A comparative case study of students' cognitive strategies when using a computerized database for social studies and science

The primary purpose of this naturalistic study was to describe the cognitive strategies that fifth-grade students used while solving content-area problems with a computerized database. Underlying this primary purpose was a secondary purpose to examine the feasibility of using database programs with fifth-grade students, specifically students who had been classified as learning disabled, educably mentally retarded, and at-risk for academic failure due to socio-economic and environmental factors. Other purposes were to describe the process by which teachers implemented a computerized database program into the existing science and social studies curriculum and to identify variables that affected this implementation. Procedure. To explore these purposes, I worked with 2 teachers and 54 students from two fifth-grade classrooms during the Fall semester of a school year. Using the database program, FrEdBase, students progressed through three stages of activities. In Stage 1, students learned how to use the database commands to manipulate and solve problems about a student information file. During Stage 2, students gathered information for predetermined database categories of a science or social studies file and learned to create records for these new files. For Stage 3, students had to solve problems about the subject-matter file using commands they had learned previously. This study employed methodology associated with naturalistic or qualitative research. Methods of observation and data collection included participant observation, field notes, samples of student work, audio recording of students' dialogue, and structured and non-structured in-depth interviews. Methods of analysis included member checking, triangulation of data, negative case selection, discrepant case analysis, and negotiation of outcomes. Results. Findings addressed both student performance and issues surrounding implementation. While there were many conclusions reported in the study, the major finding in regards to student performance revealed that student teams demonstrated a minimum of effective problem solving behaviors and were, therefore, only moderately successful in answering questions using the database. In regards to implementation issues, a number of factors besides the actual database instruction (e.g., access to computers, curricular considerations, grouping patterns, and student motivation) were found to ultimately affect student performance. The findings were used to suggest implications for instructional improvement and research.