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Compare ContrastFuture Flight vs. First in Math

• Gwenanne Salkind David Van Vleet
• EDIT 732 ? October 3, 2005

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Learning Environments

• ConstructivistNASA Future Flighthttp//futurefli
  ght.arc.nasa.gov/
• Objectivist 24 Game First in Mathwww.firstinmat
  h.com User id love Password math

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Learning Context

• An essential concept in the constructivist view
  is that learning always takes place in a
  context (Ertmer Newby, 1993, p. 64).
• Future Flight is set in an authentic context.
  Students are asked to find a solution to a
  real-world problem involving air transportation
  and aircraft design. http//futureflight.arc.nasa.
  gov/welcome.html

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Learning Context

• There is no real-world context in the First in
  Math site. Students play a game to practice
  computational skills. http//www.firstinmath.com/p
  ractice.asp

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Learning Goals

• Constructivists believe that the goal of
  instruction is not the acquisition of a
  specific, well-defined bit of content, but rather
  the ability to learn in a content domain.
  Learning to learn including the ability to ask
  questions, evaluate ones strategies, and develop
  answers to questions in the content domain is
  the goal (Duffy Cunningham, 1996, p. 182).
• In Future Flight, learning goals are negotiated
  by the students. Students choose the problem they
  want to work on. They determine how to research
  the problem based upon their understanding of the
  problem and the questions they generate.
  http//futureflight.arc.nasa.gov/design.html

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Learning Goals

• In First in Math, instructional goals are imposed
  by the website. Learners move through the skill
  levels by demonstrating acquisition of skills.

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The Learner

• Constructivists believe that learners build
  personal interpretations of the world based on
  individual experiences and interactions (Ertmer
  Newby, 1993, p. 63).
• In Future Flight, the learner actively constructs
  meaning by choosing a real-world problem,
  formulating research questions, and exploring the
  website to find answers to those questions.

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The Learner

• Behaviorists believe that learning is
  accomplished when a proper response is
  demonstrated following the presentation of a
  specific environmental stimulus.Behaviorismconte
  nts that responses that are followed by
  reinforcement are more likely to recur in the
  future (Ertmer Newby, 1993, p. 55).
• In First in Math, the learner works individually
  to practice computational skills. Stickers and
  smiley faces are awarded for correct answers.
  http//www.firstinmath.com/practice.asp

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Content

• Constructivists favorstudent-centered,
  goal-directed inquiry over externally directed
  instruction (Land Hannafin, 2000, p. 6) and
  complexity of content and concepts to be learned
  (Dabbagh Bannan-Ritland, 2005, p. 174).
• In Future Flight, the content is ill-structured
  and complex in nature. Students solve the problem
  through inquiry, information-gathering, and
  reflection. Their research is student directed.
  http//futureflight.arc.nasa.gov/map.html

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A student log is used to provide scaffolding. The
log supports students through the learning
process.
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Content

• Behavioral conceptions of instruction seek to
  analyze, decompose, and simplify tasks in order
  to make learning easier and more efficient
  (Jonassen, 1991, p. 8). There is an emphasis on
  mastering early steps before progressing to more
  complex levels of performance (Ertmer Newby,
  1993, p. 56).
• On the First in Math website, the learning
  content is recall of basic mathematics facts and
  computational fluency. Complex tasks are broken
  down into smaller more manageable tasks that can
  be mastered separately. There is a prescribed
  sequence for learning. Students progress through
  skill sets. http//www.firstinmath.com/practice.as
  p

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First in Math Skill Sets
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Learning Activity

• Constructivists believe that learning is an
  inherently social-dialogical process. Students
  work in groups to share alternative viewpoints
  and to promote the dialogical interchange and
  reflexivity (Duffy Cunningham, 1996, p. 187)
• In Future Flight, students work collaboratively
  to solve a problem. They choose real-life roles
  based upon their interests. These roles provide
  multiple perspectives for looking at the problem.
  http//futureflight.arc.nasa.gov/capacity.html

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Learning Activity

• In First in Math, students work individually. The
  learning activity is competitive. Students
  compete against the clock and against other
  students. There is a team competition, but they
  never talk to their teammates. http//www.firstinm
  ath.com/practice.asp

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Learning Activity

• In the behaviorist realm instruction is
  structured around the presentation of the target
  stimulus and the provision of opportunities for
  the learner to practice making the proper
  response. Instruction frequently used cues and
  reinforcement (Ertmer Newby, 1993, p. 57).
• In First in Math, cues are given at the early
  stages of skill development to help the learner
  give the correct response.

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Assessment

• Future Flight has authentic assessment.
• If students choose to build an aircraft, they can
  take a simulated flight test. http//futureflight
  .arc.nasa.gov/dCenter.html
• Students are asked to present the solution to
  their air transportation problem to an air
  transportation committee consisting of student
  peers. A rubric is used to rate the presentation.

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Assessment

• Objectivists see learning primarily as the
  acquisition and strengthening of responses
  (Wilson Myers, 2000, p. 60). Assessment usually
  involves a test to see if learners can perform a
  skill (Duffy Cunningham, 1996, p. 186).
• In First in Math, correct answers are reinforced
  by stickers and smiley faces. This positive
  reinforcement strengthens the likelihood that the
  correct response will occur in the future.
  Learning outcomes are measurable behaviors. The
  number of stickers earned are counted and
  reported. Teachers can access these reports.

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• Future Flight
• Authentic context
• Construct meaning
• Negotiated
• Ill-structured
• Complex
• Student directed
• Collaborative
• Multiple perspectives
• Authentic assessment

• First in Math
• No real-world context
• Practice
• Imposed
• Well-structured
• Manageable tasks
• Prescribed sequence
• Competitive
• Measurable behaviors
• Positive reinforcement