WorldWatcher LFU principles and design elements – Extensions for the mathematics classroom
Extensions for the mathematics classroom
WorldWatcher and LFU
Edelson et al. (2002) explored the implementation of Worldwatcher based on the LFU design model (see table 1 below) within a middle school use and application of a project, the ‘Planetary Forecaster’ model and software support, in the school’s curriculum unit for Earth systems science. The emphases were computer-supported investigations of geospatial data with hands-on laboratory activities. Students observed and measured the phenomena under study.
Table 1: Overview of the Learning-for-Use Design Framework
| Step | Design Strategy | Student Experience |
| Motivate | Activities create a demand for knowledge when they require that learners apply that knowledge to complete them successfully. | Perceive need for understanding |
| Activities can elicit curiosity by revealing a problematic gap or limitation in a learner’s understanding. | Experience curiosity | |
| Construct | Activities that provide learners with direct experienceof novel phenomena can enable them to observerelationships that they encode in new knowledge structures. | Experience or observe phenomena |
| Activities in which learners receive direct or indirectcommunication from others allow them to build new knowledge structures based on that communication. | Hear, view, or read about phenomena | |
| Refine | Activities that enable learners to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways help to reinforce and reorganize understanding so that it is useful. | Apply understanding |
| Activities that provide opportunities for learners to retrospectively reflect upon their knowledge and experiences retrospectively, provide the opportunity to reorganize and reindex their knowledge. | Reflect upon experiences or understanding |
Source: Edelson et al. (2002)
Challenges
Students’ misconceptions, alternative or incomplete conceptions, for example the reason for seasons and or earth-sun relationships, shown by Russell, Bell, Longden, and McGuigan (1993), Dove (1998) , Atwood and Atwood (1996) , Philips (1991) and Jones, Lynch, and Reesink (1987) are a major challenge as they affect how students construct knowledge and the support needed to clear misconceptions as well as to apply and analyse concepts/data to create and or interpret results. These challenges were also experienced in the ‘Planetary Forecaster’ project.
Experience and additional design features – Suggestions for the Mathematics environment
I like the emphasis on inquiry and investigation and the open-ended element to tasks within the LFU model. These are potentially strong and transferable elements within my college mathematics environment. However, the challenges with misconceptions are not adequately addressed in either the pedagogy, the environment or the technology. Within my practical experience in teaching College mathematics and based on my interview and further extension with my framing issues assignment the steps that are most critical for at risk adult learners within fundamental mathematics education are that of knowledge construct, particularly having an interactive means for observing and experiencing the phenomena and in applying understanding (the knowledge construction and knowledge refinement stages respectively) (Edelson et al., 2002).
Although there are interactive components I believe there is a level of interactivity that needs to be achieved to best suit the Mathematics exploration and clarification and/or testing of concepts, particularly to enable students to act as independently as desired in the motivation and goal directed stages described in the LFU model. These were very essential elements noted in my framing issue analysis. Also, I believe that the process of inquiry so desired would be better suited for students if it were more user friendly and allowed for onscreen manipulation of content more interactively with the steps being more interactive than just inputting data and generating a visualisation. Students should be able to interact with and change the visualisation seamlessly as well as have access to further information on call that can be used to supplement the process. Perhaps technology that is more interactive such as sixth sense technology proposed by Pranav Mistry.
In using LFU and or a WorldWatcher based technology and model for mathematics I would utilise activities within the three steps as highlighted and emphasise the digital technology. However, I would make the technology more interactive in both the input of and manipulation of data (sixth sense and interactive white board capabilities) and I would also include a prior learning module before the motivation stage to identify or clarify misconceptions. I would also make adjustments here to the MyWorld and the LFU model by incorporating technology at this stage (clarifications of misconceptions). Misconceptions can be a potential challenge to the model as seen in the case study on ‘Learning-for-Use in Earth Science: Kids as Climate Modelers’ (Edelson et al., 2002).
Traditionally Mathematics education does not have a highly reflective component but I have found that when students reflect on their process and are able to discuss ambiguities and processes of construct and refinement then learning is enhanced and long term wins in correct schema representation and organisation are realised. I would therefore strengthen the emphasis on reflection and thought tracking and include technology that allows for collaboration through the thought tracking process, enabling interactive viewing and discussion on individual constructs with online posting and discussion capabilities.
References
Edelson, D. C., Salierno, C., Matese, G., Pitts, V., & Sherin, B. (2002, April). Learning-for-Use in Earth science: Kids as climate modelers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, New Orleans, LA. http://www.worldwatcher.northwestern.edu/userdownloads/pdf/LFU_PF_NARST02.v3.doc
servepeet (Poster). The Sixth Sense – part 1 [Video]. (2009 November 19). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsQ3-aCbydk&feature=related