ON LINE READING

The aim of this study was to examine the effects that reading on screens (using digital devices with different screen sizes) and on paper have on reading time and comprehension. The study group was comprised of126 secondary students from a private school. To ensure balance, the participants were assigned into test groups, formed according to the size of the reading device, based on class levels, gender, and average school grade. In the data collection process, a narrative text was transferred to both print and electronic media. Access to the text was provided on paper and three digital devices. There were no time limitations. After reading, participants were given comprehension tests that consisted of twenty multiple-choice questions. Female participants' on-screen comprehension scores were found to be relatively higher compared to their paper comprehension scores. They also acquired better scores as the screen size increased. Conversely, male participants had higher comprehension scores on tablets and smart phones. Participants who read the text on smart phones and tablets completed the tasks in less time compared to other groups. However, the effects of reading modality on comprehension and reading time were not found to be statistically significant in either the male or female groups. ARTICLE HISTORY

Abstract: Learning science requires the understanding of concepts and formal relationships, processes that -in themselves- have been proved to be difficult for students as they seem to encounter substantial problems with most of the inquiry-learning processes in which they engage. Models in inquiry-based learning have been considered as powerful ‘tools’ that may help students in enhancing their reasoning activity and improving their understanding of scientific concepts. Modelling, however, in the form of exploring, designing and building computer models of complex scientific phenomena has also been embedded in the constructionist learning approach. Working collaboratively with constructionist game microworlds that by design invite students to explore the fallible model underpinning the game and change it so as to create a new game, may provide students opportunities to bring into the foreground their conceptual understandings related to motion in a Newtonian space and put them into test making them at the same time objects of discussion and reflection among the members of the group. Apart from the meaning generation, we also study in this paper, the students' group learning processes i.e. the construction of emergent activity maps to either plan their actions as they engage in game modelling activities or to report on the outcomes generated when these actions are implemented. The connections between the students’ activities as they work with a constructionist medium and the inquiry-based learning activities from which the students are considered to pass when engaging in scientific inquiry also constitute one of the main issues this paper attempts to study.