Meaningful, Purposeful Learning CONTEXTS
Insert Caine's Arcade stuff here.
Instructional Context represents all the factors external to learners within an instructional environment that provide meaning for the messages they receive. These are the factors that influence and define what, when, where, how, why, and with whom individual learners learn from instruction.
The most effective learning contexts likely constitute environments that provide meaning, purpose, and mindfulness to the process of acquiring targeted knowledge, skills and attitudes. Such environments inherently provide opportunities to explain, interpret, apply, analyze (and perhaps shift) perspective, empathize, and self-assess.
Determining and describing a meaningful, purposeful context in which the identified outcomes are acquired and/or applied can be accomplished in many different ways, for example:
Example
Goal: Each student will write a descriptive paragraph free of grammatical errors.
Context: Since writing descriptive paragraphs is often part of communicating with other people via letters, an excellent overall context for this outcome would be establishing e-mail correspondences between the students and people they care about or want to learn more about.
One way to conceptualize different types of meaningful instructional contexts commonly used in education is to consider contexts in the three broad areas that have been developed and described in the instructional design literature over the years:
Of course, such context types have many variations, and there is usually considerable overlap between context types within such learning experiences. Some of the "subcontext" approaches common in education are also depicted in the graphic below based on the relationship among and between the three different broad context types:
The most effective learning contexts likely constitute environments that provide meaning, purpose, and mindfulness to the process of acquiring targeted knowledge, skills and attitudes. Such environments inherently provide opportunities to explain, interpret, apply, analyze (and perhaps shift) perspective, empathize, and self-assess.
Determining and describing a meaningful, purposeful context in which the identified outcomes are acquired and/or applied can be accomplished in many different ways, for example:
- Identify how the outcomes are used in the real world, then approximate as closely as possible a context in which the skills are actually used in the real world.
- Establish a simulation or situation in which the learners "pretend" to be somebody else and/or somewhere else (consider the used of cased-based and/or problem-based approaches).
- Develop open-ended projects in which many content and design decisions are left up to the individual learners, but strict evaluation criteria are established.
Example
Goal: Each student will write a descriptive paragraph free of grammatical errors.
Context: Since writing descriptive paragraphs is often part of communicating with other people via letters, an excellent overall context for this outcome would be establishing e-mail correspondences between the students and people they care about or want to learn more about.
One way to conceptualize different types of meaningful instructional contexts commonly used in education is to consider contexts in the three broad areas that have been developed and described in the instructional design literature over the years:
- Creation
- Problem-Solving,
- Real/Simulation
Of course, such context types have many variations, and there is usually considerable overlap between context types within such learning experiences. Some of the "subcontext" approaches common in education are also depicted in the graphic below based on the relationship among and between the three different broad context types:
Creation Contexts
These types of contexts involve the learners making things of their own design. Storytelling is a very powerful type of creation-oriented context, and other context types such as concept-mapping, inventions, performances, role-playing, games and modeling often involve making things.
The following websites presents some clear examples of the role and value that making things can play in an instructional experience:
The following websites presents some clear examples of the role and value that making things can play in an instructional experience:
The Morse School Guide
Third grade students at the Morse School in Tarrytown (NY) developed a guide for incoming students to help them become acclimated to the school. The guide provides information about teachers, classes, lunch and recess procedures, and a variety of other topics that can help new students feel less anxious for their first day. In the process of developing the site, the students practiced writing for publication, working in teams, planning, and even communicating with grown-ups. 21st century skills!
Connected Learners
Connected Learners is a book written by students in Ann S. Michaelsen's English class in a Norwegian secondary school. This is a book about improving teaching in schools using a variety of technology innovations. In the process of creating and marketing the book, the students learned and applied a variety of communication and business skills. And their efforts produced a valuable resource for educators.
Google Lit Trips
Google Lit Trips represent an exciting way to analyze and reflect on literature through the creation of an informative tour in Google Earth. One very exciting example of this is a project about poetry created by a high schooler at The Walker School in Georgia. This tour explores the symbolism in various poems and how they were connected to major events in history as an independent study project. Read descriptions, see pictures, hear audio and more. You can download and view this tour below (you must install Google Earth to view this creative project).
15_poets_final.kmz | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | kmz |
Problem-Solving Contexts
Problem-solving contexts have been an important part of educational approaches since, well, since the beginning. These contexts involve engaging learning in problems that lead the learners in searches for solutions that can result in the learning and application of a wide range of skills. The following information about Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is provided by the Buck Institute for Education:
Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, problem, or challenge. Essential Elements of PBL include:
Examples of websites that promote problem-solving contexts are provided below:
Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, problem, or challenge. Essential Elements of PBL include:
- Significant Content - At its core, the project is focused on teaching students important knowledge and skills, derived from standards and key concepts at the heart of academic subjects.
- 21st century competencies - Students build competencies valuable for today’s world, such as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity/innovation, which are explicitly taught and assessed.
- In-Depth Inquiry - Students are engaged in an extended, rigorous process of asking questions, using resources, and developing answers.
- Driving Question - Project work is focused by an open-ended question that students understand and find intriguing, which captures their task or frames their exploration.
- Need to Know - Students see the need to gain knowledge, understand concepts, and apply skills in order to answer the Driving Question and create project products, beginning with an Entry Event that generates interest and curiosity.
- Voice and Choice - Students are allowed to make some choices about the products to be created, how they work, and how they use their time, guided by the teacher and depending on age level and PBL experience.
- Critique and Revision - The project includes processes for students to give and receive feedback on the quality of their work, leading them to make revisions or conduct further inquiry.
- Public Audience - Students present their work to other people, beyond their classmates and teacher.
Examples of websites that promote problem-solving contexts are provided below:
Real/Simulations
These context types allow learners to make decisions in the development and/or subsequent operation of a real or simulated environment or situation. Simulations often try to replicate real-world environments. A great example of this is the Stock Market Game, as well as the wonderful Connected Learner book project. The Virginia Save Our Streams project is also an excellent example of a real context for having students do real science for real purposes.