Looking at the four foundational technology-enhanced learning environments, one commonality is striking me and that is the student engagement. The anchored instruction, WISE, LfU and T-GEM all demonstrate a sense of authenticity in their goals and require, as scientists do, a systemic organisation. Knowledge building, social skills increase and meta-cognition development and the use of digital technology are all aspects of these learning environment. As the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992) stated : « theorists emphasize the importance of having students become actively involved in the construction of knowledge. » These settings offer those opportunities.
The Jasper series « situate instruction in the context of meaningful problem solving environments that allow teachers to simulate in the classroom some of the advantages of “in-context” apprenticeship training .»(Cognition & Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1992)
Linn et al.(2003) define inquiry as engaging students in the intentional process of diagnosing problems, critiquing experiments, distinguishing alternatives, planning investigations, revising views, researching conjectures, searching for information, constructing models, debating with peers, communicating to diverse audiences, and forming coherent arguments. WISE offers an environment that will allow for discussion, reflection, knowledge building and inquire about their environment. In comparison, The Jasper Series anchor the learner in a situation or circumstances that will have him or her repeat a multi-step model to solve problems.
Edelson (2001) said integrating content and process together in the design of learning activities offers the opportunity to increase students’ experience with authentic activities while also achieving deeper content understanding.
The Learning for Use model is based on four principles described in Edelson’s (2001) paper and based on the central tenet that is constructivism. The learner builds knowledge structures and make connections between them.
The GEM environment is a cyclical pattern, as mentioned by Khan (2007) and is repeated multiple times to reach the goal. Generating, Evaluating and Modifying the hypotheses make the learners reconsidering their thoughts to gradually and consistently improve their thinking.
The last four weeks have been filled up with lots of reflections and information. These four TELEs were new to me and as I am not a science teacher, they resonated differently. I teach all subjects in grade 6 and I enjoy inquiry based teaching. I explored that philosophy of learning for the last two years. I aim at having my students involved in their learning and knowledge building. Those TELEs resonated to me as they are based on constructivism and situated learning theories which support the inquiry based learning. With my colleagues, we developed four projects across the year to cover all subjects for the year. The idea is to keep students interest and have them commit to attain their goal. I believe that the GEM environment could help here with the cyclical pattern of generating, evaluating and modifying. As Edelson (2001) mentioned it, knowledge cannot be transmitted directly from one individual to another. Otherwise, learner has to be responsible for his knowledge and skill building development.
Reference:
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992a). The Jasper experiment: An exploration of issues in learning and instructional design. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 40(1), 65-80. Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02296707
Edelson, D.C. (2001). Learning-for-use: A framework for the design of technology-supported inquiry activities. Journal of Research in Science Teaching,38(3), 355-385. Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/
Khan, S. (2007). Model-based inquiries in chemistry. Science Education, 91(6), 877-905.
Linn, M., Clark, D., & Slotta, J. (2003). Wise design for knowledge integration. Science Education, 87(4), 517-538. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sce.10086/abstract