Justifying imagery: Multimedia support for learning through explanation

Photographs and video play an important role in classroom learning, serving to illustrate many complex phenomena. However, these images are too often used as "visual aids"--simple explanations of concepts that do not require students to think deeply about the meanings implicit in the imagery. This paper describes an approach to using photographs and video as a primary data source for inquiry learning. We describe a framework for students to collaborate around photographs and video, collaboration that leads to inquiry and the development of explanatory models. We also describe two of our learning environments to illustrate how students can begin to develop predictive theories from image data.

[1]  M. Linn,et al.  How do students' views of science influence knowledge integration? , 1991 .

[2]  Andee Rubin,et al.  Cartwheeling through CamMotion , 1996, CACM.

[3]  Daniel L. Schwartz,et al.  Doing with Understanding: Lessons from Research on Problem- and Project-Based Learning , 1998 .

[4]  Paul J. Germann,et al.  Analysis of nine high school biology laboratory manuals: Promoting scientific inquiry , 1996 .

[5]  G. Schaller.  The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations , 1972 .

[6]  Susan Carey,et al.  `An experiment is when you try it and see if it works': a study of grade 7 students' understanding of the construction of scientific knowledge , 1989 .

[7]  Margo Cappo,et al.  Measurement in motion , 1996, CACM.

[8]  Deborah Loewenberg Ball,et al.  Teaching, Multimedia, and Mathematics: Investigations of Real Practice , 2000 .

[9]  Menno-Jan Kraak.  Integrating Multimedia in Geographical Information Systems , 1996, IEEE Multim..

[10]  J. Kelly.  Science for All Americans (A Project 2061 Report on Literacy Goals in Science, Mathematics, and Technology) American Association for the Advancement of Science , 1990 .

[11]  Carol L. Smith,et al.  Understanding models and their use in science: Conceptions of middle and high school students and experts , 1991 .

[12]  J. Stilgoe,et al.  Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places , 1998 .

[13]  Daniel D. Suthers,et al.  Effects of alternate representations of evidential relations on collaborative learning discourse , 1999, CSCL.

[14]  D. Scheel.  Watching for lions in the grass: the usefulness of scanning and its effects during hunts , 1993, Animal Behaviour.

[15]  David Klahr,et al.  Dual Space Search During Scientific Reasoning , 1988, Cogn. Sci..

[16]  Brian K. Smith,et al.  National Geographic unplugged: classroom-centered design of interactive nature films , 1998, CHI.

[17]  Leona Schauble,et al.  Students' Understanding of the Objectives and Procedures of Experimentation in the Science Classroom , 1995 .

[18]  Max Jacobson,et al.  A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction , 1981 .

[19]  S. Wineburg.  Historical Problem Solving: A Study of the Cognitive Processes Used in the Evaluation of Documentary and Pictorial Evidence , 1991 .

[20]  Stellan Ohlsson,et al.  The cognitive skill of theory articulation: A neglected aspect of science education? , 1992 .

[21]  M. Melissa Gross,et al.  Analysis of human movement using digital video , 1998 .

[22]  S. L. Lima,et al.  Behavioral decisions made under the risk of predation: a review and prospectus , 1990 .

[23]  S. L. Lima,et al.  Vigilance while feeding and its relation to the risk of predation , 1987 .

[24]  A. Whitehead.  The aims of education , 1929 .

[25]  Brian J. Reiser,et al.  Making Process Visible: Scaffolding Learning with Reasoning-Congruent Representations , 1992, Intelligent Tutoring Systems.

[26]  Thomas M. Duffy,et al.  Strategic Teaching Framework: Multimedia to Support Teacher Change , 1999 .

[27]  J. Klayman,et al.  Confirmation, Disconfirmation, and Informa-tion in Hypothesis Testing , 1987 .

[28]  Norman G. Lederman.  Students' and teachers' conceptions of the nature of science: A review of the research , 1992 .

[29]  Daniel P. Shepardson,et al.  The inquiry level of junior high activities: Implications to science teaching , 1991 .

[30]  Richard J. Paxton.  A Deafening Silence: History Textbooks and the Students Who Read Them , 1999 .

[31]  Brian K. Smith,et al.  Combining General and Domain-Specific Strategic Support for Biological Inquiry , 1996, Intelligent Tutoring Systems.

[32]  M. A. Britt,et al.  Studying and Using Multiple Documents in History: Effects of Discipline Expertise , 1997 .

[33]  L. Schauble,et al.  Cross-Domain Development of Scientific Reasoning , 1992 .

[34]  C. S. Holling,et al.  Prey capture by the African lion , 1977 .

[35]  Brian K. Smith,et al.  What should a wildebeest say? Interactive nature films for high school classrooms , 1997, MULTIMEDIA '97.

[36]  John D. Bransford,et al.  The ideal problem solver. A guide for improving thinking, learning, and creativity , 1984 .

[37]  Andee Rubin,et al.  Studying motion with KidVid, a data collection and analysis tool for digitized video , 1994, CHI '94.

[38]  J. Roschelle.  Learning by Collaborating: Convergent Conceptual Change , 1992 .

[39]  M. Linn,et al.  Can research on science learning and instruction inform standards for science education? , 1994 .

[40]  Louis M. Gomez,et al.  A collaborative medium for the support of conversational props , 1992, CSCW '92.

[41]  B. White.  ThinkerTools: Causal Models, Conceptual Change, and Science Education , 1993 .