Interactive Concept Mapping

Wouldn’t it be nice if every student receives exactly what they need to advance their learning? That is a tall order for a system that is based on mass teaching. It is simply not feasible to provide a customized learning experience under our current model of instruction. The financing and the structure are not present. Yet there is much discussion of differentiated instruction and of individualized Instruction. How can they succeed?

I started working on solutions for individualized instruction in the early 80s when I ran the Computer Based Instructional Research Lab (CBIRL) at McGill University. A successful model of individualized instruction requires a more decentralized approach to learning – one that is student-centered rather than teacher or system-centered. The existing models lack one essential ingredient – how to determine individual students’ knowledge gaps. This can only be done with a fine-grained model of the knowledge domain (the goal) that the student is expected to learn compared with their current level of knowledge (the state).

Such a fine-grained model can be developed with my Interactive Concept Mapping (iCM) model. The iCM model forms the goal of instruction while my GEEK (Generalizations, Examples, Experiences, Knowledge of Results) model of teaching forms the procedure. Together, they are a powerful combination because they provide teachers with a way to individualize learning, resulting in high student motivation and achievement.

Simulations

Simulations are, in my terminology, a form of activity. They provide a learning experience. But a simulation cannot stand alone. Knowledge is required in order to complete a complex simulation. Unfortunately the process of acquiring that knowledge is often just an afterthought in many simulations. It is seen as a necessary evil, but not an integral and important element of the simulation.

In my observations most people will initially approach a simulation cold, the instruction manual or help screen, not even glanced at.

Then failure sets in.

That is the first level of knowledge of results that tells the user that they are not prepared for the task. The user starts to seek some help to build his or her knowledge to complete the simulation. How easy it is to access this help will determine whether the user will continue with the simulation. Therefore it is important that a simulation contains a complete contextual tutorial system that adapts the content according to the user’s needs.

Our Covered Bridge Simulation, developed in AgentSheets, is an example of a simulation that includes a fairly extensive tutorial.

Feedback is important

Feedback is “knowledge of results.” In a system where there is a goal and a reasonable means of achieving the goal, feedback provides the “system” with the information it needs to adjust its behavior so that it can reach that goal.
It is how thermostats work. The goal with thermostats is to reach a particular temperature. The feedback is information of whether the temperature has been reached. If it has not been reached, the heat continues. If it has been reached, then the furnace is turned off.

While the learning process is more complex, the thermostat analogy works with it as well. This has been confirmed by studies by Professor Mihály Csíkszentmihály at Claremont Graduate University. When humans have a goal and the goal is within their grasp (i.e. it is within or just slightly beyond their skill level to achieve), then humans are highly motivated to work towards that goal. This is seen in gambling, in computer games, in hobbies, and in sports. It is what Professor Csíkszentmihály refers to as being in Flow.

It is also seen in learning where the learning environment meets the right criteria. The conditions required to develop such an intrinsically motivating learning environment are 1) the student has clear goals, 2) the student has the knowledge or skills to be able to achieve the goal, and 3) the student receives constant feedback of progress. Such an environment can only exist in an individualized learning environment. This can, arguably, work only in a technology-driven system.

Examples of activities

We use activities to engage students in a project that demonstrates to both them and to their teacher that they understand the concept or concepts in a particular knowledge domain. A general rule is that the activity should simulate, as closely as possible, a real application of the skill or knowledge that the student has hopefully learned.

For example, if the skill is to play a particular scale on the piano, the student should be able to play the scale on the piano, not just point to the scale. If the concepts include being able to read and comprehend a novel at a particular reading level, then the task should be to read and respond to questions about materials at that particular reading level, not just pick an answer from some multiple choices.

One of the reasons that there is resistance to standardized tests is that frequently these tests are far removed from the conditions under which students normally need to use their skills. Multiple choice tests can measure certain types of knowledge but they also introduce their own idiosyncrasies. One of these is the confusion that very similar options in multiple choices can introduce. Another is that multiple choice tests require choice elimination, a process of decision making that tests the student’s puzzle-solving capabilities more than their analysis and synthesis abilities.

Good examples of activities are projects that require the synthesis of various skills from a knowledge domain. A good example of a project that tests students’ knowledge and skill in geometry, biology, and analysis might be to landscape a plot of land to sustain Neotropical migrant birds. They would need to research the needs of Neotropical migrant birds, to do a physical survey of an available piece of land, plan out a bird-friendly layout, select appropriate plants, decide on other environmental attributes such as water and protection, and finally develop a plan to landscape the plot. Such a project tests the knowledge and skills that are explicitly taught, but they also test and exercise other skills such as the ability to develop a step-by-step plan.