Presented at the Interactive Tabletops & Surfaces 2012 conference

1. A Collaborative Environment for Engaging Students in Scientific Inquiry

2. How can interactive surface technologies be
used to help college students learn complex
concepts through collaborative inquiry?

3. Design Strategy

4. Outline
• GreenTouch
• Evaluation Methodology
• Findings
• Implications for design

5. Learning through scientific inquiry

6. Design Goals
Learning Goals
• L1 Developing observation and data collection skills
• L2 Interpreting field data through critical examination
• L3 Forming hypotheses based on exploratory analysis
Design Goals
• G1 Allowing novices to collect, curate, and explore scientific
phenology data.
• G2 Reducing the mental workload associated with accessing and
manipulating large amounts of heterogeneous data.
• G3 Providing fluid transition between data collection, data
exploration, and hypothesis forming.
• G4 Fostering learning through discussion and reflection.

7. Design Principles
• Reduce complexity
• Support reflection
• Designing for large amounts of data
• Utilize ecology of devices

8. Green Touch

9. Invoke conversation
through prompts
Heterogeneous data
collection
Contextual Information

12. Movie

13. 3-Tier Evaluation
Study Metrics & indicators Methods Iteration
Spring’11
(n=43)
Usability
 Accuracy
 Completion rates
 Errors
 Satisfaction
 Time on task
 Logging
 Observations
 Questionnaires
 Debrief
Mobile:
 Navigation
 Situated reference
 Comments
 Summary
Surface:
 Cloud metaphor
 Lenses
Fall‘11
(n=35)
Usefulness
 Accuracy
 Number and quality
of hypotheses
 Participation
 Satisfaction
 Time on task
(all of the above)
 Video analysis
 Interviews
Mobile:
 Ruler
 Sample data
 Data checks
Surface:
 Drawer
 Visualization
Spring‘12
(n=54)
Impact
(all of the above)
 Talk categories
 User actions
 Information artifacts
(all of the above)
 Discourse analysis
Surface:
 Advanced
statistics tools

14. Evaluating Impact
54Students in a college Botany course
Data Collection
25Pairs, 4Singletons
Exploratory Analysis
24groups

15. Mobile Evaluation
Question
Mean
(SD)
Using the app made my
observations better.
4.19
(0.96)
Using the app made me consider
the relationship between
climate and phenology.
3.66
(0.82)
Using the app let me collect data
faster than without the app.
4.52
(0.95)
Using the app made it easier to
collect heterogeneous data.
4.37
(1.06)
I enjoyed using this app to
collect data.
3.49
(1.05)
I was confident in the accuracy
of the data I gathered.
3.39
(1.03)
Turn-
Takers
52%
Driver-
Navigator
32%
Driver
Passenger
16%
CollaborationSatisfaction

16. User Feedback
It allowed me to observe the plants in
ways that I normally wouldn’t
I would like to collect data on Emerald Ash
Borers and this app may be very helpful for that.
I liked the definitions and
examples of the information
we were collecting
It is easier to deal with than a
notebook, especially because it
was always rainy or overcast
I really liked manipulating the data
and exploring the ways in which it
was possible to visually compare it. It
made the analysis much less time
consuming and probably more
accurate
I would love to use it for my
independent study. If I could
use it instead of other current
methods I always would
It’s super appealing for people like me
teaching the same class year after year,
and a lot of the questions we’re asking you
can’t start to address them until you got
10 years of data, this will enable me to
build a really cool dataset.

17. Mobile Findings
• Effective co-located
collaboration motivated
through opportunities for
discussion.
• Consistent and accurate
data collection guided
through situated
reference.
• There is a need for
striking balance between
structured guidance and
free form data collection

18. Tabletop Evaluation
Turn-
Takers
43%
Driver-
Navigator
48%
Driver-
Passenger
9%
Collaboration
Insight
8%
Syntax
8%
Brief
Response
15%
Coordination
29%
Problem
Solving
31%
Other
4%
Reflection
5%
Peer
Teaching
0%
Nature of Discussion

19. Problem Solving & Insight Scores
Score Percentage
5 5%
4 36%
3 27%
2 27%
1 0%
Vertical 9/24
Horizontal
15/24

20. Tabletop Findings
• Reality-based metaphors effective for
mediating complexity
• Side-by-side comparison and spatial interaction
were essential mechanisms for problem-
solving
• Pairs collaborated effectively through turn
taking and role switching mediated by large
surface and established through continouos
coordination

21. Implications for design
• Reducing complexity
– Incremental addition of complexity
– Seamless integration of quantitative and qualitative data
– Fluid transition between data sets
• Providing space for reflection
– Drawers moderately effective
– Formal articulation through note taking – not effective
– Alternative modalities: pen and voice
• Designing for large amounts of data
– Supporting spatial interaction
• Using ecology of devices
– Careful use of metaphors

22. Contributions
• Our findings provide empirical evidence for the
feasibility and value of utilizing ecology of devices for
helping college students learn complex concepts
through collaborative inquiry
• Highlight mechanisms for collaborative learning
– Spatial interaction
– Side by side comparison
– Opportunities for discussion
– Coordination talk
– Role switching
• Implication for design of collaborative inquiry

23. Thank you!
ConsueloValdes, cvaldes@wellesley.edu
Orit Shaer, oshaer@wellesley.edu
Acknowledgements:
Kristina Jones, MarcyThomas, Janet McDonough,
and Alden Griffith
HHMI and Wellesley College Science Center.
Questions?