Papers in PDF format

Kids as Global Scientists: Promoting a Web of Collaboration Through
Internet-based Curricula
Holly Devaul
Nancy Butler Songer
School of Education
University of Colorado
Campus Box 249
Boulder, CO 80309-0249
kgs@spot.colorado.edu
http://stripe.colorado.edu/~kgshtml/Home.html
The Kids as Global Scientists program capitalizes on the Web's communication potential to bring
together educators, software developers, and scientists in a collaborative effort to provide a rich and
meaningful educational experience for middle school students. Developed by Dr. Nancy Butler Songer and
colleagues at the University of Colorado, Boulder, our work is supported by the National Science Foundation's
Networking Infrastructure for Education and a 1995 Presidential Faculty Fellowship. We can be found on the
Web at http://stripe.colorado.edu/ ~kgshtml/Home.html. Kids as Global Scientists (KGS) is a new kind of
Internet-enhanced science curriculum designed to encourage middle school student inquiry and research.
Students use visualization and telecommunication technologies to learn about science both locally and through
interaction with peers and resources worldwide. Capitalizing on the power of communication via the Internet,
students make contact with their peers and professionals and learn to access the ever-growing volume of
information available on the Web. Through guided activities, as well as taking advantage of current weather
events as they happen, students learn to integrate multi-faceted pieces of information into a richer
understanding of atmospheric science. Since 1992 approximately 4500 students in over 60 world-distributed
locations have participated, from such far-ranging locations as Finland, Australia, Hong Kong, Brazil,
Scotland and across the U.S.
The KGS research and learning philosophy exemplifies collaborative efforts in many and diverse
ways. First, our pedagogical approach embraces the idea of group work; both within the classroom and
beyond it's borders via the Internet. Students access real-time imagery, exchange data, and discuss the
implications of these multiple representations of data with each other and with a volunteer on-line scientist
matched to their site. This kind of beyond-the-classroom collaborative learning (student-to-student, studentto-scientist
and students interacting with real-time data and imagery) has previously been absent, or difficult at
best to integrate into a classroom curriculum. Integrating technology and Web access into the curriculum is
the vehicle to take this step. Our research indicates that the connections that are made via this technology
enhance motivation and participation in many students, including females and other groups of students often
alienated by the traditional classroom approach. In addition, these connections can serve as a means to
encourage the development of rich scientific explanations, a concept we call "interactive knowledge".
Beyond the execution of KGS in the classroom, we provide a framework for participating teachers to
work collaboratively via an electronic listserv. The listserv was initiated in 1996 and has thus far, been
successful in providing a forum for teachers to share ideas, frustrations and experiences, as well as provide
support for one another. The teachers participating in KGS have a wide range of experience with technology
and with implementing alternative curricula such as ours. Providing a mechanism to promote support and
assistance has proved helpful to the less experienced teachers, and empowering for those able to share their
knowledge.
We have enjoyed and cultivated a productive collaborative relationship with our local scientific
community, who have been extraordinarily helpful in reviewing our curriculum for content accuracy, in