Design Science Of Learning

Towards an Interdisciplinary Design Science of Learning

Mike SharplesLearning Sciences Research Institute

University of Nottingham

Global issues

• Climate change

• Energy shortage

• Pandemics

• Terrorism

• Cultural tension

• Education for a inter-connected world

Demand global responses

Global ReponsesWorld climate research programmehttp://wcrp.wmo.int/About_Aims.html

• The World Climate Research Programme...is uniquely positioned to draw on the totality of climate-related systems, facilities and intellectual capabilities of more than 185 countries. Integrating new observations, research facilities and scientific breakthroughs is essential to progress in the inherently global task of advancing understanding of the processes that determine our climate

• To achieve its objectives, the WCRP adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, organizes large-scale observational and modelling projects and facilitates focus on aspects of climate too large and complex to be addressed by any one nation or single scientific discipline.

• [It is] designed to improve scientific understanding and knowledge of processes that in turn result in better forecasts and hence benefits to users of climate research

A global research programme in education for an inter-connected world?

• Draws on the totality of systems, facilities and intellectual capabilities of many countries

• Integrates new observations, research facilities and scientific breakthroughs

• Takes a multi-disciplinary approach

• Carries out large-scale observational and modelling projects

• Focuses on aspects too large and complex to be addressed by any one nation or single scientific discipline

• Improves scientific understanding and knowledge of processes that result in benefits to users

Teacher ledTeacher led

Simulation and role-playSimulation and role-play

Rich learning interactions in the traditional classroomRich learning interactions in the traditional classroom

CollaborativeCollaborative

New mediaNew media

Resource-basedResource-based

What’s new: Not new learning, but new mediations, by personal and collaborative technologies, across contexts and cultures

What’s new: Not new learning, but new mediations, by personal and collaborative technologies, across contexts and cultures

New complexities of learning• New interactions

– Mediation of technology– Between learners, education institutions,

commercial providers

• New connections– Learning at a distance– Learning between formal and informal

settings

• New opportunities– Trans-national learning– Massively social learning– Mobile and contextual learning– Life-long and life-wide learning

New Science of Learning

A.N. Meltzoff, P. K. Kuhl, J. Movellan, & T. J. Sejnowski (200) Foundations for a New Science of Learning, Science 325 (5938), 284.

• Computational learning– Infer structural models from the environment– Learn from probabilistic input

• Social learning– Learning by imitation– Shared attention

• Neural learning– Learning supported by brain circuits that link perception

and action

• Developmental learning– Behavioural development– Neural plasticity

• Teaching and learning– Principles of effective teaching

• Contextual and temporal learning– Learning within and across contexts– Cycle of engagement and reflection

• Technology-enabled learning– Learning as a distributed socio-technical system






and action





“Insights from many different fields are converging to create a new science of learning that may transform educational practice” Meltzoff et al., p284

“Insights from many different fields are converging to create a new science of learning that may transform educational practice” Meltzoff et al., p284






and action





“A key component is the role of ‘the social’ in learning. What makes social interaction such a powerful catalyst for learning?” Meltzoff et al., p288

“A key component is the role of ‘the social’ in learning. What makes social interaction such a powerful catalyst for learning?” Meltzoff et al., p288

Changing behaviour Neuroscience

Behavioural science

Enhancing skills Cognitive development

Storing information Cognitive sciences

Gaining knowledge Cognitive sciences

Epistemology

Making sense of the world Social sciences

Socio-cultural and activity theory

Interpreting reality in a different way

Phenomenology

Interdisciplinary science of learning

Interdisciplinary design science of learning• How do people learn as individuals,

groups, organisations, societies?

• How can we design and share effective systems for learning?

• How can we evaluate the success of learning?

• Across contexts, throughout a lifetime

Design-based research

“A systematic but flexible methodology aimed to improve educational practices through iterative analysis, design, development, and implementation, based on collaboration among researchers and practitioners in real-world settings, and leading to contextually-sensitive design principles and theories”

Wang, F., & Hannafin, M. J. (2005). Design-based research and technology-enhanced learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 5-23.

Benefits of DBR

• Problem driven – Not only understand, document, and interpret,

but also change and improve• Systematic exploration of a space of possible

designs• Combines engineering and evaluation• The designed context is subject to test and

revision, and the successive iterations that result play a role similar to that of systematic variation in experiment

Problems of DBR

• Can be lengthy

• How to systematically explore a space of possibilities

• Can lead to ‘hillclimbing’ exploration that misses ‘other peaks’

Systematic exploration of a design spaceL. Meshkat, M. Feather, S. Prusha, Decision & Risk Based Design Structures: Decision Support Needs for Conceptual, Concurrent Design

Elements of an interdisciplinary design science of learning

• Design oriented– Aim is to improve learning, not just to describe it– Systematic exploration of a space of possible designs for learning interventions

• Theory informed– Based on well-founded theories of learning and teaching

• Scalable– From single classroom, to cross-national learning

• Pragmatic– Concerned with improvement of everyday learning– Appropriate mix of design and evaluation methods

• Interdisciplinary– Integrates neural, cognitive, social and cultural aspects of learning

• Collaborative– Shared representations of learning processes, design patterns– Shared tools

• Human-centred – Users as informants, while recognising limitations of user-centred design and need for design expertise

• Iterative– Cycle of design, intervention and evaluation

• Evaluated– Lifecycle evaluation

• Ethical– Ethics an integral part of the design process

Socio-cognitive EngineeringA scalable method for design-based learning research

Generalrequirements

Theory of Use

Design Concept

ContextualStudies Task

model

Design space

System

specification

ImplementationDeployment

Evaluation

Sharples, M., Jeffery, N., du Boulay, J.B.H., Teather, D., Teather, B., and du Boulay, G.H. (2002) Socio-cognitive engineering: a methodology for the design of human-centred technology. European Journal of Operational Research 136, 2, pp. 310-323.

Socio-cognitive EngineeringExample of use in the MOBIlearn project (www.mobilearn.org)

Generalrequirements

Theory of Use

Design Concept

ContextualStudies Task

model

Design space

System

specification

ImplementationDeployment

EvaluationTheory of

learning for the mobile world

Theory of learning for the

mobile world

OMAF design framework for mobile learning

OMAF design framework for mobile learning

Lifecycle evaluationLifecycle

evaluation

Studies of informal learning practices

Studies of informal learning practices

General requirements for a mobile

learning platform

General requirements for a mobile

learning platform

M-learning task

model

M-learning task

model

MOBIlearn system

MOBIlearn system

Deployed in Uffizi Gallery, Nottingham

Castle Museum

Deployed in Uffizi Gallery, Nottingham

Castle Museum

Lifecycle evaluation• Micro level: Usability issues

– technology usability– individual and group activities

• Meso level: Educational Issues– learning experience as a whole– classroom-museum-home continuity – critical incidents: learning breakthroughs and breakdowns

• Macro level: Organizational Issues– effect on the educational practice for school museum

visits – emergence of new practices – take-up and sustainability

Vavoula, G. & Sharples, M. (2009) Meeting the Challenges in Evaluating Mobile Learning: a 3-level Evaluation Framework. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 1,2, 54-75.

EvaluationAt each level

• Step 1 – what was supposed to happen – pre-interviews with stakeholders (teachers, students,

museum educators), – documents provided to support the visits

• Step 2 – what actually happened– observer logs– post-focus groups– analysis of video diaries

• Step 3 – differences between 1 & 2– reflective interviews with stakeholders – critical incident analysis

Three levels, in three stages, throughout the project

Macro evaluation

Mesoevaluation

Micro evaluation

Specify requirements

Design

Implement

Deploy

Project development process

Technology robust enough for evaluation of learning

Service deployed long enough to assess impact

Example of global learning design project

Social-constructivist theories of learningSocial-constructivist theories of learning

Theory and practice of 1:1 learning in classrooms

Theory and practice of 1:1 learning in classrooms

Scenarios of successful classroom practice

Scenarios of successful classroom practice

G1:1 global research networkwww.g1to1.org

NCU TaiwanSRI, United States

Group Scribbles software

Group Scribbles software

SRI International United States,

Taiwan,Singapore,

UK,Spain SceDer for orchestrating

1:1 classroom learningSceDer for orchestrating 1:1 classroom learning

LSRI,United Kingdom

SceDer for orchestrating 1:1 classroom learning

SceDer for orchestrating 1:1 classroom learning

Classroom evaluationsDjanogly City Academy, UK

Sharing of research findings

Sharing of research findings

CSCL workshop,Greece

Group Scribbles

• Developed by SRI International Centre for Technology in Learning

• System to support 1:1 classroom learning

• Based on Post-its metaphor

• Design and evaluation in US, Taiwan, Singapore, UK, Spain

Group scribbles in Singapore

Group scribbles in the USA

SceDerJitti Niramitranon, University of Nottingham PhD research

• Design-based research to extend Group Scribbles for teacher authoring and classroom management

• Based on scenarios of classroom interactions from SRI and NCU, Taiwan

• Teacher support for orchestration of individual, group and whole class learning

SceDer authoring tool

SceDer/GS classroom tool

Classroom evaluation at Djanogly Academy, Nottingham

“No longer can one community attempt to design TEL tools; communication and sharing of expertise amongst them is of paramount concern”

Yishay Mor & Niall Winters (2007) Design Approaches to Technology-Enhanced Learning, Interactive Learning Environments, 15, 1, 2007, 61-75

World learning design research programme?

• The World Learning Design Research Programme...is uniquely positioned to draw on the totality of learning design systems, facilities and intellectual capabilities of more than ??? countries. Integrating new observations, research facilities and scientific breakthroughs is essential to progress in the inherently global task of advancing understanding of the processes of learning and the design of effective learning environments

• To achieve its objectives, the WLDRP adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, organizes large-scale observational, modelling and design projects and facilitates focus on aspects of learning too large and complex to be addressed by any one nation or single scientific discipline.

• [It is] designed to improve scientific understanding and knowledge of learning processes and design of educational interventions that in turn result in more effective education and hence benefits to society

Why not?