The Crucial Role of ‘Learning Objects’ in Science and Engineering Education
By Daniel Churchill, National Institute of Education Singapore, 2003.

This paper is a careful examination of how “learning objects” can be incorporated into computer-based learning episodes. The work is grounded in the “mindtools” and “mental models” concepts of David Jonassen and others.

In the paper, Churchill says:

When we teach, typically we have already finished running our mental models; essentially we just serve the results to the students – we share “what” we know but not “how” we know that.

He goes on to say:

Now, for the first time ever, we have powerful multimedia technologies at our disposal. These tools enable us to add critical dimensions to design of conceptual models − the interactivity and dynamic data visualization.

Churchill gives examples of engineering-based learning objects. One of these is The Machining Activity:

The learning process started with a problem in the form of “What’s the Client Looking For?”. The problem was authentic and ill-structured – with multiple solutions and paths, and with minimum parameters to build upon. Authentic and ill-structured problems, according to Jonassen (2000), “are kind of problems that are encountered in everyday practice, so they are typically emergent”.

Here is a screen shot of the machining learning object:

For the full paper:

» Effective Design Principles For Activity-Based Learning
(PDF, 595 kB, 11 pages.)

Author

Daniel Churchill, National Institute of Education, Singapore.