Notes for Week #11:Synthesis III: The Software/Education We Need

Roger B. Blumberg, CS92/ED89, 227 CIT
http://www.cs.brown.edu/courses/cs092/2000/cs92.rbb11.html

From Computers & Education to Software & Learning

We return this week to the book by Schank and Cleary, and read two chapters that argue for a particular kind of learning, and a particular design paradigm in making software to support that kind of learning. This attempt to combine learning theory with design principles is at the heart of much academic work on educational computing these days, but of course a very big problem is that we don't know very much about how people learn except in very restricted contexts (e.g. training).

The emphasis on the complexities of learning rather than those of teaching is perhaps a recent phenomenon, at least in K-16 in the US. Since the 1980s, much has been made of Howard Gardner's "multiple intelligence theory" and the ideas underlying the intuition that we learn (best) in different ways, through different media, in different environments. Certainly Schank and Cleary place their emphasis on the experiences of the learner rather than the strategies of the teacher, arguing for technology that gives the learner a large degree of control over materials and tasks.

A dilemma created by this shift in emphasis, at least for some educators, is the following: If the teacher becomes "the guide on the side" rather than "the sage on the stage", and students were really to take control of their learning experiences, how can the quality of these experiences be assured or even assessed? Clearly, this dilemma has serious implications for the design of educational software, which some might say can only be successful if one believes in the possibility of engineering a certain kind (or set of) experience(s). The dilemma and the implications are captured both in some of Dave's notes on chapter 10, and Laurence's questions about chapter 11.

By way of contrast with the Schank and Cleary model, and since it is the week of Passover, we'll quickly note the transformation of a few lines of Exodus into the Story of the Four Children in the traditional Passover Sedar. The lines are these (courtesy of Richard Goerwitz' excellent Bible Browser):


Here is an example of the story of The Four Children from the Haggadah at chabad.org; inasmuch as there is such a thing as a "typical" version, this is one:

     Blessed is the Omnipresent One, blessed be He! Blessed is He who gave
     the Torah to His people Israel, blessed be He! The Torah speaks of
     four children: One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple and one does
     not know how to ask.

     The wise one, what does he say? "What are the testimonies, the
     statutes and the laws which the L-rd, our G-d, has commanded you?"
     You, in turn, shall instruct him in the laws of Pesach, [up to]
     `one is not to eat any dessert after the Pesach-lamb.'

     The wicked one, what does he say? "What is this service to you?!"
     He says `to you,' but not to him! By thus excluding himself from the
     community he has denied that which is fundamental. You, therefore,
     blunt his teeth and say to him: "It is because of this that the L-rd
     did for me when I left Egypt"; `for me' - but not for him! If he had
     been there, he would not have been redeemed!"

     The simpleton, what does he say? "What is this?" Thus you shall say
     to him: "With a strong hand the L-rd took us out of Egypt, from the
     house of slaves."

     As for the one who does not know how to ask, you must initiate him,
     as it is said: "You shall tell your child on that day, `It is because
     of this that the L-rd did for me when I left Egypt.'"

While it is certainly possible to interpret this approach to fulfilling the prescriptions in Exodus as a recognition of individual learning styles, the creation of the story itself is an example of a pedagogical strategy that emphasizes the actions and obligations of the teacher more than those of the student. Whatever your view about the optimal balance between teacher and learner, it is worthwhile to note how control and obligation are distributed in any learning environment (whether a classroom or the dinner table).


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