<Part 1> Ch2 Learning technology

and learning relationships Terry Mayes

Clasgow Caledonian University, UK

Reference: Stephenson, J. (2001). Teaching & learning online: Pedagogies for new technologies. John Stephenson (Ed.). London :Kogan Page.

Reporter: 吳淑鈴Report Date: 2003/12/15

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Outline Editor’s introduction Pedagogy for online learning A framework for the design of learning

technology - Conceptualization 、 construction and dialogue - Primary 、 secondary and tertiary courseware The vicarious learner Communities and relationships Conclusion

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Editor’s introduction The emerging pedagogical consensus is around

constructivism – collaborative learning, authentic task, reflection and dialogue – and the promotion of identities and learning communities.

The most effective educational way of using online technology is to focus on supporting the learner’s involvement above issues in a way which addresses issues of identity and community.

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Pedagogy for online learning

Some of the discussions about online learning have been accompanied by a subtle shift in the language used to describe education and training.

Education is described in terms of the ‘delivery of materials’, or even as the delivery of learning.

The tendency for new technologies to be seen as heralding to revolution in educational methods and then consistently failing to make an impact.

The evidence from the past is clear: new technologies, however effective in other fields, don’t inevitably lead to major change in education.

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Pedagogy for online learning (cont.)

Online learning is the challenge of how to offer the pedagogical experience equivalent to that of an individual tutorial with a knowledgeable, sympathetic and well-equipped teacher to large numbers of learners in geographically dispersed and socially diverse settings.

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Pedagogy for online learning (cont.)

The shared theoretical assumption are those of constructivism, and they result from two distinct shifts of emphasis.

(1). A representational view of learning in which an acquisition metaphor guided design to constructivist or constructionist view in which learning is primarily developed through activity(Papert, 1990).

(2). Away from a focus on the individual, towards a new emphasis

on social contexts for learning.

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Pedagogy for online learning (cont.)

While the pedagogical view is based on collaborative learning, authentic tasks, reflection and dialogue, the language of e-learning policy making seems to

- describe a world in which there is accreditation of smaller and smaller ‘bits of learning’ gained from ‘ learning packages’ delivered online to the desk at home or in the workplace.

- the latter view places much less emphasis on contact with tutors, and the importance of individual feedback.

So the pedagogues fail to show how the methods on which the constructivist approach is based will be widely accessible and cost effective.

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Pedagogy for online learning (cont.)

One aim of the constructivist approach is to design learning tasks that are authentic to the work and social contexts in which the skills or knowledge are normally embedded.

Are called ‘practice fields’. Examples are to be found in - problem-based learning (Savery and Duffy, 1996)

- anchored instruction (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt – CTGV, 1990, 1993 )

- cognitive apprenticeship (Collins, Brown and Newman, 1989)

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Pedagogy for online learning (cont.)

Learning must be related to real-world tasks and situations.

It is not just the meaning to be attached to an activity that is derived from a community of practice:

the individual’s identity is shaped by the relationship.

Evidence on the shaping of social identification (Turner, 1991) seems to demonstrate that potent social identities can be created through membership of temporary groups.

The way learners’ identities are formed and maintained in educational settings.

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A framework for the design of learning technology (Mayes and Fowler, 1999)The conceptual

framework for approaching the pedagogy of online learning is one that attempts to map a broad account of learning directly onto the design of supportive technology.

The framework describes three main elements of a learning process ─ conceptualization, construction and dialogue.

It also incorporates the idea of a learning cycle - acknowledging that learning is not a one-off process - but that it involves continues revisiting and tuning of

concepts and skills.

，

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Conceptualization、Construction 、 Dialogue

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A framework for the design of learning technology (cont.)

Conceptualization - is the process of coming to an initial understanding

through contact with, and exploration of, a new exposition of some kind.

Construction - involves some activity in which the new understanding is

brought to bear on a problem, and feedback about performance will be gained.

Dialogue - emphasizing the importance of discussion and reflection

as the new understanding becomes applied to something. - it is the main opportunity for teaching occurs when the

learners’ attentions posed, and answers given to the learners’ individual questions.

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A framework for the design of learning technology (cont.)

The third stage can also be viewed as a process of externalizing the learning.

- it’s not only learning ‘what’ and ‘how’, but also ‘when’ - is where a new layer of expertise in ‘when to use the

underlying skill or knowledge develops’. The contextualization mode we see those

aspects of apprenticeship and peer learning that set the social context for learning coming into play.

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Primary 、Secondary 、 Tertiary Courseware

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A framework for the design of learning technology (cont.)

Primary courseware - allows new concepts to be created and explored then it

can directly support conceptualization

- is generally used in adjunct mode, supplementing classroom teaching

- cannot satisfy the need for activity, feedback and dialogue. Secondary courseware - refers to any use of software in the designing and

performance of tasks.

- refers to the task-support environment Primary and secondary courseware provides both

information and tools for learners to develop concepts.

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A framework for the design of learning technology (cont.)

Tertiary courseware - includes all the resources that support dialogue

- not only involve the tools that support direct one-to-one synchronous discussion, or

- the structuring of discussion around threads in conferencing environments, or

- even the database of frequently-asked questions that are compiled from previous dialogues,

- but it should offer the new learner access to what has referred to as the ‘discussion layer’.

the ‘discussion layer’ providing access to the questions, comments and dialogues of previous learners.

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The vicarious learner The ‘vicarious learner’ project, mounted trial of t

he tertiary courseware approach in courses in two collaborating universities.

We developed our notion of task-directed discussions (TDDs), based on games used to elicit dialogue in teaching foreign languages.

Students participate in these with over 20 hours of video that is digitized, structured and made accessible in a database of tertiary courseware.

A set of 11 TDDs was devised. A follow-up experiment was carried out in which 37

subjects each undertook 10 hours of learning over 5 days .

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The vicarious learner (cont.)

Overall conclusions from this work… - the ‘HE’ contexts, spontaneous dialogue suitable for ‘re-us

e’ is rare, and it is hard to capture. - learners who made most use of tertiary courseware showed the

highest short-term learning gains. - given access to the dialogues of previous learners has significan

t effects on the way in which peer discussion subsequently proceeds.

- students rate the experience as beneficial and enjoyable. - access to the dialogue of previous learners encourages a model

ling of what it takes to be a successful member of a community of learners.

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Communities and relationships Issues of education should be addressed first

and foremost in terms of identities and modes of belonging, and only secondarily in terms of skills and information.

Wenger, knowledge is a matter of competence in a valued enterprise. The value is given by social participation.

Wenger’s approach accounts for both aspects of situated learning: meaning is given both to the situated activities themselves and to the process of social identification that drives the learners’ activity.

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Communities and relationships(cont.)

Fowler and Mayes (1999) have discussed a rather different approach, but one that also attempts to capture the essence of the idea that learning environments should be designed around a recognition of the importance of the learner’s personal identification with others.

This approach takes the notion of a learning relationship as central rather than a community of practice.

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Conclusion The framework for a pedagogy of online learning

offered here attempts to derive principles for the design of learning technology from a constructivist account of learning.

- need to support dialogue - provide feedback on task performance in ‘practice fields’ - help to develop personal identity in a community of learners.

One approach is described that aims to exploit the potential of online learning to record the learning experiences and dialogues of some learners to support the vicarious learning of others.

The fundamental problem in online learning: too few tutors and too many learners.