3,733 research outputs found
Scaffolding Problem Solving with Embedded Examples to Promote Deep Learning
This study compared the relative utility of an intelligent tutoring system that uses procedure-based hints to a version that uses worked-out examples. The system, Andes, taught college level physics. In order to test which strategy produced better gains in competence, two versions of Andes were used: one offered participants graded hints and the other offered annotated, worked-out examples in response to their help requests. We found that providing examples was at least as effective as the hintsequences and was more efficient in terms of the number of problems it took to obtain the same level of mastery
Fostering Students Participation In Online Environments: Focus On Interaction, Communication And Problem Solving
Rapid technological advances in the areas of telecommunications, computer technology and the Internet have made available to tutors and learners in the domain of online learning, a broad array of tools that provide the possibility to facilitate and enhance learning to higher levels of critical reflective thinking. Computer mediated communication tools such as email, threaded discussion lists, chat rooms, voice over IP, and whiteboards, can enhance online interaction and the development of critical thinking skills, giving learners a real chance to make their learning experience as close to a face-to-face situation. For this to happen, instructors have to adopt teaching strategies that create a successful student-centred learning environment in which students feel motivated and comfortable to participate and construct knowledge and meaning. This paper discusses the learning opportunities the online environment provides and the pedagogical changes that entails for quality learning, and focuses on instructional practices that fostering students’ participation through appropriately designed interaction, effective communication and problem solving activities
Instructor versus Peer Attention Guidance in Online Learning Conversations
This paper reports a theory-driven experimental study for designing and evaluating two different forms of attention-guidance functionalities integrated into an anchored-discussion system. Using social constructivism as a motivating theory, we constructed a theoretical framework that emphasizes the importance of students’ attention allocation in online learning conversations and its influence on message quality and interaction patterns. The development of the functionalities, named faded instructor-led and peer-oriented attention guidance, aimed to direct students’ attention toward instructional materials’ central domain principles while offering them an open learning environment in which they could choose their own topics and express their own ideas. We evaluated the functionalities with heat map analysis, repeated measures general linear model analysis, and sequence analysis to assess the utility of the developed functionalities. Results show that attention guidance helped students more properly allocate their attention in online learning conversations. Furthermore, we found that the improved attention allocation led to better quality of students’ online learning conversations. We discuss implications for researchers and practitioners who wish to promote more fruitful online discussions
Solving Real World Problems With Alternate Reality Gaming: Student Experiences in the Global Village Playground Capstone Course Design
The Global Village Playground (GVP) was a capstone learning experience designed to address institutional assessment needs while providing an integrated and authentic learning experience for students aimed at fostering complex problem solving, as well as critical and creative thinking. In the GVP, students work on simulated and real-world problems as a design team tasked with developing an alternate reality game that makes an impact on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Researchers employed a qualitative case study approach to evaluate what aspects of this problem-based, hybrid, course design students found most and least beneficial to their learning. Findings suggest strategies for designing technology-based learning environments to support complex problem solving. Specific recommendations pertain to scaffolding team-based problem solving, particularly concept development processes, interdependence among team members, and group self-organization
The Case for Participatory Education
Participatory learning or Participatory Education as a formal declaration of either ideology or praxis has yet to be written and I would certainly not attempt to write one in the current educational capacity I now find myself in however I have found myself in the unique position of actually being first to something and so have decided to enjoin the relatively scant sketches of, as far as the great blade of written history is concerned, cutting edge economic philosophy with the over-personal, absolutely singular experience of a student-teacher in Cleveland, Ohio. The principles of Participatory Education are adapted from the book Participatory Economics by Michael Albert however Albert is building the case for equitable economies and therefore far outstrips the scope of this small study. I have borrowed from Participatory Economics only the concepts of: affective decision-making or decision making by those affected which engenders ownership of decision, liberation theories, regarding power--by the deed and the creed--and the use of power in the group, and freedom of movement, which ties in to both power and choic
When Wrong is Right: The Instructional Power of Multiple Conceptions
For many decades, educational communities, including computing education, have debated the value of telling students what they need to know (i.e., direct instruction) compared to guiding them to construct knowledge themselves (i.e., constructivism). Comparisons of these two instructional approaches have inconsistent results. Direct instruction can be more efficient for short-term performance but worse for retention and transfer. Constructivism can produce better retention and transfer, but this outcome is unreliable. To contribute to this debate, we propose a new theory to better explain these research results. Our theory, multiple conceptions theory, states that learners develop better conceptual knowledge when they are guided to compare multiple conceptions of a concept during instruction. To examine the validity of this theory, we used this lens to evaluate the literature for eight instructional techniques that guide learners to compare multiple conceptions, four from direct instruction (i.e., test-enhanced learning, erroneous examples, analogical reasoning, and refutation texts) and four from constructivism (i.e., productive failure, ambitious pedagogy, problem-based learning, and inquiry learning). We specifically searched for variations in the techniques that made them more or less successful, the mechanisms responsible, and how those mechanisms promote conceptual knowledge, which is critical for retention and transfer. To make the paper directly applicable to education, we propose instructional design principles based on the mechanisms that we identified. Moreover, we illustrate the theory by examining instructional techniques commonly used in computing education that compare multiple conceptions. Finally, we propose ways in which this theory can advance our instruction in computing and how computing education researchers can advance this general education theory
A study of why some physic concepts in the South African Physical Science curriculum are poorly understood in order to develop a targeted action-research intervention for Newton’s second law
Globally, many students show a poor understanding of concepts in high school physics and lack the necessary problem-solving skills that the course demands. The application of Newton’s second law was found to be particularly problematic through document analysis of South African examination feedback reports, as well as from an analysis of the physics examinations at a pair of well-resourced South African independent schools that follow the Independent Examination Board curriculum. Through an action-research approach, a resource for use by students was designed and modified to improve students’ understanding of this concept, while modelling problemsolving methods. The resource consisted of brief revision notes, worked examples and scaffolded exercises. The design of the resource was influenced by the theory of cognitive apprenticeship, cognitive load theory and conceptual change theory. One of the aims of the resource was to encourage students to translate between the different representations of a problem situation: symbolic, abstract, model and concrete. The impact of this resource was evaluated at a pair of schools using a mixed methods approach. This incorporated pre- and post-tests for a quantitative assessment, qualitative student evaluations and the analysis of examination scripts. There was an improvement from pre- to post-test for all four iterations of the intervention and these improvements were shown to be significant. The use of the resource led to an increase in the quality and quantity of diagrams drawn by students in subsequent assessments
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Creative Teaching for Tomorrow: Fostering a Creative State of Mind Deal
`Creative Teaching for Tomorrow: Fostering a Creative State of Mind' is a study by distinguished authors Teresa Cremin, Jonathan Barnes and Stephen Scoffham. Based on a research project undertaken during 2004-2005 by Canterbury Christ Church University and Future Creative, the book explores the characteristics of creative teachers, identifying the behaviours and environments that support the development of these attributes.
`Creative Teaching for Tomorrow' involves a survey of 20 schools, revealing evidence that creative thinking benefits students economically, socially and academically. Real-life interviews with teachers and students, complete with questions and answers, attest that creative approaches do help to increase learners' personal curiosity and desire to learn, to realise the importance of risk-taking and to become more engaged with the learning experience as well as the world around them
The Case for Participatory Education
Participatory learning or Participatory Education as a formal declaration of either ideology or praxis has yet to be written and I would certainly not attempt to write one in the current educational capacity I now find myself in however I have found myself in the unique position of actually being first to something and so have decided to enjoin the relatively scant sketches of, as far as the great blade of written history is concerned, cutting edge economic philosophy with the over-personal, absolutely singular experience of a student-teacher in Cleveland, Ohio. The principles of Participatory Education are adapted from the book Participatory Economics by Michael Albert however Albert is building the case for equitable economies and therefore far outstrips the scope of this small study. I have borrowed from Participatory Economics only the concepts of: affective decision-making or decision making by those affected which engenders ownership of decision, liberation theories, regarding power--by the deed and the creed--and the use of power in the group, and freedom of movement, which ties in to both power and choic
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