Retour à la
rubrique Actes du Congrès / Back to the
Proceedings Page
Design Principles for TelelearniNg Science
Martine Chomienne
Responsable de projets
Centre collégial de formation à distance
With the development of the "information highway" and its pedagogical potential, traditional distance education institutions that have long been operating on a correspondence base are testing the technologies to improve collaborative work among learners and between learners and tutor.
Moreover, many of these organisations are now thinking about developing courses in sciences, an area that has proved particularly difficult to implement in a distance education context. Since the mid eighties, the availability of personal computers and developments in simulation software have made possible some of the components of a science learning laboratory (notably the steps of the scientific method: observation, experimentation, measurement, etc.). However, collaborative learning and team work, important characteristics of the science learning lab as a teaching method, were still absent. Today, communications through computer networks and the Internet allow the addition of these components. Therefore, it is necessary to provide recommendations and guiding principles to help instructional designers to design and implement collaborative activities.
The main focus of the study reported here was to provide a documented basis for the development of a view of distributed collaborative science laboratory learning (DCSLL) activities. In order to do this, we first analysed different overlapping contributing areas. Second, we implemented features originating in those fields in the development of a learning scenario of a distributed collaborative science learning laboratory (DCSLL). Third, we conducted a testbed , evaluated and analysed the results. Finally, we drew implications for the development of a distributed and collaborative science learning laboratory.
Results of the pilot test led to definition of additional specifications. These new options, were used to develop a lab in electricity included in an introductory physics course and served as models to implement other labs in the course
Context of the study
A DCSLL was developed in the context of a post-secondary course offering an introduction to the scientific method for non-specialised students. This course, to be distributed over the Internet, is composed of two main sections. After a general discussion of its definition and its historical development, the scientific method is shown at work in three areas of physics : mechanics, waves and optics, and electricity. Each part presents notions, examples, exercises and a laboratory activity.
Design of the prototype
The design of the prototype drew on four contributing areas : the principles of instructional design for distance education, the definition of a science learning laboratory, the role of information and communication technology, and the characteristics of collaborative learning.
Instructional design principles for distance education. Distance education is generally characterised by the great variety of cognitive profiles and learning habits of its students, resulting in varying learning rates (Henri, 1985). To address this diversity, we developed a laboratory that begins with activities carried out by each learner individually. Activities continue with a team assignment; however, each team member may revert to his or her own workspace whenever the need arises. A variety of learning activities is always desirable, especially in distance education; therefore, the laboratory activities are varied in format and nature: going from manipulation of an electrical circuit’s elements to using a computer simulation; alternating individual and collective work environments; and spanning the full spectrum of activities from planning to implementation. Another characteristic of distance education stems from the care designers must give to teaching materials. These must be readable and comprehensible by all. Instructions for carrying out each activity must be very specific and detailed. We therefore developed laboratory protocols providing a step by step explanation of each phase of the lab experiments. In distance education, errors must also be anticipated and avoided when it is appropriate to do so. The prototype allows the occurrence of productive errors while controlling that of errors judged unproductive to the learning process. The sequence of experiments was also determined with respect to common conceptual errors that students have.
Science learning laboratories as a constructivist approach to teaching. Science learning laboratories involve practical assignments within planned learning experiences taking place in a purposely assigned environment (Lazarowitz and Tamir, 1994). This approach encourages the learners to make predictions expressing their knowledge (correct or incorrect) on the subject under study. The prototype specifies when the students must make these predictions before conducting certain experiments and then compare their predictions to the results observed during experimentation. The approach is inductive: students use the simulator and, in analysing their results, they formulate a conclusion and try to identify patterns that explain their observations.
Role of information and communications technology. Through computer networking, synchronous and asynchronous, audio, graphic and written communications are possible (Mason and Kaye, 1990). The laboratory’s learning environment includes individual communication by email, group communication through teleconferencing, and the sharing of a common screen displaying their collated results (individual conclusions, pooled data and common graphs, etc.).
Collaborative/cooperative learning. According to recent distinctions made between the two terms (Henri and Lundgren, 1997), collaborative learning, although presenting about the same characteristics as cooperative learning, is better suited to distance learners. Collaborative learning requires that students accomplish a task as a team (Slavin, 1985). It entails concepts such as positive interdependencies among learners, individual accountability, as well as sharing of information and resources.
In designing the electricity laboratory, we defined three experiments to be conducted by the learners. In each experiment, they must follow the steps of the scientific method. In the first experiment, experimentation is conducted with real artefacts and measurements are taken using real instruments. In the other two, experimentation is carried out by simulation and the measurement is computerised. Collaboration begins during the interpretation/conclusion phases in the first two experiments and during the analysis phase in the third.
Pilot Science Learning Laboratory
The prototype laboratory on basic concepts of electricity was pilot tested at CCFD with a group of three participants forming a team.
Data was gathered by the following means:
group interviews with the three participants, both before and after the pilot project;
the students’ assignments;
participant/observation by the three research team members.
Practical implications : Recommendations for the Design of a DCSLL
The results of the pilot test of the electricity DCSLL enabled us to make a number of recommendations to instructional designers wishing to develop distance science learning laboratories.
A DCSLL is a complex learning environment integrating contributions from different fields. Instructional design recommendations particular to this environment reflect the integration of the different contributing areas, and address the complexity and challenges of their design.
Provide a workspace for the individual, not just a common space for the team.
Even in collaborative learning situations where the team is the functional unit, the individual learner still retains his or her identity. An individual workspace permits each learner to proceed at his or her own pace, to confront common misconceptions individually. The common space is necessary to allow the individuals to pool their findings and work together to accomplish the learning tasks.
Conduct group formative evaluation of the learning materials with different learners to insure that the instructions and vocabulary are not only internally consistent but subject to the same interpretation.
Offer a variety of learning activities.
Hands-on activities should be included so as to respect the lab component. Learners should be able to initiate experiments in addition to following predetermined protocols. Learning activities should progress from active to symbolic, and data generated should progress from qualitative to quantitative.
Error analysis must distinguish between productive and non-productive errors so as to permit the former and block the latter.
The technology should enhance the learning experience: provide experimental opportunities otherwise unavailable, facilitate data manipulation and analysis, and support communication among team members and with the tutor.
Each learner’s contribution must be necessary but not sufficient for both the individual and the group to succeed in the learning activity.
No one student should be able to complete the learning activities individually.
The test results of the prototype’s pilot project, the Electrical Circuit Simulator, demonstrated the feasibility of a distributed collaborative science learning laboratory. However, due to the somewhat artificial setting of the pilot project, certain questions remain unanswered. Many of these may be addressed in a real delivery of the Internet-based course to clients of the CCFD.
Henri, F and Kaye, T. (1985). Le savoir à domicile. Québec: Presses de l’Université du Québec.
Henri, F., and Lundgren-Cayrol, K. (1997). Apprentissage collaboratif à distance, téléconférence et télédiscussion (Rapport interne no 3). Montréal Canada. Centre de recherche LICEF (Télé-université).
Lazarowitz, R. and Tamir, P. (1994) Research on using laboratory instruction in science, in Gabel, D.L. (editor) Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning. New York, Macmillan Publishing Co.
Mason, R., and Kaye, T. (1990). Toward a New Paradigm for Distance Education. In Harasim, L. M. (Ed.), Online Education Perspectives on a New Environment (pp. 15-38). New York: Praeger.
Slavin, R. E. (1985). Cooperative Learning Student Teams . Washington, D. C. : National Education Association.
Retour à la
rubrique Actes du Congrès / Back to the
Proceedings Page