Presentation of the Personal Inquiry project: Supporting Inquiry Science Learning with Mobile Technology

1. Personal InquirySupporting Inquiry Science Learning with Mobile Technology Mike Sharples Learning Sciences Research Institute University of Nottingham

2. Health warning: exercise makes you fat ...re-programming body fat is the key to weight loss, not working out Sunday Telegraph Social websites harm children's brains Chilling warning to parents from top neuroscientist Daily Mail

3. How can we help children to think, talk, and act like scientists?

4. Personal Inquiry project Three year project University of Nottingham/ Open University Aim: To help children to engage in effective science inquiries

5. Inquiry learning “Inquiry-based learning involves learners asking questions about the natural or material world, collecting data to answer those questions, making discoveries and testing those discoveries rigorously” de Jong, 2006

6. Elements of successful inquiry learning Motivation of learners Tools for data collection, discovery, testing Support for the inquiry process Sequencing activities

9. Timer

10. Camera

11. Audio recorder

12. Accelerometer

13. Location recorder

14. Tilt sensor

15. Communicator

18. Sequencing activities Decide my inquiry question or hypothesis Plan my methods, equipment, actions Collect my evidence Analyse and represent my evidence Respond to my question or hypothesis Share and discuss my inquiry Reflect On my progress Find my topic Cycle of engagement and reflection

19. Sequencing activities Inquiry Guide to provide flexible sequencing of activities

20. Healthy Eating Inquiry Investigate daily eating “Is my diet healthy”? Compare with Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNI)

21. Context Inner city school High levels of social deprivation School policy of no homework Flexible curriculum Year 9 class, 28 children Healthy eating topic Inquiry learning between school and home

22. Technology Asus computer running the PI toolkit Camera to keep a food diary

23. Food diary Photograph daily eating Tag with food content Create tables of data Reflect on data collected by their group

25. Research Design

26. Nov 2008: Data Collected 70 sets of Questionnaires (pre-post) Log filesfrom 28 students of their use of the PI toolkit in class and at home (e.g. summaries, graphs, presentations) Video capture of the 9 lessons with three cameras (2 groups and 1 overall) Interviews 11 interviews with Teacher, 7 with pupils during and post-intervention Researchers’ observation notesafter each lesson

27. Critical incident analysis of video Breakthroughs Observed events that indicate successful learning or conceptual change Breakdowns Observed events that indicate technical, social or learning difficulties

28. Breakthroughs Seeing RNI graphs e.g. for crisps & cola Experiencing the problems of not having collected their own data Presenting their own investigation

29. Breakdowns Navigation Some usability problems with the software Synchronization: Teacher showed a display on SmartBoard but pupils saw a different display on their computers Using the diary Categorisation of food Filling in the comment box of each graph

30. Children’s challenges:Too personal inquiry Children see their own food on the classroom screen Too embarrassed to take photos

31. Personal inquiry How can you design inquiry teaching that is personal, challenging and motivating, but not embarrassing or demeaning? Not personal enough Too personal

32. New investigation Developed with students, teacher & expert Effect of noise pollution on birds Observations, naturalistic study, experiment

33. Teacher’s challenges Managing the toolkit in class Confidence in supporting learning outside the classroom

34. Conclusions Personal technology can support inquiry learning inside and outside the classroom Important that learners should own the inquiry question the technology the process of inquiry Balance of engagement and embarrassment Balance between understanding the inquiry topic and learning inquiry skills