Multimedia Science Projects

Abstract

The research reported in this article began as a staff development project in which teachers of Grades 3–11 produced multimedia projects, conducted a similar project in their own classes, and showed their students’ projects at a conference. Researchers acted as participant observers, providing technical support as the students carried out their multimedia projects. Research questions focused on attitudes toward science and multimedia projects, gender differences in attitudes and expertise, and the process of students taking responsibility for their own learning. Data for this qualitative study represented 3 points of view: teachers, students, and research staff. Findings include the following: (a) Most students preferred this kind of project to a term paper, except in one school, where multimedia was “old hat”; (b) students and teachers reported that students had learned a number of skills besides science and computing, including dependability, organization, and interviewing; (c) both girls and boys appeared to like computers and doing multimedia science projects, and both were active participants and class experts; and (d) eventually almost all students took responsibility for learning and kept commitments to their groups, and many worked beyond the regular classroom hours.