yet
Comments Adopted probeware/astronomy software based on VISM tech expertise New math/science center -- upcoming sabbatical to develop curriculum specific activities Hardware access obstacles Workshop marked him as a possible tech leader in his school. Hardware access obstacles Restimulated interest in a new set of software visualization tools and motivated her to try more training in these areass Crowded curriculum NCLB
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Discussion

• Current professional development literature
  argues for site-based, curriculum-specific
  professional development efforts with significant
  on-site follow-up
• Sustainable?
• Scalable?
• Need to look outside the constraints of the site
  and curriculum
• Intrinsically motivated educators constructing
  their own program of professional
  development--the fundamentally constructivist
  nature of teacher learning.
• Project VISM was a university-based program with
  materials that had only general curriculum
  connections and with no significant on-site
  follow-up component.

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Fundamentally constructivist nature of teacher
learning

• Staff training
• Extrinsic motivation
• Program determined by organizational mission and
  goals
• Mandated by the organization

• Professional Development
• Intrinsic motivation
• Constructing their own program
• Personally constructed

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For more info

• Mike Charles at Pacific University
• charlesm_at_pacificu.edu
• Bob Kolvoord, Project Director, at JMU
• kolvoora_at_jmu.edu
• Project VISM home page
• http//www.isat.jmu.edu/common/projects/VISM/