Shared orchestration within and beyond the classroom

The TEL research community has long neglected the dynamics of the real school classroom. Forty years ago TEL (or Computer Assisted Instruction as it was then) held out a promise of making life easier for teachers, while also enhancing the effectiveness of student learning. For so long teaching has been regarded as a human task that it is novel to suggest that a machine should take over the role of contact with the students, and leave a teacher to do the planning and preparation of the lesson. But it does seem to work, and in a world that is short of teachers there is every reason to develop it as far as possible. (Dodd, Sime & Kay, 1968) TEL has never delivered on this promise. Machines have not successfully engaged in teaching students (with a few notable, but limited exceptions). Instead, the modern classroom has become a more complex and demanding place, with the teacher not only having to prepare lesson plans, accommodate formal curricula, and follow regulations on health, safety and discipline, but also understand and manage a variety of technologies such as interactive whiteboards, desktop and laptop computers. Into this volatile mix we are now proposing to add orchestration technology

On the integration of digital technologies into mathematics classrooms

Trouche‘s (2003) presentation at the Third Computer Algebra in Mathematics Education Symposium focused on the notions of instrumental genesis and of orchestration: the former concerning the mutual transformation of learner and artefact in the course of constructing knowledge with technology; the latter concerning the problem of integrating technology into classroom practice. At the Symposium, there was considerable discussion of the idea of situated abstraction, which the current authors have been developing over the last decade. In this paper, we summarise the theory of instrumental genesis and attempt to link it with situated abstraction. We then seek to broaden Trouche‘s discussion of orchestration to elaborate the role of artefacts in the process, and describe how the notion of situated abstraction could be used to make sense of the evolving mathematical knowledge of a community as well as an individual. We conclude by elaborating the ways in which technological artefacts can provide shared means of mathematical expression, and discuss the need to recognise the diversity of student‘s emergent meanings for mathematics, and the legitimacy of mathematical expression that may be initially divergent from institutionalised mathematics

Webbing and orchestration. Two interrelated views on digital tools in mathematics education

The integration of digital tools in mathematics education is considered both promising and problematic. To deal with this issue, notions of webbing and instrumental orchestration are developed. However, the two seemed to be disconnected, and having different cultural and theoretical roots. In this article, we investigate the distinct and joint journeys of these two theoretical perspectives. Taking some key moments in recent history as points of de- parture, we conclude that the two perspectives share an importance attributed to digital tools, and that initial differences, such as different views on the role of digital tools and the role of the teacher, have become more nuances. The two approaches share future chal- lenges to the organization of teachers'collaborative work and their use of digital resources.Comment: Teaching Mathematics and its Applications (2014) to be complete

JuxtaLearn D3.2 Performance Framework

This deliverable, D3.2, for Work Package 3 incorporating the pedagogy from WP2 and orchestration factors mapped in D3.1 reviews aspects of performance in the context of participative video making. It reviews literature on curiosity and engagement characteristics of interaction mechanisms for public displays and anticipates requirements for social network analysis of relevant public videos from WP6 task 6.3. Thus, to support JuxtaLearn performance it proposes a reflective performance framework that encompasses the material environment and objects required, the participants, and the knowledge needed

Learning 21st century science in context with mobile technologies

The paper describes a project to support personal inquiry learning with handheld and desktop technology between formal and informal settings. It presents a trial of the technology and learning across a school classroom, sports hall, and library. The main aim of the study was to incorporate inquiry learning activities within an extended school science environment in order to investigate opportunities for technological mediations and to extract initial recommendations for the design of mobile technology to link inquiry learning across different contexts. A critical incident analysis was carried out to identify learning breakdowns and breakthroughs that led to design implications. The main findings are the opportunities that a combination of mobile and fixed technology bring to: manage the formation of groups, display live visualisations of student and teacher data on a shared screen to facilitate motivation and personal relevance, incorporate broader technical support, provide context-specific guidance on the sequence, reasons and aims of learning activities, offer opportunities to micro-sites for reflection and learning in the field, to explicitly support appropriation of data within inquiry and show the relation between specific activities and the general inquiry process

The effects of room design on computer-supported collaborative learning in a multi-touch classroom.

While research indicates that technology can be useful for supporting learning and collaboration, there is still relatively little uptake or widespread implementation of these technologies in classrooms. In this paper, we explore one aspect of the development of a multi-touch classroom, looking at two different designs of the classroom environment to explore how classroom layout may influence group interaction and learning. Three classes of students working in groups of four were taught in the traditional forward-facing room condition, while three classes worked in a centered room condition. Our results indicate that while the outcomes on tasks were similar across conditions, groups engaged in more talk (but not more off-task talk) in a centered room layout, than in a traditional forward-facing room. These results suggest that the use of technology in the classroom may be influenced by the location of the technology, both in terms of the learning outcomes and the interaction behaviors of students. The findings highlight the importance of considering the learning environment when designing technology to support learning, and ensuring that integration of technology into formal learning environments is done with attention to how the technology may disrupt, or contribute to, the classroom interaction practices

Digital technology in mathematics education: Why it works (or doesn't)

The integration of digital technology confronts teachers, educators and researchers with many questions. What is the potential of ICT for learning and teaching, and which factors are decisive in making it work in the mathematics classroom? To investigate these questions, six cases from leading studies in the field are described, and decisive success factors are identified. This leads to the conclusion that crucial factors for the success of digital technology in mathematics education include the design of the digital tool and corresponding tasks exploiting the tool's pedagogical potential, the role of the teacher and the educational context

Long-Term Teacher Orchestration of Technology-mediated Collaborative Inquiry

This explorative case study longitudinally examines teacher orchestration of an inquiry learning process in a technology-enhanced elementary classroom. A 13-month investigative study on cultural artifacts was conducted on 32 fourth grade students who progressed to the fifth grade during the project. The activities were mediated and documented using Knowledge Forum, a technology-enhanced collaborative environment. Data were gathered from video recordings of whole-class sessions and the teacher’s reflective diary entries. The coding scheme for the video analysis focused on identifying the various orchestration events, while drawing on theory and data-driven qualitative content analysis. Six types of orchestration events effectively maintained the process during whole-class sessions. These events supported the advancement of knowledge, reflection on inquiry, and pragmatic organization of inquiry. The study also adopted CORTDRA diagrams that highlighted temporal aspects of the orchestration events throughout the project. Knowledge Forum enabled the longitudinal advancement of the project.Peer reviewe

Designing Hybrid Human-AI Orchestration Tools for Individual and Collaborative Activities: A Technology Probe Study

Combining individual and collaborative learning is common, but dynamic combinations (which happen as-the-need arises, rather than in pre-planned ways, and may happen on an individual basis) are rare. This work reports findings from a technology probe study exploring alternative designs for classroom co-orchestration support for dynamically transitioning between individual and collaborative learning. The study involved 1) a technology-probe classroom study in an authentic, AI-supported classroom to understand teachers\u27 and students\u27 needs for co-orchestration support over dynamic transitions; and 2) workshops and interviews with students and teachers to get informed feedback about their lived experiences. 118 students and three teachers from a middle school in the US experienced a pairing policy – student, teacher and, AI-controlled pairing policy – (i.e., identifying students needing help and potential helpers) for switching from individual to a peer tutoring activity. This work aims to answer the following questions: 1) How did students and teachers react to these pairing policies?; and 2) What are students\u27 and teachers\u27 desires for sharing control over the orchestration of dynamic transitions? Findings suggest the need for a form of hybrid control between students, teachers, and AI systems over transitions, as well as for adaptivity and adaptability for different classroom characteristics, teachers, and students\u27 prior knowledge