ORIGIN OF THE LEARNING DESIGN
The program was created as part of a doctoral thesis (Kearney, 2002) completed through the Science and Mathematics Education Centre (SMEC), Curtin University, Perth.

NUMBER OF TIMES THE LEARNING DESIGN HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED

There were two implementations of beta versions of the software and one implementation of the final version.

MODIFICATIONS SINCE FIRST USE
The program is currently under redevelopment to allow instructors to access it in a useable form. (For example, there are currently copyright restrictions on approximately half of the actual video clips used in Kearney (2002) and substitute clips will be needed.)

A generic web-based tool titled: Predict-Observe-Explain eShell has been developed based on this learning design by this AUTC project. It is accessable via the "Tools" Section of this web site.

RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON THE DESIGN
Kearney, M. (2002). Classroom Use of multimedia-supported predict-observe-explain tasks to elicit and promote discussion about students’ physics conceptions. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Perth: Curtin University of Technology.

This interpretive study used constructivism as a theoretical perspective to explore three main issues relating to the use of the multimedia-supported POE tasks: firstly, the students’ learning conversations during their use of the POE tasks; secondly, the use of the program as an instrument to probe students’ science conceptions; and thirdly, the affordances and constraints of the computer-mediated environment for the POE strategy.

Findings suggested that students participated in meaningful small group discussions at the computer and the program acted as an efficient and convenient teaching instrument to elicit and record their conceptions of motion. Indeed, the multimedia nature of the program offered fresh and exciting opportunities that mark a new development in the use of the predict-observe-explain strategy in science education. The findings have implications for authentic technology-mediated learning in science classrooms.

Go to the Research link at: http://www.ed-dev.uts.edu.au/personal/mkearney/homepage/index.html

THOUGHTS ABOUT EFFECTIVENESS
The out-of-classroom contexts presented in the video-based scenarios were challenging and interesting for the students and helped them to relate science to the real world. Students participated in meaningful peer-learning conversations at the computer (Crooks, 1999), as they became cognitively engaged in the predict-observe-explain tasks.

Reference:

Crooks, C. (1999). Computers in the community of classrooms. In K. Littleton, & P. Light (Eds.), Learning with computers. Analysing productive interaction (pp. 102–117). London and New York: Routledge.

UNEXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
The tasks used in the study gave students the opportunity to "talk science" and use science jargon in meaningful contexts. Also, the detailed and precise observations made by many students (and facilitated by the digital video medium) went beyond initial expectations.

HOW LEARNER ENGAGEMENT IS SUPPORTED
The effectiveness of the POE procedure as an engaging teaching strategy is well reported (Champagne, Klopfer & Anderson, 1980; White, 1998; White & Gunstone, 1992). This learning design takes the procedure in a new direction by using the affordances of the computer environment to facilitate further learner engagement. As discussed previously, the extra student control of the computer-mediated POE tasks is a key element in this design.

References:

Champagne, A., Klopfer, L., & Anderson, J. (1980). Factors influencing the learning of classical mechanics. American Journal of Physics, 48(12), 1074–1079.

White, R. (1988). Learning science. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

White, R., & Gunstone, R. (1992). Probing understanding. London and New York: The Falmer Press.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF LEARNING CONTEXT
The POE tasks generally use real-world, every day contexts that tend to be complex but appealing to students. Care is needed in the design stage to choose relevant contexts for the intended users. Also, further work needs to be done to see how well learners relate principles learned from one context to other, different contexts.

HOW THE LEARNING DESIGN CHALLENGES LEARNERS
The out-of-classroom contexts presented in the video-based scenarios were challenging and interesting for the students and helped them to relate science to the real world. The actual tasks encouraged students to draw upon their previous experiences with ‘the world’ to discuss and construct their responses. The surprise element of demonstration outcomes caused a major challenge for students in the "explanation" phase of each task.

Furthermore, many students were challenged by their partner’s alternative or differing science conceptions.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTICE
The learning setting strongly encourages students to articulate, justify and reflect on their own and their partner’s science views. It also enables students to practise the canon of science and use language that they normally would not use in their everyday conversations. The main feedback in each POE task is the actual observation of the video-based demonstration outcomes. The teacher gives verbal feedback both during task engagement and especially during the subsequent whole-class discussions.