EDUC 633: Chapter 15 - e-Learning to Build Thinking Skills

Summary

Chapter 15 outlines several principles that can help teach specific types of thinking skills in an e-learning environment. One of the big questions the beginning of the chapter addresses is if thinking skills can be taught to people or if they just naturally occur in specific people. The research that the book presented indicated that people are able to learn thinking skills to a small extent, but that training does not have a significant impact on a person's ability to develop thinking skills. The main types of thinking skills include creative, critical, and metacognitive skills. Creative skills address a person's ability to be unique and propose innovative ideas. Critical thinking skills are those related to thorough investigation and consideration of problems and ideas. Metacognitive skills relate to a person's intrinsic motivation for setting their own goals, evaluating the process of their goals, and then revising their course of action to meet those goals (Clark & Mayer, 2011) .

Principle one is entitled “focused on job specific cognitive and metacognitive skills” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p.344). The text outlines this as teaching relevant job-related thinking skills that workers can apply to their current situation, specific roles, and work environment in order to think through situations. One of the main points made in the section of the chapter is that the goal of e-learning and training, is for the learners to truly use the information they have learned within their own settings and apply it to their daily routine when non-routine issues happen. This principle expresses the importance of teaching job skills and problem solving skills specifically related to the learners work environment, not just a general problem-solving course for a wide variety of environments (Clark & Mayer, 2011).

Principle two is entitled “consider a whole task course design” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p.345) . This specific type of instruction is based upon a specific objective or goal in mind. Then, throughout the lesson the skills and knowledge needed to complete that objective or goal are introduced into the lesson. Problem solving and critical thinking skills are also integrated into the assignment. The three parts of whole task instruction include problem centered learning, guided learning, and inductive learning. The text compares whole task course design to part task instruction, which is basically building one skill on top of another in order to reach a goal at the end or scaffolding. Where whole task course design starts with the end in mind, presents the goal first and then gives you the steps in how to get there. Problem centered whole task instruction begins, first, with a case study, for example, which sets the stage to a specific issue. The material presented at the forefront of the lesson sets the environment and feel for the learner to start identifying problems in using critical thinking skills. Guided learning is also scenario-based. The difference is the learner may be able to have a simpler scenario and problem to solve or even possibly a demonstration from an instructor, perhaps, to guide them in the learning process. As learners start to get an idea of what is expected, their scenarios or case studies would get more complex with less and less help from someone else. Inductive learning enables learners to try different approaches to solving their problems or case studies, and then being able to see feedback or consequences from the choices they made. Research provided within the text indicated that problem-based learning serves not only as a viable option to problem solve and critically think, but also to increase interpersonal skills, overall clinical skills (in a group of medical students) and performance , and personal attitudes toward problem-based learning. Research also indicated that other important skills such as teamwork and communication were more developed when problem-based learning was taught (Clark & Mayer, 2011).

Principle three is entitled “make thinking processes explicit” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p.355) . This particular principle emphasizes the importance of teaching learners processes of mental thought, instead of just patterns or instructions to follow to get a job done. When foundational work is laid, meaning the processes of how to think through scenarios or issues, then a learner can intentionally follow the mental steps to work through the issue. Unfortunately, many companies just teach people how to use instructions or a model to perform specific duties without going in depth and explaining the purpose and the rationale behind performing the job. Teaching a learner the metacognitive skills of “planning, monitoring, and revising” enables them to intentionally see what they're doing, evaluate whether what they're doing is correct, and changing what they're doing in order to provide a better process (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p.356). By developing this thought process in learners, learners become more like experts in their subject matter (Clark & Mayer, 2011).

Principle four is entitled”to find job specific thinking processes” emphasizes the importance of cognitive task analysis (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p.360) . The text reflects different methods within this principle that help learners identify problems that need to be addressed, as well as processes that can be used to address those problems. Some of the methods identified in this portion of the chapter were concurrent reporting, retrospective reporting, queued retrospective reporting, critical decision method, and structured expert interview. These are all methods that learners can use to identify problems within their work environment and use specific thought processes described in each of these two solve their issue (Clark & Mayer, 2011).

Reflection

Chapter 15 was truly enlightening in how to think through the process of intentionally designing e-learning to initiate and build problem-solving and critical thinking skills in each learner. I really find it fascinating that one can purposefully and meaningfully invoke learners to develop these skills in a more thorough approach. I also found the research very interesting. Honestly, I would've guessed that trying to develop more generalized thought processes, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking skills would be more beneficial to use in various environments. However, the research indicated in this chapter led to the conclusions that job specific scenarios are more valuable to learners in developing their overall thought process.

The main points to consider within this chapter are the four main principles outlined above: the importance of allowing learners an opportunity to use their own specific situations to develop their thought process; to consider whole task course design and the benefits of starting the thought process with a specific objective or goal in mind; allowing learners the ability to plan, monitor, and revise their own actions and consequences in order to become experts within their own areas; and to develop thought processes specific to task-related or job specific problems. These points are valuable to consider when designing an e-learning course in order to successfully develop an educational environment that is truly stimulating and pertinent to the learners needs. Due to the fact that learners are not in a face-to-face environment with their instructor, it is especially important to be able to provoke meaningful thought processes within your students in an asynchronous environment.

This chapter did not necessarily change my views about e-learning as much as it helped me gain a better understanding of the importance of intentionally developing critical thinking and problem solving scenarios within e-learning courses I may help create in the future. After graduation, I hope to be influential in the transition of moving some of our more traditional classroom courses into an online environment in the college where I work. This concept of building personal thinking skills will prove very beneficial and invaluable in that design. Adding this layer of complexity to the course will ensure 21st century learning skills are being developed and that students are more eligible for more quality job opportunities. Specifically, within my ISD project, I feel as though this chapter provided a more in-depth layer that our team needs to consider while designing our professional development modules. While our team has already built in specific problem-based learning scenarios, implementing at least one of these four principles into each of our professional development modules will ensure that even the instructors we are teaching within our modules will continue to develop their own thinking processes as they begin to teach in online environments and design their own courses. Our team should also consider implementing the idea of these four principles into the curriculum of the professional development modules, as they relate to Best Practices for Online Teaching. This entire chapter adds a unique component to online course development that could, perhaps, determine whether an online course is quality or mediocre.

Reference

Clark, R., & Mayer, R. (2011). E-Learning to build thinking skills. In E-learning and the science of

       instruction proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning, third edition

       (3rd ed., pp. 339-367). San Francisco, Calif.: Pfeiffer.