Electrical Engineering and Computer Science: Learning by Doing
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Among the most obvious and important objectives of our curricula is for students to learn with understanding unfortunately, this is not a guaranteed outcome of teaching. There is no doubt that our students leave with a set of skills (analytical, programming, etc.). Most every teacher, however, knows that even for students who can "turn the crank", stories like the ones introduced below are all too common:
The question is: What can we do pedagogically to increase the likelihood that students will develop a real understanding of the concepts we endeavor to teach? Situations that very commonly reveal our deficiencies are ones involving "real life" or constructive activities, such as simulation and experimentation. Within the proper pedagogical framework, such activities should provide a powerful means for students to acquire basic understanding of engineering and physical sciences. However, the appropriate pedagogical framework for effective use of these activities has yet to be articulated or codified a fact acknowledged by learning scientists and evident in our experience. In this iCampus project, Beyond the Firehose: Learning by Doing, we seek to establish such a pedagogical framework and to develop a technological infrastructure to facilitate its implementation.
In collaboration with faculty in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and utilizing materials and expertise from the VaNTH ERC, we aim to identify when the use of constructive activities is appropriate and to formulate general principles for developing technology-enabled pedagogical tools to enhance the educational experience. These goals are being accomplished by a three-stage approach. First, a collection of workshops and seminars is being scheduled to allow interested instructors, staff, and students to learn about recent developments in learning sciences and the implications for effective teaching. Second, a novel observation system will be employed to assess student-teacher interactions in classes where instructors currently make effective use of constructive activities. Finally, these observations will be used as a starting point to distill general principles for defining a pedagogical framework and developing technology-enhanced learning tools.
Educating instructors about recent developments in the learning sciences:
A collection of workshops and seminars led by colleagues in the VaNTH ERC will allow interested instructors in the Harvard and MIT communities to learn about principles of effective teaching and recent developments in the Learning Sciences specifically the How People Learn framework.
Last August Dr. Alene Harris, Research Assistant Professor of Education in the Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, conducted a two-day interactive workshop exposing participants to the latest innovations in learning theory and instructional practice and provided materials to help them to redesign parts of their courses. The sessions were attended by 25 instructors, faculty, researchers, and graduate students from MIT, Harvard Medical School, Northeastern University, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Womenıs Hospital, The Ohio State University, Simmons College, and National Chung Hsing University.
Dr. John Bransford, Centennial Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University, and author of How People Learn, is being scheduled to speak about his work in the learning sciences. His workshop will include an introduction to the HPL framework and a presentation of how the four HPL dimensions have been applied to higher education in the sciences and engineering. It will also provide attendees an opportunity to redesign portions of their courses using the new paradigm.
Observing current uses of technological teaching tools
The VaNTH observation system (VOS) is a novel assessment methodology that provides indicators related to the multiple dimensions of the HPL framework. VOS is a four-part method of coding the interactions of professors and students in the classroom, in essence taking snapshots of what goes on during instruction. Last August Dr. Alene Harris also led training in VOS at MIT, training five people in the assessment methodology and providing them the documentation necessary to use the method.
Plans are underway to use VOS in existing courses. Courses were selected because technological teaching aids are in use and we anecdotally believe that instructors are already doing a good job with technology. . During the fall term 2001, VOS is being used on 6.021J Quantitative Physiology: Cells and Tissues. Lectures being examined include those when an interactive Hodgkin-Huxley simulation is employed and those when students present their class projects, one experimental in nature and the other theoretical. During the spring term 2002 VOS will be employed in HST582J/6.555J Biomedical Signal and Image Processing. Lectures of particular interest are those in which an interactive demonstration of spectral analysis is utilized.
Developing general principles for technology-enhanced education What doesnıt work - Currently, instructors often learn the hard way that technology-based teaching aids do not necessarily promote learning. In many cases, much time and effort is devoted to the development of computer simulations of physical or biological processes. If students are given access to such a simulation, without any other guidance, they typically fiddle a bit and may or may not learn gain the desired skills or knowledge.
Finding what does work
Applying VOS and other assessment methodologies to "good examples" will provide insights into how simulations and other technologies are incorporated into effective learning environments. From these insights, it will be possible to distill general principles for identifying opportunities when the use of technology is appropriate and for developing effective learning technologies. This will lead to the development of a pedagogical framework for designing and deploying constructive (learn-by-doing) tools.
Making it easy for others
In order to maximize the impact of this work, it is imperative to lower the threshold of effort required to develop effective technology-enhanced instructional materials. After identifying general principles as described above, they will be used to inform the design of a common technological infrastructure based on successful pedagogic approaches. This will permit more rapid and efficient development of technology-enhanced educational activities in the future.
