K-12 Teaching and Learning in the ICT Era

Five Instructional Design Principles (from Brenda Sugrue)

Learning is not performance The medium is not the method Match external and internal conditions Authentic practice makes perfect One size does not fit all

Learning is not Performance

Performance depends upon Knowledge Capacity Available tools and information Motivation

Learning requires Generalization Reflection Self-testing of scope of what is learned

The Medium Is Not the Method

Some learning environments support performances substantially more or less than the worlds in which those performances ultimately will be needed

Media afford opportunities to use various instructional approaches but are not, per se, the source of learning

Match External and Internal Conditions Allow for initial verbal learning followed by

automation through practice Allow for reflection opportunities that can

support transfer Be sensitive to issues of perceived difficulty

and perceived value of learning tasks, as well as student preferences for features of the learning environment

Authentic Practice Makes Perfect Since so much of schooling is verbal, it is

easy to confuse verbalizing of concepts and principles with the ability to apply those principles and to confuse describing performances with doing them

Cognitive authenticity is sufficient as long as the cognitive scope matches the expected realm of applicability for what is being learned

One Size Does Not Fit All

For example, newcomers to a field need simple text, with no gaps in explanations, or they get confused; old hands need enough loose ends and missing details to keep them from going on autopilot

In general, Compensate for weaknesses Leverage strengths Remediate weaknesses

Overview

Why use technology? Facilitating effective learning

processes Simulating instructive environments Tutoring

Facilitating effective learning processes SWoRD [Schunn and Cho]

(http://ladybug.lrdc.pitt.edu/sword3/)

Peer critique of writing• Manage the process• Provide incentives by evaluating students via

comparison to other students• Cumulate the feedback and make it available• Support reviewee reactions to feedback

Works as well as or better than instructor feedback and allows much more use of writing assignments

Suthers’ Collaborative Knowledge Construction Tool

Hypothesis

Data

Supporting relationship

Can have disconfirming

relationships too

Unevaluated relationship

Simulating instructive environments – Yaron’s Virtual Chemistry Lab

Cognitiverealism of key

artifacts

“Meters” convey key information

Graphs show additional data

Instructor Authoring Toolwww.chemcollective.org

Select reagents

Define reactions

Assemble Glassware

Key Aspects of Simulations

Cognitive realism Ease of understanding and use Recordkeeping Instructor modifiability Compatibility of timescale and nature

of simulation activities with the school day

Direct links to curriculum

The Importance of Interoperability

See Tom Friedman’s book, “The World is Flat”

School systems need to have integrated curricular components Artifacts must work with other artifacts,

gradebook systems, curriculum management systems, etc.

Offering a proprietary “seamless” package is no longer sufficient – the marketplace has been clear about this. The connection to other vendors’ packages must be seamless!

Agile “little guys” do well while the slow-moving “big

guys” run into trouble!

Use of XML Base to Permit Interoperability  <?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes" ?> - <VIRTUALLAB version="1.4.8">  <TITLE>Gravimetric Determination of Arsenic</TITLE>   <AUTHOR>Jordi Cuadros</AUTHOR>   <DESCRIPTION>Determine the amount of arsenic present in soil samples.</DESCRIPTION> - <!-- <SOLUTION_MODELLERS> <MODELLER property="waterConcentration" model="waterFinite" /> <MODELLER

property="liquidVolume" model="evaluated" /> </SOLUTION_MODELLERS>  --> - <SOLUTION_VIEWERS>  <VIEWER honorSignificantFigures="false" name="Solution Properties" enabled="true"

driver="irydium.vlab.viewer.PropertiesPanel" />   -->   <VIEWER sEnabled="true" aqEnabled="false" name="Species Viewer" enabled="true" gEnabled="true"

driver="irydium.vlab.viewer.SpeciesViewer" />   -->   <VIEWER name="Thermometer" enabled="true" driver="irydium.vlab.viewer.Thermometer" />   <VIEWER name="PH Meter" enabled="false" driver="irydium.vlab.viewer.PhViewer" />   </SOLUTION_VIEWERS>- <TRANSFERBAR>  <MODEL name="Precise Transfer" enabled="true" driver="irydium.vlab.transfer.PreciseTransferModel" />   <MODEL name="Significant Figures Transfer" enabled="true"

driver="irydium.vlab.transfer.SignificantFiguresTransferModel" />   <MODEL name="Realistic Transfer" enabled="true" driver="irydium.vlab.transfer.RealisticTransferModel" />   </TRANSFERBAR>  <KNOWLEDGEBASE reactions="arsgrav/reactions.xml" species="arsgrav/species.xml"

driver="irydium.textRealm.TextKnowledgebase" />   <REALM name="arsgrav" driver="irydium.textRealm.TextRealm" filesystem="arsgrav/filesystem.xml" /> - <STOCKROOM>  <MOUNT realm="arsgrav" path="/Irydium Solutions">Irydium Solutions</MOUNT>   </STOCKROOM>  </VIRTUALLAB>

Tutoring

Tasks Student modeling Coaching Progress monitoring

An Example (Van Lehn et al.)

Richer Example

How a Vector is Entered

DerivativeVariables Are

DefinedAutomatically

Building Blocks

Standard components Model of expertise Domain simulations Student Modeling Tools Dialogue Tools Interface Components

Eventually, it should be possible to combine tools from VanLehn’s tutors with other tools by other people, but even now, interoperability helps make the project work!

Self-Explanation Tutor

Facilitating effective learning processes Better connections to past

experiences Digital video

Support learning by doing• Novices seldom notice everything of

importance in a situation• Video replay better ties coaching to

experienceMake coursework more case-based

Electronic Portfolios

NeedsProvide basis for mentoringDocument student learning for

accrediting and certifying bodiesGive student a sense of what has

been learnedProvide objects for reflectionProvide basis for video resume

Alternatives

Open Source Model Package

KEEP Portfolio Editor

Developed by Knowledge Media laboratory (KML) of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Portfolio as Diary or Notebook

Portfolio for Teaching

Lesson plans Video of classroom activity Student products Reflections Interactions with mentors

Lessons Learned: Collaborative Technology to Support Learning of Professional Skills

The Mission The Process Followed Lessons Learned

The Mission

Stimulate reform in school districts Nested learning communities Driven by principles of learning LearningWalk™ as central to process External quality assessment Content-Focused Coaching™

Focus on urban districts Focus on building “high performance

learning communities”

The Principles of Learning

Accountable Talk™ Clear Expectations Fair and Credible

Evaluations Learning as

Apprenticeship Organizing for

Effort

Recognition of Accomplishment

Socializing Intelligence

Self-management of Learning

Academic Rigor in a Thinking Curriculum

LearningWalk™

An organized visit through a school's learning areas Participants move in and out of several classrooms

looking at student work and classroom artifacts, and talking with students and teachers

Between classroom visits, participants gather to discuss what they learned in the classroom by making factual statements and generating questions they have about what they observed which, if asked of teachers, could stimulate them to think more deeply about practice

At the end of the LearningWalk™, participants work with the principal to refine observations and questions and to look for patterns within the school.

External Quality Assessment

Provides school districts with an external assessment of the quality in teaching and learning in their schools.

Objectives determine if the quality of instruction supports

achievement of rigorous academic standards by all students

guide principals and instructional leaders in supporting their teachers to improve practice

guide teachers in analyzing their teaching and learning to improve instructional practice.

Content-Focused Coaching™ Training coaches to work individually with classroom

teachers to design, implement, and reflect on rigorous, standards-based lessons that promote student learning

Coach and teacher work together during a pre-conference to refine lesson design during the enactment of the lesson in which both the

teacher and coach are co-accountable for student learning during a post-conference in which they reflect on evidence

of student learning and plan for subsequent lessons. Coaches use a set of 'moves' designed to focus the dialogue

with teachers on a set of core issues derived from the research on teaching and learning.

Nested Learning Communities All members of the school district are learners--

students, teachers, principals, and administrators. Learning is the work of both students and professional

educators Continuous learning in pursuit of educational

improvement is the norm. The "glue" that holds the community together is two-

way accountability between layers. A school system that is a learning organization must

treat upgrading of instructional competencies as a key part of its definition of professionalism.

It should be structured to inspire and require continuous learning on the part of everyone in the system, from teachers to senior administrators.

The Process

Stimulate the development of the higher levels of nested communities, so that they in turn can stimulate development at lower levels.

Study groupsIn person

• Supported by hypermedia toolsOver networks synchronously

• Supported by discussion tools

Problem

Teachers don’t just start using the CD’s that their principals distribute

Solution

Approach dissemination of technology as a task of leveraging existing cultural support and shaping cultural change to make promising new tools “fit”

Cultural Support Is the Key

No one takes a course in making telephone calls!

We only learn the aspects of a tool that our culture supportsGrandma uses email attachments to

see pictures of the grandchildrenProfessor X says he can’t understand

attachments and refuses to use them

Technology Failures

The clock on a generation of video cassette recorders still says 1200!

I flew to New York for a 1-hour meeting recently, instead of using NetMeeting!

The paperless office now has more paper!

Academic Conferences – An Example

Electronic submissionCommon today but a failure in 1995 –

even with Computer Scientists! Electronic review On-Line abstracts and papers On-Line programs that can build a

personal schedule and download it to a personal digital assistant (Palm) tool

My Video Experience – First Time

Staff Resisted Complaints about cost Complaints about quality of staff

efforts Need for continual motivation of staff

The Second Time

Camcorders are part of our culture Minimal training needed Moderate enthusiasm among a less

techie staff than last time Staff add their own extensions

The Moral: Enculturated commodities get used; the best choices do not get used if outside our cultures

Summary

The world of instructional technology is moving toward collections of interoperable components that come from multiple sources and permit a coherent overall approach to curriculum

A key role for technology is to bridge the gap between didactic and learning by doing

Cognitive realism is always important; physical fidelity is only important for special purposes