Chaos rules : an exploration of the work of instructional designers in distance education

This thesis provides an examination of the work of instructional designers in distance education, through the conceptual lens of chaos theory. Chaos theory was chosen as an analytical tool because of its ability to reveal the patterns and processes of complex systems as they move between order and turbulence. Recent work in the social sciences, specifically literary theory, has provided impetus for applications of chaos theory to educational settings. Specifically, chaos theory is used to analyse eight case studies of projects volunteered by instructional designers working in five institutions in Hong Kong and Australia. Data were gathered over a period of months with each participant, chiefly through interviews, but also involving diary accounts, electronic mail and letters. The methodology was thus qualitative, specifically informed by Eisner's vision of the ‘critical connoisseur’. Eisner equates an ‘enlightened eye’ with attainment of the skills of a critical connoisseur. First, an effective qualitative researcher must develop connoisseurship, the art of appreciation. On its own, though, connoisseurship is not enough; it is a private act, and thus needs a public face or presence. Criticism is this link, criticism being the art of disclosure. The critical connoisseur aims to help others to increase perception and deepen understanding of an educational situation or event. In addition to the empirical work, a parallel strand of this thesis investigates the theory and reported practice of instructional design. A brief history of instructional design is presented, along with discussion of acknowledged deficiencies of current theory and approaches. Recent reported investigations of both theory and practice are analysed from the viewpoint of chaos theory. Examination of key contributions in the literature of instructional design and distance education reveals considerable resonance between these contributions and the fundamental properties of chaotic systems. Links are made, in both the theoretical and empirical strands, between instructional design and the behaviour of dissipative structures, attractors and the process of bifurcation. Use is also made of the time-dependent nature of chaos theory as a theory of becoming, rather than one of being. The thesis comprises eight chapters, two appendices and a references section. The introductory chapter explains the research problem, and outlines the structure of the thesis. Methodological considerations are left until after an assessment of instructional design literature and (reported) practice. This deliberately theoretical investigation (Chapters 2 and 3) comprises the first of the parallel strands that are presented. The basic conclusions are that instructional design theory has not been particularly helpful to or used by instructional designers, and that chaos theory might provide an alternative way of viewing instructional design practice. The other parallel strand is the empirical work, which for four chapters outlines the methodology and my findings concerning the role of instructional designers in distance education. The methodology is detailed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 establishes the contexts of the participants, by examining their backgrounds and introductions to their roles. It also investigates their views on their role and status within their institutions and with working colleagues. Chapter 6 is an exploration of the major issues that influenced the work of the instructional designers. These are the issues that arose naturally in the interviews as the participants outlined the development and interactions that took place on a day to day basis. Time emerges as a key influence in their work, and its effects on the projects are outlined and analysed. The ways that instructional designers give advice to those with whom they work is also investigated. The next chapter continues consideration of their work, but this time as they reflect on their role and its demands. This includes their reactions to the various metaphors that have appeared in the literature, along with those that they introduced into our discussions. The links that are established between the two parallel strands are drawn more explicitly in the final chapter, Chapter 8, which is a notion of what a model of instructional design based on my conclusions might resemble. It summarises the evidence that it is not necessarily by striving for order—in fact quite the opposite — during key periods of course development, that leads to creative outcomes. The introduction of uncertainty and turbulence does, in some cases and under some conditions, move the system to a higher level. The image that is offered from chaos theory is that of time-bound dissipative structures, interacting with their open environment at far-from-equilibrium conditions, and transforming themselves from disorder to order through bifurcation. The role of strange or chaotic attractors is highlighted in the process. The first appendix gives background information in terms of the methodology. The second is the heart of the data upon which the thesis draws. That is, the second appendix outlines the case studies of the participants. Most are short summaries, but the final one is a detailed study, tracing the progress of the design and development of a subject in distance education.

Instructional strategies integrating cognitive style construct : a meta-knowledge processing model

The overarching goal of this dissertation was to evaluate the contextual components of instructional strategies for the acquisition of complex programming concepts. A meta-knowledge processing model is proposed, on the basis of the research findings, thereby facilitating the selection of media treatment for electronic courseware. When implemented, this model extends the work of Smith (1998), as a front-end methodology, for his glass-box interpreter called Bradman, for teaching novice programmers. Technology now provides the means to produce individualized instructional packages with relative ease. Multimedia and Web courseware development accentuate a highly graphical (or visual) approach to instructional formats. Typically, little consideration is given to the effectiveness of screen-based visual stimuli, and curiously, students are expected to be visually literate, despite the complexity of human-computer interaction. Visual literacy is much harder for some people to acquire than for others! (see Chapter Four: Conditions-of-the-Learner) An innovative research programme was devised to investigate the interactive effect of instructional strategies, enhanced with text-plus-textual metaphors or text-plus-graphical metaphors, and cognitive style, on the acquisition of a special category of abstract (process) programming concept. This type of concept was chosen to focus on the role of analogic knowledge involved in computer programming. The results are discussed within the context of the internal/external exchange process, drawing on Ritchey's (1980) concepts of within-item and between-item encoding elaborations. The methodology developed for the doctoral project integrates earlier research knowledge in a novel, interdisciplinary, conceptual framework, including: from instructional science in the USA, for the concept learning models; British cognitive psychology and human memory research, for defining the cognitive style construct; and Australian educational research, to provide the measurement tools for instructional outcomes. The experimental design consisted of a screening test to determine cognitive style, a pretest to determine prior domain knowledge in abstract programming knowledge elements, the instruction period, and a post-test to measure improved performance. This research design provides a three-level discovery process to articulate: 1) the fusion of strategic knowledge required by the novice learner for dealing with contexts within instructional strategies 2) acquisition of knowledge using measurable instructional outcome and learner characteristics 3) knowledge of the innate environmental factors which influence the instructional outcomes This research has successfully identified the interactive effect of instructional strategy, within an individual's cognitive style construct, in their acquisition of complex programming concepts. However, the significance of the three-level discovery process lies in the scope of the methodology to inform the design of a meta-knowledge processing model for instructional science. Firstly, the British cognitive style testing procedure, is a low cost, user friendly, computer application that effectively measures an individual's position on the two cognitive style continua (Riding & Cheema,1991). Secondly, the QUEST Interactive Test Analysis System (Izard,1995), allows for a probabilistic determination of an individual's knowledge level, relative to other participants, and relative to test-item difficulties. Test-items can be related to skill levels, and consequently, can be used by instructional scientists to measure knowledge acquisition. Finally, an Effect Size Analysis (Cohen,1977) allows for a direct comparison between treatment groups, giving a statistical measurement of how large an effect the independent variables have on the dependent outcomes. Combined with QUEST's hierarchical positioning of participants, this tool can assist in identifying preferred learning conditions for the evaluation of treatment groups. By combining these three assessment analysis tools into instructional research, a computerized learning shell, customised for individuals' cognitive constructs can be created (McKay & Garner,1999). While this approach has widespread application, individual researchers/trainers would nonetheless, need to validate with an extensive pilot study programme (McKay,1999a; McKay,1999b), the interactive effects within their specific learning domain. Furthermore, the instructional material does not need to be limited to a textual/graphical comparison, but could be applied to any two or more instructional treatments of any kind. For instance: a structured versus exploratory strategy. The possibilities and combinations are believed to be endless, provided the focus is maintained on linking of the front-end identification of cognitive style with an improved performance outcome. My in-depth analysis provides a better understanding of the interactive effects of the cognitive style construct and instructional format on the acquisition of abstract concepts, involving spatial relations and logical reasoning. In providing the basis for a meta-knowledge processing model, this research is expected to be of interest to educators, cognitive psychologists, communications engineers and computer scientists specialising in computer-human interactions.

A systems analysis method for online teaching and learning systems

A Method for Educational Analysis and Design (MEAD) was developed to analyse and design online teaching and learning systems. The method is based upon a participational design approach focused on the requirements of the users (students)

Methodologies for investigating relationships between concept development and the development of problem solving abilities

This paper is the second in a pair that Lesh, English, and Fennewald will be presenting at ICME TSG 19 on Problem Solving in Mathematics Education. The first paper describes three shortcomings of past research on mathematical problem solving. The first shortcoming can be seen in the fact that knowledge has not accumulated – in fact it has atrophied significantly during the past decade. Unsuccessful theories continue to be recycled and embellished. One reason for this is that researchers generally have failed to develop research tools needed to reliably observe, document, and assess the development of concepts and abilities that they claim to be important. The second shortcoming is that existing theories and research have failed to make it clear how concept development (or the development of basic skills) is related to the development of problem solving abilities – especially when attention is shifted beyond word problems found in school to the kind of problems found outside of school, where the requisite skills and even the questions to be asked might not be known in advance. The third shortcoming has to do with inherent weaknesses in observational studies and teaching experiments – and the assumption that a single grand theory should be able to describe all of the conceptual systems, instructional systems, and assessment systems that strongly molded and shaped by the same theoretical perspectives that are being used to develop them. Therefore, this paper will describe theoretical perspectives and methodological tools that are proving to be effective to combat the preceding kinds or shortcomings. We refer to our theoretical framework as models & modeling perspectives (MMP) on problem solving (Lesh & Doerr, 2003), learning, and teaching. One of the main methodologies of MMP is called multi-tier design studies (MTD).

La incorporación y enseñanza de la lengua extranjera

Tradicionalment, el sistema educatiu espanyol ha presentat carències importants respecte al desenvolupament de competències lingüístiques en una o més llengües estrangeres

E-training practices for professional organisations

E-Training Practices for Professional Organizations is an essential reference for anyone interested in the integration of e-business, e-work and e-learning processes. The book collects, for the first time, the proceedings from the 2003 IFIP eTrain Conference held in Pori, Finland.

Canadian nursing students' coping strategies for learning online

This research reports on the experiences of Canadian nursing students as they coped with learning online, exploring the strategies that they used to learn effectively. The findings identified aspects of course design and online facilitation that will help students cope with the lack of social presence in the online environment.

Public managers workshop : elements of success : participant workbook /

"October 5, 1984."

From courtroom to classroom : The Lincoln Legal Papers curriculum /

"The Lincoln Legal Papers has also received generous funding from Center for Legal Studies, University of Illinois at Springfield, National Historical Publications and Records Commission, National Endowment for the Humanities, [and] Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation"--P. 2.

Wings of progress.

Description based on: 1976.