Browsing by Author "White, Arthur L."

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    An international consortium for concept learning research in four countries (USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, and Mexico)
    White, Arthur L.;
    This report presents a rationale for development of an international perspective on the role of research in the improvement of science education in particular, and education in general. Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and the United States are the participating countries. Topics discussed include: 1) goals and directions for science education research, 2) needs and resources for effective science education research, and 3) the role of a science education research consortium in the improvement of the research programme in the country. The symposium will specifically focus on the use of technology to facilitate the transition of young children from concrete understanding of concepts to abstract thought. An aspect that is unique to the needs and resources of each country will be examined. The United States will focus on the influence of computer simulation activities on the development of pattern recognition and extension. Costa Rica will concentrate on calculator activities' effect on numeration and place value understanding. Black and white computer simulations' effects on pattern recognition and extension will be explored in Trinidad and Tobago. Mexico intends to replicate the US study with an emphasis on Spanish verbal components
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    The use of concrete, manipulative materials and computer simulations for learning elementary school science process skills in Trinidad and Tobago
    White, Arthur L.;
    This paper suggests that learning progresses along a mode of representation continuum from concrete to semi-concrete to abstract, translated into instructional practice as manipulation of physical objects, pictorial or graphic representation, and finally symbolic form. To determine the optimum combination of science process learning activities for primary school-children in Trinidad and Tobago, three treatment conditions were given to a sample of 28 boys and 38 girls, aged 6-9: computer only, manipulatives and computer, and manipulatives only. Findings indicate: 1) no differential effects between the use of manipulative materials and the computer, 2) a greater difference between scores of 2nd and 4th grade girls than between those of 2nd and 4th grade boys, and 3) 4th grade scores were significantly higher than 2nd grade scores on both Design Recognition and Patterns scales