Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Techno learning

Chapter 5
3-D technologies are particularly helpful in encouraging and supporting a social environment or the social aspects of learning. This is because members feel as if they are "in" the community b/c of the detailed visual aspects of this technology. Members can create avatar's or computer simulations of themselves and the community can take the form of lakes or buildings rather than computer screens with words flashing across them. This type of technology would be useful in lieu of a traditional discussion board or chat room to promote continued participation and interest in the site. 3-D technologies can be used for large or small groups in both synchronous and asynchronous settings.
The method used by ASU IT was very interesting and did seem to promote social interaction more than any other model that I have read about thus far. The site is open to all students taking the same class, even if they are in different sections of the class. Previous students were also encouraged to participate and some did. This was an interesting approach b/c it enabled students to form bonds and to have communications with people (fellow students and instructors) that they would not have had access to in different circumstances.
This chapter identified many theories that support learning as a social process. If learning is a social process, then 3-D technologies would certainly prove invaluable tools for facilitating social interactions and the development of social ties or relationships b/w members. Theories that support the use of 3-D technology in learning include:
  1. Situated learning (Lave & Wenger)
  2. Sociocultural (Vygotsky)
  3. Cognitive apprenticeship (Brown, Collins, & Duguid)
  4. Constructivism (Bruner)
  5. Dewey's theory

All of these theories are used to form the cognitive scaffolding for 3-D technology in learning. Students become active participants, compelled to communicate with each other to complete naturally occurring tasks. It is through these interactions that meaningful learning occurs.

"Scientific Discovery Learning with Computer Simulations of Conceptual Domains"

This article discussed the difficulties encountered when using computer simulations in learning and methods of instruction that could be utilized to combat these difficulties thereby having a positive affect on learning.

The primary student problems or barriers to "scientific discovery learning" as identified by the authors include:

  • Choosing only "safe" hypotheses
  • Inability or great difficulty forming a hypothesis from given or collected data
  • Poorly designed experiments that yield no data (may not even relate to the hypothesis)
  • Inexperienced and inefficient experiment behavior (may not use of even know of all available tools and experiment designs)
  • Tendency toward confirmation bias (work to prove hypothesis, discredit or disregard any data that does not prove hypothesis)
  • Tendency to use an engineering experiment design (try to create the desired outcome rather than test the current hypothesis)
  • Difficulty interpreting data (I have the info.....What do I do now? What does it mean?)
  • Students have difficulty regulating their own learning process (They need structure. Do "A" first, next complete "B", etc..)

Instruction methods recommended to help meet the needs of students include:

  • Providing access to "just in time" information during simulation. (This is the type of information used in Chapter 12 of CSCL 2 as well.)
  • Provide additional assignments that support the instructional goal for the simulation. This can include guided questions or games. It was reported that students who learned using games ask more "what if" and "how" questions.
  • If the model that you are presenting is complex, the authors recommend using model progression. Model progression is similar to constructivism in that you guide learners through simulation that begins at the novice level and builds in complexity to expert level.
  • Structure the learning environment for the student. Break things into small "tasks" and then guide them through the learning experience. This is done by prompting them with questions or new "tasks" based on previous task.

Successful implementation of simulation leads to scientific discovery learning. Knowledge gained during discovery learning is instinctual and remembered longer than passive learning. This means that the student is more likely to be able to apply the knowledge gained in "real world" situations.

Jammie

8 comments:

  1. I can see the student barriers as they described - I see them even with paper and pencil work they do now.

    As instructors, it is our responsibility to guide and direct them - using the instruction methods as you posted. Those are great guiders.Prompt feedback is another thing that helps stimulate and keep them on track.

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  2. I agree with you Deborah. Many of the barriers described in the article apply to students in "real world" or virtual classrooms. Prompt feedback is crucial to keeping the community alive. This has been mentioned in many of the chapters that we have read in this course. Prompt feedback is also listed as one of the & best practice principles by Chickering and Gamson (1987).

    Chickering, A. & Gamson, Z. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education: Faculty Inventory. Racine, WI: Johnson Foundation.

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  3. Prompt feedback, in any format is valuable to all. Jammie, thanks for bulleting the various theories. How did you do that? My 'blog' always runs together, oh well. In one my current classes that I am teaching, concepts of mental health, the students struggle with various core concepts because for many, they are very young, and for some, they have no experience with the concepts that we discuss such as personality development failure, major depression, etc. Now,after studying various educational theories, I was able to relate to my students with more depth because I knew they were struggling because of the lack of real life experience in this area and therefore, had problems relating to the subject matter. It was an "ah ha" moment for me. I understand that in the future, using various theories to frame the learning experience will hopefully prevent much of the student frustration. Thanks for an excellant post.

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  4. "Tendency to use an engineering experiment design (try to create the desired outcome rather than test the current hypothesis)"

    I believe students are conditioned to think this way...skipping through the problem solving and thinking, "Just tell me the answer!" I've also struggled with students trying to "guess" the correct answer on opinion/persuasive types of questions. Perhaps a product of the high-stakes testing environment so many of our students experienced as they progressed through their education.

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  5. Just yesterday I experienced one of the "right answer" instances. It wasn't even a question that had a right or wrong answer. I provided the students with links to 2 cushings disease websites. I asked them to develop 4 questions that a family member or patient may have regarding the disease or its treatment and to go to the website to look for the answers. The final aspect of the exercise was to evaluate the website; could they find the answers, was it easy to navigate, did it require familiarity with using the internet, and would you recommend it to a family member or patient.
    You would not believe the argument that ensued. They really believed that I was looking for a "right" answer and they were going to argue with each other until they had proven that their answer was the best.
    I had to stop them and explain that the experience was the point of the exercise and that they would need to evaluate patients on an individual level to determine the appropriateness of the site. Most importantly...I had to explain that there was no "right" answer!!!

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  6. Have any of you run on a vitual hospital that requires the student to assess, critically think of what assesment comes next and/or put information together to develop an appropriate plan of care? I'm working on a improvement plan for a student that could really use this type of exercise. I can visualize using the concept explained in Chapter 5 being used like this, but surely someone else has too and its already out there.

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  7. Student barriers can cause instructor barriers. Our students of today are molded to feel that there is only one answer. As instructors, have to guide students, support them in a way to allow them to explore many possibilites and guide them through the thinking process "cognitive apprenticeship". Unfortunately, some students don't care for this type of instruction. This is this the barrier that I am presented with.

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  8. I am so glad for you all that you were able to realize that in real world situations, there are often no "right" or "wrong" answers, but rather viable solutions, that is, answers that are appropriate for a given situation, answers that make sense and are defensible. Good discussion!

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