Module+3.+Final+Exam+Paper



Coursework for Ed Tech 709 Applications of Learning Principles Spring Semester, 2011

Marianne Rose

===Module 3 . Final Exam Paper ===

**Assignment** After reading the articles and visited Second Life and also thinking about what you know about the use of games, simulations, and microworlds, write a paper about your views to the following questions (min. of 1500 words):
 * How have you personally utilized games, simulations, and,or microworlds for learning or leisure?
 * What needs to be learned about 'how people learn' to improve instruction?
 * What do you think is the future of education and learning?
 * How might schools change?
 * What role might simulations, games, and micro-worlds hold in the future?
 * Can you propose a new learning theory?
 * Sources

To access this documentation in a .pdf file click the following link.



**How have you personally utilized games, simulations, and/or microworlds for learning or leisure?**
For leisure, I've enjoyed mechanical and electronic games for years. My earliest experience was with pinball machines (the free-standing mechanical units with legs).

As I think back, every pinball machine was different, so as I moved to an unfamiliar machine I had to determine what was required to meet the main objectives--to win points and to keep the ball in play as long as possible--and to receive the reward of a free game. As I'd approach an unfamiliar machine the learning process always seemed to began by just jumping in and playing a game--experiential learning. I remember returning to one machine repeatedly where I was guaranteed to win many free games.

Although I'm not sure if it applies to pinball, I worked with the physics concept of 'the angle of incidence equals the angle of refraction' to use the flipper to direct the ball around the elements on the board. Although the concept works more consistently for the game of pool, it worked well as a strategy in pin ball.

The first computer simulation I used was also a pinball game. As I purchased my first home computer, I stumbled across a Walt Disney pinball game that simulated the mechanical pinball games that I'd enjoyed years earlier. The simulation displayed a graphic image of the table of a pinball machine with images of flippers and a shape that displayed points. The computer program presented convincing sound and movement of the ball after making contact with a flipper or after bouncing off one of the elements on the game board.

As I recall, this computer simulation of pinball was modeled after "Madagascar," a cartoon movie by Walt Disney. It was engaging, with cute images and voices of the cartoon characters coming alive at selected moments during the pinball game--triggered by the position or movement of the ball (e.g., earn points, pass through a channel, bounce off a particular bumper). It also contained challenging obstacles that, I'm told, coincided with challenges that the cartoon animals encountered in the movie.

As with the mechanical pinball games, I kept returning to the computer simulation attempting to master the challenges, exceed my total points reached on a previous game (as it tracked the high scores) and keep the ball in play longer.

More recent is my enjoyment of Bejeweled and Angry Birds on the iPhone. It's true that the more you work with a game, the more you learn about the underlying principles, whether for entertainment or for learning.

Related to microworlds, I created an identity name in Second World several months ago, but stopped at that point (I did not create my avatar) because I wanted more information about the nature of the environment and its instructional capabilities.

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**What needs to be learned about 'how people learn' to improve instruction?**
My first response to this question is related to explicit knowledge vs. tacit knowledge. Instructor-led events can communicate explicit knowledge to the learner using a curriculum that's easy to implement (e.g., scaffolding) based on the class objectives. However, tacit knowledge is constructed intuitively by the individual learner and is typically nonlinear in nature.

So how do learners attend to the multitude of typically unspoken understandings of tacit knowledge that come together to form deeper understanding about the subject? Would learning 'how people learn' (regarding tacit intuitive understanding) improve instruction? I believe the answer is "yes."

Years ago I taught art to middle school students and later moved to training adults on company computers to improve on-the-job satisfaction and performance. In both teaching situations there were pockets of tacit knowledge about the subject matter that were difficult to articulate and difficult for learners to intuitively pick-up from direct instruction (using a traditional linear presentation of the subject matter). And the nature of tacit knowledge being context specific only makes it more important to understand how people learn it.

Tacit knowledge would seem to reside in the automated schema of the long-term memory store where several schema structures can come together to support an intuitive understanding. How present tacit knowledge in the curriculum and lesson plans to legitimize this very important level of understanding among the learning objectives.

Related to interactive multimedia learning games, we need to learn more about how to integrate games with classroom instruction where the game design enables learners to easily move into a "twitch" mode. These learners seem to become obsessed about achieving the game objective as they speed through increasingly complex game challenges rather than reflect on the underlying principles involved and use more deliberate actions that result in fewer errors. What is involved in 'how people learn' that triggers this twitch mode?

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**What is the future of education and learning?**
For middle-school and high-school students, I can easily see very purposeful use of games, simulations, virtual worlds, and blogs, as long as the work is instructor-led. Games and simulations can provide learning opportunities that vary by subject but at the least provide an underlying structure for the learner to discover. The use of blogs and social virtual worlds work well if learners are directed to methodically pause, gather information (if appropriate), reflect, and develop an effective presentation before they publish (e.g., original work, response to an ongoing collaborative discussion).

Through the purposeful use of games, simulations learners gain tacit knowledge. Virtual worlds and blogs offer opportunities for learners to apply appropriate methodology and publish higher quality work to the Web. Although schools will still conduct "field trips," they'll use the online simulations, virtual worlds, and blog experiences (as appropriate) to reduce costs and allow the instructor to focus a group of learners' attention (i.e., in a class) more efficiently on lesson objectives.

For adult learners on the job, paper-based documentation of business processes will continue to transition to an online platform where it can be updated and accessed quickly. The addition of podcasts may be a easier way for workers looking to retire to record their knowledge about a process, if the content is deemed useful for the company to keep as a record. Transfer of tacit on-the-job knowledge will continue to be a challenge in the future.

Customized employee training programs will continue to be developed by IT programmers (who often work in isolation). In these situations the programmer is vulnerable for focusing on technical challenges and trendy graphics that can result with too much text in the presentations (and no consideration for cognitive load theory). But in the future, as Web-based instruction becomes more popular for customers and employees alike, I anticipate that companies will see the value of a collaborative effort between their training staff, human resources, subject-matter experts, and IT programmers.

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**How might schools change?**

 * The school curriculum needs to change to reflect more learner-centered strategies. Through recent years we've seen improvement over the traditional instructor-dominated learning event that was focused on the instructor's formal lecture and the student's paper-based study to develop explicit knowledge structures. From this traditional perspective, the learner could demonstrate knowledge through class presentations or projects. And when a classroom of learners applied the concepts (through an individualized classroom activity) or took field trips (to participate in a learning experience) the instructor's time was often focused on logistics of the activity and not on optimizing the individual learner outcomes. **


 * The most significant opportunity for change in the schools of today relates to an expanded use of technology in the classroom (e.g., computers) to increase tacit intuitive understanding of the subject being studied. Look at today's middle school and high school students as they use technology to seek out engaging moments (e.g., YouTube) searching for authentic and entertaining experiences of others. **


 * The schools could take time to adjust the curriculum and lesson plans to include internet access to current literature, simulations, games, microworlds, and even blogs to enhance both explicit and tacit knowledge. These instructor-led experiences could motivate learners and promote a deeper consideration of the subject matter, while expanding opportunities for purposeful collaborative learning (e.g., communities of practice). **


 * The schools could adjust the curriculum to support effortful learning that's managed between a variety of teachers, across more than one class subject. Even on a modest scale, such an interrelated curriculum design could increase tacit knowledge where the learning in one class compliments the learning in another. **


 * The traditional lessons plans can also change. Why not apply some concepts of multimedia design to lesson planning? For example, applying the framework of schema construction and schema automation from the four-component instructional design model (4-C ID) could be a good place to start. Also, the universal design for learning model (UDL) accommodates a variety of disabilities as learner's may need special support to meet the lesson's objectives. **


 * My vision of change for schools includes visual art classes for all learners. As well as designing graphic user interfaces or simple presentation screens, the explicit knowledge of design principles and visual arts concepts is a valuable asset that supports the application of new knowledge across multiple disciplines. **


 * The visual arts introduces a methodology that's new to many students where learners must take risks, make decisions (e.g., primary subject matter, what details to eliminate), and engage in a reasonable amount of trial and error before finalizing the product. Learning takes place on a tacit level as students realize they must adapt to each new medium that's studied to gain a base-line knowledge (e.g., how far can you push the medium before it falls apart or becomes a mess) before they can create an art work in a purposeful way. **


 * Through learning experiences in the visual arts classes, learners also develop a store of visual intelligence. These experiences can include analyzing the basic components of an abstract concept to enable students to visually present the most basic and essential group of components for a meaningful representation. When applied to simulations, this conceptual-to-visual training can enable learners to more quickly decipher (learn) the underlying structure upon which the simulation is built. Students can also create their own simulations where the essential visual components (when manipulated on the screen by the user) illustrate an underlying phenomena that demonstrates a predictable change (e.g., cause and effect). **


 * The schools might also change to position the standardized test a supportive companion to the teacher's lesson plans and curriculum. If students are meeting the learning objectives listed in the lesson plan and curriculum, the standardized test should reflect that success. **


 * My last though relates to how schools present themselves to the public. In the near future, the current economic crisis will challenge progress in public education. As ways to reduce government spending are explored the costs associated with public schools end up in the spotlight. This is a great time to promote curriculum assessment and some changes that can enhance learning (e.g., simulations, virtual worlds, and blogs). So, rather than have the schools start their lobbying efforts by defending possible budget cuts (that can end with both sides arguing), we might consider a different approach. **


 * I propose a positive presentation it where it could be concluded that public dollars are being used wisely and that school budgets should not be reduced. An overall assessment of learner-centered strategies could highlight what public education does well. A "needs assessment" could be included to identify opportunities for change. The goal would be to outline learning improvements that would cross all subjects including the arts. **


 * Based on my experience, the public doesn't view "games" in the public classroom as a legitimate learning tool. The wording of "purposeful practice" to refer to game activities or "purposeful experimentation" for loosely directed student work is much more acceptable. **


 * The future of education could really use this public relations approach (at every turn possible) to increase the positive awareness of the public and policy makers, but to also make an effort to identify opportunities for improvement. **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">In summary, among the many possibilities for our schools my predictions for change can make the learner a more active participant, can give meaning, and can increase both explicit and tacit knowledge structures. With access to technology, today's students can explore seemingly unlimited ways to positively apply new learning and encounter healthy experiences. **

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**What role might simulations, games, and microworlds hold in the future?**
For the public school, simulations, games and microworlds can open up opportunities for all learners, not just those who struggle with the content to be learned. Digital games can captivate learners' attention with no apparent need for external motivation to continue playing. We realize that games, although complex, can enhance the learning experience. Having said this, it is important to note that careful selection is needed to ensure that the interactive learning module provides the appropriate experiences that can improve the existing instructor-led classroom events for the learners in that classroom.

Multimedia presentations that focus only on explanations of the content can risk adding cognitive load through the verbal system and even repeat information already delivered by the teacher. Experiences (processed in the learner's visual system) should be the main focus of a well-designed multimedia learning module with purposeful interruptions by the teacher to provide information, guidance or instructional support to address a learner's needs while using the simulation (rather than providing all the supporting information prior the simulation). But the learner needs opportunities to blend the experiences with explanations to create strong referential connections.

In general, games, simulations and microworlds can enhance classroom instruction by providing a motivational forum for learning. Learners can practice, apply, or manipulate elements to manage concepts and thereby construct knowledge on some level (e.g., explicit, tacit).

Although more research is needed to fully evaluate their contribution to classroom learning, some specific roles for simulations, games, and microworlds in the future might include:

--Customized branching, with a progression of activities that display based on the learner's demonstrated skills: When the learner's performance can be tracked, the learner's skill level can be evaluated. The learner's accuracy or duration of lapsed time may indicate a level of competence if the content being learned is a primary focus of the simulation or game. The learners' degree of success or failure in one activity of a game can determine the degree of difficulty of the next screen the learner sees. In other words, the level of difficulty can increase based on the successful demonstration of the learner's expertise. This is related to the technique of "model progression" where the simulation is designed to become more challenging with each activity incorporating the skills that were mastered in the previous activity. As the learner works through this progression of increased challenges, it should be easier to apply the learning to similar contexts in the future.

--Training simulations: Learners can use simulation modules to learn technical or hard skills related to one task or a combination of coordinated tasks.

--Transfer of skills to real-world situations: Video games can provide participants with the ability to generalize and apply principles from a few demonstrated examples to real-world situations.

--Increased tacit intuitive understandings: The increase in tacit knowledge provided by games and simulations in general can support transfer of learning. "Games and simulations hold the potential to support people in integrating people’s tacit spontaneous concepts with instructed concepts, thus preparing people for future learning through a flexible and powerful conceptual foundation of conceptual understanding and skills."1

--Increased self-efficacy: Learners with low self-efficacy for a task can participate in a series of linked learning activities that are scaffolded. As the learning events progress, the learner support is reduced until the learner is left with responsibility for fulfilling the task requirements.

Through a variety of trial and error attempts to apply principles and correctly manipulate elements in the module learners are exposed to the consequences of their decisions. As the learner comes to understand the underlying principles, an increased self-efficacy can occur related to the learner's belief in his/her successful completion of learning modules.

--Increased motivation for learning: A well-designed game can focus the learner's attention on selected parts of the content that can be applied (practiced) to the games objectives, and ultimately help the learner integrate new knowledge into long-term memory.

--Act of designing as a learning tool: Having students design video games for learning can support the student's own learning, particularly on a metacognitive level, as long as student discuss and validate the content with others. However, students may be vulnerable for a "confirmation bias" where they design a module that confirms their preliminary understanding of a concept rather than thorough study of it.

As young learners design multimedia adventure games to tell stories, they draw on various sources of existing knowledge and instruction to create an interesting story line with activities for their friends. Based on feedback from their peers, the young learners make changes to improve the game.

--Development of metacognitive knowledge: As learners decipher the nature and relationships of the underlying model (of an interactive multimedia instructional module) their thinking can evolve into reflections and assessments about the process of modeling and inquiry.

--Facilitation for good inquiry learning: Elements of the game or simulation can be positioned in such as way that affords casual exploration of the newly learned concepts while directing the learner to specific outcomes.

--Immediate feedback and extended practice: Instructional simulations can provide immediate feedback after the learner makes an adjustment or moves an element on the screen. It allows the learner to take an action and see what happens (e.g., cause and effect). For example if the learner builds a circuit correctly, the electricity flows and the light bulb is turned on. Graphic feedback may yield somewhat better results than text feedback as the learner responds to explicit or far-transfer tasks (as the learner must convert the graphic imagery to verbal before responding to the task) although text feedback alone is more frustrating, learners who are successful with a simulation also tend to prefer the text feedback.

--Exposure to current methods related to a profession: The learners' awareness of professional methods can increase, as evidence is collected that the learner must handle appropriately (e.g., Operation: Resilient Planet's single-player engagement focusing on inquiry into marine science phenomena).

--Exposure to 21st century skills and illiteracies through purposeful groups interactions: Development can be gained through immersion in group dynamics, and design and programming of digital content, modifications, and extensions for the core game software (e.g., World of Warcraft).

--Real-time application of gaming methodology: As learners take their game on the road and move into the real world with hand-held devices, they can participate in simulations in real space rather than simply on a computer screen (MITAR Augmented Reality Games).

--Promote deeper thinking: Interactive simulations that allow more than simple starts and stops can "enable learners to explore and alter the represented phenomena in a manner that fosters and supports epistemic aspects of scientific inquiry such as formulating and investigating what “causes” the phenomena, developing and/or verifying hypotheses, generating inscriptions, constructing scientific explanations, modifying the existing model and/or developing new scientific models."2

--Use microworlds to provide opportunities for active learning and model building in an exploratory and intrinsically rewarding virtual learning environment where learners can receive guidance from their teachers while constructing schema and automating schema in long-term memory:

An example of the microworld is the 3-D virtual experience in Second Life, where the learner creates an identity and a customized avatar (on screen persona) that exists in a fantasy environment. Visually it's a three-dimensional image on the screen where participants have a sense that they occupy space and can move around in a virtual world that is portrayed as a richly embellished environment.

For active learning, the medium can be very interactive (more than just a start and a stop) and can provide a forum for discussions that contribute to the learners social knowledge construction, especially if learning activities are instructor-led to stay on track to support learning objectives. For example, the virtual disease Whypox is a controlled learning experience that was introduced into students' Whyville virtual world experience, forcing students to explore possible remedies and to construct the management of the virtual disease as a group.

Microworlds can provide an engaging experience where active learning can include purposeful role playing, scavenger hunts for subject matter content, careful examination and identification of items in an environment (e.g., works of art in a virtual gallery), touring of a location a world away that's being studied in class, work in a virtual sandbox (e.g., contributing to a community effort to build objects and environments), and collaboration with professionals around the world.

As the microworld is constructed using an element of fantasy with the potential for varied social interactions between participants, some learners may need clearly defined boundaries to increase the learner's attention on the intended concepts or principles. But ultimately, with even modest structure placed on the learner, the model the learner builds in the microworld reflects the learner's mental model, so the construction will always be unique to some degree.

1 D. B. Clark, B. Nelson, P. Sengupta, C. M. D’Angelo, C. M. Rethinking Science Learning Through Digital Games and Simulations: Genres, Examples, and Evidence. Invited Topic Paper in the Proceedings of The National Academies Board on Science Education Workshop on Learning Science: Computer Games, Simulations, and Education. (Washington, D.C., 2009) 24.

2 Clark, et al, 3.

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**Can you propose a new learning theory?**
I'm interested in the impact of the affective domain on schema construction in the cognitive domain, particularly in adult learners. When learners are exposed to a well-designed game or simulation the cognitive and affective domains are more easily engaged in a positive way. The interactive virtual microworld appeals to learners through positive states of the cognitive (know how) and affective (want to) domains, so we know that the two domains can be integrated in a learning environment.

Schema theory is referenced in documentation of cognitive load theory (CLT) and cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML)--two contemporary cognitive learning theories that can be diagramed to show a high-level cognitive cycle for processing novel information. After the processing that involves the sensory register, working memory, and long-term memory, the end result is the integration of new information with previously existing knowledge.

Looking at schema theory, it's interesting to consider the pathways that run across long-term memory through which the learner retrieves information and constructs schema (hierarchies of knowledge)--systems that can exist separately and unconsciously until revealed as a unit by new learning. The faster new learning can connect with this prior knowledge, the faster learning takes place. And the more interrelated schema construction we have established in the past, the faster we can incorporate new learning. The ability to appropriately categorize information requires immense numbers of schemas held in long term memory (Sweller).

Schema theory (with the construction and automation of schema) is falls within the cognitive domain. But can we study the impact of the affective domain on schema construction, especially when the impact is negative, in an effort expand the cognitive processing model and improve instruction? We should be able to evaluate the negative impact of the affective domain on schema construction, especially for adult learners.

When cognitive processing is not negatively impacted by the affective domain, the CLT and CTML are plausible. However the cognitive theory tells us that all learners resist change (to existing schema) to some degree. This internal conflict is part of the cognitive load that's managed during the design of multimedia.

So what happens to schema construction if a negative element of the affective domain is triggered where the learner becomes so upset that cognitive processing is completely derailed? How do you handle an adult learner who refuses to proceed with the well-designed instructional game or simulation, even when its useful for their work? I'm not thinking of the adult learners who are embarrassed because they can't type or are just having a bad day.

In particular, I'm thinking of a scenario where the existing schema of adult learners is incorrect or dramatically inconsistent with the new learning (or the conceptual relationships that are indirectly drawn). If adult learners feel like the "source" of their existing schema is valid, valued or highly respected, the presentation of new information that contradicts it can create intense anxiety for adult learners.

In my proposed multimedia theory that includes the affective domain, it would seem that learners carry expectations and preferences (e.g., for politics, religion, cultural norms, family tradition, values, working styles) among their existing schema constructs. As these threads of expectations and preferences run across multiple schema constructs of the unconscious long-term memory, they give the learner a stable and peaceful view of a complex world, but they can also limit the ability of adult learners to adapt and participate in new learning opportunities (e.g., using a game for practice with project management principles).

If the conflict causes excessive frustration during the cognitive process cycle, the learner may stop making any effort to incorporate the novel information with long-term memory--in other words the learner may shut-down and withdraw from the learning event.

By expanding the cognitive process model to include interference from the affective domain (to the deterrent of schema construction and the integrated model in long-term memory), we may find ways to support the generalized resistance of all learners to the change that occurs during the cognitive processing of new information.

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**Sources**
Buffington, M. L. with Helms, K., Johnston, J. and Yoon, S. Web 2.0 and Social Constructivism. Inter/Actions/Inter/Sections: Art Education in a Digital Visual Culture. (2010) National Art Education Association, Reston, Va.

Clark, D. B., Nelson, B., Sengupta, P., D’Angelo, C. M. (2009). Rethinking Science Learning Through Digital Games and Simulations: Genres, Examples, and Evidence. Invited Topic Paper in the Proceedings of The National Academies Board on Science Education Workshop on Learning Science: Computer Games, Simulations, and Education. Washington, D.C.

Moody, M. (2007) Educational Uses of Second Life. YouTube presentation.

Rieber, Lloyd P. Multimedia Learning in Games, Simulations, and Microworlds. Chapter 33, Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, Richard E. Mayer, ed. (August 15, 2005) Cambridge University Press pp. 549-567.

Sanford, R. and Williamson, B. (2005) Games and Learning: A Handbook from NESTA Futurelab.

Swanson, B. D. and Kane, D. (2007) Second Life: Education in a Virtual World. Academic Library 2.0, Library Association, University of California (Berkley).

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