Abstracts - Earli

K 731 August 2007 08:30 - 10:30Room: 2.54 NovobátzkySymposiumComputers in science education: Fostering scientific inquiry learningChair: Joerg Zumbach, University of Salzburg, AustriaChair: Peter Reimann, University of Sydney, AustraliaOrganiser: Joerg Zumbach, University of Salzburg, AustriaDiscussant: Heinz Mandl, University of Munich, GermanyAcquiring basic scientific competences and literacy is one of the primary goals of contemporaryscience classrooms. Scientific competences and literacy include cognitive as well as metacognitiveknowledge and the ability to apply this knowledge within a scientific context. To bescientifically literate and competent requires learners to collect information and data about specificconcepts, schemata or domains. In addition, scientific literacy requires the ability to recognize anddevelop scientific questions, to draw conclusions from theoretical considerations and empiricalfindings. Fostering scientific learning, especially inquiry-based science education, is itself acomplex and highly demanding domain. Here, computer-based learning environments in generaland computer-based simulations in particular are able to enrich traditional classrooms by providingfor authenticity and for "hands-on" experiences even in areas where schools cannot be expected toprovide the respective "real" environment for learning. Within this symposium, several approachesto fostering scientific inquiry learning by means of computer-supported learning environments areaddressed. Two papers in this symposium contribute to support knowledge building within thearea of dynamic systems. The contribution by Thompson and Reimann examines learningprocesses and outcomes of learning complex environmental systems with a system dynamicsapproach and an agent-based approach. Unterbruner, Pfligersdorffer and Zumbach present thedesign and evaluation of a blended learning environment for understanding complex ecologicalsystems. Two other papers address issues of scaffolding scientific inquiry learning. Kßrndle andNarciss suggest a computer-based approach to support interactive argumentation tasks by means ofan ontology describing a prototypic inquiry cycle. Wichmann and Harrer emphasize the role ofstudent generated explanations during inquiry-based learning and present the design andevaluation of a scripting-approach. Finally, Zumbach, Schmitt, Starkloff, Sarti and Reimannpresent a simulation-based approach to support life science education.Patterns of using system dynamics models and agent based models to understand a complexenvironmental system – a comparisonKate Thompson, University of Sydney, AustraliaPeter Reimann, University of Sydney, AustraliaIn this research, we have compared the use of two types of simulation models as a way for schoolstudents to learn about a complex environmental system. In an experimental setting, year 10students were given either a system dynamics model (SDM), an agent based model (ABM).Analysis of the screen captures taken from a selection of the computers in the pilot study revealeddistinct differences in the way that the models were interrogated. By analysing this data in terms ofthe framework outlined in Levy & Wilensky (2005) we were able to classify our students’strategies and suggest additional observations that will allow us to further classify patterns and– 596 –