{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/130201"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/130201","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"“Value-laden”: exploring constructivist values in the design and implementation of digital inquiry modules for middle school science classrooms","abstract":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01","abstract_html":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lane, McKenna"],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Curriculum and Instruction","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dornfeld Tissenbaum, Catherine","Kang, Jina","Lindgren, Robb","Lindgren, Samantha","Tissenbaum, Michael"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-07-18","date_published":"2025-07-18","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:06Z","subjects":["Science Education","Digital Learning","Informal Learning","Curriculum Design","Instructional Design","Interdisciplinary Design"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 McKenna Lane"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130201","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dornfeld Tissenbaum, Catherine","Kang, Jina","Lindgren, Robb","Lindgren, Samantha","Tissenbaum, Michael"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lane, McKenna"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-07-18","2025-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Curriculum and Instruction"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Science Education","Digital Learning","Informal Learning","Curriculum Design","Instructional Design","Interdisciplinary Design"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 McKenna Lane"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130201"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01","The student, McKenna Lane, accepted the attached license on 2025-07-16 at 15:50.","The student, McKenna Lane, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-07-16 at 16:12.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-07-18 at 05:51.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22611 on 2025-10-25 at 15:54:15","Science education reforms in the United States emphasize student-centered inquiry and engagement with authentic disciplinary practices. Guided by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), these reforms are grounded in constructivist theories of learning that position students as active meaning makers. However, little is known about how constructivist values are interpreted and enacted during the design of digital inquiry modules, or the impact of these values on the experience of students and teachers who use them. In this study, I describe the design and implementation of a digital inquiry module created by an interdisciplinary, museum-based design team for use by students and teachers in middle school science classrooms, focusing on how constructivist theories of teaching and learning are embedded in the design process and experienced by teachers and students who use the module. To do this, I conducted a sequential mixed methods study that uses Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) and descriptive statistics to explore the perspectives of the a) module designers and the b) teachers who used a related digital inquiry module in their classrooms, and c) “students” as described by their teachers. The study is guided by the following questions: 1) To what extent are constructivist values toward teaching and learning applied to the collaborative design of an NGSS-aligned digital inquiry module created by an interdisciplinary design team for use in science classrooms? 2) How are constructivist values experienced by teachers who use the digital inquiry module in their science classes? 3) What are teachers’ perspectives of their students’ experiences with the digital inquiry module? My findings describe how the design team and teachers valued authenticity and accuracy of module materials and activities, matching the design to students’ abilities, supporting student engagement, providing meaningful learning experiences, and connecting to the broader classroom context, albeit with slightly different emphases for these themes. I discuss the similarities and differences between these perspectives and end with implications for museums, design teams, and educators."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“Value-laden”: exploring constructivist values in the design and implementation of digital inquiry modules for middle school science classrooms"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dornfeld Tissenbaum, Catherine","Kang, Jina","Lindgren, Robb","Lindgren, Samantha","Tissenbaum, Michael"],"dc:creator":["Lane, McKenna"],"dc:date":["2025-07-18","2025-08"],"dc:description":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01","The student, McKenna Lane, accepted the attached license on 2025-07-16 at 15:50.","The student, McKenna Lane, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-07-16 at 16:12.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-07-18 at 05:51.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22611 on 2025-10-25 at 15:54:15","Science education reforms in the United States emphasize student-centered inquiry and engagement with authentic disciplinary practices. Guided by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), these reforms are grounded in constructivist theories of learning that position students as active meaning makers. However, little is known about how constructivist values are interpreted and enacted during the design of digital inquiry modules, or the impact of these values on the experience of students and teachers who use them. In this study, I describe the design and implementation of a digital inquiry module created by an interdisciplinary, museum-based design team for use by students and teachers in middle school science classrooms, focusing on how constructivist theories of teaching and learning are embedded in the design process and experienced by teachers and students who use the module. To do this, I conducted a sequential mixed methods study that uses Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) and descriptive statistics to explore the perspectives of the a) module designers and the b) teachers who used a related digital inquiry module in their classrooms, and c) “students” as described by their teachers. The study is guided by the following questions: 1) To what extent are constructivist values toward teaching and learning applied to the collaborative design of an NGSS-aligned digital inquiry module created by an interdisciplinary design team for use in science classrooms? 2) How are constructivist values experienced by teachers who use the digital inquiry module in their science classes? 3) What are teachers’ perspectives of their students’ experiences with the digital inquiry module? My findings describe how the design team and teachers valued authenticity and accuracy of module materials and activities, matching the design to students’ abilities, supporting student engagement, providing meaningful learning experiences, and connecting to the broader classroom context, albeit with slightly different emphases for these themes. I discuss the similarities and differences between these perspectives and end with implications for museums, design teams, and educators."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130201"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 McKenna Lane"],"dc:subject":["Science Education","Digital Learning","Informal Learning","Curriculum Design","Instructional Design","Interdisciplinary Design"],"dc:title":["“Value-laden”: exploring constructivist values in the design and implementation of digital inquiry modules for middle school science classrooms"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Curriculum and Instruction"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:06Z"}