EDUCAUSE | Authentic Learning

Post-ED-MEDIA 08: The Personal Inquiry Project

catherine — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:01:16 -0500

Back from ED-MEDIA, I wanted to flag up this really interesting ESRC project that I heard about at the conference. It is being conducted by an interdisciplinary team from the OU and Mike Sharples’s LSRI group in Nottingham (standard disclaimer: I’ve previously worked with the OU’s Grainne Conole, who is a key team member, on various CARET/OU projects :-) ). The Personal Inquiry (or "PI") project is designing new educational methods of scripted inquiry learning, and aims to evaluate their effectiveness through a process of scientific enquiry. The curriculum focus is UK Key Stage 3: “Myself, My Environment, My Community”, with emphasis on engaging young learners in investigating their world. Lots more details available on their website.

The PI project is aiming to push the boundaries of participatory design. It is working with groups of children, mostly 11-14 year olds, and involving them in the investigation of issues that affect their lives across a range of settings and contexts: both formal/informal. In this way, the children get to participate in “real-life research”, using a range of new technologies (including the new ASUS PCs) and helping to evaluate an inquiry based learning model developed by the team. The project has taken seriously questions of participatory design and the children are active participants, not simply a “resource” for the project team. I was reminded of a fantastic participatory study conducted for the international children’s charity SOS Kindersdorf, and involving the UEA’s Rob Walker, which invited groups of children in Colombia, India, Nicaragua, and Thailand to consider the question, “What is the meaning of non-violence?”, by photographing their environment.

The team conducted an initial literature review on inquiry based learning, whose standard model follows three linear stages of “predict/test/explain”. They then distilled and synthesised this evidence base to produce a new model, building on the work of Pierre Dillenbourg at CRAFT, and others. Their general approach has been to compile toolkits with specific learning scripts related to the topic, which are intended to guide the learner in making conceptual links across different activities, technologies (e.g. data probes, GIS, blogs) and contexts (school, home, field trips, etc).

Listening to Gráinne’s presentation, I reflected that the idea of involving school-age students in authentic learning and introducing them to working with “rich” data is, in many senses, an extension of the “natural history” approaches of the 18th and 19th centuries. We seem to be coming full circle in our approaches to research and teaching: from the “generalist” and interdisciplinary (or multidisciplinary) approaches that characterised nascent approaches to scientific enquiry from the Enlightenment, to the highly specialised and often technically- or methodologically-driven approaches that have characterised science in industrial modernity, and now back to the interdisciplinary focus. The complex and chaotic problems that today’s generation of children will face in future—the environment, social/demographic change, international security—will surely demand such “multidimensional” approaches.

ELI 2008 Spring Focus Session: Register Now

pkurkowski — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:30:43 -0600

The ELI 2008 Spring Focus Session, "Real-World and Technology Rich: Learning by Doing, Learning in Context," will be held March 18–19 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The conference program will address these topics and more:

What it means for students to “learn by doing” and “learn in context”
The value of using authentic activities and information technologies to support student learning
Projects that model best practices
Assessment strategies tailored to these experiential learning environments

View a list of speakers and register by February 19 to save money with low, early-bird rates.

ELI Releases Latest White Paper on Authentic Learning

pkurkowski — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:52:05 -0600

ELI has released its fourth in a series of four white papers on authentic learning, Making the Grade: The Role of Assessment in Authentic Learning, by Marilyn M. Lombardi and edited by Diana G. Oblinger. This paper discusses assessment as an integral component of any successful teaching effort. Research has shown that students engage with subject matter based in part on their expectations about how their achievement will be evaluated. Educators who strive to bring authentic learning experiences to their students must devise appropriate and meaningful measures to assess student learning and mastery of concepts at hand. Although some barriers must be overcome, numerous examples point to the opportunities available for effective assessment of authentic learning initiatives. These approaches to assessment are vital to ensuring that models of teaching and learning with technology see their full potential.

ELI Video Delves into Immersive Learning Environments

ecoghlan — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 10:30:14 -0500

The pedagogical applications of online games, simulations, virtual worlds, and other immersive environments are discussed in the new full-length video from ELI, Immersive Learning Environments: New Paths to Interaction and Engagement. The video draws on the ELI 2007 Spring Focus Session on this topic and includes discussions by Gary R. Bertoline, Phillip D. Long, Constance Steinkeuhler, Richard Van Eck, and others.

Authentic learning: some great examples

dianao — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:57:02 -0500

For the last few months, ELI has been focusing on authentic learning--learning by doing rather than learning by listening. Authentic learning allows students to use the practices of professionals to gain experience, understanding and motivation. ELI just released the second white paper in its Authentic Learning series: "Approaches that Work: How Authentic Learning is Transforming Higher Education" (see http://connect.educause.edu/library/abstract/ApproachesThatWorkHo/44821). The paper provides multiple examples of how colleges and universities are using these unique environments to improve student engagement and knowledge.

Indications are that this type of hands-on, participatory learning is particularly important for students who may not be highly engaged by more traditional lecture environments. Reaching these less engaged students is critically important. As I learned from colleagues who focus on workforce issues, we are going to need all the successful college graduates we can find. Projections are that most states are going to need to "import" degree holders to meet their workforce needs. If they don't find enough qualified employees, the state economy will suffer. But where will we import the college graduates from? If most states are short of graduates, we can't get them from each other. We can't count on greater numbers of non-domestic students are staying in the US after graduation--their opportunities at home are bright. If we can't "import" more degree holders, perhaps we need to improve our graduation rates. If authentic learning can help motivate students and ensure they are more successful, then there is one more important reason to consider authentic learning.