AN ON-LINE COLLABORATION: EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET THROUGH SCIENCE AND FANTASY

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IntroductionProject Description ObjectivesProcedure Findings

Conclusions ReferencesTable 1: Attitude Survey Table 2: Scientific Brief

Figure 1: Bar Graphs Depicting Pre- vs. Post-Project Attitudes

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Introduction

Making high school education work in a changing culture necessitates linking learning to life. Because of the rise in the number of problems associated with urban high schools, such as gang activity and difficulties in dealing with increasingly diverse ethnic and linguistic school populations, high school teachers have become aware of the importance of making school relevant to students' lives. Further, they are starting to recognize the need to emphasize an interdisciplinary curriculum organized around questions students consider important, rather than a strictly subject-based curriculum. A number of innovations in high school curricula integrate subject areas to make "...connections between bits of knowledge and skills from different realms, organized around [such] focusing questions..." (Clark & Agne, 1997, p. xv) as

• How does a civilization come into being?
• What does it take to solve a major environmental problem?
• What do I need to know to thrive in a technological society? (Clark & Agne, 1997, p. xv)

Students must link facts and ideas from disciplines in order to answer these questions, as well as use higher-order thinking skills, and apply abstract ideas to real problems in real situations.

In attempting to explore these and other higher order questions, the infusion of computer technology into the classroom can enhance classroom communications and resources. Computer-mediated communication, in particular, can "...virtually bring the world into the classroom, engage students in collaborative processes, enable them to access experts worldwide, and to make each student an active member of the international community." (Schrum & Berenfeld, 1997, p. 28).

The social, as well as academic benefits of using computer-mediated communication are abundant. Social barriers break down, as students from different communities, cultures, and socioeconomic classes collaborate with each other to discover answers to such important questions.

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The Project

A grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1997) to encourage the infusion of technology into the curriculum enabled the collaboration among the School of Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and two high schools in two different districts during the 1997-98 school year. Students from the tenth-grade "Integrated Science" class at West Torrance High School in the Torrance Unified School District, collaborated with eleventh-grade English students at Manual Arts High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District, on an interdisciplinary problem-based project that involved research, inter-school communication via e-mail, creative production and publication on the World Wide Web, as well as social action.

The goal of the project was to involve students and teachers in interdisciplinary teaming and infusing computer technology into the high school curriculum. Technology provided the students with increased motivation, as they researched and wrote for a wide audience (on the Internet), and examined issues of scientific and social import. Teachers used constructivist methods that empowered their students, and provided exemplary models to be used with university credential candidates enrolled in Secondary Interdisciplinary Methods courses and/or Educational Technology courses.

The high school students, from two very socioeconomically and ethnically different schools, collaborated with one another on-line to write and do research, in order to build a home page that provided a forum for information and creative writing about scientific issues of import to humankind.

Manual Arts High School is located in the center of Los Angeles, commonly referred to as the "inner city," and West Torrance High School is located in a suburb adjacent to the city of Los Angeles. Both are considered ethnically diverse, though with different ethnic populations; Manual Arts High School is primarily Latino and Black, and West Torrance, primarily Asian and Caucasian. There is a large gap between the schools with respect to students' socioeconomic backgrounds.

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Objectives

The following were the objectives in the year-long project:

• to increase students' awareness and understanding of the world around them;
• to make students cognizant of the issues arising from the environment and scientific discoveries, as well as their ethical and moral implications;
• to stimulate students to explore possible solutions to moral dilemmas posed by the issues;
• to encourage students to use concepts inherent in real issues to write fiction and poetry;
• to improve students' research and writing skills;
• to motivate students to do further reading of science fiction, poetry, and material concerning the issues;
• to promote inter-school cooperation;
• to bride the gap between socioeconomically and ethnically diverse student populations;
• to involve students, teachers, and pre-service teachers in research which makes use of computers, CD-ROMs, and the World Wide Web;
• to update equipment at both schools to complete the project;
• To stimulate discussion, further reading and exploration of social action by students and others accessing the newsletter on the resulting web site; and
• to create a constructivist learning environment that supports inquiry, interdisciplinary teaming, and the integration of technology into the curriculum.

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  Procedure

• As a first step, both classes took an attitude survey (see Table 1) at the beginning of the project to determine how they felt about several things: studying English and science; using technology; and working with students who were different from themselves. This survey was to be administered again at the very end of the project to determine if there were any significant changes.
• Next, the Integrated Science class did research both in traditional methods and on the World Wide Web to write scientific briefs on issues related to their studies, issues that have moral and ethical implications, that involve conflict, and are of serious import to humankind. Although originally conceived to involve a biology class, the issues in integrated science broadened the scope of possibilities. After brainstorming during the first few weeks of school, the Science students came up with the following:
  • Genetic Engineering
    • transgenic organisms
    • cloning
      • Euthanasia
      • Loss of biodiversity (extinction)
  • The Environment
    • energy depletion
    • pollution
    • hazardous waste

Attitude Survey Directions: For each of the items below, write the number that best describes your opinions. There are no right or wrong answers; we are merely interested in how high school students feel about these issues. Not at all (1) A little (2) Somewhat (3) Quite a bit (4) Very much (5) The Disciplines I think English and science are two subjects that relate to each other. I think English is an important subject. I enjoy English class. I think science is an important subject. I enjoy science classes. School would make more sense if teachers from different subjects would work together to plan projects for the students. Teachers from different subjects should work together to plan student projects so that the students could make more connections between the different topics they are studying. Research/library skills are important in studying science. Reading is important in studying science. Writing is important in studying science. Word processing is an important skill in studying science. Technology I feel comfortable working with computers. I feel comfortable exploring the Internet/World Wide Web. I feel comfortable doing using e-mail. I think learning to use technology is important. I think technology is useful. I think learning how to communicate via e-mail is important. I think learning to do teleconferencing is important. I think communicating via e-mail is a useful skill. I think teleconferencing is a useful skill. I like working with computers/technology while I learn science and/or English. Work Situations I feel comfortable working alone on assignments in class. I feel comfortable working on assignments in a small group in class. I feel comfortable working with students from another class in school. I feel comfortable working with students from another school. I feel comfortable working with students from other neighborhoods. I feel comfortable working with students from other geographical areas. I feel comfortable working with students from other races and/or cultures.

• The Communication between classes: the science students then sent, via e-mail, the "scientific briefs" (see Table 2) to the students in the "Contemporary Composition" class at Manual Arts High School. Via email and in one videoconference (which unfortunately had to be aborted due to lack of appropriate wiring), students from both classes explored solutions to the issues, possible avenues for social action, and "what if" scenarios
• The students in the English Class then took the issues in the "scientific briefs," and created science fiction short stories based upon them. In preparation for the creative writing, English students did their own research, reading works of science fiction authors who have dealt with such issues.
• Both classes published their works on the World Wide Web, on a Web site provided by Manual Arts High School. English students edited the articles on the Web site for mechanical and organizational content. Similarly, the Biology students edited the creative works of the English students for scientific accuracy. After the publication of the first issue, the intent was originally to solicit contributions from students at other schools for contributions to other issues. Unfortunately, the actual amount time both classes needed to complete the steps in the project exceeded the amount estimated; therefore only the initial round of stories was published.
• As the culminating event after the high school students communicated electronically over the course of a year, there was a face-to-face meeting of both classes, together with their teachers and the university sponsor at a luncheon at California State University, Dominguez Hills. The guest speaker, Mr. Scott Greenberg, got the students involved in an interactive writing workshop. Mr. Greenberg, is a humorist, screenwriter, speaker and leadership consultant who has inspired young people across the country to overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams. Students met at the University Student Union, where they mingled over lunch. They then were put into heterogeneously composed groups in order to participate in the writing workshop.
• Both Classes took the attitude survey (see Table 1) again at the end of the year to see if there had been any significant change in any of the variables (see figure 1).

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  Findings

  The Web site is at http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Manual_Arts_HS/CPB/Science_Fantasy.html. A Hyperlink to the project web site is available at the author's Home Page at California State University, Dominguez Hills (http://www.csudh.edu/soe/faculty/nmach.htm).

  In addition to administering the Attitude Survey (Table 1) at both the beginning and end of the school year, the teachers compared student work, student journals and other classwork from fall to spring, for improved factual content and writing skills. Both high school teachers also informally compared the participating classes to their other classes with regard to student motivation and involvement, on such variables as attendance; quality of work submitted (content/writing skills); and participation in projects.

  Results of the Attitude Survey are indicated in the charts in Figure 1, at http://www.csudh.edu/soe/faculty/NmachAACE/figure3.html. Although they were from two different schools and two different subjects, the two classes were combined due to the small number of students in the sample, and for purposes of comparison between pre- and post-project attitudes. There were some students who took only the pre-test, but for one reason or another did not continue to participate in the project; they therefore were not included in the post-test. In toto, 39 students completed the pre-test and 33 completed the post-test. The author therefore looked at frequency distributions in the form of percentages of students who responded with specific ratings on a one-to-five point Likert scale to the various questions.

  Some interesting Pre- and Post-project differences emerged when comparing the mean percentages of students' ratings in the area of technology in general. When all the items were combined in this area, numbers of students using a rating of "5" rose slightly (from 44% to 48%), though they were initially somewhat high. "Comfort Level with Computers" also showed a rise in number of students giving ratings of "4"and "5," with a corresponding decrease in those with ratings of "1," "2," and "3." Ratings of "4" for this question rose from 41% to 48%, and ratings of "5" rose from 18% to 30%. The increase is similar when looking at "Comfort Level Using E-mail," with those rating it with "5" rising from 33% to 45%. In other areas, numbers of students selecting "4" and "5" combined, for attitudes toward the disciplines, in this case English and science, as well as interdisciplinary work, showed a slight increase, rising from 57% to 61%. Similarly, more students selected these same ratings for attitudes toward working with others, particularly those from other ethnic and socioeconomic groups, with those selecting "4" or "5" combined rising from 58% to 64%.

  Informal feedback from students was highly positive. Students came away from the face-to-face meeting with changed opinions of the ethnically and socioeconomically different groups than they had originally held, and increased levels of self esteem. One student actually commented that the guest speaker at the face-to-face meeting "changed her life." Both teachers in the two high schools reported higher than normal attendance on the days students were to work on the project, particularly on days when e-mail and an attempted video conference were to take place. Teachers noticed slight increases in student grades when compared with their other classes, but also a tremendous increase in student motivation, as evidenced by student attendance, small and large group participation, and submission of classwork.

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  Conclusions

  In sum, it appears that in this project, electronic collaboration positively affected student attitudes toward English and science, connecting the disciplines, technology, and collaborating with students of different socioeconomic and ethnic groups. The increases in attitude ratings were most evident at the higher end for most categories, strongly suggesting noticeable differences in those areas. On-line communication is, after all, both color- gender-blind, thus capable of dispelling stereotypes about students from other areas, other ethnic and socioeconomic groups. To the students, the meaningful real-world connections of an interdisciplinary project, as well as the knowledge that their work would be published on a Web site, motivated them to apply themselves to the study of both English and science, and positively influenced their ability and comfort level in using technology.

  Unfortunately, certain problems prevented the emergence of statistically significant findings, most notably: (1) the size differences between pre-and post-test populations of the two classes prevented stricter comparisons using raw data and t-tests to prove significance; (2) the small sample precluded making generalizations from the data collected; and (3) one school was not fully wired for Internet access, thus making it difficult to carry out the teleconference successfully.

  It was ironic that it was the suburban school that was not fully wired, while the "inner city" school" was extremely well equipped. This is the reverse of what would be expected, since the inequities in school funding usually expected in the two types of schools ("inner city" vs. "suburban") usually have repercussions in their technological sophistication. Our "suburban" school, however, may not be representative, since it has a large working class population that has been rather conservative in defeating school bond issues. Similarly, our "inner city" school may not typify the inner city schools in Los Angeles, because of the unusual number of technology grants it has received.

  Further research, with improved experimental design in such areas as using a larger population of students, comparisons with control groups and stricter controls on administration of attitude surveys, would increase the generalizability of results.

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  References

  Clark, H. & Agne R.M. (1997). Interdisciplinary high school teaching: Strategies for integrated learning. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.