BUCKLEY, DONALD* AND DAVID KRAMER. Department of Biological Sciences, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT 06410 and Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University at Mansfield, Mansfield, OH 44906-1547. - Symposium Abstract: Using Educational Technology to Foster Learning Centered Pedagogies.
During the past decade, concerns about low levels of science literacy
have led to serious soul-searching about the effectiveness of science
education in American colleges and universities. In its recent
"Shaping the Future" call to arms, the National Science
Foundation has emphasized the need to strengthen the quality of
science education by fostering learning-centered and
inquiry-orientated approaches to teaching. Educational technology has
been touted as a tool that can improve the quality of teaching, but it
could be argued that this claim is paradigm-dependent. For example,
some technologies may improve presentations, but they do not
necessarily increase the likelihood that a student has been moved from
passive to active learning. This symposium will explore uses of
educational technology that are intended to support learning-centered
and inquiry-oriented pedagogies, especially those applications that
encourage student experience in the process of science.
Key words: case, educational technology, inquiry, learning, research simulation, web