Week 8 Blog

Week 8 is done, so officially 50% more to go. Yay!

Tonight we had a very special guest, her name is Leslie ( I think) and she works in KQED where she teaches people on how to do digital storytelling. For 3 hours, we discussed and gave feedback on each other's story. Here are some of the highlights for tonight's class:

Digital Storytelling involves 4 steps:
1. Finding the Experience - This is the process where you are trying to find your story through deep reflection.
2. Telling the Story - Once you find your story, this is the process where you find ways to tell your story in your own unique style. This is also the process where you will get feedbacks among your peers.
3. Creating the Piece - This is the process where you will use software to create your digital story. Software such as iMovies, MovieMaker, Powerpoint, Acrobat, etc will be use to accomplish this.
4. Publishing the Work - This is the step where you publish your work in a variety of format such as DVD, CD, VHS, Powerpoint, etc.

For tonight's class, Leslie have covered the first two with us, namely "Finding the Experience" and "Telling the Story". The last two step, we will complete on our own.

Tips on Storytelling:
Create simple sentence
Slow down on reading
Be creative on how you want to say your words
Add movements to your pictures
Use "first person view" such as using the word "I"
Tell story as "truthful" not "factual"

Week 7 Blog, Thursday Class

We started class talking amongst ourselves about the market hourly rate of an Instructional Designer. Kim joined the conversation and related the subject hourly rates for Instructional Designers to our reading, putting us in the role of "Insider" in ID. Those not in the Instructional Design Community of Practice would likely not understand much of the conversation.

After our brief discussion, Kim sent the class, in groups, on a field trip. She sent each group to a different spot on campus, instructing us "eavesdrop" on random groups of people for 10 minutes. We were to see if there is learning going on in the conversations, and to report back to class the kind of learning that we observed.

Kim reminded us that learning can be informal, not just classroom style. She told us to look at interactions between people. Note the makeup of each group based on race, gender, etc. Listen to what they're talking about, and categorize the conversations. Also she asked that we note what makes each of us gravitate toward the conversations, noting if we chose groups that were part of one of our own Communities of Practice.

When we returned from our field trip, Kim began by noting that the focus of this class was to remain aware of our own learning process. Keeping this in mind will help our work in designing instruction for others. We need to remain sensitive to different styles of learning. This seemed to be one of the goals of our field trip assignment...we were to observe others learning and identify what type of learning they were doing, so that we will be able to identify what types of learning will be most effective for our target learners.

Here are some highlights of what the groups experienced:

One group visited the café near the Burk hall. They overheard several conversations ranging from cheese to dating to math homework. Kim brought the discussion back to the topic of situational cognition, describing the progression of a new-hire at the cafe. In that position, you learn "on the job". You cannot practically train all of the nuances of the job in a classroom. In the case of a café employee, an experienced employee has a wealth of knowledge and they impart this knowledge on others while doing their job. In this case, the existing employee is the "Insider", and the new-hire is a "Peripheral" member of the community.

In one case, the target group was speaking in Korean. One of the class members speaks Korean, so she homed in on this group as a member of the Korean speaking "Community of Practice". Another group that she overheard was speaking in Japanese, explaining how to set up PDF file. While our class member did not speak Japanese, she was able to discern what they were learning/teaching by observing the gestures and looking at the subject of their conversation.

Another part of the same group observed some students near the offices of an Asian Student organization. They were working on a banner. One worker was talking with someone about their relationship with someone else. This person mentioned that the two peopele were "that close", making a gesture indicating that they were very close indeed. This case illustrates how learning uses non-vocal cues as well as vocal. This is an example of "Semiotic" communication/learning (using signs).

Another group went to the Student Union building. A member of this group observed a conversation where one of the participants had given a to someone else, but now wanted it back. The observer was not able to hear the entire conversation, but was able to figure out that they wanted the gift back using non-vocal (Semiotic) cues. How did the observer learn what was actually happening in the conversation? Past experience within the American culture told him how to interpret the conversation, including the angry tone of the participant's voice.

Kim interjected at this point, pointing out that researchers need to be an expert in teaching to be able to observe and pick out the subtleties that become "data points". Many of the cues in the angry conversation were subtle, and the observer was only able to interpret them because he was a part of a similar Community of Practice (culture).

In a related point (and I've forgotten how they were related, but I'm sure that they were somehow), Kim pointed out that setting up a learning situation where students can teach other students is often very effective.

Another (this time unrelated) point that came up is that often there is stratification in the college environment, especially in a social area (leisure hours). Often people of the same ethnicity, race, religious, or other background will end up "hanging out" together. Research backs this up. Also, topics of conversation are usually different than what they discuss in a classroom setting (things such as cheese and dating rarely come up in math class).

Another class group observed several people (all male) dancing at the Student Union. One group was dancing, and two groups were observing. Those dancing were teaching each other moves, showing off moves, etc. There was quite a bit of interaction between them. Again, the "Insiders" were the dancers, while the "Peripherals" were observing. They also observed a gender-mixed group playing soccer. The observer noticed that when one of the guys had the soccer ball, other guys would get up close to try to take it away. However, when a girl had the ball, they wouldn't get as close. In this case, the Insiders and non-Insiders were not clear, since many of the signals (such as distance from each other in the observation above) may be ambiguous to learning. In a formal learning community, the distinction between insiders and others is often quite obvious.

Kim again offered some observations about the dancing group. If someone were to walk up who knew how to dance but was not familiar with the group, they may start as a "boundary" person. However, they would progress rapidly to the status of Insider, as he/she has expert knowledge of the community (dancing in general).

From here we shifted our focus to last week's assignment.

Some think that Situated Cognition should stand alone. Others think it's part of constructivism. For example, plumbers have professional organizations (Community of Practice). They go to conferences and share knowledge among themselves. As this knowledge is shared, the new knowledge brought by an individual becomes part of the community. However there are other variables, such as culture. Plumbing here in the US is going to be different, and US plumbers' knowledge may be useless, when taken to Africa. US plumbers may go to build a house in Africa but they cannot complete it because materials that they are accustomed to using are not available. Knowledge is VERY MUCH culture and context-bound. "Knowledge is in the situation".

One can become an "insider" by being in the situation. One takes a medical doctor to a hospital to learn to be a doctor. One takes a teacher to a school to learn.

Some highlights from our own Communities of Practice (from homework):

One of our classmates was a member of an International Student Org. In fact, he was an officer. Now, having done his overseas "stint" and having been graduated, he is outbound. He still participates, but is no longer a full-time student. However, he still has people asking him questions. He has travelled the entire cycle from inbound to insider to outbound.

Another is a professional trainer (not the fitness type). He works on teaching people skills that they can take back to others to use. He creates Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). This is an example of a Boundary trajectory.

Kim says: Any job has a learning community. One person learns and passes it on. Companies have deliberately structured situations to foster this. This idea is also present in ITEC. Some years the ITEC studet organization has organizers who can bring in speakers, etc. They are insiders since they have the knowledge and contacts to bring in the speakers, who in turn share their knowledge with others.

All examples so far are real world, not based on book knowledge. Knowledge gained in these situation was based on experience that you constructed. It was learned through concrete experience, not abstract ideas from a book. Th idea that Kim wanted to pass on is the need to reflect on concrete experience to guide you in your later experiences. You need to apply "theories" that you develop based on early experiences to help interpret additional experiences.

More examples from homework:

One class member is also a member of a teaching community. He is an insider, but feels tha the is at the boundary level. He's an english teacher, but uses technical methods that are different than what other english teachers use. Part of the curriculum is to have students go out and create audio documentaries. He works at the school , but also works with the non-profit organization that organizes the interview exercises that the students participate in, so he is actually the boundary between the school and the non-profit. However, he sees his role changing now as he learns more at the University level, and so is possibly outbound now.

Another is a member of a Motorcycle community: The Southbay riders. He began as a peripheral, making sure he can keep up with other riders, etc. Now he's inbound. He has found the group to be very instructional, teaching to ride safely, know the parts of his bike, etc. Now the knowledge is coming to him, so he is feeling that he is on his way to being an insider where he can share his knowledge.

Kim says: Being an Insider comes with responsibility because you need to share knowledge with other inbound members.

Ex-member of a co-op nursery school: As a arent she worked there but was also a parent. She began as an Inbound, being part of the school and contributing to the school, then progressed to become a board member, then director. Now she is a member of another daycare that is not a co-op. It is still a community, but she is not as much a part as they were in the co-op. At the new day care, she is a peripheral member of the community of practice since she not at the heart of the day-care management, but also feels Inbound since the day-care focuses on the community, an she can continue to increase her involvement.

Marriage: This is an illustration of a Peripheral level progressing to Inbound, and eventually Insider, as a couple grows together. Marriage can also be viewed as outbound since marriage can force a move of one member from one comminity to another (in this case, SoCal to the Bay Area).

Kim Says: In 1990s we began to see that learning is context based. We learn as we become connected to communities. We can learn more as an insider, and in turn pass knowledge on to other Inbound individuals. This causes a separation between classroom and real world learning. Knowledge that we learn in the classroom can become unused as real life uses different knowledge. There is a great deal of debate on how we can change learning environments for young people from classroom to something that will impart more useful, real world knowledge.

Kim raised the question: "Why didn't this theory (of community-based learning) come in earlier?" The answer is that in the early 20th century, we were focused more on productivity. We needed people to make products, so behaviorism was king.

One of the students brought up the idea of the Socratic Method - proposing a question for his students to answer in a group discussion. This learning theory was being used in ancient times!

Next week:

• Digital story telling. Kim showed some examples, including a very touching story that she shared (her first story of this type).
• Next week bring your script (200-300 words), pictures, music, etc., and you will edit it together using iMovie or Movie Maker (or something similar).
• We will do story editing in-class, and production will be on your own time. You can borrow a microphone if you need to from the learning lab.
• Can be on any topic, but should be something that fits into 2 minutes.Should use voice, so that you actually write the story. Use pictures and music to augment.
• There is a link from iLearn to KQED site with examples.Be sure to think about your background music, as it will add alot.
• You will want to choose a starting event and show the steps leading to an ending step. Use images to illustrate the different steps.
• On the iLearn site - Updated manual on how to create your story. First, find the experience. then tell (write) the story. Then create the piece. then publish the work.
• When complete, you will publish to your SFSU website and Kim will link to it from iLearn.

One thing that Kim has noted is that this exercise also builds your community ties in theclass. We will move to a different level as we find out things about each other.

Week 7 blog

Week 7 of ITEC 800 is done! Next week is week 8, if we pass this mark, that means we are 50% done with the course! Yay!

Okay, here are the things that we went over tonight. Dr. Foreman briefly went over last week's materials such as derivative and correlative subsumption, superordinate and combinatorial learning, and schema theory. For more information, please refer to chapter 4.

After that, we jumped into a discussion about situated cognition where Dr. Foreman talked about the diagram on page 153 of our textbook. Dr. Foreman then asked each us what is our learning community and what types of learning trajectory we are at, such as peripheral, inbound, insider, boundary, or outbound. Dr. Foreman mentioned examples of learning communities in learning and education such as ASTD, AECT, UECC, CUE, and ISAN, ITEC SFSU alumni network.

After we return from the break, we were presented a case study, you can see the case study at:

http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=A_case_study_in_situated_cognition

Among our groups, we were suppose to critique the case study and identify learning outcomes, role of the learner, role of the instructor, inputs, and process of learning. After our group discussion, Dr. Foreman focused us back and discussed more about the case study of how experiential learning can be advantageous to learners in situation cognitive learning.

We concluded class through Dr. Foreman introducing us to digital storytelling where it is due in 2 weeks. For next week, we are suppose to bring our story that consist of 100 to 200 words.

ITEC 800 Week 6 October 7, 2007

We started class by viewing a short video about Simon Foreman’s art exhibit titled “Scared Sacred”. Simon is Dr. Foreman’s son and his website is “simonforeman.com”.

We reviewed the cognitive process and had a discussion of meaningful learning. Learning is meaningful when you need or want it and often comes from real life situations (experiential learning). Several people in class shared some meaning learning experiences in their lives.

Different learners have different ways to get motivated. Some people want to know “why”, while others want to know “what”, while still others want to know “how”.

We then discussed behavior theories again and stated that the behaviorist approach looks for a change in behavior. The cognitive approach looks for a change of knowledge structure and a change in memory. The constructivist approach looks at what you learn and the experience of learning. This is where meaningful learning applies most.

Dr. Foreman then shared a story of a bird that she had and of taking care of a friends dog (this story didn’t end well for the bird). She also shared another story of her bird in which after years of Dr. Foreman making breakfast and attempting to wake her son up for school by calling out to him, the bird associated the sound of coffee being made with her son.

The class then split up into groups and worked on schema theory examples. Group 1 used Airplanes as the basis of their schema, group 2 used trees, group 3 used witches, and group 4 also used trees.

After the break, we discussed pattern recognition and moved into another exercise. Dr. Kim selected 6 people to leave the room and then told the first person the story of Yi Song-gye. The story was then told by the first person to the second and so on. As the story was retold, unfamiliar portions or items were forgotten. We realized that the existing schema has much to do with the remembrance of important details as schema works to try and make things meaningful. When people can’t anchor items to existing schema, people forget.

ITEC 800, Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

Class Notes

We recapped what is cognitive.

Cognitive is short term and long term memory. We recapped the information processing model:

In brief:

Sensory Memory (attention) > working memory (processing, makes sense of info, encode to LTM) > LTM

In more detail:

Sensory memory is knowledge briefly in memory.

Then you move to Working Memory, which processes information. It is temporary memory. You categorize and use different methods of remembering.

Rehearse methods were used in the items exercise from last week. Some people repeated what they say. Others chunked the information.

Then you move to Long Term memory.

We reviewed activity when we memorized 19 items, what where the strategies that we used? Rehearsal, chunking, classifying, etc.

Main Class Topics:

Meaningful Learning Theory
Schema Theory

Meaningful Learning Theory

Ausubel is famous for presenting how we organize information.

He would compare and contrast and use prior knowledge.

How do people learn things?

You learn “tree” when you are young. When you get older, you learn about different kinds of trees.

How do we organize to long term?

For example:

A chair has features: 4 legs, place to sit, handles, etc. But I can show you many different chairs. They have the same prototype features, but are different.

Difference in two theories:

Ausubal: more simple theory

Schema: more platonic, problem solving.

Compare the two:

Ausubel	Schema
Simple	Complex
How we learn concepts, example tree – trunk, branch, leaves	Script, example a restaurant has roles like a waiter, cashier, customer and props like a table, bill, tip The variance in other restaurants is type of restaurant and location
	Recognize pattern

We broke into groups and created a graphical chart.

Group 1

Type	Definition	Example
Derivative	Anchor ideas	You learn shortcut keys in MS Word. Ctrl+S equals save. Then you build upon that and learn that Ctrl+S also works in other MS applications.
Superordinate	Have a foundation of ideas and build on that. Assimilate	A woman already has three skills that will help her learn project management; She know how to balance labor hours, how to budget money, and how to do project tracking. Together these build a foundation for project management
Correlative	Elaborate on an anchored idea. Build ideas to meet the goal.	Build an airplane. You need manufacturing and design.
Combinational	Multiple concepts come together	Invention of the airplane. Studied the birds, aerodynamics, wind, and physics. This all lead to the airplane invention.

Group 2

Type		Example
Derivative	Car brands Hondo, Ford, Chevrolet. Then introduce Pougeaut, a new model
Superordinate	Red, yellow, blue. Then learn the primary colors, which are red, yellow, blue
Correlative	Fruit is the anchor Blueberry, apple, grape. Chocolate could also be categorized with fruit because it comes from the cacao seed, which grows on trees.
Combinational	Writing styles. You can write business, creative, and scientific. They all require grammar, but they are a different kind of writing.

Group 3

Type		Example
Derivative	Cars BMW, Ford, Acura. Then introduce Toyota and Ferrari.
Superordinate	Car body frame is made of metal. New technology introduced aluminum and fiberglass. Cars are now lighter and safer.
Correlative	Engine technology can include electric, gas, biodiesel, diesel
Combinational	Transportation combines motorcycle, bicycle, cars, skateboard

We broke into group again to discuss how to teach

Now that you know the different learning styles, how would you teach them?

Derivative – shortcut keys Use Advanced Organizer. Relate the Ctrl+S in Word and show how you can use it in Excel. Comparative. Provide a list of shortcut keys for various applications and show the relationship.	Correlative Give students the same kind of cupcake. Give them different decorating ideas and let them decorate the cupcakes. This is progressive teaching.
Superordinate Have an example of an electric engine. Have an example of gas. Biodiesel use an example of vegetable oil. Give an example of an auto that uses diesel.	Combinational Take out your hand and hold it like a cup. Pour your imaginary bottle of water in your hand. It will fall through your hand, thus changing its properties.

Exercise 3

100 years ago an Englishman visited Maya and conducted a mind study. They whispered a story in someone’s ear then told the next person, and so on. How close did the end of the story stay the same as the beginning?

A demonstration;

Kim asked for 7 volunteers.

She had the 7 leave the room.

She planned to have each one return to the room and repeat the story that Kim would tell. Our job was to observe the story tellers.

Kim gave us the written story and we read it.

Then she read us the story two times.

The first student then entered the room.

Kim read her the same story.

Paraphrase: It was about a Korean who had a dream, visited a Korean Monk who interpreted the dream that the man would become king. The man was very excited and built a temple. He later became king.

Kim told the story two times to the first listener.

Then the second student entered the room and the story was told by the first student to the second student.

She said, “It’s a Korean story. I can’t remember his name. Ill call him Mr. X. He was a kin who had a bad dream. In the dream he had a broken mirror, thrashing clothes and rafters. He then went to the monk for the interpretation. The Monk said the flowers meant fruit. Anyways, he built this temple and then end of story.”

The second student asked questions:

Question: “He asked the Monk to interpret?”

Answer: three rafters.

Question: “Was it a scary dream?”

Answer: I think so.

Question: “Did he have to do anything?”

Answer: “He became kind. He built a temple.”

The third student came in and the second student told the third student the story.

I guess this is a Korean fairy tale. He has a dream with rafters and fruit. He goes to a monk for interpretation. The monk says you will be king. So he left and built a temple.

The fourth student enters the room and the third student told the story.

It’s a Korean fairy tale. A man had a dream with a wild kind of fruit. He went to a monk and described the dream in detail. The monk said you will become king.

The fifth student enters the room and the fourth student told the story.

It’s a Korean fairy tale. A man had a wild dream about fruit. This guy went to a monk and recounted the dream in detail. The monk told him he would be king.

The sixth student enters the room and the fifth student told the story.

I am going to tell a story that is a Korean fairy tale about a man who likes fruit. The man wants to become king. That’s all I remember.

The seventh the student enters the room and the sixth student told the story.

I’m going to tell you a Korean folk tale about a man who likes fruit and wants to become king. And that’s it.

The class discussed had a lot of good laughs and discussed what was lost and what was remembered.

The first thing that happened was the name was lost. He became a “man” because his name was Korean it was not easy to remember. The temple name, also Korean, was not used as well. Again not memorable information.

AS attributes got lost, ideas were lost.

When you have no schema, you sometimes create a new schema.

When you don’t have an anchor, ideas get lost, like the Korean names, thrashing clothes, etc.

Would the first student have remembered better with physical cues?

The first student commented, “I was so hung up with remembering the name that I couldn’t remember it.”

The seventh student said, ‘I expected to hear more of the story.”

AS the story gets shorter, then people will start to embellish.

Schema theory is a script. You generate theory in your own way.

We took 5 minutes to read the story again.

Kim then asked, “How will you organize your schema to re-tell the story?”

Ken volunteered to re-tell the story.

“There was a king who had a dream. He wasn’t a king yet and it was a horrible dream. He went to a monk and said, “I saw roosters crowing and thrashing clothes.”

The monk said, “The rooster is a metaphor for greatness. The thrashing clothes are a sign of welcoming. The falling mirror is something bad. The rafter that fell on your shoulder is Chinese calligraphy for King. The man became king and built a temple and had the monk take care of the temple.”

Conclusion from the story exercise/Observations

The names didn’t appear – cultural items that never were mentioned.

Story unfamiliar

Actions lost, then attributes lost

No strong schema, hard, need to create new schema

Schema wasn’t activated

Give the learner material, let them think about it, let them generate their own story, using the schema scrip. The teacher fills in the gaps.

Everybody brings their own culture and experience.

Our mind is active, structuring and re-structuring, changing, moving. It activates on prior knowledge.

Think about how you might teach a large class with people with different cultural backgrounds, different languages. How would you use schema theory.

ITEC 800, Tuesday, September 25, 2007

ITEC Administrative Notes

Take a look at the new ITEC Web site:
Check out the Graduate Approval Program (GAP)
Degree requirements have changed. Choosing one of 3 tracks is no longer required. Instead, 5 classes are required (one includes a research class), an e-portfolios will be required, and the rest of the classes are electives. 30 credits equals the Master’s degree.
To get the specific graduation requirements, go to www.sfcu.edu. Click Our Program Graduation Process and then downlad the GAP documents package.
Start thinking about your creative project, which is needed for graduation
At the beginning of 3rd semester, you will need to write a project proposal. Don’t wait: Start thinking about what you will do now. You can choose to work on that project throughout your semesters. You can redo the project throughout the semesters and you will find that it is much easier and faster for the final.

ePortfolio: You can post the work you do in your classes in an ePortfolio. You can show it to employers and others you want proof of your skills.

Cognitive Information Processing Model
What is the difference between a theory and a model?
Theory: Tested (proven) statements or principles that explain a natural phenomenon.
Model: Tests a theory, accounts for known characteristics of a theory and can be used for additional study.

Information Processing Model: Input->processing->output

Sensory Information

Gestalt learning theory:
With Gestalt theory, our mind tries to organize. Behaviorism does not talk about the mind.
Organizational processes in cognition are important to perception, learning and problem solving.[1]
perception, applies to sensory memory, how to we make/interpret meaning, even if we make it up or have to fill it in
grabs attention
our mind fills it in with our perceptions. This explains why we can interpret incomplete objects, such as a triangle that is missing part of its sides or a worn letter on a grave marker, can still be understood. We naturally fill in the missing parts to properly interpret the object.

The triangle diagram: shows how we group together, complete the incomplete.
Also, chunking, labeling.
3 Memories

Sensory Memory: First stage of information processing. It is associated with the senses, holds information long enough to be processed, .5 seconds
Working Memory (short-term memory): Stage at which additional processing of information is done and makes information ready for long-term memory. It’s likened to consciousness. limited amount, limited duration: George Miller: 7 +/- 2 bits of information @ a duration of 30 seconds
Long-Term Memory: Permanent storage of information can hold infinite amount of information; it is assumed that information in LTM is never lost.
Five different models of LTM:
· Semantic networks
· Feature comparisons
· Propositional networks
· eg. Dual-code processing as a separate processing of audio/visual.
· Parallel distributed processing

Long-term memory STORES: episodic (event driven) vs. procedural (swimming) (this was not mentioned in the book) vs. semantic/declarative (general information recalled independently of how it was learned)

Retrieval Process
Bring from long term memory into working memory:
This is directly analogous to bringing information from hard drive into RAM.

Dr. Foreman demonstrated the retrieval process:
I say, “banana” and what do you think?
One student said, “yellow” another said, “monkey.”
Dr. Foreman said that you go to long term memory to bring yellow and monkey to your working memory.

Learning is organizing and re-organizing the knowledge.

Group Exercise #1: Class Memory Competition
Group A, ½ the class, stayed in the room, Group B, the other half, went in the hall and waited.

Group A: Dr. Foreman told the group to memorize the objects that she placed inside a box and then be able to jot down a list of the objects. She opened the box, the group looked inside and attempted to memorize. Then when time was up, 60 seconds, she closed the box and Group A had to write down a list of the objects they saw.

Dr. Foreman then went out into the hall and told Group B that they had to memorize objects that are in a box. She explained that she took 5 objects from her office, 5 objects from her bathroom, 5 objects from her kitchen, and 5 from her junk drawer. She then invited Group B into the room to memorize the objects in the box for 60 seconds and then write down a list of what they saw.

Group A encoded objects into their own categories, people organized and reorganized, some people rehearsed and concentrated on items that were previously unfamiliar to them.
We each tried to make the objects meaningful to us in order to better remember them.
Carlos brought up the strategy of an associative string, eg, swallow the Tylenol with the coffee.

The results show not much difference between the two groups. In a larger sample group, you would tend to see that Group B recalled more objects than group A because Group B was prompted with categories before they saw the objects. When you remember things in categories, you can recall more easily.
Different encoding strategies emerged:
Some people in Group B said they organized according to the categories they were given.

Conclusion: Our minds actively process, organize, and re-organize. Our mind creates our own way to organize and strategize. We all have personal favorite strategies.

We reviewed page 76 in the textbook, table 3.1:
Sensory register is large, but we need to pass it through a small channel (our short-term store) in order to selectively process it and then transfer it to the large, permanent space in our long-term memory.

Group Exercise #2: Share Mind Maps
We broke into small groups to compare our learning strategies in the assignment:
Some people simplified, others expanded and added detail.

Janet used a hierarchical strategy that she was familiar with from work, whereas Chris and Miles used the chapter outline as a heading for the nodes of the mind map.
Janet’s map

It was interesting how we each came up with different, creative ways to organize the same thing.
A common theme that came up was detail level. How much is too much to the point where the information loses personal meaning?

Meta-cognition: you are thinking about your thinking, monitoring, or reflecting on how you think as a tool to make yourself a more effective learner.
Video

Our group focused on sensory memory: what is added:
Awesome Phillip Zimbardo video
How much you concentrate and how much you rehearse, broken by interference.

Ebbinghaus:
List making, and the curve of forgetting:
By getting rid of meaningful memories, he stripped himself of the ability to use cues of familiarity to recall. This was why he forgot so quickly, the curve was so steep.

Encoder->short term memory->long term memory

Retrieval
Associative networks: each node is linked to others that have common processes
Gordon bower, a Stanford Psychologist, used the peg word mnemonic. You learn cues, set of reminders, dovetail the mnemonic.
Schemas are our frameworks of our preconceptions. Relate new information to familiar schemas, groups of learned information.
Schemas can sometimes have a cultural or professional mismatch.
We want to strive for cognitive flexibility.

Group Exercise #3: Summarize Parts of Chapter
Class broke up into teams. Each team summarized different aspects of memory.

Sensory Memory Group
Automaticity
Selective Attention
Similarity of tasks makes a difference
Task complexity makes a difference
Spread attention across 2+ tasks
Attention control differs w age, intelligence, hyperactivity, and learning disabilities
Pattern Recognition and Perception
Template Matching Model pairs mental copies
Principles of organization, context and experience
Feature Analysis matches specific features
Prototype Model matches abstracted idea

Working memory group
· Imagery relates pictures to text material.
· Mnemonics and mediation links ideas together in a story.
· Concept of Organization groups related pieces of information.
· Self-questioning

Different Long-term Memory Models
· Feature Comparison Models of LTM
· Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP) Models of LTM
· Propositional Models of LTM
· Network Models of LTM
· Duel-Code Models of LTM

Forgetting
Failure to encode
Failure to retrieve
Interference

Retrieval
Recall
Free recall
Queued recall (e.g., a leading question)
Recognition: make a decision or judgment about something.

Application

· Provide Organized Instruction: Teachers should organize information to help students learn it.
· Arrange Extensive and Variable Practice: One should practice in order to learn (“Practice makes perfect.”). Varied practice helps attach more cues to information, which will help recal later.
· Enhance Learners’ Coding and Memory: Use a variety of learning strategies to improve student’s ability to encode. See strategies in Table 3.3 of book, page 106.
· Enhance Learner’s Self-Control of Information Processing: Metacognition is one’s awareness of thinking and the self regulatory behavior that accompanies awareness.[2] Being aware of how one learns helps adjust and improve study skills.

Assignment for Next Week
Read the assignment on iLearn.
Bring your notes to class.
[1] Driscoll, Psychology of Learning for Instruction (New York: Pearson, 2005) 73
[2] Driscoll, pg. 107.

ITEC 800 Week 5 September 27, 2007

ITEC 800 Notes

Taylor completed a wonderful presentation about the "One Laptop Per Child" (OLPC) project after attending a workshop about it. Feel free to contact Sameer Verma if you can help (language, skills, etc.) in any way. This laptop is a great example of use of Constructivism and the model is geared toward providing laptops to children in third-world countries. It uses little power (12 volt power supply) and last for about 48 hours on a single charge. Other potential alternate power sources are solar power and a hand crank. It is fully recyclable, uses about 1 watt, and has a five year life span. It’s designed to be very durable and utilizes a wireless mesh network technology. Taylor also talked about the interface which is called “Sugar”. More information can be found at http://laptop.org/ or http://opensource.sfsu.edu/ if you wish to know more or contribute.

It was interesting to hear about how resourceful and recyclable companies can make laptops when there is little profit involved--something to think about.

Dr. Foreman mentioned that Seymour Papert actually introduced a similar concept over in the 1960’s. He, along with Wally Feurzeig created the “Logo” computer language which has roots in artificial intelligence. He took 50 computers to Nigeria but didn’t take the environment into account.

We explored Cognitive Theory and the Information Processing (CIP) model. We completed a fun exercise trying to remember 20 objects and some individuals did very well (not me). The class was split up into two groups. While the group A stayed in the classroom and looked over the objects, the group B went into the hallway. Dr. Foreman informed only group B that the items were taken from four separate places, her desk drawer, junk drawer, kitchen, and bathroom. The results did not show that group B had a distinct advantage with the added information as the three top scores came from group A. However, it appeared that group B had a higher average score than group A. Theoretically, grouping/categorizing should be more helpful.

Video (Remembering and Forgetting): Ebbinghaus studied and tested memory but ignored meaning and using associations to further memory. The computer changed the way we studied memory and it was associated with and information processor. Memory can be broken down into stages. Input must be encoded, then stored and retained, the retrieved on demand when needed. Peg word mnemonic where the individual associates items and can better remember. Freud was the first to recognize that what we remember and forget can affect our self-esteem and sense of well-being. How and what you remember is determined by who you are and what you already know. Schemas are our frameworks for ideas and processing information.

Week 4, Thurs 9/20/07

Thursday, 9/20/2007

800 Notes

This week we reviewed Behaviorism theory. As well as a lecture we reviewed a Powerpoint presentation that was included in I-learn curriculum, watched a dated video about BF Skinner (you can call him Fred). Our group activity was to combine homework assigment to come up with a best way for Fred to take frequent breaks from his computer. We also interacted with and briefly discussed an online geography quiz. Looking around the room it seems most of “failed third grade.”


Powerpoint Presentation:

In Behaviorism, learning occurs when there is a measurable change in behavior. The environment provides the cue. Learning acquisition is easy to measure and assess, however, it's not ideal for being an autonomous learner, developing problem solving skills and thinking outside the box, skills needed by the 21st century learner. Behaviorists are able to measure results by observation.


Teaching new behavior

Shaping – supportive showing of behavior

Chaining – Putting steps together

Fading- slowly taking away cue


Kim briefly mentioned ADDIE Model for Instruction Systems Design:
Analysis
Design
Development
Implementation
Evaluation

ADDIE Model is also explained in terms of Behaviorism in Chapter 2 of our text book.



The First Step: Get Goals

Second Step: Finding a reinforcer that works for the individual learner

Third Step: Setting up procedure (lesson planing.)

Fourth Step: Implement Plan

Fifth Step: Evaluation – assess the behavior and redesign reinforcement or schedule of reinforcement.



Punishment vs. Positive reinforcement

Punishment can produce effective, immediate short term results, however it's long term implications are severe.


Evolution of classical behaviorism to radical behaviorism.

Classical Conditioning Theory is an association of stimuli and environment, delete the stimulus response still occurs.

S (stimulus) -R (response) Paradigm


Radical Behaviorism introduced the concept of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is...

S (stimulus) – R (response) – S (stimulus)

or A (antecedent) – B (behavior) – C (consequence) -consequence drives behavior



Also there are four types of reinforcement schedule for maintaining the desired behavior.

Fixed ratio

Fixed Interval

Variable ratio

Variable Interval



We watch very old video about B.F. Skinner.


Famous quote "it's not the rat, it's Skinner"- if rat/learner is not performing the task desired, then the reinforcement/environment is not designed right.



The World teaches you to manipulate the world


"We are what we do"


Skinner's studies were influenced by:

Darwin - origin of species, evolution as selection of characteristics.

Freud - psychoanalysis – we do not act freely but as a result of earlier experience

Ivan Pavlov – Behaviorism, Russian Physiologist – Conditioning of Behavior

(experiment with food, sound of metronome, dog drool – conditioned response



Skinner – selection process from Darwin also applies to behavior as behavior is predictable.

- how we think/feel can be studied and predicted by science

- why are some behaviors selected



Discriminative Stimulus – certain reinforcers available if provided in a certain way, leads to reinforcement, can be conditioned reinforcers themselves

Reinforcers must follow an action and must cause action to be repeated

Punishment only works temporarily and with negative side effects

Video also talked about Skinner Box and his controversial baby box, and animal testing.

Video used example of a pigeon and bell to demonstrate the shaping of response where pigeon received food as it got closer to the bell until it peaked the bell.


Break

We had small group activity where we discussed our assignment about John's case study.

We evaluated learning objective and usability of flash drag and drop interactivity about US geography.


Lastly, Kim explained next week's assignment which was to read chapter 3 and use “Inspiration” to summarize and create a flow chart or cluster map of Chapter 3.

WEEK 4, September 18, 2007 BLOG

A wiki section has been added to the ITEC 800 iLearn site.
We will use this site to enter our questions from each week’s lecture and readings.
The team responsible for taking notes is responsible for entering 10 questions for the week’s topic. Students will have the ability to review, edit, and/or add to the questions for the topic.

Dr. Foreman performed a demo of the wiki to the class- note that there is only 1 page to this wiki, therefore there will not be separate pages for each week’s topic.

Dr. Foreman has also posted the blog schedule on the iLearn site. If your name does not appear on the schedule, please sign up for December 11- we still need bloggers.

Opening question: Think about what kind of learning you may have had today. Everyday we learn something- we want to be more aware of learning in our daily lives.

Janet learned that she can get more results out of her colleagues if she asks them for deliverables and due dates…and subsequent due dates. While she knew this already, she felt she got confirmation of this phenomenon today.

Laurie indicated that she has a ‘difficult’ 2nd period math class (7th and 8th graders). She feels that she will need to ‘shape’ their behavior before they ‘shape’ hers.

Dr. Foreman learned how to create a data table iLearn when posting the blog schedule. She also learned that she cannot insert pics – only hyperlinks to pics in the wiki. This was counterintuitive based on her prior learning

It was suggested that in order to avoid people from overlapping in the wiki (and losing data), students first write their thoughts in Word and then cut/paste into the wiki. You can spell/grammar check in Word v. wiki.

This week’s topic: Behaviorism
What is behaviorism? What is the objective? What is the goal?
A process change is the outcome. Outcome has to be demonstrated with change in behavior- must be demonstrable and measurable.

The common ‘picture’ (or equation) for the behaviorist classical model:
Stimulus > black box> Response

Pavlov’s Dog (famous study on behaviorism)
When meat (stimulus) is presented to dogs; the dogs salivate (response)
This is a natural response> classical

Contrast the above to learned behavior:
In learned behavior, there needs to be a reinforcer present. For example, in school, kindergarten children learn that they must first raise their hand to ask questions in a classroom. The teacher presents reinforcers to the children based on the behavior they exhibit: ignore (if no raised hand), acknowledge (if raised hand).

BF Skinner suggested that learned behavior is not a natural behavior.
Skinner implemented applied these early theories of behaviorism to implement a Learning Science, using operant conditioning or learned behavior.

To break a cycle of behavior, we need to learn a replacement behavior.

Example:
Dog salivate when they see meat (respondent behavior)
For the experiment, ring the bell when presenting meat to the dog. The dog salivates (respondent behavior)
Over time, remove the meat but continue to ring the bell. The dog still salivates without meat present. (operant behavior- the dog learned to associate the bell sound with salivation)

A-B-C of Behaviorism, where:
A= stimulus (or antecedent)
B= behavior
C= consequence

Depending on consequence the behavior will be strengthened or weakened.


Video: BF Skinner a Fresh Approach
B.F. Skinner video – circa 1999. He talks about how in his early experiments, he would expect a certain shaped curve and get frustrated when it didn’t turn out that way. He realized that the rats are going to do what they’re going to do and they are right. If there’s a problem, it’s the way he’s set things up that is the problem. Skinner taught us that we are what we can do but we can change what we do. Skinner’s work was about behavior, first focused on animals later with humans. Although early work focused on the individual, later work focused on society and how things could change on a grander scale. Skinner’s dad was a lawyer who scared him about the consequences of criminal activity, his grandmother warned him about religious consequences of sin, etc. and this may have affected his interest in behaviorism. He was a bit rebellious in college but entered Harvard Pscyh Dept in 1928.

3 big things in the 1920s that affected SKinnner:

Darwin Theory of Evolution- Progression from the natural environments leading to survival; suggested a selection process led to behavior selection by consequences.

Freud Psychoanalysis- Adult behavior shaped by very early experiences.
Biggest critics came from psychoanalysts; identifiable behavior by predictable results.

Troy Behaviorism- Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, studied how behavior was conditioned by stimuli (Pavlov’s dog – we all know this story right?) American psychologists, led by John Watson, started really getting interested in behaviorism.

It was a big thing for Skinner that what we do and thing can be studied and understood through science. “We are what we do…but we can learn and change”

Skinner was building machines to understand learning, such as the “Skinner box” where lab animals would continue to peck a disc if they would get food. In general, he realized that animals (humans included) would repeat behaviors that get certain results. Pavlov and Watson’s stimulus focus was too narrow. Skinner added the consequence to the cycle. No longer stimulus-response psychology. Skinner’s realization that behavior was changed by consequences was huge. Critical words: Behavior, Selection, and Individual. Skinner was interested in why one behavior was elicited at a time, when any behavior was possible. Also, Skinner wanted to know why people had different behaviors in the same situation. Consequences are contingent upon a behavior. Depending on the type of consequence, the behavior will or will not be repeated and the frequency was affected.

Pigeon Experiment:
Pigeons peck a disk when a light or food was presented. Only when the ‘x’ was lit, did the pigeon receive food in the feed tray. Pigeon will repeat any activity repeat when it generates reinforcers. Behavior that gets desirable results get repeated. Sequence of events happened backwards to Pavlov- present a reinforcer after a consequence- response>consequence> behavior

Define Operant behavior- see book. Behavior is governed by consequences not the stimulus. Selection of behavior in dependent on the environment; it is also at discretion of the individual. Skinner asked, “ Why is one behavior selected from many at any time?” “Why does an individual act different than another in the same situation?”

Contingency of reinforcement:
Consequences are contingent on some act- if x then y. We can mold behavior completely out of the range.

Shaping is the gradual molding of behavior. Selection by consequences is a fact not a theory.

Operant conditioning
Discriminative stimuli (like a traffic light) allow organism to make distinctions to determine a consequence may happen signal opportunity to do something to likely produce reinforcers. Reinforcers have 2 characteristics: they must be observable and cause the action to be repeated or happen more often.
They control when and where we do things.

Response> discriminative stimuli> consequence

Without discriminative stimuli we would try to do everything at once. So it allows us to make decisions. Discriminative stimuli can lead to reinforcements but can also be a reinforcer itself (i.e. money.)

Positive reinforcement/ Negative reinforcement/ Punishment- occurs when an action it follows is the lost of an action. We confuse negative reinforcement with punishment often, but Negative reinforcement and punishment are not the same. Skinner was not a big advocate of punishment. Skinner was concerned a lot with RATE of occurrence; something that happens a lot. The concern is with high or low frequencies of behavior.

Reinforcement schedules:
Reinforcement which occur less frequently have a longer lasting impression than more frequent.

In 1938 was a big year. Skinner published “Behavior of Organisms.” He also became a father that year.

Skinner Invented the highly controversial “Baby Box” a warm sleeping chamber, to quell his daughters crying and enable her to sleep. Skinner’s daughters talk about Skinner’s controversial “baby box” – a heated space for the baby to sleep. His younger daughter defends his practices.

Daughters talk about Skinner’s teaching machines. During a visit to his daughter’s math class, he observed that some kids in math class already knew the material being taught and were bored. He used the idea of behaviorism to create teaching machines. With the teaching machine, you could go at your own pace and you get a response for each. Technology held back the success of teaching machines.

There are 5 steps in behavioral conditioning:
Step 1: Set Behavioral Goals
Step 2: Determine Appropriate Reinforcers
Step 3: Select Procedures for Changing Behavior
Step 4: Implement Procedures and Record Results
Step 5: Evaluate Progress and Revise as Necessary

During the evaluation period, you may find that the old goal is valid but need to use new reinforcers. People are motivated by different reinforcers.

Small Group Exercise: Review your solutions for John’s rest breaks from his computer.

The common solution was a computer program/screen saver that would remind John to take his breaks. The screen saver would have intelligence built in to have a report out to management enabling them to review if he was actually taking his breaks.

Benefits to John include: more energy, less wrist pain, better vision, discounts on medical and vision care plans.

Match the US State Quiz:
The class was instructed to take the quiz online. Then break into groups to discuss how we could improve the quiz. This is an example of the importance of Formal Evaluation in Instructional Design. The following comments were presented:
-Click on the name of the state, change to shape…match shape to shape.
-Showing how much time it took and time remaining.
-After the time is up, the program should indicate all the states’ location if you failed to complete 100%. That way you learn from your mistakes.
-The aversive stimulus (annoying “you’re wrong” sound) was sort of helpful because it didn’t allow you to make permanent mistakes – mislabel the states.
-With this game, there were technical difficulties – even if you were right, it didn’t always accept your answer.
-Take a tutorial before you take this quiz. This assumes you know US geography.

There is a PPT presentation in Behaviorism for review posted on Ilearn.

Next week’s assignment:
Cognitive Theory
Read chapter 3 and draw a visual map with the information from your learnings in chapter 3. Use concept mapping software such as Inspiration- link in iLearn. You can also use software like Visio (PC) or OmniGraffe (MAC).

Week 3: ITEC 800 Thursday, September 13, 2007

Week 3

In our opening discussion this week Kim pointed out that this is an exciting time to be studying learning theory as it is in a state of transition due to the expediency at which one is able to access information and to communicate that information to others via web 2.0 technologies. Examples of these technologies are wiki's, blogs and moodle (http://moodle.org/), a free open source case management system.

The learning theory that is attempting to answer questions associated with this shift is connectivism, a "learning theory for the digital age" proposed in 2004 by George Siemens. Siemens views learning as the process of creating connections and developing a network. In this new era of "tribal wisdom" or social networking the learner needs to be able to navigate through a lot of information and to monitor their own cognition (meta-cognition).

Kim's ITEC 830 class summarized this theory in a blog and George Siemens (or someone claiming to be him) replied to her blog.

Our class will experience Connectivism through the implementation of our own blog and wiki. Each group will take turns posting blogs which will be a synopsis of what was covered in a given week. They will also post ten questions with answers from each lecture on a wiki and everyone will be invited to participate in editing and answering questions.

Kim gave an example of MIT students. Through wiki's they generated questions for tests and edited each other's content. As a result of the interaction of a wiki students learned more.

In reference to connectivism and interactive learning we discussed episodic learning and digital storytelling as powerful learning methods. Digital storytelling is popular amongst K-12 educators. KQED is training teachers in digital storytelling with workshops. One of our classmates participated in a workshop. We will spend one class working on digital storytelling.

This week we also did an overview of three learning theories ; behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.

We discussed Behaviorism in relationship to the curriculum taught at Stephen's College, the oldest women's college in the mid-west (Mt Holyoke in MA being the oldest in the country). Academics went out to communities and mirrored their curriculum to reflect what women did (housework). This curriculum an example of a behaviorist approach to learning as the skills learned were rote and specific.

As an example of the stimulus/response aspect of the Behaviorist model we learned to say hello in Korean ("An Young Ha Se Yo!").
Behaviorism is still a dominant teaching method as it is cost effective and easy to quantify. Programs such as "No Child Left Behind" require teachers to quantify skills met. Job training programs funded by the government also require ways of tracking skills met.

John Dewey was at the forefront of constructivism in Chicago in the late 1920s. It
was called the Progressive Movement at the time. He founded schools which taught tangible interactive skills like weaving and shearing. They were forced to shut down due to majority of behaviorists and parents who failed to see the relationship between learning and doing. Montessori and Summer Hills schools were a part of this hands-on curriculum approach for early childhood development.

We also reviewed cognitive theory of the 50s and 60s. The mind was seen much
like a computer with input and output, the mind as a processor in-between. The mind was not viewed as a clean slate as in the Behaviorist model. Noam Chomsky, who challenged behaviorist's perspective and sparked cognitive theory, said learners' have an innate map structured in their brain to learn.

We looked at a PPT presentation of the three theories.

We finished off our lovely night with a group lesson plan activity where we created a one day tour of San Francisco for 10 Japanese professors who speak little English. We created learning objective and explained which learning theory was used for each part of the plan.