Asignment 1

Assignment Cover sheet University of Pretoria Field of Study:

Bed (Hons): Computer Integrated Education

Name:

Mbulaheni Fannie Matumba

Student Number:

28584849

Year of study:

2008

Subject Description:

Computers as Cognitive Tool

Subject code:

CIT 720

Lecturer:

Professor JG Knoetze

Assignment Number:

One

Table of Contents Contents

Page number

(a) Question 1

Conceptual change as seen by Jonassen

3

(b) Question 2

Jonassen’s use of the term modeling

4

(c) Question 3

the meaning of the word mindtool

5

(d) Question 4

the purpose of modeling

5

(e) Question 5

what can be modelled

6

(f) Question 6

limitations of mindtools

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(g) Bibliography

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Question 1 Conceptual change as seen by Jonassen After studying the first two chapters on conceptual change, I learnt that Jonassen has consulted many sources in order to come up with the real meaning of what conceptual change really is. I have noted interestingly that Jonassen was not alone when working on conceptual change; he was together with other people that can be confirmed by his frequent reference to “my colleagues and I” (Jonassen 2006 pp 4 & 6) as he tries to conclude some of his analogies. I think the use of “my colleagues and I” is a way of trying to indicate that besides him, there are many other people who shares the same sentiments. Conceptual change has been defined by many authors as quoted by Jonassen (2006).The following definitions are some of them. •

“It is meaningful learning that treats learning as an intentional, dynamic, and constructive process” (Jonassen, 2006:3).

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“It is the cognitive process of adapting and restructuring personal theories to explain external worlds” (Jonassen, 2006:4).

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“It is an evolutionary process of adding concepts and reorganising knowledge structures to include new concepts” (Jonassen, 2006:4).

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“It is revolutionary (when information is not consistent with learners beliefs and assumptions) perturbed by some external event that cannot be explained by prior knowledge” (Jonassen, 2006:4).

From the above definitions or explanations of what conceptual change is, one can make the following deductions that… •

the fact that it is meaningful means that learners themselves construct their own knowledge based on either their experiences or prior knowledge coupled with the new factual information they receive.

•

there is what I would like to indicate as the “state of disequilibrium” or the state of “uncertainty”. Learners know something, they are told something new, compare with the previous and end up building relatively new knowledge. New knowledge therefore constitutes conceptual change. Once new

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knowledge has been constructed everything returns to normality and the state of “equilibrium” is reached. For these to take place the “state of equilibrium”, learners must be ready and willing to learn new things. New knowledge must be built on the prior knowledge “scaffolding”. Question 2 Jonassen’s use of the term modelling According to Jonassen (2006), there are two kinds of models: (a) the internal Models These can also be referred to as mental or Conceptual Models. This kind of modelling is inside the mind, it is not visible. It is the mental processes that take place when the learner is trying to make meaning of something new that has just been learnt. (b) the external models Here learners make use of different technologies in order to represent their internal thinking processes (internal models). Learners can draw, innovate a formula etc of what is meaningful to them. From the above explanations it is very much evident that Jonassen use of the term ‘modelling’ does not refer to making artefacts for example a model of a building or a human being. Jonassen refers to the conceptual change process that initiates in the “willing to learn” and culminates in an actual representation of the mind by generating formulas, mind maps etc. Jonassen (2006) believes there is a dynamic and reciprocal relationship between internal and external models. Internal (mental) models provide materials for building external models and external models in turn regulate internal models by providing the means for conceptual change. Lastly Jonassen (2006, 13) defines models as conceptual systems consisting of elements, relations, operations, and rules governing interactions that are expressed using some external representational system. Further than that, modelling is a process

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that ‘helps learners express and externalise their thinking, and visualise and test components of their theories” (Jonassen 2006, 13). Question 3 The meaning of the word Mindtools Jonassen (2006 pp 20) describes Mindtools as “computer based tools and learning environments that have been adapted or developed to enable learners to represent what they know”. Computer applications program is used as a vehicle to engage learners in a constructive, higher order, critical thinking about the learning areas or subjects they are studying. The computer and the learners enter into a partnership “intellectual” where they begin to use the computer to access, interpret, organise, and manipulate data in different or new ways. Again Mindtools help to extend the thinking processes of their users. Examples of Mindtools: •

databases

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spreadsheets

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semantic networks (concept maps)

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computer conferencing

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hypermedia construction

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microworld environments

Question 4 The purpose of modelling. According to Jonassen (2006 pp14), “when solving a problem or answering a complex conceptual question, learners must construct a mental model of the phenomena and use that model as the basis for prediction, inference, speculation, or experimentation”. Jonassen’s eight purposes for modelling (Jonassen 2006, 15) •

Models have intellectual autonomy – they are independent of the theories of the world.

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Models help engage, support and assess conceptual change. 5

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Modelling is quintessentially constructivist – learners scaffold personal representations of phenomena

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Modelling requires learners to articulate causal reasoning, the cognitive basis for most basic reasoning.

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Modelling is amongst the most conceptually engaging cognitive processes that can be performed, which makes it a strong predictor of conceptual change.

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Modelling results in students who own the knowledge. Students ownership is important to meaning making and knowledge construction.

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Modelling supports the development of epistemic beliefs. Comparing the evaluating models requires understanding that alternative models are possible and that the activity of modelling can be used for testing rival models.

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Modelling tools help learners transcend limitations of their minds – limitations to memory, thinking, or problem solving.

Question 5 What can be modelled a) Modeling Domain Knowledge Concept mapping and systems modeling tools can be used to model domain knowledge. I would like to understand domain knowledge as the core knowledge aspect of a learning activity. Learners learning about energy may construct a mind map that will constitute aspects such as energy sources, renewable and non renewable, types of energy, etc link all those to energy as core knowledge. Such a concept map can ease understanding. b) Modeling Systems The world can be described in terms of its interrelated systems. A system can be clearly defined in terms of its three components: input, process and output. Learners can understand systems better if they represent them in the form of formulas. It will be easy to remember energy as represented by the formula Energy = time x power c) Modeling Problems Jonassen (2006:18) indicates that in order to successfully solve any problem, there must be a mental process where a problem space is created. That mental

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space will then be filled by specific relations to the problem. Relations could be causes, similarities, initiators etc. this can latter be represented externally in the form of a mindmap. d) Modeling Experiences This type of modeling is usually represented in the form of databases that are conveyed through storytelling. Learners learn from other people experiences and create a story to tell out of that. Different experiences will constitute a database for the learner to assimilate latter during the learning process. e) Modeling Thinking (Cognitive Simulations) This is normally used when educators wants to understand the thinking that took place for the learner to conceptualise a particular aspect or to reach a conceptual change state. Mental process can better be modelled using computer based modeling tools such as Ms Excel and Access. Question 6 Limitations of Mindtools (a) Cognitive load To some learners this is a very difficult exercise; model building is a lot of work for learners which require more commitment to the task at hand. More so is that learners must be able to transcend the boundaries in order to represent their mental pictures in a more concrete way. Again modelling requires more practice to generate automaticity.

(b) Developmental differences “Different kinds of modelling tools require different levels of intellectual development” (Janssen 2006, 24). This could easily relate to the availability of technologies to different learners. Schools of families that have access to new technologies will advantage their learners more as compared to those that does not have. Although simple technologies such as cellphone could be used, poor learners might not have access to more sophisticated and complex cellphone with new technologies in order to compete with the haves. The “haves” develops much quicker than the “have not”.

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(c) Fidelity There are many misconceptions about models, one such is the identity hypothesis, another one relates to their stability. ‘Phenomena in the world are typically far more complex than anything that can be represented by any model” (Jonassen 2006, 24).

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Bibliography Jonassen, D.H. (2006). Modeling with technology: Mindtools for conceptual change: Third edition. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. JoAnne E. Davies (1997), [email protected] URL: http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edpy485/edtech/mindtool.htm

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