Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Discipline Specific Teaching Support

A Presentation at the Annual Conference of the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative

San Diego, CA January 29, 2002

Sally Jackson, University of Arizonasjackson@email.arizona.edu

David G. Brown, Wake Forest Universitybrown@wfu.edu

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Support for Learning

minimal media

multimedia

information

interactivity

text graphics

sound animation

chat

tutorials models

virtual worlds

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Two Cultures EDUCAUSE Review, July/August 2001, pp. 48-57.

TECHNOLOGYCULTURE• Centralized • Focused• University centered• Driven by technology

agenda• Accustomed to

“service” model

FACULTYCULTURE• Balkanized• Diffuse• Discipline centered• Driven by the

disciplinary agenda• Accustomed to

research team model

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Illustrative Faculty Subcultureseach with its own intellectual agenda and disciplinary preferences

• Humanities

• Social Science

• Art & Music

• Natural Sciences

• Education

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Humanities

• Patient time-horizons• Often beyond copyright• Comparative analysis• Searching new perspectives• Language as well as

thought• Multi-cultural• Essay based• Word processing

minimal media

multimedia

information

interactivity

text graphics

sound animation

chat

tutorials models

virtual worlds

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Social Sciences

minimal media

multimedia

information

interactivity

text graphics

sound animation

chat

tutorials models

virtual worlds

• Frequent teaming• Bias toward interaction• Preference for action• Rapid obsolescence• Costly databases• Data-based decisions• Statistics

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Fine & Performing Arts

minimal media

multimedia

information

interactivity

text graphics

sound animation

chat

tutorials models

virtual worlds

• Visual & aesthetic• Confluence & harmony• Motive & meaning• In search of the “never-

before”• Massive storage need• Portfolio management• Judge progress instead of

absolute achievement• Positive reinforcement

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Educational Disciplines

minimal media

multimedia

information

interactivity

text graphics

sound animation

chat

tutorials models

virtual worlds

• McKeachie & Gamson• Bloom & Gardner• Inferiority complex• Positive reinforcement,

not competition• In US, state-centric

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Natural Sciences

minimal media

multimedia

information

interactivity

text graphics

sound animation

chat

tutorials models

virtual worlds

• Driven by hypothesis testing

• Large processing power• Fluent with instrumentation• Data based decisions• Comfortable with teams• Internationally connected• Taxonomies &

classifications

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Disciplinary Agendas

• Objectives• Expected outcomes• Developmental challenges• Performance standards

Example: “structured dialogue protocols”

not just interaction support, but support for “knowledge-building discourse”

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Breakdown of “Service” Model

• Faculty come with a specific agenda, looking for relevant support

• Ed tech units respond with a list of “services” supported

• Faculty may simply be bewildered by the misfit between their own goals and what service units offer

• Example: Optical materials

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Integrated curriculum defines the relationships among these

11

2

n1

n2

Specular reflection and refraction of the transmited beam

phase #2

phase #1

reflected beam

refracted beam

Disciplinary agenda defines a set of core concepts and principles

“Devices” illustrating concepts or embodying principles are planned

Supporting the Optics Faculty

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Software designers work with scientists to develop architecture for each device

Programming team implements data structures and algorithms as required

Possible input & data

AlgorithmsComputed

values

11

2

n1

n2

Specular reflection and refraction of the transmited beam

phase #2

phase #1

reflected beam

refracted beam

Supporting the Optics Faculty

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Multimedia specialists work with scientists and programmers to develop user interfaces representing different applications for the device

11

2

n1

n2

Specular reflection and refraction of the transmited beam

phase #2

phase #1

reflected beam

refracted beam

Possible input & data

AlgorithmsComputed

values

Supporting the Optics Faculty

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

11

2

n1

n2

Specular reflection and refraction of the transmited beam

phase #2

phase #1

reflected beam

refracted beam

Instructional design specialists develop effective instructional settings for objects developed to support active inquiry

One underlying device can generate many tools

One tool can be used in many lessons designed for many different purposes

Possible input & data

AlgorithmsComputed

values

Supporting the Optics Faculty

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Important Shifts

• From seeing investment in teaching as competitive with research to seeing deep connections between teaching and research agendas

• From supporting individual faculty in improving their own practice to assisting disciplinary groups in advancing a shared agenda

• From focus on providing “services” to focus on joining faculty-led development teams

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Responding to Faculty Subcultures

• Focus on clusters (with similar mentalities)• Identify subject matter specialists (like lib)• Co-sponsor guest speakers with depts• Appoint Academic Computer Specialists• Staff via joint faculty appointments• Emphasize teaching strategy before theory• Consider non-tech, as well as tech, strategies• Joint, faculty-led projects• Continual review of change in disciplinary culture

Discipline Specific SupportNLII January 29, 2002

Discipline Specific Teaching Support

For more information:

Sally Jackson, University of Arizonasjackson@email.arizona.edu

David G. Brown, Wake Forest Universitybrown@wfu.edu