7-15-03
NEW SOFTWARE MAKES SCIENTIFIC
PROCESS MORE RELEVANT FOR STUDENTS
Scientific inquiry begins to lose its attractiveness somewhere around junior high, when teachers introduce vocabulary words like hypothesis and variable, and when students begin in-depth study of such fascinating topics as rocks, dirt, and seaweed.
But Penn State Erie faculty members Dawn Blasko and Victoria Kazmerski, both associate professors of psychology, believe students don't have to lose their interest or excitement in science. To make their point they created Courseware for Observational Research (COR), an interactive computer program that uses digital video and interactive coding forms to teach some of science's most basic concepts. They recently completed COR Version 2, now ready for classroom testing.
"COR is a great way to teach basic science," said Blasko. "Systematic observation is used by nearly every scientific discipline, and learning observation skills by watching people and animals is more interesting to students than observing rocks and plants."
Blasko and Kazmerski originally developed COR Version 1 in 1997 to teach students in their research methods class how to systematically record observations of behavior. With support from a Penn State faculty research grant, they developed a program with digital video clips and sample check sheets to allow students to practice their observation techniques. In Version 2 they have included case study and laboratory modules that allowed students to practice their skills with varying degrees of assistance. Blasko said that as far as she knows, this is the first time interactive digital video has been used to teach observational skills.
As they shared their work with colleagues, Blasko and Kazmerski were surprised by the demand for the program in a wide variety of disciplines and age groups. In addition to psychology, teachers in child development, medicine, animal behavior, education, and social work have used the program for students from eighth grade through college level. The original version of COR has been distributed to thirty-three colleges and universities including classes in Europe, South America, and Australia.
COR presents examples of animal and human behavior and, through interactive multimedia software, illustrates three behavioral coding techniques: frequency, duration, and interval coding. The examples stress the importance of precise operational definitions, and students' responses can be used to demonstrate the importance of interrater reliability.
Research studies by Blasko and Kazmerski demonstrate COR's effectiveness since its beginning. When compared to students taught by traditional methods, COR-instructed students scored significantly higher in a hands-on laboratory assignment where they were required to design, conduct, and report on their own observational research study. Students using COR demonstrate improved confidence and learning.
Blasko and Kazmerski credit a third member of their team, Instructional Designer Carla Torgerson, with getting COR Version 2 completed.
"We are the content experts," said Blasko, "but the planning and technology involved in developing good educational software requires a skilled instructional designer. We have accomplished more and done it better with Carla Torgerson guiding our development team." Torgerson recently presented the COR Version 2 at the ED-Media: The World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia, and Telecommunications, held June 21-26 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
To learn more about Courseware for Observational Research, go to the COR Web site at www.cor.psu-erie.bd.psu.edu/cor/.
Contact: Loretta Brandon 814-898-6063 (O) e-mail: lzb6@psu.edu