Critters in Your Classroom Walls: Visualizations for Collective Investigations and Model Construction in Population Ecology

• In Event: 28.092 - Sheraton Roundtable Two - Osgoode Ballroom
  In Roundtable Session: 28.092-2 - Aspects of STEM Engagement

Abstract

This study explores the design of publicly displayed visualizations for collective construction of food web models. Through two iterations of a design-based research study, 85 middle school students participated in inquiry activities as a classroom community, where students contributed claims about species relationships from simulated ecosystems, known as WallCology. The food web visualization represents the emergent community knowledge and is the focus of teacher-led whole-class discussions. In Year 1, the visualization and knowledge base of claims were independent technologies. In Year 2 the visualization was automatically constructed from the database of claims. We examine the design implications of the visualizations for supporting learning, small group work and whole-class discussions.

Authors

• Michelle Lui, University of Toronto

• Tom Moher, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Brenda A. Lopez Silva, University of Illinois at Chicago