Reversing the Design Cycle - Technology and Mathematics Instruction

Document Type

Presentation Abstract

Presentation Date

1-30-2003

Abstract

In education, we often adopt and adapt existing technologies that were originally intended for application in other endeavors. As a result, the creation and negotiation of meaning by learners mediated by such technologies sometimes takes surprising twists and turns and we often fail to reflect carefully on those opportunities. We will discuss examples based on the experiences of middle school teachers simulating the role of a Calculator Based Ranger (CBR) motion detector in making sense of graphs of displacement produced by a CBR. Then we will turn to a more fundamental question of whether or not it is possible to reverse the direction of the interplay between instructional and technologies design. Normally, we observe the effects technology has on learning and then adapt instruction to make more effective use of the technology. Instead, can we stipulate the effects we want instruction to have on learners and then design technology to achieve those goals? We will discuss some promising "first principles" as articulated by David Merrill and Catherine Fosnot that could guide efforts to realize that vision.

Additional Details

Thursday, 30 January 2003
4:10 p.m. in Math 109
Coffee/treats at 3:30 p.m. Math 104 (Lounge)

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