Group items tagged

technologies are being described as 'cognitive tools', w

Situated cognition can be summarised as follows:

Learning is situated and contextualised in action and everyday situations;

Knowledge is acquired through active participation;

Learning is a process of social action and engagement involving ways of thinking, doing and communicating;

Learning can be assisted by experts or supportive others and through apprenticeship

Learning is a form of participation in social environments.

Is cultural pluralism possible in instructional design?

the inclusive or perspectives approach which imports the social, cultural and historical perspectives of minority groups, but does not challenge the dominant culture and is therefore cosmetic;

the inverted curriculum approach which attempts to design an instructional component from the minority perspective but fails to provide the learners with educationally valid experiences as it does not admit them into the mainstream culture;

the culturally unidimensional approach which excludes or denies cultural diversity and assumes that educational experiences are the same for minority students as they are for others.

multiple cultural model of instructional design. T

instructional design model,

endorses multiple cultural realities or zones of development (

Ten design principles for culturally inclusive instructional design

Adopt an epistemology that is consistent with, and supportive of constructivist learning and multiple perspectives.

Design authentic learning activities.

Create flexible tasks and tools for knowledge sharing.

Ensure different forms of support, within and outside the community.

Establish flexible and responsive student roles and responsibilities.

Provide communication tools and social interaction for learners to co-construct knowledge.

Create tasks for self direction, ownership and collaboration.

Ensure flexible tutoring and mentoring roles that are responsive to learner needs.

Create access to varied resources to ensure multiple perspectives. This can be achieved by moving away from instructivist approaches where all texts are prescribed by the teacher to constructive approaches where learners actively add to the resources by posting new URL's, suggesting additional resources of interest and discussing alternatives through the bulletin boards. For indigenous learners the creation and inclusion of the indigenous perspectives is an important dimension and a means of recognising and integrating cultural knowledge.

Provide flexibility in learning goals, outcomes and modes of assessment.

Culturally inclusive Web based environments should provide learning activities, supportive contexts, and learning processes that allow for inclusivity and flexibility, while offering learners a scaffolded, structured learning environment. To achieve this balance, instructional designers need to move beyond the narrowly prescriptive boundaries of current instructional design models. It is proposed that a multiple cultural model of design that caters for diversity, flexibility and cultural inclusivity in the design process affirms the social and cultural dimensions of constructed meaning.

The flexible model proposed in this paper would allow informed choice by both students and academics, thereby resolving equity considerations and providing choices for academics, learners and learning

Professor Richard Johnson describes open learning as ‘an approach rather than a system or technique; it is based on the needs of individual learners, not the interests of the teacher or the institution; it gives students as much control as possible over what and when and where and how they learn; it commonly uses the delivery methods of distance education and the facilities of educational technology; it changes the role of teacher from a source of knowledge to a manager of learning and a facilitator. (pp. 7-8

Emphasis is placed upon its use as a "more authentic tool for curriculum planning, instructional delivery and assess

instructional design as a separate discipline, has developed from several forms of inquiry: (a) research pertaining to media usage and communications theory; (b) general systems theory and development; and (c) psychological and learning theory. Reigeluth (1983) suggests that the three theorists most responsible for the current development of instructional design knowledge include B. F. Skinner (1954), David Ausubel (1968), and Jerome Bruner (1966). Skinner is identified because of his work with behaviorism and Bruner and Ausubel are recognized because of their contributions to cognitive psychology. Reigeluth (1987) has also compiled information on several other authors, theories, and models he believes important to the development of instructional design as a profession. Gagne (1985), Piaget (1966), and Thorndike (and colleagues) (1928) are other scholars frequently cited as foundational for much of today's thinking about instructional design.

Humanism generally is associated with beliefs about freedom and autonomy and notions that "human beings are capable of making significant personal choices within the constraints imposed by heredity, personal history, and environment"

As Hollis (1991) notes, "traditionally, instructional technologists have largely ignored the humanists' ideas among all the available theories from which to draw upon and incorporate into their schemes. Theoretically, instructional technology has been based on research in human learning and communications theories. In reality, more borrowing of ideas is needed, especially from the ranks of the humanists" (p. 51

Humanist principles stress the importance of the individual and specific human needs. Among the major assumptions underlying humanism are the following: (a) human nature is inherently good; (b) individuals are free and autonomous, thus they are capable of making major personal choices; (c) human potential for growth and development is virtually unlimited; (d) self-concept plays an important role in growth and development; (e) individuals have an urge toward self-actualization; (f) reality is defined by each person; and (g) individuals have responsibility to both themselves and to others (Elias & Merriam, 1980).

"If an individual is concerned primarily with personal growth and development, how can that person truly be concerned with what is good for all of society?"

The learning environment should allow each learner to proceed at a pace best suited to the individual.

It is important to help learners continuously assess their progress and make feedback a part of the learning process. 5. The learner's previous experience is an invaluable resource for future learning and thus enhancing the value of advanced organizers or making clear the role for mastery of necessary prerequisites.

We do recognize there may be times when self-directed opportunities are minimal, such as when involved in collaborative learning or when learning entirely new content, but believe that the assumption of personal responsibility is possible in ways not tied to the type of learning or content.