Problem.
Grasping the vastness of a new topic isdifficult, particularly for students weaned on worksheet pedagogy. Students who work with a sample of data thatis too small can draw erroneous conclusions. It is impor-tant for students to gain “intellectual humility” by gradualexposure to the larger problem.
Example.
In an effort to create a “teachable moment,”the teacher in the Moon Phase scenario wants each groupto start by working on a small part of the curve-fitting problem. That is, she wants students to start out by con-ceptualizing the problem as simpler, or at least different,than it actually is when taken as a whole. However, shethen needs a way to pull back from the particulars and reveal “the big picture.”
Context.
Small groups exploring a complex phenome-non.
Solution.
Students are given some early experience inexamining a small part of a larger phenomenon, with theintent of showing them the complexity of the field they areabout to study.
Implementation.
The teacher prepares the activity bydividing the phenomenon being studied into parts thatcan be worked on independently. The teacher theninitiates the activity by introducing the problem to thewhole class, forming students into groups, explaining tothe class that each group will receive only part of the problem, and distributing the prepared parts to at least oneof the handhelds in each group. After groups have had sufficient time to work on their part of the problem, theteacher finishes the activity by collecting the partialsolutions from each group onto a local server, displaying avisualization of the combined solutions on a shared display, and conducting a class discussion of how the parts make up the whole (see Contribution Layering below.
)
Technological Assumptions.
The implementationassumes:
A means of associating handhelds with a group
A means of tagging student artifacts by a group IDso they can be distinguished on the local server
The availability of appropriate visualizations toolsfor the subject matter being explored.
See Also.
Touching the Elephant can be combined ininteresting ways with Coopetition, a whole activity patterndescribed later.
2.2 Exchange Template
The scenario underscores the frequent need for information transfer, which we have captured as theExchange Template support pattern.
Problem.
In many collaborative activities studentsneed to exchange their work with peers. If peers usedifferent types of conventions for reporting their work,valuable class time may be lost while students interpretthe artifacts they received from their peers.
Example.
The teacher in the scenario needs all teams toquickly exchange the frequency and phase-offset valuesthat best fit their data. If this were the complete content of the exchange, this could be done trivially by transmittingsingle values back and forth, or even shouting outnumbers. But, the teacher also wants students to comparethe strategies they used and their predictions. Thechallenge is to allow this qualitative information to beexchanged too, in a way that affords quick comparison.
Context.
Between-student comparison of qualitativeresults.
Solution.
Standardize reporting conventions byconstraining results to a template or form on a student’shandheld device. Possible template items include multiplechoice and fill-in-the-blank questions. When the templatesare exchanged, students can more quickly noticedifferences.
Implementation.
In preparation, the teacher authors aform with multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank options.When students begin the collaborative activity, theteacher distributes the forms to each student’s handheld,or—in the event the class has been divided into groups— perhaps only the handheld of the group “recorder.” At ateacher-defined checkpoint, the teacher asks students toexchange their work by sending their forms over a peer-to- peer network (alternatively, students could send their work to a server responsible for redistributing the forms to peers.) After receiving others’ forms, each student or group compares the received form to their own. This could be accomplished on one handheld with a split screen or aview-toggling UI. Alternately, multiple handhelds could be
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