When less is sometimes more: Optimal learning conditions are required for schema acquisition from mu
While it is usually claimed that multiple examples for the illustration of problem categories are a necessary prerequisite for schema acquisition, there is a lack of conclusive empirical evidence supporting this claim. Moreover, there are findings indicating that carefully designed one-example conditions may allow for profitable processes of example comparison as well. In line with this reasoning, we present an experiment – that builds up on a series of studies conducted by Quilici and Mayer (1
New tools in Social Practice: Learning, Medical Education and 3D Environments
Learning with different kinds of ICT-based tools is an important issue in todayÂ’s society. In this article we focus on how design of technology rich environments based on state of the art learning principles can give us new insights about how learning occur, and how we can develop new types of learning environments. Medical education constitutes the subject domain. There has been a considerable effort to develop 3D technologies in this field, and the article provides a careful review of how the
Gridcole: a tailorable grid service based system that supports scripted collaborative learning
This paper introduces Gridcole, a new system that can be easily tailored by educators in order to support the realization of scripted collaborative learning situations. To do so, educators can provide a script specifying the sequence of activities to be performed by learners as well as the tools and documents required to support them. Gridcole can then search for these tools in a service-oriented grid in order to integrate them so that they are available for users during the realization of the s
Researching classroom interactions: A methodology for teachers and researchers
Teaching and learning in schools is a complex social process which involves both the teacher and students in distributed knowledge-building activities. Research into this process includes researchers exploring from the outside and teachers exploring from the inside (Bassey, 1995). Jaworski (2003) draws on the work of Wagner (1997) to elaborate a form of research which she calls co-learning, in which research on classroom learning is “conducted jointly by outsiders and insiders” (p 250). The w
Exploratory Test of an Automated Knowledge Elicitation and Organization Tool
his paper combines the contents of two papers that were presented at the ITS 98 conference one focusing on knowledge representation (Shute, 1998) and the other describing a knowledge elicitation tool (Shute, Torreano, & Willis, 1998). There are three main purposes of this paper. First, as a means to stress instructional and assessment implications of different knowledge types, we will briefly overview knowledge representations. Second, we describe a novel cognitive tool designed to aid in knowle
Embedded Training for Complex Information Systems
One approach to providing affordable operator training in the workplace is to augment applications with intelligent embedded training systems (ETS). Intelligent embedded training is highly interactive: trainees practice realistic problem-solving tasks on the prime application with guidance and feedback from the training system. This article makes three contributions to the theory and technology of ETS design. First, we describe a framework based on Normanâs "stages of user activity" model for d
The defining characteristics of intelligent tutoring systems research: ITSs care, precisely
his paper argues that, despite the changes in philosophies and techniques that have occurred since ITS research began, there are continuous threads running through this research which define its essential and distinctive nature. In particular, ITSs are computer-based learning systems which attempt to adapt to the needs of learners and are therefore the only such systems which attempt to 'care' about learners in that sense. Also, ITS research is the only part of the general IT and education fie
Towards Web 2.0 Schools: Rethinking the Teachers Professional Development
This paper aims at analyzing the Web 2.0 based distance education in the K-12 schools as an emerging phenomenon that catalyzes a new educational reform all over the world. Some pre-Web 2.0 best practice examples are analyzed in order to draw the main findings in the paper. The teacherÂ’s professional qualification designed to meet the new challenges is considered as a key problem for a successful penetration of this phenomenon in the schools. It is emphasized on the importance of designing a lif
Internet Scout Project
The Miami Museum of Science's learning site, The pH Factor, gives teachers a fun and interactive way to teach elementary and middle school students some basics of science. Material is divided into seven learning areas: excite, explore, explain, expand, extend, exchange, and examine. Each contains an interactive screen that can be used directly in the classroom and lesson plans that correspond with each subject. For example, the excite area contains the "tasting tongue" that, when clicked, shows
Situational knowledge in physics: The case of electrodynamics
Major difficulties for a novice physics problem solver are how to interpret new problems and how to combine information given in the problem with information already known. A domain expert, by contrast, has the knowledge to take full advantage of problem features at a glance. It takes a long period of practice to acquire such situational knowledge, and it would be desirable for this to be taught more effectively. As a first step, this requires information on how situational knowledge differs acr
Physics learning with a computer Algebra systems: Towards a learning environment that promotes enhan
To become proficient problem-solvers, physics students need to form a coherent and flexible understanding of problem situations they are confronted with. This is important both for solving problems and for interpreting solutions. Still, many students have only a limited representation of the problems they are working on. Therefore, we devised an instructional approach to promote students' understanding of these problems, and to support them in forming associations between problem features and so
Combining heuristics and formal methods in a tool for supporting simulation-based discovery learning
This paper describes the design of a tool to support learners in simulation-based discovery learning environments. The design redesigns and extents a previous tool to overcome issues that came up in a classroom learning setting. The tool focuses on supporting learners with experimentation to identify or test hypotheses. The aim is not only to support learning domain knowledge, but also learning discovery learning skills. For this purpose the tool uses heuristics and formal methods to assess the
Regulative support during inquiry learning with
simulations and modeling
Many factors impact learning; the environment and resources available, the domain, how much prior-knowledge a student has, and how well they make use of their metacognitive skills, all of these factors impact new knowledge creation. The series of studies described in this dissertation focuses on the latter; i.e. the metacognitive skillfulness of students. Known collectively as self-regulation, planning, monitoring, and evaluation, when applied appropriately will enhance learning. Students who m
Internet Scout Project
Plagiarism.org is an "online resource for educators concerned with the growing problem of Internet plagiarism." The organization provides information on online plagiarism and explains how Turnitin.com can be used by educators "to fight plagiarism and help bring academic integrity back into our schools." The technologies behind Turnitin.com, facts about Internet plagiarism, and the growth of "cheatsites" online are also explained. Members of Turnitin.com pay for access to "a proprietary system th
A Neural Approach for Modeling the Inference of Awareness in Computer-Supported Collaboration
Individuals interacting in a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment produce a variety of information elements during their participation; these information elements usually have a complex structure and semantics, which make it rather difficult to find out the behavioral attitudes and profiles of the users involved. This work provides a model that can be used to discover awareness information lying underneath multi-user interaction. This information is initially captured in
Stagecast Creator™ and Webct™: An integrated use of computer programming and a virtual learning en
This paper reports on an effort to use Stagecast Creator™ as a means for developing modelling skills among undergraduate students taking an introductory course in science that took place in a virtual learning environment (WebCT™). An inquiry-based curriculum was implemented, which guided students working in small groups to collect and study moon observations and construct a series of successive models of the moon phases using Stagecast Creator™. Students’ reflective journals and reports of s
Learning opportunities in a kindergarten about the concept of probability
In this paper we describe the studentsÂ’ mathematical learning in a kindergarten during a classroom teaching experiment about the concept of probability. We present and analyze the learning opportunities that were created in the classroom as the children tried to resolve their problems, to reason mathematically and to
communicate their thinking to others. The results of the research showed that kindergarten children made considerable progress in their probabilistic thinking,when they accepted th
Meanings for Fraction as Number - Measure by Exploring the Number Line
Construction of meanings for fraction as number-measure is studied during the implementation of exploratory tasks concerning comparison and ordering of fractions as well as operations with fractions. 12-year-old students were working collaboratively in groups of two with software that combines graphical and symbolic notation of fractions represented as points on the number line. Fractions as points and segments, ordering fractions as part of kinesthetic activities and abstracting the scaling of
Pour une meilleure intégration de l’utilisateur dans le processus de conception et d’évaluation
Le système TELOS intègre un ensemble dÂ’architectures, de méthodes et dÂ’outils appelés à transformer en profondeur le fonctionnement institutionnel et les pratiques professionnelles en matière de conception, de production et de diffusion de cours et dÂ’apprentissage en ligne. TELOS suppose non seulement lÂ’appropriation de nouveaux outils technologiques, mais aussi un nouveau modèle de travail qui prend appui sur une ingénierie pédagogique rigoureuse et sur lÂ’accès à des banques dÂ
Flexibility in macro-scripts for computer-supported collaborative learning
In the field of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), scripts are designed to support collaboration among distant learners or co-present learners whose interactions are (at least partially) mediated by a computer. The rationale of scripts is to structure collaborative learning processes in order to trigger group interactions that may be rare in free collaboration. Fixing the degree of coercion is a delicate design choice: too rigid scripts would spoil the richness of collaborative in
