The Impact of Student Self-efficacy on Scientific Inquiry Skills: An Exploratory Investigation in River City, a Multi-user Virtual Environment |
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| Authors: | Diane Jass Ketelhut |
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| Institution: | (1) Temple University College of Education, Philadelphia, PA, USA |
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| Abstract: | This exploratory study investigated data-gathering behaviors exhibited by 100 seventh-grade students as they participated
in a scientific inquiry-based curriculum project delivered by a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). This research examined
the relationship between students’ self-efficacy on entry into the authentic scientific activity and the longitudinal data-gathering
behaviors they employed while engaged in that process. Three waves of student behavior data were gathered from a server-side
database that recorded all student activity in the MUVE; these data were analyzed using individual growth modeling. The study
found that self-efficacy correlated with the number of data-gathering behaviors in which students initially engaged, with
high self-efficacy students engaging in more data gathering than students with low self-efficacy. Also, the impact of student
self-efficacy on rate of change in data gathering behavior differed by gender. However, by the end of their time in the MUVE,
initial student self-efficacy no longer correlated with data gathering behaviors. In addition, students’ level of self-efficacy
did not affect how many different sources from which they chose to gather data. These results suggest that embedding science
inquiry curricula in novel platforms like a MUVE might act as a catalyst for change in students’ self-efficacy and learning
processes.
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| Keywords: | gender interactivity longitudinal analysis middle school multi-user virtual environment River City scientific inquiry self-efficacy |
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