Abstracts - Earli

E 129 August 2007 14:30 - 16:30Room: 0.87 MarxSIG Invited SymposiumRecent developments in the design of computer supported inquirylearning environmentsChair: Zacharias Zacharia, University of Cyprus, CyprusOrganiser: Zacharias Zacharia, University of Cyprus, CyprusOrganiser: Ton de Jong, University of Twente, NetherlandsDiscussant: Roxana Moreno, University of New Mexico, USAInquiry based learning has attracted a lot of attention by researchers who have studied learningespecially in the disciplines of Mathematics and Science. This interest has now begun to spreadinto teaching and learning in other disciplines such as History, Social Studies, and Psychology.One of the outcomes of this interest has been an intensive research activity in the various aspectsof the design of computer based learning environments that offer support for inquiry. Specifically,active research has concentrated for many years on how technology can be used to create andenhance learning environments that aid students in the processes of formulating investigationsintended to create new knowledge and understanding. The different mechanisms for facilitation,monitoring and assessment of inquiry oriented learning have focused the efforts of many researchactivities that aim to bridge educational theory and teaching practice. In this symposium, we aimto highlight some of the recent research results that have emerged out of studies that examine thesevarious aspects of teaching and learning through the use of online inquiry based learningenvironments that encompass modelling and simulation tools.Design principles of the support system for a web-based inquiry learning environmentMargus Pedaste, University of Tartu, EstoniaTago Sarapuu, University of Tartu, EstoniaA web-based learning environment "Young Scientist" (http://bio.edu.ee/noor/) was composed fordeveloping students’ problem-solving and inquiry skills. This environment was applied in a pilotstudy (n=60) for finding the factors limiting learners’ outcomes in acquiring inquiry skills relatedto both transformative and regulative inquiry learning stages. These factors have been used fordesigning adapted support system for different clusters of learners. Two main research questionshave been formulated: i) Which transformative inquiry skills can be developed in web-basedinquiry learning environment? ii) How does an adapted support system that improves learners’regulative inquiry skills influence on students’ transformative inquiry skills. A questionnaire forevaluating these skills was worked out and filled in by students before and after using thisenvironment. The inquiry learning tasks and appropriate additional materials were composed forlearning science processes in the 6th grade. The students were categorised with cluster analysisand appropriate adapted support system was developed for all clusters. The system was designedon the basis of learners’ regulative inquiry skills, and the characteristics of learning tasks andenvironment. This article gives an overview of the design principles of this web-based supportsystem for the learning environment "Young scientist". However, these findings can begeneralised for applying in various analogous web-based learning environments. Our resultsdemonstrated that the effectiveness of inquiry learning is strongly influenced by the adapted– 249 –