The main purpose of this paper was to describe how the author, Kuo-Chung Hsu, changed his teaching beliefs and science instruction through participating in a cooperative action research, which is conducted by the author, Jing-Ru Wang. Self-study was adopted to explain and interpret Kuo-Chung Hsu's experience of teaching science in Taiwan island.…

Ubiquitous computing and mobile technologies provide a new perspective for designing innovative outdoor learning experiences. The purpose of this study is to propose a formative assessment design for integrating PDAs into ecology observations. Three learning activities were conducted in this study. An action research approach was applied to…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

This study examined the effects of an inquiry-based instructional method on secondary school students' achievement in earth science. Students (N=232) were treated as two experimental groups, one receiving 2 weeks of the inquiry-based instruction while the control group received the traditional lecture-type instruction. Data were analyzed employing…

This study reports on the improvement of a teacher researcher's teaching practice by adopting a constructivist teaching approach. Four biology units on the nervous system, human circulatory system, evolution, and vertebrate classification were selected to illustrate a model of biology teaching. Data were drawn from student responses to…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the growth of teachers' beliefs through being involved in the process of developing science, technology, and society modules based on the educational resources of a science museum in Taiwan. Action research was the source of data from two elementary and two secondary science teachers who participated in…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference e-Learning 2013, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society and is part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems (Prague, Czech Republic, July 23-26, 2013). The e-Learning 2013 conference aims to…

This article reports on reforms of the science education program for prospective physical science teachers in Taiwan and examines their impact on these teachers. The reforms include restructuring the courses in physical science methods, and requiring all prospective teachers to do action research during their one-year full-time teaching practice.…

In an effort to improve a summer professional development program for inservice secondary mathematics and science teachers in Taiwan, a three-year action research project has recently been completed. The program attempted to provide participating teachers with a better theoretical and practical understanding of teaching and learning based on the…

This paper describes the progress of applying the integrated curriculum in two elementary classrooms. Utilizing science as the core course of integrated curriculum, three elementary teachers and two university-based educators worked together to design and to conduct the experimental course of integrated-curriculum. Based on the approach of…

This study reports on a high school teacher using emancipatory action research to implement cooperative learning strategies in a chemistry class. Data were collected and analyzed using qualitative methods. The findings of the study indicate: (1) students accept cooperative learning if they feel it can increase their ability to learn content; (2)…

The purpose of this ongoing project is to establish a model for school-based teacher development for secondary science and mathematics teachers in Taiwan. The model uses an action research approach with emphasis on constructivist perspectives of teaching and learning and the idea that teachers are to be taken as researchers and reflective…

This study explores the impact of a researcher-developed World Wide Web database on a variety of tasks and talk in a science classroom. The study was part of an experienced teacher's action research project designed to increase student engagement in biology class. Lessons were videotaped approximately once a week throughout the entire school year,…

This paper reports on the transition of the researcher's teaching from before and during an innovation in teaching practice, including 1 year of traditional teaching (1996) and 3 years of teaching based on a constructivist view of learning (1999-2001), in a university physics course in Taiwan. Learning outcomes for each year were evaluated by both…

The new Science and Technology Curriculum Framework recently issued in Taiwan advocates the teaching of integrated science and technology with greater emphasis on basic skills. Science teachers are not used to teach in this way, they need different abilities and skills in order to do so. Using various effective professional development strategies,…