“CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER!” ~ ALICE IN WONDERLAND
In what ways would you teach an LfU-based activity to explore a concept in math or science? Draw on LfU and My World scholarship to support your pedagogical directions. Given its social and cognitive affordances, extend discussion by describing how the activity and roles of the teacher and students are aligned with LfU principles.
I would teach an LfU-based activity using either Spheros (or Lego EV3 Mindstorms) in middle school classrooms to explore a variety of concepts in mathematics.
Learning For Understanding is a theoretical framework that is based on 4 principles: (a) knowledge construction is incremental in nature, (b) learning is goal directed, (c) knowledge is situated, and (d) procedural knowledge needs to support knowledge construction (Edelson, 2001).
It is very important that when we are teaching students, we link what students already know with new knowledge coming in. This is based on a constructivist theory of learning.
Robots are very exciting for students; most have a natural curiosity when they see them zooming down the halls. While not the exact motivation that Edelson (2011) was referring to, the design of these robots (colour/shape/size/sounds/versatility/etc.) provides an incentive with which to engage students. When I design a series of lessons with Sphero, I am working from an ADST lens and there is not one mathematical concept that I focus on. Due to the nature of Sphero and the challenges that can be designed (or that the students design), there are or can be so many concepts at play. Mathematical concepts such as distance, degrees, sequencing, math operators, variables, geometry, etc. are all part of its toolkit!
The initial experiences with Sphero allow for students to participate in goal-directed tasks to help them build up their skill toolkit. This addresses the incremental in nature aspect of LfU (Edelson, 2001). Figuring out how to first orientate Sphero and then use the block based coding Sphero Edu App (formerly Lightning Lab – though there are many others out there). Students are asked to solve some basic challenges – complete a square (and then a square with sharp corners as opposed to rounded corners) where they use background knowledge about angles, length, perimeter to complete this challenge (goal-directed). They are then asked to add visual appeal (code colour changes throughout) and an interesting element (some students add sound effects, others change the speed/duration on one side of the square for example). Sphero sees the world in 360 so students have to visualize the basics – 0 for forward roll, 90 for right turn, 180 move back, and 270 to go left to complete the square.
Adding onto their existing and newfound knowledge students are then ask to design solutions to a variety of “challenges” – ideally challenges that students have created.
I am interested in learning further about Learning For Use and exploring how it can be applied in math and science classes throughout my middle school.
Grade 6 ADST Big Ideas (BC Ministry of Education, 2015a):
– Design can be responsive to identified needs
– Complex tasks require the acquisition of additional skills
– complex tasks may require multiple tools and technologies
Grade 6 Math – Curricular Competencies (BC Ministry of Education, 2015b):
Reasoning and Applying
– Use logic and patterns to solve puzzles and play games
– Use reasoning and logic to explore, analyze, and apply mathematical ideas
– Estimate reasonably
– Demonstrate and apply mental math strategies
– Use tools or technology to explore and create patterns and relationships, and
test conjectures
– Model mathematics in contextualized experiences (i.e. programming)
Process Questions based on the reading: Edelson, D.C. (2001). Learning-for-use: A framework for the design of technology-supported inquiry activities.
What broader educational challenges have provoked the author to do this research?
The broader challenge that Edelson was responding to was the changing demands placed on educators, in particular science educators. The nature of education has been shifting to more hands-on inquiry based learning (much like the new B.C. Curriculum) as opposed to the “traditional emphasis on memorization and recitation” (Edelson, 2001), putting additional pressure on teachers. Teachers are now tasked with fostering “”deep” and “robust” conceptual understanding that students can draw on the create explanations, make predictions, and argue from evidence” (Edelson, 2001).
What is the author’s theory of learning?
Edelson uses a a theory of learning called LfU or “Learning for Understanding” whose goal is ” to overcome the inert knowledge problem by describing how learning activities can foster useful conceptual understanding that will be available to the learner when it is relevant” (Edelson, 2001) and which is based on four principles:
- Learning takes place through the construction and modification of knowledge structures.
- Knowledge construction is a goal-directed process that is guided by a combination of conscious and unconscious understanding goals.
- The circumstances in which knowledge is constructed and subsequently used determine its accessibility for future use.
- Knowledge must be constructed in a form that supports use before it can be applied.
(Edelson, 2001)
In WorldWatcher, students move through a variety of activities and visualizations that scaffold their knowledge. This LfU uses a number of analytic activities and strategies get students motivated, and then constructing, and refining their thinking.
References
BC Ministry of Education (2015a). Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/adst/6
BC Ministry of Education (2015b). Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/mathematics/6
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. http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1002/1098-2736(200103)38:3<355::aid-tea1010>3.0.CO;2-M