Jaeger Allison J, Wiley Jennifer, Moher Thomas
Weiss Hall, Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122 USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison Street M/C 285, Chicago, IL 60607 USA.
Cogn Res Princ Implic. 2016;1(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s41235-016-0026-3. Epub 2016 Dec 7.
Although desktop simulations can be useful in representing scientific phenomena during inquiry activities, they do not allow students to embody or contextualize the spatial aspects of those phenomena. One learning technology that does attempt to combine embodiment and grounded experience to support learning in science is Embedded Phenomena. The objective of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of a classroom-based Embedded Phenomena activity for learning in geoscience, and to investigate whether individual differences in spatial skills had an impact on the effectiveness. The simulated scientific phenomenon was earthquakes, and 44 fifth grade (10-year old) students learned from a unit containing both content instruction and simulations. In the embedded condition, 15 earthquake events were simulated within the classroom space and students enacted the computation of epicenters with strings and their bodies. Students in the non-embedded condition received the same content instruction and did the same activities, but the epicenter computations were done with maps instead of with students' bodies. Students in the embedded condition showed greater learning gains overall. Further, the Embedded Phenomena activity attenuated the effect of individual differences in spatial skills on learning in science such that low spatial individuals performed as well as high spatial individuals in the embedded condition.
虽然桌面模拟在探究活动中呈现科学现象时可能有用，但它们无法让学生体现或情境化这些现象的空间方面。一种确实试图将体现和基于情境的体验相结合以支持科学学习的学习技术是“嵌入式现象”。本研究的目的是调查基于课堂的“嵌入式现象”活动对地球科学学习的有效性，并调查空间技能的个体差异是否会对有效性产生影响。模拟的科学现象是地震，44名五年级（10岁）学生学习了一个包含内容教学和模拟的单元。在嵌入式条件下，在教室空间内模拟了15次地震事件，学生用绳子和身体进行震中计算。非嵌入式条件下的学生接受相同的内容教学并进行相同的活动，但震中计算是用地图而不是学生的身体来完成。嵌入式条件下的学生总体上表现出更大的学习收获。此外，“嵌入式现象”活动减弱了空间技能个体差异对科学学习的影响，使得在嵌入式条件下，空间能力低的个体与空间能力高的个体表现相当。
