"A good day to see a bobcat": Elementary students' online journal entries during a structured observation visit to a wildlife center

Authors

  • Michelle M. Kazmer Florida State University
  • Nicole D. Alemanne University of Rhode Island
  • Anne Mendenhall Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
  • Paul F. Marty Florida State University
  • Sherry A. Southerland Florida State University
  • Victor Sampson The University of Texas at Austin
  • Ian Douglas Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
  • Amanda Clark Chipola College
  • Jennifer Schellinger Florida State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v21i4.6152

Keywords:

digital journaling, collaboration, scientific inquiry, field trips, scaffolding, educational technology, curriculum

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a qualitative analysis of electronic journal entries created by elementary school students during field trips to a nature center. The field trips were part of the Habitat Tracker project (http://tracker.cci.fsu.edu/) designed to help elementary students learn about scientific practices. The Habitat Tracker team developed a mobile app and accompanying Web site integrated with a standards-based science curriculum. The mobile app includes observation worksheets and an electronic journal that guide student inquiry activities during the field trip. This study focuses on how the students’ journal entries demonstrate features of scientific journaling; how students engage in scientific practices when journaling; and how including multiple nature observation sites during a field trip shapes students’ journal writing. Our analysis demonstrates that journal entries reveal underlying strengths and weaknesses of students’ progress in scientific inquiry. The analysis indicates persistent effects of scaffolding and how carefully scaffolds’ content and delivery must be designed.

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Published

2016-03-18

How to Cite

Kazmer, M. M., Alemanne, N. D., Mendenhall, A., Marty, P. F., Southerland, S. A., Sampson, V., … Schellinger, J. (2016). "A good day to see a bobcat": Elementary students’ online journal entries during a structured observation visit to a wildlife center. First Monday, 21(4). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v21i4.6152