Meaningful Learning in an Information Age

Cognitive Learning and Technology Tools

Goal: In order to create a more productive learning environment, teachers should
develop an understanding of how and what students learn AND how various
applications of technology might play a role in facilitating or inhibiting
desirable outcomes.
Changes affecting the course of educational technology

Increase in the number and types of tech resources available

Growing base of information
Shifts in beliefs about educational goals (beyond 'basic skills')

The Shift? A Cognitive Approach... understanding of mental behaviors involved

in thinking and learning. Cognitive models emphasize how students acquire
information and skills, solve problems, engage in academic tasks, read, write, solve
math problems, etc.
In other words...learning tasks influence student thinking and educators
can establish learning environments that

help students learn more effectively,

apply what they have learned,
become more excited about learning, and
develop skills necessary for lifelong learning

School Reform in an Information Age

Technology is partially responsible for some of the need for school reform
1. Technologies have created new types of jobs and demands for new skills
2. The enormous amount of information available via the Internet prompts the
questions: what and how students should learn and how teachers should attempt to
teach.
Key Themes in Reform= Active Learning and Meaningful Experiences
Conventional setting

Restructured setting
Create personal knowledge by
Learn facts and skills by absorbing
acting on content provided by
Student role
the content presented by teachers
teachers, media resources, and
and media resources
personal experiences.
Fragmented knowledge and
Multidisciplinary themes,
disciplinary separation. Basic
knowledge integration, and
Curriculum
literacy established before high
application. Emphasis on thinking
characteristics
level inquiry is encouraged. Focus skills and application. Emphasis on
on breadth of knowledge.
depth of understanding.
Teacher functions as facilitator and
Teacher controlled setting with
Social
learner. Students work
students working independently.
characteristics
collaboratively and make some
Some competition.
decisions.
Measurement of fact knowledge
Assessment of knowledge
Assessment
and discrete skill. Traditional
application. Performance of tasks
tests.
to demonstrate understanding.
Present information and manage Guide student inquiry and model
Teacher role
the classroom
active learning
Possible use of Source of information for
Source of information for
technology
absorption
interpretation and knowledge

creation. Outlet for original work.

What are standards and how do they fit in?
Standards are goals for what students should learn and thus establish what
teachers should teach.
Content standards define what every student should know and be able to do.
Performance standards explain how students will demonstrate their proficiency in
order to establish that a standard has been achieved.
Professional organizations establish general goals.
Benchmarks define a general standard according to a system describing what
should be accomplished by the end of grade level intervals
Frameworks further specifies and organizes the knowledge and skills to be
acquired and relates them to instruction and assessment

What are cognitive models and how do they fit in?

Cognitive models of school learning -approaches to describing learning and thinking
activities
1. Information Processing 2. Conceptual models of learning

1. Information Processing: MENTAL ACTIVITY

Learning and thinking activities can be described in terms of multiple memory
stores. Concerned with describing how knowledge is stored (memory), how
knowledge is manipulated (cognitive processes or mental tools), and how the whole
system is guided (metacognition).
Information exists in working memory (short-term memory) or in long-term memory.
Working memory is limited in both storage capacity and duration (the thoughts,
ideas, and images which a person is aware of at any point in time), while long-term
memory (a person's permanent store of knowledge and skills) is dependent upon
organization of links among a network of images, episodes and elements of
declarative ( facts) and procedural (how we do things) knowledge.
Categories of actions
attend to - bring idea into consciousness; maintain idea in consciousness
link - connect units of information
elaborate - creates or discovers new knowledge from the logical combination of
active memory components
test - determines whether a situation is as desired or expected
Traditionally we've concentrated too heavily on the transmission of subject matter
and do not allow students to develop sophisticated learning/thinking skills. The goal
is to guide students to become more self-directed; take more responsibility of their
own learning. Students need to be placed in different relationships to teacher, other
students, and content. Emphasis on technology in project that require students to
play a more active role. Thus it becomes important to get students to:

think about and store the main ideas rather than the verbatim comments.
work at generating and storing a personally meaningful representation of
what was experienced.

How do teachers get students to create knowledge and not be satisfied

with simply storing information? How can educational technology facilitate this?

Technology can present information

Student may use technology to complete learning tasks - not a direct source
of information.
The student manipulates information using technology as a tool and the
experiences resulting from this manipulation are what the student thinks
about and learns from.

2. CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF LEARNING to evaluate common uses of

technology and advocate new ideas about classroom instruction that take
advantage of technology. All agree that educators must be equally as concerned
with what learners do cognitively with information as they are with what information
learners receive.

MEANINGFUL LEARNING: Ausubel

Learning in which new experiences are linked with information already stored in
long-term memory. The student must expend mental effort to learn and to establish
links among links among ideas. Meaningful learning can be contrasted with rote
learning in which learning occurs with little attention to meaning. The teacher must
provide an optimal environment that makes the student feel capable. It requires
work and motivation. Tasks are very important. Assessment depends upon the
student demonstrating knowledge, not repeating facts. Examples: Discovery
learning techniques, simulations and tutorials vs.. rote: Student discovers &
identifies rules by interaction with a simulated environment.
GENERATIVE LEARNING: Wittrock
Occurs when a student actively creates knowledge by selectively attending to
events and generating meaning for these experiences either by interpreting
experiences in terms of existing knowledge or by drawing inferences. Tools are
important and encourage thinking. The active learner creates a model or
explanation to account for new experiences and existing knowledge. Tasks can play
a role in encouraging generative mental behaviors. Examples: Using external
activities such as higher-level questions, writing, computer tools such as word
processors, databases, spreadsheets and multimedia authoring programs. Student
controlled.
CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL: Vygotsky
Based upon the principle that what a person "knows" is not passively received, but
actively assembled by the learner. A learner constructs both mechanisms for
learning and his or her own unique version of the knowledge. Examples: Problem
oriented activities and projects. The fundamental nature of the learner as active.

Learners construct rather than receive knowledge AND take responsibility

for their own learning
Learners act on the information they receive in order to create personal
understanding and transform information into knowledge
Cooperative or collaborative learning
Teacher does not direct and deliver all instruction but acts as a guide and
resource.

Exploratory learning in rich contexts - need access to experts

Builds visual and mental models

From Theory to Practice - What do these theories mean for your classroom
and how can technology help you apply them?
1. Authentic Activities
Research shows that when learning is accomplished as part of an authentic activity,
it is more relevant and more likely to be used in future situations. Authentic
activities are the ordinary practices of a culture. Students need rich,
multidisciplinary contexts for learning and reduced emphasis on fact mastery
and isolate, discrete component skills. Inert Knowledge is knowledge that
students have learned but fail to use. Use of primary sources represent information
or tasks that learners act on to produce personal knowledge. The Internet offers
many sources.
2. Changing the Social Environment
Students should have access to domain experts to model the skills appropriate to
the domain. Teachers view their roles differently. Students should spend a greater
amount of time working in cooperative relationships with other students to explore
alternative perspectives and evaluate ideas. Cognitive apprenticeship, cooperative
learning projects and learning communities
3. Project-based learning that promotes reflective thinking and
productivity, as well as authentic activities and collaboration
Student projects provide a practical method for combining elements of authentic
activities, collaborative learning, and technology use. Project-based learning is
based on tasks, groups, and sharing. Good projects should:

encourage students to make decisions

encourage what-if questions
require discussion and communication
allow a final product or solution and
be extendible to allow students to move beyond the specific charge they
have been given

Cognitive Learning Theory

Dewey: Center instruction around activities those are relevant and meaningful
to a student's own experience.
Vygotsky: Zone of proximal development, gap between expert-novice, met
through scaffolding, collaborative learning activities
Piaget: Children move through stages of cognitive development through
experiences in which they adapt to their environment and organize. Processes
of assimilation or accommodation
Bruner: Stages of cognitive development. Unstructured or discovery learning.
Papert: Discovery learning and problem solving. Logo
Cognitive Apprenticeships: 'Situated cognition' or authentic learning. What
students learn should not be separated from how they learn it. (Brown)
Anchored Instruction/generative learning: Problem-solving environments
where students generate solutions to real world problems
Cognitive flexibility: Particularly for ill-structured domains, students need less
structured exploration and less direct teaching.

Using Instructional Software in Content-Area Learning

What is Instructional software?

Software developed for the sole purpose of delivering instruction or supporting

learning activities. The computer is responsible for instruction. Each type of
instruction presents information and engages students in specific activities to
promote understanding, retention, or skill mastery. This offers technology used in a
traditional sense with the view that technology simply provides the means for
educators and students to play their roles more effectively. Remember that this
approach differs from the constructivist approach that insists that students will
benefit most by finding and generating their own knowledge. THe authors feel that
a combined approach, teacher-centered as well as student-centered learning
experiences are best.
High quality technology -based learning experiences of any type should engage the
learner in active cognitive behaviors. Computer-assisted instruction is of
unique value when:

prolonged individual practice is necessary

traditional approaches fail took content exciting.
learning the skill presents a significant danger to the learner
concepts are difficult to visualize or conceptualize
students progress significantly different rates and need to proceed at their
own pace
practical limits of time, space, or money make certain experiences
impractical.

A MODEL OF INSTRUCTION
A complete instructional experience takes students through 4 stages:
1. Presentation of information or learning experiences
2. Initial guidance as student struggles to understand the information or execute
the skill to be learned
3. Extended practice to provide fluency or speed to ensure rentention
4. Assessment of student learning
Software developed for the sole purpose of delivering instruction or supporting
learning activities.
Categories for instructional software:

Drill (or drill and practice) software. Programs that allow learners to work
problems or answer questions and get feedback on correctness.
Tutorial software. Programs that act like tutors by presenting all the
information and instructional activities that a learner needs to master a given
topic. (e.g., background & explanations, practice sessions, feedback and
assessment.
Simulation Software. Programs that model real or an imagined system to
show how those systems or similar systems work.
Instructional Games. Programs designed to increase motivation by adding
games rules to learning activities.
Problem-solving Software. Programs that teach or help students acquire
problem-solving skills by giving them opportunities to solve problems.

Drill and Practice Activities

May be used whenever teachers feel the need for on-paper type of exercises. When
compare to these, drill software is beneficial in that it- provides immediate
feedback, is motivating, saves teacher time, supplements worksheets and can help
in preparation for tests.

Characteristics of well-designed programs:

Control over presentation rate

Appropriate feedback for correct answers
Better reinforcement for correct answers
Flexibility

Criticisms

Can be over used (should only be used 10-15 minutes at a time)

Not good for introducing concept
Drill and practice on isolated skills rather than in context of their own projects

Tutorial Software
May be used...to address all instructional events from introduction to assessment. It
can be self-paced, used as an alternative learning strategy, and when teacher is not
possible. A possible learning station.
Characteristics of well-designed programs

Extensive interactivity; should require student to give frequent and thoughtful

responses
Thorough user control; rate text appears on screen, flexibility to review and
opportunities to exit
Appropriate & comprehensive teaching sequence; builds on content plus good
examples
Adequate answer-judging & feedback capabilities

Criticisms

Traditional instruction
Hard to find

Simulation Software
May be used...to demonstrate physical,process,procedural or situational simulations
of a real process. It is less structured and more learner-directed.
Characteristics of well-designed programs

Compresses time
Slows down process
Motivating, with increased user control
Makes experiments safe and possible
Saves money
Situations can be repeated and controlled
Good for introductory-level instruction
Fosters exploration & process learning
Encourages cooperation & group work

Criticisms

Difficult to find on particular topics

Over-simplification of topics may be misleading
Can lead to trial and error guessing

Instructional Games

May be used...in place of worksheets & exercises, to foster cooperation and as a

reward
Characteristics of well-designed programs

Fostering motivation to skill learning by adding game rules (e.g. adventures,

arcade, board, card, logic, role-playing, TV quiz game formats)
Elements of competition
Entertaining formats

Criticisms

May draw attention from the intrinsic value & motivation of learning
Over-emphasis on competition, individualization
Difficulty transferring skill to later non-game situations
Time
May contain violent or combat-type activity
May require extensive amount of physical dexterity

Problem-solving Software
May be used...improve problem solving skills such as recognition of goal, observing
& recalling information, inferring, predicting outcomes, making analogies and
formulating ideas.
Characteristics of well-designed programs...Three kinds

Solving one or more kinds of content-area problems (e.g. building algebra

equations) Problem-solving environments, along with guidance. This provides
motivating for students to attack problems and recognize them as an integral
part of everyday life. "An attitude toward inquiry "
Using a scientific approach to problem solving (e.g. identify the problem, pose
hypotheses, plan systematic approach)
Components of problem solving (e.g. following a sequence of steps, recalling
facts) Problem-solving skills taught by specific instruction and practice type
software. This supplies prerequisite skills for specific kinds of problem solving

Criticisms
Could interfere with student's own effective processing
Not enough time devoted to process
Is taught in isolation

Steps that should be used (constructivist model)

1. Allow students time to explore and interact with software, but do provide
structure in the form of directions, goals, work schedule...
2. Vary the amount of direction and assistance
3. Promote a "reflective learning environment." Let the students talk about their
work.
4. Stress thinking processes rather than correct answers
5. Point out the relationship of courseware skills and activities to other kinds of
problem solving
6. Let students work in groups
7. If assessments are done, use alternative to traditional paper-pencil tests.
Integrated Learning Systems (ILS)

Definition: ILS is a network, a combination instruction and management system

that runs on computers connected to a larger computer. It offers a combination of
drill and practice, tutorials, simulations, problem-solving and tool courseware
integrated into a total curriculum package.