A model for e-education: Extended teaching spaces and extended learning spaces

by Insung Jung & Colin Latchen

EDUC 9701 Reading Presentation

Key Points

All-embracing term: E-education

Reconciling educational philosophies and the teacher-students dichotomy

Technology and extended spaces for teaching and learning

Extended teaching space

Extended learning space

Reflection and dialogue

All-embracing term: E-education

Garrison (2000) comments on “how educators are challenged to make sense of seemingly continual advent of new terminology such as virtual, open, distributed and distance education, new technologies and new educational options” (p.7)

“…., rather than referring to e-learning, m-learning, flexible learning, blended learning or virtual learning, …use the all-embracing term e-education” (p.7)

Reconciling educational philosophies and the

teacher-students dichotomy

“The advocates of progressive education reason that learning should come through experience rather than acquisition of information and skills by means of drill and practice” (p.8)

Klein, New York City Schools Chancellor, observed that there is a series of skills and knowledge that our children have to master; master at the interface where teaching and learning occurs....problem solving, higher-order thinking, will be necessary for the 21st century…(but)….kids who are not fluent readers, they are not doing higher-order thinking” (p.8)

“At one end of continuum, in many cultures, the traditional classroom has been teacher dominated”(p.9)

“At the other end of continuum lie such ideas as ‘discovery learning’ and ‘constructivism’, with learning perceived as an active process through which learners construct new ideas and concepts based upon their current and past knowledge” (p.9)

Anderson (2003) emphasises the critical role of the various form of interaction in learning concurring with dewey’s (1938) theory that individual’s learning is a consequence of interaction between personal (subjective) interests and experience and social (objective) worlds and Vygotsky’s (1978) theory that interaction between people (inter-psychological) and within individual minds (intra-psychological) is fundamental to personal cognition development (p.9)

“Stenhouse’s (1975) position that education necessarily comprises four functions that in practice are interwoven: training, instruction, initiation, and induction” (p.10)

“Training and instruction (executive approach), teachers is executor or course manager” (p.10)

“Initiation (facilitator approach), teachers encourages and cultivates the personal growth of the learner and help them to become familiar with social and academic values and norm” (p.10)

“Induction (liberationist approach), teachers encourage and enable the learners to make their own connections between their current knowledge and experience, and new understandings through question, critique, uses of first-hand sources, discussion and reflection” (p.10)

Technology and extended spaces for teaching and

learningResearch by Jung (2001), McConnell(2002), and Dede shows that “the successful integration of ICT in education can lead to the provision of learner centred environments, access to multimedia-rich learning resources, expanded inter-activity, improved peer and self assessment, and responsiveness to individual needs” (p.10)

Anderson (2004) suggests that “by providing increased access to a vast body of content and human knowledge, diversified interactions between teacher, learner and content, and curriculum that is learner centred, knowledge centred, assessment centred and community centred, e-education allows learners to extend their experiential learning spaces” (p.10)

“We need to change our notion of teaching and learning environments as time and space bound classroom places to flexible, networked and extended virtual spaces” (p.10)

Extension of teaching and learning spaces in e-education

Extended teaching spaces

Three possible approaches to teaching: execution, facilitating and liberating (Fenstermacher and Soltis, 2004) can be accommodated in the concept of the extended teaching spaces (p.11)

Execution : teachers’ responsibility to provide the learners with knowledge and skills is still encountered in the extended teaching spaces, yet in more diverse and individualised ways.

Facilitation : “self-paced computer-based tutorials can be used to prompt and support the learners, and learning can also be facilitated by interactive ICT tools, such as online help desk….provide the all-important sense of what Rourke, Anderson, Garrison and Archer (2011) define as ‘teaching presence’, cognitive presence’ and ‘social presence’’ (p.11)

Liberation: “E-education enables teachers to invite students into the ever-extending knowledge base, consider new settings and new problems, and discuss facts and ideas that are provisional and open to debate” (p.11)

Extended learning spacesJung and Rha (2004) considered “learner-centred, interactive, and experiental e-learning and proposed that extended learning space was needed for three essential learning activities: acquisition, application, and construction” (p.13)

Acquisition : “learners can acquire knowledge, information and skills through a vast repository of multimedia resources available on the Web and elsewhere and through face-to-face or online interaction and collaboration with others” (p.13)

Application : “connected to other learners by intranet or internet, their ideas, knowledge, and findings can travel beyond the confines of their classroom to learning spaces of other students for resolution, confirmation and application” (p.13)

Construction : “…..learners, with or without support from their teachers, to work independently or in team, create original ideas, products and process, identify trends and predict possibilities. In working collaboratively in classrooms or online, they also construct learning communities” (p.13)

Reflection and dialogue

Dewey (1933) described reflection as “active, careful and persistent examination of beliefs or purported forms of knowledge and the grounds supporting these, is central to learning, both by teachers and students” (p.15)

Schön (1983) recommended ‘reflective practice’ as a means of refining artistry or craft in specific disciplines and enabling beginners in these disciplines to recognise consonance between their own practices and those of successful practitioners” (p.15)

“Extended teaching and learning spaces can help to support a culture of question posing and reflection by teachers and students alike by exposing them to far wider range of facts, experiences, doubts, and conflicting and competing ideas and opinions” (p.15)

“Dialogue in the form of teacher-student and student-student interaction tests and negotiates ideas, verifies learning, provides feedback, and constructs and expands knowledge and understanding” (p.15)

“The extended teaching and learning spaces make possible all kinds of dialogues with all kinds of counterparts” (p.15)

Conclusion

“Technological change forces us to revisit and revise our concepts and theoretical foundations of e-education” (p.16)

“In developing the model for e-education……attempted to reconcile and apply theories and best practices by real teachers and provide a simple guide to show busy teachers how ICT can enable their students to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes through discovery, dialogue and reflection” (p.16)

Discussion1. “…..Problem solving, higher-order thinking, will be

necessary for the 21st century…(but) let me assure you, kids who don’t understand maths….kids who are not fluent readers, they’re not doing higher-order thinking”.

Do you agree with the statement? Why/why not?

2. What do you think your view of extended teaching and learning spaces will have for your teaching?

3. How can teachers help learners to become familiar with social and academic values and norms by using technology?

4. Think of your learning in this topic. Do you think it embodies the concept of extended teaching and learning spaces? Why/why not?