"People may be interested in a lot of things if they are introduced to them..like a piece of ice can break a metal bar"

Why isn't science more inviting? More motivating? More exciting? Can ICT help?

The ICT and the Future of Science Education seminar looked forward in a reasoned and cautious way, identifying problems and opportunities in applying ICT to support the development of science education five years into the future. We explored, among others, the issues of assessing science, professional development of teachers, experimental work, modelling and simulation.

Participants - including scientists, teachers, science educators, science communicators, university researchers, ICT specialists, publishers and sponsors of development of science education - acknowledged problem areas: an overcrowded science curriculum, too much emphasis on facts, the limitations on teacher's scope for action imposed by current assessment patterns, a current under-provision of resources and the need for teachers to have more experience in the use of ICT. Nevertheless we identified many interesting future directions and none of the problems were insurmountable in attendees' opinions.


The potential of ICT for science education

The seminar gave rise to the idea that ICT can be use to raise the level of thinking in science education. Key phrases emerging from the discussions were 'hard fun' and 'thinking harder'. There was a clear notion that using ICT in science could allow exciting activities to emerge, and although these were potentially playful in nature, they involved high order thinking skills: identifying patterns, inducting rules, testing hypotheses, analysing things from multiple perspectives, acting empathically and communicating in multi-modal ways.

Looking across all the separate contributions, it is possible to see four particular threads:

1. The use of broadband media to bring the reality of science and the context in which science is happening into learning science and extend the range of exploratory activity in science by providing access to scientific information in novel ways
2. To extend the range of exploratory science through the use of simulations
3. To develop computer supported modelling as a means of engaging with science
4. To use managed learning environments to support science teaching.

1. Broadband, science and context

There are a number of ways that broadband technology could place science in context. The use of live video links is one significant possibility. This includes ideas like bringing scientists into classrooms through video conferencing, linking into major scientific explorations like the Jason Project (which linked schools to deep water submersibles) and linking Science Discovery Centres to schools. Another suggestion was the creative use of web-cams and remote data logging to support wide-ranging environmental study.

The use of bandwidth to provide information-on-demand and rapid publication techniques provides other opportunities. Manageable online libraries of scientific material are possible. These libraries can contain audio-visual material, video and animations illustrating scientific phenomena and can give dynamic examples of the application of science in context (including science careers) as well as provide up-to-date access to scientific research for scientists, teachers and students.

2. Simulation

Computer simulation can clearly extend the scope of the experience of science. It can provide students with access to interact with phenomena that can be difficult in the school laboratory. These are activities that:

- Involve expensive apparatus or materials (eg changing the thermal insulation in a house)
- Involve difficult apparatus
- Involve some danger (high voltages, toxic chemicals, radiation etc)
- Involve observations that would be over a long timescale (population reproduction etc)
- Involve observations over very short unobservable time scales

Other simulations are specifically designed to be more explanatory because there are levels of abstraction involved that would be otherwise unavailable. Often this is supported by animation. It is impossible to undertake the 'design of an animal' to test a hypothesis about homeostasis other than as a simulation. In real life one cannot see the particles emitted from a radioactive source that are detected by a Geiger-Counter. A simulation of a ripple tank can allow the teacher to discuss observations with students in a controlled and predictable way.

Simulations can be embedded in a format that make them a game, which can add to the engagement with the activity.

Broadband has real potential to develop simulations that enrich the experience. Not only can the visual component of the simulation be enhanced, but simulations can be embedded in rich contextual information - exploring the effects of insulation and global warming can provide a genuine video footage of climatic systems resulting from particular inputs to the model.

A criticism of simulation is that "science is messy - simulations tend to be tidy". Real science has to overcome a lot of issues to ensure high quality data. Sometimes there are advantages in an abstraction of an experiment that can be performed in a simulated environment by excluding various factors that might otherwise interfere. This abstraction allows student and teacher to focus on the salient features.

However there is also a clear need to develop simulations which reflect the real difficulties that scientists encounter, and give the possibility of addressing these difficulties. A complete simulation environment might provide a richer vision of science as a contested and contestable activity, needing referencing to the work of other scientists and proper attention to explaining and defending the outcomes and methods to a variety of audiences. Simulations should address ethical issues and the fact that other scientific perspectives might exist.

3. Modelling

Developing models of the phenomena is a significant activity in science. Increasingly the methodologies of science are involved in the development of computer models of phenomena (from the whole universe to the behaviour of a Quark). This is not reflected in most science teaching practice.

There are many reasons for this, not least that it is not demanded by any examination system. Modelling does require considerable skills, and much modelling requires an appreciation of quite sophisticated mathematical thinking that is not reflected in the mathematics curriculum.

Some modelling environments require knowledge of specific programming techniques. On the other hand, the value of developing systems which provide learners the opportunity to conjecture and test their conjectures against empirical evidence is seen as a significant part of what science is all about.

The Science Year/Association of Science Education (ASE) CD-Rom 2 provides a unique generic modelling tool, developed just for the ASE's contribution to Science Year. Whatever the concept, pupils will develop their understanding as they design their own model to demonstrate the interplay between relevant variables. The availability of such a tool will clearly help us understand the development of future tools to conjecture about phenomena scientifically.

4. Managed Learning Environments (MLE)

Although a concept more at home in higher education, there was some discussion of MLEs. Such systems provide a useful portal for students to access the appropriate learning materials independently. Teachers have an automated record of student activity and the systems have the potential to cut down the mechanical processes of record keeping.

One group discussed the experience of those developing the Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology website so that it can be sufficiently flexible to provide products and services which work around the world. QCA are being flexible and innovative.

Some participants felt schools need ownership and reliability so it will be school network-based rather than available on the internet. School budgets are such that purchase is a more popular option than subscription, because they cannot be sure that they could afford it in succeeding years. Such developments also need to be informed about interoperability between systems (Physicists using one system, Chemists using another. there is need for some standard).


A view from the past and present

The seminar also had a number of inputs on the past and present uses of ICT in science education. The present uses featured simulations of radiation from NewMedia, wave ripple tanks from Immersive Education and tools for creating one's own simulations in WWW browsers from MediaStream.

Jonathon Briggs (theOtherMedia) reminded us of some things that were attempted in the past. In many cases they were good ideas, which were either technically or educationally too early to be fully realised, or the resources simply were unavailable.

He commented on things that did and didn't work:

What doesn't work?

- Waiting for the next big thing that will solve all the problems
- Teaching computer languages to teach anything. A belief that there was some abstract transferable skill that could be learned by programming languages that could help in learning Latin eg learning Prolog
- Working as a commercial person without looking at what teachers and learners are really like. The stuff produced without reference to teachers and learners is usually useless
- Integrated Learning Systems - as long as we are aware that there are limitations to these environments, we'll be OK
- 'Communities' - previously there was a prevalent idea that putting up a forum on a website would 'create' community. However, communities require massive amount of work/energy
- Forced communities - being told that the only way of participating/learning is through a community
- Artificial Intelligence - thinking that if we can use this to find out the bits people don't know and create things to fill in these gaps
- Things people have to pay for.

What does work?

- Standards and protocols - eg we have learnt from the world wide web that there can be a lingua franca
- Open Source and decentralisation - the free flow of ideas
- Incremental experimentation - try things out, show them off, apply somewhere else
- Well-run communities - however we know very little about supporting communities of learners in online situations
- E=mail and SMS - great - but, have to wade through inappropriate material
- Appropriate Visualisation - 'little gorgeous things' that can let you show something - lots of little stuff around - we need to get back to that
- Modelling tools.

John Wardle (Sheffield Hallam University) shared some of his experiences in developing ICT with science teachers. Working with approximately 8,000 teachers as part of the NOF programme has really excited and interested him. He suggested the need to think about how to get teachers to use ICT and use it effectively. He suggested teachers would be motivated by:

- Raising achievement - more effective teaching
- Increasing pupil motivation - engagement
- Developing creativity and autonomy

He pointed to two features that he felt ICT was currently promoting:

Attention

Use ICT to start off a lesson and spark ideas from pupils and get motivation and attention, and stimulate other ideas. This would last only 45 seconds perhaps.

Process

Science education is about children being able to make sense of the world, in many different ways, to collect data and be able to make sense of it and tell a story about the world. It might be about doing an experiment and needing to call on some other tools but are we making effective use of it in the classroom? Not all 30,000 science teachers in the country are using/making the most of this.


Conclusion

The seminar provided a lot of agenda items for Futurelab to consider. It was very illuminating and indicated a number of potential directions. Broadband media, simulations and games and modelling tools were recognized as important elements in an ICT supported science-teaching practice. A clear instruction is to make these things as accurate, realistic, exciting and relevant as possible.


This seminar was part of a series organised for Science Year: www.scienceyear.com