Fostering students' inquiry aptitudes and collaborative reasoning in higher education science courses with social annotation tools and collaborative platforms

Abstract

Interactive digital technologies are playing an increasingly important part in education for enhancing collaborative learning processes and improving engagement. Social annotation (SA) tools and collaborative platforms are an innovative way to involve students to give and take feedback, annotate, and brainstorm on complex topics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This article focuses on innovative practices that integrate inquiry‐based discussions using SA tools and collaborative platforms to promote undergraduate students' interest and curiosity about sciences. In this article, lectures were combined with inquiry‐based discussions using an open education SA tool and an open‐access collaborative platform to engage students in a meaningful dialog with peers on scientific topics. Students debated with peers on scientific content in an online environment. Findings show that the integration of inquiry‐based discussions using SA tools and collaborative platforms provides a practical way to effectively improve students interest in science. The information reported in this article can support STEM instructors in designing collaborative learning activities in online and hybrid settings that spark students' curiosity and inquiry attitude about natural sciences.