Using PDA to enhance social science learning with inquiry-based strategies

This study presents a mobile exploration activity that guides elementary students to learn in social science activity with digital supports from mobile devices and wireless communications. The students are situated in both the real world and the virtual world to extend their learning experiences. The learning activities between the field and the digital system not only demonstrate the practices of mobile learning which emphasizes learning to happen close to real life but also provide learning content to facilitate students' field studies. Moreover, a comprehensive evaluation method has been used to analyze the learning effectiveness. Based on inquiry-based learning principles, students use the handheld device, PDA, to do the investigations. By constructing their own knowledge, students' learning performances are hoped to be enhanced. This research took Peace Temple in Tainan as an example and invited 33 fifth graders to participate. Through pre-and post-class questionnaires as well as observations and focus group interviews, descriptive quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. The results show significant positive results to students' learning.