1st Edition

Computers, Teachers, Peers Science Learning Partners

By Marcia C. Linn, Sherry Hsi Copyright 2000

    Linn and Hsi show how computers, teachers, and peers can serve as learning partners--helping students build on their ideas and become lifelong science learners. They invite everyone interested in improving science education to build on their experiences, share insights on the Internet, and create instruction.

    Computers, Teachers, Peers:

    * offers case studies to bring the ideas of students learning science to life. *Join Sasha, Chris, Pat, and Lee as they try to make sense of experiments using computers to display data in real time;*
    * provides principles to help teachers improve their instruction, use technology better, and inspire more students to love science. *Find out how to use visualization tools, online discussion, and more to make science relevant;*
    * gives researchers and instructional designers a model for effective research and curriculum design. *Linn and Hsi report that the partnership approach to research resulted in a 400% increase in student understanding of science;*
    * helps schools develop technology plans that continuously improve science instruction. *Find out how schools can design better ways to use technology for learning;*
    * describes a partnership inquiry process where science teachers, science education researchers, discipline specialists, and technologists consider each others' perspectives and jointly design instruction. *Boys and girls are equally successful in the resulting science courses;* and
    * features practical tools for learning and instruction, including "Points to Ponder"--to encourage reflection on the ideas in each chapter (partnership groups or classes might use the points as discussion starters or assignments), and "Ask Mr. K."--an interview, in each chapter, with the classroom teacher who was a founding member of the CLP partnership (in these interviews Mr. K. adds insights from his own classroom experiences).

    This book is supplemented by a CD-ROM (included in each copy) and a Web site (www.clp.berkeley.edu) with the Computers as Learning Partners curriculum, lesson plans, a Quicktime virtual reality visit to the classroom, copies of assessments, opportunities to join partnerships, and more. For readers who wish for more information, Related Readings are cited, including works by authors mentioned in each chapter. Additional works by other authors who inspired the authors appear in the bibliography, on the website, and on the CD-ROM. An annotated bibliography of papers by the members of the CLP partnership also appears at the website and on the CD-ROM.

    Contents: Preface. Introduction. Part I: Student Learning Partners. How Do Students Respond to Science Instruction? Four Case Studies. Part II: Classroom Learning Partners. Making Science Accessible to All Students. Making Thinking Visible. Helping Students Learn From Each Other. Promoting Autonomy for Lifelong Science Learning. Part III: Student Learning Partners Revisited. Science Learning Partners and Science Inquiry in High School. Building on Middle School Science in High School. Part IV: New Design Partnerships. Planning for Technology in Education. Partnerships for Professional Development. Outcomes and Opportunities. Appendices.Student Interviews--Lee and Pat. Table of Contents From CD-ROM.

    Biography

    Linn, Marcia C.; Hsi, Sherry

    "[The authors] provide a wealth of resources--science activities with and without computer applications; case studies on student achievement; software demonstrations of a CLP tool, E-LabBook; assessment strategies; and an annotated bibliography....Designed to enhance science education, this instructional package offers strategies for learning and teaching in all subjects. Recommended at all levels."
    CHOICE

    "This book presents the finding of an exciting fifteen-year collaboration, investigating the Computer as Learning Partner (CLP)....A valuable model of collaboration for those who wish to become involved in similar work is provided....I would strongly recommend this informative book and very useful CD-Rom to anyone who is interested in collaborative work."
    British Journal of Educational Psychology

    "...if you are interested in the insights gained from 15 years of trying to improve science teaching, then this book belongs on your bookshelf."
    Contemporary Psychology

    "The pedagogical approach described in this book raises some of the age-old questions in education: breath vs. depth, abstract vs. concrete, general vs. specific. Yet these issues are examined in a new light, provided by a consideration of knowledge representation, social structure, and new technologies. I recommend that anyone concerned about systemic improvement of learning and teaching read this engaging account of learning and development of students, teachers, and researchers over an extended time span.
    Science Education

    "An exciting book that provides important theoretical and practical insights into learning, assessment, and effective uses of technology. Linn and Hsi show how learners follow very different paths in their quest for knowledge, and they explore innovative ways to support these multiple pathways....The book also provides a model of collaborative research that is extremely important for the research community....Overall, the authors implicitly model lifelong learning as they attempt to help students become lifelong learners. This book is relevant to a variety of audiences including teachers, administrators, parents, and other researchers. It is also important for undergraduate and graduate students who want to become teachers, researchers, or designers. Its primary focus is on science education, but it has important implications for work in all content areas. It is a great pleasure to recommend this book."
    John D. Bransford
    Learning Technology Center, Vanderbilt University

    "A rare book in education--and especially rare in technology and education: one that draws on a strong, extended research base and yet speaks clearly to a broad audience. This book offers a careful and insightful analysis of the critical issues in the field."
    Andrea di Sessa
    University of California at Berkeley

    "A powerful, rich, research-based guide for science teacher development. The case studies make the thinking of both science teachers and science students explicit, visible, and accessible. This practical, reader-friendly guide comes at a critical time in school science reform....I recommend this book for teachers, for preservice courses, for site-based professional development reform teams, for curriculum designers, for researchers, and for groups interested in collaborating to introduce technology into the curriculum."
    Jane Bowyer
    Abbie Valley Professor of Education and Department Head, Director, NSF-funded Lo

    "Linn and Hsi present important lessons for making science accessible to all students. They provide convincing evidence that science curriculum needs to change from exposing students to numerous ideas to allowing students to explore a few major ideas in-depth. The Computer as Learning Partner curriculum demonstrates that students who explore a few challenging areas of science will develop robust understandings of these topics and of inquiry but also succeed on more traditional standardized tests. Perhaps one of the most important lessons gleamed in this work is that a systematic research agenda in education can make a difference. The ideas presented about knowledge integration, learning partners, and design studies extend beyond science education to all fields of learning. Science teachers, educational researchers, policymakers and administrators must read this book."

    Joseph Krajcik
    Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education, University of Michigan-Ann