SUPPORTING SCIENCE STUDIES FOR CHILDREN WITH LONG TERM HEALTH PROBLEMS USING NEFREDUCA
Denise Whitelock, Roser Pinto* and Marcel·la Saez*
The Open University
*CRECIM, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
CBLIS 2010
Context of the research
Children with chronic illness hospitalised for long periods
Miss out on schooling
Difficult to catch up with Maths and Science
Context of the research
Lower science literacy level
Science/Medical nomenclature
lack of science teachers in hospital schools
Solving the Problem
Targeted children with kidney disease
Science lessons have more effect targeted to child’s illness (Korta, 2003, Arnau et al, 2005)
Science material delivered by Moodle
Nefreduca
It’s all connected
Holistic
Nutrition and kidney sequence
Normal kidney eliminates waste
What waste?
How does the waste get to the kidney?
Informatics management block
Introduction block
Initial questionnaire
The Science content block
Quick access to the list of themes templates and
activities
List of participants list
The Nefreduca materials
The Nefreduca blocks
Presents the learning objectives for the whole series of activities
The instructions about how to
use the program with its variety of teaching resources
An Initial questionnaire (to ascertain students’ prior knowledge of the science before they worked through the program).
Separates the content into four major themes which included:
a) Food digestion and nutrient absorption
b) Blood transport of nutrients and waste products
c) Kidney excretion of waste products
d) Kidney dysfunction and the role of dialysis
The Introduction and Informatics management block
The Science content block
The Nefreduca themes
The Nefreduca ICT resources
Video
Animations
On-line image editor
Research Questions
1. What were the hospitalized students’ Initial ideas of the normal
biological kidney function?
2. How do the students understand the role of the kidney in relation to
Urine production and the blood transport system?
3. What are the students’ initial ideas of the normal urine content? How
do they explain alterations to normal urine content?
4. What are their explanations of the urine changes seen and blood
alterations which are caused by kidney dysfunction?
Methodology
32 chronically ill children(10-16 years). 22 finished.
Sessions in the hospital school, hospital rooms dialysis suite and lasted between 1-1h30min.
All the students’ logins and answers to the activities collected by the system
probing students’ ideas
Analysis categories Data collected in the following
students answers
The kidney function related with the urine production Question 1 of the initial questionnaire Question 3 of the 3a activity
The kidney function related with the blood filtering Question 1 of the initial questionnaire Questions 2 & 3 of the 3a activity
The urine content Question 2 of the initial questionnaire Question 3 of the 3a activity
Consequences of kidney dysfunction in the urine Question 2 of the initial questionnaire Question 1 of the 4a activity
Consequences of kidney dysfunction in the blood Question 2 of the 4a activity
Analysis and resultsExample : Consequences of kidney dysfunction in the urine
What are the urine
components?
What happens to the urine when the kidney doesn’t work properly?
Imagine that you’re in charge of analyzing a sample of pee and blood of a hospital patient. The first test result is that the pee containts substances the body needs and have come out.
Explain how those substances might have arrived to the pee and why.
You know yet that the blood circulates to all parts of the body and gains and loss substances. So, if you suspect that a hospital patient has kidney problems, you could think that she/he might have more quantity of certain type of substances.
Do you know which substances could be? Why it could be possible?
Question 2 of the initial questionnaire
Activity 4a from theme 4
Analysis and results: What were the hospitalized students’ initial ideas of the normal biological kidney function? (RQ 1)
The data analysis revealed that the students initially held a number of different hierarchical conceptions for the kidney function .
Level Example Before After
1.1 - Kidney as urine eliminator i.e. It makes you urinate 8/32 -
1.2 - Kidney as a waste cleaner (from the blood or the body fluids)
i.e. It cleans the blood; it purifies the body fluids
14/32 -
2- Kidney as urine eliminator + waste cleaner (from the blood or the body fluids
i.e. It cleans the blood and makes me urinate 9/32 -
3- Kidney as urine producer + blood waste eliminator
i.e. The kidney eliminate the metabolism waste products of the blood
- 4/22
4 - Kidney as urine producer + blood filter
i.e. It filters the waste products of the blood and produce the urine
1/32 18/22
No answer - 11/32
Analysis and results: How do the students understand the role of the kidney in relation to urine and blood? (RQ 2)
Level Example Before After
1.1 - Kidney as urine eliminator i.e. It makes you urinate 8/32 -
1.2 - Kidney as a waste cleaner (from the blood or the body fluids)
i.e. It cleans the blood; it purifies the body fluids
14/32 -
2- Kidney as urine eliminator + waste cleaner (from the blood or the body fluids
i.e. It cleans the blood and makes me urinate 9/32 -
3- Kidney as urine producer + blood waste eliminator
i.e. The kidney eliminate the metabolism waste products of the blood
- 4/22
4 - Kidney as urine producer + blood filter
i.e. It filters the waste products of the blood and produce the urine
1/32 18/22
No answer - 11/32
Analysis and results: What are the students’ initial ideas of the normal urine content? How do they explain alterations to normal urine content? (RQ3)
Students explanations of urine content: Initial Final Water 3/32 - Liquid 5/32 - Waste products 1/32 Water and mineral salts 3/32 - Water + nephrology tested substances (i.e. urea, bacteria, toxin) 3/32 Water + waste products + mineral salts - 1/22 Water and waste products 8/32 21/22 No answer 8/32 -
Students explanations of urine content: Initial Final Water 3/32 - Liquid 5/32 - Waste products 1/32 Water and mineral salts 3/32 - Water + nephrology tested substances (i.e. urea, bacteria, toxin) 3/32 Water + waste products + mineral salts - 1/22 Water and waste products 8/32 21/22 No answer 8/32 -
Analysis and results: What are the students’ initial ideas of the normal urine content? How do they explain alterations to normal urine content? (RQ3)
Analysis and results:What are their explanations of the urine changes seen and blood alterations which are caused by kidney dysfunction? (RQ4)
Students explanations of urine alterations caused by a kidney dysfunction:
Initial Final
Alterations in the content or quality of the urine 4/32 22/22
Alterations in the quantity of the urine 12/32 -
Alterations in the colour or smell of the urine 6/32 -
Finding a Feedback model
Recorded teacher and student talk when using Nefreduca
Analysed with Bales categories
DMW, CALRG, May 2010
Bales Categories
DMW, CALRG, May 2010
Categories Specific Examples
Positive Reactions
A1
A2
A3
1. Shows solidarity
2. Shows tension release
3. Shows agreement
Jokes, gives help, rewards others
Laughs, shows satisfaction
Understands, concurs, complies, passively accepts
Attempted Answers
B1
B2
B3
4. Gives suggestion
5. Gives opinion
6. Gives information
Directs, proposes, controls
Evaluates, analyses, expresses feelings or wishes
Orients, repeats, clarifies, confirms
Questions
C1
C2
C3
7. Asks for information
8. Asks for opinion
9. Asks for suggestion
Requests orientation, repetition, confirmation, clarification
Requests evaluation, analysis, expression of feeling or wishes
Requests directions, proposals
Negative Reactions
D1
D2
D3
10. Shows disagreement
11. Shows tension
12. Shows antagonism
Passively rejects, resorts to formality, withholds help
Asks for help, withdraws
Deflates others, defends or asserts self
Feedback incident 1 occurred when children were reading the text or templates for the activities
Bales Category Teachers’ action Teachers talk during action Teacher identifier
B1- GIVES SUGGESTION
Suggest the student re-examines the task instructions or reviews the video animation
“When we don’t know something we should go back and revise what has been explained in the Nefreduca texts”
T1
B3- GIVES INFORMATION
Clarifies some science concepts
“The student asks: What does it mean “the unassimilated food”, and the teacher answers “The food that is not assimilated, not dissolved, not useful”
T1, T2, T3
Clarifies some aspects of the images
”The student asks about the size of the ‘strainer’ holes. This part of the program is referring to diagrams of the filtration system in the kidney. The student rephrases the same question by asking if the images are microscopic. The teacher agrees and explains that the holes are only visible with the microscope”
T1, T2, T3
Feedback incident 2 occurred during a child’s activity with the Nefreduca program
Bales Category Teachers’ action
Teachers talk during action
Teacher identifier
A2- SHOWS TENSION RELEASE
Smile and make statements to prevent and avoid the building of negative emotions (frustration, worry)
“(Smile) Well, don’t worry, try to explain it in your own words”, “Listen, if you don’t know the answer, you could write “I don’t know”. We could also answer this way, eh?
T1, T2, T3
B1- GIVES SUGGESTION + C1-ASK FOR INFORMATION
Propose a hint in a direct or indirect way
The teacher helps the student to remember the text that has been read and the images seen. Then the student gives the right answer and the teacher concurs. The student says: Small tubes and the teacher: What have those small tubes…? The student says: ah! Holes!, the teacher replies: aha!
T1, T2, T3
Feedback incident 3 occurred after the children answered a questionChildren’s answer to Nefreduca questions or tasks
Bales Category Teachers’ action Teachers talk during action
Teacher identifier
If the answer is incomplete
3.2
B1-GIVES SUGGESTION
Propose to revise the video or animation of the activity or to revise the text of the previous templates
“Let’s see the activity video again!” T1
Gives a hint“And this also, eh! (the teacher is pointing to the computer screen)“
T2, T3
A3-SHOWSAGREEMENT
+
C1-ASK INFORMATION
Complies“Ok! Put this answer here. Well, the water and what else? Which kind of nutrients do you have here?” T2
Clarification
C2-ASK FOR OPINION
The teachers intonation is expressing that the student answer is not complete, the teacher also give hints
“Really? They move it from one side to another? And what else? They move it alone or they put in something”, It renews them, do you think so? It’s difficult to renew something that you don’t want any more, that’s not useful for anything. What do you think?”; “Already? So quickly?”
T2
Final Thoughts
Pedagogy matches student needs
Cognitive change with holistic approach
Making connections Good teachers make
connections tell coherent stories
Bales analysis lens for viewing emerging pattern of feedback
Open educational resources Call for standards
Acknowledgements
The project was funded by both:
Consell Social de la Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB, Ref: 200700047154) and
Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia (MICCIN, Ref: CCT005-06-00169)
DMW, CALRG, May 2010