Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...
Narst_How students read on the web
1. How do middle school
students read science on the
Web?
Meilan Zhang
NARST Presentation
2. Wide use of online resources in schools
Teachers: 62.3% of teachers often used Web resources in their
lesson planning or classroom instruction. (EDC, 2005)
Students: 67% of students in grades 7-12 will do an Internet
search for their schoolwork. (NetDay, 2004)
Online search
67%
Library
10%
Ask teacher
9%
Textbook
5%
Other
9%
4. Software design: IdeaKeeper project
Java-based scaffolded software
Support middle school students in the full
range of online inquiry activities
7. Research Question
How do middle school students read
information on the Web, and how does the
scaffolding mediate students’ online
reading?
8. Context
In a public middle school, a 9-week writer’s workshop
class:
4.5 weeks for creative writing;
Another 4.5 weeks for scientific writing, which the study focused
on
Questions students explored:
How does the acid rain affect the quality of our water?
Why are countries allowed to dump raw sewage in the ocean?
Why are water-borne diseases more prone to some places than
others?
Can we filter our own waste into usable drinking water?
9. Participants
8 pairs from two 6th
grade classes
IdeaKeeper group:
4 pairs from one class, online inquiry supported by
IdeaKeeper
Non-IdeaKeeper group:
4 pairs from another class, regular online inquiry
without IdeaKeeper support
10. Data Sources
Video recording: 4*9 + 4*11= 80 videos
System log files: 36 log files (IK students only)
Students’ artifacts: for 16 students
Classroom observational notes: for 20 class
sessions
11. Data analysis
Viewed and transcribed all of the videos
Developed analytic memos
Coded into online inquiry events
Search, skim, read, browse, monitor, off-line
task, off-task behavior, and teacher’s talk
Identified relevant occurrences and
illustrating episodes for emerged findings
13. Finding 1
Unguided online browsing is cursory
Use of IdeaKeeper slows students down in
their reading.
14. Figure: Average time on skimming and reading per
site by two groups
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Average time on skimming per site Average time on reading per site
Minutes
IK group No IK group
15. Finding 2
In general, higher achievement students
read more thoroughly than lower
achievement students in both groups.
Use of IdeaKeeper notepad affects the
way that students approach text. Their
reading is often triggered by the prompts
of IdeaKeeper Notepad.
20. Finding 3
Unguided online reading tends to be
opportunistic. Their attention drifts among
different elements of a website.
IdeaKeeper students’ reading is guided by
the prompts in notepad, which make their
reading much less opportunistic.
21. Figure: Dyad 5’s attention flow in a site, Zeroing in on Ocean Dead Zones
22. Figure: Dyad 2’s attention flow in site, drinking water: hard water.
23. Discussion
Online reading needs guidance.
Prompting is one of the strategies to guide
students’ reading on the Web.
Prompts guided online reading is more
deliberate
thorough
purposeful
24. Future research direction
Support teachers’ work in online inquiry
Explore other strategies to promote critical
thinking and deep learning on the Web
e.g., teacher modeling reading and note
taking.
Editor's Notes
My dissertation study looks at how middle school students use online resources to learn about science, and how we can support the process using technology tool. Specifically, how can we help students move from answer finder to sense maker on the Web.
When asked how Web resources changed their curriculum planning or instruction, a majority of survey participants (62%), indicated that Web resources have impacted their teaching.
NetDay’s 2001 survey, in
only 29% said that the Web had changed the way they teach.
(Source: Education Development Center, 2005)
Confronted with an assignment to write a report about a topic.
67% of students in grades 7-12 will do an Internet search.
10% will visit library to find a book on the topic.
9% will ask their teacher for help.
5% will look for information in the textbook
Primary data for understanding students’ online inquiry process
System Log files;
Students’ artifacts
Classroom observational notes.
students’ computer activities and conversations were captured by screen recording software (Camtasia)
that record students’ actions in IdeaKeeper
==================================
Multiple data sources were collected for this study. First, video recordings. We used screen recording software, Camtasia, to record students computer activities and conversations. We also built system log function into IdeaKeeper which will record students’ actions. For example, when students click a “search” button, the log will record when the search is conducted, what search keywords were used, and how many hits found. We also collected the artifacts students generated, including the websites they saved, the notes they took, and the final writings they produced.
Dyad 7, on day 7, at elapsed time 13:12, at site, Oceans FAQ
Dyad 1, day 3, elapsed time 4:20,
Show two video segments as examples for this finding:
Perhaps show the video that students read this website, then show the pictures;
On day 1, elapsed time 25:35
