What are your initial reactions to this theory/model? What are barriers to its use? What benefits might be expected for those who overcome the barriers?
A lot of the learning theories seem like they're starting to overlap at this point. Anchored Instruction seems like a combination of Goal Based Instruction (since students learn through scenarios) and Guided Design (since students work together to solve a problem or reach a goal.) And in that regard, I see many of the same barriers and benefits as those two models. Anchored Instruction would require a lot of upfront planning and preparation on the part of the instruction, but would result in students really grasping the knowledge or skills since they are applying them to a problem or scenario.
Would you attempt to use this theory/model with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theory/model be modified so that it would work with your current/future students?
I could see this as a valid model for use with elementary students, but wonder about the time and effort that would need to be invested in preparation. With my fourth grade students, I sometimes use videos from www.learn360.com that present students in problem solving scenerios and have my students make predictions about what would happen or explain what they would do in those situations. Some of the videos that I think somewhat follow this method (although if the teacher doesn't stop the video and prompt student discussion, it wouldn't work) are CyberChase and World of Wonders.
Since we're taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?
As I mentioned, videos that are already online on streaming educational sites like Learn360, UnitedStreaming, or TeacherTube, have some video scenarios that could be used to set up problems for students to figure out and introduce some information about a subject. In order to let students meet online to plan together, they could use Skype or Elluminate.
I completely agree that the planning and preparation could be very time consuming. The Learn360 and United Streaming sound interesting; I have not tried those sites before. With video being such a widely used medium today, it's possible for more resources to be created and made available for teachers and students. Perhaps sharing and exchanging material is a way to lessen the burden on one instructor.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your's and Ginny's point that AI requires a lot of up front planning on the teacher's part. I guess what we need to keep in mind is that AI (in this ECI 517 course) would be received on-line - allowing plenty of time for the teacher to prep the virtual space...but in regards to face-to-face instruction no way could I realistically find the time to accommodate the needs of AI's steps/design.
ReplyDeleteSome other streaming video sites you might want to try out are NC Learn (it used to be called iCue) and Discovery Streaming.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI agree many of the theories are overlapping and require preparation and follow up activities to successfully implement with students. An assistant would be helpful for the anchored instruction theory to help with the upfront planning.
I liked that you mentioned the Learn360 website. It is similar to the Discovery Education. I will have to sign up for a free trial with the Learn 360 website. When teachers stop the video and ask questions or provide a deeper explanation it helps student comprehension. On some Discovery Education videos, there are critical thinking questions at the end of the video which helps with class discussions.