This research investigated how the use of hand held datalogging in science affects the teaching and learning of Junior Certificate Science. A total of 44 students took part in this research over a period of four years. One third of these students used handheld datalogging technology to facilitate a constructivist teaching and learning approach to Science Education. The remaining two thirds of students were taught in a traditional manner, without the use of this technology. The students' performances in the Junior Certificate exam in June 2002 were examined and the results of each of the groups compared. All three groups achieved comparable standards This showed that experience of datalogging in an investigative context, although not designed for the type of examination taken, does not harm students' ability to perform well on the Junior Certificate examination Six months later, in December 2002, the students were presented with the same June 2002 Junior Certificate exam to determine if there was a difference in their ability to retain the information learned during the three year Junior Certificate program. On the same day the students were presented with a set of questions designed to test their ability to interpret graphs and apply scientific process skills Students who had used datalogging technology preformed significantly better in both tests. This showed that students taught using an investigative approach with datalogging retained the science learned at Junior Certificate level better, were better at analysing and interpreting graphs and had increased scientific process skills. Furthermore, a higher number of the students from the datalogging group went on to study science at senior cycle, showing that they remained highly motivated and interested in science. To investigate teachers' attitudes to hand-held datalogging technology, a group of 26 teachers were trained on how to use datalogging equipment as part of an investigative approach to Science. They were asked to use the equipment for a year and to then complete a questionnaire to reflect their experiences, good or bad, with this method of teaching. Also, 5 different teachers, each with extensive experience of using handheld datalogging, were interviewed in detail. All were positive in their attitudes to this method of teaching science. It is clear from this research that the use of datalogging in conjunction with an investigative approach to teaching can do much to enhance students' experience of Science at Junior Certificate level.