Welcome to the InfoSci Platform
Reference Hub4
Using Virtual Labs in an Inquiry Context: The Effect of a Hypothesis Formulation Tool and an Experiment Design Tool on Students' Learning

Using Virtual Labs in an Inquiry Context: The Effect of a Hypothesis Formulation Tool and an Experiment Design Tool on Students' Learning

Tasos Hovardas, Nikoletta A. Xenofontos, Zacharias C. Zacharia
Copyright: © 2017 |Pages: 26
ISBN13: 9781522525288|ISBN10: 1522525289|EISBN13: 9781522525295
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-2528-8.ch003
Cite Chapter Cite Chapter

MLA

Hovardas, Tasos, et al. "Using Virtual Labs in an Inquiry Context: The Effect of a Hypothesis Formulation Tool and an Experiment Design Tool on Students' Learning." Optimizing STEM Education With Advanced ICTs and Simulations, edited by Ilya Levin and Dina Tsybulsky, IGI Global, 2017, pp. 58-83. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-2528-8.ch003

APA

Hovardas, T., Xenofontos, N. A., & Zacharia, Z. C. (2017). Using Virtual Labs in an Inquiry Context: The Effect of a Hypothesis Formulation Tool and an Experiment Design Tool on Students' Learning. In I. Levin & D. Tsybulsky (Eds.), Optimizing STEM Education With Advanced ICTs and Simulations (pp. 58-83). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-2528-8.ch003

Chicago

Hovardas, Tasos, Nikoletta A. Xenofontos, and Zacharias C. Zacharia. "Using Virtual Labs in an Inquiry Context: The Effect of a Hypothesis Formulation Tool and an Experiment Design Tool on Students' Learning." In Optimizing STEM Education With Advanced ICTs and Simulations, edited by Ilya Levin and Dina Tsybulsky, 58-83. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-2528-8.ch003

Export Reference

Mendeley
Favorite

Abstract

The present study employed two different Go-Lab scaffolds/tools. These tools were used by primary school students to carry out successive learning tasks during experimentation. The first tool assisted learners in formulating hypotheses, while the second tool guided students in designing experiments (EDT). Both tools were designed to take into account the trade-offs between structuring and problematizing student inquiry. Our aim was to investigate the effect of each tool separately, as well as the combined effect of the tools in supporting student work. Participants were 41 fifth graders from two classes of a public primary school in Cyprus. They were randomly assigned to four conditions: Condition 1 involved use of both tools, Condition 2 included the hypothesis tool only, Condition 3 included the EDT only, and Condition 4 had no tools provided. Conditions including one of the two tools outperformed the condition with no tools in the corresponding skill scaffolded by the tool. The cumulative effect of both tools seems to have been greater than the effect of each tool separately.

Request Access

You do not own this content. Please login to recommend this title to your institution's librarian or purchase it from the IGI Global bookstore.