Introduction
Information has a structure; the concepts, the relationships between
those concepts, the tools that are used in the discipline and how those
tools are used to analyze the concepts. The structure of this information
in a discipline is important for teaching for several reasons. First,
the design of a course can impose a structure through presentation sequence,
assignments, assessments and quizzes or graded work. As teachers we can
work with these concepts and relationships through scaffolding support
for difficult concepts or progressions. Second, each discipline has its
own unique structure; how the information in the discipline is organized
and what metaphors experts use to explain the discipline. For example,
chemistry organizes information about the elements with the periodic table
and American history would organize around several key periods. These
examples are so obvious they seem trivial until you try to explain the
structure of other disciplines, are they organized around several key
concepts or is there a dominant time line, hierarchy, or other order which
pervades the entire discipline? If so, are all courses in that discipline
taught only on that structure, or are there multiple structures that represent
different points of views in the discipline? These are important questions
in each discipline and how each course is constructed to contribute to
the curriculum. Finally, given that the information in a course has a
particular structure, is it good for student learning to explain that
structure to the students? Do they need to understand the structure and
have an explicit mental map that helps them find and use information?
These questions are addressed in this compilation of short papers that
range in topics from specific examples of course assessments to a design
for a text book in environmental science.
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Table of Contents:
- manuscript
- June 27, 2000
- This paper presents ideas on how to design a course to present information
in a particular sequence in which new concepts build on previous concepts.
Database technology is used to track every answer on every assignment
and quiz question and this data is used in causal analysis to determine
how students are learning.
- manuscript
- December 27, 2000
- This paper presents a specific example of the ideas presented in the
previous paper. Student progress was followed on multiple pairs of assignment
and quiz questions. Their progress is presented in a chart form that
shows how many students did worse, did the same or improved from the
first to the second instance of a particular concept.
- draft stage
- March 14, 2001
- The previous two papers examined student learning with causal analysis.
This paper presents a simulation model to study student learning on
intentionally sequenced concepts. The model is based on a network of
concepts that are best if learned in a particular order. The simulation
demonstrates (theoretically) that concepts taught in a non-optimal order
can lead to trapping students in an incomplete understanding of the
material. Only one example is given, but the paper addresses the question
of whether misconceptions might result from the sequence and synchronicity
of instruction.
- outline
- February 27, 2002
- This paper is based on a presentation to a graduate seminar that focused
on the importance of understanding the structure of the information
when developing assessment strategies and employing technology. This
paper also presents the argument that if large amounts of information
are required we will probably need different interfaces to be able to
use that information effectively.
- manuscript
- date??
- Multemail is a short PERL script that allows you to send individualized
emails to all students listed in a text file. The proscribed process
for constructing the text file includes collecting data on students
that is useful for course and program assessment. This process also
encouraging optimizing the considered response by faculty.
- manuscript
- date?
- This paper is used in a senior and graduate level course on phytoplankton
physiological ecology. Almost all of the papers published on algae are
contained in a search domain that joins "alga$" + "phytoplank$"
+ "cyanobact$". The top X journals contain Y% of all of these
papers. There is a difference between the human indexing used by the
journals and the search of key words. Authors need to understand search
strategies, key words and indexing inorder to make sure their papers
are accessible to their intended audience.
- draft manuscript
- March 18, 2002
- This paper examines the structure of the information in the discipline
and the relationship of that structure to teaching. The discussion is
limited to three levels of learning ; association, representation and
abstraction. Each of these levels relates to the structure of the discipline
differently and needs its own teaching strategies.
- current project
- April 11, 2002
- "Understanding" is the ability to be fluent with concepts
and tools in a discipline. This requires self-motivation and self-monitoring
by students. The conditions that lead to understanding can be facilitated
by faculty and institutions.
- current project
- no date yet
- This is an outline for a textbook in environmental sciences that is
based on the learning principles presented above. One major departure
from current textbooks is the assumption that faculty come to the course
with particular (scientific) strengths and (pedagogical) limitations.
The text is designed to be the commons between the student and faculty.
This text outline explores whether a course can serve as instruction
for faculty in teaching strategies and assessment principles.
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