Instructional Theories and Instructional Design Theories.
Smart Learning Environments and Technologies
Given the hierarchy of educational components presented in Figure 10.7, one might go on to say that a learning environment or technology that is likely to help a learner reach the top of that hierarchy in terms of ongoing and productive lifelong learning is a smart learning environment or a smart technology. Spector (2014b) argues that to be considered a smart learning environment an environment needs to be demonstrated to be engaging, effective, and efficient.
As it happens, smart technologies and smart learning environments are among what many consider to be emerging educational technologies. The New Media Consortium (NMC; see www.nmc.org) publishes the Horizon Report each year identifying those technologies in a sector that are likely to have a positive impact on education. MOOCs (previously discussed) and smart learning environments appear in recent Horizon
Reports, among other technologies such as gamification, social media, and wearable devices.
Smart learning environments are those which make use of adaptive technologies and other innovations to be able to respond to the specific interests and needs of a particular learning (Sleeman & Brown, 1982; Spector, 2014a). A smart technology is one that supports the creation of smart learning environments. The intelligent tutoring systems developed in the 1980s and 1990s are an early example of smart learning environments (Spector, 2014a).
TASK
Answer the following short answer questions:
1. Describe a typical instructional flow for a small unit of instruction such as a single lesson, including the knowledge and learning objects involved along with an activity, sample feedback, and an assessment.
2. Describe a flow for learning that might be associated with that instructional flow; in this case, the perspective will be how the learner might be constructing an under- standing based as he or she proceeds through the instructional sequence.
3. Indicate the difference between a descriptive theory or model (such as constructivist epistemology) and a prescriptive theory of model (such as cognitive apprenticeship).
4. In terms of developing empirical support, which kind of theory (descriptive or prescriptive) is typically more difficult to support and why?
5. Using Jonassen’s taxonomy of problems, locate where instructional design might fall and explain why.
6. Which of Gagné’s nine events of instruction might be associated with the scaffolding method in cognitive apprenticeship and how so?
7. Identify a smart learning environment and list four characteristics that one is likely to find in that environment.
