The Virtual Vee Map: A Template for Internet Inquiry

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The Virtual Vee MapA Template for Internet
Inquiry

• Margaret A. Coffman
• Department of Biology
• Eastern Michigan University

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Process Skills used in Inquiry
Process Skill Thinking Level
Observation Knowledge
Predicting Comprehension
Hypothesizing Application
Identifying and controlling variables Application
Collecting data Comprehension
Interpreting data Analysis
Inferring Analysis
Making tables and graphs Analysis
Communicating Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation
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BIOL 303

• Life Science for Elementary Teachers
• Pre-service elementary teachers
• Required course
• Approximately 250 students/semester
• Hybrid course
• 3 hours/week in lab
• 2 hours/week on WebCT

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BIOL 303 Student Skills

• Most students can
• Generate question and hypothesis
• Design a sound experiment
• Collect reasonable data
• Most students cannot
• Summarize data in a table or graph
• Analyze and evaluate their results

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Process Skills used in Inquiry
Process Skill Thinking Level
Observation Knowledge
Predicting Comprehension
Hypothesizing Application
Identifying and controlling variables Application
Collecting data Comprehension
Interpreting data Analysis
Inferring Analysis
Making tables and graphs Analysis
Communicating Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation
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Objectives

• Internet Inquiry
• Strengthen student inquiry skills at the
  analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels.
• Introduce students to internet resources
• BIOL 303
• Increase confidence in using technology and
  online resources
• Successfully implement inquiry projects in their
  own elementary classrooms

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Data available on the Internet
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Gowins Vee Map

• Vee diagram or Vee heuristic
• an educational method in which learning takes
  place through discoveries that result from
  investigations made by the student
• Student-directed constructivist inquiry-based
• Successful in face-to-face settings
• Lab report
• Deciphering primary literature
• Evaluation tool for performance assessments
• Roehrig, Luft, and Edwards (2001)
• Versatile Vee Maps

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The Virtual Vee Map Template
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WebCT Interface
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Virtual Vee Map Instructions
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Virtual Vee Map RubricConceptual Knowing Left

• Inquiry Question
• What do I want to find out? What do I need to
  know?
• Word List
• What do I know? What words should I use to search
  for more information?
• Graphic Organizer
• How are these ideas connected?
• Hypothesis
• What statement do you think the data from your
  chosen website will support?

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Student Graphic Organizer Example
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Virtual Vee Map Rubricconnecting concepts
methods

• Websites
• Where did I find information to support my
  hypothesis and answer my question(s)?
• Website veracity?

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Virtual Vee Map RubricMethodological Doing
Right

• Data and Analysis
• What did I find out?
• Summarize and present in table or graph
• Conclusion
• What did I learn? What do my results mean? How
  does my inquiry relate to a larger context or in
  the real world?

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Student Data Display Examples
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Conclusion should exhibit thinking at the
analysis and evaluation levels.

1. Restate your hypothesis. Was your hypothesis
   supported or refuted?
2. Summarize important data or results.
3. Suggest implications of your findings. What do
   your results mean on a larger scale?
4. State an additional unanswered question worthy of
   further investigation.
5. Present limitations/errors to your inquiry.

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Student Virtual Vee Map Example
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Student Conclusion Example

• Conclusion A genes dominance will have a more
  direct effect than recessive genes on the traits
  of students in Ohio and Washington. According to
  the data in comparing the frequency of dominant
  versus recessive traits on the students in Ohio
  and Washington, my hypothesis was refuted. By
  comparing the percentages of students who had a
  certain trait in each state, it was concluded
  that dominant traits were not the most frequently
  expressed phenotype. Interestingly, both schools
  had a majority of the students with the same
  traits regardless of whether the most frequent
  phenotype resulted from a recessive trait or a
  dominant trait. The results of the comparison
  show that both schools expressed the dominant
  traits for earlobes, pinky fingers, and
  colorblindness in higher frequency than the
  recessive traits. The rest of the phenotypes
  white forelocks, dimples, thumb shape and mid
  digit hair favored the recessive phenotypes.
  Because the results of these schools were so
  similar, it may be safe to hypothesize that
  similar traits may be expressed amongst all
  populations in America, but dominant traits may
  not be the more frequently expressed phenotype.
  It would be interesting to compare different
  communities across America to see if this
  hypothesis is true. On a larger scale it would
  be interesting to compare the results of an
  American community to the results of communities
  in other countries. Limitations to my inquiry
  were not knowing the ethnicities and the amount
  of students in the study. Each school only had
  approximately 20 students participating, which
  may have skewed the results of the test.

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WebCT Submission Page
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Students reacted positively towards the project.
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Highlights the Nature of Science
Knowledge, Comprehension, Application
Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation
questions
conclusion
word list
graphic organizer
original hypothesis modified
data
INTERNET (Web-Based Inquiry Sites)