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![Hybrid Learning Benefits
An excellent case study is at http://campustechnology.com/articles/48204
Some highlights:
• Learning how to learn for oneself is the foundational challenge of all education. In a
Hybrid Learning model students become central to their own learning processes.
• Students are free to explore, comment on, and modify the instructional content and
content they discover or create through the learning process.
• If students are provided with online material, online learning resources, and time to
reflect, interact, and produce learning objects or evidences of learning, then class time
should not resort to passive learning such as lecture.
• Students look for teacher intervention more directly in an online environment than in a
face to face environment.
• [Blogs] often helped students realize the relevancy of the course for their specific
interests, and it was often not until their learning has been summarized and synthesized
that students appreciated the learning that had taken place.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/presentation-12537943843347-phpapp03/75/Robot-Portal-6-2048.jpg)
Robot Portal
- 1. Our Vision To createa web-based knowledge network for teaching STEM concepts using robotics Web 2.0 Learning Environment Key Contributors Steve Nies Robot Portal Founder Chief Architect Profound Learning System Tom Rudmik Masters Academy Headmaster Profound Learning Inc Founder Dr. Andy Rudmik Geenius CTO Emma Alaba Computer Learning Center
- 2. Agenda • Introduction • Benefits& Challenges of Robotics for STEM Education • Our Approach – A Blended Learning Environment – Educational Issues; Bloom’s Taxonomy; Constructivism – Enhancing Project-based Learning Through Knowledge Retention • Robot Portal – Web-based Social Networking and Collaboration Environment – Learning Management System; Knowledge Retention System (patented) • Case Study Results; Lessons Learned; Ongoing Research • An Announcement ...
- 3. Robots are excellentfor teaching STEM • Teaching with robots provides an exciting way to interest and motivate students – Hands-on projects provide concrete applications of abstract concepts – Students discover how education can help them accomplish tasks in the real world; relevant “It’s not what you know that counts, but what you can do with what you know” • Building robots provides a strong motivation to learn – Students look forward to working on their projects, often spending hours of additional personal time – Students are proud of their creations and accomplishments; increased self-esteem • Develops strong engineering skills – Difference between theory and “real-world”, tradeoffs
- 4. Challenges • Logistics – Meetingtime is limited (busy schedules, facility limited availability) – Distance to school, transportation issues limit who can participate • Difficulty in assessing student’s actual learning progress – Does the student have the knowledge to participate effectively? – To what degree does the student grasp the underlying STEM concepts? – Where are the knowledge gaps? – How does an instructor know when individual remediation is necessary? • Stakeholder perception management – Legos perceived as “playing with toys” – Building a robot is fun but is my son/daughter learning anything useful? – What is the return on my $$ investment? • Accountability – What is my son/daughter learning? How will this help him/her in school? • Knowledge silos – How to share lessons learned and insights across school districts?
- 5. Our Approach –Hybrid Learning Web-based instruction combined with project-based application 1) Curriculum is segmented into bite-sized learning sessions 2) For each session student first studies the relevant STEM concepts on the web – Study time is flexible to accommodate students schedule – Performs online reinforcement (not a test) to see if ready for hands-on labs and to improve knowledge retention 3) Student then meets with teammates and instructor to apply lesson knowledge 4) Online forums used to share ideas, resolve problems, and post achievements
- 6. Hybrid Learning Benefits Anexcellent case study is at http://campustechnology.com/articles/48204 Some highlights: • Learning how to learn for oneself is the foundational challenge of all education. In a Hybrid Learning model students become central to their own learning processes. • Students are free to explore, comment on, and modify the instructional content and content they discover or create through the learning process. • If students are provided with online material, online learning resources, and time to reflect, interact, and produce learning objects or evidences of learning, then class time should not resort to passive learning such as lecture. • Students look for teacher intervention more directly in an online environment than in a face to face environment. • [Blogs] often helped students realize the relevancy of the course for their specific interests, and it was often not until their learning has been summarized and synthesized that students appreciated the learning that had taken place.
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- 8. Memory Loss The phenomenonof forgetting was studied by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885. He showed that we forget about 75% of what we learn after 48 hours! This model was validated later by Pimsleur 1967; Bahrick 1975 and 1984; Bloom et al. 1981.
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- 11. Dilemma of Education “Youcan only apply what you know”
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- 13. Robot Portal –Platform for Effective Hybrid Learning Our Mission: To provide a network of robot-related communities where robot enthusiasts can interact, learn together, and develop a shared collection of resources
- 14. Robot Portal Timeline •Started as an independent project four years ago – Original emphasis was a portal to robot resources on the web – Evolved over time into a full-fledged online community • Acquired by Profound Learning Systems in the summer of 2007 • Early adopters include Computer Learning Center, Ted Kosan – Used by CLC for robotics summer camps and mastery program • Azalea, Safety Harbor, and Belleair Recreation Centers • Roberts Adult Center • Blessed Sacrament Elementary School • Also being used by various commercial companies and governments – e.g., Boeing, Navigators, Singapore Government 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
- 15. Robot Portal KeyComponents • Lesson delivery system – Includes the patented Advanced Knowledge Retention (AKR) system • Collaboration environment – Discussion forums combining Instant Messaging with asynchronous discussions – Online articles; wikis; blogs – Social bookmarking – Photo Albums • Reporting system – Provides accountability to various stakeholders (e.g. teachers, parents). – Reduces stress by helping students self-assess strengths and weaknesses. • Course content authoring environment – Easy to use; does not require knowledge of web technologies (e.g., HTML) – Lessons can include any type of media supported by the web – Created lessons are fully SCORM compliant • Processes for designing effective learning experiences
- 16. Lesson Delivery /Knowledge Retention
- 17. Collaborative Learning • Studentteams undertaking a particular task can use the Robot Portal as means to capture and transfer their learning to other students • In this model the student is both the learner and the expert. • The students are true knowledge workers, they are creating high valued knowledge which in turn are shared with others. • This creation process elevates the students understanding and sense of accomplishment
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- 19. Teacher Empowerment: ContentCreation PLWriter: Content authoring • Simple WYSWYG web-based content creation and publishing with familiar editing tools • Minimal expertise required for teachers or students • Accepts all forms of standard web media (flash, graphics, movies etc.) • Defines course flow, lesson structure, subjects, key learning points, exam questions and assessments
- 20. One Site –Multiple Learning Communities The Robot Portal supports multiple communities (aka groups) each with its own unique web address. Each community includes all robot portal features; content however is viewable only by community members. Communities can be created so that either 1) viewer self-enrolls, or 2) group moderator invites viewer to participate. Lego Robotics (lego.robotportal.net) Vex Robotics (vex.robotportal.net) Palm Harbor School Types of Communities – Learning Communities – Communities of Practice – Special Projects – Social Networking – Lesson Authoring – Administration Membership Models – Join – Apply – Private – Buy (eCommerce)
- 21. • Designing aLearning Experience (aka Course) is a non-trivial effort, including: – Lesson content – Projects and staging of assignments – Scaffolding – Instructor guides • Once a course is designed it can be used as a template to roll out an unlimited number of learning communities – Scheduled at different times – Can create a large number of small project teams each with a consistent structure and approach; scalability “Design once - use often” Learning Community Templates
- 22. Performance: Student ProgressReports • During lesson study students self-assesses learning progress • Each day system automatically adjusts to help with problem areas • Daily feedback greatly reduces fear of tests; fear of failure • Feedback provides opportunities for early remediation Key Point Review Self-Assessment
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- 24. Community Participation • Instructorscan quickly determine students’ level of participation • Chart provides early indicators of students who may need coaching
- 25. Robot Portal /PLSystem Case Studies • Phase I – Validate the PLSystem Learning Retention methodology and toolset – University of Calgary – International Oil & Gas Company – Grade 5 Physics class • Phase II – Limited pilot deployments – Florida Institute of Technology – Ted Kosan Pilot – Computer Learning Center summer robot camps and after-school program
- 26. Retention more than doubled! Phase I- University of Calgary Study
- 27. University of CalgaryStudy (cont) “Clearly, the group of learners using the PLSystem® showed a more consistent performance after their training than before. This was in significant contrast with the results of the other groups of learners using another commercially available training system. An individual comparison of testing session shows a marked improvement 60 days after the actual training using the PLSystem®“ Dr. Larry Katz, PhD University of Calgary
- 28. Phase I -Second Case Study International Oil & Gas Company Software training with a complex geophysical application 92% retention after 60 days; 600% increase! Expert Group Intermediate Group Novice Group
- 29. PLS was agreat source of learning. The PLS system was awesome they emailed you if you were not practicing the unit. Also it told you if need to work on it or not. It also told the teacher how you are doing. Grade 5 student #3 PLS was a great source of learning. The PLS system was awesome they emailed you if you were not practicing the unit. Also it told you if need to work on it or not. It also told the teacher how you are doing. Grade 5 student #3 Personally, PLS is the best way tostudy for any subject. Normally whenI go to study it takes quite a while toget the information to your mind andfor it to actually stay there. But as forPLS, not only do I know the contentbut also it is actually in my long-termmemory! This is an amazing program,in which you get to use the computerto study, which is awesome when youdon’t want to study the boring way.This is an absolutely dream-come-truefor those of us who suffer fromstudying ALL the time. Grade 5 student #8 Personally, PLS is the best way tostudy for any subject. Normally whenI go to study it takes quite a while toget the information to your mind andfor it to actually stay there. But as forPLS, not only do I know the contentbut also it is actually in my long-termmemory! This is an amazing program,in which you get to use the computerto study, which is awesome when youdon’t want to study the boring way.This is an absolutely dream-come-truefor those of us who suffer fromstudying ALL the time. Grade 5 student #8 Phase I Third Case Study – Grade 5 Pilot Results: • Teacher developed grade 5 electricity unit content on her own • The PLSystem was used as the primary means of teaching the unit’s content • Student’s were not allowed to study for the test • 91% class average with over half the questions focusing on higher order thinking and application • Very high student engagement with learning • Time compression: teacher was able to introduce a DVD movie project on electricity since core curriculum was covered in less time with a higher level of achievement
- 30. Phase II –Pilot Deployments • Florida Institute of Technology – Web Application Technologies – Project-based class – Required knowledge delivered via online learning – Class time spent on project requirements, design – Top student showed Google his project – got a job offer! • Ted Kosan: Basic Computers and Electronics Course – Goal: Teach foundational concepts of how computers work at the hardware level – Eight week course – Lesson only; no hands-on application • Computer Learning Center – Summer camps: Week-long introductory robotics courses – After school program – Primarily project-based learning
- 31. Lessons Learned • Validatedlesson and retention methodology; community collaboration effectiveness – Tools are capable of supporting many learning styles, yet adoption has been slow – Investigation revealed that schools don’t have time/resources to create their own content and processes; inertia • Current instructional content tends to favor either lesson-centric or project-centric learning – Content for hybrid-learning style of instruction has unique requirements • Lesson size, style, organization • Processes for scaffolding, remediation • Group dynamics, motivation • Lesson feedback and improvement; student-generated content • Extra effort required for establishing stakeholder buy-in – Training in conceptual models, processes, benefits
- 32. Ongoing Research • SocialDynamics of Hybrid Learning – How to motivate students to first study the lesson before coming to lab? • Team spirit; peer pressure • Competition – internal and external; not everyone makes the team • Encourage class members to advertise their accomplishments • Educational mindset – How to design instruction & labs so that students take ownership of their own learning? • Change perception of instructor from lecturer to facilitator – What are key rubrics for progress assessment, early remediation, and accountability? • Reduce stress level by changing perceptions of tests • Instructional design – How to encourage a balance between instructional content and application? – How to design effective scaffolding? – What concepts can be automated? – What is a process for encouraging student-generated lessons?
- 33. We are excitedto announce ... Geenius contributions: • IT resources for community online hosting • PERPETUAL FREE USE of the Geenius Learning Management System and Methodology – Online lesson delivery; Knowledge retention system – Robot Portal community collaboration and social networking system – Web-based content authoring system – The patented PLSystem content development methodology • Online resources for promoting hybrid-learning teaching styles (templates, processes) ... the formation of an online community for development of open-source robotics curriculum based on a hybrid-learning model. Our goals: – To realize a vibrant open-source community for development and sharing of effective STEM courses based on robotics – To create an online economy for creators of premium content to sell their robot related services, products, and lessons online
- 34. Come Work WithUs! • We are extending an invitation for educators and instructional designers to work with us in the Open Robotics Courseware project. Our goals: – To work together to create the next generation of robotics-based STEM courseware as effective learning experiences, – Help organizations create and develop their own web-based hybrid learning communities, – Share best practices for applying hybrid learning principles in a project-based learning environment, – Establish effective scaffolding guidelines for students to take charge of their learning while ensuring success, – Create innovative techniques for incorporating student-generated feedback for continuous course improvement, and – Provide an ability for entrepreneurs to create premium courseware for sale and distribution.
- 35. Thank You (This presentationis available online at http://www.robotportal.net).
Editor's Notes
- #2 I would like to present our experiences with limited deployments we’ve done thus far and our plans for the future.
- #3 Constructivism. A theoretical perspective that proposes that learners construct a body of knowledge from their experiences - knowledge that may or may not be an accurate representation of external reality. Constructivism sees learning as a dynamic process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts on their current/past knowledge and in response to the instructional situation. Constructivism implies the notion that learners do not passively absorb information but construct it themselves.
- #4 physics (mechanical advantage, levers, torque), math (gear ratios, time/distance computations), technology (computers, electronics), engineering (critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork) Students learn – not just to get a grade – but to accomplish a particular task Anecdote: When I was a young boy Dad would take me out to the Air Force base and let me interact with the radars. I was fascinated! He would then tell me that if I want to do this for a living that I would need to study hard and learn math and physical sciences. Later Dad bought me electronic construction sets where I would build simple projects such as transistor radios. This “project-based learning” at an early age helped prepare me for studying electronics and computer science in college. Projects facilitate communication between parents and students Students are anxious to show parents the robots that they created and how they work Provides a bridge to talk about other life issues Facilitates learning key life skills How to develop a plan and then execute it; feedback; refinement Working together as a team; compromise Competition
- #5 Busy schedules - given the various demands on free time for both teachers and students it is often difficult to carve out a common time for everyone to meet face-to-face. If a common meeting time can be found it is often just an hour or two per week. Such a short time period makes it difficult to both teach lessons as well as apply the lessons to actually build robots. Distance to school - Students who commute to school from far distances may not be able to fully participate due to transportation issues. Perception: Legos are actually an easy to assemble rapid prototyping environment. Concepts learned can be applied to more sophisticated robots. Knowledge silos - Classroom-based programs tend to form "soft boundaries" that inhibit the transfer of knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned across school districts. Schools typically have small class sizes. That small of size limits depth to solve problem. If kids have problem to solve, if student can see other schools to draw upon. By kids doing this on web kids can share ideas Anecdote: in software development when run across problem go to google; someone else somewhere has had similar problem and posted solution(s). USE GOOGLE AS EXAMPLE The challenges listed above all have one characteristic in common - the requirement that students and teachers meet at the same time and at a common location for classroom-based learning. However, given the surge of interest in Web 2.0 collaborative and online community-based applications, school districts now have powerful new tools for establishing web-based hybrid learning programs.
- #6 The PLSystem is designed to link learning mastery with skill and application development. During the instructional design phase, the teacher can determine what level of knowledge mastery is prerequisite for a particular application assignment. This can range from no prior knowledge to a rather extensive mastery of a knowledge base. The goal is to bring students to a high level of success, which fuels their intrinsic motivation to learn. Combining learning mastery with skill development is what sets our approach apart from most online learning systems.
- #8 We all understand the significance of higher order thinking in education. Regurgitation of facts is hardly deemed to be worthwhile outcome. The PLSystem enables a student to effectively handle higher order problems and application because of the requisite knowledge base they possess. If a student’s knowledge base is small, their ability to apply higher order thinking is greatly limited. By increasing the retained knowledge base the learner has increased their capacity for higher order thinking. The PLSystem's ability to transfer a knowledge base at a very high level enables a person to engage in higher order thinking more effectively. The ability to apply knowledge to a new situation, or solve a problem, is greatly enhanced by having sufficient knowledge to draw upon. Combining or making novel connections with your prior knowledge creates new knowledge. The PLSystem enhances higher order thinking skills by ensuring the lower end of Bloom's taxonomy (comprehension and understanding) is effectively accomplished.
- #9 PLSystem is based on proven brain research. Researchers have demonstrated that the brain forgets 75% of the little that is retained in the first 48 hours.
- #10 Immediate Memory (Operates both consciously and sub-consciously and holds data up to 30 seconds) Working Memory (Operates at the conscious level. It can handle a few items at one for a limited time depending on age (5-20 minutes)) Long-term memory (process of storing and retrieving information)
- #11 All new learning moves through a filter of past experiences which is more of an emotional filter that is linked to previous success or failure. Once through this filter the brain attempts to make meaning of this new learning by searching its long-term memory for prior knowledge that associated with the new learning. Prior knowledge and new learning is combined to form new knowledge. The problem at this moment is that the natural function of the brain is to store very little of this new knowledge into long-term memory. The brain is a pattern producing mechanism and long-term memory is elicited primarily by creating patterns. Because the majority of new learning is not stored, gaps are created for future learning. The nature of these gaps begin to formulate the learners image of themselves as a learner which helps to create the initial filter. The PLSystem was designed to solve this problem! • Step 1: All new learning moves through a filter of past experiences, which is more of an emotional filter that is linked to previous success or failure. • Step 2: Once through this filter the brain attempts to make meaning of this new learning by searching its long-term memory for prior knowledge that is associated with the new learning. Prior knowledge and new learning is combined to form new knowledge. • Step 3: The problem at this moment is that the natural function of the brain is to store very little of this new knowledge into long-term memory. New knowledge is anchored into long-term memory primarily through two mechanism. The first is through emotional trauma, most everyone can remember where they were when they heard that JFK was assassinated. The second mechanism is using rehearsal, which results in the creation of neurological pathways. The second approach is what PLS has patented to produce the high level of knowledge retention. • The brain is a pattern producing mechanism and long-term memory is elicited primarily by creating patterns. • Because the majority of new learning is not stored (step 4), gaps are created in prior knowledge causing a severe hindrance to all future learning. Emotionally speaking, these gaps or failures to retain prior knowledge frustrate the learner and through reoccurrence form a negative self image in the learner draining their belief that they even can learn. By changing the overall effectiveness and thus the emotional experience of the learning process our system reinforces a positive learner image and accelerates the learner’s belief through actual experience into a hunger and passion for new knowledge.
- #12 Through a patented reinforcement process which is adapted to every individual learner, the PLSystem is able to transfer over 90% of the essential knowledge of the new learning into long-term memory. This results in a dramatic reduction in the gaps in learning thus enabling more connections to be made with new learning. The overall effect is the acceleration of learning and a more positive self image.
- #13 The PLSystem's patented adaptive review process customizes the interval between reviews to optimize learning performance resulting in 90%+ retention rate. Research has shown that we can alter the slope of the forgetting curve through this process, to the point that it is stored permanently into long-term memory.
- #14 Education Builder clubs Regional robot clubs Task-oriented robots Advanced engineering topics Robot-related research Portal to robot-related resources world-wide Communal bookmarks of web-based robot resources Continuously monitored to automatically locate new and updated information Comprehensive list of robot product vendors Members rank vendors according to their experiences
- #17 At Master’s one of their grade 5 teachers created an entire electricity course using the PLWriter.
- #18 With older students, in high school and university, there are times when they are placed into collaborative problem-solving teams. This problem based learning model is being deployed by many MBA programs in the USA. Using the PLSystem these teams will be able to author high valued knowledge objects that can be shared with other teams. Knowledge creation, dissemination and transfer is an important 21st century skill that many organizations need to have if they wish to survive the rate of change that is happening in our world today.
- #19 In addition, to it’s core learning platform, PLS has developed a powerful community environment that further enhances the learning and knowledge creation experience. This capability will enable knowledge assets, such as best practices, to be created in a collaborative environment which over time can be harvested and matured into Learning Objects. Lessons – Extensive support for learning communities Guidance: step-by-step instructions with text and graphics Instruction: brief courses teaching a particular robotics topic Structured Learning: advanced courses using PLS’s patented retention technologies Specialty Communities – Subgroups with a particular focus Discussions – both real-time (instant messaging) and asynchronous (BBS) Blogs News Albums – Named collections of files and/or photos, slideshows Articles – Any file type (word, html, pdf, mind-maps) HTML articles can be edited online by multiple authors ala Wikis Websites – Continuously monitored to detect new/updated information Quickly browse using built-in RSS feed reader Vendors – A repository of robot product vendors around the world Members – Find out who is online, what their interests are, etc. Assignments – Create student assignments, collect submissions Editable home page – arbitrary content created by the community owner
- #20 PLS has develop a user friendly authoring tool that enables teachers and instructional designers to easily develop learning content for the PLSystem.
- #21 A key purpose of the Main community is to advertise the existence of the other groups; describe each group’s purpose, goals, showcase highlights, etc. Summaries of each class, goals, approach, knowledge level, and prerequisites can be published in the Main community. Student selects desired class and self-enrolls. A key advantage is that each class’s content “level” is commensurate with the knowledge level of class members. Assuming a progression of courses from beginner through intermediate to advanced, one possible organization is to create one community per class. Each community has full access to all robot portal capabilities; class content is viewable only by class members. A key advantage is that each class’s content “level” is commensurate with the knowledge level of class members.
- #27 Early independent studies validated our claim. This particular study showed that we can improve long-term memory by over 100%. Results would have been much higher had we not started with a 65% prior knowledge.
- #28 In addition to more than doubling the increase in learning retention in our UofC study, the PLS group had a significant reduction in the standard deviation, after 60 days (from 7.02 to 2.82). This finding showed that the PLSystem® elevated learning performance to a uniform high level of knowledge retention. This convergence of performance at a high level proves that we can alter the variation curve for learning.
- #29 An international oil company discovered that their software tool for geophysical analysis was not being used due to the staff's lack of competency with this product. Working with PLS, the company designed an experiment to validate that the PLSystem Adaptive Knowledge Retention System (AKR), would dramatically increase the staff's learning retention rate of the software tool. As the result of pre-testing, PLS set up three groups based on the staff's knowledge of the tool: Little to no knowledge (green) A fair working knowledge (gold) A good working knowledge (brown) An assessment was conducted: Before the training began After the completion of the course with 30 days of review (graph showed a convergence of all groups to over 80% retention) 60 days out, the groups realized over 90% long term retention One group did not continue with the review process (AKR) after the second assessment (30 days) resulting in a significant decline in retention in the 3rd assessment (60 days). This study demonstrates the power and the value of the PLSystem to create and sustain high levels of knowledge retention. Feedback from study "I would definitely say that the retention piece and the easy and convenient access made my course a success. I have no hesitation in recommending the PLSystem for course delivery and retention." "Would recommend the use of the system ABSOLUTELY!" "Liked the pedagogy (took a general degree in Culture and Communications)" "Have had training in 5 courses - the PLSystem was the best!"
- #30 The results of our grade 5 electricity pilot were extraordinary. Students were able to learn the core content very rapidly using the PLSystem, freeing up time for them to be engaged in a class project, which was to create a movie on electricity. The class average on the test at the end of this unit was 91%, with over half the questions focusing on higher order thinking and application. The unique twist was that the students were not allowed to study before the test, in other words we were testing their retained knowledge and their understanding of that knowledge , not what they crammed the night before.
- #33 Competition is to also prepare students for life. Perception of Tests Masters anecdote: Student: “You said that the test was going to be hard but it was really easy”; Teacher: “No the test was really hard – you just knew the material!”