Scenario Based Learning Workshop
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A brief view of the Scenario Based Learning and Computational Thinking model of developing lessons created in partnership with a number of universities during the ASSECT NSF grant.
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Scenario Based Learning Workshop
- 1. SCENARIO-BASED LEARNING Interactivity, Collaboration, and Problem-Solving
- 2. OBJECTIVES • Explain the concepts of Computational Thinking and Scenario Based Learning as powerful tools for supporting authentic student learning • Compare and contrast case studies and problem-based learning activities with the scenario-based learning model • Use rubrics and models that can help instructors create more engaging collaborative learning experiences • Demonstrate how teachers and outside agencies can work together to bolster important critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students • Share the research produced from the “ASSECT” NSF grant, including a Google Sites template and Computational Thinking rubric
- 3. WHAT THE HECK DOES SCENARIO- BASED LEARNING MEAN? • Originally developed from an NSF grant project (ASSECT: Advancing the Successful IT Student Through Enhanced Computational Thinking) • Colleague partners included: Chuck Winer, Jennifer Cruse, Gina Rue • Partnership of universities in five regions around the country • Marriage of Jeanette Wing’s Computational Thinking (CT) with a framework for building instructional elements • Focus on Scenario-Based Learning (SBL) combined with CT to help teachers (K-12 and college) deliver engaging lessons that help students develop important critical thinking skills within authentic career-oriented situations
- 4. WAIT… COMPUTATIONAL THINKING? • It’s not quite what it sounds like, and it’s definitely not just for STEM areas – applies to any field of study • Computational thinking is a problem-solving process • Helps students deal with complexity and real-world situations • A method of using available tools, including technology, in logical ways to solve problems and answer questions • Explanatory video from the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFcUgSYyRPg&feature=youtu.be • Jeanette Wing’s description: http://youtu.be/C2Pq4N-iE4I
- 5. CHARACTERISTICS OF SBL LESSONS • Exact problem details may not be provided; instead, students define at least part of the problem • There is not necessarily a “right” answer • Solutions to get to an answer that works may be very different from student to student • Often done in teams, but can be individual • Teacher serves as a facilitator and co-learner • Project involves real-world outside experts and situations
- 6. EXAMPLE, READY-TO-USE SCENARIOS • Our list research-based scenarios can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/workshopctandsblresourcesite/sharing-our-research- experience • Experiential Learning Center: http://learnpbl.com • Computer Science Teachers Association: http://csta.acm.org/Resources/sub/ResourceFiles/CompThinking.pdf • Examples from Ross Smith, a teacher trained in our workshops: • http://whoreallydiscoveredamerica.weebly.com • https://sites.google.com/a/hammondacademy.org/middle-ages-project/ • https://sites.google.com/a/hammondacademy.org/standard-of-living2/
- 7. THE CT RUBRIC • Helps to assess computational thinking skills, including logical thinking, strategizing, abstract thinking, procedural thinking, and optimizing • Excellent for all types of activities where you would like to assess critical thinking, but can’t quite come up with a reasonable rubric • This rubric can be used as developmental, or summative – apply point values as appropriate • All areas do not have to be assessed every time – modify as needed • https://sites.google.com/site/workshopctandsblresourcesite/computational- thinking-rubric
- 8. THE RUBRIC (SHORT VERSION)
- 9. A SCENARIO-BUILDING TEMPLATE • Workshop link with context and other information: https://sites.google.com/site/workshopctandsblresourcesite • Google Sites Scenario-building template: https://sites.google.com/site/assectworkshop/home • Certainly, this is not the only way to create a scenario, but the template is easy to fill in • Create your site and look for “SBL” in the template gallery: http://sites.google.com • Our PNC accounts are already Google accounts, so you can log in with your PNC email or use a personal Gmail account
- 10. LET’S EXAMINE SOME SCENARIOS • What are you doing in your class – or wish to do – that is real-world or practice- based (i.e., case studies, team projects, etc)? • What is missing that you might wish to add or change about this activity? • Does bringing in outside experts (even other faculty members) make sense for this course? • What are your concerns about assessing student learning or performance?
- 11. SUPPLEMENTAL TOOLS • Create your scenario instructional materials: • Google Sites • SoftChalk (30 day trial available) • PowerPoint, MS Office documents • Weebly • Blendspace • Camtasia or Video Express (for video introductions, lectures, supplements) • For students to present and work together: • PowerPoint/MS Office • Social Media • Jing or Screencast-o-Matic (for students to create videos for free) • Google Drive/Docs, Trello, Evernote, NowComment for collaboration
- 12. THANKS! Reach us: • TECH 206 and 298 • 219-785-5734 • pncolt@pnc.edu • Twitter and Facebook: @PNCOLT • http://www.pnc.edu/distance for all workshop notes, links, and training needs
Editor's Notes
- Welcome to Scenario-Based Learning, a workshop about a model for interactivity, collaboration, and problem-solving in your classroom.
- Our objectives will look at explaining computational thinking and scenario-based learning as tools supporting critical thinking and authentic learning. You may already be doing many of these things; the SBL model will simply provide you with additional tools and assessment strategies that may help you improve lessons you’re working on currently. This workshop came from research done during an NSF grant project called “ASSECT: Advancing the Successful IT Student Through Enhanced Computational Thinking.” While the project originally concentrated on projects in computer science and information technology, this model can be applied anywhere and has been used successfully with teachers in every discipline.
- The original NSF grant project involved universities around the country, including Purdue Calumet, and ended in 2014. Professor Chuck Winer, retired chair of the department of Computer Graphics and Information Technology at Purdue Calumet, was among the primary investigators, and myself, adjunct professor Jennifer Cruse and Ivy Tech former dean Gina Rue worked with him in delivering a number of 2-day SBL workshops for K-12 teachers in our community. Scenario-Based Learning in the ASSECT grant involves computational thinking as a framework for building instructional elements, which involves critical thinking and research using technology as a key tool.
- CT is not just about computing, but about thinking through problem-solving processes in systematic ways, using a mixture of tools, including technology, to answer questions and come up with solutions. Every student benefits from computational thinking, not just students in computer science. It helps them deal with complexity and real-world situations more readily, and helps them work through the problems that come up in their disciplines with greater confidence. Many people liken computational thinking to critical thinking, and that is indeed part of it. The difference is that students are encouraged to use technology as part of their problem-solving methods, when it is appropriate and where it makes sense. Of course, this is not advocating that all problems have technological solutions. However, students can use the Internet for research, to interview people, to write out plans, and come up with ways to present solutions. The videos on this slide are useful discussions of how CT really works and applies to learning. The ISTE video is brief and a good overview, while Jeanette Wing’s video is an in-depth presentation of her own research.
- SBL lessons are similar to project-based learning, a term that you might have heard before. There are some differences, however. In SBL, there is often not a right answer, and the exact problem details may not be fully provided. In SBL, students are usually asked to at least partially define the actual problem to be solved. The ways that one can arrive at the solution also vary greatly, and may be different from student to student or team to team. Often, these projects are completed in groups, but this is not necessary depending on the type of project and the scope – while many projects are long-term lasting several weeks or even whole semesters, others could last just a short period of time depending on the parameters you wish to define. The teacher in an SBL lesson typically serves as a facilitator, sometimes as a co-learner, and sometimes as a subject-matter expert, but most SBL projects also involve an outside expert, such as a guest speaker or another faculty member, who helps students define the problem and answers their questions. An example is one I will share from a 9th grade English classroom. The teacher worked with an executive from Caterpillar (heavy equipment manufacturer) to have students come up with a solution to a marketing problem that Caterpillar was currently facing. They wanted ideas on how to sell their products to new markets, and how to do so within a reasonable budget. Students had to not only write, but they also had to do some math and consider aspects of business as well in order to be successful. Each team researched multiple strategies and eventually came up with their own marketing plan to present to the executive, who took each one into consideration and even brought some of them back to the company for further review. Did every student group have a similar plan? No, some were wildly different from the others, as each group took their own spin on the marketing ideas. One group even developed a strategy that involved “small time” tactics such as holding bake sales to support the budget, which might not have been something the company would consider doing, but it wasn’t a “wrong” idea, either. Assessment in this case should be based on how students arrived at their answers, not necessarily the substance of the answers themselves.
- Here are some examples and a link to the research website we used to conduct our 2-day workshops. There is a great deal of information here, and many good ideas that you may wish to consider adapting for your own classroom.
- The computational thinking rubric developed in our research is designed to be flexible and used in a variety of ways. You can use it to assess point values and grades, or just as a reference. You can use part of the rubric or all of it. It can be considered developmental, where students are not expected to achieve the highest levels in the rubric, or it can be used as a summative, or final, tool for evaluation on learning and performance. Click the link to review the rubric in more detail.
- There is a short and a longer version of the rubric available. This shortened version provides the basic measures and five of the six criteria, leaving off “iterative refinement.” This final criteria looks at students being able to look at a project or solution, re-evaluate, and modify as needed. Depending on the scope of your project, there may not be time or the ability to evaluate this, so it can be left off. In fact, each area of the rubric may be seen individually, and it may be that you will not be evaluating some of the criteria in any given project. In other cases, you may be evaluating all of them, or may be placing greater emphasis on some versus others. The idea is that this rubric can be applied to any discipline and can be used to measure those valuable critical thinking skills that every discipline wants to see grow in their students.
- The website we developed also has a template that you can use. It is built in Google Sites, which is a free part of your Google account that allows you to create relatively easy websites that you can share with students. There are certainly many other ways to create a website, and the basics of the template can be applied in any of those just as easily. Our PNC accounts act as Google accounts, so if you have not tried it, you can log in to sites.google.com with your PNC email address and password and get connected.
- Let’s discuss! What are you doing in your class, or wish to do, with regard to real-world learning and critical thinking? What is missing in your class now that you’d like to change? Do you have the need or means to bring in outside experts, or would you like help with this? What issues do you have with assessing student learning in your classroom now that you’d like to address?
- Creating a scenario can be done in any way you like – you can even use Microsoft Office like Word or PowerPoint if that works best for you. But if you prefer, you can try other tools as well, such as Google Sites, SoftChalk (a 30-day trial is available and the links you create remain even if your trial expires), Weebly, Blendspace, or even create a lecture version with Camtasia or Video Express. For students to work together, consider encouraging a variety of tools, including social media, basic MS Office tools, or even have them present through their own screencasting like Jing or Screencast-o-Matic, or share documents, comments, and work flowcharts with tools like Google Drive, Trello, Evernote, and NowComment.
- Remember, we have many resources available to you to help you through your course design process. We’re just a call or an email away, or stop by and see us in TECH 206.