Transcript Using Technology as a Cognitve Tool

Many researchers fail to
distinguish between research
goals and methods.
Ed. Tech research goals:
Theoretical
Predictive
Interpretivist
Postmodern
Development
Action
Theoretical Goals
Focus on explaining
phenomena through
logical analysis and
synthesis of
principles and results
from other studies
 EXAMPLE: Gagne’s
theory of the
conditions of learning

Predictive Goals
Focus on determining
how education works
by testing hypotheses
related to theories of
learning, teaching,
performance, etc.
 EXAMPLE:
cooperative learning
and control studies by
Hooper, Temiyakarn,
and Williams

Simon Hooper
Interpretivist Goals
Focus on determining
how education works by
describing and
interpreting phenomena
related to learning,
teaching, performance,
etc.
 EXAMPLE: Delia
Neuman’s observations of
disabled children using
commercial software

Delia Neuman
Postmodern Goals


Focus on examining the
assumptions underlying
educational programs with
the goal of revealing
hidden agendas and
empowering
disenfranchised minorities
EXAMPLE: Ann
DeVaney’s analysis of IT in
relation to race, gender,
and power
Development Goals


Focus on dual objectives
of developing creative
approaches to solving
problems and constructing
reusable design principles
EXAMPLE: Cognition and
Technology Group at
Vanderbilt’s (John
Bransford et al.) work with
Jasper Woodbury
problem-solving series
Action Goals


Focus on describing,
improving, or estimating
the effectiveness and
worth of a particular
program
EXAMPLE: Reeves and
Laffey study of a
problem-based learning
engineering course at
US Air Force Academy
Methods should not be selected until
goals & research questions are clear:
 Quantitative
 Qualitative
 Critical
Theory
 Historical
 Literature
Review
 Mixed-methods
What is the
rationale for
development
research in the
application of
technology in
teacher
education?
Good Development Research
Design-Based Research Collective
Goals of designing learning environments
and theories are intertwined
 Development and research occur in
continuous cycles
 Research on designs leads to sharable
theories relevant to practitioners
 Research must account for how designs
function in authentic settings
 Development of accounts relies on methods
that connect actions to outcomes

Development Research Strategies
Define a pedagogical outcome and create
learning environments that address it.
 Emphasize content and
pedagogy rather than
technology.
 Give special attention to
supporting human
interactions.
 Modify learning
environments until
outcome is reached.

Design Research Example
“Authentic Learning in Interactive
Multimedia Environments.”
 Ph.D. dissertation by Jan Herrington at
Edith Cowan University in Australia.
 Supervised by Professor
Ron Oliver.
 Winner of AECT
Young
Researcher
of the Year
in 1999.

Outcome Practitioners Desired
New teachers will
use a wider
variety of
assessment
methods in their
student teaching
experience and
eventual practice.
Learning Environment Design
 Identified
the critical
characteristics of a
situated learning
model.
 Developed an
interactive multimedia
learning environment
based on those
characteristics.
Situated Learning Model
Herrington 1997





Provide an authentic context
reflecting the way the knowledge
will be used in real-life
Provide authentic activities
Provide access to expert
performances and the
modeling of processes
Provide multiple roles
and perspectives
Support collaborative
construction of knowledge
Situated Learning Model
Herrington 1997
Promote reflection to enable
abstractions to be formed
 Promote articulation to enable
tacit knowledge to be made
explicit
 Provide coaching and scaffolding
at critical times
 Provide for integrated
assessment of learning within
the tasks.

Research Methodology
Mixed methods
 Videotaped
preservice teachers
using program
 Interviewed
teachers and their
supervisors in
schools during
student teaching
practicum

Findings

Problem Solved:
– Novice teachers acquired
advanced knowledge while
engaging in higher order
thinking
– New knowledge and skills
applied in practicum

Design Principles:
– Situated learning model is
a successful design model
for eLearning
What other
challenges do
we face in
improving the
impact of
technology in
teacher
education?
The biggest
challenge may
be the
mistaken
belief that
corporate
America can
fix education.
3 big lies business tells about
technology and learning:
 Technology
lets you
replace the teacher
with the machine.
 Technology makes
learning easy and
automatic.
 Changing the medium
alone enhances
learning.
Corporate America’s View of
the Future of Education
Are teacher holograms in our future?
“Understandably,
professors appearing
as holograms is a
discomforting idea. I
can understand why
these entrenched
opinions exist, but I
urge their proponents
to rethink them.”
How will we
ever enable
teachers to
use
technology
effectively?
Actual
film of two
instructors’
first
exposure to
computers.
How can we
judge the
quality of
development
research?
“The status of research
deemed educational
would have to be
judged, first in terms of
its disciplined quality
and secondly in terms
of its impact. Poor
discipline is no
discipline. And
excellent research
without impact is not
educational.”
- Charles W. Desforges (2000)
Quality is controversial because
judging it is often so subjective.
Quality is controversial because
judging it is often so subjective.
Flyer
Spencer
Thank You!
Professor Tom Reeves
The University of Georgia
Instructional Technology
604 Aderhold Hall
Athens, GA
30602-7144 USA
[email protected]
http://it.coe.uga.edu/
http://www.evaluateitnow.com
Did you
know that
63% of all
statistics are
made up on
the spot?
Design-Based Research Collective
We suggest that
the value of
design-based
research should be
measured by its
ability to improve
educational
practice.
Because we are a
design profession
(not a discipline),
educational
technologists should
pursue development
research that
integrates the desire
to solve problems
with the search for
knowledge.
John Dewey
Logic: The Theory of Inquiry
Design knowledge is
“warranted assertibility.” It
“designates a potentiality
rather than an actuality” and
“involves recognition that all
special conclusions of
special inquiries are parts of
an enterprise that is
continually renewed, or is a
going concern.”