Sharing Pedagogical KnowHow An introduction to Learning Design

Sharing Pedagogical Know-How: An introduction to Learning Design and LAMS James Dalziel Professor of Learning Technology and Director, Macquarie E-Learning Centre Of Excellence (MELCOE) Macquarie University james@melcoe. mq. edu. au www. melcoe. mq. edu. au Presentation for the Carnegie Foundation, California, 3 rd March, 2008

Overview • How can we share pedagogical know-how? – A lesson from the history of music • Learning Design • LAMS – – Example Sharing Learning Designs: The LAMS Community New in LAMS V 2. 1: Branching Upcoming: Activity Planner • LAMS and Open Education • Discussion

How can we share pedagogical know -how? • What happens when one educator describes their teaching to another? – Specifically, could the other educator reproduce the experience? • An important separation – Teaching as designing/lesson planning vs (pre-class) – Teaching as facilitating/improvising (during class) • To share pedagogical know-how, we need a common descriptive language or framework – Focus on designing/planning for today

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What is Learning Design? • Learning Design is a new approach to describing the teaching and learning process in a structured way • Typically describes sequences of student activities (scaffolding of content + collaboration) – A sequence applies to a class/week/topic (not whole unit) • Focus on sharing and re-using good sequences • Often implemented online with technology – But becoming a general framework for face to face and online

What is Learning Design? • Learning Design is particularly useful for pedagogical approaches that have a structured process, eg: – Problem Based Learning, Role Plays, Inquiry Based Learning • Learning Design focuses on how educators structure activities to foster student learning – Equal adoption in both K-12 schools and universities • Learning Design systems can integrate with LMSs – For students, link(s) from course area to the relevant sequence – Lecturer single-sign-on and easy authoring and launching

LAMS • LAMS is the world’s leading software for Learning Design – 1000 s of educators across 80+ countries – Translated into 25 languages • Visual “drag and drop” approach to designing activities – Helps educators to visualise teaching and learning processes • LAMS Sequences can be shared, re-used and adapted – LAMS Community (www. lamscommunity. org) – Approximately 2900 members, 86 countries, 220 shared sequences downloaded 6500 times, 3500 discussion postings • Freely available as open source software – (Fee-based hosting and tech support from LAMS International)

LAMS Example “What are the qualities of an effective teacher? ” Step 1: Answer question, then reflect on others answers Step 2: Vote on a list of qualities, consider collated votes Step 3: Discuss responses to Steps 1 & 2 Step 4: Read an expert’s view on the topic Step 5: Discuss expert’s view compare to class view Step 6: Personal reflection (or essay if assessment) on initial question, based on initial views, class discussion & expert view Can be run face to face with no technology, or fully online, or a mix LAMS Example: Authoring this sequence, then Preview Learner view Example 2: Role play “Adopting Interactive Whiteboards in schools”

LAMS V 2: Authoring view of “Qualities of an Effective Teacher”

LAMS V 2: Adopting Interactive Whiteboards in schools – Role play

LAMS Community – View of various communities & forums

LAMS Community – Repository Summary

LAMS Community – Detailed view of individual sequence

New to LAMS in V 2. 1 • Introducing LAMS V 2. 1: – Branching • Teacher allocated • Group-based • Tool-output based (MCQ & Forum so far, more to come) – Sequences in optional • Student choice of one or more sequences • “Branching” is always teacher or system driven (ie, automatic from the student’s perspective); optional sequences allows for student choice in “branching”

Implementation of new Branching Features for LAMS V 2. 1

LAMS 2. 1: Interactive Whiteboards – Role play: Inside branching for role tasks

Pedagogical uses of new features • Can assign different students to different topics – Each group investigates a different aspect of a phenomenon, then reports findings back to the whole class • Can use Branching with Tool Output (and Skip) to provide remediation tasks for only some students (eg, quiz score < X, then do branch remediation activities; otherwise skip branch) • Can allow students to choose from different optional sequences (according to topic, skill, thoroughness, etc) • Can seek student opinion (eg, Role Play Vote), then create group tasks that respond to different opinions

Activity Planner (aka Pedagogic Planner) • A new layer over the top of LAMS that provides good practice templates, advice on choosing and editing, and simplified authoring (NB: under development) Good practice templates + Limited authoring “Full” Authoring Flexible Learning Design Platform: Capable of many pedagogic approaches

LAMS Activity Planner: Selecting a template

LAMS Activity Planner: Filling out the key content for a selected template

LAMS and Open Education • Open Education is about sharing education content and systems without restrictions (eg, Cape Town Declaration – www. capetowndeclaration. org) – Free of cost, but more importantly… – Freedom to share, adapt and improve • LAMS exhibits the principles of open education at several levels: – LAMS software freely available as open source software – LAMS sequences freely shared under creative commons licenses – LAMS Community fosters community sharing and support

Discussion

Further LAMS Information • Introduction to LAMS – walkthroughs, videos, case studies http: //cd. lamsfoundation. org/ • General demonstration accounts for LAMS http: //demo. lamscommunity. org/ • General information about LAMS http: //www. lamsfoundation. org/ • LAMS Community http: //www. lamscommunity. org/ • Qualities of an Effective Teacher – download sequence from http: //www. lamscommunity. org/dotlrn/clubs/educationalcommunity/lam sresearchdevelopment/lams-seq//sequence? seq%5 fid=256078 • Adoption of Interactive Whiteboards in schools Role Play – download sequence from http: //lamscommunity. org/lamscentral/sequence? seq_id=376440 • Animated “mock-ups” for Pedagogic Planner concept http: //saturn. melcoe. mq. edu. au/jly/Ped_planner. htm http: //saturn. melcoe. mq. edu. au/jly/Ped_plannerv 2. htm