Title: Exploring a blended mobile learning environment to develop students' scientific inquiry skills in science museums

Authors: Hua Du; Xiaoqing Gu

Addresses: Department of Educational Information Technology, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai, China ' Department of Educational Information Technology, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai, China

Abstract: Informal environments, such as science museums, are known to have potentials for developing scientific inquiry skills. Mobile devices, including smartphones and portable tablets, are increasingly applied to scaffold exploration due to their convenience and interactivity. Although the pedagogical affordability of mobile devices has been widely investigated, designing a blended mobile learning environment in science museum still need to be explored further. In this study, a blended mobile learning environment and a set of activities are designed by adapting to learners' different styles. Subsequently, a quasi-experimental research with two original classes of 66 participants was conducted to examine the differences in their scientific inquiry skills. Moreover, the learners' attitude on the blended mobile learning environment has been measured using questionnaire. Results show that a well-designed blended mobile learning environment in science museums is effective in developing students' scientific inquiry skills.

Keywords: blended learning; mobile learning; scientific inquiry skill; science museum.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMARTTL.2019.106517

International Journal of Smart Technology and Learning, 2019 Vol.1 No.4, pp.310 - 322

Received: 13 Sep 2018
Accepted: 14 May 2019
Published online: 09 Apr 2020 *

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