WU, HSIN
Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, PhD Student
Email: renatass923@gmail.com
CHEN, SHIANG FAN
Center for General Education, National Taipei University, Associate Professor
Email: schen@mail.ntpu.edu.tw
Abstract
This study aimed to explore the effects of incorporating the Knowledge Building Communities (KBC) strategy into an outdoor plant observation course on students’ learning achievement, learning motivation, and cognitive load. A one-group pretest-posttest experimental design was adopted, and the iNaturalist App was utilized as a mobile learning tool. The participants were 34 undergraduate students enrolled in a general education course titled “Campus Flora” at a national university in northern Taiwan. The 12-week intervention included one week of pretesting, five weeks of traditional guided instruction, five weeks of KBC-based instruction, and one week of posttesting. The results showed that after the implementation of the KBC strategy, students’ learning motivation significantly increased, their cognitive load significantly decreased, and students with lower initial learning achievement demonstrated notable improvement in learning performance. The findings of this study provides important insights that can inform the design of outdoor environmental education programs.
Keywords: Outdoor Education, Knowledge Building Communities, Mobile Learning