Student Motivation and Internet Technology: Are Students Empowered to Learn Science?

The Kids as Global Scientists (KGS) project engages students in the study of atmospheric science through the use of current imagery and on-line communication in a reform-minded, inquiry-based curricular program. This article presents case study data on one sixth-grade classroom of KGS participants during the 8-week program. Six students representing three motivation levels were selected for intensive study to help illustrate how different students view learning science and the use of technology both before and after a technology-rich program. Pre- and postassessment scores were analyzed for the entire class, and the six students' comments from individual interviews served as one example of voices for each motivation group. Results indicated that students made significant gains in weather content knowledge as measured by written assessments, and interviews revealed a high level of student motivation and satisfaction with the project. We conclude with a discussion of the program characteristics we believe are important for creating a learning environment that fosters the motivation and achievement we observed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 459–479, 2000.