don't believe the hype: applying cognitive science to create great online and blended learning...
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These are slides to support Peter Arashiro and Jason Neiffer's presentation, "Don't Believe the Hype: Applying Cognitive Science to Create Great Online and Blended Learning Experiences," from iNACOL 2014.TRANSCRIPT
Don't Believe the Hype: Applying
Cognitive Science to Create
Great Online and Blended
Learning Experiences
Peter Arashiro, M.Sci.Instructional Design and Systems Manager, Michigan Virtual University
Jason Neiffer, M.Sci.Doctoral candidate, The University of Montana
Assistant director/Curriculum Director, Montana Digital Academy
Paperless handouts
Image by Martin Cisneros
Thought Leaders, LLC
Allan
BrewBooks
Ideas about
Teaching and Learning
What inferences do
you make about
teaching and
learning?
Does this support
what we know
about teaching and
learning online?
Where do these
ideas and statistics
come from?
Dale’s “Cone of Experience”
Verbal SymbolsVisual SymbolsRecordings, Radio, Still PicturesMotion PicturesEducational TelevisionExhibitsStudy TripsDemonstrationsDramatized ExperiencesContrived ExperiencesDirect Purposeful Experiences
Dale, E. (1946, 1954, 1969)
• Thalheimer (2006)
Claims are “fraudulent”
• Willingham (2010)
Learning is messy and complicated
These percentages don’t
consider a student’s
“learning style”
These percentages don’t
consider a student’s
“learning style”
•Willingham (2010)
Research Foundation is Weak
•Gardner (2006, 2013)
Reconsideration from Advocates/Modalities Different from “Styles”
•R. C. Clark and Mayer (2008)
Student Self-Awareness is Low
Combine the suggestion of
“research”
+
Incomplete knowledge about
the research
+
The unique qualities of the
“21st Century Digital Native”
“Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy”
• Fryer (2011)
Native ≠ Literate
• McKenzie (2007)
Claims are “Thinly Supported”
• Walsh (2011)
• Willingham (2010)
Multitasking Claims are False
I have this amazing toolbox, I
must use it!
Laffy4K
Why the
science of learning?
Willingham (2010)
How does LEARNING science
inform YOUR teaching practice?
THREE SIMPLE concepts to IMPROVE
DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONEMNTS
1. BE mindful of A STUDENT’S
COGNITIVE LOAD
Cognitive load theory
RetroArt
• Sweller, Ayres, and Kalyuga (2011)
Brain has limited capacity (3-4 items)
Exceeding the brain’s capacity leads to distraction
Instructional environment must be purposeful
Eliminate Unnecessary Distractions from Platforms
Eliminate Unnecessary Distractions from Platforms
Simple, clean text
Minimum use of clipart and non-content images
Choose one or two typefaces/styles per page
Resource: Non-Designer’s Design Book (Williams)
Resource: Presentation Zen (Reynolds)
Eliminate Unnecessary Distractions from Platforms
Maintain Consistency with All Materials
Maintain Consistency with All Materials
Maintain Consistency with All Materials
Maintain Consistency with All Materials
Force system-wide theme
Use sticky blocks to place consistent content in courses
Avoid over-designing course pages
Lessen the Impact of the “Scroll of Death”
Lessen the Impact of the “Scroll of Death”
Don’t store content on main page
Close off unneeded weeks (past and future)
Don’t over-design the main page
Lessen the Impact of the “Scroll of Death”
Use LMS’s tools to limit learning path to logical sequence
2. Use YOUR PLATFORM’S tools to
design thoughtful content
CHUNKING
Willingham (2010)
Image: Malamed (2013)
“Book” Module in Moodle
Assignment Module in Moodle
Assignment Module (From Kevin Cleary, MTDA)
USE DIGITAL TOOLS to Provide
Practice AND Corrective Feedback
Basic Corrective Feedback in the “Lesson” Module
More Detailed Feedback in the “Quiz” Module
3. DESIGN CLASSES that TEACH
and not just provide resources
See-ming Lee
Provide Thinking Guides to Help Student’s Organize their Learning (Meta)
Instructor Interpretation of Content – meta cognitive strategy
Completion tracking/
access restriction
Access Restriction
Activity Completion
Teacher should craft order of materials/lesson
Student should have some input and control of pacing
Alternatives should be aimed at remediation, or for advanced students but carefully assigned
“Think of to-be-learned material
as answers, and take the time
necessary to explain to students
the questions.“Willingham
Additional reading
Examine your existing platforms– are they
providing enough functionality to use the
science of learning?!
Examine your existing materials– are you
following these rules?
Ask your students– are your materials
providing enough guidance to be effective?
Peter Arashiro, M.Sci.Instructional Design and Systems
Manager, Michigan Virtual University
Twitter: @Peetrpiper
Jason Neiffer, M.Sci.Doctoral candidate, The University of
Montana
Assistant director/Curriculum Director, Montana Digital Academy
Twitter: techsavvyteach