Pedagogic Planning Tools and Effective Design for Learning

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Pedagogic Planning Tools and Effective Design
for Learning

• Liz MastermanOxford University Computing
  Services
• Marion MantonDepartment of Continuing Education,
  University of Oxford

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Overview

• Planning the impact of technology
• Pedagogic planning tools
• The design challenge
• Examples of tools
• Phoebe design rationale and quick tour
• Reflections promoting Design for Learning

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Technology as a driver for (re-)planning

• E-learning is often talked about as a trojan
  mouse, which teachers let into their practice
  without realizing that it will require them to
  rethink not just how they use particular hardware
  or software, but all of what they do. (Sharpe
  Oliver, 2007, p. 49)
• It fundamentally made me think about what I
  actually do in the class. The VLE really made
  me think about how am I going to project what it
  is that I give to a lesson when Im face to face
  on this screen? Usually I dont have to plan
  my lessons, I just go in and do it What it
  brought me back to was the actual lesson plan,
  you know, like when you first started off it
  was like that all over again. (School teacher)

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Planning as a means to scaffold technology use

• Technology-reticent practitioners
• Lack of awareness or interest
• Technophobia
• Lack of time to explore (esp. if part-time or
  hourly paid)
• Aversion to risk inherent in experimentation
• Fear of being supplanted
• Incompatibility with institutional model of
  learning
• But pressure to engage with digital technology
• From above
• Implementation of VLE
• Use of technology as a criterion in performance
  assessment
• From below
• Student expectations
• How to engage the technology-reticent?
• Institutional staff-development initiatives
• mediated by pedagogic planning tools

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Enter the pedagogic planning tool

• Where the individual practitioner starts getting
  to grips with technology and exploring its
  implications
• An emergent genre
• JISC Design for Learning programme (2 projects),
  DialogPlus, ReMath, LAMS
• Guide teachers through the construction of plans
  for learning sessions that make appropriate, and
  effective, use of technology
• Pedagogic planning
• Concept of lesson alien to HE
• Pedagogy embraces an essential dialogue between
  teaching and learning (Beetham Sharpe, 2007,
  p. 2)

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The design challengeRange of approaches

• The starting point would be the assessment
  criteria/expected learning outcomes. This would
  be balanced by the students needs and level of
  learning. I would also take into account the type
  of students The environment can affect what
  can be done in a session e.g. availability of
  breakout rooms, space for group work etc. Time of
  day can be important. Available resources
  would also be considered.
• I often go out for a run to clear my head to let
  the creative juices start to flow. depending
  on what course it is (some are looser than
  others), I usually start by thinking about the
  knowledge or skills learners need, whilst keeping
  a strong eye on the assessment. This then
  develops into aims and outcomes. I liken the
  process to painting a picture you dont start at
  one particular point but move from one part to
  another. Each development affects the other
  parts.

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The design challengeTools to mediate the design
process

• I use pen and paper to collect ideas, Post-its
  to sort main headings. I like to lecture from a
  hand-written outline.
• 1. Pen and paper broad conceptual overview,
  key learning activities mapped as a
  storyboard/concept map. 2. Formalise this map in
  Word or PowerPoint. 3. Detailed matrix of
  learning outcomes, activities and assessment in
  Excel for detailed analysis etc.

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The design challengeRange of representations

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The design challenge summarised

• Maybe its going to be difficult to develop a
  single software tool kit that suits everybodys
  preferences for planning learning (paper based,
  software or a mixture of both!) and maybe it
  could be useful to develop flexible software
  tools that support teachers through the process
  and stages of designing for learning (Teacher
  in HE)

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Responses to the challenge pedagogic planning
tools

• DialogPlus
• London Knowledge Lab
• ReMath
• LAMS
• Phoebe

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DialogPlus Planning with adaptive help
http//www.nettle.soton.ac.uk/toolkit
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London Pedagogy Planner planning at two levels
http//www.wle.org.uk/d4l/
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ReMath flexible form-filling for hierarchical
plans
http//remath.itd.cnr.it/
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LAMS Template sequences
http//lamsinternational.com
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Phoebe Focus on guidance flexibility in choice
of tool

• Aim
• Enable teachers in post-compulsory education to
  develop their confidence and skills in designing
  technology-mediated learning experiences
• Principles
• Propagate effective practice to a wide audience
• Allow option to use familiar planning tools
• Rationale
• Learning Design tools and LAMS in limited use
  output XML
• Successful IT projects build on the way users
  work, dont force them to adapt

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Informant design methodology

• Involve representatives of the e-learning
  community where their contribution will be of the
  most value (Scaife Rogers, 1999)
• Practitioner-informants requirements gathering,
  scenarios of use, initial design
• 5 Higher Education
• 2 Further Education
• 2 Adult community learning, work-based learning
• JISC Experts group confirmation of design
  decisions
• Becta and HEA embedding, sustainability

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The Phoebe prototype

• Phase 1 proof-of-concept tool
• Open source, built on wiki technology
• Supports planning for individual learning
  sessions made up of learning activities
• Envisaged context of use
• Initial teacher training
• Staff development
• Functions
• Reference tool guidance, advice and examples
• Planning a learning session
• http//phoebe-app.conted.ox.ac.uk

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Phoebe Evaluation of Phase 1 prototype

• Very positive response from practitioners to
  overall vision
• Saw applicability in context of initial teacher
  training and staff development programmes
• Not sure if it would work as a self-teaching aid
  for lone practitioners who wish to explore D4L
• The guidance and examples appear to meet
  practitioners needs
• In its present form it functions better as a
  resource with a note-taking facility than as a
  usable and useful tool for creating lesson plans
• There is considerable interest in the potential
  of Phoebe as a customisable community-owned tool

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Future directions Phoebe phase 2

• Redesign and develop functionality
• Expand the content
• Explore Phoebe as a community-owned tool
• Ensure relevance to users through customisation
• A way to tackle long-term sustainability
• Managing the content in the future
• Centrally managed version?
• Institutional versions?
• Open to all (Wikipedia style)?
• Integration with other planner tools
• Consider the future research agenda for planner
  tools

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Reflections Promoting D4L through pedagogic
planners

• Definitions
• designing, planning, orchestrating and
  supporting learning activities as part of a
  learning session or programme (Beetham 2004)
• the process by which teachers and others
  involved in the support of learning arrive at a
  plan or structure or design for a learning
  situation (Beetham Sharp 2007, p.7)
• Learning Design is about formalising learning
  experiences in activity sequences and playing
  them on dedicated Learning Design tools.
• Design for learning is about activity-centred
  teaching and learning that uses any kind of
  technology, so broader than LD - and more
  problematic to encapsulate?

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What do we want D4L to be?

• Manifesto?
• Policy?
• Programme?
• Movement?
• Book?
• But above all, a change in teachers perspective

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So, a PP needs to reinforce that

• design simultaneously involves the application
  of systematic principles and methods and is a
  creative activity that cannot be fully reduced to
  standard steps (Winograd, 1996, pp. xx, xxii)
• learning can never be wholly designed, only
  designed for (i.e. planned in advance) with an
  awareness of the contingent nature of learning as
  it actually takes place (Beetham Sharpe, 2007,
  p.8)
• pedagogic research and practitioner education
  converge on the ideal of active, constructive
  learners carrying out relevant tasks to progress
  towards their own learning goals (Beetham 2004)

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In other words
Images from http//www.ce.ntu.edu.tw
http//www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/10/tejo-remy-icon
ic-dutch-designer/
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To design for learning experiences that are