berkeley institute of design pedagogical patterns as a foundation for computer-mediated curriculum...

Berkeley Institute of Design

Pedagogical Patterns as a Foundation for Computer-Mediated Curriculum Design in UC-WISE

Andy Carle & Michael Clancy UC Berkeley Computer Science DivisionBerkeley Institute of Design


Outline

Pedagogical Stagnancy Pedagogical Patterns The Pattern-Annotated Course Tool (PACT) Evaluation & Practical Uses

UC-WISE Pedagogical Patterns in UC-WISE


Modern Pedagogical Recommendations Learner-centered environments Systematic focus on the learner Emphasis on learning as an active process

Cooperative learning, problem-based learning, peer instruction, inquiry-based learning

e.g. Brown & Campione, 1994. Bransford et al. National Research Council (US), 1999.


Institutional Inertia Many universities are stuck in the “dark age” of

instruction Lecture-based learning environments focused on the

instructor rather than the learner Most tertiary-level instructors don’t know how to

organize and deliver a learner-centered course Knowledgeable curriculum designers have trouble

making a lasting impact Even a perfect curriculum is limited in its educational

value for other instructors


Outline




Design Patterns An abstraction of a commonly recurring design

problem and its contextualized solution Designed to inform users working in different contexts

Originated by Christopher Alexander in the study of architectural design problems “Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and

over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice” - Alexander

A process by which ordinary people can capture the essence of a design decision by seeing how experts think about common problems in the domain

Alexander, Ishikawa, & Silverstein, 1977.


The Pedagogical Patterns Project Goals

Recreate the success of design patterns in architecture and software engineering in the space of pedagogical theory

Identify and disseminate context-neutral abstractions of best practices for teaching

Encourage instantiation of these patterns in diverse situations Early work by Sharp, Manns, Prieto, and McLaughlin focused on

teaching object-oriented programming concepts Subsequent work by Joe Bergin extended the focus to general

CS education Pattern Format:

Description of the problem Forces governing the application of the pattern Description of the solution Advice on implementing the solution

Sharp et al., 2000. http://www.pedagogicalpatterns.org/


A Pedagogical Pattern: Early Warning You teach a course in which ideas build upon one another and

students will be lost if they do not understand early material Your students may not realize that they are falling behind or that

they have misconceptions, but you are in a better position to recognize it. Students may waste time and effort if they have fallen behind or have misunderstood, but time is short. If your students fall behind or miss early material it will be difficult for them to catch up and succeed.

Therefore, give them early warning when you see that they are not coping with the amount of work, or they have misunderstood some topic. Advice is best if it points a path to success, not just pointing out the roadblock. The earlier you give the advice, the better chance for success in the student. This can take many forms. If your course has special pitfalls for the student, you can publish these on your course FAQ.

It helps if you give frequent short exams and quickly return the marked papers. Some universities require exams in every course every Friday, for example.

from: Bergin et al., Feedback Patternshttp://www.pedagogicalpatterns.org/current/feedback.pdf


Practical Problems Abstract patterns are difficult to apply to a

specific course or context Similarly, patterns that are deeply contextualized

are difficult to transfer to unrelated situations Pattern-informed environments rarely reveal

clues about the underlying patterns to the untrained observer

Collaboration between content experts and pedagogical specialists is rare

Sharp et al., 2003. Fincher & Utting, 2002.


Outline

Pedagogical Stagnancy Pedagogical Patterns The Pattern-Annotated Course Tool

(PACT) Evaluation & Practical Uses



PACT: Design Goals Create a learner-centered application shaped by

principles from the learning sciences Making thinking visible Scaffolding A progression from concrete to abstract

Capture instructional expertise in a useful way for others.

Encourage experimentation with, and adoption of, best pedagogical practices

Guide instructors in framing course goals and refining courses to meet them

Offer a cohesive framework applicable across a range of instructional settings


Features: Course Authoring


Features: Intuitive Navigation Based on the Zoomable User Interface

metaphor Piccolo ZUI Toolkit (Maryland)

Easy navigation between various levels of scope and scale

A powerful visualization that brings the curriculum out of the abstract and gives it a sense of physical structure

Focus plus context

Piccolo: Bederson, et al., 2004.Focus plus context: Baudisch, et al. 2002.


Features: Direct Manipulation Interface All objects can be directly manipulated using familiar

mouse actions Simple to reorganize objects, collections, and

pattern references while quickly making links between related objects

Connecting the behavior of course objects directly to the user’s actions further reifies what were once abstract concepts

The simplicity of these operations can encourage users who are not even interested in pedagogical patterns to investigate our tool

e.g. Schneiderman, 1983


Features: Informal Representations Instructors must be willing to make changes

to existing courses to get the full benefit of PACT

Presentation style graphics such as those in professional diagramming tools discourage this type of experimental play

PACT uses informal colors, shapes, and fonts to suggest an intermediate and abstract sketch This type of interface has been shown to

encourage change and exploration

Hong & Landay, 2000


Video/Demo


Outline




Evaluation

Usability and Utility testing Still in a pilot stage

Three metrics of interest Usefulness to the curriculum designer

Expert and novice Improvement in the quality of curricula designed

Both with and without PACT Learning benefits for students

Practical Use


Expert Instructor Reflection

The process of annotating a course with references to pedagogical patterns helps experienced instructors unravel their own understanding of their design

Carefully reflecting on each portion of a course with the pedagogical patterns framework in mind can lead to an emergent picture of how the designer views the material in the curriculum along with the affordances of the learning environment in which it is being presented

This rich understanding can, in turn, be used to iteratively improve the material and structure of the course


Novice Instructor Learning

Pedagogical patterns used in a real curriculum take on a concrete meaning that can not be achieved in the abstract

Pattern cloning allows users to create new content based on existing patterns Authors can then make the content changes

necessary to adapt to the new course without fundamentally changing the semantics of the pattern instances

Straightforward rote learning of patterns


PACT and Patterns as a Discussion Tool

The PACT interface makes an excellent visual aid for describing and discussing issues in pedagogy and curriculum design

In this use, PACT is a teaching tool in the hands of the pedagogical expert

Pattern annotations provide a rich language for discussing the nuances of curriculum design PACT focuses the audience on the effectiveness

of patterns and their activities


Outline




What is UC-WISE? “University of California Web-based

Instruction for Science and Engineering” A course format for lab-based instruction The system infrastructure for course authoring

and delivery


The UC-WISE system Hierarchical data base of annotated course

activities (~500 per course) + student responses served by WISE (Web-based Inquiry Science

Environment), developed at UCB School of Education Student Portal Curriculum Builder (for creating courses from

scratch) Course Builder (for tailoring existing courses)


UC-WISE course activities Typical programming activities:

writing, modifying, analyzing, testing, debugging programs

Embedded assessments (various kinds) Online and face-to-face collaboration Algorithm/program visualizations (starting

spring 07)


UC-WISE CS courses so far

CS 3L (“Introduction to Symbolic Programming”), piloted summer 2002, offered since spring 2003.

CS 61BL (“Data Structures and Programming Methodology”), piloted fall 2004, run fall 2005, will be run spring 2007.

CS 4 (“Introduction to Programming for Engineers”), piloted fall 2004, run spring 2006.

U.C. Merced CSE 20, 21, 30


Activities for CS 61BL PDF (To view these as a student might see them,

surf to fall05.ucwise.org, then follow the guest links.)


Outline




Activities vs. patterns Literature on pedagogical patterns has

focused either on high-level patterns (course-wide or topic-wide) or on vague best practices.

UC-WISE course activities seem to provide a lower level of abstraction appropriate for day-to-day patterns.


PACT role in pattern formation Analysis of CS 3L activities (designed by

Clancy) revealed that most of the course involved instances of example + elaboration explanation + elaboration

We hadn’t realized this before. What about the parts of the course that don’t fit

those patterns?


The Course Builder Aim: Allow prospective instructors to build

courses out of our raw material Goals include:

Richly annotated course material A “critical review” facility

Pedagogical patterns can help!


Patterns in a digital library? UC-WISE system digital library containing

entire courses, not just isolated learning objects Expectation: differences in access to components,

relevant metadata Use pedagogical patterns to access course

components?


Inventing courses = design How do course designs evolve? How do novice instructors learn this process? What patterns are successful, and when?


Thanks to ... CITRIS (early critical support) CITRIS ITR Hewlett-Packard NSF (DUE 0443121) WISE and TELS projects (UCB School of

Education)

Microsoft Research (initial PACT funding)


Questions/Comments?Email: Andy: [email protected]: [email protected]

PACT: www.cs.berkeley.edu/~acarle/PACT/UC-WISE: www.cs.berkeley.edu/~clancy/web/ucwise.htmlGuest access to UC-WISE curricula:fall05.ucwise.orgBiDbid.berkeley.edu

berkeley institute of design pedagogical patterns as a foundation for computer-mediated curriculum...

Documents

success of design patterns

design decision

recurring design problem

ucwise slide

space of pedagogical

problembased learning

pattern description

solution sharp