Abstract: This quantitative, quasi-experimental pretest/posttest control group design examined the
effects of online collaborative learning on middle school students’ science literacy. For a 9-week period,
students in the control group participated in collaborative face-to-face activities whereas students in the
experimental group participated in online collaborative activities using the Edmodo educational platform.
Students at a publicmiddle school in centralVirginia completed both a pretest and a posttest consisting of the
Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resources for Teachers (MOSART) assessment to
measure science misconceptions as an aspect of science literacy. Results indicated that the students who
participated in collaborative activities in the traditional classroom had fewer science misconceptions than
students who participated in collaborative activities in the online environment. Moreover, from pretest to
posttest, the students in the experimental group increased in their science misconceptions. Suggestions for
practice and future research are discussed in light of these results. #
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014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci
Teach 51:1103–1118, 2014.