PaperAbstract:
In1998,developmentalworkandresearchbeganonprovisionofweb-basedvirtuallearningmaterialsatSwinburneUniversityofTechnology,Lilydale.Twoevents(first-thedecisiontoprovideprintedlearningguides,andsecond-thearrivaloftheInformationTechnology,SystemsandMultimediaDisciplineLeader)actedascatalyticagentsfordevelopmentofthesevirtuallearningmaterialsandconsequent,actionresearchforthecaseunderstudy.
Thevirtuallearningmaterialsresearchprojectrequiredgroundinginatleastoneoftheinstructionaltheories.Theresearchtodateindicatesthatitisimportanttobeascomprehensiveaspossibleintermsofinstructionalstrategies,inparticulargainingthelearner'sattention,presentingofobjectivesandstimulatingrecallofknowledgebothlearnedandpreviouslyacquired.Petryetal(Petry,MoutonandReigeluth,1987)hasinpartprovidedasynopsisofselectedtheoriesandmodelsofinstructionaltheorythataredrawnuponatthistime.However,instructionalstrategiesonlyformonefacetoftheformativequestions.Thesecondislearnermotivation.Here,theresearchdrawsupontheworkofKelleretalwhohasexplicitlyaddressedtheuseofmotivationalstrategies,(cfKellerandKopp,1987;).
Thispaperisconstitutedasaseriesofquestionsemanatingfromareflectiveactionresearchapproachtotheoperationof,orsocialisationof,inspanidualsandgroupsactingasagentswithinanAustralianregionaluniversitycampussetting.Thecampussettinginessenceprovidesboundaries,orconstrainscertainvariables,withinwhichtoobserveactors.Forexamplethecampuswouldbeconsideredsmallwithonly1500-1800studentsandstaffingofabout30academicsforsometwelvedisciplineareas.
Significanttotheresearcher/author,inthepresentresearch,istheinvestigationandimplementationoflearner-centriccomputer-mediatedonlinestudiesandalsothereflexivemonitoringofoperationalisedresearchanddevelopments.Thiscanbemorespecificallyportrayedas:
·Subjectdelivery,usingComputer-MediatedLearning(CML),
·DevelopmentofaVirtualLearningGuideTemplate(VLGT);
·InvestigationoffirstyearstudentreactionstoCMLandvirtuallearningmaterials;
·Investigationoflearnermotivationandtheapparentperformancegoalorientationofstudentsinthecasestudy;
·Operationalisingresearchoutcomes,andthereflexivemonitoringandmeasurementofimplementations.
ThemeLearningandTeachingOnline:Sub-themeB–Curriculumdesign,onlinelearningandteachingmodes,andbestpractice;andEvaluationofonlinelearningandteaching.
Background:
Withinthedevelopmentworkofacomputer-mediatedandweb-basedvirtuallearningguidetemplate(VLGT)istheneedforanunderstandingoftheaxiomaticpositionoftheSwinburneUniversityofTechnology,Lilydale(SUTLcampus),asthatpositionactstoconstrainanumberoflearningsystemsvariables.
Intheearly1990’sacampusdecisionwasmadebytheacademicstaffthateverysubjecttaughtatthecampusmusthavealearningguideinprintedformandavailableforsaleatcosttoallstudents.Theguidesweretocontainthesubstantivecontentofthesubjectbeingtaught,andtoexpressthelearningobjectivesinherentinthatstudy.AstheLearningMaterialsSpecification(Paterson&Weal,1995)states:
“LearningGuidesarethevehicleforcommunicatinglearningexpectationsandlearningmodes.Theymaptheroutethatyourstudentsshouldfollowinordertocompletetheirstudiessuccessfully.”
Thelearningguidemodelhasbeenoperationalsince1994.Theimplementationoftheseguidesandobservationsbytheresearcherhaveledtoseveralbroadquestions(outlinedbelow)thatrequireresearchinordertomorefullyunderstandtheramificationsandoutcomes.Beforeaskingthequestions,itsisimportanttostatetheaxiomaticpositionoftheacademicsconcerned,withthelearningmaterialsspecificationandtheextantstructureofthelearningguideinmind.Firstly,thereisthephilosophicalpositionofConstructivismaswouldbeexpressedbyJonassenetal.Secondly,structuralrequirementswerethatflexibleandmulti-modalinstructionmodessupportthestudent,itshouldalsobenotedthatitwasnotarequirementforacademicstoofferonlinelearningmaterialsasonesuchmode.
Thestructureoftheextantlearningguideisspanidedintothreeparts:
1.Subjectlevelcomponents
Contentlist
Introduction
Overview
Review
FinalAssessment
Conclusion
2.Modulelevelcomponents
Contentlist
Introduction
Objectives
Assessment
Summary
Self-assessmentquestions
Self-assessmentanswers
FurtherReading
3.Topiclevelcomponents
Introduction
Objectives
LearningModesand
Resources
Maintext
Summary
Bibliography
Eachsubjectconsistsofanumberofmodules,witheachmoduleconsistingofoneormoretopics.Todatenofollow-upresearchorevaluationhastranspiredinasystematicwaytoinvestigatetheveracityofthemodelasalearningframeworkorasubjectdeliverytool;otherthantonotethatstudentsareprogressingatratessimilartoothersatthecitycampusoftheuniversity.
In1998,severaleventstranspiredwherebyasignificantnumberofsubjectsrequiredrevisionand/orreplacingwithintheInformationTechnology,SystemsandMultimediaDiscipline(ITSMDiscipline).Therewasnotimeavailabletowritethelearningmaterialsandhavethempublished(forpurchasebystudents)priortothestartoftheteachingsemesters.Asthedisciplineleaderandsubsequentlyalsotheresearcher,Idecidedtodesignandimplementaweb-basedcomputer-mediatedlearningmaterialstemplatesimilartotheprintversion.Thismeantthatacademicsundertookaprogressivepublicationapproachtosubjectdevelopment.Initially,alltheITSMDisciplineacademicswereabletoachievewasanonlineversionofthecontentandlearningobjectives,onaweek-by-weekbasis,availabletostudentsbothviaInternetconnectionandalsoviacampuscomputeraccesslabs.
ObservationsandQuestions:
Inmanyaspects,theveryaxiomsoftheacademicsattheSUTLcampushavefallenpreytothepragmaticofstudentdemandsforcontentandassessmenttargets,andthestructureofconversionalinstructionweek-by-weekasface-to-faceteaching.
Severalobservationsemanate,asonewhohasusedthissystem:
·Emphasisonlearningobjectives(Paterson&Weal,1995)–however,studentstakelittlenoticeoftheseobjectives;
·Explicitcontent–expressingimportantideas,readingsandself-assessmentrequiringconsiderabledevelopmentbytheacademicandnodevelopmentbythestudent;
·A1999qualityreviewindicatesthatveryfewofthelearningguidespublished,displaythedegreeofcompleteness,implicit,intheLearningMaterialsSpecification;
·Studentsatundergraduateleveldisplaybehavioursimilartothatexpectedinaperformancebasedorgoalorientedlearningmode,andareluctancetoundertakecognitiveandreflexivelearning;
·Areluctancebyacademicstomakeuseofonlinedeliveryasanalternativeflexiblemodeorinstructionaltechnology.
Severalbroadquestionsemanate.Questionsthathelpfocusthewiderresearch,inpartreportedinthispaper.Theyare:
·Whatneedstochangeinthelearningguidemodelinordertoactivateself-directedlearningbytheundergraduatestudents?
·Canonlinecomputer-mediatedlearningprovidea“significant(non-detrimental)difference”forstudentschoosingthismodeofstudy?
·Canonlinecomputer-mediatedlearningbedevelopedtoastagewherestudentschooseself-directedlearningoverconventionalinstruction?
Theflexibilityofferedtoacademicsandthestudentsviaonlineandcomputer-mediatedlearningmaterialswasmadeobviousbytheimmediateandpositiveresponsetotheinitiative.Duringthepasttwoyearsseveralevaluationshavebeenconductedbytheresearcherinordertotesttheefficacyofthisfirststeptowardonlineself-directedlearningmaterials.Theresultshaveindicatedthatstudentswillmakeuseofonlinematerialsofsimilarorbetterqualityinpreferencetopurchasingpublishedlearningguides.Itisimportanttodetermine,however,whetherthisisjustanoveltyreactiononthepartofacademicsandstudents.Also,isitaresponsebyacademicstoreducepressurethatmightresultwithajust-in-timedevelopmentattitude?Oraresponsebystudentstoreducecostsandtakeuppaidemploymentwhilestudying?Willtheonlinelearningmaterialssufferthesamefateoftheequivalentprintedlearningmaterials?
Allthesequestionsandobservationsarebeingaddressedthroughaprogramofresearchextendingoverseveralyears.TheresearchwasformalisedintheLearningEdgeProjectbytheresearcher,andoverthepasttwoyearshasseentheimplementationofseveralresearchprojectsfocusedonspecificelementsofacomputer-mediatedlearningenvironment.Thelatestsub-project,andthefocusofthispaper,istheconceptualisingofavirtuallearningguidetemplatethatexpressesboththecurrenttheoriesandthinking,andanswerstheself-directedlearningenigmaexpressedearlier.
VirtualLearningGuideTemplate(VLGT):
WhiletheLearningEdgeProjectisinvestigatingnominatedvariableswithintheITSMDisciplinecomputer-mediatedlearningmaterials,thereisasecondaspect,aconceptualisingofavirtuallearningguidetemplateormodelthatencapsulatesthefollowingaspirations:
·Anopen,flexiblelearningenvironmentconducivetoself-directedlearning;
·Anadaptivelearningandinstructionmode,onlineandsupportedbyeTutors.
Suchapositionassumesataminimumthatlearningwillbecomputer-mediated,however,wherepossibleface-to-facetutoringshouldalsobeavailablethusmaintainingmulti-modalsubjectdelivery.Rowntree(1990)suggeststhatsuchaspirationsdependuponmaterialsspecificallywrittenand/ormodifiedwithspecificoutcomesinmind.Thisposessignificantquestionsinandofitselfwithoutconsideringthewiderconceptualandstructuralimplications.
Thevirtuallearningguidetemplaterequiresatheoreticalfoundation,withtheconceptualframeworkbeingfoundedonthreetheoreticalunderstandinginteractingasatripartiterelationship:
·Constructivism(cfWilson,1997;Wilsonetal,1995;AbbottandRyan,1999)
·SystemsTheory–inparticularHumanActivitySystems(cfKlir,1969;Romiszowski,1977,1981;Banathy,1992)andSoftSystemsTheory(cfCheckland,1988;Hiltz,1990;DaviesandLedington,1994;Preece,1999)
·Structuration-(cfGiddens1979,1993,1995)
Thispositionenablestheresearchertoviewthelearnerandthelearningfromadualperspectiveoflearnerasanagentandlearningasastructureetc.Thissuggeststhattheabovearenotdichotomous,rathertheyofferaselfsupportingholismwheretheinspanidual’slearningisreflexiveandadaptivewithinanygiveninterpretationofthelearningstructure.
Whythisisimportanttotheresearchercanbeseenintheresearchtodate(Calway,1999,2000a)thathasshownthatthelearningguidemodelcurrentlyespousedleavesthelearnerneitherself-motivatednordesirousofa“learning”outcome.
Also,unsolicitedcommentsreceivedonsurveyse.g.“lazy”,and“youdidn’ttellmewhattodo”(evenwhenthedetailsareexplicitinthelearningmaterials)aretypicalcommentsscatteredthroughouttheevaluationsconductedbytheITSMDisciplineacademics.Infactthelearningguideapproach,ascurrentlyprescribedbySUTLcampus,hascreatedascenariowherestudentsbelievethatallthatneedstobeknowninordertopassasubject’sassessmentcanbefoundinthelearningguide,andthatanyextrareadingandpracticeself-assessmentisaboveandbeyondwhatisalreadyprovided(orrequired).Obviouslysomestudentsaremotivatedtobeself-directedlearnersandtoundertakethework,howeverasignificantnumberarenot.Thecurrentresearch,aswithmanyotherresearchprojectsaroundtheworld,aimstore-conceptualisetheentirelearnerandinstructionaldesignscenario.Movingfroma“teachingastelling”,“tellmewhatIhavetodo”toa“helpmeunderstand”facilitation.
Further,Iarguethattherearethreelevelsoflearning,ie.Content–whatandhow;Context–who,whereandwhen;andConcept–why,oracontinuumof‘knowhow’to‘knowwhy’andinter-disciplinaryrelationships.Also,Ihavedrawnfromtheworkofresearchersexpressingknowledgeinobjectform(cfMerril,1997).Expressinglearningasabehaviouralandcognitiveaspectofaknowledgeobjectenablestheinstructiondesignerconsiderablelatitudetoincorporatelearningtheoriesandinstructionaldesigntheorieswithinstructionaltechnologies,etc.
So,insummary,theVLGTasaconceptualmodelacknowledges:
·Learningasadualityoflearneractivityandlearningstructurerepresentedinknowledgeobjects;
·Learningobjectivesneedsupportinbothtopical“whatisworthknowing”andatemporalacquisitionofsuchknowledge;
·Learningisahumanactivityandassuchcanbeexpressedusingsystemsmodels;
·LearningoutcomesframedasknowledgeobjectsmustexpressContent,ContextandConceptwheretheseareseentobemutuallysupportive.
Onesuchvariableistheexpressionoflearningobjectives.ThatresearchindicatesthattheSUTLcampusstudentstakelittleinterestinthelearningobjectivesastheyarestatedinextantlearningguides(Calway,yettobepublished).However,itisarguedthatclearexpressionoflearningoutcomesalongwithlearningobjectivesexpressedaspre-teststatementsasinterrogatives(usinggraphical,audioandtextualmeans)willaidinthelearnerseekingfurtherinformation.ResearchconductedbyRowntree(1990)providesanindicationthatsuchanapproachisplausible.
Onefurtheraspectunderexperimentalconsiderationatpresentistheuseofpreandpost-testingofknowledge,notasassessmentforcredit,butasamotivationalapproachforself-directedlearning.Surveysandinterviewsconductedin1999and2000bytheresearcher(Calway,2000a)haveprovidedabaselineanddemographicstrategyagainstwhichtoevaluateanytherapeuticactionsemanatingfromidentificationandinvestigationofvariablesthateffecttheVLGT.
Conclusion:
Theresearcheriscognisantthatlearnermotivationisparamountforself-directedlearning.However,Iamremindedofacerealadvertwherethepunchlineis–“Don’ttellthemitshealthy,andtheywilleatitbytheboxfull”,perhapsthesameisrequiredininstructionaldesign.Thispaperthereforeexpressestheneedtounderstandthedichotomythatexistsbetweenalearnerstudyingona“needtoknow”basisascomparedtoastudentenergisedwitha“desiretoknow”howeverthatdesiremaybeenergised.
Whilemuchoftheworkpresentedinthispaperisinitsinfancy,thereareclearindications,fromworktodate,thatavirtuallearningmaterialsapproachhasnosignificant(detrimental)differenceonstudentlearningand/ormotivationfromthatexpressedthroughextantprintedandface-to-faceinstruction.However,Ihavearguedthatthisisapoorrepresentationofwhatcouldbe,orwhatisdesired.InthispaperIhaveexpressedthefoundationworkandtheconceptualunderpinningoftheVirtualLearningGuideTemplate,Ihavealsoarguedthatpivotaltotheexpressionofthetemplateistheconceptofdualityoflearnerandlearning,andthatthislearningissupportedbyaholisticandadaptiveinstructionaltechnologyandtheories.
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