A Spatial Approach to Instruction: Impact on Children's Achievement and Attitude

Overview  |  Learning Problem  |  Design Process  |  Theory & Rationale  |  Learning Solution  |  Assessment

• Evolution of the Project

• Solution Approaches

• Design Challenges

• Technological challenges

• Design Process

Evolution of the Project

I was working with the Dr. Paul Kim, the Chief Technology Officer in the School of Education at Stanford University, on a NASA sponsored project on visual-spatial ability of children. Though our plan was to conduct an assessment of the attitude of children toward a model of instruction using three-dimensional (3D) visualization technologies and toward science as a whole, I expanded this concept to include other guidelines recommended by researchers in the field of cognitive science.

This project explores the use of an innovative technology to represent a physical object or a real-world phenomenon in three dimensions and the effect this type of instruction has on achievement and attitude of students toward science learning. The project also approaches the problem by adopting several instructional approaches and principles for designing learning environments backed by bodies of research. I followed these guidelines to develop a Web-based course, which, when viewed on a 3D monitor, is intended to help children understand concepts and phenomena in science easily by helping them explore the physical world in three dimensions to comprehend the spatial properties of objects.

The learning product, which is a Web-based course, has the following features:

• Subject menu

• Pre-test

• Self-paced instruction

• 3D monitor

• 3D simulations

• Post-test

• Instant messenger

• Discussion board

An explanation of the above features appear in the Theory & Rationale section.

As the work on the project proceeded, my ideas kept changing and after a few iterations and refinements, the final project focused on assessing both the attitude and achievement of the learners.

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Solution Approaches

The following approaches are already being taken or can be taken to address the learning problems:

• Two-dimensional images in books or Web pages

  • Easy to produce

  • Cost effective

  • Does not display spatial properties

   

• Physical models of phenomena

  • Close to reality

  • Expensive

  • Not portable

  • Fragile

   

• 2D or 3D simulations of objects or phenomena viewed on conventional computers

  • Moderately expensive

  • Anytime anywhere learning

  • Does not show spatial properties

   

• 3D simulations of objects or phenomena viewed on 3-D monitors

  • Anytime anywhere learning

  • Closest to reality

  • Expensive

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Design Challenges

The most important challenge for this project was to align the design principles for this instructional approach to children’s learning and development needs and learning theories and principles. The 3D monitor, which is an essential part of this project, is being used on an experimental basis in certain schools and by educators, but its efficiency and usefulness is yet to be established. Though research findings exist on an enhancement in learning and understanding when learners themselves design 3D models or simulations of phenomena such as the solar system, not much research has been conducted to ascertain if using a three-dimensional model as a part of classroom instruction has any effect on students’ achievement and attitude toward science.

Another significant challenge was to design a survey questionnaire for the students to evaluate their attitude toward science. This questionnaire would be served to them both before and after the instruction. However, it is essential to build a certain degree of reliability into the test to ensure validity of the survey. At the end, however, I didn’t create the survey questionnaire as the plan to conduct the assessment was put on hold due to the summer closure of the schools.

The concepts and phenomena, such as the molecular structure and the solar system, which can be taught using the 3D modeling approach, can also be taught using 2D images; however, the challenge was to represent the concepts and phenomena in such a way as to make a recognizable impact on learning and make a compelling case for its intended benefits.

Some of other design challenges were:

• Absence of a teacher – the presence of a teacher is a motivation in itself for many children. However, in a Web-based application, when the learner is alone, it may distract her. There is nobody to provide feedback or ask questions. On the other hand, it can also be argued that the absence of a teacher motivates the learner to explore the application freely.

• Making the students’ prior learning visible – a pre-test is built in to the system but it may not be adequate for making prior learning and understanding visible, especially if it’s incorrect.

• Incorporating an effective assessment mechanism into the system – a limitation of an online system is the lack of an effective assessment. Though the learner can be tested on the topics covered in the online course immediately after the instruction, prior research has established that “one-shot” assessment may not be the right approach.

• Providing the students with an opportunity to practice what they have learned – though possible, it is a challenging task to design a practice that provides learners with an opportunity to apply the concepts they have just learned with a detailed feedback mechanism.

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Technological challenges

As the project uses 3D simulations intended to be viewed on 3D monitors, the creation of simulations posed a significant challenge. I was constrained by money for purchasing licenses of 3D authoring software packages, time required to complete the simulations and Web site with all features, time required to learn the 3D software, and resources in terms of help available to learn the 3D software and troubleshooting in case of unexpected problems.

In the face of these challenges, I decided to develop a partially functional prototype using Adobe Dreamweaver and Flash. My familiarity with Microsoft FrontPage helped me get up to speed with Dreamweaver too. However, I need help in learning Flash. My classmate Angel helped me a lot learn Flash and she always guided me whenever I encountered a problem.

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The intended design process for this project is given below; however, the time and resource constraints limited the completion of all stages of the process.

• Analysis: I analyzed the learner profile, learning needs, technology requirements and availability, time and resource availability, and my own skills and learning requirements, and began the design process.

• Design: The design process consisted of sketching initial designs, paper prototyping, and iteratively modifying and refining the design.

• Development: I used Adobe Dreamweaver and Flash and Microsoft FrontPage to build the animations and Web pages. Though the 3D monitor supports only animations built with 3D authoring software such as 3D Max and CAD software such as SolidWorks, I didn’t have access to these software packages and was also constrained by my lack of expertise in these domains. So I decided to create the simulations using Flash to demonstrate the concept of instruction taking into account spatial cognition in my prototype.

• Implementation: This stage of the process, though not attempted, would include testing the Web site with a small group of target learners and incorporating the valid feedback into the project. This would amount to a formative evaluation of the learning product.

• Evaluation: I’d planned to conduct a summative evaluation of the product with a large group of learners in a school; however, it could not be carried out because of the closure of the schools for summer vacation. This phase would include an assessment of the change in knowledge of the learners that can be ascribed to this learning product.

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