Strategies :Why does a Student choose

a Particular Strategy ?

Paul Kawachi kawachi@open-ed.net

1 - introduction to strategies2 - the structure of learning3 - theories of learning4 - learning is in the mind of the student

1 - ways of learning2 - the perceptions of the student3 - all the interactions4 - what we can do to help

overview

1 - introduction to strategies

Here ‘strategies’ are the invisiblecognitive learning processes

Not the physical games or actions, and not the input memory aid activitieslike repeating a word, drawing, or passively watching a movie

1 - introduction to strategies

In this presentation, we will learn thata student chooses a ‘cooperative strategy’ when she perceives any inequality in levels( cooperation is used to make levels equal )

and a ‘collaborative strategy’ when she perceives equal knowledge levels( collaboration is used to negotiate meaning )

1 - introduction to strategies

In this presentation, we look at : What is learning What is cooperative learning What is collaborative learning

and how we can help the student to use the appropriate strategy at the right time

2- the structure of learning

A negative-feedback loop comparesan ideal state with the perceived current state

The difference induces cognitive feelingcalled ‘emotion’ , then if an opportunity is seen and if a reasonable chance of success is seen, the student proceeds to engage learning

3- theories of learning

- behaviourism- cognitivism- cognitive constructivism- social constructivism

- radical constructivism- constructionism- social constructionism

behaviourism :

Teacher-centredTeacher gives stimulusStudent response is assessedTeacher adapts stimulus, and re-tests

There are two types ; -- intrinsic- extrinsic

cognitivism :

Teacher-sequenced inputs,

Response process (not product) is assessedConnections between parts – rather than whole

Teacher asks students to identify similarities or differences

cognitive constructivism :

Students are pre-tested to be put into streams

Teacher says the connections to be madebetween new information input and past prior knowledge

Open-ended questions to large classes or multiple-choice to individuals

social constructivism :

Pre-task awareness-raising, check there is adequate knowledgeor teacher as moderator –so then cooperative

Groups discuss concepts, ideas, not facts

Parts must be understood only in terms of the whole

radical constructivism :

Student-centredEach builds up own unique map of the world

Student’s mind changes to fit with experience

The outside world imposes constraintsbut mind acts within these constraints

Assess by problem-solving

constructionism :

Learning alone independently

Knowledge is in the ethereal interactionsnot constructivist in the world andnot cognitivist in the individual mind

Learning occurs through interacting with own imaginative projectionS

social constructionism :

Student learns through reflecting on own interactions with others

not from own experience, and not from other ideas

Diversity helps by enriching interactivity

Context-based ( not teacher- not student-based )

low

…

pr

ior

know

ledg

e …

hi

gh

low … task complexity … high

- - - b e h a v i o u r i s m - - -

- - -

- - - c o g n i t i v

i s m - - -

- - - - - -

c o g n i t i v i s m - -

- - - -

c o n s t r u c t i v i s m - - -

4 - learning is in the mind of the student

In constructionism, the mind engagesproactively, or sub-consciously ~ ~ with a raised area of knowledge

and re-organizes this area ~ making stronger or weaker connectionsmaking and breaking connectionsto develop a personal consistent model

4 - learning is in the mind of the student

in constructionism, the mind engagesproactively to re-organize anddevelop a personal consistent model

knowledge is in the connections or interactions

5 - ways of learning

There are four distinct ways of learning- - these are physical as well as mental

Depending on whether the student is alone or in a group

and depending on the types of interaction

There are four distinct ways of learning

Learning-Alone Learning-in-a-Group

INDEPENDENT

Freedom

over content andmethod of learning

INDIVIDUAL

No Freedom

over content ormethod of learning

orpre-negotiated

freedom

INTERACTIONAL

COOPERATIVE COLLABORATIVE

CONNECTEDLEARNING

Group with a‘ knower ’

Group withno ‘ knower ’

interactions are either cooperative or collaborative

What is the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning ?

What is the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning ?

Cooperative involves recycling old knowledge

Collaborative involves creating new knowledge

Cooperative lower-order thinking, eliciting old knowledge, sharing, brainstorming,experiencing, publishing

Collaborative higher-order thinking, rationalizing, theorizing, justifying / judgingdisjunctive thinking, synthesizing new knowledge

These are serial in the learning narrative of theTransactional Distance Model with collaborative Structure central

Transactional Distance Model : Kawachi 2003

1 elicit needs, sharing, brainstorming

2 rationalizing, theorizing, justifying

3 consider all possible alternatives, disjunctive thinking

4 test out new way, experiential, publish

decreasing

Transactional

Distance

1 S- D-

2 S+ D-

3 S+ D+

4 S- D+

Cooperative sharing old

Collaborative creative

Collaborative disjunctive

Cooperative experiential

Here we use the letters S and D to refer to :

S Structure : the educative structure imposed by the teacher, textbook or institution

D Dialogue : the educative guiding conversation ( not idle or social chat )

decreasing

Transactional

Distance

1 S- D-

2 S+ D-

3 S+ D+

4 S- D+

Cooperative sharing old

Collaborative creative

Collaborative disjunctive

Cooperative experiential

Stage 1 Cooperative

Stage 2Collaborative

Stage 4Cooperative

Stage 3Collaborative

Stage 1

is characterized by cooperative sharing of prior old knowledge and prior experience,eliciting views, brainstorming and divergent thinking to gather various differentframes of context

Stage 2

is characterized by collaborative creation and discovery of new theory rationalizing and underlying prior knowledge, developing metaphors, horizontal and lateral thinking

Stage 3

is characterized by collaborative testing out of hypotheses to co-discover some new potential knowledge, problem solving, vertical and disjunctive thinking

Stage 4

is characterized by cooperative presenting new ideain real-life, experiential,personal meaning-making,social-constructivist,dissemination, reflecting, judging, publishing

decreasing

Transactional

Distance

1 S- D-

2 S+ D-

3 S+ D+

4 S- D+

Cooperative sharing old

Collaborative creative

Collaborative disjunctive

Cooperative experiential

Now the main points in thisTransactional Distance Model :

are that initially the student chats, ( not educatively, so here D- and without teaching tasks S- )to share own background, to reduce anxiety,and to become comfortable and able then to engage S+ reasoning

Now the main points in thisTransactional Distance Model :

then the student explains to othersand must engage S+ reasoning

At this Stage 2, social interactions may be fun or desirable but is no longer needed

Now the main points in thisTransactional Distance Model :

then the teacher engages ( D+ )and raises alternatives to be explored ( S+ ),

and finally the student tries out a new ideain her own context ( S- )with teaching guidance and assessment ( D+ )

This Transactional Distance Model

succeeds through bringing the student from not knowing ( greatest Transactional Distance )

to knowing something ( zero Transactional Distance )

Learning Transaction =requires 4 interactions

1 student’s prior knowledge and need are identified

2 the text or teacher gives an amount of information

3 the student outputs an own construction

4 the teacher or society confirms the meaning

Three encounters / passes are needed to ‘learn’

decreasing

Transactional

Distance

1 S- D-

2 S+ D-

3 S+ D+

4 S- D+

Cooperative sharing old

Collaborative creative

Collaborative disjunctive

Cooperative experiential

Four Categories in Transactional Distance Theory

less

Transactional

Distance

1 S- D-

2 S+ D-

3 S+ D+

4 S- D+

added

Structure

added

Dialogue

cooperative learningproceeds through interactions different from the interactions forcollaborative learning

cooperative learning :

the aim is to make knowledge levels the same

through sharing, explaining, translating,repeating, practising

( cooperation starts with eliciting differences )

cooperative learning :

A) (Hello) Affirm + Elicitation

B) Opinion + Request understandingA) Organization + Reflection backB) Affirm + AppropriationA) Confirm + Re-Elicitation

followed by BABA sequences

cooperative interactions in practice

collaborative learning :

in the sciences, the aim is to test out hypotheses so to co-createnew shared knowledge

in the arts, the aim is to find an individual new insight built on critical reflection

collaborative learning :

Two different scaffolds or processesInduce collaborative learning

1- in the sciences, and 2- in the arts

These are given next . . .

collaborative learning in the sciences :

A) (Hello) Affirm + ElicitationB) Opinion + Request understandingA) Confirm + Counter-opinion

A) Affirm + ElicitationA) Opinion + Request understandingB)Confirm + Counter-opinion . .

This is given in the three-leaves pattern next

1

23

4

56

Affirm

Elicit

Opinion

Requestunderstanding

Counter-opinion Confirm

collaborative interactions in practice

collaborative learning in the arts :

A) (Hello) Affirm + Elicitation

B) Opinion / Analysis + Request understandingA) Affirm + Elicitation of Evidence B) Reflect + Elicit other opinions / Analyses

A) Opinion / Analysis + Request understandingB) Affirm + Elicitation of Evidence A) Reflect + Elicit other opinions / Analyses

6 - the perceptions of the student

K - K knowledge - knowledgeinteractional partners perceived as equal then

rich complex interaction collaboratively

6 - the perceptions of the student

K - C knowledge - contentinteractional partners perceived as unequal then

simplistic interaction cooperatively

6 - the perceptions of the student

In the mind, there can be many interactional partners

eg (a) the idea that a zoo is fun (b) the idea that a zoo is dirty, and (c) the sensory idea that it is cold

(c) may strengthen (b), and weaken (a)whether these three ideas are from different people does not matter

7 - all the interactions

interactions can be categorized as Student - Tutor Student - Content and Student - Student

and Student - Technologyand Vicarious Interaction

7 - all the interactions continued

can be reduced to the interaction within the student’s mind between knowledge - knowledge

Generally some knowledge is better known than other knowledge, but even if equal - -fundamentally, there is only one interactionand this is the internal negotiation of meaning

there is only one interactionand this is the internal negotiation of meaning

From this, you can see that any external source ( book, person, experience )can provide input to become the stimulus in the mindfor the student thento re-construct personal meaning

the question naturally arises as to which is better – cooperative or collaborative :

as you saw in the Transactional Distance Model, cooperative collaborative collaborative cooperativeStages 2 & 3 of added Structure are collaborative

1 S- D-2 S+ D-3 S+ D+4 S- D+

Both cooperative and collaborative are needed

In vocational training, perhaps only Stages 1 and 4 are usedto keep the course practical, without theorising,as in learning office or factory skills

For creative critical thinking, you should includethe central collaborative Stages of added Structure

7 kinds of interaction have been found :

Coop 1 re-phrasing, translating 2 to avoid misunderstanding 3 to extend to familiar or new contexts

Collab 4 contrasting ideas 5 limiting the applicability 6 to warn of consequences 7 to raise inconsistencies

3kinds of interaction have been found in Conversation Theory :

appropriation elaboration justification

these 3 need to be opened up and re-categorized as coop or collabso that they can be put in sequence for learning

5 kinds of cooperation have been suggested :

automatic traditional contractual directed spontaneous Nisbet (1968)These also need to be opened upso that they can be deployed in learning

8 - what we can do to help

the student to interact in her mind knowledge – knowledge

for the student to learn . . .we can help in all the five Domains of Learning

the five Domains of Learning

COGNITIVE

AFFECTIVE

METACOGNITIVE

ENVIRONMENT

MANAGEMENT

COGNITIVE DOMAIN OF LEARNING

the aptitude, prior knowledge and skills necessary for performing a task or test, notably the reflective critical thinking skills

AFFECTIVE DOMAIN OF LEARNING

the motivation, attitude and decision to initiate performance, including the will to reduce own autonomy in order to achieve group tasks

METACOGNITIVE DOMAIN OF LEARNING

understanding how the task is performed, and the ability to self-monitor, evaluate and plan own future learning and help others learn

ENVIRONMENT DOMAIN OF LEARNING

social or physical forum and virtual or augmented reality in which learning occurs, including group size to suit each learning task

MANAGEMENT DOMAIN OF LEARNING

coping with massive amounts of information to obtain appropriate material in a suitable quality for learning, and time management

8 - what we can do to help continued

the student to interact in her mind knowledge – knowledge

There is a Content EffectAdults are reluctant to self-questionWomen are reluctant to question others / self

The Content Effect :

“ When we reason we do not automatically accept the given premises as true. We use our knowledge about the topic ( content ) to judge the veracity of the premises and to supply additional information that influences which conclusion we will accept as valid.”

Halpern, D.F. ( 1984, p.359 ) Thought and Knowledge. Hillsdale, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

the Content Effect

is closely related to the reluctance of adultsto suspend knowledge they have trusted for years, to then explore without prejudicenew less-well known ideas

Adults more so than young people, becausemore ideas and trusted over longer time

Men and Women in groups have different Conversation Styles

Men may prefer independent collaborative argument

Womenmay prefer connected cooperative sharing

in practice,

a student may ask ( for cooperation ) if anyone knows & then if no-one knowsgo to collaborative and suggest a hypothesis . . .

8 - what we can do to help

There are several interventions we can do to help a student to learn

Let’s take a quick look again at the second point2 - the structure of learning . . .

2- the structure of learning

A negative-feedback loop comparesan ideal state with the perceived current state

The difference induces cognitive feelingcalled ‘emotion’ , then if an opportunity is seen and if a reasonable chance of success is seen, the student proceeds to engage learning

2- the structure of learning

We can model a desirable ideal state ( show a picture of a successful business and large comfortable house, etc )We can ask the student about her current state

We can present a range of opportunities, andWe can show that others have succeeded . . .

2- the structure of learning

we can intervene at every stage to induce the student to learn

2- the structure of learning

A negative-feedback loop comparesan ideal state with the perceived current state

The difference induces cognitive feelingcalled ‘emotion’ , then if an opportunity is seen and if a reasonable chance of success is seen, the student proceeds to engage learning

What kind of ‘ideal state’ do we model ?

We do a Needs Analysis listening carefully to the student

taking into consideration the various levels of need, in order . . .

These needs are in order ( highest = at top )

personal development / self-actualization needsself-esteem, recognition, and statussocial belonging to a group and lovesafety, security, shelterphysiological needs – food, water, procreation

Let’s simplify these :

(a) Personal(b) Feel-good(c) Group(d) Shelter(e) Food

Students who have food (e)and live in a company dormitory - not yet (d),will be best motivated if we show that he canget his own secure home (d)

In another case, an MBA studentmay have (a) food, (b) own home, (c) marriage,and (d) company respect,

and will then be best motivated if we show the ideal state how he can (e) personally develop his career

- we can initiate motivations towards this, through modelling a high-flying executive or showing inconsistencies in his CV, and so on

Learning occurs in the mindKnowledge is in the interactions

If perceived to be at equal levels, thendeep rich complex collaborative interactionscan occur, and if at unequal levels, thensurface sharing cooperative interactions

Scaffolds can help add Structure to DialogueStructure is the central essence of collaborative learning transactions

summary

Which learning strategy is chosencooperative or collaborative

depends on the student’s perceptionof the raised knowledge levels,

We can help the student choose collaborativethrough careful interventionsto induce the perception of equal levels

summary

How a student decides which strategy ( coop / collab ) to use

other questions naturally ariseHow does a teacher decide which strategy or method to use ?

How does a researcher decide which research design to use ?These questions will be covered soon . . .

further study

for our further discussion :

http://OpenTeacher.blogspot.com

QQ 60338304 : Open Teachgoogle group : Open-Teachemail : kawachi@open-ed.net

You can download these slides freely from the website

http://www.open-ed.net / library / strategies.ppt

or by email to me at

kawachi @ open-ed.net