Simulations and Incidental Learning
I've been looking into research on the learning impacts of computer-based simulations and so-called serious games, and in the process I keep coming upon references to a hyperbook published by Roger Schank and Chip Cleary in 1995.The book is well-organized and easy to browse. What I'll highlight here is one of the main topics, namely the five "teaching architectures" around which Schank and Cleary organize their thinking.
The first four "deal with the difficult problems of getting students involved in their own learning and letting them learn through performing tasks that they care about." The last of the five accommodates situations in which students are pursuing their own interests.
Schank and Cleary's five teaching architectures are:
- Simulation-based learning by doing — Note that creating simulations involving interpersonal interactions requires incorporating sophisticated models of human institutions and behavior.
- Incidental learning — People often pick up knowledge "in passing," without the specific goal of learning it. In the Schank-Cleary schema, incidental learning "is based on the creation of tasks whose end results are inherently interesting, and which can be used to impart dull information." My own view: The term applies to any learning that is a natural by-product of addressing learning objectives in a way that reflects the multiple dimensions of the real world in which the learning will be applied.
- Learning by reflection — "Sometimes a student doesn't need to be told something, but rather needs to know how to ask about it. It could be that the student has a vague plan he wishes to mull over. Or perhaps the student has a problem and needs to figure out a way to approach it. Or maybe the student has finished a project and wishes to think back on how he could have done it better. In such cases, a teacher's job is to open the student's eyes to new ways of thinking about his situation, to help the student articulate the situation and generate ways of moving forward."
- Case-based teaching — Two ideas come into play here: "experts are repositories of cases, and good teachers are good storytellers." Schank and Cleary recommend use of cases in situations in which people in learning-by-doing mode discover that they lack some necessary information. At such a juncture, the teacher steps in with a relevant case example that exposes the learners to the needed information in a memorable context.
- Learning by exploring — Students pursue topics they have chosen themselves. To enable efficient, accurate learning, the students are provided with easily accessible Q&A interactions with experts. For the sake of breadth and depth, those interactions are in large measure enabled through technology, e.g., computer-based access to substantial databases of information. It is important that multiple viewpoints be represented.
Labels: Learning resources, Simulation
posted by Karen Nelson @ 11:13 PM
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