Deconstructing and reconstructing: Transforming primary science learning via a mobilized curriculum

  • Authors:

  • BaoHui Zhang;Chee-Kit Looi;Peter Seow;Gean Chia;Lung-Hsiang Wong;Wenli Chen;Hyo-Jeong So;Elliot Soloway;Cathie Norris

  • Affiliations:

  • Learning Sciences Laboratory, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore;Learning Sciences Laboratory, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore;Learning Sciences Laboratory, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore;Learning Sciences Laboratory, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore;Learning Sciences Laboratory, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore;Learning Sciences Laboratory, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore;Learning Sciences Laboratory, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore;University of Michigan, Department of EECS, College of Engineering, 2260 Hayward, Room 3629, CSE Building University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States;University of North Texas, Department of Learning Technologies, 3940N. Elm, G 150 Denton, Texas 76203-0530, United States

  • Venue:
  • Computers & Education
  • Year:
  • 2010

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

The history of science education reform has been fundamentally centered around science curriculum development and implementation. The advent of mobile technologies has necessitated a re-examination of how students could better learn science through these 21st century tools. Conventional teaching materials may not prepare students to learn the inquiry way and to become self-directed and social learners who could learn ''everywhere and all the time (seamlessly)'' using mobile technologies. This paper is based on our first year of work in our mobile learning research project in transforming primary three science lessons into a ''mobilized'' curriculum for a classroom context in which students routinely use mobile technologies. Using an exemplar fungi topic, we discuss our approach as well as experiences in deconstructing and reconstructing an existing curriculum through a co-design approach with teachers in a Singapore local school. In doing so, we make a contribution to the methodology for developing mobilized science curricula for in-class learning that also extends to out-of-class learning.