Introduction: From (Analytic) Philosophy to (Cognitive) Psychology
Thanks to Xander and Michelle for their interesting responses to the Scheffler-inspired questions about culture, computers and education. We'll use the list to discuss some of the issues they raised, while moving on to the cognitive psychology reading(s) for today.
As we turn to thinking about (cognitive) theories of teaching and learning, we might wonder from what perspective (or using what framework) we can compare the texts by Cuban, Dewey, Scheffler and Sviniki. Do we need to compare them? Do they represent compatible or conflicting accounts of what to consider good design of educational software?
One source of possible conflict seems related to a point made by Scheffler in the section of his paper titled "The Notion of Information." Noting that an "information processing" model of learning is suggestive (and perhaps seductive), he writes
But see how much is left out of the picture. Learning takes place not just by computing solutions to problems, not even just exchanging words, but by emulation, observation, identification, wonder, supposition, dream, imitation, doubt, action, conflict, ambition, participation, and regret. It is a matter of insight and perception, invention and self-knowledge, intimation and feeling, as much as of question and answer." (523)
Scheffler's comment would seem to pose such enormous challenges to psychology that we might begin by discussing what questions you think a theory of learning (for the purposes of instructional design, for example) should be able to answer, and what sorts of explanations of educational phenomena we might reasonably expect from cognitive and brain science in the near future. We'll then turn to the 1999 issue of New Directions For Teaching and Learning edited by Marilla Sviniki. I've include some brief excerpts from a few of the articles which were not assigned for today.
"New Directions in Learning and Motivation" (1999)
We'll discuss Sviniki's survey article, led by comments and questions by Marianne.
For next time: We're off on Monday, and may meet in the Multimedia Lab or the MSLab on Wednesday. A note to the list will be sent no later than Tuesday afternoon, so be sure to look for CS92-l mail before class on Wednesday. You should read the Schank and Cleary chapters, although we'll be discussing authoring tools on the 19th, because we'll have occasion to refer to them later.