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Foreword
In 2001 Mindi Donaldson, a graduate student at Portland State University in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, set up a display table at the annual Oregon Science Teachers Conference. She sought feedback and participation from science teachers in her study of a truly innovative concept— an online museum about animals and their native habitats available for students in their classrooms. Driven by her desire to put a powerful technological tool in the hands of resource-starved science teachers, she offered them an opportunity to collaborate with her on the research and share Museum Explorerwith their students. This is a case study of two of those science classes. It is the result of her vision and perseverance in creating an online science classroom resource, and then studying its impact. The study found there was indeed a positive impact, not only on student content learning but also on student engagement with science and computer technology.
There is a growing need to evaluate the way students learn. The design of this study is a step to a more complete understanding of how students learn in complex classroom environments. Dr. Donaldson gathered data from student content knowledge tests, attitude surveys, email responses, teacher observations, and student journals. Using a funneling metaphor, she compared and contrasted the results across the data and provided a rich picture of student response and learning.