often used in technology-enhanced learning environments is prompts. Prior research suggested that prompts can
enhance metacognitive planning and reflection and improve content understanding (Davis, 2000, 2003; Quintana et
al., 2004). Davis (2000, 2003) found that prompts embedded in a Web-based program called Knowledge Integration
Environment helped students reflect on and synthesize science knowledge. Sandoval and Millwood (2005) integrated
prompts in a software tool called ExplanationConstructor to guide high school biology students’ construction of
explanation concerning natural selection. Li and Lim (2008) found written prompts effective in scaffolding middle
school students in online historical inquiry tasks. Ge and Land (2003) found question prompts had positive effect on
undergraduate students’ performances in solving an ill-structured problem. In the study of Walton and Archer (2004),
an evaluative checklist prompted university students to consider “Who, why, what, when, where, and for whom”
when using online academic resources. In addition, Quintana et al. (2004) recommended prompts and reminders as a
software-based scaffolding strategy to support ongoing articulation and reflection during scientific investigations.
Based on the research literature that indicates the positive effects of prompts in technology-enhanced learning
environments, it seems reasonable to assume that prompts can be useful for supporting student learning with online
resources. We designed a software program called Digital IdeaKeeper, which embedded prompts to support students
in online inquiry, a set of interconnected processes that include asking a research question, searching for information
on the Web, evaluating and analyzing information, and synthesizing information to answer the research question
(Kuiper, et al., 2009; Quintana, Zhang, & Krajcik, 2005). Typically, in online inquiry, students create final products
such as essays, artifacts, brochures, and presentations to demonstrate their understanding gained from online
resources.
Our prior research has found that IdeaKeeper helped students engage in deeper exploration of fewer websites,
improved efficiency by focusing students’ attention on learning goals and automatizing mechanical tasks, and
enhanced metacognitive planning and monitoring (Zhang & Quintana, 2012). In another study, we found that
IdeaKeeper-structured online reading was more deliberate, thorough, and purposeful than the one by students who
did not use this tool (Zhang, in press). While IdeaKeeper attempts to support the full range of online inquiry
activities including inquiry planning, information search, analysis, and synthesis, this study focused on the digital
notepad within IdeaKeeper, which aimed to scaffold students in online evaluation, reading, and note-taking through
prompts.
The purpose of this study was to understand how prompts as a specific software scaffolding strategy can support
students in online inquiry in real-world classroom practice. Although researchers generally found prompts useful for
promoting reflection and articulation in science inquiry, little is known about how middle school students actually
respond to prompts designed to support evaluation, reading, and note-taking with online scientific resources.