Computer Mediation of Collaborative Science Investigations

A prototype for the use of local area network (LAN) technology in schools was developed for the purpose of creating a microcosm of scientific activity in the classroom. Building on established classroom practices of cooperative learning groups and inquiry activities, Earth Lab developed a special sixth grade earth science curriculum and supporting network software. A year-long formative experiment in a public elementary school provided evidence that the network system helped to increase the amount of small group investigations that teachers organized both in earth science and in other parts of the curriculum. The network also helped to reorganize the group investigations so that groups contributed to a common database made available by the network. It was found that LAN technology can be used to coordinate small group investigations such that students contribute to classwide investigations and that these larger investigations can provide an interpretive framework which can be exploited in class discussions synthesizing the small group contributions.