I-Corps L: Pivot Interactives

University Of Wisconsin-River Falls, River Falls WI

Investigators

Abstract

The traditional opportunity for students to hone their science skills is in the laboratory. Unfortunately many lab activities are formulaic and don't actually prepare students for the open-ended investigative endeavors that we typically associate with the practice of science. Perhaps an even larger limitation of the traditional laboratory is that student access to the physical apparatus is often restricted to brief lab periods. That means that students' learning of critical science skills is also restricted. Another way for students to observe phenomena, make measurements and collect and analyze data is using Direct Measurement Videos (DMVs). DMVs are short high-quality videos that show an interesting event. Students are able to analyze the DMV using provided online tools (rulers, protractors, stopwatches, et cetera). Some of the DMVs are published as single videos, but others are published as an interconnected web or matrix of videos that the user can navigate using an integrated console. This gives the user a sense that they are actually controlling what happens in the video. This innovative breakthrough creates a complex multidimensional environment students can authentically explore, allowing them to go through the process of real investigative science while benefiting from the advantages that an online resource provides. This project will benefit society because it provides science students a way to engage in the authentic practice of science: carefully observing an interesting real-world event, coming up with a scientific question about the event, designing an experiment to answer that question, collecting and analyzing data, and reaching a conclusion. The classroom-ready activities produced by this project will bring best-practices pedagogy to science students in all environments, including large and underfunded classrooms, flipped and online courses, home schools, and institutions with inexperienced or time-crunched instructors. This project has excellent prospects for significantly advancing knowledge for the following reasons: 1) it solves an important problem for teachers, that is, how to practically teach the science process skills that are such critical keys for robust student learning; 2) the approach has been proven effective; 3) the team is very well qualified for this endeavor; and 4) the project has a track record of success.