Technology-supported learning environment for the sustainability of ecosystems

The Design of a Technology-Supported Learning Environment

to Support Grade 10 Science Education
(Life Science: Sustainability of Ecosystems)
in British Columbia, Canada.

Shannon Coffey
Ashley Myles
Stacy Chirico
Kereen Tatham-Maye

ETEC 510 65C

Instructor: Diane Janes
University of British Columbia

April 5, 2009
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
Table of Contents:

Key Frameworks………………………………………………………………………………………p. 3

Intentions and Positions……………………………………………………………………………….p. 5

Key Concepts and Context……………………………………………………………………………p. 8

Design of Interactivities………………………………………………………………………………p. 10

Interactivities…………………………………………………………………………………………p. 10

Verifications………………………………………………………………………………………….p. 11

Reflections and Connections…………………………………………………………………………p. 12

References……………………………………………………………………………………………p. 14
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
Key Frameworks:

The focus of this project is on the design of a constructivist learning environment to support the

British Columbia Science 10 curriculum organizer, Life Science: Sustainability of Ecosystems. Through the

use of online learning technologies (WebCT course shell, Wiki webspaces, and website resources), students

will be able to explore biotic and abiotic factors of ecosystems, the impacts of bioaccumulation on

ecosystems in BC, and discover how natural populations are altered or kept in equilibrium.

The primary educational activities in this Module will aim to get students actively involved in

authentic learning through exploration, articulation, reflection and social negotiation. To utilize the

constructivist approach to learning as described by David Jonassen, various instructional activities will be

offered to support learners. For example, the use of cognitive modeling to help students develop arguments,

coaching learners through the provision of feedback, and by providing temporary frameworks for students’

learning.

The selection and use of educational media is based on Bates and Pooles SECTIONS Framework. In

WebCT learning environment, students will be given a chance to choose the time and place to address the

work obtained from the space and into their lives as homework, projects and/or ideas. Through discussion

boards, mail systems, web pages and live chats, the space will facilitate the social dimensions of learning and

encourage collaborative work. This will also expose learners to a variety of alternative viewpoints, and with

the inclusion of multimedia, various concepts and context will be facilitated. WebCT course tools will allow

students to develop a better understanding about biodiversity education through group interactions and

participation. Our Module is learner-centered with innovative content management and creation facilities.

Students will not only be provided with links to relevant information but they will also be expected to carry

out their own research in the field, share their findings on the web, and draw conclusions in an open learning

environment. This will facilitate the free flow of information among participants and the distribution of
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
knowledge across students. Inevitably, this will ensure a more productive exchange among students, as seen

in distributed learning.

From a technological perspective, the rationale for this design is that distance learning courses are not

new to the potential students for which the course is being developed and access is not a problem. Like other

commercial educational packages, WebCT is reliable. With WebCT’s user friendly interface, teachers can

easily mount and modify courses and can also participate in various workshops available across the province

to gain more skills. WebCT online resources will allow learners and teachers to find, organize and create

content and learning resources for biodiversity education in flexible ways. This is much more than ‘content

delivery’. The advantage of such resources over traditional educational media is that learners achieve a more

personal experience with learning, hence, promoting authenticity.

As the students’ participate in knowledge building activities such as socratic dialogues, they will

develop higher order thinking skills. This will deepen their understanding of what they have learnt about

biodiversity, develop their awareness of what they need to learn, and assist in their understanding of 'learning'

itself. Relevant, interesting and engaging problems or cases in biodiversity will be provided to stimulate

problem-solving among students. These will include both ill-structured and well-structured problems. The

use of well-structured problems will provide scaffolding for the novice. The environment will also be

designed to accommodate decision making that will affect the environment while participants learn, adapt

and readapt, based on contributions in the space.

Finally, the environment will be designed to encourage students to become authors and editors of

academic work in Science Education as they interact with wikis. Various links will be provided on the issues

for students to explore, examine and share their findings. This approach will encourage students to use their

prior knowledge and to seek knowledge independently as they manage the pursuit of their own goals.

Intentions and Positions:

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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems

Our intentions are to provide an online learning experience that promotes a deep understanding of

ecosystems and the importance of biodiversity. To accomplish this, we have chosen to design a constructivist

learning environment (CLE) as described by Jonassen (1991). Constructivist learning theory describes

learning as individually and socially constructed by learners based on their interpretations of experiences in

the world. A constructivist learning environment will guide the learner through experiences that allow them

to construct their own knowledge.

We will base our CLE on the methods outlined by Jonassen (1991). The problem guidelines about

ecosystems that will be provided to the students will be ill-defined giving students the opportunity to modify

the problem based on where they live and their interests. This will provide authenticity and ownership of the

learning process which will promote meaningful learning. As CLEs should provide students with appropriate

resources as they need them, we will provide a source of links to preselected websites on the internet to help

students begin their research. CLEs should also provide conversation and collaboration tools that allow for

sharing of information between students and knowledge building. The WebCT shell will supply discussion

forums, journals and chat tools. The availability of a Wiki for students to report their research findings will be

a valuable resource tool for students as it supplies a source of related experiences for beginning students to

refer to.

The use of a Wiki will also provide a space for a collective database of knowledge and promote the

development of a knowledge building community. Requiring students to review each other’s work and

publish their findings that build on previously reported information will create a knowledge building

community as described by Scardamalia & Bereiter (1994). Use of the written word for communication

between students allows for student reflection, a publication/review process among students, cumulative

progressive results, and independent thought (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1994). Students using a computer-

supported intentional learning environment (CSILE) have shown increased depth of learning and reflection,
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
awareness of what they have learned or need to learn, and better results on standard tests of reading,

language, and vocabulary when compared to students in a traditional classroom (Scardamalia & Bereiter,

1994). Although CSILE will not be used in our project design, we believe WebCT in combination with a wiki

will provide similar affordances to students.

Our project design is internet based to take advantage of the communication and information

management tools it offers. Access is nearly ubiquitous in developed countries and it contains an enormous

amount of information in various media to suit differing learning styles of students. Hyper-linking of

information on the web is thought to be similar to how humans store knowledge in mental schema and how

students can create their own learning paths. Hyperlinks fit with constructivist instructional design theory,

which emphasizes individual construction of knowledge (Jonassen, cited in Anderson, 2004). Using a web-

based platform such as WebCT will greatly assist in delivering the course because of the affordances built

into it that are relevant to our project design. It is accessed through the internet, presents content information

to students, provides communication tools for private and public discussion between students, allows

assignments to be submitted to the course instructor, and is easy for students to use. Instructors can create and

update course content without the aid of programmers or designers. Furthermore, a Wiki space is built into

the course to provide a space to display student knowledge and provide for knowledge building. Using these

internet-based technologies allows students flexibility in time and location.

The Pan-Canadian Science Framework, a vision for scientific literacy in Canada, outlines the general

and specific learning outcomes meant to provide more consistency in the teaching and learning of science

across Canada. The learning goals of this design project align with all four critical aspects of students'

scientific literacy obtained from the Pan-Canadian Science Framework which include:
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
Goal 1: Science, technology, society, and the environment. Students will develop an understanding

of the nature of science and technology, of the relationships between science and technology, and of

the social and environmental contexts of science and technology.

Goal 2: Skills. Students will develop the skills required for scientific and technological inquiry, for

solving problems, for communicating scientific ideas and results, for working collaboratively, and

for making informed decisions.

Goal 3: Knowledge. Students will construct knowledge and understandings of concepts in life

science, physical science, and Earth and space science, and apply their understanding to interpret,

integrate, and extend their knowledge.

Goal 4: Attitudes. Students will be encouraged to develop attitudes that support the responsible

acquisition and application of scientific and technological knowledge to the mutual benefit of self,

society, and the environment.

More specifically the learning goals of the designed module were written to meet the Prescribed

Learning Outcomes of the British Columbia Science 10 program for the Life Science: Sustainability of

Ecosystems curriculum organizer (Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia, 2008). From an

instructional perspective, British Columbia's schools include students of varied backgrounds, interest,

abilities, and needs. Hence, it is necessary to find ways to meet these needs, while ensuring inclusion, equity

and access for all learners. As such, this project is designed to reflect sensitivity to diversity. The project

also follows the British Columbia Ministry of Education principles (2008) which states that “learning

requires the active participation of the student, people learn in a variety of ways and at different rate, and

learning is both an individual and a group process.”

As divergent thinking and actions due to student ownership of their learning will lead to different

results. If conformity of student learning is desired, other design methods based on objectivist approach

would be more desirable.

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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
Key Concepts and Context:

The main conceptual facts that students are expected to know stem from the Prescribed Learning

Outcomes under the Life Sciences: Sustainability of Ecosystems curriculum organizer of the BC grade 10

science curriculum. This includes understanding of ecosystems, habitats of humans and other organisms,

interactions among diverse organisms such as symbiosis and parasitism, impacts of bioaccumulation,

knowledge in different species and their status of niche, and the understanding of students’ own local

biodiversity. To obtain these conceptual facts, students will carry out research and act as if they are scientists

so that they can predict, observe and experiment constructively, and collaborate with others in a learning

community. This design project is mainly applicable to science courses with an ecology focus, but the

knowledge and findings could be extended to geology, geography, mathematics, statistics, and even to social

studies and history.

The learning goals of the design project are for students to:

· use prior knowledge of biodiversity to set their own learning goals for the course

· explore the biotic components of ecosystems in their area

· think critically about the effects of altering biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem

· assess the potential causes and effects of bioaccumulation

· reflect on their personal experience of species interaction and adaptation to environmental

conditions in their area.

The context for this learning environment is in a WebCT course where students can interact freely in a

learning community. WebCT will allow students to explore the world as a curriculum by sharing what they

experience in their local biodiversity. WebCT also allows active discussions on current issues surrounding

biodiversity, species conservation and extinction, enabling learners to view certain problems from different

perspectives. This context is derived from the idea of Constructivism where knowledge is not going to be
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
delivered passively but we expect the learners to actively participate in their own learning process. Heafner

and Friedman (2008) studied the effect of non-traditional environment such as Wikis on students' level of

engagement, cognitive beliefs and their short and long-term learning. Their intention was to see any

"pedagogical shift from behaviorist to constructive learning" and they were able to see the learners "move

beyond passive class participants and become active creators of knowledge" (Heafner and Friedman, p. 293,

2008). By experimenting and investigating what is relevant in their local environment and by sharing what

they find with classmates around the world, learners will be able to assimilate and associate the new

knowledge to what they already know or what they have discovered from their own environment.

British Columbian secondary students, specifically students enrolled in Science 10, will be targeted.

Because our project’s focus is on biodiversity conservation, students can especially benefit from one another

as they gather data from around British Columbia. The most important perspective here is to have the

learners be autonomous by actively participating in their own problem-solving process. Blogging is another

idea to encourage students' participation on the web environment. Ellison and Wu (2008) found that students'

understanding for the course material improved by reading each other's writings and they believe that

blogging gives learners a unique authorial entity as it gives students ownership in their work.

Again, a constructive approach is the main focus of this design project and the participants are

expected to experiment and build their own knowledge through hands-on experience. Darsgaard and Godsk

(2007) examined the shift from lecture-based class time to more social constructivist approach where

problem-based learning was implemented. Their primary objective was to reduce the lecture time while

maintaining the same amount of subject matter, but they also wanted to "support educational differentiation

... to accommodate the different educational background of the students" (Darsgaard and Godsk, p. 40, 2007).

The study reported that they were able to attain both goals based on social constructivism approach of self-

governed and problem-based activities.

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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
Design of Interactivities:

Students are asked to research, read and participate in a diverse collection of Interactivities based on

conservation and biodiversity in British Columbia. By doing so, students will gain a higher knowledge of

ecosystems, habitats, interactions among different species and perhaps most importantly, they will acquire an

understanding of their own local, British Columbian biodiversity and what they can do to preserve it.

Students will predict, observe and conduct an experiment of their own and share results and collaborate with

others in this learning community. The goal of these interactivities is to encourage, guide and support

student-driven learning.

Students will submit their interactivity assignments in a variety of ways. One method used to

promote the sharing of knowledge is the Discussion Forum. Students will be asked to post their comments

and thoughts to this forum and also comment on other posts as a collaborative form of learning. Students

will be assessed according to the quality of their contributions using a well-defined discussion rubric, also

available for the students to view. There is also a journal feature in which students contribute to their own

journals and once satisfied, can allow their peers to read their entries. Students will also submit assignments

directly to the instructor via the Assignment Drop Box. Clear instructions are outlined for each interactivity

and assignment.

Interactivities: See WebCT shell at https://training.vista.ubc.ca/webct/logon/13647934011 for complete

interactivities and discussions. The course is listed as: ETEC 510 - ETEC 510project-09-Biodiversity

Conservation

Verifications:
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems

Any instructional design needs to have methods for measuring its success in helping students meet the

desired learning goals. The most obvious method in this case is a summative test at the end of the module to

measure students’ understanding of the basic concepts covered. Usually this would be a test written

specifically for the learning module. In this case, the science 10 course in BC is a provincially examinable

course where all students are required to write a standardized test given province wide. Statistics from this

exam are available and could be used to measure students’ achievement.

A summative test, however, does not measure all that is trying to be achieved by this design module.

A key feature of the design is to create a constructivist learning environment, where students work together to

build their own knowledge. High levels of meaningful participation in the social spaces built into the course

would be an indication of success in this area and of high student motivation. Student enrollment rates in

Biology 11 could also be used as an indicator of students’ interest in biology that was possibly encouraged by

this module. Student and teacher satisfaction surveys could also be used for feedback to decide if the design

is accomplishing the intended goals.

Because CLEs view assessment and learning as being integrally linked, verification activities will aim

to measure both the process of learning (formative) and the product of learning (summative). Assessment

strategies will include authentic tasks, self-assessment tools, team-assessment tools, peer-assessment tools,

and instructor-assessment tools. With these tools, the designers will be able to see if the design is working as

anticipated and how to improve on it for future learning. WebCT’s friendly interface allows the teacher or

designer to easily make any necessary modifications or improvements.

Reflections and Connections:

According to Reigeluth (1995), “Instructional Design is a design-oriented system that offers methods

which are situational, componential, and probabilistic. They identify the situations for which methods should
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
be used.” Instructional design focuses on real-world problems and learning outcomes that can be measured

in reliable and valid ways. Collaboration is of critical importance in this system. This is important in a time

when there is a paradigm shift in education and training from group-based learning to learning environments

that foster diversity among learners.

As a group, our engagement in this design activity has helped us to:

1. Understand that the focus of instructional design is on learning outcomes and it is informed by pedagogical

theories of learning. The process considers learners' needs, instructional goals, and interventions to assist

learners in achieving prescribed learning outcomes (PLOs).

2. Distinguish between instructional design and curriculum design. Curriculum design emphasizes the "what

students should learn - it's the content", whereas, Instructional Design emphasizes the "how students should

learn the content - it's the method". Our design focused more on methods that Science 10 students could use

to learn the content of biodiversity.

3. See some of the many benefits of using online group collaboration spaces such as discussion groups and

wikis as a method for students to gain and share knowledge, as also seen within our own group while

working on this project. Hence, one can better see that effective designs of Constructivist Learning

Environments (CLEs) must focus on active, collaborative, authentic, and creative learning outcomes.

4. Recognize that WebCT Course Tools and wikis have many instructional affordances that support the

design of a constructivist learning environment.

5. Develop assessments in CLEs that aim to facilitate and promote learning. Both formative and summative

measures of learning outcomes must be encouraged in such environments. This is important on the ability to

verify whether the assignments are effective or not.

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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
6. Appreciate the collaborative aspect of the design process. In our group, location was not an

issue, immediately after forming the design group a collaborative workspace was created in Google docs.

This along with the discussion and chat tools in the ETEC 510 course were utilized by members to

communicate ideas about the project. As a result, the collaborative aspect of the project was successful.

7. Realize that the design process can be time consuming.

References:

Anderson, T. (2004). Teaching in an online learning context. In Anderson, T. &

Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University.

Barab, S. & Duffy, T. (2000). From practice fields to communities of practice. In D.

Jonassen and S. Land (Eds.), Theoretical foundations of learning environments. Mahweh,

NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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Dalsgaard, C. & Godsk, M. (2007). Transforming traditional lectures into problem-based

blended learning: Challenges and experiences. Open Learning, 22 (1), 29-42.

Ellison, N. & Wu, Y. (2008). Blogging in the classroom: A preliminary exploration of

students’ attitudes and impact on comprehension. Journal of Educational Multimedia and

Hypermedia, 17 (1), 99-122.

Heafner, T. L. & Friedman, A. M. (2008). Wikis and constructivism in secondary social

studies: Fostering a deeper understanding. Computers in the Schools, 25 (3-4), 288-302.

Jonassen, D. (1991). Designing constructivist learning environments. In C. Reigeluth (Ed.),

Instructional design theories and models: Volume II. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia. (2008). Science Grade 10 Integrated Resource

Package 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2009, from:

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/science810/2008sci10.pdf.

Pan-Canadian. (1997). Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes, K to 12.

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. Retrieved on March 30, 2009 from:

http://cmec.ca/science/framework/.

Reigeluth, C.M. (1995). Educational systems development and its relationship to ISD. In G. Anglin (Ed.),

Instructional technology: past, present and future (2nd ed.) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowledge building
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Technology-supported learning environment for sustainability of ecosystems
communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3(3), 265-283.