Metafora: A Web-based Platform for Learning to Learn Together in Science and Mathematics

This paper presents Metafora, both a platform for integrated tools as well as an emerging pedagogy for supporting Learning to Learn Together in science and mathematics education. Our goal is to design technology that brings education to a higher level; a level where students not only learn a subject matter, but also gain a set of critical skills needed to engage in and self-regulate collaborative learning experiences in science and math education. We first discuss the core skills we hope students will gain as they learn to learn together. We then present our design and implementation that can achieve this goal; a platform and pedagogy we have developed to support the learning of these skills. Finally, we present an example use of our system based on results from pilot studies that demonstrates interaction with the platform, and potential benefits and limitations of the tools in promoting the associated skills

The Genesis of a Virtual World - Revisited

Constructing a virtual world requires certain technical skills and the ability to make difficult decisions regarding how the world will look and feel. However, the most difficult aspect of building a virtual world has less to do with the building of the virtual spaces and more to do the conceptualisation of how teaching and learning will occur in this new type of environment. This paper examines some of the issues involved in the process of planning a virtual learning world by focusing on key design questions that need to be asked prior to building virtual instructional spaces

IDR : a participatory methodology for interdisciplinary design in technology enhanced learning

One of the important themes that emerged from the CAL’07 conference was the failure of technology to bring about the expected disruptive effect to learning and teaching. We identify one of the causes as an inherent weakness in prevalent development methodologies. While the problem of designing technology for learning is irreducibly multi-dimensional, design processes often lack true interdisciplinarity. To address this problem we present IDR, a participatory methodology for interdisciplinary techno-pedagogical design, drawing on the design patterns tradition (Alexander, Silverstein & Ishikawa, 1977) and the design research paradigm (DiSessa & Cobb, 2004). We discuss the iterative development and use of our methodology by a pan-European project team of educational researchers, software developers and teachers. We reflect on our experiences of the participatory nature of pattern design and discuss how, as a distributed team, we developed a set of over 120 design patterns, created using our freely available open source web toolkit. Furthermore, we detail how our methodology is applicable to the wider community through a workshop model, which has been run and iteratively refined at five major international conferences, involving over 200 participants

Using multimedia microworlds to motivate and engage adult learners

As educational institutions come under increasing pressure from outside forces to restructure the way students learn, efforts are being made by researchers to find ways to assist students to learn through independent thought and to solve problems in a resource-based, self-paced environment. Such an environment needs to be sufficiently interesting and novel to motivate students who begin to use it, and to continue to engage them as they progress through it. This study has sought to identify what such a learning environment needs to encompass in order to motivate and engage adult learners so that they will not only want to use it, but use it extensively. Eight attributes of motivation and engagement were identified from the literature, these being: immersion; reflection; flow; collaboration; learner control; curiosity; fantasy; and challenge. A module in a finance unit traditionally viewed by the students as boring and unengaging was selected, and a review of student and content needs was conducted. An interactive learning environment in the form of a microworld with gaming elements was designed and developed to incorporate the eight learner effects, and this was then trialed with a small group of finance students. The trial forms the basis for this thesis. The study was conducted using a combination of ethnographic action research and grounded theory as these allowed the researcher to focus on a specific problem relevant to the actual situation and allowed patterns in observations to be detected. The study used descriptive methodology to report what actually happened whilst looking for relationships between design elements, with cross-sequential sampling overcoming the problems of mono-operation bias. The results from these data gathering exercises suggested that the eight learner effects did, in fact, contribute to motivation and engagement in varying degrees. The program represented the unit content in a multiplicity of ways, ensuring that the individual learning styles of the students were accommodated. The study showed that students adapted differing navigational methods to progress through the program, but having settled on a path tended not to deviate from that path throughout each phase of the program. The study also highlighted the fact that such an environment is probably more effective in promoting incidences of reflection and higher order thinking among collaborating students, although, with sufficient scaffolding elements built into the program, students working in isolation may achieve some of the same effects from collaboration with the program itself. Another effect of using the microworld was that students could relate their learning back to their everyday lives, as well as place themselves into the environment. These factors, combined with the gaming elements, created an environment that caused an increase in positive attitudes among both the male and the female students. The results of this research have many implications for the future design of interactive learning environments for adults. It is already well documented that adult learners like resource-based, self-paced learning that is available at their convenience, but this research has identified some of the elements necessary to motivate adult learners to use such a program, to maintain their interest in the content during the whole time they are using the program, and to create a desire to continue learning about the topic long after they have completed the program. There are several imperatives driving the development of interactive instructional multimedia in the university environment. Among them are increased numbers of students, a reduction in the available face-to-face teaching time, and a growing. number of students who are demanding a more flexible way of learning. The results of this study show that interactive multimedia is a viable option for this style of teaching and learning, but the design should incorporate certain elements and principles in order for the students to be motivated sufficiently to use it. These design elements are generalisable to the design of multimedia for a wide variety of courses and topics

Understanding preschoolers' problem solving in LOGO microworlds through critical analysis of audit trails

Audit trails are the captured and stored responses a learner initiates as he/she travels through a interactive learning environment. This research, through audit trail analysis, examined the decision points along the paths that individual children or groups of children from a uniquely understudied, minority preschool aged, at risk population chose as they problem solved in the interactive context of Logo. Quantitative analysis examined the impact of the cognitive stylistic tempos of reflectivity vs. impulsivity. The mean decision making quotients (DMQs) of the reflective subjects were significantly higher than the DMQs of the impulsive subjects. The impulsive subjects were also found to have significantly higher percentages of attempted forward motion moves that resulted in prohibition of forward movement caused by internal barriers and/or the confines of the microworlds. Individual differences of selected subjects were examined qualitatively using case study formats. Unique strategies and preferences of movement throughout the microworlds were discussed

Similarity-based grouping to support teachers on collaborative activities in exploratory learning environments

This paper describes a computer-based tool that helps teachers group their students for collaborative activities in the classroom, the challenge being to organise groups of students based on their recent work so that their collaboration results in meaningful interactions. Students first work on an exploratory task individually, and then the computer suggests possible groupings of students to the teacher. The complexity of the tasks is such that teachers would require too long a time to create meaningful groups. The paper describes the design of the tool, the algorithms and metrics used for generating the groups, the evaluation of the tool, and the pedagogical context in which the tool was designed

Developing a collaborative model in teacher education – An overview of a teacher professional development project

The article discusses the development of an educational model intended to support teachers’ professional development in science education. In this research and development project, LumaLähetit, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and teacher educators formed teams to collaboratively plan teaching and produce material for inquiry-based and integrative science instruction in primary schools. The results are based on three design cycles of the model. Thus far, ten schools, 24 in-service teachers, 30 pre-service teachers, and 560 pupils have participated. The results, which are based on the qualitative content analysis of participants’ open answers to a questionnaire, indicate that the developed collaborative model for science education supported pre-service teachers and in-service teachers’ professional development in many ways. Several processes mediating the embodiment of the designed model were identified, especially during the second or third design cycles. Participants reflected on theory and practice. They experienced increased knowledge about inquiry and integrative approaches, collaborated in teams to some extent, and found this to be supportive during the project. Also, pre-service teachers appreciated the opportunity to teach in the schools. In general, careful goal setting, collaboration between the participants, and guidance by teacher educators during the initiation of the project were found to te crucial to the further success of the project. The results highlight a need for further research in order to better meet to the challenges of team teaching, inquiry-based instruction, and integrative teaching. The designed model was developed between the cycles and must be further developed in the future, especially in terms of supporting collaboration and clarifying theoretical concepts during the project.Peer reviewe

Transforming the mathematical practices of learners and teachers through digital technology

This paper argues that mathematical knowledge, and its related pedagogy, is inextricably linked to the tools in which the knowledge is expressed. The focus is on digital tools and the different roles they play in shaping mathematical meanings and in transforming the mathematical practices of learners and teachers. Six categories of digital tool-use that distinguish their differing potential are presented: i. dynamic and graphical tools, ii. tools that outsource processing power, iii. tools that offer new representational infrastructures for mathematics, iv. tools that help to bridge the gap between school mathematics and the students’ world; v. tools that exploit high-bandwidth connectivity to support mathematics learning; and vi. tools that offer intelligent support for the teacher when their students engage in exploratory learning with digital technologies Following exemplification of each category, the paper ends with some reflections on the progress of research in this area and identifies some remaining challenges

Gathering big data for teamwork evaluation with microworlds

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio