Eee

Freedom vs Control:Effective Learning in Exploratory Environments

Sergio Gutiérrez SantosBirkbeck College, Univ. of London

Valladolid, 14-Nov-2011 Orchestrating Educational Reflected Spaces

Initial assumptions


Focus is on discussion


Focus is on discussionnot on lecture


I may pass over details quickly


I may pass over details quicklyI am happy to answer questions at the end


“Hello. Results are good.Results are on paper. Thanks.”


I did not come to talk about my book.


I would like to share some ideas and hope that they are helpful.


Exploratory Environments


Exploratory Learning Environments


Exploration


Wander about the environment


Follow dead tracks


Make mistakes


Make mistakeslearn from mistakes


Games have been doing this for years


Adventure games encouraged different kinds of exploration: talking to different people, moving to different places...


More modern games provide additional opportunities for exploration: different terrains, different avatars / abilities, different constraints...


Strategy games take exploration to a new level: what would you do if you had a blank slate on which to build the perfect city? Different types of buildings, of citizens, of enemies... what is your most pressing challenge at every moment?


Games like The Incredible Machine allowed players to play with the Laws of (Classical) Physics...


Why is exploration so important?


Exploration is personal


Exploration is meaningful


When you explore a world...


...it becomes your world.


You develop a sense of ownership.


Is this relevant for learning?


A lot.


Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge.



ownership



ownershipexploration


Since Piaget we know that we learn


by adapting what we perceive from the world


into our own mental structures.


New knowledge becomes our knowledge


New knowledge becomes our knowledge

ownershipexploration


In the same way


that technology has allowed games to be more exploratory


so we must use technology to make learning more exploratory.


Why?


Education is not (should not be) about drilling,


Education is not (should not be) about repetition,


Education is (should be) about finding original solutionsto problems...


...like sharing information with colleagues

WWW


...like finding the right stuff on the internet


...like finding new materials


Exploratory Learning Environments


provide learning opportunities


and stimulate creativity.


Exploration is not necessarily positive for learning


?


Exploration can be harmful


Learning is more than just exploring


There are many potential pitfalls


in exploratory learning:


Greater opportunities for distraction


Lack of criteria to recognise good information


Development of bad habits


Lack or loss of goals


Therefore, we need guidance and support


“Exploration is not learning without support”


Guidance/support means many things


Support means providing a goal


Support means providing a goal(or goals)


Support means keeping focus on the goal(s)


This is especially true with young children


Support means providing help with difficulties


Support means providing feedback on mistakes


Support means providing hints for exploration


Support means providing hints for exploratione.g. where others have gone


Support means providing hints for exploratione.g. where you have not gone yet (but should)


Support means putting it all together


Support means putting it all togetherConnecting to other learners



Connecting to the learner's past



Connecting to the learner's pastConnecting to the learner's future


In the end, support/guidance is

what (good) teachers do


The art is in finding the right balance

Support

Exploration


<main-idea>


Exploratory environments


with appropriate support and guidance


are extremely positive for learning.


Supportive Exploratory Learning Environments


can be positive for learners


can be positive for teachers


can be positive for collaboration.


</main-idea>


First


Positive for learners


The problem of support


Support is usually provided by a human


But... what happens in the classroom?


But... what happens in the big classroom?


We do not have enough teachers...


...the only way forward is computer-based support


But how?There are many problems


Problem: too much data


Problem: too unstructured data


Problem: where is support needed?


Problem: when is support needed?


Problem: how should support be provided?


Attacking all these problems at the same timeis extremely difficult


(and maybe pointless)


Solution: Divide and conquer!


Layered design for Intelligent Support


Three layers: analysis, reasoning, feedback


Analysis


Purpose: analyse the traces from ELE


Layer contains many specialised modules


One module, one purpose(unix-style)


Different computational techniques for each case


Each module focuses on one aspect(easier to design and program)


Exploratory Learning Environment



Problem1



Problem1 Problem2



Problem1 Problem2 Problem3


Analysis



But analysis alone is not enough toproduce feedback:



- Who sets priorities between different results?



- Who sets priorities between different results?- Not all modules can produce feedback on their own



- Who sets priorities between different results?- Not all modules can produce feedback on their own

Another layer is necessary


Reasoning layer


The reasoning layer combines informationfrom different analysis modules


The reasoning layer decideswhat feedback to show


and when


Different reasoning techniques can be applied


Analysis

Microworld (e.g. eXpresser)


Analysis


Aggregation / Reasoning


But still there is something missing...



The analysis layer finds evidence in the flow of unstructured data...




The reasoning layer decides what feedback to provide and when to provide it...




The reasoning layer decides what feedback to provide and when to provide it...

...but how to provide it?


How to provide feedback involvesseveral important pegagogical questions:


Level of interruption


Level of interactivity


Modality


Point of view


A new layer that takes care of this issues


facilitates the design(separation of concerns)


and allows collaboration withnon-technical partners


Analysis




Analysis



Feedback


This separation in layers has a double benefit:


first, it facilitates the design


second, it facilitates the evaluation


Evaluation of a SELE is costly


Evaluation of a SELE is costly- A fully assembled system takes a long time to build


Evaluation of a SELE is costly- A fully assembled system takes a long time to build- When errors are detected, it can be difficult to identify the cause



Separation in layers reduces cost



Separation in layers reduces cost- More precise problem detection



Separation in layers reduces cost- More precise problem detection- Earlier problem detection



Separation in layers reduces cost- More precise problem detection- Earlier problem detection- Facilitates involvement of non-technical partners


How is this relevant for EEE?


Exploratory activities on digital whiteboards and multi-touch tabletops


Exploratory activities in the (augmented) real world...


Exploratory activities in 3D worlds...


<main-idea>


</main-idea>


Positive for teachers?


Teachers need support too!


In order to support their students


they need to understand their students' needs


They also need to keep control of the classroom


They also need to keep control of the classroom:“where am I needed the most?”


Class Dynamics teacher tool


They need to know what students have done


Goal Tracking teacher tool


They also want to know if students learn


They also want to know if students learn(we are working on this)


How is this relevant for EEE?


Orquestration of activities



knowledge

requires



knowledge

students' achievements students' activity

requires


<main-idea>


</main-idea>


Collaboration in exploratory environments?


Collaborative learning, anyone?


Collaborative learning means discussion


Collaborative learning means reflection


Collaborative learning means deeper learning


Collaborative learning means deeper learning(if done right)


What is the key for productive discussion?


A common goal (of course)


and complementarity


Using some intelligent analysis techniques


we can find complementary approachesto the same tasks


and make groups for collaborative activitiesbased on that information


<main-idea>


</main-idea>


And they are the future of (technology-enhanced) learning


Thanks for listening!


Learning rests on one basic assumption:


Motivation


“You cannot teach anyone who does not want to learn”


Motivation is usually negative...


...positive motivation works better, but isharder to achieve (ELE work well here)


“Exploration needs more time”


Of course!


But learning needs time!

???


Do we want students to learnor just to pass the exams?


Analysis



Feedback

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