Inq-Blotter: Revolutionizing How Teachers Identify and Support Students Needing Help During Inquiry

In other IES funded research and development, the team built a series of virtual physics labs to assess middle school student's science inquiry practice and understanding. In this Phase 1 project, the team developed and tested a prototype of Inq-Blotter, a web-based platform to provide teachers immediate feedback on student progress while using the labs. The prototype dashboard alerts teachers when students are struggling on specific inquiry practices and provides teachers actionable information to guide practice. In addition to developing the dashboard, the project team also developed prototypes of resources and curriculum to facilitate classroom integration. The Phase I pilot study included 5 teachers and 196 students and results indicated that the prototype operated as intended. Teachers also reported increased awareness of areas where students were having difficulty, and increased collaboration with students.