Designers of educational modules for conceptual learning often rely on procedural frameworks to c... more Designers of educational modules for conceptual learning often rely on procedural frameworks to chart out interaction mechanics through which users will develop target under-standings. To date, however, there has been no systematic comparative evaluation of such frameworks in terms of their consequences for learning. This lack of empirical evaluation , we submit, is due to the intellectual challenge of pinning down in what fundamental sense these various frameworks differ and, therefore, along which parameters to conduct controlled comparative experimentation. Toward an empirical evaluation of educational-technology design frameworks, this conceptual paper considers the case of dynamic mathematics environments (DME), interactive modules for learning curricular content through manipulating virtual objects. We consider user activities in two paradigmatic DME genres that utilize similar HCI yet different mechanics. To compare these mechanics, we draw from complex dynamic systems theory a constraint-based model of embodied interaction. Task analyses suggest that whereas in one DME genre (GeoGebra) the interaction constraints are a priori inherent in the environment, in another DME genre (Mathematics Imagery Trainer) the constraints are ad hoc emergent in the task. We conjecture differential learning effects of these distinct constraint regimes, concluding that ad hoc emergent task constraints may better facilitate the naturalistic development of cognitive structures grounding targeted conceptual learning. We outline a future empirical research design to compare the pedagogical entailments of these two design frameworks.
ABSTRACT This demonstration will highlight the pedagogy and functionality of the Metafora system ... more ABSTRACT This demonstration will highlight the pedagogy and functionality of the Metafora system as developed by the end of the second year of the EU-funded (ICT-257872) project. The Metafora system expands the teaching focus beyond domain-specific learning to enable the development of 21st century collaborative competencies necessary to learn in today's complex, fast-paced environment. These competencies — termed collectively as "Learning to Learn together" (L2L2) — include: distributed leadership, planning / organizing the learning process, mutual engagement, seeking and providing help amongst peers, and reflection on the learning process. We summarise here the Metafora system, its learning innovation and our plan for the demonstration and interaction session during which participants will be introduced to L2L2 and Metafora through hands-on experience.
Recent trends in the automotive and the Information Technology (IT) industries lead to growing co... more Recent trends in the automotive and the Information Technology (IT) industries lead to growing consumer expectations for aesthetic and personalised design of products. The merging of these trends is more likely to lead to considerable changes in the driver environment. Two experiments were conducted in which we examined people's aesthetic response to the design of Instrument Clusters (ICs): the first used images of existing clusters, and the second used a set of conceptual ICs that were designed to enable the ...
The fields of Human-Computer Interaction and interface design have been expanded from a narrow fo... more The fields of Human-Computer Interaction and interface design have been expanded from a narrow focus on usability to more broadly consider the human experience and aesthetic response to design. Tools and methods developed to evaluate the relationship between perceived usability and interface aesthetics have revealed that overall preference for an interface is highly correlated to positive aesthetic response, and that positive aesthetic response is elicited through use of positive symbolism, incorporation of ...
We investigate which practices are performed by teachers, when they scaffold students' learning t... more We investigate which practices are performed by teachers, when they scaffold students' learning to solve mathematical problems together, with technologies that facilitate group learning in a whole-classroom context. We describe teacher practices in order to evaluate their contribution to the Whole-Class Scaffolding, in the context of a course that was meant to facilitate learning to solve mathematical problems in small groups. Sixteen and twenty four junior high students took part in two iterations of a design research, correspondingly. We identified six teacher practices. These practices included: (1) Presenting strategy-oriented problems, in order to familiarize students with mathematical problem solving strategies and heuristics; (2) Decomposing a problem into stages; (3) Modeling the use of the dedicated technologies; (4) Preliminary Learning to Learn Together (L2L2) talk; (5) Routine L2L2 talk; and (6) Summative L2L2 talk. We conclude that scaffolding full-year learning to solve mathematical problem together in the context of a whole class is feasible, with suitable technologies. This study sheds also theoretical insights on Whole-class scaffolding and on the ways group learning could enhance learning to solve mathematical problems by an individual.
In this paper I use the conceptual change theoretical framework, in order to describe and evaluat... more In this paper I use the conceptual change theoretical framework, in order to describe and evaluate the productivity of teacher's in-situ support to Situational misconceptions. I illustrate a case in which two students work together in order to solve a problem in math. The focal point is their teacher's intervention, in which she attempts to get her students out of a messy situation. This analysis helps to understand, in fine grain, the process – and consequences – of avoiding refutation of non-productive narratives, before adding new ones - in the context of math problem solving. In addition, we learn that in the process of solution, narratives might not always compete: ideas from two, or more, narratives could be forged to new Situational misconceptions.
One of the most important issues that are dealt with in CSCL environments regards self, or group,... more One of the most important issues that are dealt with in CSCL environments regards self, or group, regulated learning-independently from the teachers. In the first part of the current paper I bring forward an innovative pedagogical approach, accompanied by appropriate software (1) a planning and reflecting tool for peer socio-metacognitive elicitation, and (2) Geogebra- a math application for the creation of dynamic Geometric figures in Cartesian domain. In the second part of this paper I illustrate a learning scenario within the context of a collaborative math problem solving. I then highlight on an interesting behavior of collaborative learning, as one team member that makes progress with solving the problem, and goes back to help his peer. He scaffolds his peer’s work by (1) Reporting what he did on a shared planning-reflecting space (2) Monitoring his peer’s error (3) Explicating this error to his peer (4) scaffolding his peer’s construction of Geogebra model, without giving him the whole answer. This observation serves as an important progress in the attempts of modern educators, and education design-researchers, to give some of the responsibility of learning processes, from teachers to students.
Metafora is Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) software environment, funded by the ... more Metafora is Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) software environment, funded by the EU commission, and currently under development. Its aim is to support collaborative learning in mathematics and science fusing several advanced technological and pedagogical ideas. The software will include a tool for the students to plan their activities, a tool with space for argumentative discussions and software components for facilitation of science and math inquiry called "microworlds". A group of 3-5 students receive a challenge to which they will need to answer in two weeks time.They plan how to solve it, simulate, discuss and exchange materials, while the teacher moderates the learning process, instead of giving a frontal lecture. Such a learning environment presents challenges for us, the developers, thus we have developed a series of seminars in which we have learned about the roles of the teachers in such a learning environment.
Aggression and anger have been related to crash involvement, but the direct causal relation betwe... more Aggression and anger have been related to crash involvement, but the direct causal relation between situational anger and driving choices and abilities has not been examined empirically. In this study, 15 licensed drivers drove twice in a driving simulator, each time following one of two emotion inductions based on event recall: angry and neutral. Following anger induction, the drivers crossed more yellow traffic lights (p< .01) and tended to drive faster (non-significant). However, performance on emergency manoeuvres were unaffected by anger. In conclusion, it appears that state anger affects driving behaviour by increasing risk taking, without necessarily compromising the skilled driving behaviour, at least as far as these behaviours were evaluated in emergency situations in simulated driving.
This is a short piece from the proceedings of the 23rd international conference on Applications o... more This is a short piece from the proceedings of the 23rd international conference on Applications of Computer Algebra. The main claim of this paper is that mathematics teachers need to adjust their epistemological stance in order to facilitate geogebra-based mathematical thinking.
Designers of educational modules for conceptual learning often rely on procedural frameworks to c... more Designers of educational modules for conceptual learning often rely on procedural frameworks to chart out interaction mechanics through which users will develop target under-standings. To date, however, there has been no systematic comparative evaluation of such frameworks in terms of their consequences for learning. This lack of empirical evaluation , we submit, is due to the intellectual challenge of pinning down in what fundamental sense these various frameworks differ and, therefore, along which parameters to conduct controlled comparative experimentation. Toward an empirical evaluation of educational-technology design frameworks, this conceptual paper considers the case of dynamic mathematics environments (DME), interactive modules for learning curricular content through manipulating virtual objects. We consider user activities in two paradigmatic DME genres that utilize similar HCI yet different mechanics. To compare these mechanics, we draw from complex dynamic systems theory a constraint-based model of embodied interaction. Task analyses suggest that whereas in one DME genre (GeoGebra) the interaction constraints are a priori inherent in the environment, in another DME genre (Mathematics Imagery Trainer) the constraints are ad hoc emergent in the task. We conjecture differential learning effects of these distinct constraint regimes, concluding that ad hoc emergent task constraints may better facilitate the naturalistic development of cognitive structures grounding targeted conceptual learning. We outline a future empirical research design to compare the pedagogical entailments of these two design frameworks.
ABSTRACT This demonstration will highlight the pedagogy and functionality of the Metafora system ... more ABSTRACT This demonstration will highlight the pedagogy and functionality of the Metafora system as developed by the end of the second year of the EU-funded (ICT-257872) project. The Metafora system expands the teaching focus beyond domain-specific learning to enable the development of 21st century collaborative competencies necessary to learn in today&#39;s complex, fast-paced environment. These competencies — termed collectively as &quot;Learning to Learn together&quot; (L2L2) — include: distributed leadership, planning / organizing the learning process, mutual engagement, seeking and providing help amongst peers, and reflection on the learning process. We summarise here the Metafora system, its learning innovation and our plan for the demonstration and interaction session during which participants will be introduced to L2L2 and Metafora through hands-on experience.
Recent trends in the automotive and the Information Technology (IT) industries lead to growing co... more Recent trends in the automotive and the Information Technology (IT) industries lead to growing consumer expectations for aesthetic and personalised design of products. The merging of these trends is more likely to lead to considerable changes in the driver environment. Two experiments were conducted in which we examined people&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27;s aesthetic response to the design of Instrument Clusters (ICs): the first used images of existing clusters, and the second used a set of conceptual ICs that were designed to enable the ...
The fields of Human-Computer Interaction and interface design have been expanded from a narrow fo... more The fields of Human-Computer Interaction and interface design have been expanded from a narrow focus on usability to more broadly consider the human experience and aesthetic response to design. Tools and methods developed to evaluate the relationship between perceived usability and interface aesthetics have revealed that overall preference for an interface is highly correlated to positive aesthetic response, and that positive aesthetic response is elicited through use of positive symbolism, incorporation of ...
We investigate which practices are performed by teachers, when they scaffold students' learning t... more We investigate which practices are performed by teachers, when they scaffold students' learning to solve mathematical problems together, with technologies that facilitate group learning in a whole-classroom context. We describe teacher practices in order to evaluate their contribution to the Whole-Class Scaffolding, in the context of a course that was meant to facilitate learning to solve mathematical problems in small groups. Sixteen and twenty four junior high students took part in two iterations of a design research, correspondingly. We identified six teacher practices. These practices included: (1) Presenting strategy-oriented problems, in order to familiarize students with mathematical problem solving strategies and heuristics; (2) Decomposing a problem into stages; (3) Modeling the use of the dedicated technologies; (4) Preliminary Learning to Learn Together (L2L2) talk; (5) Routine L2L2 talk; and (6) Summative L2L2 talk. We conclude that scaffolding full-year learning to solve mathematical problem together in the context of a whole class is feasible, with suitable technologies. This study sheds also theoretical insights on Whole-class scaffolding and on the ways group learning could enhance learning to solve mathematical problems by an individual.
In this paper I use the conceptual change theoretical framework, in order to describe and evaluat... more In this paper I use the conceptual change theoretical framework, in order to describe and evaluate the productivity of teacher's in-situ support to Situational misconceptions. I illustrate a case in which two students work together in order to solve a problem in math. The focal point is their teacher's intervention, in which she attempts to get her students out of a messy situation. This analysis helps to understand, in fine grain, the process – and consequences – of avoiding refutation of non-productive narratives, before adding new ones - in the context of math problem solving. In addition, we learn that in the process of solution, narratives might not always compete: ideas from two, or more, narratives could be forged to new Situational misconceptions.
One of the most important issues that are dealt with in CSCL environments regards self, or group,... more One of the most important issues that are dealt with in CSCL environments regards self, or group, regulated learning-independently from the teachers. In the first part of the current paper I bring forward an innovative pedagogical approach, accompanied by appropriate software (1) a planning and reflecting tool for peer socio-metacognitive elicitation, and (2) Geogebra- a math application for the creation of dynamic Geometric figures in Cartesian domain. In the second part of this paper I illustrate a learning scenario within the context of a collaborative math problem solving. I then highlight on an interesting behavior of collaborative learning, as one team member that makes progress with solving the problem, and goes back to help his peer. He scaffolds his peer’s work by (1) Reporting what he did on a shared planning-reflecting space (2) Monitoring his peer’s error (3) Explicating this error to his peer (4) scaffolding his peer’s construction of Geogebra model, without giving him the whole answer. This observation serves as an important progress in the attempts of modern educators, and education design-researchers, to give some of the responsibility of learning processes, from teachers to students.
Metafora is Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) software environment, funded by the ... more Metafora is Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) software environment, funded by the EU commission, and currently under development. Its aim is to support collaborative learning in mathematics and science fusing several advanced technological and pedagogical ideas. The software will include a tool for the students to plan their activities, a tool with space for argumentative discussions and software components for facilitation of science and math inquiry called "microworlds". A group of 3-5 students receive a challenge to which they will need to answer in two weeks time.They plan how to solve it, simulate, discuss and exchange materials, while the teacher moderates the learning process, instead of giving a frontal lecture. Such a learning environment presents challenges for us, the developers, thus we have developed a series of seminars in which we have learned about the roles of the teachers in such a learning environment.
Aggression and anger have been related to crash involvement, but the direct causal relation betwe... more Aggression and anger have been related to crash involvement, but the direct causal relation between situational anger and driving choices and abilities has not been examined empirically. In this study, 15 licensed drivers drove twice in a driving simulator, each time following one of two emotion inductions based on event recall: angry and neutral. Following anger induction, the drivers crossed more yellow traffic lights (p< .01) and tended to drive faster (non-significant). However, performance on emergency manoeuvres were unaffected by anger. In conclusion, it appears that state anger affects driving behaviour by increasing risk taking, without necessarily compromising the skilled driving behaviour, at least as far as these behaviours were evaluated in emergency situations in simulated driving.
This is a short piece from the proceedings of the 23rd international conference on Applications o... more This is a short piece from the proceedings of the 23rd international conference on Applications of Computer Algebra. The main claim of this paper is that mathematics teachers need to adjust their epistemological stance in order to facilitate geogebra-based mathematical thinking.
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Such a learning environment presents challenges for us, the developers, thus we have developed a series of seminars in which we have learned about the roles of the teachers in such a learning environment.
Such a learning environment presents challenges for us, the developers, thus we have developed a series of seminars in which we have learned about the roles of the teachers in such a learning environment.