HPL: Learning and Transfer

Interestingly, the learning orientation aspect (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2008, p.49) of the Learning and Transfer paper reminded me of a research study that I co-authored with two of my professors at Cedar Crest College several years ago.

As we hypothesized, our findings suggested that performance-oriented students who were motivated by grades expressed higher levels of computer anxiety and negative attitudes toward learning how to use new computer programs than students who were learning oriented. Apparently, students who enrolled in college courses that contained some sort of computer requirement, such as learning a new statistical package, embraced the challenge of learning and performing on the computer if they took the course to master the material, rather than to just achieve a satisfactory grade,. These performance-oriented students viewed the computer as another tool that enhanced their learning and enabled them to gain transferable skills. However, learning oriented students who attended courses only to fulfill a college requirement did not embrace learning a new technology. Rather, they viewed such course requirements as an unwanted, even feared, encumbrance that likely lacked any lasting value (Scepansky, Baker, & Simonds, 2004).

Therefore, as Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2008) and the results of my aforementioned research indicate, for teaching to be most effective, it is efficacious to ascertain why certain students are hesitant about vital components of their education. Clearly, identification is a crucial step needed to address and subsequently ameliorate learning transfer impediments based on learning orientation.

References:
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L, & Cocking, R. R. (2008). How people learn: Learning and transfer. National Academy Press. Retrieved September 12, 2008 from: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6160&page=39

Scepansky, J., Baker, K., & Simonds, R. (2004). The relationship between students’ learning orientation and attitudes regarding use of technology in the classroom. Eastern Psychological Association - poster presentation.

How Experts Differ from Novices

Spelling has never been my forte. Often, I rely on clever mnemonics that I learned in elementary school. For example, I remember in fourth grade struggling to spell the word tomorrow until a sympathetic classmate came to my rescue. She pointed out that chunking the word into tom-or-row made it easy to remember. Since that time, I have often thought that students would learn more effectively if they not only received instruction about what to learn but also about how to learn. Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2008, pp. 20-21) point out that experts “chunk information into familiar patterns” to augment the capacity of their short-term memories. However, most curricula do little to help students learn how to organize material in meaningful ways (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2008, p. 30).

Furthermore, I have often heard fellow classmates who are teachers complain on the emphasis that is placed on preparing students to take standardized tests. However, standardized tests may not “assess the degree to which the students’ knowledge is conditionalized.” Yet, knowing how to apply knowledge in different situations is an important aspect for effective learning (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2008, p. 31). After reading How Experts Differ from Novices, I cannot help thinking that perhaps our educational system would improve if we eliminated standardized tests and instead focused on meaningful knowledge acquisition.

Rather than be subjected to standardized testing, I believe that each student should have an individualized educational program that encompasses each of the following:

Multidimensional instruction - simultaneously integrates multiple disciplines
Nonlinear instruction –
o adapts to a students competency level
 easier – harder
 simple - complex
Responsive feedback –
o immediate feedback
o elaborate feedback upon request
Purposeful instruction – clearly stated goals and objectives that are meaningful to the student
Student-centered instruction – based on constructivist learning principles
Social learning opportunities
o Peer to peer
o Novice - expert
Integrated assessment – evaluation of demonstrable skills seamlessly embedded within instructional context

When my children were very young they took Suzuki violin lessons that comprised each of these components. Furthermore, I also recognized that similar attributes composed the framework of many of the commercial non-educational video games that my children played.


Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L, & Cocking, R. R. (2008). How People Learn: How Experts Differ from Novices. National Academy Press. Retrieved September 12, 2008 from: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6160&page=17

Emerging Technologies and the McLuhan Tetrad

The current Horizon Report (NMC, 2008) predicts that mainstream educational institutions will commonly utilize several emerging technologies, such as grassroots video, collaboration webs, Data Mashups, and social operating systems to extend learning opportunities.

However, Marshall McLuhan posited the importance of identifying the correspond amputation, which is inherent in every technological extension, by asking the following four questions, which he called the tetrad (Kappelman, 2002):
1. What does it (the medium or technology) extend?
2. What does it make obsolete?
3. What is retrieved?
4. What does the technology revert into if it is over extended?

Grassroots Video (GV)
Clearly, producing GVs, posting them on video sharing websites, such as YouTube, and therefore potentially sharing the work with millions of others will extend the communication capabilities of educators and learners (NMC, 2008).

Low cost, easy to use, and accessible tools, software, and web-based video sharing services will make reliance on “expensive infrastructure” (NMC, 2008), professional video production, and conventional modes of distribution, such as television news broadcasts obsolete.

By generating a two-way flow of information, GV technology will allow people to retrieve the ability to contribute to the knowledge base. For example, many people use cell phone video-capture devices to provide media outlets with material (NMC, 2008).

If over extended, since almost anybody may capture video of anyone at any time (NMC, 2008), and subsequently edit and manipulate the contents, this technology may result in people feeling vulnerable and paranoid due to a real, or perceived, lack of privacy.

Collaboration Webs (CW)
CW, such as 3D virtual environments, extend time and space by allowing disparately located participants to collaborate in real time in ways that would normally be impossible or impractical. For example, they could:
 Explore a piece of equipment, such as the inside of a computer
 Practice hazardous material handling procedures in scripted training simulations

Furthermore, in a 3D CW they may experience a sense of presence and therefore “overcome various communication constraints of time, location permanence, distribution, and distance” (Lombard & Ditton, 1997).

Potentially, this technology may make drawbacks associated with physical travel, such as high cost, inconvenience, and unproductive time, obsolete.

However, while many may retrieve a socially rich mode of communication in this virtual environment, if over extended others may feel intimidated and excluded.

Clearly, the McLuhan tetrad can be a valuable assessment tool for evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of any new technology prior to implementation.




Kappelman, T. (2002). Marshall McLuhan: “The medium is the message”. Retrieved September 5, 2008, from http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/mcluhan.html
Lombard, M & Ditton, T. (1997). Presence: at the heart of it all. JCMC (3)2.
New Media Consortium (NMC). (2008). The Horizon Report. Retrieved September 1, 2008, from http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2008/
Virtual Worlds News (VWN). (2007). Appalachian State and Clemson Universities research virtual worlds. Retrieved September 1, 2008, from http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2007/12/appalachian-sta.html#more