Sharing Pedagogical Know-How: An introduction to Learning Design

and LAMS

James DalzielProfessor of Learning Technology and Director,

Macquarie E-Learning Centre Of Excellence (MELCOE)Macquarie University

james@melcoe.mq.edu.auwww.melcoe.mq.edu.au

Presentation for the Carnegie Foundation, California, 3rd March, 2008

Overview

• How can we share pedagogical know-how?– A lesson from the history of music

• Learning Design• LAMS

– Example– Sharing Learning Designs: The LAMS Community– New in LAMS V2.1: Branching – Upcoming: Activity Planner

• LAMS and Open Education• Discussion

How can we share pedagogical know-how?

• What happens when one educator describes their teaching to another?– Specifically, could the other educator reproduce the

experience?

• An important separation– Teaching as designing/lesson planning vs (pre-class)– Teaching as facilitating/improvising (during class)

• To share pedagogical know-how, we need a common descriptive language or framework– Focus on designing/planning for today

First page of the manuscript of Bach's lute suite in G Minor. Wikipedia.org

Date of manuscript unknown. Held in Florence, Italy. Photo by Asiir 17:00, 13 February 2007, Wikipedia.org

What is Learning Design?

• Learning Design is a new approach to describing the teaching and learning process in a structured way

• Typically describes sequences of student activities (scaffolding of content + collaboration)– A sequence applies to a class/week/topic (not whole unit)

• Focus on sharing and re-using good sequences

• Often implemented online with technology– But becoming a general framework for face to face and online

What is Learning Design?

• Learning Design is particularly useful for pedagogical approaches that have a structured process, eg:– Problem Based Learning, Role Plays, Inquiry Based Learning

• Learning Design focuses on how educators structure activities to foster student learning– Equal adoption in both K-12 schools and universities

• Learning Design systems can integrate with LMSs– For students, link(s) from course area to the relevant

sequence– Lecturer single-sign-on and easy authoring and launching

LAMS

• LAMS is the world’s leading software for Learning Design– 1000s of educators across 80+ countries– Translated into 25 languages

• Visual “drag and drop” approach to designing activities– Helps educators to visualize teaching and learning processes

• LAMS Sequences can be shared, re-used and adapted– LAMS Community (www.lamscommunity.org)– Approximately 2900 members, 86 countries, 220 shared

sequences downloaded 6500 times, 3500 discussion postings

• Freely available as open source software– (Fee-based hosting and tech support from Solution Grove)

LAMS Example

“What are the qualities of an effective teacher?”Step 1: Answer question, then reflect on others answersStep 2: Vote on a list of qualities, consider collated votesStep 3: Discuss responses to Steps 1 & 2Step 4: Read an expert’s view on the topicStep 5: Discuss expert’s view compare to class viewStep 6: Personal reflection (or essay if assessment) on initial question, based on initial views, class discussion & expert view

Can be run face to face with no technology, or fully online, or a mixLAMS Example: Authoring this sequence, then Preview Learner view

Example 2: Role play “Adopting Interactive Whiteboards in schools”

LAMS V2: Authoring view of “Qualities of an Effective Teacher”

LAMS V2: Adopting Interactive Whiteboards in schools – Role play

LAMS Community – View of various communities & forums

LAMS Community – Repository Summary

LAMS Community – Detailed view of individual sequence

New to LAMS in V2.1

• Introducing LAMS V2.1:– Branching

• Teacher allocated• Group-based• Tool-output based (MCQ & Forum so far, more to come)

– Sequences in optional• Student choice of one or more sequences

• “Branching” is always teacher or system driven (ie, automatic from the student’s perspective); optional sequences allows for student choice in “branching”

Implementation of new Branching Features for LAMS V2.1

LAMS 2.1: Interactive Whiteboards – Role play: Inside branching for role tasks

Pedagogical uses of new features

• Can assign different students to different topics– Each group investigates a different aspect of a phenomenon, then

reports findings back to the whole class

• Can use Branching with Tool Output (and Skip) to provide remediation tasks for only some students (eg, quiz score < X, then do branch remediation activities; otherwise skip branch)

• Can allow students to choose from different optional sequences (according to topic, skill, thoroughness, etc)

• Can seek student opinion (eg, Role Play Vote), then create group tasks that respond to different opinions

Activity Planner (aka Pedagogic Planner)

• A new layer over the top of LAMS that provides good practice templates, advice on choosing and editing, and simplified authoring (NB: under development)

Flexible Learning Design Platform:Capable of many pedagogic approaches

Good practice templates +Limited authoring

“Full” Authoring

LAMS Activity Planner: Selecting a template

LAMS Activity Planner: Filling out the key content for a selected template

LAMS and Open Education

• Open Education is about sharing education content and systems without restrictions (eg, Cape Town Declaration – www.capetowndeclaration.org)– Free of cost, but more importantly…– Freedom to share, adapt and improve

• LAMS exhibits the principles of open education at several levels:– LAMS software freely available as open source software– LAMS sequences freely shared under creative commons

licenses– LAMS Community fosters community sharing and support

Further LAMS Information

• Introduction to LAMS – walkthroughs, videos, case studieshttp://cd.lamsfoundation.org/

• Solution Grove Demonstration Server (LAMS integrated with Moodle)http://www.solutiongrove.net

• General information about LAMS http://www.lamsfoundation.org/

• LAMS Communityhttp://www.lamscommunity.org/

• Qualities of an Effective Teacher – download sequence from http://www.lamscommunity.org/dotlrn/clubs/educationalcommunity/lamsresearchdevelopment/lams-seq//sequence?seq%5fid=256078

• Adoption of Interactive Whiteboards in schools Role Play – download sequence from http://lamscommunity.org/lamscentral/sequence?seq_id=376440

• Animated “mock-ups” for Pedagogic Planner concepthttp://saturn.melcoe.mq.edu.au/jly/Ped_planner.htmhttp://saturn.melcoe.mq.edu.au/jly/Ped_plannerv2.htm