A Four Phase Instructional Model

In general, the instructional strategy proposed in the previous section is based on constructivism. Constructivism is not merely a learning theory, but a whole philosophy.

Unfortunately, practical constructivist instructional systems are, as Dick (1991) points out, costly to develop and require technology to implement. To cope with the technology and educational environments, the proposed instructional model needs to include techniques based on cognitive and behaviourist learning theories.

In line with the cognitive apprenticeship instructional paradigm devised by Collins et al

(1990), an instructional framework called Four-Phase Scaffolding Instructional Model (FoPSI) is proposed in this research. Their original model is highly suitable for learning complex procedural tasks, and contains six aspects: modelling, scaffolding and fading,

Pre-conditioning, Modelling, Building, and Exploration.

5.4.1 The Four-Phases of FoPSI model

The learning material in the proposed system (for Phase I) is organized as a collection of concepts in a hierarchical order (see Section 5.5). For each concept, the FoPSI model encourages the learner to go through four phases: Pre-Conditioning, Modelling, Building, and Exploring. Learners are given facilities in the last two phases to reflect on their learning process and also to articulate their learning progress, possibly with peers and mentors.

Pre-Conditioning:

The pre-conditioning phase is not included in the original (Collin et al’s) model.

Constructivist learning theory suggests that learning will be effective if the learner is in a state of cognitive readiness, that is, their past relevant knowledge is activated and their cognition is conditioned so that they will be able to build new knowledge based on their past knowledge. In particular, this phase is included explicitly in the FoPSI model as the knowledge in pre-requisite disciplines is essential for the instructional techniques discussed earlier. For example, before presenting learning materials relevant to an Object- Z concept, the learning materials related to the corresponding object oriented concepts and UML notations will be introduced to the learner.

Modelling

The Modelling phase in the proposed approach is equivalent to the original phase ‘modelling’ in the original work. The learning materials relevant to the current domain (e.g. Object-Z) are presented. The learner may examine some worked examples. Suitable illustrations will be provided with examples to enable the learner to abstract the relevant knowledge from the given context. In this stage, the learner develops the general idea about the learning domain based on pre-requisite disciplines. For example, at the end of this phase, if suitable support is given in UML form, the learner will be able to create relevant Object-Z specifications.

Building

The Building phase is the most important part of FoPSI. The related aspects in the original model are scaffolding and fading. Scaffolding is normally used in CBL systems for learning complex procedural tasks; here it is used for learning conceptual knowledge. As explained before, initially, learners are given help with the abstraction process. For example, UML diagrams will be provided to supplement textual descriptions. Gradually, the UML diagrams are withdrawn and learners are encouraged to perform abstractions on their own and represent those using mathematical notations. Eventually, the learner will be able to create Object-Z specifications from textual descriptions alone.

For each concept, a series of scaffolding levels are designed with decreasing levels of UML support. For each scaffolding level, a set of problems are included for assessment. The system will provide a suitable environment for active learning by engaging the learners in constructing Object-Z models from given UML constructs. Feedback will address potential misconceptions and is carefully designed to support the scaffolding process further. The learners may compare an Object-Z specification to related Java code. They may test it and feel the impact of their specification on the final program. Learners build their own understanding of the topic by solving increasingly challenging problems.

Exploration:

The Exploration phase in FoPSI is more intensive than that of the Collin’s original model. As Collins et al put it, “teachers need to encourage students to explore questions teachers cannot answer, to challenge solutions the “experts” have found- in short to allow the role of expert and student to be transformed” (Collins et al. 1990, p. 490). FoPSI encourages

learners to go beyond that. Learners are encouraged and empowered to critically analyse and challenge what they have learned so far and to learn more through other means (e.g. web, email etc) This phase will be mainly carried out through independent exploration and discussions (with peers, mentor and other relevant sources).

Research in cognitive science has proposed several learning theories that stress exploration, which basically refers to the processes of finding multiple positive evidence for some recently learned items. By this process, the learner’s cognitive search paths will

Learn er R ef inem ent Un it Mento r Mod el Learner Model Domain Model Data flow

Figure 5.1 Architecture of LOZ

Interface for intelligent Learning Environment

Control flow

rejected instantly without being analysed. What is proposed for exploration in this research is considerably different. In a cognitive learning view, instead of cementing a belief in one’s cognition, it is proposed that the learner shall always analyse and challenge the current beliefs critically, and keep their cognitive search paths both active and accommodative. In other words, beyond the situated learning view, the exploration phase encourages the learner, if necessary in the light of different contexts, to question the validity of eventual abstraction.The next section will describe the proposed architecture of a CBL system that incorporates this instructional model.