Title: The problem-refining progress of 5th graders' ubiquitous inquiry

Authors: Pi-Hsia Hung; Gwo-Jen Hwang; Yueh-Hsun Lee; Tsung-Hsun Wu

Addresses: Graduate Institute of Measurement and Statistics, National University of Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan. ' Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan. ' Graduate Institute of Measurement and Statistics, National University of Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan. ' Graduate Institute of Educational Entrepreneurship and Management, National University of Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan

Abstract: In traditional in-the-field activities, most elementary school students can only work with basic inquiry problems owing to the lack of appropriate supports. The advancement of mobile and wireless communication technologies has provided the opportunity to cope with this problem. In this study, a design model for developing a ubiquitous PBL system (UPBLS) is proposed for helping students refine their intuitive problems to become data-based inquiry plans. The system developed in this study provides a discussion platform, an E-library and an ecology measurement database for the collaborative inquiry community. The present results obtained by analysing the students' learning profiles show that the students were well supported in refining the questions they raised from basic questions to data-based scientific questions, with the help of UPBLS. It is concluded that the quantitative approach might provide a productive direction for further studies to integrate different groups' portfolios.

Keywords: ubiquitous inquiry; problem refining; PBL; problem-based learning; in-the-field activities; elementary schools; fifth grade students; basic problems; appropriate support; mobile technologies; wireless communications; intuitive problems; data-based inquiries; data-based plans; discussion platforms; e-libraries; electronic libraries; ecology measurement; databases; collaborative inquiry; learning profiles; question refinement; basic questions; data-based questions; scientific questions; Taiwan; quantitative approaches; portfolio integration; group portfolios; mobile learning; m-learning; mobile phones; cellphones; online learning; e-learning; electronic learning; online learning; internet; world wide web.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMLO.2011.045316

International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 2011 Vol.5 No.3/4, pp.255 - 267

Published online: 18 Feb 2015 *

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