TOWARD A DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR INTERNATIONAL PEER DISCUSSIONS: TAKING ADVANTAGE OF DISPARATE PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC ISSUES

Abstract

This paper describes how we have adapted the WISE technology and curriculum for use in an international setting. We also report on a cross-cultural collaboration between the two authors, representing the WISE project in the U.S. and its counterpart, called Viten (see http://viten.no) in Norway. After introducing the WISE platform and describing our collaboration, we present a brief comparison of the Norwegian and U.S. educational systems. We then describe “Viten.no,” the national level program that has grown around this effort. Next, we present our designs for a collaborative activity where students from our two countries first perform a WISE (or Viten, respectively) inquiry project concerning wolf populations and biodiversity, followed by a sequence of online discussions designed to capitalize on cultural and geographic differences for purposes of conceptual learning. Finally, we describe the outcomes of our classroom trials of this international curriculum, which are limited in scale but sufficient to allow the framing of some design principles. We close with a discussion of the implications of such curriculum, and our own current efforts to continue this line of research.