Transforming global resources into learning content

Peter van Waart - AND Publishing Technology
peterw@and.nl, http://www.and.nl/

Abstract

In the 'Information Society' everybody can publish and everybody does; established research institutes, universities, political, religious, governmental institutions, corporate industries as well as individuals. To access, select, and use this information from various sources, one has to have certain skills and attitudes. In education, pupils and students should obtain and be trained in the necessary skills to cope with modern society.

What should be taken in account by teachers providing resources in learning environments and what role do they play?

Self-regulated, problem oriented, and resource-based learning

In self-regulated learning the extent to which one is able to be one's own teacher, and the control over the three psychological learning functions, have been transferred from teacher to student (Shuell, 1988; Boekaerts & Simons, 1995). This shift to student-directed learning can be established by methods of cognitive apprenticeship and reciprocal teaching (Collins, Brown & Newman, 1989). When the metacognitive skills (Weinert, 1987; Brown, 1987) of students are developed (Boekaerts & Simons, 1995; Vermunt, 1989) this positively influences academic achievement (De Jong,1992; Romainville, 1994; Vermunt, 1992).

Metacognitive skills can be acquired very well in powerful, problem oriented learning environments wherein students can work constructively with study material while being challenged by learning tasks (Boekaerts & Simons, 1995; Vermunt, 1992).

Characteristics:

Teachers: Tasks: Resource-based learning does not imply any particular form of learning, neither does it imply in itself a particular learning process informed by a particular learning theory (Ling 1997), which may be explained by the fact that the concept of resource-based learning seems to have originated in (university) libraries rather than educational research institutes (Anderson & Gesin, 1997). One could state that resource-based learning is present in learning processes, not when resources (such as multimedia packages, the WWW, print-based learning materials, computer-based learning programs) are used by the teacher, but when they are provided as resources to be accessed by students in their learning process.

The role of libraries has changed since the change of educational institutes from passive to active institutions (Simpson, 1996), including the modularisation of education resulting in increased variety of student backgrounds, prerequisites, and interests (Brown & Gibbs 1997).

Learning environments

When the aim of courseware designers is to train the metacognitive skills of students, students should have control over their learning process. Collins & Brown (1988) state that 'the computational medium … can provide a powerful … tool for focusing the students' attention directly on their own learning processes'. More recently Laurillard (1995) pleaded for a more pedagogical approach of designing courseware in which students should be given 'the right' to keep control over their own learning process.

Obviously, resource-based learning can be very well described in terms of self-regulation and problem oriented learning, and implemented in learning environments based on these concepts to benefit students' learning processes.

Kerka (1996) suggests that the Internet and the WWW help overcome the barriers of time and space in teaching and learning. Multimedia and hypermedia contexts can support constructivist approaches to learning, fostering self-directed learning and learning-to-learn (metacognitive) skills.

Internet and intranet learning environments with appropriate authoring facilities are useful for teachers, as developers, too. Content developed and resources used by one teacher and stored on servers, can be used by other teachers. Collaboration between educational institutions is stimulated and resources become re-usable (Neilson & Thomas, 1996).

Discussion: How can global resources be transformed into learning content?

As developers of tasks and providers of resources, teachers have a major influence on the quality of material students have to deal with, and therefore on students' learning processes. In Internet and intranet learning environments there are several roles teachers can play.

Teacher as distributor:
it is wise to make use of resources which are already available; almost every subject is described and in many cases by professional writers; the content and structure of information is properly designed; time can be used by teachers, not to write down their own knowledge, but to search for and select suitable resources for their students - they are able to do this because they have more experience, and therefore insight into the quality and reliability of information than their students.

Teacher as editor:
selecting relevant information; introducing information by providing additional information on the source and function of the information; pointing out locations where useful information can be obtained.

Teacher as reflector:
being present in the learning process to be asked by students what to think of what to do with information; behaving as a sparring partner for students, so that they become aware of the way they think, act and learn themselves.

Teacher as educator:
since they have to take charge of their knowledge, attitudes and skills, students should be supported by appropriate governmental legislation; learning objectives need to be covered in tasks and resources; since modularisation in education is common practice, students can follow multiple routes to final qualifications which means they differ in knowledge background, motivation and interests.
Would it be possible to break down learning objectives into specific elements matching the elements of information available? If so, a constellation of re-usable resources can be implemented in learning environments wherein each individual student can find challenging information.

Teacher as publisher:
and of course, also teachers can play the role of publisher. Being the persons nearest to the students in the learning process, they know how to write interesting tasks to be accomplished by students, how to create an environment in which students can explore their own abilities, improve their motivation and effort, and experience their learning progress. Teachers can provide real-life problem situations which students have to handle with information from all over the globe.

References

Boekaerts M & P R J Simons, Leren en instructie: Psychologie van de leerling en het leerproces (Assen: Dekker & van de Vegt, 1995)

Brown A, Metacognition - Executive Control, Self-Regulation, and Other Mysterious Mechanisms in Weinert & Kluwe (below) (1987)

Collins A & J S Brown, The Computer as a Tool for Learning Through Reflection in Mandl (below) (1988)

Collins A, J S Brown & S E Newman, Cognitive Apprenticeship: Teaching the Crafts of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics in Resnick (below) (1989)

De Jong F P C M, Zelfstandig leren: Regulatie van het leerproces en leren reguleren: Een procesbenadering (Tilburg: Gianotten, 1992)

Duffy T M & H J Jonassen, 'Constructivism: New Implications for Instructional Technology?' in Educational Technology, May: 7-12 (1991)

Laurillard D, 'Multimedia and the changing experience of the learner' in British Journal of Educational Technology, 26(3): 179-189 (1995)

Mandl H & A Lesgold (eds), Learning Issues for Intelligent Tutoring Systems (New York: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1988)

Neilson I & R Thomas, 'Designing educational software as a re-usable resource' in Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 12, 114-126 (1996)

Resnick L B (ed), Knowing, learning and instruction: Essays in the honor of Robert Glaser (Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum, 1989)

Romainville M, 'Awareness of Cognitive Strategies: the Relationship between Univeristy's Students' Metacognition and their Performance' in Studies in Higher Education, 19/3: 359-366 (1994)

Shuell T J, 'The role of the student in learning from instruction' in Contemporary Educational Psychology, 13: 276-295 (1988)

Vermunt J D H M, The Interplay between Internal and External Regulation of Learning, and the Design of Process-oriented Instruction. Paper presented at the third Conference of the European Association of Research on Learning and Instruction, Madrid, September 4-7, 1989.

Vermunt J D H M, Leerstijlen en sturen van leerprocessen in het hoger onderwijs: Naar procesgerichte instructie in zelfstandig denken (Amsterdam/Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger, 1992)

Weinert F E, Introduction and Overview - Metacognition and Motivation as Determinants of Effective Learning and Understanding in Weinert & Kluwe (below) (1987)

Weinert F E & R H Kluwe (eds), Metacogniton, motivation and understanding. (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1987)

WWW References

Anderson D & J Gesin, The Evolving Roles of Information Professionals in the Digital Age. Paper presented at the 1997 CAUSE annual conference and is part of the conference proceedings, "The Information Profession and the Information Professional," published online by CAUSE (1997).
http://www.cause.org/information-resources/ir-library/html/cnc9754/cnc9754.html

Brown S & G Gibbs, 'Reasons for employing RBL' in DeLiberations (London Guildhall University, 1997)
http://www.lgu.ac.uk/iem/rbl/brown.html

Kerka S, Distance Learning, the Internet, and the World Wide Web (1996)
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed395214.html

Ling P, 'Evaluating teaching initiatives which employ Resource-Based Learning' in ultiBASE (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, 1997)
http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/develop/Articles/lingp2.html

Robertson S, 'A pragmatic look at some of the issues faced by those who seek to produce and deliver Resource Based Learning (RBL) in Higher Education' in DeLiberations (London Guildhall University, 1997)
http://www.lgu.ac.uk/iem/rbl/robertson.html

Simpson C, The School Librarian's Role in the Electronic Age (1996)
http://ericir.syr.edu/ithome/digests/librole.html

Stauffer Library, RBL Resource Page (Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. Stauffer Library Instruction, 1997)
http://stauffer.queensu.ca/inforef/tutorials/rbl/index.htm


Papers from the 1st LEVERAGE Conference
LEVERAGE home page