Helping Scientists Engage the Next Generation Through Learning Technologies

We all know that our world needs many more students to learn science much more deeply. And many of us believe that technology will inevitably be part of the solution. Beyond these agreements, however, we often face a confusing array of claims about HOW technology could improve learning: make learning fun; teach students through games; personalize learning objects; allow anyplace/anytime instruction; use iPads for anything; blog this, twitter that, and facebook in your free time, etc. Scientists who make the commitment to dedicate time to education deserve the advantage of a stronger knowledge base than this.

In this talk, I will review the fundamental discoveries that have accrued in the learning sciences over the past 20-30 years, in a condensed, high level form that is eminently usable in teaching practices. These validate none of the confusing claims listed above, and yet give a very practical set of guidelines that scientists can incorporate into their teaching. For example, technology provides new forms of dynamic representation that can lead to developing student's conceptual understanding. Social technologies can enable and enhance peer collaboration which supports student's engagement in scientific explanation and argumentation practices. Interactive technologies can enable formative assessment, giving students rapid feedback and enabling teachers to adapt to their students' needs. And video technologies can help teachers to focus on student thinking, shifting from delivering content to helping students build robust knowledge. Underlying all of this is my conviction that to advance student learning, we have to be clear about the object of education design. It's not learning objects, lessons plans, cool technologies, or wonderful demonstrations. The object must be the design of activities that engage students in exploring, thinking, expressing, and explaining the world using progressively more powerful models.

Speaker: Jeremy Roschelle, SRI International, Menlo Park CA

Auditorium.