TELE Wrap Up

TELEs have enormous potential to offer engaging learning environments for students. Module B showed several educational technologies, each offering unique benefits for learners. Anchored Instruction, Scaffolded Knowledge Integration, Learning for Use, and T-GEM all are based on inquiry instruction and learning. They all include deliberate teacher to student and student to student interactions creating a community of inquiry.

Below are a list of the first three TELEs of Module B, in contrast to the last (T-GEM):

Anchored Instruction and Jasper:

Lesson 1 introduced us to anchored instruction and used the Jasper series as context. The focus of anchored instruction is to create engaging learning environments for learners who actively participate. The students learn at their own pace in an environment that is very much catered to them. The Jasper series, while outdated, attempted to do just that. They presented problems that were anchored in real life situations, which allowed students context in the problems they were solving.

In comparison to T-GEM we can see common themes of constructivism, authentic deep learning, the development of problem-solving strategies, and teacher facilitation. Anchored instruction and T-GEM stress the importance of building upon prior knowledge, to challenge pre-existing knowledge, evaluate, and build new knowledge after exploration. T-GEM is laid out in a three-step model and stresses the importance of simulation more but ultimately they are very similar in approach and goals.

SKI and WISE:

SKI is a framework that encourages students to take ownership of their learning through inquiry, promotes visual and accessible learning, and originates from a constructivist view of knowledge integration (Linn, Clark, and Slotta, 2003). Knowledge integration is a fundamental to T-GEM also, as laid out in the three steps: generate, evaluate, and modify. With WISE teachers have the ability to create SKI environments in a blended learning environment. This is similar to T-GEM which encourages simulations. An excellent example of an electronic simulation is the T-GEM framework based Chemland. In this program, students can simulate different interactions between chemicals and various materials. One issue SKI addresses that T-GEM does not is differentiation.

LFU and MyWorld:

The Learning-for-Use model focuses heavily on motivation. It is critical of traditional methods that “[do] not acknowledge the importance of the motivation and refinements stages of learning and [rely] too strongly on communication to support knowledge construction (Edelson, 2001).” LFU and MyWorld mirror certain aspects of T-GEM like observation through direct experience, the communicate and describe process, and application of new knowledge through hands-on activities. LFU does differ however, in that it is situated learning and does not require technology and simulations to facilitate learning.

Conclusion:

This module has been my favourite thus far as I see all of the frameworks as practical, with great merit. Though I spend very little time in the classroom it has inspired me as an administrator to do a little bit of experimentation. I will be doing this by releasing teachers periodically to teach a lesson here and there in various subjects across grade levels. I haven’t asked any teachers yet but I’m going to guess they won’t mind having the time off.

Students should always be the main focus for any teacher or administrator and the core of every TELE is the student experience. For this reason, I feel further exploration is very necessary and I look forward to it.

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.

Khan, S. (2007). Model-based inquiries in chemistry. Science Education, 91(6), 877-905.

Linn, M., Clark, D., & Slotta, J. (2002). Wise design for knowledge integration. Science Education, 87(4), 517-538.