Spatial and temporal embedding for science inquiry: an empirical study of student learning

In consecutive years, a fifth grade teacher of a self-contained classroom enacted five-week Earth sciences units that included learning activities focusing on the interpretation of seismograms and the location of earthquake epicenters. In one class, the unit utilized an embedded design that situated learners within the spatial and temporal extent of the phenomenon during the epicenter determination activities. In the other class, while the activity set remained the same, the embedding features were removed. Students in the embedded condition demonstrated greater learning gains than their non-embedded counterparts in prepost assessments of student skill, declarative knowledge, and conceptual understandings, even among topics unrelated to the determination of epicenters. Post-activity student interviews evidenced strong preference for the immersive, asynchronous, and temporal staging components of the embedded condition.