Contents: Preface. Introduction. Part I: Student Learning Partners. How Do Students Respond to Science Instruction? Four Case Studies. Part II: Classroom Learning Partners. Making Science Accessible to All Students. Making Thinking Visible. Helping Students Learn From Each Other. Promoting Autonomy for Lifelong Science Learning. Part III: Student Learning Partners Revisited. Science Learning Partners and Science Inquiry in High School. Building on Middle School Science in High School. Part IV: New Design Partnerships. Planning for Technology in Education. Partnerships for Professional Development. Outcomes and Opportunities. Appendices.Student Interviews--Lee and Pat. Table of Contents From CD-ROM.

Reviews

"[The authors] provide a wealth of resources--science activities with and without computer applications; case studies on student achievement; software demonstrations of a CLP tool, E-LabBook; assessment strategies; and an annotated bibliography....Designed to enhance science education, this instructional package offers strategies for learning and teaching in all subjects. Recommended at all levels."
—CHOICE"This book presents the finding of an exciting fifteen-year collaboration, investigating the Computer as Learning Partner (CLP)....A valuable model of collaboration for those who wish to become involved in similar work is provided....I would strongly recommend this informative book and very useful CD-Rom to anyone who is interested in collaborative work."
—British Journal of Educational Psychology"...if you are interested in the insights gained from 15 years of trying to improve science teaching, then this book belongs on your bookshelf."
—Contemporary Psychology"The pedagogical approach described in this book raises some of the age-old questions in education: breath vs. depth, abstract vs. concrete, general vs. specific. Yet these issues are examined in a new light, provided by a consideration of knowledge representation, social structure, and new technologies. I recommend that anyone concerned about systemic improvement of learning and teaching read this engaging account of learning and development of students, teachers, and researchers over an extended time span.
—Science Education"An exciting book that provides important theoretical and practical insights into learning, assessment, and effective uses of technology. Linn and Hsi show how learners follow very different paths in their quest for knowledge, and they explore innovative ways to support these multiple pathways....The book also provides a model of collaborative research that is extremely important for the research community....Overall, the authors implicitly model lifelong learning as they attempt to help students become lifelong learners. This book is relevant to a variety of audiences including teachers, administrators, parents, and other researchers. It is also important for undergraduate and graduate students who want to become teachers, researchers, or designers. Its primary focus is on science education, but it has important implications for work in all content areas. It is a great pleasure to recommend this book."
—John D. Bransford
Learning Technology Center, Vanderbilt University"A rare book in education--and especially rare in technology and education: one that draws on a strong, extended research base and yet speaks clearly to a broad audience. This book offers a careful and insightful analysis of the critical issues in the field."
—Andrea di Sessa
University of California at Berkeley"A powerful, rich, research-based guide for science teacher development. The case studies make the thinking of both science teachers and science students explicit, visible, and accessible. This practical, reader-friendly guide comes at a critical time in school science reform....I recommend this book for teachers, for preservice courses, for site-based professional development reform teams, for curriculum designers, for researchers, and for groups interested in collaborating to introduce technology into the curriculum."
—Jane Bowyer
Abbie Valley Professor of Education and Department Head, Director, NSF-funded Lo"Linn and Hsi present important lessons for making science accessible to all students. They provide convincing evidence that science curriculum needs to change from exposing students to numerous ideas to allowing students to explore a few major ideas in-depth. The Computer as Learning Partner curriculum demonstrates that students who explore a few challenging areas of science will develop robust understandings of these topics and of inquiry but also succeed on more traditional standardized tests. Perhaps one of the most important lessons gleamed in this work is that a systematic research agenda in education can make a difference. The ideas presented about knowledge integration, learning partners, and design studies extend beyond science education to all fields of learning. Science teachers, educational researchers, policymakers and administrators must read this book."
—Joseph Krajcik
Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education, University of Michigan-Ann