CCMS Core Principles
Incorporating learning technologies into materials
The Center for Curriculum Materials in Science (CCMS) recognizes that the use of computing and communications technologies can provide unique benefits to students and teachers when used in appropriate balance with other instructional strategies. Some of the potential contributions that learning technologies can make include:
- simulations that enable students to experience phenomena that are otherwise inaccessible in classrooms for reasons of scale (time and space), and complexity, safety, or remoteness.
- visual or auditory representations of phenomena that supplement students’ firsthand experiences with them.
- data collection, data analysis, and modeling tools that allow students to investigate relationships themselves and experience the computational practices of contemporary scientists.
- access to information, expertise, data, and other resources in digital libraries available through the Internet that can help students to deepen their understanding of phenomena or conduct research in primary and secondary sources.
- opportunities to communicate and collaborate with students and others at remote locations while, at the same time, encouraging students to clarify their ideas in writing.
- access to scientific equipment at remote locations.
- tools to help teachers structure and guide their students’ activities.
- assessment capabilities that allow teachers to monitor students’ activities and provide automated feedback and guidance.
Research. The design of learning technologies, their incorporation into curriculum materials, and their implementation in classrooms are all active areas of investigation for the Center. CCMS researchers are interested in how to design software that is appropriate for K-12 students and teachers, how to integrate their use with other learning activities, and how to prepare teachers to use technology effectively. CCMS researchers are particularly interested in understanding how learning technologies can best be used to motivate and support students’ achievement of learning goals in science.
Leadership development. Center graduate students and postdoctoral fellows have opportunities to participate in the design of learning technologies and of curricula that incorporate learning technologies. They also have opportunities to conduct classroom studies of the implementation and effectiveness of activities that involve learning technologies.
Teacher development. As particular learning technologies are developed and incorporated into curriculum materials, there is a need to provide teachers with experiences with those technologies. The Center recognizes the importance of embedding information about learning technologies within the materials themselves and of providing relevant professional development experiences around these technologies.
