Assessment of situated learning using computer environments

Based on a theory of situated learning, assessment must emphasize process as much as product. Assessment must move away from a linear additive model, accepting at the outset the complex, nonlinear, and possibly chaotic nature of real learning. Assessment must adapt to and take advantage of students working with technologies that extend their perceptual and problem-solving capacities beyond what they could do alone. To illustrate these points, several assessment examples are given, including a computer-based planning assistant for a videodisc mathematics and science video, suggestions for computer-based portfolio assessment, and speculations about embedded assessment of virtual situations. In all cases, the theory of situated learning emphasized perception over memory and the codetermined nature of learning and thinking.     

Developing a community of thinking: assessment of environmental education

This paper discusses an oral assessment intervention in environmental education at two tertiary institutions in South Africa. A qualitative study grounded in a social constructivist framework, the inquiry locates learning and assessment of environmental education based on practical activities and first‐hand experience within the framework of situated learning, and explores processes of constructing and assessing knowledge within the learner's community of practice. The paper focuses on how communities of practice can be used as a possible learning approach in environmental education to address the diversity and challenges of classrooms, and on the efficacy of oral assessments structured to encourage thinking through dialog in such settings.     

基于情境学习理论的ITLSS系统设计

通过对情境学习理论的分析,提出了一种信息技术学习支持系统的理论模型,从理论上分析和确定系统的框架结构,并对所应用的技术进行了介绍。     

PISA2012问题解决评估框架分析及其对教学改革的启示*

“国际学生评估项目”（PISA）是经济合作与发展组织（OECD）为应答学生学业成绩的跨国比较研究需要而发动的,它着重评价青少年怎样在新的情境中运用知识和技能,即运用知识和技能迎接现实生活挑战的能力。“问题解决能力”的测评是2003年PISA评估中的附加内容,2012年再次把问题解决作为PISA评估项目之一。本文试图以OECD公布的PISA2012问题解决能力框架和方法、样题来反观我们的课堂,以期能为一线中小学教师的课堂教学提供一点思路和操作性建议。     

Investigating agentive urban learning: an assembly of situated experiences for sustainable futures

ABSTRACT

In this article we explore the dynamic between the pedagogical and the urban, attending to ‘agentive urban learning’. By this we mean processes by which young people build agency in the urban context, in using the resources of the city to develop their own agency, and of developing agency to act within the city. By agency, we refer to the capacity to imagine and act to create individual and collective futures. Our interest is how young people develop such agentive urban learning themselves and how it might be enhanced pedagogically at school and university. Three case studies explore different facets—the first how young people themselves develop this agency in situated settings and the tools that they use to reflect upon the future; the second how digital tools might be used to enhance students’ understanding of the city as a site of change, in this instance, climate change; and the third how such agency might be developed collectively in partnership with other city dwellers. We conclude that a diversity of students’ engagement in urban contexts of learning offers ways from which to further investigate how identity, setting, and stakeholder relationships matter as part of potentially sustainable agentive learning futures.     

Scaffold instruction at the workplace from a situated perspective

This article proposes the need to address scaffold instructions from a situated learning perspective. Based on an empirical study of how apprentice bakers learn their trade, it is claimed that studies of learning at the workplace yield important insights into our understanding of scaffold instructions. Seen from the perspective of the apprentices, scaffold instruction represents access to more responsibility in practice, it supports their identities as future bakers and they learn bodily know-how. When scaffold instruction failed, it was often in relation to situations where the apprentices were placed in marginal positions in the community of practice or in relation to a central workplace situation.     

Mapping participation in situated language learning

Research on the international student experience in Australia has highlighted the challenges that international students face when obtaining tertiary qualifications in an Australian university [AEI. (2012). Student voices: Enhancing the experience of international students in Australia. Canberra, Australia: Australian Education International]. Specifically, international students are reported to have difficulties achieving their stated goals of making connections, forming friendships and improving their oral English language skills during their sojourn [AEI. (2013). International student survey 2012 overview report. Canberra, Australia: Australian Education International; Yates, L., & Wahid, R. (2013). Challenges to Brand Australia: International students and the problem with speaking. Higher Education Research & Development, 32(6), 1037–1050]. This paper investigates the interactions of five male Saudi Arabian international students in the local English-speaking community and considers how they participate in it. Diary records and interview conversations are used to examine the nature and extent of participation, drawing on the linguistic concept of register or analysis of situation. The findings indicate that quality interactions for the purpose of language learning are derived from casual conversations and those without pre-defined social roles which afford opportunities for identity negotiation and interactional benefits.     

Learning in context: Technology integration in a teacher preparation program informed by situated learning theory

This investigation explores the effectiveness of a teacher preparation program aligned with situated learning theory on preservice science teachers' use of technology during their student teaching experiences. Participants included 26 preservice science teachers enrolled in a 2‐year Master of Teaching program. A specific program goal was to prepare teachers to use technology to support reform‐based science instruction. To this end, the program integrated technology instruction across five courses and situated this instruction within the context of learning and teaching science. A variety of data sources were used to characterize the participants' intentions and instructional practices, including classroom observations, lesson plans, interviews, and written reflections. Data analysis followed a constant comparative process with the goal of describing if, how, and why the participants integrated technology into their instruction and the extent to which they applied, adapted, and innovated upon what they learned in the science teacher preparation program. Results indicate that all participants used technology throughout their student teaching for reform‐based science instruction. Additionally, they used digital images, videos, animations, and simulations to teach process skills, support inquiry instruction, and to enhance student engagement in ways that represented application, adaptation, and innovation upon what they learned in the science teaching methods program. Participants cited several features of the science teacher preparation program that helped them to effectively integrate technology into their instruction. These included participating in science lessons in which technology was modeled in the context of specific instructional approaches, collaborating with peers, and opportunities for feedback and reflection after teaching lessons. The findings of this study suggest that situated learning theory may provide an effective structure for preparing preservice teachers to integrate technology in ways that support reform‐based instruction. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 50:348–379, 2013     

物理情境学习中抛锚式教学模式的应用--"运动的合成和分解"一节的教学探索

在新课程背景下 ,进行抛锚式教学可以为教师在物理学科教学中设计以学生为中心的学习环境 ,为进行情境学习提供参考。本文以“运动的合成和分解”一节的教学为例 ,阐述了这种教学模式的应用过程。实践表明 ,情境学习的新见解能实现物理教学上的创新。     

情境教学过程中的信息冗余现象浅析

情境教学越来越受到人们的重视，信息冗余是情境教学过程中可能会出现的一种不利现象。本文主要探讨情境教学过程中可能产生的信息冗余现象并提出解决对策。     

Fight the power: situated learning and conscientisation in a gendered community of practice

In this paper, I employ situated learning theory to explore gendered processes of marginalisation and conscientisation in a social movement organisation. Using a student activist organisation as a case study, I explain women's awareness of and resistance to masculine performances of leadership and decision-making through the concept of gendered communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation. I explore how gender inequality is performed in a community of practice, and how it both impedes and facilitates learning and resistance through legitimate peripheral participation. I attempt to bridge situated learning and conscientisation to better theorise the learning and resistance that occur when people are marginalised within communities of practice.     

Providing formative assessment to students solving multipath engineering problems with complex arrangements of interacting parts: an intelligent tutor approach

Problems faced by engineering students involve multiple pathways to solution. Students rarely receive effective formative feedback on handwritten homework. This paper examines the potential for computer-based formative assessment of student solutions to multipath engineering problems. In particular, an intelligent tutor approach is adopted and tested out on problems of truss analysis, studied in engineering statics. With a cognitive model for solving the class of problems, the tutor allows the student wide latitude in solution steps, while maintaining sufficient constraints for judging the solution and offering feedback. Proper selection of judging points prevents interference with productive student work, while avoiding accumulated errors. To monitor student learning, efforts to apply distinct skills were extracted on the fly from student work. Using statistical methods developed for intelligent tutoring systems, metrics of the effectiveness of the feedback and areas for further improvements were gleaned from error rates in successive opportunities to apply distinct skills.     

The development of flexibility in equation solving

This paper explores the development of students’ knowledge of mathematical procedures. Students’ tendency to develop rote knowledge of procedures has been widely commented on. An alternative, more flexible endpoint for the development of procedural knowledge is explored here, where students choose to deviate from established solving patterns on particular problems for greater efficiency. Students with no prior knowledge of formal linear equation solving techniques were taught the basic transformations of this domain. After instruction, students engaged in problem-solving sessions in two conditions. Treatment students completed the “alternative ordering task,” where they were asked to re-solve a previously completed problem but using a different ordering of transformations. Those completing alternative ordering tasks demonstrated greater flexibility.     

Computer-based collaborative problem-solving assessment in Taiwan

Abstract

The current study explores students’ collaboration and problem solving (CPS) abilities using a human-to-agent (H-A) computer-based collaborative problem solving assessment. Five CPS assessment units with 76 conversation-based items were constructed using the PISA 2015 CPS framework. In the experiment, 53,855 ninth and tenth graders in Taiwan were recruited, and a multidimensional item response analysis was used to develop CPS scales and represent the students’ collaboration and problem solving performance. The results show that the developed H-A approach is feasible for measuring students’ CPS skills, and the CPS scales are also shown to be reliable. In addition, the students’ CPS performance scores are further explored and discussed under the PISA CPS framework.     

以"问题解决"为突破口,优化生物学教学

将“问题解决”（problem solving)这一新的教育理念，引入到生物学课堂中，对其可行性进行初步探讨，优化生物学教学，培养学生分析问题，解决问题的能力。     

Learning to mark: exemplars,dialogue and participation in assessment communities

The problems of shifting from norm-referenced assessment to criterion-referenced assessment have been identified by several scholars in recent years. These important critiques touch on a number of areas, but neglect a key question about how assessors learn to accomplish what Shay calls a ‘socially situated interpretive act'. Research that does exist tends to focus on salaried, full-time academics. This overlooks the heterogeneity of the academic labour force in higher education and the substantial contribution made by contract (hourly-paid) lecturers, particularly in applied disciplines such as Business and Management. This study explores how nine newcomers to a UK Business School – including salaried and contract staff – attempt to understand local assessment practice. We use a situated learning lens to analyse their diary entries and interviews about their experiences of learning to mark. Drawing on scholars such as Sadler, we examine the suggestion that exemplars are important for newcomers coming to understand local assessment practice. We argue for the fundamental importance of dialogue about exemplars and other aspects of practice, both to develop inter-subject understandings of assessment ‘anchor points' and also to foster among newcomers (and especially contract lecturers) a greater sense of participating in, and being valued by, the local assessment community.     

IMMEX教学应用的初步研究

问题解决能力的培养正受到越来越广泛的关注,而准确评估学生的问题解决能力是发现存在问题、提供适当反馈以增进学生问题解决能力的必要条件,同时也是更加真实地评测学生学科能力的重要内容。IMMEX（Interactive Multimedia Exercises）是美国加州大学洛杉矶分校医学院教授Ronald Stevens历经数十年主持开发的学科问题解决能力评估环境。本文针对IMMEX评估的信效度、IMMEX教学应用开展的实验研究和调查分析,得到初步结论：同一学科领域多个问题集测量的IRT（Item Response Theory）成绩之间显著相关,说明IMMEX系统对问题解决结果的评估具有良好的信度;IMMEX系统提供的IRT成绩与学生期中考试中问题解决类题目得分显著相关,说明IMMEX的评测对学校考试有预测能力;基于SPM进行个案分析,IMMEX对问题解决过程的评估Quadscore与教师评定表现出相关性;基于信息点击对学生的解题策略进行聚类、预测,只能对问题解决过程进行粗线奈的评估,还不能满足教师和学生的需要;学生和教师拥护IMMEX带来的学习体验,相比较训练功能,教师更看重对学习和教学的评估功能;不同成绩水平的学生都愿意以独立和协作方式探索IMMEX问题集,也希望得到教师的指导,对教师指导的期待程度与问题难度相关。     

The effect of peer assessment on problem solving skills of prospective teachers supported by online learning activities

This study examined the effect of peer assessment on prospective teachers’ performances in complex problem solving. This study also investigated how feedback functions, agreement with peer feedback, and feedback direction affected the use of feedback. The participants included 68 prospective teachers enrolled in the Teaching Methods-2 course during 2012–2013 spring semester and 14 prospective teachers pursuing MA studies on Computer Education and Instructional Technology. The data included prospective teachers’ case solutions and MA students’ feedback reports. The results indicated that groups in both feedback and non-feedback conditions improved on developing solutions for the problems. Additionally, the results showed that while feedback function and feedback direction predicted the use of feedback, prospective teachers’ agreement with feedback was not related to the feedback use. Suggestions were made for further research in line with the findings.     

基于情境认知学习理论的教学设计探究

随着科学哲学和认知心理学对于“人类如何学习”问题的深入研究,人们逐步发现了传统教学设计的“目标模式”在认识论上的不足.情境认知理论认为,人的学习活动和环境是相互建构的整体,而不是相分离的实体.     

Epistemology,situated cognition,and mental models: 'Like a bridge over troubled water'

Over the past two decades important educational implications have beendrawn mainly from two movements of epistemology: Constructivismand situated cognition. Aside from a meta-theoretical use ofconstructivism, the concept 'situated cognition' refers to a conceptionof situational context bound to a historically and socially determinedsituational logic. Focusing on educational processes, situated cognitionis considered to be a central construct for instruction, as is theclosely related concept of the construction of mental models.There are various kinds of the construction and change of mental modelsin a situational context: self-guided inductive construction is oneexample; another is the processing of a conceptual model providedto the learner. An emerging question is how the preconception changesand if the effects of such a model transition are stable. An exploratorystudy will be sketched which investigates the significance of aconceptual model provided at the beginning of the learning process;it has been hypothesized, that such a conceptual model significantlyimpacts the stability (i.e. the successful reconstruction) of mentalmodels built in the course of learning. Also considerableintraindividual differences and changes between two points of assessingthe learners' causal explanations were found. Similarities of theindividuals' reconstructions could be explained with regard tosimilarities of the structures of the learning situations and therelated instructional intervention. In general, the results of thisexploratory study support the assumption that mental models areconstructed in dependence on the demands of learning situations.