Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Bosseler, Marcia L.
Author's Email Address	mlboss@bellsouth.net
URN	etd-04102005-010140
Title	How can Students use the Potential of Technology and the Internet in an Elementary Science Club as the Conduit for Conducting Scientific Inquiry?
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Middle and Secondary Education, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Penny J. Gilmer Committee Chair David F. Foulk Committee Member Nancy T. Davis Committee Member Paul H. Ruscher Committee Member
Keywords	Internet Science Education Elementary Science Club Inquiry Scientific Inquiry 5 E’s Model Interpretive Research Quality Criteria Cultural Historical Activity Theory Qualitative Case Studies Constructivism Action Research Technology
Date of Defense	2005-03-03
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The principles underlying this qualitative study were to use technology as a resource to provide new opportunities for students to engage in the process of learning science through inquiry, and to engage in action research on my teaching. The setting was a science club for fourth and fifth graders in a summer school program. As a teacher and mutual stakeholder, I guided my students with my pedagogical content knowledge through interdisciplinary patterns of collaborative inquiry. Set in a socially constructivist environment, this action research became the catalyst for my professional growth and fostered the growth of the learning community. My goals were to engage learners in the construction of their own understanding of science, technology, and the world in which they live. To ensure that students experienced scientific inquiry, conflicting pedagogies between the established school curriculum and my own constructivist methodology prevailed throughout the study. Through socially constructed partnerships, stakeholder club members helped define the process of learning. Product-based simulations and strategies for scaffolding higher-level learning elicited inquiry-oriented and problem-solving skills using the Internet, thereby, enriching the curriculum while teaching students to synthesize information they found on the Internet and make a step towards becoming lifelong learners.
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