Abstract
This paper focuses on describing the effects of scaffolding on the student teachers’ learning process. The scaffolding is based on using information and communication technology in the PROFILES Three Stage Model; Scenario, Inquiry and Decision-making Stages. Six hours of medicine education intervention is conducted as a part of the student teachers’ program in biology education. The scaffolded group is encouraged to work with the case and presentation templates, online, in Google Sites; the unscaffolded group work only with Word documents. During the Scenario Phase, student teachers discuss the important symptoms of flu, its prevention, and sources from which to find reliable information. In the Inquiry Phase, in the light of online materials and resources, student teachers recall and elaborate on these symptoms. In the Decision-making Phase, student teachers conclude their investigation by making a presentation with suggestions for treatment, and justify it with respect to reliable sources. The learning design is mainly based on the existing Internet site (Teaching children about the proper use of medicines). After their presentations, students reflect on questions that arise and discuss the subject. Results show that both groups discuss the reliability of different websites in the same way. However, the scaffolded group is quite effective in searching for information for their presentation, whereas the unscaffolded group has difficulties in finding relevant information. This suggests that by structuring the activity with Google Sites and presentation templates, scaffolding helps student teachers to work intensively and to prepare their presentations. Presentation modelling seems to be beneficial to the students’ sense making process during the investigation, and it also supports them in coping with the collaborative case-based reasoning process.
Highlights
Research shows that when properly scaffolded, the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and collaboration have positive effects on students’ learning (e.g. Demetriadis, Papadopoulos, Stamelos, & Fischer, 2008; Kukkonen, Kärkkäinen, Dillon, & Keinonen, 2013; Kukkonen, Kärkkäinen, Valtonen, & Keinonen, 2011; Quintana et al, 2004)
The PROFILES Three Stage Model is applied to the design of an integrated medicine education learning environment ‘Flu’ that aims to emphasise the development of critical thinking
One group of student teachers, whose studies related to medicine education, was scaffolded with a structured environment, while another group, undertaking the same studies, was not scaffolded
Summary
Research shows that when properly scaffolded, the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and collaboration have positive effects on students’ learning (e.g. Demetriadis, Papadopoulos, Stamelos, & Fischer, 2008; Kukkonen, Kärkkäinen, Dillon, & Keinonen, 2013; Kukkonen, Kärkkäinen, Valtonen, & Keinonen, 2011; Quintana et al, 2004). One of the approaches to develop these skills is via the PROFILES Three Stage Model (e.g. Bolte, Streller, Holbrook, Rannikmäe, Hofstein, Mamlok Naaman, & Rauch, 2012) This aims to arouse students’ intrinsic motivation through a student-familiar, socio-scientific context (the Scenario Stage), to offer a meaningful inquiry-based learning environment (the Inquiry Stage), and to use science learning in deciding on socio-scientific issues (the Decision-making Stage). The medicine education learning environment utilizes the Three Stage Model guidelines by: 1) awakening interest and critical thinking through a scenario, related to flu, 2) modelling scientific inquiries and developing problem solving skills, and 3) promoting decision making, applying the knowledge gained through inquiries, based on the Internet site ‘Teaching children about the proper use of medicines.’. The medicine education learning environment utilizes the Three Stage Model guidelines by: 1) awakening interest and critical thinking through a scenario, related to flu, 2) modelling scientific inquiries and developing problem solving skills, and 3) promoting decision making, applying the knowledge gained through inquiries, based on the Internet site ‘Teaching children about the proper use of medicines.’ The learning process is scaffolded through structuring as our interest is to discover what effects the scaffolding has on the learning process
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