Start date: 1 April 2005
End date: 31 January 2006
Funding programme: Support for e-Research programme
JISC theme(s): e-Research
This project was funded under the Support for eResearch
programme. In the current context of widespread concern about the
large numbers of children losing interest in science at a relatively early
stage in their school careers, and by implication, opting out of studying
science subjects at ‘A’ level and beyond, our intention is to raise
awareness of the potential of GRID technologies in both educational
research and education practice, to add interest and improve student
motivation. It is our contention that GRID technologies could make
up-to-date and relevant scientific information more immediately accessible
to teachers and students, and further, open up exciting opportunities for
widescale collaboration on scientific topics, giving children a more global
perspective by enabling them to share and compare their results.
Aims and Objectives
The aims of this review are fourfold: to discuss and define eScience in the
context of education; to review some of the relevant literature in
psychology, education and computer science; to present some UK case studies
of eScience in education; and finally, to present some possible benefits
and limitations of eScience in schools.
The specific objectives are to:
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Examine contrasting models of science education
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Consider the theories of constructivism, social constructivism and
reflective practice in respect of science learning
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Discuss and provide for discussion a definition of eScience in the
context of education
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Briefly review some international educational science, and eScience
projects
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Present some case studies of UK eScience projects
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Raise issues of scaling up to a full scale eScience in education project,
for schools, communities and publics
Project Methodology
Professor John Taylor, the Director General of the UK Research Councils, defined eScience thus:
‘science increasingly done through distributed global collaborations
enabled by the internet, using very large data collections, terascale
computing resources and high performance visualisation’. A key focus
was on thinking about what this means in the context of education. In
arriving at a proposed definition, the review examined a
range of theoretical standpoints and debates, and drew upon both work at
the University of Bath and that
of other researchers in the field. A comprehensive review of UK and
International science education projects that involve an element of IT was
then undertaken. A range of projects, some of which fit more or less
exactly within the proposed definition, and others which do not, but
nevertheless have interesting implications for the field were
included.
Deliverables
The main project deliverable is a review report, aimed not only at academic
researchers and research funders, but also other interested parties such as
teachers and other science educators both inside and outside of the school
sector, parents, students, educational managers and policy makers, and
members of the public who have an interest in science education and public
engagement in science, and their relationship with science practice. Work
undertaken for this project will feed into further research that the
authors will carry out in partnership with other academic, commercial and
public service institutions.
This study is associated with the
eScience in Education initiative.