Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Facilitate Learning?
By D. Jonassen|J. Howland|R.M. Marra|D. Crismond Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
Updated on Jul 20, 2010
Later in the 1980s, educators began to perceive the importance of computers as productivity tools. The
growing popularity of word processing, databases, spreadsheets, graphics programs, and desktop
publishing was enabling businesses to become more productive. So students in classroom began word
processing and using graphics packages and desktop publishing programs to write with. This tool
conception pervaded computer use according to a 1993 study by Hadley and Sheingold that showed
that well-informed teachers were extensively using text processing tools (word processors), analytic and
information tools (especially databases and some spreadsheet use), and graphics tools (paint programs
and desktop publishing) along with instructional software (including problem-solving programs along
with drill and practice and tutorials).
The development of inexpensive multimedia computers and the eruption of the Internet in the mid1990s quickly changed the nature of educational computing. Communications tools (e.g., e-mail and
computer conferences) and multimedia, little used according to Hadley and Sheingold, have dominated
the role of technologies in the classroom ever since. But what are the students producing? Too often,
they are using the technology to reproduce what the teacher or textbook told them or what they copy
from the Internet.
Our conception of educational computing and technology use, described next, does not conceive of
technologies as teachers or repositories of information. Rather, we believe that, in order to learn,
students should teach the computer or use the technology to represent what they know rather than
memorizing what teachers and textbooks tell them. Technologies provide rich and flexible media for
representing what students know and what they are learning. A great deal of research on computers
and other technologies has shown that they are no more effective at teaching students than teachers,
but if we begin to think about technologies as learning tools that students learn with, not from, then the
nature of student learning will change.
If technologies are used to foster meaningful learning, then they will not be used as delivery vehicles.
Rather, technologies should be used as engagers and facilitators of thinking. Based on our conception
of meaningful learning, we suggest the following roles for technologies in supporting meaningful
learning:
Causal
Causal reasoning is one of the most basic and important cognitive processes that underpin all higherorder activities, such as problem solving. Hume called causality the cement of the universe (Hume,
1739/2000). Reasoning from a description of a condition or set of conditions or states of an event to the
possible effect(s) that may result from those states is called prediction. A baseball pitcher predicts where
the ball will go by the forces that he or she applies when pitching the ball. When an outcome or state
exists for which the causal agent is unknown, then an inference is required. That is, reasoning backward
from effect to cause requires the process of inference. A primary function of inferences is diagnosis. For
example, based on symptoms, historical factors, and test results of patients who are thought to be
abnormal, a physician attempts to infer the cause(s) of that illness state. Thinking causally is also
required for making explanations. Explaining how things work requires learner to identify all the causal
connections among the things being explained.
Causal thinking is really more complex than learners understand. In order to be able to understand and
apply causal relationships, learners must be able to quantify attributes of causal relationships (direction,
strength, probability, and duration) as well as be able to explain the underlying mechanisms describing
the relationship (Jonassen & Ionas, 2007). Why does a force applied to a ball cause it to move in certain
direction?
Analogical
If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and
understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and
contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one
idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are
also known as synonyms or metaphors. One word conveys attributes to the other, often using the word
like or as as a connector. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans was said to be
inundated with a toxic gumbo. Gumbo is a complex New Orleansstyle soup that contains a variety of
ingredients. The waters that surrounded New Orleans contained a complex variety of toxic substances
thus metaphor as analogy.
People most commonly think of syllogism as analogies. A syllogism is a four-part analogy. For example,
love is to hate as peace is to . The analogy makes sense only if the structural characteristics of the
first analogy can be applied to the second.
In using technologies to represent their understanding, students consistently are required to engage in
the comparisoncontrast reasoning required to structurally map the attributes of one or more idea to
others, that is, to draw an analogy.
Expressive
Using technologies as tools to learn with entails learners representing what they know, that is, teaching
the computer. To do so, learners must express what they know. Using different tools requires learners to
express what they know in different ways. Technologies can be used to help learners express
themselves in writing. Learners can express themselves using a variety of tools, such as databases,
spreadsheets, and expert systems, each tool requiring different forms of expression. Ttechnologies can
support verbal expression, while chapter 9 focuses on visual expressions. Contrast these varieties of
expressions to those required by state-mandated tests, where students only form of expressions is the
selection of answer a, b, c, or d.
Experiential
Experiences result in the most meaningful and resistant memories. We can recall with clarity
experiences that we have had many years before. The primary medium for expressing experiences is
the story. Stories are the oldest and most natural form of sense making. Stories are the means [by]
which human beings give meaning to their experience of temporality and personal actions
(Polkinghorne, 1988, p. 11). Cultures have maintained their existence through different types of stories,
including myths, fairy tales, and histories. Humans appear to have an innate ability and predisposition to
organize and represent their experiences in the form of stories. Learning with technologies engages
stories in a couple ways. First, the experiences that students have while using technologies to represent
their understanding are meaningful and memorable. Second, students may seek out stories and use
technologies to convey them.
Problem Solving
Using technologies to express and convey learner knowledge all entail different kinds of problems
solving. Learning with technologies requires that students make myriad decisions while constructing
their representations. Deciding what information to include and exclude, how to structure the
information, and what form it should take are all complex decision-making processes. Students also
engage in a lot of design problem solving while constructing their interpretations. They also must solve
rule-using problems in how to use software. When learners are solving problems, they are thinking
deeply and are engaged in meaningful learning. What they learn while doing so will be so much better
understood and remembered than continuously preparing to answer multiple-choice test questions.
Excerpt from Meaningful Learning With Technology, by D. Jonassen, J. Howland, R.M. Marra, D.
Crismond, 2008 edition, p. 5-10.
______ 2008, Allyn & Bacon, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. The reproduction, duplication, or distribution of this material by any means including but not
limited to email and blogs is strictly prohibited without the explicit permission of the publisher.
Next Article: Mythbusters: Children and the Digital World
Copyright 2006 - 2016 Education.com, Inc. All rights reserved.