Payal Prabhu

Summary and Analysis of Hw #13

(this is based on homework from 4 students posted by Noon)

Everyone liked the comparison of the three models of instruction in the paper. Jing noted that there was an obvious bias towards the "community of learners" model and that not enough credit was given to the other models. He said "all the three models are needed to be involved in learning at different stages and for different groups of people".

One of the problems that many of us faced in understanding the material presented in the paper was the part dealing with "children-run" models. I believe no one (in class) is really clear on what exactly this models entails. Maybe because is it much more unstructured than the other two models that were presented. I think it would be a good idea to go over this particular model in class today. Also, technology that would allow children-run instructions are rare. I could come up with the "hooked-on-phonics" learning system where children learn to read on their own and (the advt. claims) that their reading skills improve tremendously. However, are there other technologies that can teach students the basic R's: reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmentic without an instructor? This is where Jing's argument comes in.

Dipti pointed out very well that learners that were exposed to one kind of instructional model would have a hard time switching over to another. I agree with her in a shift between adult-run and children-run because the jump would be too intense (from a rigidly structured one to a loosely-structured model). However, the "community of learners" model seems to be a compromise between the strict/loose structuring. I believe, with a little time, students and instructors could adapt well to the change.

One thing that interested me in the reviews was Dipti's belief that the adult-run model was not effective, "I think that this sort of instructional model has conceptual flaws and so technology cannnot improve the process". I would like to know more about these flaws in class (either from Dipti or if Gerhard concurs with this observation).

I was a little confused when Eric said, "students can recognize this and take the easy road out. With relatively little extra work on their part, the students can sit back, shut-up and have someone inform them." Then I realized he was giving a general observation on the adult-run model rather than analyzing the model wrt our class. He does go on to say that the Independent Research Project and the collaboration it requires makes our class deviate from this strictly-structured model.

And finally, I believe Jon's statement nicely summarizes the whole idea of learning in any environment: "We are responsible for our own digestion of the material and in that we set our own participation and involvement level." ... "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. (unless you give him plenty of salt first!)"