chapter 8: Integrating Technology into a Science Classroom: An Evaluation of Inquiry-Based Technology Integration

The current Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), mandates an emphasis on technology integration in all areas of K-12 education from reading and mathematics, to science and special education (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). As a result, education leaders at the state and local levels are expected to develop plans that effectively employ educational technology into the curriculum. The question for most schools is not whether to integrate technology but how technology can best be employed to enhance student learning and increase student achievement as outlined by curriculum standards.

In science education, as it is for each subject, states are required to establish learning standards, or student academic achievement standards as they are referred to in NCLB (P.L. 107-110, Section 1111(b)(1)(A)); these standards are supposed to outline what students are to learn in each subject at each grade level; the standards are also to align with nationally recognized professional and technical standards (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). According to the National Science Education Standards (NCES) (National Research Council [NRC], 1996), science instruction should reflect the true nature of science, recognizing science as both a body of knowledge and a process. As a body of knowledge, science is the accumulation of all the concepts, facts, principles, laws, and theories we have come to know through investigation. As a process, science is a way of thinking about and investigating the world in which we live (Chiapetta & Koballa, 2002).