Session 14 - Learning Objects

As I read the information on the learning object model, it does seem to share many similar characteristic with the object orientated (OO) software design methodology. The OO design methodology is currently used heavily in the computer software design field. Creating small reusable objects / components are the key to any good OO program. When an object become too large, than its reuse is limited. The black box approach to object design is critical to good OO objects. When you write a program in C++ there is an object library with thousands of defined objects that you can use to develop what ever program you want. The nice thing about object library's, is designers do not have to reinvent the wheel every time a new program is needed. With that in mind, I think the OO idea can be applied to web based instructional design. The challenge is that most C++ objects return some type of data value. The idea of passing instruction content out of learning object will be a little more challenging. I can see this approach requiring highly skilled instructional content design developers, to create reusable instructional content objects.

I feel designing learning objects will be quite complex in their design and thus would take lots of time to build correctly. This approach is well past the proficiency of the average teacher. Creating the learning objects is only half the challenge. How the objects are integrated in a web-based instructional program, will be the true challenging.

Session 13 - Cognitive Flexibility Theory

As I read the information on the cognitive flexibility model, it does seem to have similar characteristic with case based learning and other learning models. Cognitive flexibility theory is also based on using real world cases as part of its model. Analyzing cases that have different perspectives and contexts, can help students engage their higher order thinking and reasoning skills. These skills do require that you already have some basic knowledge to call upon. With that in mind, I also think this model would be more effective in the upper grade levels. That is not to say, they would not work in the elementary grade levels. I feel it will be challenging and time consuming to build and teach base-skills in the cognitive flexibility model, in the elementary grade level.

I feel these models are quite complex in their design and thus would take lots of time to build correctly. I am not sure how proficient the average teacher would be at building online lessons for this model. It almost sounds like design teams would be needed to help ensure the model is adhered to correctly.

Overall, I think this model is good at helping students learn, based on real world situations that are presented using different perspectives and contexts. This model can help students to be more prepared to make critical and effective decisions in the real world.

Session 12 - Case Based Learning

As I read the information on the Case Based Learning model, it does seem to have this umbrella characteristic. It seems that you can include many of the previous instructional models under it. For example, problem based learning and cooperative learning do fit nicely under a case based learning umbrella. I feel that the case based model is an approach to learning that involves applying critical thinking and reasoning skills. These skills do require that you already have basic knowledge to call upon. With this in mind, I think this model can be used more effectively in the upper grade levels. I feel it is hard to teach phonic, addition, basic grammar, and other base skill in a case based learning model in the elementary grade level. Case based reasoning skills do require a person to have a functioning set of basic skills.

Since case based learning involves real world cases, does this bring up any intellectual and personal privacy rights? Would the average citizen mind having their personal finance history used in a college case study on financial bankruptcy?

I can see case based learning taking a lot of time to develop. I think it would be very important to use critically designed guiding questions to help the students find all the areas in the case where critical decisions were made. This also bring up the question as to how do we assess case based learning. I can see case based learning as having sometimes very subjective conclusions. There are many ways and solution to real world problems. How do we know the students have discovered the most appropriate one?

Overall, I think this model is good at helping students learn, based on real world situations. This model can help students to be more prepared to make appropriate and critical decisions in the real world, where they have to live and prosper.  

Session 11 - MOST Model

As I read the information on the MOST Model, it had some similarities to online e-books, where the story is read to the student, along with still shot illustrations, and stories made into movies that have subtitles. The use of web 2.0 tools to help with understanding sequencing and other literacy concepts can be very helpful. These tools can also be helpful in reinforcing learned concepts. I do wonder how well at-risk students using the MOST model; understand different literacy concepts like author’s purpose, inferring meaning of vocabulary words, and inference of meaning buried in between the lines, by the author.  I can see the MOST model, helping at-risk students learn some of these concepts in a visual format. The question I have, does this translate into the same skills being applied when they take a book home to read. Even if at-risk student use MOST models to help learn reading skills, they still need to read text to help improve their reading skills. Most standardized reading EOG assessment tests are not going to be of the MOST model. Reading is the key that opens the door to all other content areas.

                                               

As you can tell, I “wonder” a lot. How does this model work with different learning styles? Is this model more effective with students that are visual learners? How effective is this model with at-risk students that have a strong verbal or auditory learning style? Are there any at-risk student that have strong verbal learning style? I would find it interesting to know, if most at-risk students have a certain type of learning style.

As I read about the MOST model, I was unsure also, if there are any requirements as to the length of the stories that can be used. If the students are in high school, can chapter books be used that contain lots of detail and a longer story line, like “Stone Fox” or “The Black Pearl, which most students find very exciting and interesting?

I feel that creating interesting and effective MOST modules can take a lot of time for the teachers to create. I can see that the MOST model can be beneficial to at-risk students. I also feel implementing them in an elementary school setting, may be easier, than in a high school setting, due to story complexity. I still have questions about how teachers would put together a MOST model on a book like “Stone Fox”. Where would the teacher get the video segments, and other aspects of the story to make it into a MOST model? I think using video story telling is better at holding student interest, than still action shots. Would teachers cut sections out of the movie? How does that play into intellectual property rights?

Session 10 - STAR Model

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• As I read the information on the STAR Legacy Model, it sounded very similar to the Goal-Based and Anchored models. I like how the STAR model evaluates the student’s prior knowledge in a subject area. It is like wetting the soil, before it rains. It helps the speed and efficiency of the soil’s absorption of the rain. I feel this idea also applies to the human mind. I also, like how the model uses a “wrap up” near the end, to have students reflect on what was learned and how a student’s thoughts and beliefs may have changed over the lesson.

What are barriers to its use?

• I feel that creating interesting and effective STAR model challenges are very important in capturing and holding a student’s attention and interest. I feel the challenge should be in a video format, instead of just a text description. I find personally that I am more engaged with a video challenge, then by just reading something to see what the challenge is. The challenge presenter’s passionate voice and body language can be a great way to engage and motivate students. I think the “Perspectives & Resources” part can be very time consuming to build. This part is also important in holding a students interest and helping to motivate them to learn. This section should not be just a list of web links for the students to use.

Since we are taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I believe the STAR model can be implemented in a web-based environment. I also believe that this model can be used across many different subject areas other than just math and science applications, which the researchers mostly discussed. For example, in language arts, students could receive a challenge that involves converting a secret letter from first person to third person, where the pronouns and verb tense are part of an encryption code. I feel the STAR model can be used to support individual and group learning. This is a great plus in a diverse learning style classroom, since there are many different ways students receive knowledge. 

Session 9 - Anchored Instruction

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• As I read the articles on anchored learning (AL), it sounded very similar to the problem-based learning and goal-based learning approaches. They all advise using real-world problem learning situations.  I find it really challenging to distinguish between PBL, GBL, and AL. It almost seems like researchers just tweaked the approach a little, and then they slap their name on a slightly different way of looking at things, and call it a new approach.
• I feel that the majority of the students in a class would like to receive there real world problem scenario in a video format, since this is the most familiar method to them. The video would seem to connect the problem to more of the student’s senses, which could make it seem more real to the students.

What are barriers to its use?

• I feel that creating interesting and effective AL modules can take a lot of time for the teachers to create. One big challenge I can see is the commitment needed to create different web modules. I know teachers that have been moved around by there administrations to teacher 4 different grade levels, in a five-year period. Why would a teacher want to make any web modules, when they are not certain what grade level they are teaching each year? I can see this being a real deterrent to creating web module.
• Since our students come from a very diverse background, teachers would need to create many different AL scenarios, so that students can choose what would be of interest to them.
• I have heard from many people that you get more out of reading the book, than just watching the movie made on a book. I wonder if the concept also applies to the current standardized curriculum, we currently teach in school.   Students get exposed to many different terms in a standardized curriculum movie, but do they really get the whole picture by not working with real world detailed situations that are like the story in a book?
• I noticed that AL research seems to focus mostly on science and math learning situations. I wonder how well AL works on reading and writing language arts skills, which are taught heavily in elementary school.

Since we are taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I believe AL can be implemented in a web-based environment. The challenge is coming up with interesting real-world situations for students to work with. I wonder how much time teachers can or are willing to spend helping their students understand the real world problem solving steps in the different approaches. When teachers have AYP goals and EOGs breathing down their necks, how do they assess if their students learned/gained all the EOG tested content knowledge, from the different real world learning approaches. I like the AL approach and I can see using it in my elementary classroom on a limited basis. With all the standardized testing taking place these days, I feel teachers may be reluctant to spend many months trying to teach their students how to critically think, and possibly miss their AYP and EOG goals, and then be out on the street, trying to find another job.

Session 8 - Goal Based Learning

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• As I read the articles on goal-based learning (GBL), it sounded similar to the problem-based learning approach. They both recommend using real-world learning situations.  I find it interesting in the types of artificial goals that young students have. I feel teachers can help foster goals for the students. The challenge is that the students are usually only with a teacher for one year. Parents are in a very powerful and unique position, where they have life-long influence on students’ goals. This brings up the age-old question of how can parents instill goals in their children, if they have no goals themselves. I feel children are not born with natural goal setting abilities, thus parents and teachers need to model how achievable goals are created. I feel students need to understand the meaning and purpose of goals, before they can be effective in GBL.

What are barriers to its use?

• I feel that creating interesting and effective GBL modules can take a lot of time to create. The examples that I have seen have different paths for students to select based on their interests. Creating these would require more time and effort on the teacher’s part. Having choices is a good thing, but require a lot of up front planning and development time.
• Another challenge is there are many teachers that are not very tech savvy, in creating web modules that are visually, auditorily, and interactively engaging to the students. If they are just created like web pages, with a bunch of web resource links, students are not going to be very excited and interested in the lesson activity.
• Since students have many varied interests, a teacher should have a variety of different GBL lessons for student to select. When students have choice, they are more likely to be interested in the activity.

Since we are taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I believe GBL can be implemented in a web-based environment. The challenge for teachers is to come up with realistic goals. Extrinsic goals like stickers, food, etc are not always that motivating for students. Intrinsic goals like figuring out how much fence is needed to create a pen to save abused horses can be more motivating for a student. That assumes they like horses. I feel it is important for teachers to have several different goals to allow for a variety for diverse student interests. 

Session 7 - Situated / Apprenticeship Learning

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• As I read the article on situated learning, it sounded very similar to the problem-based learning approach.  In situated learning and problem-based learning, both approaches are tied to learning in a context environment.  Both are dealing with real world contextual situations that the students use to learn. The cognitive apprenticeship learning approach is a little different from the previous ones. The apprentice approach is built around the three facets of modeling, coaching, and fading scaffold support. This approach does have its rich master and apprentice history. The concept does sound good, and can work well in specific education situation. It does raise some issues when you try to apply it to large general education system.

What are barriers to its use?

• Most apprenticeships I have heard of are based on a lot of one-on-one instruction. A computer is not always a good replacement for the complex apprentice one-on-one learning interactions between a highly skilled master teacher and the student. How do you apply this individualized apprenticeship approach in a large classroom that is teaching general education material like in an elementary school?
• In the past, after an apprenticeship was completed, the student was ready to go to work in that trade or skill area. There was a job waiting at the end, which was a definite motivation for the apprentice to complete the apprenticeship. What motivation is there for middle school students to be an apprentice in a social studies class for example?
• In the past, a craft person would select an apprentice to take on to teach their trade. They did not select anyone. How do you handle the cases where an apprentice finds out that this trade/education was not for them?
• I think most apprenticeship master-teachers, where skilled in a couple areas at the most. How do we get general education teacher to be highly skilled and passionate about all the content areas they teach? I can see this being especially challenging in the elementary grades, where teachers are generalists, not specialist like middle school teachers and up.
• The apprenticeship was something that the student selected/chose to go into. For example, how do you get students to select a Language Arts/English apprenticeship, if that content area is not of real interest to them? We have to be careful that an apprenticeship does not turn into a general education indentured servant program.

Since we are taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I believe the idea of situated learning can be implemented in a classroom very easily. I feel when student learn in context, they are able to relate and see how it is applied and used in the real world. I feel content that is taught in isolation is not retained as well as when taught in context.
• I can see the apprentice learning approach being successfully applied at high school and the college level. I see issues with trying to use the approach in the elementary school level.  

Session 6 - Problem Based Learning

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• When I read these articles on problem-based learning (PBL), it sounded similar to guided learning, in that you use real world situations/problems for instruction.  I like the idea of students working in groups to learn. Groups allow the students to work through problem resolution stages like, what information is known, what information is need to be researched, where do we find this information, and what is our going forward strategy to solve the problem.

What are barriers to its use?

• Most of problem-based learning research seems to focus on mid to higher education, and not much on elementary school students. I can see some younger students struggling with this approach, since they do not have as many life experiences to draw on.  As stated in (Ryan, 1994), the PBL group is made up of 5 – 6 members, of which, is a narrator, scribe, and tutor/coach. I can see these roles being challenging in the elementary school grades.
• When students learn through the PBL approach, they tend to sacrifice breadth for depth of knowledge in an area. One of the challenges is that it takes time to dig and research into a PBL topic, thus you are not able to cover a broad curriculum area in depth.
• It seems somewhat ironic that you would use problems to teach students, since some people try to avoid problems, while others like to solve them. As (Hung, 2003) has stated, “Research shows that the initial transition from a traditional to a PBL curriculum may be a difficult adjustment for students.”
• There are also concerns that PBI does not prepare students for the standardized tests that will test there breadth of knowledge, vs. depth of knowledge in a subject area.

Would you attempt to use this theory/model with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theory/model be modified so that it would work with your current/future students?

• Being an elementary teacher, I wonder how many of these PBL problem-solving stages are achievable with young students. Since younger students are still learning how to get along socially, there may be more effort required by the teacher to help the students learn good team dynamics, along with how to work through the PBL stages. I can see the teacher providing much more scaffold support, to help students learn the PBL problem solving process. Using guiding questions can help students figure-out/discover the next stage. Additional assistance will be needed to help young students learn research techniques.

Since we are taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I believe the idea of problem-based learning can be implemented in web modules. Having real world problems for the groups to select/choose, can help foster more team motivation and interest. For elementary students, PBL activities could incorporate a problem that is tied to a story, which the students have read. For example, the students have read a book as part of a unit on the plant life cycle. The problem-solving challenge for the students is to find out why Ms. Wiffle’s inside houseplant is not producing seeds. 

Session 5 - Cooperative Learning

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• When I read these articles on cooperative learning, it sounded similar to guided learning.  I like the idea of students working as a team to learn. As stated in Haller’s research article “A key assumption of cooperative learning is that students working in groups will learn from and teach one another.” The idea of groups of people learning together is very common in the corporate world. The group’s grades /evaluations of success are based on all the members’ participation. In the software and engineering fields there are many groups that are working on coming up with competitive designs for specific products.

What are barriers to its use?

• The barriers in cooperative learning seem to be very similar to guided group learning. They basically, revolve around team dynamics. One barrier that I can think of is students with an intrapersonal learning style. They are not as likely to be as successful with cooperative learning, since it is an interpersonal learning style.
• Another issue that has to be considered is the dynamics that each team member brings. A team with too many strong personalities may cause the team to flounder, due to personal achievement goals, group disagreements, and infighting.

Would you attempt to use this theory/model with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theory/model be modified so that it would work with your current/future students?

• The research article Johnson stated “five basic elements have emerged as critical to cooperative work in classrooms: positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face promotive interaction, social skills, and group processing.” I noticed that many of the articles are based on research in a university setting. Being an elementary teacher, I wonder how many of these five basic elements are achievable with young students. Since younger students are still learning how to get along socially, there may be more effort required by the teacher to help the students learn good team dynamics.  

Since we are taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I believe the idea of cooperative learning can be implemented in web modules. By using logs and blogs, students are able to interact and reflect on learned materials, while away from the classroom. Blogs can also help intrapersonal learners in the group to feel more in their learning zone. Having real world projects for the teams to select (giving choice) can help foster more team motivation and interest.  

Session 4 - Guided Design / Casada, Wilson

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• When I read these articles on guided design / team learning, it sounded a lot like my learning style. I am a blend of both intrapersonal and interpersonal learning style. I can work well by myself, but I also like working in groups. I like the idea of gathering relevant information / knowledge, problem-solving activities performed by a group, periodic guiding feedback from a teacher, and relevant real world problems to solve. We used these traits in the software design field I worked in before.

What are barriers to its use?

• One barrier that I can think of is students with an intrapersonal learning style. These students are strong willed and work best alone. The ones I have seen seem to pride themselves on being independent and original, and they tend to stand out from the class without even trying. They seem to do best in self paced instruction, individualized projects, and working alone.
• The research articles also talks about how this guided design theory does not work well with “non-contextual critical-thinking skills” like those used in learning a foreign language.
• Another issue that has to be considered is the dynamics that each team member brings. A team with too many strong personalities may cause the team to flounder, due to personal achievement goals, group disagreements, and infighting. That sure sounds like our government in Washington, DC.

Would you attempt to use this theory/model with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theory/model be modified so that it would work with your current/future students?

• I have used this style with my classroom already. It works well with social studies and science content areas. I am still looking at how to implement it into Math. It does not seem to work well with language arts, due to its limited problem solving needs. I found its success depends on how the teams/groups are organized. If you place too many strong willed students on the same team, they just end up arguing about who’s idea should be use.

Since we are taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I believe the idea of guided design / team learning can be implemented in web modules, but there are some issues to overcome. As (Wilson, 2004) stated in their research article,  “learning in teams in and outside the academic classroom is fraught with “monster” implications … Free Riding, uneven preparation, sporadic attendance, plagiarism, …” This brings up the issue of outside classroom group learning. I have wondered if outside classroom group learning is really group learning, or just individual learning, with a group-learning label put on it. I feel group learning does create a challenge, as to assessing how much each team member has contributed and learned. With out individual post-group learning assessments, how does the teacher truly know that each team member really learned and understood the materials. A sink or swim group/team grading system is a poor grading approach. It seems to be more of a motivational method, than a good grading system.

Session 3 - AT / Kulik

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• My first initial thoughts after reading the AT Approach / Kulik articles were that it seems to be more tailored for upper grade levels. I can see the GAS (General Assembly Session) being very similar to what most elementary school teachers do when they start a new unit. They talk about the unit, what students will learn, and the expectations of what will take place. The ISS (Independent Study Sessions) are very much like independent learning task work that is directed via audio lectures. The SAS (Small Assembly Sessions) do not sound very practical for lower/middle elementary grade levels where I teach.  Trying to get second graders to give a short lecture on what they previously learned can be quite challenging. There would have to be a teacher, assistant, or a parent volunteer to help guide the student led lecture/discussion to make sure they stay on task. The adult monitor would help ensure that higher order thinking / discussions are taking place. The idea of “one really learns a subject when one prepares to teach it,” is a great idea, which will require a lot of guidance in lower grade levels.   

Would you attempt to use this theory/model with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theory/model be modified so that it would work with your current/future students?

• I can see using some audio directed learning in my classroom. The challenges I see in use them, is in the ISS and SAS sections. I have noticed it is hard to keep younger students focused and on task with just audio directions. Many students need written directions as a guide to let them know what they need to do next. This is especially important for EC / ESL students. A visual directed list helps to organize them. Students seem to do better with hands on learning, with manipulatives, and one-on-one assistance. With all the state and local budget cuts taking place, this does not sound like our public school system anymore. We are loosing assistants and it is hard to find good parent volunteers that are available on a regular basis, to help work with the students during the ISS and SAS sections.

Since we're taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I can see myself using a loose hybrid of the PSI and AT systems. Each seems to have its issues, because there is no one size that fits all. One thing that these systems miss is that some students learn better independently, while other students learn better cooperatively in groups. Human beings are very diverse in their design, as is each of our learning styles. I personally like the PSI over the AT style for my elementary classroom.  I like the idea of creating self-paced web modules (PSI) that have audio (AT used loosely) capabilities integrated into them. Making use of Voki web audio to read directions and explain the lesson concepts to the students would make the modules more effective in lower grade levels. Having the ability to replay the audio again, is great for younger students. Integrating audio, video, and hands on manipulatives would create a good independent learning environment, for those students that are independent learners. Any behavioral learning system is also only as good as the motivation of its students to learn and succeed independently.  

Session 2 - Davis / Keller

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model?

• I like Keller’s theory of PSI, since it is a self-paced instruction system.  Giving student the ability to own and self-pace their learning can be very rewarding and motivating to many students. Since a real classroom has many different student learning needs, the idea of students doing as they learn, is much better than just listening to a lecture style presentation.
• After I read the article, I was unclear if the web modules design could include the ability to offer pause / stop / continue capability for students. With elementary classroom schedules being very fluid, due too many schedule challenges and interruptions, I can see this capability being very useful. This would also be very important for any special needs students that have short attention spans like (ADHD, Autism, etc.). Having the ability to start up again, where they left off, would be very important for special needs students.

What are barriers to its use?

• I can see EC special needs students struggling with self-paced modules. Many I have worked with need constant guidance and encouragement. Many have a very high frustration level for web tools or concepts they do not grasp right away.
• ESL students, who struggle with language-two acquisitions, may not benefit from PSI modules that are heavily language-two (English) based. Interlacing pictures and text would help ESL students understand the web modules, as they are learning English.
• I can see teachers that have been lecturing in the past, may find the idea of creating modules to teach their course materials very overwhelming.

What benefits might be expected for those who overcome the barriers?

• The repeatability of self-paced modules can be very beneficial for EC students, as well as students that may not grasp a concept the first time through. 
• Having web based modules that offer audio responses for tests at the end of a module can help those that are grammar challenged. Many ESL students struggle with being able to express their academic understanding of concepts in written text format.

Would you attempt to use this theory/model with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theory/model be modified so that it would work with your current/future students?

• I can see this model being very effective in the higher-grade levels. Having it being effective in lower elementary grade levels can be more challenging to implement. Many younger students need a lot of guidance/feedback and teacher monitoring/supervision. This is not a bad thing, but requires the web module design to take these things into consideration.
• In the real world, the idea of one-size fits all, does not work. I feel the Keller model will work for the majority of students. Those students on the fringe with special needs will require additional support that this model may not be able to provide or is outside of its scope. I can see the web module design being critical in minimizing the size of the fringe.
• In elementary grades, having the ability to highlight new vocabulary words in a module with pop-up definition windows, would be a great way to help students learn and understand new vocabulary that a module may present. Learning vocabulary in context is very important, since learning vocabulary words in isolation is proven not very effective.

Since we're taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

• I like to use the web tool “LetterPop” to create a classroom newsletter. I let the students take on this responsibility. I have them work in small groups to create short summary articles of what they have learned this month and then have them build the newsletter.
• I also like to use the web tool “Blurb” to create books of classroom short stories. It is amazing how excited students get when they see their written stories in printed book form.