Systemic reform initiatives call for increased use of computers in K-12 science classrooms. It therefore becomes increasingly important to understand how particular types of computer software and pedagogical structures can support interactions that lead to meaningful learning by students. The role that the computer plays in students' learning in a collaborative environment depends not only on the ways that students use the computer and software but also on how they interact with each other as they use the computer. In this paper, we present some research results of studies that were conducted in collaborative guided-inquiry physical science courses for prospective elementary teachers. In these courses, each group of three students had access to its own computer. We first describe how the computer can be used as a representational tool to support meaning-making conversations in small student groups. Second, we discuss how special computer simulators make it easier for groups of students to construct robust conceptual models. It does so by providing the opportunity for students to make model-like observations that can help them bridge the phenomenological and conceptual domains. Finally, we discuss the design of this pedagogy, how the computer is embedded within classroom activities, and how these activities are based on prior research in science learning.

Editor's Note: For a link to a free-access version of this report, see Item Details > Mirror, below.