The Use of Computers in Science Education

Rationale

I will begin this paper with the National Science Teachers Association position statement: “Just as computers play a central role in developing and applying scientific knowledge, they can also facilitate learning of science.” The use of computers has undoubtedly made learning easier and more accessible. It is an essential classroom tool for knowledge acquisition and research. It offers students a very important resource for learning science concepts through the use of graphics, simulations, data manipulation, which would be cumbersome to handle using traditional teaching tools. Computers make doing field-work easier because it allows students to actively gather and analyze data quickly while still out in the field.

Another reason for the interest in computer assisted science classes is the numerous reports, where the evidence is overwhelming that science education in the United States is on the decline. Here are the facts:

	U.S. 10 year olds are about average in science achievement compared with their peers from other industrialized countries. However, by the time these same students get to high school they rank 14th among students from 17 countries. Please follow link to see more findings. It is imperative therefore that every possible strategy be employed to teach science.
	Research data supports the efficacy of the use of computers in science education. The following link summarizes a few of these studies.

Research Work that Support Use of Computers in Science Education

	Computers provide opportunities for students to explore concepts and models that are not readily accessible in the laboratory. Here is an example of the Virtual Frog Project sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy and done at Lawrence B. National Lab.
	Computers have also been found to improve students attitude to science. (Hounshell & Hill, 1989)

How Much Computer is too much in the classroom?

The NSTA in its position statement emphasized that "computers should enhance, but not replace essential "hands-on" laboratory activities." Studies have shown that excessive use of computers by students is counter productive. A study done German Researchers led by Ludger Woessmann on 175,000 15-year old in 31 countries reveals that students who used computers several times in a week at school saw a decline in their academic performance, and the performance of students who have more than one computer at home suffered significantly.

Some studies, however, find computer aided instruction to be of limited value in science applications, especially when the control group is given equivalent non-computer support. Wainwright (1989).

Conclusion:

There is a lot to gain in using computers in science instruction. Student learning will be enhanced, student attitudes toward science will improve, and we stand a good chance of increasing our future science and engineering enrolments at the Universities. The challenge is training teachers, especially those who do not have backgrounds in computers to use computers as much as needed to enhance student learning

References

Daniel E. Storgryn (1988, January). Computers in the Education of Science Students. Journal of College Teaching, 18(5), 334-337

Editorial (1990). What's Wrong with Science Education & How Do We Fix It? The American Biology Teacher, 52(6), 330-331

Inci Morgil, Ozge Oskay, Secil Arda (2003). Traditional and Computer-assisited learning in teaching acids and bases. HacettepeUniversity, Turkey.

Jean Graef (1984) Teaching science with computers. Physics Teacher, 22(7), 430-436

Moore, C.J., & Huber, R. (2001). Internet Tools for Facillitating Inquiry. CITE journal [online serial] 1(4).

Tamar Levine. Girls in Computer-Supported Science Classrooms: Perceived Classroom Climate and Attitudes Toward the Learning of Science. Journal of Computers in Math and Science Teaching, 5(1), 15-26

Anton E. Lawson(2000). Managing the Inquiry Classroom: Problems and Solutions. The American Biology Teacher, 62(9), 641-647

Meyer, L.S., Schmidt, S., Nozawa F. and Panee, D. (2003), Using demonstration to promote student comprehension in chemistry. Journal of chemical education, 80, 431-435.

http://froggy.lbl.gov/images/virtual/example1.gif

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1206/p11s01-legn.html

http://www.rsc.org/education/cerp/issues/2005_1/traditional.asp