In Defense of Chi's Ontological Incompatibility Hypothesis

James D. Slotta

Journal of the Learning Sciences Vol. 20, No. 1 (2011) pp. 151–162

This article responds to an article by A. Gupta, D. Hammer, and E. F. Redish (2010) that asserts that M. T. H. Chi's (1992, 2005) hypothesis of an "ontological commitment" in conceptual development is fundamentally flawed. In this article, I argue...

The Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE): Connecting to the World

Jeff Morrow; James D. Slotta

WebNet World Conference on the WWW and Internet 1999 (1999) p. 1736

We will present an ambitious extension of the WISE Project in which we adapt the WISE technology and curriculum for use in school systems around the world. Educators from several nations have expressed an interest in having their students,...

Topics: Curriculum, Professional Development, Schools, Collaboration

Immersive Simulations for Smart Classrooms: Exploring Evolutionary Concepts in Secondary Science

Michelle Lui; James D. Slotta

Technology, Pedagogy and Education Vol. 23, No. 1 (2014) pp. 57–80

This article presents the design of an immersive simulation and inquiry activity for technology-enhanced classrooms. Using a co-design method, researchers worked with a high school biology teacher to create a rainforest simulation, distributed...

Supporting Communities of Learners in the Elementary Classroom: The Common Knowledge Learning Environment

Cresencia Fong; James D. Slotta

Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences Vol. 46, No. 4 (2018) pp. 533–561

We report on a multi-year design study of a technology environment called Common Knowledge (CK), designed to support learning communities in K-12 classrooms. Students represent their ideas in the form of notes, add their ideas to a collective...

High-tech Learning Environments for Low-tech Classrooms

Jeff Morrow; James D. Slotta

EdMedia + Innovate Learning 1999 (1999) pp. 1832–1833

As increasing numbers of classrooms throughout the United States and the world become Internet-ready, educational content providers must be aware of the particular technological issues faced in these classrooms. In many cases, the result of recent ...

Topics: Internet, Graphics, Classrooms, Middle School Education

Helping Students Understand Challenging Topics in Science through Ontology Training

James D. Slotta; Michelene T. H. Chi

Cognition and Instruction Vol. 24, No. 2 (2006) pp. 261–289

Chi (2005) proposed that students experience difficulty in learning about physics concepts such as light, heat, or electric current because they attribute to these concepts an inappropriate ontological status of material substances rather than the...

WISE Science

Marcia C. Linn; James D. Slotta

Educational Leadership Vol. 58, No. 2 (2000) pp. 29–32

Groups of teachers and schools can bridge the theory-practice gap by using the Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) project library. The WISE learning environment promotes lifelong learning along with language and technology literacy by...

Internal and external scripts in computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning

Ingo Kollar; Frank Fischer; James D. Slotta

Learning and Instruction Vol. 17, No. 6 (December 2007) pp. 708–721

We investigated how differently structured external scripts interact with learners' internal scripts with respect to individual knowledge acquisition in a Web-based collaborative inquiry learning environment. Ninety students from two secondary...

Language: English

Design of Web-based Learning Environments: Integrating curriculum, technology, and professional development approaches

James D. Slotta; Marcia C. Linn; Philip Bell

EdMedia + Innovate Learning 1999 (1999) pp. 1860–1863

An increasing number of learning environments are successfully engaging students in authentic inquiry while also promoting meaningful learning about central concepts in a discipline. These efforts are characterized by some common characteristics: ...

Topics: Computers, Teachers, Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Professional Development

Organizing Principals for Science Education Partnerships: Case Studies of Students' Learning about "Rats in Space" and "Deformed Frogs."

Marcia C. Linn; Linda Shear; Philip Bell; James D. Slotta

Educational Technology Research and Development Vol. 47, No. 2 (1999) pp. 61–84

Describes how science education partnerships composed of educational researchers, technologists, classroom teachers, natural scientists, and pedagogy experts can create effective instructional innovations using Internet technologies. Illustrates how ...

WISE Design for Knowledge Integration

Marcia C. Linn; Douglas Clark; James D. Slotta

Science Education Vol. 87, No. 4 (2003) pp. 517–38

Examines the implementation of Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE), which can incorporate modeling tools and hand-held devices. Describes WISE design team practices, features of the WISE learning environment, and patterns of feature use in...