An Instructional Design Framework For

8/8/2019 An Instructional Design Framework For

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An Ins t ruc t iona l Des ign Framework forA u t h e n t i c L e a r n in g E n v iro n m e n ts[ ] J a n H e r r i n g t o n

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The ins truct ional technology co m m un ity is inthe m ids t o f a phi losophical sh~fl ro m abehaviorist to a constructivist framework, am ove tha t m ay beg in to address the grow ingr ~ between form al school learning and real-l~e learning. O ne theory of learning that hasthe capacity to prom ote authentic learning isthat o f s i tuated learning.Th e purpose of th is three-part s tudy wasfir st , to ident~-y critical characteristics of a sit-ua ted l earn ing env i ronmen t f rom the ex tens iveliterature base on the subject; second, to opera-tionalize the critical characteristics of a situ-ated learning environ m ent by designing am ult im edia program that incorporated theident~ed characteristics; and third, to investi-ga te students" perceptions of their experiencesus ing a m ul t imed ia package based on a s i tu -ated learning fram ewo rk.The learning environment , fo r preserviceteachers , comprised a mul t imedia program onassessm ent in mathematics together wi threcommended implementation condi tions forthe c lassroom. E ight s tudents were observedan d interview ed to explore their percept ions o fthe s i tuated learning environment . Findingssug ges t that the use of the s i tuated learningfra m ew ork provided e f fec t ive instruct ionaldesign guidelines fo r the design o f an environ-m en t for the acqu is it ion o f advanced know l -edge.

[ ] T h e s e p a r at i o n b e t w e e n k n o w i n g a n d d o i ngt r a d i t i o n a l l y h a s b e e n t h e h a l l m a r k o f s c h o o la n d u n i v e r s i t y l e a r n i n g ( R e s ni c k, 1 9 8 7 ) . T h ee m p h a s i s i n s c h o o l a n d u n i v e r s i ty h a s b e e n o ne x t r a c t i n g e s s e n t i a l p r i n c i p l e s , c o n c e p t s , a n df a c t s , a n d t e a c h i n g t h e m i n a n a b s t r a c t a n dd e c o n t e x t u a l i z e d f o r m . T h e i n a d e q u a c i e s o f t h i sa p p r o a c h a b o u n d i n e v e r y d a y e x p e r ie n c e , f o re x a m p l e : t h e d r i v e r w i t h a p h y s i c s d e g r e e ,a t t e m p t i n g t o d i g t h e c a r o u t o f s a n d i n s te a d o fp a r t i a l l y d e f l a t i n g t h e t ir e s . I n c a s e s s u c h a s t h is ,t h e r e i s a f a i l u r e t o a c c e s s k n o w l e d g e t h a t i sc l e a r ly r e l e v a n t t o s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m i n h a n d .I n f o r m a t i o n h a s b e e n s t o r e d a s f a ct s r a t h e r t h a na s t o o l s ( B r a n s f o r d , S h e r w o o d , H a s s e l b r i n g ,K i n z e r , & W i l l i a m s , 1 9 9 0 ) , i s " w e l d e d " t o i t so r i g in a l o cca s io n o f u se (Bro wn , 1 9 97 ), o r a sW h i t e h e a d ( 19 32 ) s u g g e s t e d , t h e k n o w l e d g e h a sr e m a i n e d " i n e r t ."

T h e s e s t u d i e s s u g g e s t t h a t m u c h o f t h ea b s t r a c t k n o w l e d g e t a u g h t i n s c h o o l s a n d u n i -v e r s i t ie s i s n o t r e t r i e v a b l e in r e a l- li f e, p r o b l e m -s o l v i n g c o n t e x t s , b e c a u s e t h i s a p p r o a c h i g n o r e st h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e o f s i t u a t io n a n d c o g n i ti o n .W h e n l e a r n i n g a n d c o n t e x t a r e s e p a r a t e d ,k n o w l e d g e i t s e lf i s s e e n b y l e a r n e r s a s t h e f in a lp r o d u c t o f e d u c a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n a t o o l t o b eu s e d d y n a m i c a l l y t o s o l v e p r o b l e m s . C o l e ( 19 90 )c o n t e n d s t h a t t r a d i t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n o v e r -e m p h a s i z e s t h e a c q u i s it io n o f fa c ts a n d p r o c e -d u r e s , a s i t u a t i o n t h a t E n t w h i s t l e , E n t w h i s t l ea n d T a i t (1 99 3) a r g u e i s b o l s t e r e d b y t h e n i g h t l yq u i z s h o w s o n t e l e v is i on w h i c h " p u b l ic i z e a n dreward . . . i n c r e m e n t a l , d e c o n t e x t u a l i z e dk n o w l e d g e " ( p . 3 35 ). T h e r e is n o c o n t e n t i o n t h a tf o r m a l in s t r u c ti o n s h o u l d b e a b a n d o n e d i n f a v o ro f c o n t e x t - d e p e n d e n t s t r a t e g ie s t h a t a r e l e a r n e d" o n t h e j o b . " R a t h e r , t h e i m p l i c a t i o n i s t o d e t e r -

ETR&D,Vo l. 48, No. 3, 2000,P!q.23-48 ISSN1042-1629 2 3


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~ '4 ETR&D, Vol. 48, No. 3

m i ne t he pe da gog i c a l s i gn i f i c a nc e o f t he f i nd -i ngs a nd t o p r om ot e a pp r op r i a t e a nd e f f e c t i vec l a s s r oom t e c hn i que s a nd p r a c t i c e s t o f o s t e rm e a n i n g f u l l e ar n in g .

T h e r e h a v e b e e n s e v e r al a tt e m p t s t o u s e t h ef i nd i ngs o f t he r e s e a r c h i n t o c on t e x t ua l i z e dl e a r n i ng t o de s i gn a m ode l o f in s t r uc ti on . F o re xa m pl e , R e s n i c k ( 1987) p r e e m pt e d l a t e r m o de l sb y p r o p o s i n g t h a t " b r i d g i n g a p p r e n t i c e s h i p s "b e d e s i g n e d t o b r i d g e t h e g a p b e t w e e n t h e t h e o -r e t i c a l l e a r n i ng i n t he f o r m a l i n s t r uc t i on o f t hec l a s s r oo m a nd t he r e a l -l if e a pp l i c a t i on o f t hek n o w l e d g e i n t h e w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t . H o w e v e r ,i t w a s B r ow n , C o l l in s , a nd D u gu i d ( 1989b ) w hod e v e l o p e d a f o c u s f o r t h e t h e o r y o f situated cogni-tion o r situated learning a n d p r o d u c e d a p r o p o s a lf o r a m od e l o f i n s t r uc t i on tha t ha s i m p l i c a ti onsfor c la s s roo m prac t ice . Col l ins (1988) de f ines s i t -ua t e d l e a r n i ng a s: " t he no t i on o f l e a r n i ng know l -e dg e a n d s k il ls i n c on t e x ts t ha t r e f le c t t he w a yt he kn ow l e dg e w i l l be u s e f u l i n r e a l l i f e " (p . 2 ).

A c r i ti ca l a spec t o f the s i tua ted l ea rn ingm o d e l i s t h e n o t i o n o f th e a p p r e n t i c e o b s e rv i n gt h e " c o m m u n i t y o f p ra c ti c e. " L a v e a n d W e n g e r( 1991) p r op os e t ha t pa r t i c i pa t ion i n a c u l t u r e o fp r a c t i c e c a n , i n t he f i r s t in s t a nc e, be obs e r va t i onf r o m t h e b o u n d a r y o r " l e g i t i m a t e p e r i p h e r a lp a r t i c ip a t i o n . " A s l e ar n in g a n d i n v o l v e m e n t i nt he c u l t u r e i nc r e a s e , t he pa r t i c i pa n t m ov e s f r omt he r o l e o f obs e r v e r t o f u l ly func t i on i ng a ge n t .L e g i t i m a t e pe r i phe r a l pa r t i c i pa t ion e na b l e s t hel e a r ne r t o p r og r e s s i ve l y p ie c e t oge t he r t he c u l-t u r e o f t h e g r o u p a n d w h a t i t m e a n s t o b e am e m b e r . " T o be ab le to pa r t i c ipa te in a l eg i t i -m a t e l y p e r i p h e r a l w a y e n ta il s th a t n e w c o m e r sha v e b r o a d a c c e ss t o a r e na s o f m a t u r e p r a c t i c e "( p . 110 ). L a ve a n d W e nge r ( 1991 ) p r op os e t ha tt he m a i n f unc t i ons o f le g i t im a t e pe r i phe r a l pa r -t i c i pa t i on a r e t o e na b l e t he l e a r n i ng o f t he l an -g u a g e a n d s t o ri e s o f a c o m m u n i t y o f p r ac ti c e,a n d t o l e ar n h o w t o s p ea k b o t h w i th i n a n d a b o u tt he p r a c t i c e , a nd ye t t h i s oppo r t u n i t y i s de n i e ds t u d e n t s i n m a n y l e a r n in g e n v i r o n m e n t s ( K i r k &M a c do na l d , 1998) .

A l t h o u g h t h e p u b l ic a ti o n o f t h e m o d e l o f s it -u a t e d l e a r n i n g m e t w i t h m u c h i n t e r e s t a n da c c l a i m , i t ha s a l s o be e n w i de l y c ha l l e nge d ,de b a t e d a nd que s t i one d . M a ny o f t he c r it ic is m so f a t t e m p t s t o u s e s i t ua t e d l e a r n i ng a s a m o de l o fi n s t r u c t i o n h a v e b e e n b a s e d o n h o w c l os e ly t h e

l e a r n i ng e nv i r onm e n t r e s em b l e s , no t a c ogn i t ivea pp r e n t i c e s h i p , b u t a t r a d it i ona l a pp r e n t i c e sh i p .F o r e xa m pl e , T r i pp ( 1993 ) p r e s e n t e d a na r r owse t of c r i te r ia to de f ine s i tua ted l ea rn ing , wh iche q u a t e d v e r y m u c h w i t h a s ta n d a r d a p p r e n ti c e -s h i p . I n a r e s po ns e t o t he o r i g i na l B r ow n e t al.a r t i c le (1989b), W ineb urg (1989) a rg ued tha t th ea bs t r a c t r e p r e s e n t a t i on o f know l e dge w a s a tl e a s t a s e f f e c t i ve a s t he s i t ua t e d l e a r n i nga p p r o a c h a n d m u c h m o r e r ea d i ly im p l e m e n t e di n t he c l a s s r oom .

H o w e ve r , the p r i nc i pa l t he o r i s t s o f s i t ua t e dl e a r n i n g h a v e c o n s i s t e n t l y a r g u e d t h a t t h e i rm o d e l , w h e n f u r t h e r r e se a r ch e d a n d d e v e l o p e d ,w o u l d b e a m o d e l f o r t e a c h i n g w i t h p r a c t i c a lc la s s room appl ica t ions (Brown, Col l ins , &Duguid, 1989a; Brown e t a l . , 1989b; Coll ins ,1988; Col l ins , Brown, & Newman, 1989) . Fort h o s e w h o q u e s t i o n t h e a p p r o p ri a t en e s s o f th es i t ua t e d l e a r n i ng f r a m e w or k i n c onve n t i ona lc l a s s room s , t he a p p l i c a ti on o f the m ode l t o c om -pu t e r - ba s e d l e a r n i ng i s a f u r t he r s t e p r e m ove df r om t he t r a d i t i ona l a pp r e n t i c e s h i p r o l e . F o re xa m pl e , H um m e l ( 1993 ) de s c r i be d a d i s t a nc ee d u c a t i o n c o u r s e o n Soil and Environment tha tw a s ba s e d on i de a s f r om s i t ua t e d l e a r n i ng the -o r y . H u m m e l r e j e c te d t h e i d e a t h a t t h e p r o g r a mw a s t r u e s i t u a t ed l e a rn i n g b y v i r t u e o f t h e f a ctt ha t i t w a s c om pu t e r - ba s e d : " I n s t r uc t i ona ld e s i g n e rs w h o a p p l y s i tu a t e d le a r n i n g t h e o r y b yi m p l e m e n t a t i on i n e l e c tr on i c m e d i a s hou l d r e a l -i z e t h a t t h e y t a k e a n i m p o r t a n t s t e p a w a y f r o mt h is t h e o r y . . , c o u r s e w a re b e c o m e s th e l e a rn i n ge n v i r o n m e n t a n d n o t t h e a u t h e n ti c s i tu a t i o n " ( p.15). S imi la r ly , Tr ip p (1993) con tend ed th a t com -pu t e r - ba s e d s i m u l a t i ons a r e no t s u f f ic i e n t a ndr e i t e r a t e d t ha t " t r ue e xpe r t i s e i s l e a r ne d bybe i ng e xpo s e d t o e xpe r t s " ( p . 75) .

T he r e i s i nc r e a s i ng a g r e e m e n t , none t he le s s ,t ha t c om pu t e r - ba s e d r e p r e s e n t a t i ons a nd" m i c r o w o r l d s " d o p r o v i d e a p o w e r f u l a n dacceptab le veh ic le for th e c r i t i cal cha rac te r is t i c so f t he t r a d i t i ona l a pp r e n t i c e s h i p t o b e l oc a t e d i nt he c l a s s r oom e n v i r onm e n t . R e e ve s ( 1993a) c on -s i de r s t ha t one o f t he m a j o r be ne f it s o f a w e l l -de s i gne d m u l t i m e d i a e nv i r onm e n t i s i t s a b i l i t yt o i n c l u d e " o p p o r t u n i t i e s fo r s i m u l a t ed a p p r e n -t i c es h i p s a s w e l l a s a w e a l t h o f l e a r n i ng s up po r tac t iv i t i e s " (p . 107). M any o f the r e se a rche rs an dt e a c he r s e xp l o r i ng t he m ode l o f s i t ua t e d l e a rn -


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A FRAMEWORK FOR AUTHENTIC LEARNINGENVIRONMENTS 25

i n g h a v e a c c e p t e d t h a t t h e c o m p u t e r c a n p r o v i d ean a l t e rna t iv e t o t he rea l - f ife se t t ing , and tha ts u c h t e c h n o l o g y c a n b e u s e d w i t h o u t s a cr if ic i ngthe au then t i c co n tex t wh ich i s such a c r it i ca l e le -m e n t o f t h e m o d e l . M c L e U a n (1 99 4) s u m m a r i z e dt h e s e a p p r o a c h e s b y p o i n t i n g o u t t h a t w h i l ek n o w l e d g e m u s t b e l e a r n e d i n c on t ex t a c c o rd i n gt o t h e s i t u a t e d l e a r n i n g m o d e l , " c o n te x t c a n b ethe ac tua l work se t t i ng , a h igh ly rea l i s t i c o r' v i r t u a l ' s u r r o g a t e o f t h e a ct u a l w o r k e n v i r o n -m e n t , o r a n a n c h o r i n g c o n t e x t s u c h a s a v i d e o o rm u l t i m e d i a p r o g r a m " ( p. 8 ).

THE RESEARCH AIMS

T h e p u r p o s e o f t hi s r e se a r ch w a s t o d e t e r m i n et h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a p p l y i n g a m o d e l o f i n s t r u c -t i o n a l d e s i g n b a s e d o n t h e t h e o r y o f s i t u a t e dl e a r n i n g t o t h e d e s i g n o f a m u l t i m e d i a l e a r n i n ge n v i r o n m e n t f o r u n i v e r s i ty s tu d e n t s , a n d t oi n v e s t i g a t e s t u d e n t s ' r e s p o n s e s t o t h a t l e a r n i n ge n v i r o n m e n t . T h e r e se a r ch w a s d e s i g n e d to bec o n d u c t e d i n s e v e r a l i n te r r e l a te d s t a g e s . P a r t 1 ,De f in i t i on o f Cr i t i ca l Charac t e r i s t ic s o f S i tua t edL e a r n i ng a n d D e v e l o p m e n t o f F r a m e w o r k , th ef i r s t s t a g e o f t h e r e s e a r c h , w a s t o i d e n t i f y t h ec r i t i ca l cha rac t e r i s t i c s o f a s i t ua t ed l ea rn ingm o d e l f r o m t h e r e s e a r c h, d e b a t es a n d d i s cu s s i ong e n e r a t e d i n t h e e x t e n s i v e b o d y o f li t e ra t u r e . I nP a r t 2 , D e s i g n a n d P r o d u c t i o n o f t h e M u l t i m e d i aP a c k a g e , a c o m p l e t e i n st r u c ti o n a l p a c k a g e w a sd e s i g n e d t o i n c o r p o r a t e t h e c r it ic a l e l e m e n t s o f as i t u a t e d l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t ( d e t e r m i n e d i nP a r t 1 ). A m u l t i m e d i a p r o g r a m f o r C D - R O M w a sd e v e l o p e d i n t h e a r e a o f a s s e s s m e n t s t r at e g ie s f o rm a t h e m a t i c s t e a c h e r s o f g r a d e s K - 1 2 , t o g e t h e rw i t h p l a n n e d s t r a t e g ie s f o r i m p l e m e n t a t i o n in as e c o n d - y e a r t e r t ia r y m a t h e m a t ic s - m e t h o d d a s sf o r p r e s e r v i c e t e a c h e r s . T h e p r o g r a m w a s t h e nu s e d w i t h s t u d e n t s i n s u b s e q u e n t p a r t s o f t h es t u d y . P a r t 3 , T h e I m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e M u l t i -

m e d i a P r o g r a m a s a S it ua te d L e a r n in g E n v ir o n -m e n t , i n v e s t i g a t e d s t u d e n t s ' p e r c e p t i o n s o f t h e i re x p e r ie n c e s u s i n g a m u l t im e d i a p a c k a g e b a s e do n a s i t u a t e d l e a r n i n g f r a m e w o r k i n a u n i v e r s i t yc l a s s r o o m environment.

T h e s e t h r e e p a r t s t o t h e s t u d y w e r e p a r t o f al a rg e r , m o r e c o m p l e x a n d c o m p r e h e n s i v e s t u d yt h a t i n c l u d e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f s t u d e n t s ' n a v i g a -

t io n t h r o u g h t h e p r o g r a m , a n a n a l y si s o f h i g h e r -o r d e r t h i n k i n g a n d a t r a n s fe r s tu d y .

PART 1: DEFINITION OF CRITICALCHARACTERISTICS OFSITUATED LEARNING AND

DEVELOPMENT OF FRAMEWORK

L e C o m p t e a n d P r e i s s l e ( 1 9 9 3 ) c o n t e n d e d t h a t :" T h e p m ] ) o s e o f th e o r i e s i s t o h e l p u s s o r t o u to u r w o r l d , m a k e s e n s e o f it, gu i d e h o w w eb e h a v e i n i t , a n d p r e d i c t w h a t m i g h t h a p p e nnex t " (p . 120 ). Th e c r i ti ca l ques t ion w as o ne p re -e m p t e d b y t h e p r i n c i p a l p r o p o n e n t s o f s i t u a te dl e a rn i n g : " O n e o f th e m o s t p e r s is t e n t e d u c a -t i o n a l q u e s t i o n s f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n s o f s i t u -a t e d l e a r n i n g h a s b e e n : H o w c a n t he s e s i tu a t e dt h e o ri e s b e o p e r a t i o n a l i z e d ? " ( B r o w n & D u g u i d ,1 99 3, p . 1 0) . I n m u l t i m e d i a d e v e l o p m e n t , P a r ka n d H a n n a f i n ( 1 9 9 3 ) a r g u e d t h a t t e c h n o l o g i c a lc a p a c i t y a n d t h e i n t u i t i o n o f d e s i g n er s d r i v e t h ed e s i g n o f m u l t i m e d i a r a t h e r t h a n r e s e a r c h a n dtheo ry . B row n e t a l . (1989b) , i n t he i r o r ig ina l a r t i -c le p r e s e n t e d a nascent t h e o r y o f s i tu a t e d l e a r n -i n g t h a t h a s t h e p o t e n t i a l t o p r o v i d e a t h e o r e ti c a lb a s i s fo r a n e w f r a m e w o r k f o r m u l t i m e d i ad e s i g n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . F r o m t h e s t a r t t h e ys u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e i r m o d e l w a s t h e b e g i n n i n g o ft h e p r o c e s s o f d e v e l o p i n g a t h e o r et i c a l p e r s p e c -t i v e f o r s u c c e s s f u l l e a r n i n g t h a t c o g n i t i v e s c ie n c eh a d , t o d a t e , n o t b e e n a b l e t o e x p l a i n . T h ec h a l l e n g e p u t t o r e s e a r c h e r s w a s t o i d e n t i f y t h ec r it ic a l a s p e c t s o f s i t u a t e d l e a r n i n g t o e n a b l e i t t ot r a n s l a t e i n t o t e a c h i n g m e t h o d s t h a t c o u l d b ea p p l ie d i n t h e c ~ s s r o o m .

I n r e s p o n s e t o t h i s c h a l le n g e , a p r a c ti c a lf r a m e w o r k f o r t h e d e s i g n o f le a r n in g e n v i r o n -m e n t s w a s p r o d u c e d . E s s e n ti a ll y , c u r r e n t l i te r a -t u r e s u g g e s t s t h a t u s e a b l e k n o w l e d g e i s b e s tg a i n e d i n l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t s t h a t f e a t u r e th ef o l l o w i n g n i n e s i t u a t e d l e a r n i n g d e s i g n e l e -m e n t s :1 . P r o v i d e authentic contexts t h a t r e f l e c t t h e w a y

t h e k n o w l e d g e w i l l b e u s e d i n r e a l l if e.2 . P r o v i d e authentic activities.3 . P r o v i d e a c c e s s t o e x p er t performances and the

m o d e l l i n g o f p r o c e s s e s.4 . P r o v i d e mu ltiple roles and perspectives.


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A Fr~AMEWOI~K FOR AUTHENTICLEAI~NINGENVIi~ONMENTS 27

T a b l e ] 1 - ] Continued# E l e m e n tof si tuated learning

4 . P r o v i d e m u l t i p l e r o l es a n d pe r s pe c t i ve s ( B r a ns f o r d ,S he r w o od , e t a l ., 1990 ; B r ow net al . , 1989b; CT GV , 1990a; C T G V , 1993; Col l ins e t a l . ,1989; Lav e & W eng er , 1991; S p i r o , F e l t ov i c h , J a c obs on , &Co ulso n, 1991a ; Spi ro , Fe l tovich ,J a c obs on , & C ou l s on , 1991b;5 . S u pp or t c o l l a bo r a t i ve c o n s t r u c ti o n o f k n o w l e d g eY o ung , 1993)

( B r a n s f o r d , S h e r w o o d , e t a l. , 1990 ; B r o w n e t a l ., 1989b ; C I ~ V , 1990a; C ol l in s e t aL, 1989;Resn ick , 1987; Yo ung , 1993)6 . P r o m ot e re f l e c t i on t o e na b l e

a b s t r a c t i o n s t o b e f o r m e d ( B r o w n e t a l. , 9 8 9 b ; C T G V ,1 9 9 0 a ; C o l l i n s , 9 8 8 ; o l l i n s e t a l. ,1989; Resn ick , 1987)

7.

8 .

P r o m o t e a r t i c u la t i o n t o e n a b l et a c it k n o w l e d g e t o b e m a d ee xp l i c i t( B r a ns f o r d , S he r w o od , e t al .,1990; Col l ins , 1988; Col l ins e tal . , 1989)P r o v i d e c o a c h i n g b y t h e t e a ch e ra t c r i t i c a l t i me s , a nd s c a f f o l d inga n d f a d i n g o f t e ac h e r s u p p o r t(Col l ins , 1988; Col l ins e t a l . ,1989; Gr i f f in , 1995; Har ley , 1993;Resn ick , 1987; Yo ung , 1993)

9 . P r ov i de f o r i n t e g r a t e d a s s es s - m e n t o f l e a r n i n g w i t h i n t h e t a sk s (M cLel lan , 1993; Yo ung , 1993;Y o ung , 1995 ).

Guidelines o r design and implementation af learning environmenta c c e s s t o t he s oc i a l pe r i ph e r y o r t he obs e r va t i on o f r e a l -l i fe e p i s od e sa s t he y oc c u r ( B r ow n e t a l. , 1989b ; B r o w n & D ugu i d , 1993 ;L a ve & W e nge r , 1991)d i f f e r e n t pe r s pe c t i ve s on t he t op i c s f r om va r i ou s po i n t s o f v i e w(Brans ford , Sherw ood , e t a l . , 1990; Bro wn e t a l . , 1989b; CTG V,1990a; CTGV , 1993; Co l l ins e t a l . , 1989; Lave & W eng er , 1991)t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o e x p r e s s d i f f e re n t p o i n t s o f v i e w t h r o u g hc o l l a bo r a t i on ( H o ne be i n e t a l. , 1993 )t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o c ri ss c ro s s t h e l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t b y p r o v i d i n gm o r e t h a n o n e i n v e s t i g a t i o n w i t h i n a r e s o u r ce s u f fi c ie n t ly ri c h t osus ta in repea ted exa m ina t io n , (Spi ro e t a l. , 1991a ; Spi ro e t a l. , 1991b;Y ou ng , 1993)t a s k s t h a t a r e a d d r e s s e d t o a g r o u p r a t h e r t h a n a n i n d i v i d u a l(Ales s i , 1996; Bro wn e t a l .~ 1989b; Co l l ins e t a l . , 1989; Ho ope r , 1992;Resnick , 1987; Yo ung , 1993)c l a s sr o o m o r g a n i z a t i o n in t o p a i r s o r s m a l l g r o u p s ( H o o p e r , 1 99 2)a p p r o p r i a t e i n c e n t i v e s t r u c t u r e f o r w h o l e - g r o u p a c h i e v e m e n t(Ho oper , 1992).a u t he n t i c c on t e x t a nd t a s k ( B r ow n e t al . , 1989b ; N o r m a n , 1993 )t h e f a c il it y f o r s t u d e n t s t o r e t u r n t o a n y e l e m e n t o f t h e p r o g r a m i fde s i r e d , a nd t o a c t up on r e f l e c t ion ( B oud , K e ogh , & W a l ke r , 1985 ;C o l l i n s & B r ow n , 1988; K e m mi s , 1985 )t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r l e a rn e r s t o c o m p a r e t h e m s e l v e s w i t h e x p e r t s( C o l l in s , 1988; C o l l i n s & B r o w n , 1988 ; C o l l i n s , B r ow n , & H o l um , 1991) t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r l e a r n e r s t o c o m p a r e t h e m s e l v e s w i t h o t h e r l e a r n e rsi n va r y i ng s t a ge s o f a c c om pl i s hm e n t ( C o l l in s e t a l ., 1989) c o l la b o r a ti v e g r o u p i n g s o f s t u d e n t s t o e n a b l e r e fl e c ti o n w i t h a w a r ea t t e n t i on ( K e m mi s , 1985; K n i gh t s , 1985 ; yo n W r i gh t , 1992 )

a c o m p l e x t a sk i n c o r p o r a t i n g i n h e r e n t , a s o p p o s e d t o c o n s tr u c t e d ,opp or t un i t i e s t o a r t i c u l a te ( B r a n s f o r d , S he r w ood , e t a l ., 1990 ; C o l l i n s ,1988; Col l in s e t a l . , 1989; Ed e l so n, Pea , & Go m ez , 1996) c o l la b o r a ti v e , g r o u p s t o e n a b l e s o c ia l t h e n i n d i v i d u a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g(Mercer , 1996; Vy gotsk y, 1978) p u b l i c p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a r g u m e n t t o e n a b l e a r t i c u l a ti o n a n d d e f e n c eo f l e a r n i ng ( L a ve & W e ng e r , 1991 ; P e a , 1991 ) a c o m p l e x , o p e n - e n d e d l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t ( C o l li n s, 1 98 8; C o l l i n se t a l . , 1989; R e s n i c k , 1987 ) no a t t e m p t t o p r ov i d e i n t r i n s i c s c a f f o l d i nga n d c oa c h i ng ( C o l l i n s & B r ow n , 1988 ; D r e y f u s & D r e y f us , 1989;Gre enf ie ld , 1984; Reeves , 1993b; Wi l s on & W elsh , 1991) c o l l a bo r a t i ve l e a r n i ng , w h e r e m or e a b l e pa r t n e r s c a n a s si s t w i t h s c a f-

fo ld in g and coac hing (Col l ins , 1988; Co l l ins e t a l . , 1989; Yo ung , 1993) r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s t h a t t h e te a c h e r i m p l e m e n t i n g t h e p r o g r a m i sa va i l a b l e fo r c oa c h i ng a n d s c a f f o l d i ng a s s is t a nc e f o r a s i gn i f i c a n tpo r t i on o f t he pe r i od o f u s e ( C o l l i n s , 1988 ; G r i f f i n , 1995 ; H a r l e y , 1993 ;Y o ung , 1993)f ide l i ty of context (Mey er , 1992; Ree ves & Oke y, 1996; W iggins , 1993)t h e o p p o r t u n i t y fo r s t u d e n t s t o b e e f f e c ti v e p e r f o r m e r s w i t h a c q u i r e dk n o w l e d g e , a n d t o c r a f t p o l i s h e d , p e r f o r m a n c e s o r p r o d u c t s( W i gg i ns , 1989 ; W i gg i ns , 1990 ; W i gg i ns , 1993 )s i gn i f i c a n t s t u d e n t t i m e a n d e f f o rt i n c o l l a b o r a ti o n w i t h o t h e r s( K r o t l, M a s i ng i l a , & M a u , 1992 ; L i n n , B a ke r, & D u nba r , 1991 ) c o m p l e x , i l l s t r u c t u r e d c h a l l e n g e s t h a t r e q u i r e j u d g e m e n t , a n d a f u l la r ra y of t asks (Li rm e t aL, 1991; Torra nce , 1995; Wiggins ,1993 ) t h e a s s e s s m e n t t o b e s e a m l e s s l y i n t e g r a t e d w i t h t h e a c t i v it y(Reeves & Oke y, 1996i Yo un g, 1995,) m u l t i p l e i nd i c a t o r s o f l e a r n i n g ( L a jo i e , 1991 ; L i n n e t a l. , 1991 ) v a l i d i t y a n d r e l ia b i l it y w i t h a p p r o p r i a t e c r i te r ia f o r s c o r in g v a r i e dpro du c t s (Hoo per , 1992; La jo ie , 1991; Resn ick & Resnick , 1992;W i gg i ns , 1990; Y oung , 1995 )


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28 ETR&D, Vo L 4 8, No~ 3

as st ud ent s (La mp ert & Ball, 1990; 1998). Oth ershav e no ted tha t p rese rv ice t eachers ' exper iencesin c lassro oms d uring their profess ional pract icehave p roved inadequa te because s tuden tsobse rve t each ing "d r iven b y tex ts and te s ts , " o rthe y are i l l equ ipp ed to detect the subt le dif fer-ences be tw een h igh qua l i ty and mediocre t each-ing (Mou sley & Sul l ivan, 1995) . The s i tuatedl e a r ni n g f r a m e w o r k c o u l d b e u s ed t o p r o d u c e aresou rce to add ress these concerns . The resourcewo uld focus on assessment s tra teg ies in mathe-mat ics c lass rooms (K-12) , and would bedes igned p r imar i ly fo r a t a rge t g roup o f under -gra dua te prese rvice teachers (see Figure I for ananno ta te d g raph ic o f the main in te r face) .

Drawing on the character is t ics of a s i tuatedlea rn ing env i ronment , and the requ i rements o fthe content area of assessment , the media e le-ments tha t compr i se the mul t imedia p rogramare: Video clips of teachers using various assessment

techniques wit hin their c lassrooms in ord er toshow an au then t ic exam ple o f pa r t icu la r

assessment s t ra tegies being used in a realc lass room;

Video clips of teachers" comm ents on the strate-gies, to p resen t th e t eachers ' own re flect ionson the s t reng ths and weaknesses o f eacha p p r o a c h ;

Vide o clips of children's comme nts on the strate-gies to p resen t the i r though ts on eacha p p r o a c h ;

Interv iews wi th experts in the field t o p r o v i d etheoret ical perspect ives;

Reflectio ns by third-year preservice teachers topro v id e p rac t ica l adv ice f rom the pe rspec t iveof s tuden ts whose exper ience i s morea d v a n c e d t h a n t h e st u d e n ts w h o w o u l d u s ethe resource;

Text descriptions of each assessment ca tegoryto p rov ide a s imple desc r ip t ion o f each st ra t-egy toge the r wi th p rac t ica l adv ice on i t simple men ta t ion in d i f feren t c lassroom s i tua -t ions;

F i g u r e 1 [ ] T h e m a i n i n t e r f a c e o f t h e a s s e s s m e n t p r o g r a m

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OPJC,~ On ~ InccrT~lC


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A FRAMEWORKFOR AUTHENTICLEARNINGENVIRONMENTS 29

F i gu r e 2 [ ] T h e a c t i v i t y p r e s e n t e d to s t u d e n t sM e m o t o : N e w t e a c h e rsF r o m : R e b e c r. a E d w s c d s . M a t h e m a t i c s C o o r d i n a t o rRefarence: Ma~hemst ics assessmentA s d i sc u ss e d a t o u r l a s t s ta f f m e e t i n g , t h a r e i s ~ . ~ I d o r a b l ea o n c m n t h a t m s t h e r n s t k s t e a c h e r s i n o u r s ch o o l a r e n o t u s in g a na p p r o pr ia t e r a n g e o f e s s s c s m a n t s t r a t e g i e s i n t h e i r d a y t o d a ya s s e s s m e n t o f s t u d e n t s . T h e r e h a v e b e e n s e v e ra l O f r l l ~ l in t s f r o mp a r e n t s a b o u t t h e o v e r re l ia n c e o n p e nc i l a n d p a pe r m s t h e m s t i c s /t e s t s , a n d t h e a m o u n t o f a n x i e t y t h i s P r o d u ce s i n t h e i r c h il d re n . / o ~

t hA s y o u e r e t h e m o s t r e c e n t t e a c h e rs t o jo i n o u r s ta f f, a n d y o u /h a v e r e c e n t l y g r a d u a t e d f r om t e a c h e r ~ r a ln i n g. I t i s f e l t t h a t / P O ~y o u a r e t h e m o s t q ~ q ~ ro p r is t es t a f f m e m b e r s t o P r o v i d e s o m a ~ ~ .9 u id a li na s o n h o w w e m i g h t P r oc e e d. I a m w r i t in g t o f o r m a l l y " ~ a ~ , .r e q u e s t t h a t y o u P r a i s e a ~e p o rt o n e l t e m s t i v a a pp r oa c h es t oa s s e s s m e n t i n m a t h e m a t i c s t o b e P r e s e n t ed t o s t af f.! h a v e M k ) w n d f o r y o u r c la s s es t o b e c o v e r e d f m a t o t a l o f s i xh o u r s o v ~ p e r i o d o f t w o w e e k s . I n th a t t im e , ! w o u l d f i k a y o nt o o b s e r v e o t h o r t y p e s o f a s s e s s m e n t b e i n g u s e d i n c l a ss r o o m s .a n d t o t a l k t o t e o c h a r s , st ud e n ts , p r e s ~ v l c e t a a s h a r s e n de x p e r ts a b o u t t h e t e c h ni qu e s . ~ e p e r a a s u gg e s te d p l a n o n h o w o a rs c h o o l m i g h t p r o c e e d , i n cl u d in g b e n e fi ts a n d P r d ) l a m s f ~parents , s tude nts , and taschars .! wo u ld be g ra te fu l H you r,ou ld p resent your re l ~ r t a t t he nea tStaff mest ing~eclwduted In three wecks. ! w l i l a l to wapprox imate ly S ~0 m inu tes o r your repo~ .Thank you f o r y o u r a s s is t a nc e i n t h i s matter.RoIN4,'caE d w a r d sM i t h l ~ M i e s C o or din a to r

[ i i

W ork sam ples f ro m teachers and chi ldren t oe n a bl e s t u d e n t s t o s c r u ~ i z e w o r k a n dr e s o u r c e s p r e s e n t e d i n t h e s c e n a r io s ;

A n e lec tronic notebook w i th in th e p r o g r a m t oe n a b l e s t u d e n t s t o c o p y t e x t f r o m f ile s a n d t ow r i t e t h e i r o w n r e f le c t io n s a n d i d e a s ;

Inves t igat ions t o e n a b l e t h e st u d e n t s t o e x a m -i n e t h e r e s o u r c e w i t h i n a u t h e n t i c t a s k s .A u t h e n t i c a c t i v i t i e s w e r e i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o

t h e p r o g r a m t o p r o v i d e s u st a in e d a n d c o m p l e xt a s k s f o r s t u d e n t s t o c o m p l e t e a s t h e y u s e d t h ep r o g r a m . T h e t a s k s w e r e p r e s e n t e d t o t h e st u -d e n t r e a l i s t i c a l l y , s u c h a s i n a m e m o o r l e t t e r ,r a t h e r t h a n s i m p l y a s a l is t o f p o s s i b le a c t i v it ie s ,a n d t h e y i n c l u d e d g e n u i n e c o n st ra i n ts s u c h a sd e a d l i n e s a n d t i m e a ll o w a n c e s . A c ti v it ie s

a s s u m e t h a t s t u d e n t s w i l l b e w o r k i n g i n p a ir s o rs m a l l g r o u p s , a n d r e q u i re t h e m t o e x a m i n e t h er e s o u r c e f r o m a v a r i e t y o f p e r s p e c ti v e s ( F i g u r e 2p r e s e n t s t h e a c t i v i t y u s e d i n t h e r e s e a r c h ).

C a r e w a s t a k e n t o e n s u r e t h a t a ll t h e g u i d e -l i n e s f o r a s i t u a t e d l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t ,d e f i n e d i n T a b l e 1 , w e r e o p e r a t i o n a li z e d w i t h i nt h e s o f t w a r e w h e r e a p p r o p r ia t e . A n in s t r u c ti o nm a n u a l f o r f a c i l i t a t o r s a n d s t u d e n t s w a s p r o -d u c e d t o p ro v i d e g u i d a n c e o n h o w t o u s e a n di m p l e m e n t t h e r e s o u rc e a n d t o p r o v i d e a d v ic eo n t h e s i tu a t e d l e a r n i n g e l em e n t s t h a t w e r e n o ti n c l u d e d i n t h e p r o g r a m i ts e lf ( su c h a s c o l la b o -r a t i o n a n d a r t ic u l a ti o n ) . T a b l e 2 s u m m a r i z e s t h em a n i f e s t a ti o n o f t h e s i tu a t e d l e a r n i n g e l e m e n t s ,b o t h w i t h i n t h e s o f t w a r e i t se lf a n d i n it s r e c o m -m e n d e d i m p l e m e n ta t io n .


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T a b l e 2 [ ] M a n i f e s t a t i o n o f c r'r~ca l e l e m e n t s o f s ' rt u a te d l e a r n i n g i n t h e l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n tElement o fs ituated learn ing Gu ide lines or imp leme n ta t ion Man~Ces tat ionn the learning environm entProvide * a physical environ mentauthe ntic context reflecting real usethat reflects a non-linear desig nthe way theknow ledge will a large numb er of resourcesbe used inreal-life no attemp t to simplify

the classroom interface and prog ram organi zedaroun d central context of mathematics classrooms non-linear navigation enabling ready access to anymed ia elem ent in a non-sequential order resource s provided: 23 classroom scenes, 43 videointerv iews, 60 text document s and 20 samples of work no simplification of real-life resources

P r o v i d e a ct iv it i es h a t h a v ea u t h e n t i c r e a l - w o r l d r e l e v a n c eactivitie s * iU-definedactivities

a single c o m p l e x t a s k an opportunity for studentsto define the tasks a sustained perio d of timefor investigation the opportunity to detectrelevant informatio n the opportunity tocollaborate* tasks that can be integrat ed

a c r o s s u b j e c t a r e a s

five investigat ions mirror the kind of tasks teachersface in real life the prob lem is presented simply in the form of twoletters or memo s, there is no well- defined task each investigation presen ts a complex task with asingle sustained context wh en given the two documents for investigation,stude nts determ ine a course of action

i n c l u d i n g t h e p r e s en t a t io n s t o c la s s, t u d e n t s w o r k o nthe project for weeks rather than day s no att emp t made to edit out irrelevant materialeach investigation is addressed to a g roup, andstuden ts are advised to work in collaborative groupsassessme nt strategies presented are relevant to otherdisciplines

Prov ide accessto e x p e r tp e r f o r m a n c e sa n d t h em o d e l l i n g o fp r o c e s s e s

access to expert thinkin gand modelling processes a c c e s s o e a r n e r s

i n v a r i o u s l e v e l s f e x p e r t i s e sharing ofstories access to the social perip hery

expe rience d teachers mode l assessment strategies inScenarios, and experts give their views in Interviews thir d-yea r und ergr adua te preservice teachers give theiradvice in Reflections collaborative grou ps enable the sharin g of stories scenes filmed in real classrooms to prov ide real-lifeepisodes

Providemultipleroles andperspectives

* d i f f er e n t e r s p e c t i v e s o n t h et o p ic s r o m v a r i o u sp o i n ts o f v i e w

t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o e x p r e s sd i f f er e n t o i n t s o f v i e w

t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o c r is s -c r o s s h e l e a r ni n g e n v i r o n m e n t

each strategy can be seen from the perspective of theclassro om teacher, a sch ool studen t in the class, amathematics education expert and a preservice teacher collaborative grou ps and the presentations o classenable the expression of different points of view five investigation s are prov ided and the option ofstude nts creating their own investigations

S u p p o r tc o l l a b o r a t i v econstruction ofknowledge

t a s k s h a t r e a d d r e s s e d t o g r o u p r a t h er t h a n i n d i v id u a l

c l a s s r o o m o r g a ni z a t i on i n t o p a ir s o r s m a l l g r o u p s

a p p r o p r i a t e i n c e n t i v e t r u c t u r ef or w h o l e - g r o u p a c h i e v e m e n t

e a c h i n v e s t i g a ti o n s a d d r e s s e d t o a g r o u p , e . g. ,th e M a t h e m a t i c s S u b - c o m m i t t e el e c t u r e r s r e a d v i s e d t o d i v i d e s t u d e n t s i n t o s m a l lc o l l ab o r a t iv e r o u p sg r a d e s f o r l a s s r e s en t a t i on s a n d w r i t t en r e p o rt s r eg i v e n f o r a g r o u p e ff or t, o t i n d i vi d u a ll y

Promotereflection

authentic context and task non-linearnavigation

opportunity for learners tocompare with experts

real classroom context and task non-l inear navigation enabling ready access to anymedia element in a non-sequential order studen ts can compare their thoughts to experiencedclassroom teacher and mathematics education experts

Table continues


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A FRAMEWORKFORAUTHENTICLEARNINGENVIRONMENTS 31

Table2 [] ContinuedElement ofsituated learn ing Guidelines or imple menta tion Man~Cestationn the learning environmentPromotereflection(continued)

opportunity for learners tocompare with other learners collaborative groupings ofstudents students can co mpar e their houghts to a preserviceteacher in the third year of their eacher training course collaborative groups r ec om me nd ed to enable reflection

with aw are attention

Promotearticulation a complex task incorporat inginherent opportunities toarticulate

groups to enable articulation publicly present argument

to enable defence of learning

the complexity of the investigation affords a necessityto articulate o complete the task, ather than inresponse to cues built into the prog ram

collaborative roups re co mm en de d articulation nd defence of findings in oral

presentation to the class

Providecoaching andscaffolding* a complex, open-ended

learning environment non-linear multimedia design guidelines for the use of the

program in variety of contexts collaborative earning recommendations hat the lecturer is available for coaching

classroom context and open-ended complex task withno simplificationof proceduresnon-lineardesign with no program feedbacksuggestions on ways to implement he program in theclassroom provided in the Manual for facilitatorscollaborative groups recommended, where more ablepartners can assist with scaffolding and coachingsuggestions provided in the Manual for facilitators onthe scaffolding and coaching role

Provide forauthenticassessmentof learningwithin thetasks

* fidelity f context the opportunity for students *

to craft olished, performancesor products significant tudent time and

effort n collaboration complex, ill structured *challenges assessment to be seamlessly *integrated with the activity multiple indicators of learning validity and reliabilitywith appropriate criteria forscoring varied products

classroom contextstudents are requi red to present a formal writtenreport and a public presentation to class (details oforganization are presented in Manual for facilitators)complex invest igation equires significant ime(2-3 weeks recommended)open-ended complex task with no simplificationofprocedures, requiring written and oral responsesstudents are assessed on the results of theinvestigation.There are no separate testsindicators of learning compose a formal writtenreport and an oral presentationassessment is based on results of investigationnotformal tests; peer assessment is recommended forthe presentations

PART 3: THE IMPLEMENTATIONOF THEMULTIMEDIA PROGRAM AS ASITUATED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The research so ught to investigate the natu re ofa purpose ly designed learning environme ntbased on situated learning, and to explorestudents' perceptions of learning environmentin depth. The use of a qualitative metho dologywas considered most suitable for this purposebeca use of its compatibility with the theoreticalframework and the nature of the research aims.The meth odology was guided by the principles

of interpretive inq uiry outlined by researcherssuch as Eisner (1991), Miles and Huberman(1994), a nd LeC omp te an d Preissle (1993).

The partic ipantsThe participants were eight second-year pre-service seconda ry teachers studying mathem at-ics methods. The samp ling choice was mad e onconceptual grounds, not representative, andfocused on the "typical case" as selected by theregular lecturer CLeCompte & Preissle, 1993;


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M i l e s & H u b e r m a n , 1 99 4) . S t u d e n t s f o r m e d i n t op a i r s o f t h e i r o w n c h o o s i n g p r i o r t o s el e c ti o n tom a x i m i z e c o l l a b o r a t i v e i n t e r a c t i o n s . T h e l e c -t u r e r u s i n g t h e p r o g r a m w i t h t h e c la s s w a s o n eo f t h e c o n t e n t e x p e r t s w h o c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h ed e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e m u l t i m e d i a p r o g r a m o na s s e s s m e n t . T h e s t u d y w a s c o n d u c t e d w i t h t h er e s e a r c h e r i n t h e r o l e o f " o b s e r v e r - a s - p a r t i c i -p a n t " ( a s d e f i n e d b y G o l d , 1 96 9) , w h o w a s i n t r o -d u c e d t o th e g r o u p a s a r e s e ar c h e r w i t h n oi n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e c l a s s r o o mb e y o n d o b s e r v a t i o n a n d d a t a c o ll ec t io n .

ProcedureT h e s t u d y w a s c o n d u c t e d w i t h i n a n o r m a l p r o -g r a m o f i n s t r u c t i o n a t t h e u n i v e r s i t y . T h e l e c -t u r e r i n t r o d u c e d t h e s u b j ec t o f a s s e s s m e n t , a n dt h e m u l t i m e d i a p r o g r a m a n d i ts c a p ab i li ti e s toth e c l a s s . A l l s t u d en t s i n t h e c l a s s u sed t h e p ro -g r a m o n a s s e s s m e n t ( H e r r i n g t o n , S p a r r o w ,H e r r i n g t o n , & O l i v e r , 1 9 9 7 ) t o c o m p l e t e t h ea c t i v i t y ( F ig u r e 2 ) o v e r a p e r i o d o f 5 h r ( 2 w k l e c-t u r e t i m e ) . T h e a c t i v i t y r e q u i r e d t h e p a i r s o f s t u -d e n t s t o a s s u m e t h e i d e nt i ti e s o f n e w t e a c h e r s i na s c h o o l g i v e n r e s p o n s i b i li t y t o p r e p a r e a r e p o r tt o s t a f f o n a s s e s s m e n t s t r a te g i es .

T h e p a i r s o f s tu d e n t s w o r k e d o n t h e p r o -g r a m , w i t h t h e i r l e c t u r e r a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e e n t i r ep e r i o d a n d p r o v i d i n g a s s i st a nc e t o th e s t u d e n t sa s r e q u i r e d . I n t h e t h i r d w e e k , t h e l e c t u r e rinvited the students to a " s t a f f m e eRn g" t o pre s-ent their findings. Each pair wa s asked to pres-e n t a r e p o r t t o t h e r e m a i n d e r o f t h e c l as s . T h e s er e p o r t s w e r e e v a l u a t e d b y t h e i r p e e r s a c co r d i n gt o f o u r c r i te r i a: ( a ) e f f e ct i v e n e ss o f a r g u m e n t , ( b )t h e p r o p o s a l ' s p r a c t i c a l i t y , ( c ) h o w w e l l t h ea r g u m e n t s w e r e s u p p o r t ed , a n d ( d ) p r e s ~ t a -ti on skills. h e lecturer ollecte d he ev aluat ion sat the conclusion of the class, an d used them a rks t o a ss i g n a g r oup m a rk for e a c h pre s en t a-tion, hi c h w a s used as part of their unit assess-m e n t .

In o r d e r t o c o n s olid a t e a n d expan d o n t h einformation gai ned fro m observing the studentsusi n g t h e multi m e d i a pro g r a m, i n t e r v ie w s w e r eco nd ucted individually wit h the students. Aninterview schedule of mo r e tha n 40 questionsw a s de si gn ed acc ord ing to Patro n's (1990) lassi-fication of intervi ew questions. T h e majority of

t h e q u e s ti o n s w e r e opinion an d feeling q u es t i o n s .T h e r e w e r e s o m e experience and demographicq u e s ti o n s b u t n o knowledge o r sensory q u es t i o n s .N o a t t e m p t w a s m a d e t o q u e s t i o n s t u d e n t sa b o u t t h e i r o v e r t k n o w l e d g e o f a s s e s s m e n t s t ra t -e g i e s d u r i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w s ( a s t h e s e d a t a w e r et o b e c o l l e c te d b y o t h e r m e a n s i n a n o t h e r p a r t o ft h e re sea rch ) n o r was i t t h o u g h t n ecessa ry o rap p ro p r i a t e t o e l i c i t an y sen so ry i n fo rma t io n .Q u es t i o n s w ere d es ig n ed t o e l ic it s t u d en t s ' p e rce p -t i o n s o f t h e l ea rn in g en v i ro n m en t a s a wh o le , wi thp a r t i cu l a r re fe ren ce t o t h e n in e s i t u a t ed l ea rn in gd es ig n e l emen t s . Tab l e 3 g iv es ex amp les o f t h ety p es o f q u es t i o n s u sed , t o g e th e r w i th a b r i e f ra t io -n a l e . Th e e ig h t s t u d en t s were i n t e rv i ewed sep a -ra t e ly fo r 45 -60 min each . A t t h e co n c lu s io n t h et ap es w ere t ran sc r ib ed fo r an a ly s is .

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTST e c h n i q u e s o f q u a l i ta t iv e a n a l y s i s r e c o m m e n -d e d b y M i le s a n d H u b e r m a n ( 1 99 4) , E i sn e r(1 9 9 1 ) an d McCrack en (1 9 8 8 ) were u sed t o an a -l y z e th e i n t e r v i e w d a t a c o l l e c te d f r o m t h e s t u d y .T h e a n a l y s i s i n v o l v e d t h e t h r e e - s t e p p r o c e s sp r o p o s e d b y M i l e s a n d H u b e r m a r ~ ( a ) d a t ared u c t i o n , (b ) d a t a d i sp l ay , an d (c ) co n c lu s io nd r a w i n g a n d v e r if ic a ti o n. T h e a n a l y s is w a s d o n ew i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f N U D - I S T ( Q u a l i t a t i v eS o l u t io n s & R e s e a r c h , 1 9 97 ) , a c o m p u t e r - b a s e dq u a l i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s p r o g r a m . T h e p r o c e s s o fc o d i n g d a t a i n s e v e r a l s ta g e s w a s c o n d u c t e d i n am a n n e r s i m i l a r t o th a t d e s c r i be d b y M c C r a c k e n( 1 9 8 8 ) . D a t a f r o m t h e t r a n s c r i p t s w e r e c o d e di n t o c a t e g o r i e s ( o r n o d e s ) a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r r e l e-v a n c e to t h e a p r i o r i c a t e g o r i e s f o r a n a l y s i s - - t h en i n e e l e m e n t s o f a s i t u a te d l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n -m e n t , t o g e t h e r w i t h s u b t h e m e s t h a t e m e r g e dw i t h i n t h e s e c a t e g o r ie s . T h e m e t h o d o f a n a l y s i se m p l o y e d t h e q u a l i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s p r o c e s s e s o fc o n s t a n t c o m p a r a t i v e a n a l y s i s ( G la s e r & S t r a u s s ,1 9 67 ; LeC o m p te an d P re i s sl e , 19 9 3) an d co m p ar -a t i v e p a t t e r n an a ly s i s (Pa t to n , 1 99 0 ), wh ich w erefac i l i t a t ed we l l b y t h e N U D IST so f tware . Th ep r o c e s s o f c o d i n g t h e d a t a i s s u m m a r i z e d i nT a b l e 4, to g e t h e r w i t h M i le s a n d H u b e r m a n ' ss t a g e s , M c C r a c k e n ' s s t a g e s , a n d t h e c o m p u t e rs o f t w a r e u s e d .

T h e a n a l y s i s o f th e d a t a e n a b l e d s o m e i n s ig h t


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T a b l e 3 [ ] E x a m p l e o f s c h e d u l e , c l a ss i fi c a ti o n a n d r a t i o n a l e o f in t e r v i e w q u e s t io n sType of question *1 2 3 6E xa m p l e q u est io n E xp O p i n F ee l D em Ra t i o n a l e

W h a t d i d y o u t h i n k o f t h e m u l t i m e d i a p r o g r a m o na s s e s s m e n t ?

H a v e y o u e v e r u se d a m u l t i -m e d i a p r o g r a m b e fo r e?I f s o , w h i c h t i tl e s ?H a v e y o u u s e d a n y m u l ti -m e d i a i n y o u r c o u r s e b e fo r e ?I f s o , w h i c h ?

O p e n - e n d e d q u e s t i o n to e n c o u r a g e t h er e s p o n d e n t t o s p e a k d e s c r i p t i v e l y r a t h e rt h a n g e t t in g i n t o t h e h a b i t o f p r o v i d i n g s h o r tansw er , rou t ine r e sponses (Pa tton , 1990).T h i s q u e s t i o n p e r m i t s t h e r e s p o n d e n t t or e p l y i n o w n t e r m s a n d l a n g ua g e .B a c k g r o u n d q u e s t i o n s t o a s c e r t a in t h el e v e l o f e x p e r i e n c e w i t h m u l t i m e d i ap r o g r a m s .

E~ct iveness o fprogram andpattern o f use:W h e n y o u w e r e w o r k in g w i t ht h e m u l t i m e d i a p r o g ra m , h o wd i d y o u f i n d w h a t y o u w e r el o o k i n g f o r ?W h a t s t r a te g i e s d i d y o u. d e v e l o p ?W h a t w e r e t h e s t r e n g th s o f t h eprogram?W h a t w e r e t h e w e a kn e s s e s?H o w e f f e c ti v e d o y o u t h i n k t h ep r o g r a m i s?W h a t h a v e y o u l e a r n edf r o m t h is p r o g r a m ?

E x p e r i e n ce q u e s t i o n s t o e n c o u r a g e t h er e s p o n d e n t t o r e v i e w th e p r o g r a m b e f o reo f f e r in g m o r e d e t a i l e d o p i n i o n a n d m a yp r o v i d e s o m e i n f o r m a t i o n o n n a v i g a t i o nt e c h n i q u e s

P r e s u p p o s i t i o n q u e s t i o n s f i.e . q u e s t i o n sassume the p r o g r a m has strengths and w e a k -n e s s e s , a n d c a n t h u s e l i ci t u s e f u l i n f o r m a t i o n )(Pat ton, 1990)O p i n i o n q u e s t i o n , w h i c h s e e k s s u m m a r yc o m m e n t s a n d r e i n f o r c e m e n t o f p r e v i o u sa n s w e r s .O p e n - e n d e d , o p i n i o n q u e s t i o n o n t h es t u d e n ts " a s s e s s m e n t o f l e a r n i n g r a t h e r t h a na k n o w l e d g e q u e s t i on .

Multiple perspectives:T h e a c t i v i t y r e q u i re d y o u t oc o n s i d e r a q u e s t i o n f r o m an u m b e r o f d if f e re n tperspectives: the parents',teachers" an d children'sp e r s p e c ti v e s . H o wd i d y o u f e e l a b o u t t h i s ta s k ?H o w d i d y o u a p p r o ac ht h e t a s k ?W h a t w e r e t h e st r en g t h s o fe x a m i n i n g t h e r e s o u r ce f r o mm u l t i p l e p e r s p e c ti v e s ?W h a t w e r e t h e w e a k n es s e s ?Note: 1 = Experience; 2 = Opinion; 3 = Feeling; 4 = Dem ographic

F e e li n g q u e s t i o n t o d e t e r m i n e h o w t h es t u d e n t r e s p o n d e d t o t h e r e q u i r e m e n t o fe x a m i n i n g t h e r e s o u r c e a n u m b e r o f t i m e sf r o m d i f f e re n t perspectives.

E x p e r i e n c e q u e s t i o n t o s e e k s t r a t e g ie s t h es t u d e n t m a y h a v e u s e d i n e x a m i n i n g t h er e s o u r c e .P r e s u p p o s i t i o n q u e s t i o n s t o e l i c i t t h er e s p o n d e n t ' s o p i n i o n o n t h e a p p r o a c h .


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Table 4 [ ] Stages of analysis of dat aDescr ip t ion o f pr oces s us ed M ile s & Huber man" M c C r a ck en "(to ana lyse data (1994) stage 1988) stage Software usedT ran s c r i b i n ~ In t e rv iew d a t at r an s c r i b ed fo r an a l y s i s.C o d i n g : I n d i v i d u a l c o m m e n t s c o d e dacco rd i n g t o a p r i o r i c a teg o r i esd e t e rm i n ed b y t h e r e s ea r ch qu es ti o n s,such as , au then t i c con tex t, mu l t ip lepers pect iv es e tc ., an d ca tegor ies tha teme rg ed f ro m co n s t an t co mp ar i s o n o fsegm ents o f the da ta . Each ca tegoryco m p r i s e s a n o d e.Sub-co d ing : Each node , e .g. ,co l l abora t ion , was inves t iga ted andco m p ared i n mo re d e t a i l t o r ev ea l t h et h eme s a n d i s s u es t h a t emerg e . Su b -ca t eg o r i e s w e re d e t e rmi n ed an dn o m i n a t e d a s n e w n o d e s.O rd e r i n g an d d i s p l ay in g :P a t t e rn s an d t h emes w ered e t e rm i n ed , an d g en e ra li za ti o n smad e . D a t a a r e o rg an i zed i n t od i s p l ay s w h e n ap p ro p r i a t e .Co n c l u s i o n d r aw i n g :C o n c l u si o n s w e r e m a d e a n dw r i t t en u p fo r in c l u s io n in t h ethes i s .

Ver i fy ing : Conc lus ions werev e r i f i ed b y r e f e ren ce b ack t oo r i g i n a l d a t a a n d r ev iew .

Data reduct ion : Stage 1:SeledJon , focus ing , Judgm ent o fs i mp l ify i n g , ab s t r ac t i n g i n d i v i d u a lan d t r an s fo rmi n g u t t e ran cesthe da ta . wi th l i t tl e concernfor the i r l a rgersignificance

Data d i sp lay :Crea t i o n o f o rg an i zed ,co mp res s ed a s s emb l yo f i n fo rma t i o n t h a tperm~.s onclusiondraw ing a nd action.Conclusion draw ingand verification:Decisions bout themeani ng of ata an dtesting alidity ffindings.

Stage :Metaobservationswh er e implicationsand possibilities fthe data are examin edmo re fully.Stage 3 :Observat ions ared ev e l o p ed i nre la t ion too t h e robservations.Stage :Ju d g men t o fd a t a an d an a l y s i s,and iden t i f i ca t iono f th emes an d t h e i rinterrelationships.Stage 5 :Rev i ew o f t h e fo u rs tage conclus ions

W o r dp ro ces s o rNUD*IST

N U D I S T

W o r dprocesssor

W o r dp ro ces s o r

i n t o h o w t h e s e s t u d e n t s p e r c e i v e d t h e s it u a t e dl e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e s e f i n d i n gs a r e d i s-c u s s e d i n m o r e d e t a i l be l o w , w i t h p s e u d o n y m ss u b s t i t u t e d f o r s t u d e n t n a m e s .

Authentic ContextT h e a u t h e n t i c c o n t e x t p r e s e n t e d t o s t u d e n t su s i n g t h e a s s e s s m e n t p a c k a g e w a s o n e o f ap h y s i c a l a n d c o n c e p t u a l s tr u c t u re o f a c l a s s ro o mt h a t u s e r s w e r e f r e e to e x p l o r e . A s u f f i c i e n t lyr i c h a n d c o m p l e x k n o w l e d g e b a s e w a s n e c e s-s a r y t o e n a b l e s t u d e n t s t o s o l v e re a l is t ic p r o b -l e m s . S t u d e n t s h a d a c c es s t o m o r e t h a n 1 40m e d i a e l e m e n t s , b u t t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f th e p r o -g r a m w a s n o t s o m e t h i n g w i t h w h i c h th e y h a dd i f f ic u l t y . T h e p r e d o m i n a n t f e a t u r e o f t h e c o n -

t e x t o f th e p r o g r a m w a s t h a t s t u d e n t s a p p r e c i -a t e d t h e r e a l - l if e r e l e v a n c e o f t h e m a t e r i a l t h e yw e r e u s i n g . T h e y f r e q u e n t l y p o i n t e d o u t t h ec o n t r a s t b e t w e e n t h e a u t h e n t i c c o n t e x t p r e -s e n t e d i n t h e p r o g r a m a n d a d e c o n t e x t u a l i z e da p p r o a c h .

I t was l ike a rea l th ing . I t wa sn ' t l ike academics d i s-cuss ing re la t ive theor ies and th ings l ike tha t , which i sw h a t w e g e t l o t o f a t u n i . I t w as ac t u a l l y t each e r s s ho w -i n g h o w t h ey ' d i mp l em en t ed i t an d d i s cu s s i n g i t a ft e r-w ard s . ( I n t e rv iew w i t h G l en )

A u t h e n t i c c o n t e x t i s t h e c o r n e r s t o n e o f t h es i tu a t e d l e a r n i n g m o d e l , th e f u n d a m e n t a l p r e m -i s e u p o n w h i c h t h e t h e o r y r e s t s. T h e f i n d i n g s i nt h i s s e c t i o n s u g g e s t t h a t a u t h e n t i c c o n t e x t i sv a l u e d b y s t u d e n t s a s a n e l e m e n t o f a m u l t i-


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me di a learning environment. Learning within arealistic cla ssroom situation provides a usefulreal-life ontext for the students and co mp ar esfavorably to their iews of the alternative eda-gogical me th od s they frequently encounter atuniversity.

A u t h e n t i c A c t i v i t i e s

A n a u t h e n t i c a c t i v i t y w a s d e s i g n e d f o r s t u d e n t st o c o m p l e t e a s t h e y u s e d t h e p r o g r a m t o in c o r-p o r a t e t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f re a l- li fe t a s k s. T h ea c t i v it y w a s i l l d e f i n e d a n d . u n s t r u c t u r e d , a n dr e q u i r e d s u s t a i n e d t h i n k i n g ov e r a n u m b e r o fh o u r s t o c o m p l e t e . W h i l e th e i n v es t i ga t i on m e tt h e c r i te r i a f o r a u t h e n t i c i t y p r o s c r i b e d b y s e v e r a lt h e o r i s t s a n d r e s e a r c h e r s i n t h e a r e a ( s u c h a sY o u n g & M c N e e s e , 1 99 3), i t d i d n o t r e q u i r e t h es t u d e n t s t o u s e a s s e s s m e n t s t r a t e g i e s i n a c l a s s -r o o m s i t u a ti o n . T h e i n v e s t i g a ti o n e x e m p l if i e d al e s s t y p i c a l b u t m o r e r e f le c t iv e a c t i v i t y o f at e a c h er , w h i c h e n a b l e d s t u d e n t s t h e o p p o r t u n i t yt o c o m p a r e t h e a s s e s s m e n t s t r a t eg i e s a n d r e f l ec to n t h e s t r e n g t h s a n d w e a k n e s s e s o f e a c h.

T h e s t u d e n t s a c c e p te d t h a t t h e t a s k w a sa u t h e n t i c, a l t h o u g h t h e r e w a s s o m e s c e p t ic i s mt h a t a s n e o p h y t e t e a c he r s t h e y w o u l d b ea s s i g n e d s u c h a r e s p o n s i b l e a s s i g n m e n t , o ri n d e e d t h a t t h e i r r e c e n t e x p e ri e n c e w i t h l e a r n i n gt h e o r y w o u l d b e v a l u e d b y s c ho o l c o m m u n i t i e s.S t u d e n t s w e r e p r o v i d e d w i t h n o m o r e t h a n ac o p y o f a l e tt e r o f c o m p l a i n t f r o m a p a r e n t ,t o g e t h e r w i t h a m e m o f r o m t h e p ~ m c ip a lr e q u e s t in g a p r o p o s e d p l a n o f a ct io n to r e m e d yt h e p r o b l e m ( F i g u r e 2). T h e t a s k w a s i ll d e f i n e d .T h e r e w a s n o s u m m a r i z i n g q u e s t i o n o r to p i c fo rt h e i n v e s t i g a ti o n , s i m p l y t h e p r e s e n t a t io n o f th et w o d o c u m e n t s . S t u d e n t s n e e d e d t o w o r k o u te x a c t l y w h a t t h e y w e r e r e q u i r e d t o d o . C o l li n s(1 98 8) h a s p o i n t e d o u t t h a t s t u d e n t s o f t e n i n v o k e" s u b o p l ~ n a l s c h e m e s " f o r r e m e m b e r i n g i n f o r-m a t i o n a n d c o p i n g w i t h th e d a y - t o - d a yd e m a n d s o f s c h o o l le a r n in g . F o r e xa m p l e , a r i t h -m e t i c s t u d e n t s m i g h t c o n c l u d e t h a t a n y w o r dproblems including the wo rd "left" H ow m a n ydid she ha ve left?) are subtraction problems.O ne student revealed the suboptimal sch emeshe norma lly us ed for "finding the question :

We had to read i t four o r f ive t imes to ge t ou t w hat i twas a sk in g u s to d o . . . b ecause th e actua l q u es tio nwas in th e m id d le, i t wasn ' t a t t h e b o t to m an d i t wa sn ' tat the top. (Interview wit h Debra)

T h i s c o m m e n t r e v e a ls t h a t t h e s t u d e n t ' s s t a n -d a r d p r o c e d u r e o f l o o k in g a t th e b e g i n n i n g o re n d o f a n a c t i v it y f o r t h e " a c t u a l q u e s t i o n " d i dn o t w o r k i n th i s c a se . S e v e ra l s t u d e n t s c o m -m e n t e d o n t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e q u e s t i o n a n d i tsl a c k o f d i r e c t i o n o n e x a c t l y w h a t h a d t o b e d o n e .T h e s t u d e n t s s p e n t c o n s i d e r a b l e t i m e , n o t o n l yi n i d e n t i f y i n g t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e t a sk , b u ta l s o i n b r e a k i n g t h a t g l o b a l ta s k i n t o s u b t a s k s .A n o t h e r s t u d e n t , w h e n a s k e d hi s o p i n io n o f t h ea c t iv i ty , p o i n t e d o u t t h a t i t h a d n o d e f i n e d s c o p eo r b o u n d a r i e s :I t was a b i t b r o ad r e a l ly . . . W h er e co u ld y o u st a rt ?Wh ere could yo u stop? (Interview with Carlo)

T h e a s s e s s m e n t p r o g r a m w a s d e s i g n e d t oa l l o w s t u d e n t s a c c e s s t o a r a n g e a n d d i v e r s i t y o fm a t e r i a l , w h i c h w o u l d a l l o w t h e m t o e x p l o r et o p ic s i n d e p t h a n d t o a p p l y s u s t a i n e d t h i n k i n go n a s i n g le t o p i c o v e r a l e n g t h y p e r i o d o f t i m e .G i v e n t h e c u r r i c u l u m a n d t h e u n i t c o n t e n t, t h r e ew e e k s w e r e c o n s i d e r ed a s u it ab l e a m o u n t o fc o u r s e t i m e t o b e d e v o t e d t o t h e s u b j ec t o fa s s e s s m e n t s t r at e gi e s. H o w e v e r , w h e n q u e s -t i o n e d a b o u t t h e a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s o f t h e t im ea l l o w e d f o r th e i n v e s t ig a t i on , s t u d e n t s g e n e r a l l ya g r e e d t h a t t h e t i m e w a s i n s u f f i c ie n t T h i s i n d i-c a t e s t h a t t h e r e s o u r c e w a s s u f f i c ie n t ly c o m p l e xt o w i t h s t a n d a s u s t a i n e d e x a m i n a t io n .

O n e o f t h e c h a r a c t e ~ s fi c s o f a u t h e n t i c a c t i v i t yi s t h a t t a s k s n e e d t o b e a b l e t o i n t e g r a t e a c r o s ss u b j e c t a r e a s ( e . g . , B r a n s f o r d , V y e , K i n z e r &R i s k o , 1 99 0 ; J o n a s s e n , 1 99 1a ). T h e p r o g r a m e v a l -u a t e d h e r e w a s d e s i g n e d t o m e e t t h e f a c u lt yr e q u i r e m e n t s o f s e m e s t e r u n i ts i n m a t h e m a t i c se d u c a t i o n , w h i c h l i m i t e d i t s a p p l i c a b i l i t y a c r o s ss u b j e c t d o m a i n s . I n s p it e o f th i s, s e v e r a l o f t h es t u d e n t s m e n t i o n e d t h e p o s s ib l e t r a n s f e r o fs k i l l s t o o t h e r s u b j e c t a r e a s , F o r e x a m p l e , o n es t u d e n t p o i n t e d o u t h o w u s e fu l s o m e o f th ea s s e s s m e n t s t r a t e g i e s w e r e i n o t h e r s u b j e c ta_n~as:I t 's b a sed o n m a th s . . , b u t I wo u ld p r o b ab ly th in k th a tit could be app l ied to any th ing . I found mysel f us ing


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3 6 ErR&D. Vol . 48, No. 3s o m e o f t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s n m y o t h e r c la ss es , ik eE n g li s h. h o u g h t t h e y e l p e d i f o u l o o k a t t h e m i n ag e n e r a l i e w , n o t j u st o r a t h s . ( I n t e r v i ew i t h L o u -i s e )

Authentic activity was defined as a criticalcomponent of a situated learning model. Thefindings suggest that an authentic activity pro-vides students with a meaningful purpose forexploration of a complex multimedia resource,provided i t is ill defined, that students define thepat hwa y and the steps to take, and that it is com-plex enough to enable a sustained investigationof the resource.

Expert PerformancesThe assessment-strategies program gave stu-dents access to expert performances in threeways. First, the video dips of the scenarios weregenerally performed by experienced teacherswho were well acquainted with the use of eachstrategy. Second, students had access to thecommentaries provided by "experts" in mathe-matics education and assessment strategies inthe Interviews drawer of the filing cabinet.Third, students were able to read the reflectionsand advice provided by third-year student-teachers who were just one year more experi-enced than the students using the program.

The students were generally very positiveabout the exemplary teaching provided in thescenario videos and focused strongly on the vid-eos as demonstrations of the assessment tech-nique in a realistic context. The contrast betweenthe expert performance demonstration in con-text and the decontextualized instruction stu-dents frequently receive was also highlighted insome responses. Students frequently spokeabou t identifying with, or imagining themselvesin, the same situation, and how they mightapproach a particular strategy di f fe ren t ly if the ywere to do it themselves. Interestingly, some ofthe students commented on the incidentalperipheral learning that is possible ~rom anapprenticeship-like learning situation andrevealed the "window onto practice" (Brown &D u g u i d , 1 9 9 3 ) , o r the s o c i a l r c u l t u r a l i n s i g h t si n t o c l a s s r o o m l if e h a t h e v i d e o s c e n e s a l l o w ed .F o r e x a m p l e , o n e s t u d e n t c o m m e n t e d t h a t

watching the teachers in action taught her somethings she should not attempt, and also ways ofinteracting with students:

I think you always learn something from looking atteachers at work. Sometimes it is even what youshouldn't do, but I think from most of these, it waspretty good. I thought they were teaching you evenrelationships with their kids. (Interviewwith Louise)

The third drawer of the filing cabinet allowedstudents to access the reflections and advice ofthird-year teacher education students studyingmathematics methods. These comments pro-vided anecdotes and suggestions on the use ofstrategies, based on the third-year students' pro-fessional teaching practice in schools, andallowed students to compare their own under-standing with someone whose experience wasvery close to their own- Only one studentresponde d positively to the third-year students'comments. The remainder were either neutral ordismissive, but all used the preservice teachers'comments in the reflective way envisaged byCollins (1988), comparing their own performanceto others in various stages of development.

The fourth drawe r of the filing cabinet pro-vided access to the thoughts of acknowledgedexperts in the field of mathematics educationand assessment. When pressed for time, stu-dents accessed these less frequently than theother items. It is interesting to surmise, in thelight of students" earlier comments aboutd e c o n t e x t u a l i z e d learning a t u n i v e r s i t y , t h a t" e x p e r t c o m m e n t " i s s o m e t h i n g t o w h i c h s t u -d e n t s h a v e g r o w n a c c u s t o m e d . T h e i r u n i v e r s i t yl if e r e v o l v e s a r o u n d e x p e r t c o m m e n t , a n d t h i sw a s r e f l e c t e d n o n e s t u d e n t ' s c o m m e n t :

To be honest, I didn't really pay that much attention tothe exper ts. .. I suppose you can just go to the libraryand get things out of the books. (Interview withRowan)

The findings suggest that students not onlylearn specific skills from videotaped demons tra-tions, but they also learn peripheral knowledgeabout the culture and conduct of the mathemat-ics classroom. The preservice teachers' reflec:tions served as a use6al measure against whichthe students could gauge their own unders tand-


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i n g o f t h e is s ue s . E x p e r t c o m m e n t , h o w e v e r , w a sf o u n d t o b e n o t a s a c c e s s ib l e o r a t tr a c t iv e t o s t u -d e n t s , w h o i n t h e i r u n i v e r s i t y c a r e e r s a r ee x p o s e d t o a s u r f e i t o f i t.

M u l t i p l e P e r s p e c t i v e sM u l t i p le p e r s p e c t iv e s w e r e p r o v i d e d w i t h i n t h el e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t i n t h r e e d i s t i n c t l y d i f f e r -e n t w a y s : ( a) e a c h s t r a t e g y w a s s h o w n f r o m e a c hp l a y e r ' s p o i n t o f v ie w ; ( b) st u d e n t s w e r er e q u i r e d t o w o r k i n p a i r s a n d s o e ac h p a r ti c i p a n tb r o u g h t a u n i q u e p e r s p e c ti v e t o th e d i s cu s s io n ;a n d ( c) s t u d e n t s f r e q u e n t l y a c c e s s e d d if f e r e n tp e r s p e c t i v e s b y v i e w i n g t h e m a t e r i a l s e v e r a lt i m e s w i t h d i f f e r e n t q u e s t i o n s i n m i n d .

O n e s t u d e n t f a il e d to s e e a n y v a l u e i n h a v i n ga l te r n a t iv e p e r s p e c t i v e s a n d s a w e a c h m e d i a e le -m e n t i n t h e m u l t i m e d i a p r o g r a m a s s im p l yr e p e t it iv e . M o s t , h o w e v e r , s a w a v a l u e i n t h e d i f -f e r e n t p e r sp e c t i v e s t h a t t h e y w e r e u n a b l e t o f i n di n o t h e r m o r e t r a d it io n a l m e t h o d s o f l e a rn i n g ,a n d t h e y a p p r e c i a t e d t h e s o m e t i m e s s u b t l e d i f -f e r e n c e s i n p e r s p e c t i v e s . O n e s t u d e n t , c o m p a r -i n g t h e p r o g r a m t o a tr a d i t io n a l l e c tu r e ,i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e m u l t i p l e p e r s p e c t i v e s p r o -v i d e d m a n y " a v e n u e s t o un d e r s ta n d i n g ":In a l ecture y ou c an ' t c l ick onto the v ideo and get thevideo to p lay . Wh en y ou 'v e got a huge lecture s i tua-t ion , the lecturers can ' t keep s topping and going . . . .W hereas w i t h t h i s i t g ives you s o m any avenues t ounder s t and i t from . You m ay no t under s t and t he t he -o ry s i de bu t y ou can under s t and t he s cenar io s i de an dthen f ind out wh at the teacher thought . There ' s jus t som an y d i f ferent w ays of looking a t that one s t ra tegy .( in terv iew w i th Debra)

S t u d e n t s w e r e r e q u i r e d t o w o r k c o l-l a b o r a t i v e l y , a n a r r a n g e m e n t t h a t i n h e r e n t l yp r o v i d e d f o r t h e s h a r i n g o f e a c h p a r ti c i p a n t' su n i q u e p e r s p e c t i v e . S e v e r a l s t u d e n t s p o i n t e do u t t h a t t h e a r r a n g e m e n t o f s t u d e n t s i n t o co l la b -o r a t i v e p a i r s w a s i n it se l f a w a y o f e x p l o r i n ga l t e r n a t i v e p e r s p e c t i v e s , b e c a u s e i n e v i ta b l y d i f -f e r e n t p e o p l e a p p r o a c h t a s k s d i f f e r e n t l y . F o re x a m p l e , t h e f o l l o w i n g c o m m e n t w a s t y p i c al :You ca n ge t tw o d i f ferent perspectives and d i fferenti deas and s om et i m es y ou ju s t ge t s om et h ing com -p l e t e ly wron g and t he o t he r pe r s on can b r i ng you backin to l ine . ( In terv iew w i th Rowan)

T h e t a s k s t u d e n t s w e r e s e t as a n i n v e s t i g a ti o nr e q u i r e d t h e m t o p r e s e n t a r e p o r t t h a t i n c l u d e di m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h r e e d i f fe r e n t g r o u p s . I t w a se n v i s a g e d t h a t t h is r e q u ir e m e n t w o u l d p r o m p tt h e s t u d e n t s t o v i e w t h e m a t e r ia l s e p a r a t e l yf r o m e a c h p e r s p e c t i v e , i n e f fe c t " c ri s s -c r o s s i n g "t h e r e s o u r c e in a m a n n e r e n a b l i n g t h e m t o ac c e s st h e s a m e e l e m e n t f r o m m a n y d i ff e re n t p o in t s o fv i e w . N o t a l l g r o u p s c o m p l e t e d t h e d i f f e r e n tp e r s p e c t i v e s r e q u i r e d i n t h is t a s k b e y o n d r e c o m -m e n d i n g a s u g g e s t e d a s s e s sm e n t p l a n f o r t h es c h o ol . T h r e e o f t h e f o u r g r o u p s a d m i t t e d t o t ry -i n g t o a s s e ss e a c h p e r s p e c t i v e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y .F o r ex a m p l e , o n e s tu d e n t s u m m e d u p t hea p p r o a c h t a k e n b y m o s t g r o u p s:W e did it ll n on e go. It as a matter of finding so mea d v a n t a g e s o f t hi s, n d I u p p o s e y o u b r e a k it o w n a syo u are thinking about it, ut just go "W ha t advan -t a ge s h a v e w e g o t f or t h e t e ac h er ? " n d " W h a t a d v a n -tages av e we got for the students?" ut just o it ll tonce. (Interview ith Ro wa n)

I n s p i t e o f t h i s f a i l u r e t o c o n s i d e r t h e t h r e ep e r s p e c t i v e s r e q u i r e d i n th e t a sk , th e r e w a sm u c h e v i d e n c e t o s u g ge s t t h a t s t u d en t s v i e w e dt h e m a t e r i a l s e v e r a l t im e s , i n d i f fe r e n t w a y s , a n du s e d " a l te r n a t i v e r o u te s o f t r a v e r s a l . . , c ri ss -c r o s s i n g a t o p i c in m a n y d i r e c t i o n s " ( S p i ro ,V i s p o el , S ch m i t z , S a m a r a p u n g a v a n , & B o e g e r,1 9 8 7 , p . 1 8 8 ). S t u d e n t s r a r e l y u s e d a l i n e a r o rr e g u l a r l y s y s t e m a t i c a p p r o a c h i n s e a r c h i n g t h em e d i a e l e m e n t s . S e v e r a l s tu d e n t s s p o k e o f l o o k -i n g a t i te m s m o r e t h a n o n c e i f n e c e s s a r y , g o i n gb a c k o v e r i te m s , a n d i n v e s t ig a t i n g i n d i v id u a le l e m e n t s i n g r e a t e r d e p t h . T h e f o ll o w i n g c o m -m e n t i n d i c a t e s t h e i m p o r t a n c e t h e s t u d e n tp l a c e d o n r e v i s i t in g t h e m a t e ri a l i n o r d e r t o b ea b l e t o r e f le c t o n i t a n d m a k e a p p r o p r i a t e l i n k s :W e w e r e n o t r e a l ly g i v e n e n o u g h t im e t o g o t h r o u g h i ta n d i n ~ r e t o u r re s u lt s p r o p er ly , b e c a u s e . . , w e h a v eon l y r ea l ly gone t h roug h s ay once o r t w i ce a t t he m os t . . R ea ll y, y ou l ike t o g o t h rough i t an d be ab l e t om ak e l i nks be t ween t h i s and t ha t , and t o t h i nk abou t t .(Interview ith Carlo)

O n e s t u d e n t s u g g e s t e d t h e p o t e n ti a l v a l u e o fc o m p l e t i n g m o r e t h a n o n e i n v e st ig a t i o n ( th e r ea r e f i ve in t h e p r o g r a m ) i n o r d e r t o p r o v i d e t h eo p p o r t u n i t y t o l o o k a t t h e s am e s t ra t e g ie s f r o m ad i f f e r e n t a n g l e . T h i s i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e t e c h -


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38 ETR&D, Vo l. 48, N o. 3

n i q u e s u s e d b y t h e C o g n i t i o n a n d T e c h n o l o g yG r o u p a t V a n d e r b i l t ( 19 90 b), w h o p r o v i d e p a r a l -l e l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s u s i n g d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t s a n dd e t a i l s , b u t w h i c h e s s e n t i a l l y d e v e l o p t h e s a m es k i l l s . S u c h a n a p p r o a c h i s a r g u a b l y a m o r ea u t h e n t i c w a y t o p r o v i d e s t u d e n ts w i t h o p p o r -t u n i t ie s t o g a i n m u l t ip l e p e r s p e c t i v e s o n a n yg i v e n s t r a t e g y , a n d w o u l d b e w o r t h y o f f u r th e rr e s e a r c h . A n i n t e r e s t i n g q u e s t i o n w o u l d b ew h e t h e r t h e r e s ou r c e b as e w a s r o b u s t e n o u g h t ow i t h s t a n d a t h i r d o r f o u r t h i n v e s t i g a t i o n w i t h -o u t i n d u c i n g a f e e li ng o f o v e r - e x p o s u r e t o t hei n d i v i d u a l m e d i a e l em e n t s, a s su g g e s t e d b yY o u n g ( 19 93 ).

C o l l a b o r a t i o n

W h i l e u s i n g t h e p r o g r a m o n a s s e s s m e n t , s t u -d e n t s w o r k e d i n s m a ll c o l la b o r a t iv e p a i r s . A l lb u t o n e o f t h e s t u d e n t s w e r e p o s i ti v e a b o u t t h ec o l l a b o r a t i v e a r r a n g e m e n t s , a n d w h o l e h e a r t -e d l y e n d o r s e d t h e f ac t t h a t t h e y c o u l d c h o o s et h e ir o w n p a r t n e rs . W h e n q u e s t io n e d a b o u tt h e i r o p i n i o n s o f th e g r o u p w o r k d o n e o n t h ea s s e s s m e n t p r o g r a m , t h e s t u d e n ts p e r c e i v e dm a n y c l e a r a d v a n t a g e s i n w o r k i n g c o l -l a b o r a t i v e l y . S e v e r a l s t u d e n t s p o i n t e d o u t t h a tt h e c o m p l e t i o n o f t h e t a s k b e n e f i t e d f r o m c o l la b -o r a t i o n w i t h a n o t h e r p e r s o n - - e s s e n t i a l l y t h ev i e w t h a t " t w o h e a d s a r e b e t te r t h a n o n e . "You ge t t wo p e r s pec t i ves . . , i f you ' r e work i ng on y ou ro w n y o u t h i n k " W h a t 's t h at w o r d ? " a n d y o u j us t c a n 'tth ink , bu t i f you 've go t som ebod y el se , i t 's l ike havingtw o vocabu lar ies , and two memories . ( Interv iew wi thGlen)

T h i s c o m m e n t e n c a p s u l a t e s t h e v i e w t h a te a c h p e r s o n b r i n g s i n d i v i d u a l x p e r i e n c e s a n dl e a r n i n g to t h e s it u a t io n n d t h a t a c h i s c a p a b l eo f c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t h e c o m p l e t i o n o f t h e t a s k i n au n i q u e w a y . I n s o d o i n g , a l l h e g r o u p s e n g a g e di n c o l la b o r a t io n , o t s i m p l y c o o p e r a t i o n , a s d i s -t i n g u i s h e d b y K a t z a n d L e s g o l d ( 1 9 9 3 ) . N og r o u p e m p l o y e d a s i m p l e d i v i s i o n f l a b o r , n da ll w o r k e d s y n c h r o n o u s l y t o c r e a t e a p r o d u c tt h a t c o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n c o m p l e t e d i n d e p e n -d e n t l y b y e i t h e r i n d i v i d u a l .

A s B r u n e t n o t e d : " A l l m e a n i n g i s n e g o ti a te d ;a l l k n o w l e d g e i s t r a n s a c ti o n a l " ( q u o t e d i nL a t c h e m , 1 9 9 3) . T h e s t u d e n t s i n th e s t u d y w e r e

w e l l a w a r e t h a t a p r o c e ss o f n e g o t i a ti o n w a s n e c -e s s a r y i n c o l la b o r a t i v e le a r n i n g g r o u p s . O n e s t u -d e n t d e s c r i b e d n e g o t i a t i o n a s a r e l a t i v e ly s i m p l ep r o c e s s :

I a s ked h i m w ha t s t ruc tu re he t hough t we s h ou l d do i tin an d i f I agreed I jus t d id i t , and i f I d idn ' t agree I to ldhim so . I th ink w e wor ked together , ( In terv iew wi thDebra )

T h e s a m e s t u d e n t a l s o p o i n t e d o u t s o m e o ft h e d i f f ic u l t a s p e c t s o f n e g o t i a t i o n o n a c o m m o nt a s k :I s uppos e s om et i m es i f you don ' t ag ree on hows om e t h i ng ' s t o be done y ou j u s t g r i n and bea r i t.There ' s t wo o f you a nd t he re ' s no po i n t a rgu i ngbecaus e you ' r e ju s t no t go i ng t o ge t any t h i ng done .Because there ' s a lo t of t imes I suppose w here yo u 'v ego t you r ow n i dea , " I wan t t o do i t th i s w ay and I don ' twa n t t o do i t any o t he r way . " W e d i d n ' t r ea ll y do i tthat w ay, bu t o n occas ions i t could happ en, especia l lyfo rm u l a t i ng a p l an l i ke t ha t. S o m eb ody m ay have ad i f fe ren t way o f go i ng abou t i t and t hey m i gh t g e t i n t oan a rgu me nt an d hav e a c lash of personali ti es, andthen y ou r l earn ing exper ience w ou ldn ' t be a l l thatcrash hot i f that happ ened. ( Interv iew wi th Debra)

T h e i s s u e s a n d p o t e n t i a l p r o b l e m s r a i s e d i nt h i s s t u d e n t ' s r e s p o n s e - - - c o e r c i o n , c o m p l i a n c e ,c o n f l ic t a n d d i s c o m f o r t m a r e a l l p o s s i b l e p r o -c e s s e s a n d o u t c o m e s o f a c o l la b o r a t i v e l e a r n i n ga r r a n g e m e n t . A p a r t f r o m o n e g ro u p t h ata d o p t e d a f a i r ly h e a t e d , a l b e i t a f f e c te d , c o n f r o n -t a t i o n a l s t y le - - - in Z o e ' s w o r d s " W e ju s t s t a r ty e l l in g a t e a c h o t h e r ' m n o n e o f t h e g r o u p s i n t h es t u d y a p p e a r e d t o e x pe r ie n c e a n y o f th e s e p r o b -l e m s i n th e i r w o r k i n g r e l a t io n s h i p s .T h e f i n d i n g s c o n f i r m t h a t th e p r o g r a m f o s-t e r e d c o l l a b o r a t i o n . T h e s t u d e n t s w e r e g e n e r a l l yv e r y p o s i t i v e a b o u t w o r k i n g c o l l a b o r a ti v e ly a n ds a w m a n y b e n e f i ts , s u c h a s jo i n t p r o b l e m s o l v-i n g , t h e n e c e s s i t y t o n e g o t i a te t h e i r l e a r n i n g , a n da p r o d u c t t h a t i s o f be t te r q u a l i t y t h a n o n e d o n ei n d i v i d u a l l y .

R e f l e c t i o n

I n o r d e r t o p r o v i d e a le a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t t h a tw o u l d p r o m o t e r e f l e c t i o n , t h e a s s e s s m e n t p r o -g r a m w a s d e s i g n e d p r i m a r i l y w i t h a n a u th e n t i cc o n t e x t a n d a n a u t h e n t i c a c t i v i ty t o e n a b l e s tu -


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A FRAMEWORK FOR AUTHENTIC LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 39

d e n t s t o e n g a g e w i t h t h e p r o g r a m a n d t o r e fl e cto n i t i n a m e a n i n g f u l m a n n e r . T h e o b s e r v a t i o n o ft h e s t u d e n t s c o n f i r m e d K e m m i s ' s ( 1 9 8 5 ) b e l i e ft h a t r e f l e c ti o n i s a s o c i a l p r o c e s s , a s o n e s t u d e n tc o m m e n t e d :Yo u ' r e no t j u s t t h ink ing to your se l f. You ' r e t h ink inga l o u d t o s o m e b o d y e l s e, a n d i f t h e y h a v e a n y t h i n g t osa y to y ou the y w i l l. (I n t e r v i e w wi th D e br a )

B o u d , K e o g h , a n d W a l k e r (1 98 5) d e f i n e reflec-tion a s : " t h o s e i n t e l l e c t u a l a n d a f f e c t iv e a c t i v i t i e si n w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s e n g a g e t o ex p l o r e t h e i re x p e r i e n c e s in o r d e r t o l e a d t o n e w u n d e r s t a n d -h a g s a n d a p p r e c i a t i o n s " ( p. 1 9) , p r i n c i p a l l y c o m -p r i s i n g t h r e e c l o s e l y r e l a t e d s t ag e s : (a ) r e t u r n i n gt o t h e e x p e r i e n c e ( r e c o l l e c ti n g t h e s a l i e n t f e a -t u r e s o f t h e e x p e r i e n c e , r e c o u n t i n g t h e m t o o t h -e r s ) ; ( b ) a t t e n d i n g t o f e e l i n g s ( a c c o m m o d a t i n gp o s i t i v e a n d n e g a t i v e f ee l in g s a b o u t t h e e x p e r i -e n c e ) ; a n d ( c) r e e v a l u a t i n g t h e e x p e r i e n c e ( a s so -c i a t in g n e w k n o w l e d g e , in t e g r a ti n g n e wk n o w l e d g e i n t o t he l e a r n e r 's c o n c e p tu a l f ra m e -w o r k ) .

T h e r e w a s m u c h e v i d e n ce in t h e t r an s c r ip t s o fs t u d e n t s " r e f l e c t i n g o f t h e f i r s t s t a g e o f B o u d e t a l . ' s( 1 98 5 ) d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e p r o c e s s o f r e f l ec t i o n . T h es t u d e n t s f r e q u e n t l y r e t u r n e d t o t h e e x p e r i e n c e ,r e c o ll e c t in g t h e i m p o r t a n t c o n s i d e ra t i o n s a n dr e l a t i n g t h e m t o t h e i r p a r t n e rs . A w a r e n e s s o f th i sp r o c e s s , r e g a r d l e s s o f w h e t h e r t h e s t u d e n t s r e c o g -n i z e d i t a s r e f le c ti o n , w a s e v i d e n t i n t h e i r c o m -m e n t s . F o r e x a m p l e , R o w a n p o i n t e d o u t t h a t as i n g l e p e r u s a l o f t h e m a t e r i a l i s i n a d e q u a t e :

W e e n d e d u p l o o k i n g a t a l o t o f th i n g s tw i c e. W h i c h i sq u i t e r e a s s u ri n g w h e n y o u l o o k it a t t h e s e c o n d t im ea r o u n d a n d t h e n y o u g e t . . , a be t te r u n d e r st a n d in g. . .

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