Abstract
This study investigated high school students’ conceptions of technology-assisted science learning via drawing analysis, and explored how students with different degrees of computer experience and science learning self-efficacy may show different conceptions via their drawings. The participants included 335 senior high school students in Taiwan (179 male and 156 female). All of them were asked by guiding questions to make two drawings to represent their conceptions of technology-assisted science learning in actual and ideal contexts, respectively. Their background information including computer experience and science learning self-efficacy were obtained using self-reported questionnaires. Through drawing analysis, seven categories of conceptions of technology-assisted science learning were identified, including types of technology, location of learning, types of learning activities, content of learning, participants of learning activities, affordance of learning technology, and effects of learning technology. The results further revealed that the students’ conceptions of actual and ideal technology-assisted science learning significantly differed in some sub-categories of all categories except the category of participants of learning activities. Moreover, students’ computer experience and science learning self-efficacy may link to different conceptions of technology-assisted science learning. Future research and directions are also discussed.
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Appendix
Appendix
The Drawing Assessment
(Original in Chinese, translated in English).
What concepts or ideas do you think are included in the area of “technology-assisted science learning”? In other words, what do you think about “technology-assisted science learning”? How can we use technology (for example, computers, the Internet, cellphones or tablet computers, etc.) to assist science learning? Please respond to the following two questions.
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1.
According to your past experience, what is technology-assisted science learning? In other words, how has technology (ex: computers, the Internet, cellphones or tablet computers, etc.) been used to assist science learning in your past experience? Please use text and pictures, draw all concepts or ideas that you think are “technology-assisted science learning” in the blank area below (it could be a tree diagram, a network diagram, or any free-form drawing).
[Blank space for participants to construct their drawing]
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2.
According to what you think would be the ideal situation, what do you think would be ideal technology-assisted science learning? In other words, how can technology best be used to assist science learning, without considering the current limitations and cost? Please use text and pictures, draw all concepts or ideas that you think are “technology-assisted science learning” in the blank area below (it could be a tree diagram, a network diagram, or any free-form drawing).
[Blank space for participants to construct their drawing]
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Yeh, HY., Tsai, YH., Tsai, CC. et al. Investigating Students’ Conceptions of Technology-Assisted Science Learning: a Drawing Analysis. J Sci Educ Technol 28, 329–340 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-019-9769-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-019-9769-1