Computers and School Reform

[ ] Ernest McDaniel William Mclnerney Penny Armstrong

Part of the vision of school reform is to recon- struct schools as "learning communities" in which students and teachers pursue topics of interest. Computers can provide powerful tools for students in learning communities where inquiry, data gathering, interpretation, thinking, and judgment take place. Chang- ing beliefs in educational goals and great sup- port for teachers will be necessary if we are to realize the potential of computers in re- structured classrooms. The greatest possibili- ties exist in new "Professional Development Schools," where university faculty join school teachers in joint efforts to restructure learning environments. New evaluation procedures are also needed if competencies associated with information retrieval and use are to be assessed.

[] A common thread running through much of the literature on school reform reflects an interest in shifting classroom emphasis from information transmission to information pro- cessing. In these classrooms, chi ldren con- struct concepts as they seek, interrogate, and interpret information:

To understand a subject means in effect that you have been initiated into a community of dis- course-- that you take part in the conversation. • . . Learning at all levels is an active process in which children construct and reconstruct knowl- edge as they go along. To know something is not only to take in the bare information but to inter- pret it and relate it to other knowledge . . . . Real knowledge is purpose-built, site-built, and in- fused with the learner's sense of purpose (Holmes Group, 1990, pp. 12-13).

A theoretical base for redesigning class- rooms exists in the work of cognitive psychol- ogists who are emphasiz ing the importance of mental activity in t ransforming information into larger concepts, perceptions, and beliefs. Shulman's (1986) observations on the work of cogni t ive psychologis t s in this regard are germane:

This work has been grounded in the recognition that in even the most simple of cognitive tasks, learning is not a passive process in which the learner incorporates veridical representations of what has been taught. Indeed, the essence of any act of learning or problem solving is the active role played by the learner in transforming the ostensible message . . . of instruction into the learner's own cognitive structures . . . . Thus, to

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understand why learners respond (or fail to re- spond) as they do, ask not what they were taught, but what sense was rendered of what was taught. The consequences of teaching can only be under- stood as a function of what that teaching stimu- lates the learner to do with the material. (pp. 16-17)

Cognitive psychologists emphasize that the reorganization of cognitive schemes to include more functional concepts is a major outcome of learning. They have underlined the idea that concepts which are integrated into the cogni- tive schema are constructed rather than bor- rowed. Instructional models based on this basic premise have been described by McDan- iel and Lohmann (1988), Suchman (1966), Taba (1966), and Thelen (1972). Common to all of these instructional models are opportunities for students to examine problem situations, speculate, assemble information, and come to their own conclusions. If the problem situa- tions have been selected to embody basic prin- ciples of the subject matter, students acquire broad concepts as well as gain greater auton- omy in the pursuit of knowledge. It is in sup- po r t ing such ins t ruct ional models that computers join the reform enterprise.

It is our thesis that computers will play their most significant role in shaping the classrooms of tomorrow when they are used in the context of student inquiry. This assertion does not sub- tract from the use of computers for practice exercises, educational games and simulations, numerical analysis, and word processors. We suggest that computers will enter the educa- tional arena most powerfully when they are used to amplify the student's capacity to ac- quire, interrogate, and interpret information. As Ernest Boyer (1986) noted:

The most powerful benefits of computers in leaming are realized when students use technol- ogy to achieve high-order learning, when a stu- dent can, in a very real sense, "converse" with the computer and develop better thinking in the pro- cess. (p. 31)

Perhaps one of the most ambitious attempts to provide students opportunities to browse, question, and extend information is the Per- seus Project under development at Harvard (Crane, 1990). Perseus will bring the world of classical Greek civilization to the student or

scholar. In the initial version, students can see "video narratives" which introduce them to different archaeological sites in Greece. Stu- dents can then view monuments, art objects, building plans, or a variety of essays which amount to a book-length overview of Greek civilization. When completed, the database will contain the works of most Greek authors, in English and in Greek, some five to ten thou- sand images, together with basic tools such as a dictionary, atlas, and encyclopedia entries.

While Perseus will be used by university scholars and students, imagine the database that could be constructed for high school stu- dents using the 11-hour PBS television docu- mentary "The Civil War" and such print material as The American Iliad, the story of the Civil War narrated by eyewitnesses and con- temporaries (Eisenschiml & Newman, 1947).

As an example of such an application, Mc- Daniel and Lohmann (1988) have described an inquiry sequence growing out of the Battle of Shiloh. At Shiloh, the Southern forces seemed to have victory within their grasp at the end of a bitter day's fighting, but failed to consum- mate their victory. This had disastrous conse- quences, since the next day Grant's reinforced army re-took the field and drove the Southern army into full retreat. Why the South failed to press the fight with victory in sight remains a debated issue. In this exercise, students listen to an audiotape that contains three disparate accounts from actual eyewitnesses of the bat- tle. After each account, the students try to de- termine what happened at Shiloh to deny the Southerners the victory they thought they had won.

In working through this exercise, student learning extends beyond the bare facts of the battle. They learn to evaluate statements in terms of the vantage point of the witness, the motivations and probable bias of the reporter, and other factors which enter into the veracity of a historical document. They also develop an appreciation that the "facts of history" are mostly constructed events.

As a final extension of the exercise, students can examine folders containing additional in- formation on topics of unique interest to them: what other soldiers saw, medicine and surgery, death from diseases, bridging equipment, land mines, horses and related equipment, music

COMPUTERS AND SCHOOL REFORM 75

and art, letters, food, and economic and social changes associated with the Civil War. Stu- dents looking into the food soldiers ate are surprised to find that instant coffee was intro- duced during the Civil War and that Borden's Condensed Milk has been around since that time.

Two points are relevant here. First, we see an example of students who are learning the modes of inquiry into history and, addition- ally, extending their activities beyond the sin- gle event to related areas of great interest to them. Second, we see that materials which are organized and maintained as tape recordings and file folders can be transferred to laser disk for easy use by many teachers who would like to let students come to their own conclusions rather than read about the conclusions of others.

Computers also allow the teacher to extend the learning community beyond the classroom walls. The literature contains several excellent examples of the use of computers in creating "learning communities" that reach far beyond the local community. Riel (1985) reported a project in which third- and fourth-grade stu- dents in California and Alaska swapped news stories on disks. Each class published its own edition of "The Computer Chronicles" using students' own material and the material they received on the disks. Students worked in teams to generate new stories and edit those received from their peers in the other state.

Levin, Riel, Myiyake, and Cohen (1987) re- ported a "water project" in which students, teachers, professors, undergraduates, and graduate students from the United States, Mexico, Japan, and Israel shared information about water problems in their towns. Through electronic networks, students analyzed in- formation from other sites and wrote reports on methods that could improve local water management.

Educationally oriented networks range from in-school LANs to worldwide global computer networks such as BITNET and the Internet. Laughon and Kulikowski (1991) have cited such projects as AT&T Learning Circles, the National Geographic Society's water qual- ity project, and KIDS-92, an international dis- cussion group. In Indiana, schools and homes are connected through at-home computers in

the Buddy Project, and students and educators are linked to one another and to the State Department of Education through IDEAnet, which provides on-line databases, conferenc- ing, e-maiL and file transfer over toll-free lines. On IDEAnet, students can post messages to one another and to scientists located at the state universities, at the Indianapolis Zoo, and at several technically oriented companies.

Subscription networks offer another means of bringing large databases and communica- tion systems to the classroom. Among the more widely used subscription networks are Compuserve, Genie, Delphi, and Prodigy. Prodigy, for example, provides instant access to the Academic American Encyclopedia, which is updated every 30 days. The rapidly changing map of Europe, not reflected in any published geography books, is available on Prodigy. Additionally, students can access Consumer Reports, National Geographic, and the Kiplinger Newsletter, as well as selected science programs from Nova. Prodigy also contains its own networking capabilities. We know of an elementary class in Lafayette, Indiana, that uses Prodigy to get the meaning of Spanish words from a Purdue language professor, who in turn has put the class in touch with Spanish- speaking children in Texas who were seeking pen pals.

Summarizing to this point, we recognize the large contributions computers are making to learning by providing students with prac- tice exercises, simulations, "number crunch- ing," and word processing capabili t ies. Nevertheless, we feel that the greatest poten- tial for computer applications is in the area of retrieval manipulation, and exchange of infor- mation. Full utilization of these capabilities means an escape from "2 x 4 learning'-- that is, learning bounded by the two covers of the book and the four walls of the classroom.

Certainly, teachers have always made use of libraries and resource materials, but fre- quently at the cost of many extra hours of preparation. Readily accessible databases make it easier to go beyond asking all students to read the same chapter and then recite what they read. Students can examine topics of in- terest using whatever information they can access, and "recitation" can mean opportuni- ties to share findings unique to each student.

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These possibilities will be realized in schools with a strong tradition or an emerging interest in experimenting with more open classroom arrangements. Much depends on teachers' and administrators' beliefs about the nature of school achievement. If achievement is viewed mainly as mastery of subject matter, then computers will be used in ways that keep the teachers active but the children relatively passive. On the other hand, if achievement is seen as including increased student autonomy in asking questions and seeking information, then the teacher will be able to shift classroom goals and organization in ways that help stu- dents ask their own questions and find their own information.

Teachers will need support as they risk changing from secure patterns of dassroom organization to more open arrangements in which the outcomes are uncertain.

We do not know what would be the consequences of extensive use of simulations for concept learn- ing, of extensive use of computers for inquiry by small groups of youngsters, or of giving young- sters access to massive libraries of data. We will simply have to try different ways of using com- puters and carefully assess results as we go. (Walker, 1986, pp. 248-249)

Many schools may feel that they have inad- equate resources or that the prospects are too risky in this period when politicians are insist- ing on accountability as measured by stand- ardized achievement tests. However, new kinds of institutions are slowly, almost invisi- bly, taking shape all over the nation. Excellent examples are the Professional Development Schools, brainchildren of the Holmes Group mentioned in the opening paragraphs of this article. Professional Development Schools are long-term collaborations between major re- search-based universities and schools. In these schools, university faculty, student teachers, and teachers work together to reconstruct and research curriculum. It is in these schools that classrooms are being formed as "learning com- munities," and it is in such schools that we will have the best chance to "get away from the terrible passivity we have inflicted on the young" (Featherstone, 1990).

Professional Development Schools are the logical testbeds for bold and innovative edu- cational programs. Their strength lies in the long-term institutionalized arrangements which bring together teachers and researchers with the common commitment to forge "best practices." Their strength also lies in a contin- uing attempt, measured in years and decades rather than in weeks or months, to find the concepts and words that define a learning community.

Expertise is more a matter of working at the limits of your competence than it is spouting well- learned information. Students get a sense of "Well, I don't understand that," but that's not at all a defeating notion any more. It's very much "So! I'm working at the limits of my competence. And that's where experts are forever moving, and that's how they gain new knowledge." That's an idea that's very powerful. (Holmes Group, 1990, p. 15)

Computers can deliver information which, in terms of sheer volume and complexity, takes students to the edge of their competencies in evaluating, selecting, retaining, organizing, and interpreting it. Instructional designers who help teachers use computers in this role will make central contributions to establishing true learning communities.

Evaluation of student progress in the new learning environments will also require in- venting new ways of measuring student achievement. In addition to acquiring substan- tive content, students will be acquiring new competencies in problem finding, problem for- mulation, and hypothesis testing. These are precisely the areas in which existing tests of educational achievement are most deficient. As teachers move toward the kinds of applica- tions described here, ethnographic reports and "thick" descriptions of students engaged in inquiry processes may be better measures of educational accomplishments than standard- ized tests.

An example of the form such evaluation might take is seen in the work of Chang (1991). In this study, college students were closely observed as they explored a HyperCard® pro- gram with 105 topics dealing with the Vietnam

COMPUTERS AND SCHOOL REFORM 77

War (Gabel, 1989). A striking feature of the search behaviors observed was the emergence of profiles that suggest four general search strategies:

• The aimless wanderer. The informat ion search is random and explorator~ with no detectable goals or purposes. The searcher seems curious about the contents of a par- ticular topic, but has few, if an~ questions, and there is no evidence of direction or planning in moves from one topic to the next. The search is characterized by aimless wandering through isolated topics, or by simply reading through topics passively in the order they are presented.

• The fact collector. The information search is driven by interest and non-issue-relevant questions (e.g., "What?" "Who?" "Where?" and "When?"). The search is activated by a desire to obtain concrete facts within topics of interest. Topic choices are not connec- ted by investigative themes or conceptual relationships.

• The casual investigator. The information search is motivated by a series of limited issue-relevant questions. There is, however, little or no attempt to integrate the results of the limited investigation into broader understandings or to construct explanatory themes.

• The integrative analyst. The information search is characterized by attempts to ar- rive at broad understandings and explana- tory themes. The searcher deliberately inte- grates background factors and other infor- mation that elucidates the overall situation. There is evidence of logical connections among topic choices, and that current infor- mation determines subsequent choices. Moreover, there is evidence of an overarch- ing investigative strategy, and of efforts to integrate information as the search progresses.

Certainly, a teacher could offer evidence that desirable educational goals have been achieved by demonstrating that a semester of

work had reduced the number of "aimless wanderers" and increased the number of "in- tegrative analysts" in the class.

SUMMARY

Imaginative applications of computers to edu- cation hold large potentialities for enhancing student learning and advancing school re- form. The idea that students will have power- ful information-age tools to assist them in their work exceeds the visions of most planners of the brave new world. Yet there is a danger that these potentialities may not be realized. If com- puters are seen mainly as a way of helping students acquire knowledge and skills within traditional classrooms, then computers will simply be a new tool for achieving old goals. On the other hand, if the computer can be linked to emerging educational goals stressing cognitive processes, the potentialities for stu- dent growth appear almost unlimited.

Using computers as information process- ing tools rather than machines for delivering educational programs opens the way for con- structing learning envi ronments that go beyond textbooks and classrooms. The new Professional Development Schools offer sites where such innovations are most likely to happen.

As new learning environments become es- tablished, new ways of measuring student growth and development will be needed. Ex- amining students' search strategies may be one means of observing and documenting shifts in the ways students select, organize, and make meaning of information.

Ernest McDaniel, William McInerney, and Penny Armstrong are with the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

REFERENCES

Boyer, E. L. (1986). Education's new challenge. In T. R. Cannings & S. W. Brown (Eds.), The information age classroom: Using the computer as a tool. Irvine, CA: Franklin, Beedle & Associates.

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Chang, C. IC (1991). The effects of cognitive complexity, need for cognition and orientation toward learning on information search strategies. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN.

Crane, G. (t990). Challenging the individual: The tradition of hypermedia databases. Academic Com- puting, 4(4), 22-23, 31-38.

Eisenschiml, O., & Newman, R. (1947). The American Iliad. Indianapolis: Bobbs-MerriU.

Featherstone, J. (1990, Fall). Quoted in K. Devaney (Ed.), The Holmes Group Forum, 5(1), p.15.

Gabel, E (1989). The Vietnam War: A hypercard history book. Scotts Valley, CA: Paul Gabel Regeneration Software.

Holmes Group (1990). Tomorrow's schools. East Lan- sing, MI: Author.

Laughon, S., & Ktflikowski, S. (1991, October 30). For Proceedings of 9th ICTE, March 92. (Computer com- munication posted to and archived on the listserv EDTECH@OHSTVMA.)

Levin, J. A., Riet, M., Myiyake, N., & Cohen, M. (1987). Education on the electronic frontier: Teleapprentices in globally distributed educa- tional contexts. Contemporary Educational Psychol- ogy, 12(3), 254-260.

McDaniel, E., & Lohmann, J. (1988, June). An instruc-

tional model to enhance thinking. Paper presented at the Fourth National Conference on Thinking, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Riel, M. (1985). The computer chronicles newswire: A functional learning environment for acquiring literacy skills. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 1(3), 317-337.

Shulman, L. S. (1986). Paradigms and research pro- grams in the study of teaching: A contemporary perspective. In M. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of re- search on teaching. New York: Macmillan.

Suchman, J. IL (1966). A model for the analysis of inquiry. In H. J. Klausmeier & C. W. Harris (Eds.), Analyses of concept learning. New York: Academic Press.

Taba, H. (1966). Thinking strategies and cognitive func- tioning in elementary school children (USOE Cooper- ative Research Project No. 2404). San Francisco: San Francisco State College.

Thelen, H. (1972). Education and the human quest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Walker, D. E (1986). Reflections on the educational potential and limitations of microcomputers. In T. R. Cannings & S. W. Brown (Eds.), The information age classroom: Using the computer as a tool. Irvine, CA: Franklin, Beedle & Associates.

ANNOUNCING The Dr. Marie McMahan

Honorary Graduate Assistantship at Kent State University

This assistantship will be awarded to one student per year who is pursuing a Masters or Doctoral Degree in Instructional Technology at Kent State University. The assis- tantship will focus on Research and Instructional Design work with Instructional Technology faculty. The combined award for tuition and stipend is up to $10,014 per academic year. The deadline to apply for this assistantship is May 1, 1993.

Dr. McMahan served AECT as President in 1978 as well as a variety of other offices including Secretary-Treasurer, Board member and Region V coordinator. Her career at Kent State University started in 1969 as Director o f the Instructional Resources Center and professor o f Educational Media . Her specialization was in the area of Instructional Design.

For more information, p lease call or write: Alan Evans or David Dalton

405 White Hall KSU, Kent, OH 44242

216-672-2294