Adapting and Customizing Web-based Inquiry Science Environments to Promote Taiwanese Students’ Learning of Science

Abstract

Features of the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) such as interactive dynamic visualizations, science inquiry, and online critiquing address educational reform efforts. However, how such reform-based learning environment developed in the US addresses the needs of teachers and students in Taiwan requires investigations. In this chapter, we reviewed research on the customizations and implementations of WISE units in Taiwan to discuss issues including: teacher adaptation from teacher-centered to inquiry-based instruction, the impact of the WISE units on students’ learning of science, different instructional approaches to the use of the WISE units and their effects, and the relationship between students’ experiences of learning with WISE units and their ability to formulate scientific explanations. We reflected on the issue of the role of the WISE units as replacement for or as supplementary to the conventional textbook instruction. We also discussed the remaining issues for future research.