Ninth-Grade Students’ Collaborative Modelling of Biomagnification Through MySystem

Abstract

The study explored ninth-grade students' collaborative modelling of biomagnification through a modelling software named MySystem. Participants included forty-two students at a public junior high school in southern Taiwan. Data were collected through the group conversations during the modelling processes and system models of biomagnification the students collaboratively constructed. We used qualitative methods to analyze the data. The results revealed four types of students’ collaborative modelling strategies (questioning, confirming, doubting and correcting) that mediated three facets of learning (meta-monitoring, concept clarification, and visualization) while the students were collaboratively constructing computer models. Furthermore, we reflected on future curriculum improvements to facilitate students’ collaborative learning through a computer modelling tool.