Re-thinking iEducation

: Considerations from Research in the Learning Sciences Gerry Stahl

Opportunities

 A faculty retreat on innovation  Brainstorm — suspend reactions  Technologies to support new modes of learning  Research on how people learn

Dangers

 Technology-driven thinking  The inertia of culture: “That’s how we have always done it.”  Disincentives in the reward structures: for students, instructors, the College

A pop quiz

 As we learn more about something,  (a) The questions all get answered.

 (b) The questions get easier and easier.

 (c) The questions get more complex.

 How can we promote deep inquiry by students?

Learning sciences research



Cambridge Handbook on the Learning Sciences



International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning

 Research papers at CSCL, ICLS, CHI, CSCW, GROUP, etc.

Findings of learning sci & ed tech

 Students must be engaged, motivated; construct their own understanding  Lectures are not generally effective as the sole instructional mode  Asynchronous threaded discussion has serious problems (timing, superficial opinions, asocial)

Some of my research: asynch

 Phidias - threaded discussion for design rationale (1990-1992 RA in computer science)  Hermes - asynchronous design environment (1991-1993 dissertation system)  Other educational software: Essence, TCA (1993-1997)  WebGuide (1997-2000 post-doc classroom system)  BSCL (2001-2002 visiting scientist EU asynch)  VMT (2003-2009 synchronous learning)

My theory of group cognition

 Vygotsky: inter-personal learning precedes as the basis of individual learning  Small groups have powerful learning mechanisms  Technology should be designed to support intense group interaction  Pedagogy should support collaborative knowledge building

Collaboration is powerful!

 Breaks passivity & asocial alienation  Students work together to understand assignments, course goals, material  Students help each other  Students make their knowledge visible  Students can judge themselves vs. peers  80% of employees work in teams

Synchronicity

 Synchronous (e.g., chat) is more engaging  It has a stronger sense of social contact  It is far more efficient in building knowledge  It can support interaction & collaboration  It allows immediate feedback, deeper discussion, sharing, negotiation

Blending it

 Blended learning combines the advantages and overcomes many problems  Almost all online programs (outside Drexel) find that F2F contact near the beginning is necessary for meaningful asynch interaction

Conclusion

 A careful mix of individual, small-group and class work  A careful mix of reading, lecture, small group tasks, class discussion  Use of technology as appropriate to pedagogical aims and processes

An iSchool culture of innovation & collaborative learning

 How can we change student resistance to innovation in instruction & learning?

 How can we change student resistance to sharing knowledge & group work?

 How can we blend our online courses?

 How can we introduce synchronicity?

References on the power of collaboration

 Stahl, G. (2008).

Chat on collaborative knowledge building

.

QWERTY

, 3(1), 67-78.  Stahl, G., Koschmann, T., & Suthers, D. (2006).

Computer supported collaborative learning

. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.),

Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences

(pp. 409-426). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Available in English, in simplified Chinese, in traditional Chinese, in Spanish, in Portuguese, in German, in Romanian.