This study examined the types of learning behaviors students demonstrated while performing inquiry tasks. It also explored the relations between the learning behaviors and students' domain knowledge. We observed fourteen students in five groups during a ninthgrade biology course. Three types of learning behaviors (inquiry, collaborative, and minimally productive behaviors) were identified and time on each type was measured. The results demonstrate that students demonstrated different patterns according to the types of learning behaviors. Correlation analysis revealed that learning outcomes had a strong positive correlation with the inquiry behaviors but a strong negative correlation with the minimally productive behaviors. The results suggest that attention should be paid to facilitate the more meaningful inquiry behaviors while reducing minimally productive behaviors.

Current research on computer technology integration in K–12 school classrooms indicates that student learning outcomes remain flat despite heavy investment. Examining school leadership conceptions about technology integration might reveal a way to reverse this trend. This study adapts a survey instrument from Brush and Bannon and applies it to Indiana school district superintendents. Key findings indicate respondents perceive developing technology goals and plans for a school district, providing instructional support, and integrating technology into a core curriculum are very important for instructional technology leadership, but educational experiences and credentials are less important. However, respondents from school districts with smaller student enrollments and who report having little or no knowledge of instructional technology tend to view educational experiences and credentials more highly than respondents from larger schools and who report being very knowledgeable. Implications are that superintendents tend to emphasize the technology-use aspect of instructional technology leadership over instructional proficiencies.

No abstract