Learning and participation in a persistent whole-classroom seismology simulation

This paper presents the results of a six-week unit on seismology conducted in a fifth-grade classroom. The unique feature of the unit involved the use of classroom technology designed to support students' participation in an authentic seismological practice: the interpretation of seismograms to determine the epicenter and magnitude of earthquakes. The goals of the empirical study were (1) to gain insight into the impact of the intervention with respect to student mastery of seismological practice skills, development of conceptual understanding of earthquake distributions, and changes in self-conception as investigative agents, and (2) to investigate student participation in an emerging community of practice over an extended time course.