Presentation at the Computer Science Education E-learning Conference 2006, Coimbra, Portugal

1. FROM CONTENT TO CONTEXT
IN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTED
COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION
Antonio Dias de Figueiredo
Departament of Informatics Engineering
UNIVERSITY OF COIMBRA
University of Coimbra September, 7-8, 2006

2. FROM CONTENT TO CONTEXT
IN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTED
COMPUTER SCIENCE
EDUCATION
HIGHER EDUCATION
changing vision about learning
changing methods
Bologna Process
LEARNING OUTCOMES

3. FROM CONTENT TO CONTEXT
IN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTED
COMPUTER SCIENCE
EDUCATION
ENGINEERING EDUCATION
changing vision about learning for the profession
changing vision about accreditation
LEARNING OUTCOMES

4. What is important is what the students
learn, not how much the lecturer covers
Donald Bligh, 1972
Traditional methods were based on what the lecturer
covered: on the content the lecturer delivered
What is important is what the students learn
To learn is not just only to acquire
knowledge and understanding, but also
to build skills, values and attitudes.
These cannot be learned by telling-and-testing

5. LEARNING OUTCOMES:
statements of what the students should
know, understand or be able
to do as a result of the course
They are expressed as competences: dynamic
combinations of knowledge, understanding,
skills, values, and attitudes

6. HIGHER EDUCATION
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The Dublin Descriptors
• knowledge and understanding
• applying knowledge and understanding
• making judgements
• communications skills
• learning skills

7. ENGINEERING EDUCATION
EUR-ACE: OUTCOMES OF ACCREDITED
ENGINEERING DEGREE PROGRAMMES
• knowledge and understanding
• engineering analysis
• engineering design
• investigation
• engineering practice
• transferable skills

8. TWO VISIONS OF LEARNING
2.
1.
Vision of CONTENT Vision of CONTEXT
mechanistic constructivist
“transfer” or “delivery” “construction” of knowledge
of content by the learners
(individually or in groups)
in stimulating contexts

9. FROM CONTENT TO CONTEXT
IN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTED
COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION
Antonio Dias de Figueiredo
Departament of Informatics Engineering
UNIVERSITY OF COIMBRA
University of Coimbra September, 7-8, 2006

10. 1. Contextual learning
2. Theories supporting contextual learning
3. Learning contexts design
4. Contextual assessment
5. Contextual platforms
6. Conclusions

11. 1. Contextual learning
2. Theories supporting contextual learning
3. Learning contexts design
4. Contextual assessment
5. Contextual platforms
6. Conclusions

12. 1
CONTEXTUAL LEARNING
action learning question posing
computer supported cooperative learning
directed dialogues
learning by doing
problem solving
simulations
debates
learning by reflection
CONTEXTUAL LEARNING
learning by teaching situated learning
story telling socratic dialogues
projects
case studies panel discussions
incidental learning
learning from mistakes
role playing small group discussions
story listening
project based learning

13. 1
CONTEXTUAL LEARNING
ARTICULATE THIS MULTITUDE OF DISTINCT
CONCEPTS, THEORIES AND PRACTICES INTO A
SINGLE, COHERENT AND OPERATIONAL
WORLDVIEW:
CONTEXTUAL LEARNING
LEARNING CONTEXTS DESIGN

14. 1. Contextual learning
2. Theories supporting contextual learning
3. Learning contexts design
4. Contextual assessment
5. Contextual platforms
6. Conclusions

15. 2
THEORIES SUPPORTING CONTEXTUAL LEARNING
• PHILOSOPHICAL PRAGMATISM (Dewey, Pepper)
(Piaget, Vygotsky)
• CONSTRUCTIVISM, SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM
(Freire, Mezirow)
• CRITICAL SOCIAL THEORIES OF LEARNING
• THEORIES OF THE COMMUNTIES OF PRACTICE (Lave, Wenger)
• SOCIAL AND CULTURAL THEORIES OF LEARNING (Forman, Cole)
• ACTIVITY THEORY (Engeström, Chaiklin & Lave, Nardi)
(Latour, Callon, Law)
• ACTOR NETWORK THEORY
• PATTERN THEORY (Alexander)

16. 1. Contextual learning
2. Theories supporting contextual learning
3. Learning contexts design
4. Contextual assessment
5. Contextual platforms
6. Conclusions

17. 3
LEARNING CONTEXTS DESIGN
MODEL FOR CONTEXT ENGINEERING
• level descriptors
diagnostic
consolidation • learning outcomes
innovation
model of
• assessment strategy
context
• subject descriptors
• teaching strategy
evaluation
creation
model of
• content
mediator
generalization adaptation
Roque & Figueiredo (2005) Context Engineering for Learning: A Socio-Technical Approach,
in Figueiredo, A.D. and Afonso, A.P. (eds.) Managing Learning in Virtual Settings: the Role of Context, Idea Book Inc., 2006

18. 3
LEARNING CONTEXTS DESIGN
LOCUS OF CONTROL
teacher
control
moderation
helpdesk
self-organiztion
of learner
or
of learning
community
CONTROL

19. 3
LEARNING CONTEXTS DESIGN
COLLABORATION: SUSTAINABILITY, CYCLES, RYTHMS
Principles of sustainability e.g. value proposition
Cycles of collaboration:
Rhythms regular events, special events, dates, limits, debates, visibility.

20. 1. Contextual learning
2. Theories supporting contextual learning
3. Learning contexts design
4. Contextual assessment
5. Contextual platforms
6. Conclusions

21. 4
CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
LEARNING OUTCOMES should be formulated so that they can be assessed and
grading criteria established and stated.
ASSESSMENT should drive curriculum planning – not vice-versa.
ASSESSMENT must be able to answer questions such as:
• What knowledge and understanding have been acquired?
• What skills and values have been developed or enhanced?
• What attitudes have been changed?

22. 4
CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
Collection of the assignments produced by a student, in a
LEARNING given course, to demonstrate success in satisfying the
PORTFOLIO learning objectives. It must include the personal reflections
of the student about her own progress.
Activity that has a clear purpose, a beginning and and end,
PROJECT
and is aimed at producing a visible result.
Extended written text enabling learners to display their
command of learning objectives while cultivating higher
ESSAY order thinking skills (scientific or technical papers, user
manuals, research essays, short essays, brochures).
PRESENTATION Public demonstration, before an audience, of the
knowledge and competencies gained the learner (slide
presentations, poster presentations, focused debates).

23. 4
CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT is also called AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
because it engages the learners in tasks and procedures where knowledge
and competencies are exercised in real-world, complex, situations – not in
artificial and de-contextualized tasks.
LEARNING PORTFOLIOS are often used, with good results, in connection with
LEARNING CONTRACTS [Knowles].
One of the most valuable mechanisms in CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT is
BLIND PEER-ASSESSMENT

24. 4
CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
RUBRICS are versatile
contextual assessment
and grading tools
simplified example quot;
They can be used
to assess and grade as
little as individual skills,
and as much as
full projects and
programs
They can be used by:
- teachers
- peers
- self
© California State University, Long Beach

25. 1. Contextual learning
2. Theories supporting contextual learning
3. Learning contexts design
4. Contextual assessment
5. Contextual platforms
6. Conclusions

26. 5
CONTEXTUAL PLATFORMS
Learning Management Systems. Software platforms that
LMS
organize and provide access to online learning services for
students, teachers, and administrators. They usually include
access control, provision of learning content, communication
tools, and organization of user groups.
Learning Content Management Systems. Software platforms for
LCMS
the management of contents (“learning objects”) by authors,
instructors, and learners.
Learning CONTEXT Management Systems. Software platforms
LXMS
for the organization and management of learning contexts
(namely social networking and collaboration within
communities).

27. 5
CONTEXTUAL PLATFORMS
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SOFTWARE
pioneering example of a (sill quite
crude) contextual learning platform.
manages sequences of activities,
rather than isolated activities.

28. 5
CONTEXTUAL PLATFORMS
PROTOTYPES

29. 5
CONTEXTUAL PLATFORMS
SOME DESIRABLE ATTRUBUTES
OF CONTEXTUAL LEARNING PLATFORMS
management of easy management of blind peer-assessment for all kinds of
assignments.
blind peer-assessment
rubric generation and generation of rubrics and easy rubric grading mechanisms
for all kinds of assignments.
management
portfolio management easy management, instructor feedback, peer cross-
annotation, and grading of learning portfolios

30. 5
CONTEXTUAL PLATFORMS
SOME DESIRABLE ATTRUBUTES
OF CONTEXTUAL LEARNING PLATFORMS
(continued)
networking and contextual access to, and management of, shared
information repositories characterized by organic and
social filtering
unpredictable growth (http://del.icio.us)
systems to track the relationships of collaboration and
sociographic and
affection between the members of teams and communities
sociometric analysis systems
so as to permit early corrective action.
mechanisms for minimalist mechanisms offering to each participant in a collective
learning process some visibility about the progress of the
social visibility
others (ex.: social trasnlucence).
mechanisms for mechanisms facilitating the discovery of useful information
whose existence we ignore by searching information whose
serendipity generation
existence we know (serendipity engines).

31. 1. Contextual learning
2. Theories supporting contextual learning
3. Learning contexts design
4. Contextual assessment
5. Contextual platforms
6. Conclusions

32. 6
CONCLUSIONS
• Higher Education is moving from CONTENTS TO CONTEXTS
• A solid body of theory exists to support this change
• The various existing forms of CONTEXTUAL LEARNING can be put together
into organic, coherent, and operational frameworks
• LEARNING CONTEXTS can be designed, so that CONTENT makes sense
within CONTEXT
• Gigantic challenges exist in improving CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
• We are witnessing the pre-history of CONTEXTUAL PLATFORMS

33. FROM CONTENT TO CONTEXT
IN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTED
COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION
THE END
Antonio Dias de Figueiredo
Departament of Informatics Engineering
UNIVERSITY OF COIMBRA
University of Coimbra September, 7-8, 2006