The progress Portfolio: promoting reflective inquiry in complex investigation environments

Scientific inquiry in complex data-rich environments is a goal of much educational reform, but students require supports to manage the complexity of such investigations. We propose an approach to providing this support by making the processes and products of an investigation into explicit objects for reflection. We describe design research exploring ways to promote reflective inquiry among middle-school and high-school science students. We outline obstacles facing students in conducting investigations and give an overview of the design principles for our inquiry-support software environment, the Progress Portfolio. The specific tools provided by the Progress Portfolio for capturing, annotating, organizing, and presenting data are described in detail. We conclude with a discussion of pilot studies conducted with middle-school and high-school students.