ABSTRACT
Student participation and accomplishment in science might be increased through the design of effective classroom environments and activities. Collaborative student work groups and computer-based technologies are two of the many instructional resources increasingly called for in science classroom reform agendas. This chapter is a description of the features and forms of collaborative student work in a high school physics classroom both before and after the implementation of a set of computer-based resources and activities. The important finding is that interaction with a resource-rich computer environment supported increased participation of students in classroom conversations about science concepts. These successful classroom conversations were in contrast to the levels of student participation achieved in the more traditional teacher-centered, lecture-demonstration science activities of the prior year. The chapter displays the mutually constitutive roles that computer-based technologies and collaborative work groups can play in creating new forms of participation in science-engaged conversations during classroom time. The chapter concludes with a strong recommendation for the continued design, use, and study of collaborative work environments in science classrooms.
