The results were generally favorable for the Jasper students. With respect to problem-solving, the Jasper students were more skilled in identifying problems and breaking them down into smaller components that would lead to solutions. Regarding specific knowledge and skills, the Jasper students outperformed the control students in areas such as decimals, fractions, and calculations of area, perimeter, and volume. The Jasper students also were better in solving three different types of word problems. Results were less positive in the attitude and achievement areas. Although the Jasper students had more positive attitudes toward mathematics at the end of the school year, they expressed no greater desire to study math than the control students. On standardized achievement tests, Jasper students tended to perform better than the others, but the results were not statistically significant. A more recent study( Young, Nastasi, & Braunhardt, 1996) investigated the effects of immersing fifth grade students in Jasper Adventures for three months. The results were equally positive, with the Jasper students outperforming the control students in mathematical and scientific knowledge, higher level problem-solving skills, learning skills, and even creativity.
The CoVis Project
With funding from the National Science Foundation( NSF) in the USA, researchers at Northwestern University( Edelson, Pea, & Gomez, 1996) have been developing the“ CoVis Collaboratory,” a learning environment that combines the objects and tools of constructivism with communication and visualization tools that enable communication and collaboration among learners in a sociocultural context. Working in 40 high school science classrooms, CoVis has three key components: 1. project-based science learning pedagogy, 2. scientific visualization tools for open-ended inquiry, and 3. networked environments for synchronous and asynchronous communication and collaboration.
Projects can be designed in a variety of scientific disciplines( Edelson, 1997). Some of the most interesting involve atmospheric sciences examining issues such as“ global warming.” CoVis is currently undergoing extensive research and evaluation, and early results indicate that students spend their time productively, prefer CoVis activities over traditional science labs, and learn both content and scientific inquiry skills( Gomez & Gordin, 1996). Additional research is focusing on teachers’ roles in the Collaboratory.
Future Needs
Up until now, most research focused on forms of computer-based learning systems has investigated how to use the limited capabilities of the computer to present information and judge learner input( neither of which computers do especially well) while asking learners to memorize information and later recall it on tests( which computers do with far greater speed and accuracy than humans). The cognitive tools and constructivist learning environment approaches described
30