The Design of Learning EnvironmentsMinh Nguyen

1. Changes in Education

In Chapter 1, we already knew that education has been changing during the past century. Especially, in 21st century, education goals are very different from before.

For example: Writing skill In early 1800s, students were forced to write as instructor’s notation. Until 1930s, students could express themselves in writing.

1. Changes in Education (contd’) Similar, the challenges and expectation have undergone major

changes in each history period. For example:

Early 1900s, expectation and challenge was education coverage. They applied “factory model” to education.

Nowadays, expectation and challenge is to educate quality students. Therefore, to design a good learning environment, we need to take an

overall objective view.

2. Types of Learning Environments

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)2.1. Learner-centered environments As the name refer, these environments focus on knowledge, skills,

attitudes, and beliefs of the learners. This term fits the concept of “diagnostic teaching”.Diagnostic teaching:

Discover the way students think about the problems. Show them their misconceptions. Provoke them to readjust their idea.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)Key strategy for diagnostic teaching: Ask students to make predictions about various situations and explain

the reasons for their predictions. Select tasks that well represent known misconceptions to show

students how and why various ideas might need to change. For example:

The story of half-black and half-white ball.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)

Teachers’ sensitivity to the students’ culture and beliefs plays an important role in learner-centered environments.

For example: My old English teacher used to be very successful in Vietnam because he had unique teaching style. He then decided to move to UAE because he thought he could earn a lot of money there, but he failed horribly.

In a multi-culture education environments like US. There is one standard way of talking in both school and professional science is “impersonal and expository, without any reference to personal or social intentions or experiences.”

However, everyday communication cannot avoid social things such as culture, beliefs, character, etc. The responses of other students and the teacher to these are the key to assist students’ scientific understanding.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)2.2. Knowledge-centered environments In Chapter 2, we already knew that thinking and solving problems is

not simply due to “thinking skills” or strategies, but requires well-organized bodies of knowledge that support planning and strategic thinking.

These environments seeks the balance of the understanding and the automaticity of skills necessary to function effectively

Without carefully considering the knowledge that students’, it is difficult to predict what they will understand about new information.

For example: Fish is Fish.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’) Knowledge-centered environments also focus on the kinds of

information and activities that help students develop an understanding of disciplines.

For example: Verrocchio asked Da Vinci to keep drawing an egg. Knowledge-centered environments also include an emphasis on sense-

making. Student need to have the metacognitive by expecting new information to make sense and asking for clarification when it doesn’t.

For example: Sense of drawing an egg. There are some new approaches sense-making. One is “progressive

formalization.”Progressive formalization: gradually formalize an informal idea. For example: Define the term “density” for primary students.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)Progressive formalization Some people claim that children are incapable of thinking and

reasoning sophisticatedly. A research shows that the early access has potential benefit to

important conceptual ideas. For example: Applying “cognitively guided” instruction in geometry

for second-grade children. Amazingly, the result showed their skills for representing and visualizing three-dimensional forms are better then some undergraduate students at a leading university.

One of the important thing is to organize knowledge and skills into coherent wholes.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’) There is a curriculum called “learning the landscape” that match

progressive formalization pretty well.Learning the landscape:

Learning your way around, Learning what resources are available, Learning how to use those resources.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)2.3. Assessment-centered environments These environments provide opportunities for feedback and

revision. There are two major uses of assessment:

Formative: use feedback to improve teaching and learning. Summative: measures what students have learned at the end, from that

design the next lessons properly.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)2.3.1. Formative Many researches show that feedback is very important. Therefore

students’ thinking must be made visible. After finishing a lesson, most students move on and work on new

things. Effective teachers also help students build skills of self-assessment. For example: Students learn to assess their own work, as well as the

work of their peers.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)2.3.2. Summative This is very effective way to test students’ understanding. This could

be via tests, homework, exams, etc. However, to design a good summative assessment is not an easy

task. For example: Some students learn like a parrot to deal with some

exams. They could not answer questions that required the true understanding. And you can call these exams bad assessments.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’)2.4. Community-centered environments Community-centered focus on the interaction to around environment. Community centered should be understood broadly. It could be

classroom, school, or degree to which students, teachers, and administers feel connected to the larger community of homes, businesses, states, the nation, and even the world.

2.4.1. Small communities The norms and expectations play an important role in classrooms and

schools communities. For example: Why we divide ECE department and CS department? Norms increase people’s opportunities to interact, receive feedback,

and learn.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’) 2.4.2. Connect to broader communities To function effectively in life, students need more than in classroom

and school. Family is a great learning environment, especially for young children. Society teach us many things about life. For example: Nice guys finish last.

2. Types of Learning Environments (contd’) Important role of Television: Nowadays, children keep watching TV

everyday. Experiment show that educational programs have positive benefits and can help children perform better. This could be considered as an effective educational method.

For example: Children who watched episodes of Sesame Street featuring handicapped children had more positive feelings toward children with disabilities.

3. Conclusion1. Learner-centered environmentsPros: Provide students un-biased views. Help students to realize their misconceptions. Help building bridges between students - teachers, and students –

students (mutual understanding).Cons: Learner-centered environments would not necessarily help students

acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to function effectively in society.

2. Knowledge-centered environmentsPros: Promote the true knowledge understanding and necessary skills to

function effectively in society.Cons: Only focus on understanding of knowledge.

3. Conclusion (contd’)3. Assessment-centered environmentsPros: Help increasing the quality of both teaching and learning.Cons: Assessment is only a part of education. Therefore, these

environments do not help students in developing other aspects and skills.

4. Community-centered environmentsPros: Help students to connect knowledge from around communities, apply

what they learn in school to life.Cons: Only focus on the wideness of knowledge, not the depth.

3. Conclusion (contd’)

They all have the potential to overlap and mutually influence one another.

The disadvantages of this environments can be fulfilled by other environments.

Therefore, it is very important to have alignment among the four perspectives of learning environments. It helps accelerating learning both within and outside of schools.