Technology and Education Theory

Re-post from C&I 407, Summer 2011:


So I feel like I’m lazy for picking Chapter 10 as it is the first on the list to choose from, but education technology is certainly the area I am most interested in, so here goes.

Chapter 10, Technological Contexts for Cognitive Growth, looks at the use of new technologies, the connections of those to cognitive theory, and how those technologies can best be used to improve student attention and learning at all levels. The chapter looked at cognitive load theory, the 4C/ID model and social cognitive theory and the implications each has for designing and implementing technology into classroom situations.

Before looking at these areas the chapter includes two detailed charts that look at; 1) how students can use technology and 2) key cognitive skills students need to use technologies effectively. These two charts make for a nice concise reference for ways to use technology with students and how to make sure that the technology enhances teaching and learning rather than leading to cognitive overload that can stop the learning process. (I wish now that I had the newer version of the text to have updated charts, especially at the pace technology options and preferences have changed!)

Cognitive load theory looks at, “the role of working memory in instructional design” (Sweller, 1999; Sweller, van Merrienboer, & Paas 1998 in Bruning, et al. 2004). Two of the key concerns they point out are avoiding cognitive overload and ways to improve student learning through select applications of simultaneous presentations. Intrinsic cognitive load deals with the material that is being learned and is relatively set in difficulty. The key is to balance the extraneous cognitive load, how the presentation media are organized, and what information is included (Bruning et al. 2004, p. 220). They look at long term memory schema and describe how making subgoals of tasks automatic is needed to better complex tasks. The second area they look at is the avoidance of overload by limiting the number of ways in which information is presented at one time. Their example from Mayer & Moreno, 2002 shows that showing a task while narrating what happens is effective, but that adding the text of the narration is not as the visual text interferes with the visual of the actual task.

The second theory is the Four Component Instructional Design of 4C/ID. The basis of this theory is, “that complex skills are learned by performing them” (p. 223). This has four components; 1) learning task, 2) supportive information, 3) Just-In-Time (JIT) information, and 4) part-task practice. The idea behind learning task involves learning skills in an integrated versus individual manner while supportive information, “provides a bridge between learner’s prior knowledge and the learning tasks” (p. 224). JIT information is given as needed while performing a task with the goal of making those skills, “as automatic as possible as soon as possible, thereby freeing cognitive resources” (pp 224-225). Finally, part-task practice is a way to try and improve procedural expertise by intermixing task practice with, “complex, authentic tasks” (p 225).

The final section of the chapter looks at social cognitive theory the developing classroom communities. This theory focuses on, “technology’s role in classroom interactions and knowledge construction,” (Bruning et al.  2004). The authors look at the work of the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV), and CSILE (Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environment). CTGV created a series of problem-based materials called the Adventures of Jasper Woodbury that improved mathematical thinking through complex problems solved by groups. According to Bruer, 1993 the, “primary goals are ability to reason, think critically, reflect, argue, and learn independently.” CSILE on the other hand looks at creating knowledge-building communities that allows for students to, “interact with their classmates about,” ideas concerning the topic being studied (p. 229). What is interesting from this is how it allowed shy and soft-spoken students can better interact in the conversations.

One project I plan to modify using information from this chapter is the Cold War video project I use in my history classes. In this project students research a Cold War topic, write a summary that becomes a narration script and then find pictures and video (provided by me from Discovery Streaming) to illustrate the script. These are then shared with classes and discussions develop around the topics and their connections. In the past we have taken up to three weeks of time for research and production of the videos. Every year some groups get panicked at the end, especially as it is a new skill and the project comes together at the end of the school year around finals time.

To try and improve this (beyond yearly tweaks) I plan to apply ideas from cognitive load theory (from Chapter 2) to make sure that the multimedia presentations I use for presenting storyboarding and editing limit the number of simultaneous presentation to prevent overload. From the 4C/ID theory I plan to expand to process to a semester long assignment. I will take a day a week to introduce material and allow students time to practice. JIT information will be provided to help transition students from controlled processes to automatic information processing (in Chapter 2), moving as Chapter 3 says from schemata to procedures.

Breaking the project down from an intense three weeks to over a semester will hopefully allow students to work together to finish subtasks and allow me to give the students part-task practice to improve the slow moving process of practice leading to expertise (Chapter 8). I also hope to employ aspects of CSILE to get the quiet students more involved in the learning process. If we move to one to one net books this can be accomplished through students creating mini blog posts involving journal entries of what they have accomplished and questions that they may have. Without net books, computer lab time will have to be booked as not all students have internet access at home.

p.s. If I do get to pilot net books I plans to implement that with my URQs as well, allowing students to post their entries which I can then review and call up in class to improve participation, plus that will allow the technology to address the needs of some student I have with IEPs and 504 plans.