Development of Predict-Test-Revise Modeling Abilities via a self-study Learning Environment

Abstract

In addition to developing students’ content knowledge, an important goal of science instruction is to improve students’ ability of modeling, such as, the ability to create and use simplified representations to describe and explain phenomena, and predict outcomes of new phenomena. It has been shown that students face difficulty in developing these abilities unless they are explicitly addressed in the curriculum. ICT-based solutions to this problem have been developed, such as the WISE and MARS, have mostly been implemented at the middle and high school levels and the teacher facilitates the process. In this paper we describe the design of LEMA, which addresses modeling abilities in college level science topics. LEMA is a self-regulated learning environment in which students are given various activities and customized formative assessment to achieve the above goals. We tested the effectiveness of LEMA through a two-group post-test controlled experiment. Students who learnt with LEMA performed significantly better on abilities of prediction, testing and revision of models. We also identified student perceptions of which features of LEMA helped them develop these abilities.