Template Approach For Adaptive Learning Strategies

1. Template Approach For Adaptive Learning Strategies Jana Abbing, Kevin Koidl Telecooperation Group, CS Dept.Prof. Max Mühlhäuser,Darmstadt University of TechnologyHochschulstr. 1064289 Darmstadt, GERMANY

2. Overview • Background • SAP LSO • WiBA-Net Project • Concept • Motivation and Main Goal • Main Idea & Basic Scenario • New Features & Possible extensions • Strategy Editor • Metadata • Future Research

3. Background SAP LSO - Authoring Environment To explore the structure of the course To organize the content (learning networks, learning objects, knowledge items) and define relations between the nodes To specify knowledge type (x)or test parameters and other metadata for the current node

4. Background SAP LSO - Learning Path • Dynamically generated according to the author’s settings and user preferences (learning strategy) • Only a recommendation, user can leave the learning path whenever he/she wishes • Navigation support for the better orientation of the learners Current element Recommended element Finished element Test Current node Element not yet recommended • Structure of the course can be hidden – user can simply follow the learning path by clicking on forward/back buttons

5. Background SAP LSO - Learning Strategies Learning strategies adjust the learning path according to the learner’s preferences, taking existing relations into account. • Orientation only • Orientation first • Action oriented • Explanation oriented • Example oriented • Index

6. Background WiBA-Net Project Project WiBA Net (2001-2003) • In cooperation with civil engineers, architects and pedagogical department of TU Darmstadt • Testing and evaluating of L3 Authoring Environment (SAP LSO) • Main problems during the authoring process: • Creating of self-contained reusable learning units • Understanding of different pedagogical concepts and creating a reasonable structure for the course – adaptive to the specific learning needs of student • Predicting the behaviour of the course under different LS

7. Concept Motivation • Continuous demand on pedagogical/didactical templates • Support for different pedagogical approaches • Experiences from different L3-projects • Current learning strategies (LS) are very often considered not to be enough transparent • Authors are very often hard-wiring the courses • Too many relations, without clear function • Need for more flexibility of LS

8. Concept Main Goal • Provide a visual oriented authoring environment, which allows • to model different pedagogical templates • to model own LS • to re-use pedagogical templates and decide about LS to be used • Keep (respectively improve) the adaptive character of learning environment, which provides an epistemological pluralism for the learner (e.g., learner can choose from different learning strategies) • Compatibility with former versions of SAP LSO • Support for import/export of standardized content

9. Concept Main idea • Teaching approach (represented by Strategy template) • Course-author can choose for each course module one underlying pedagogy (Teaching Approach) • Each strategy template contains: • Set of KI with assigned basic metadata (e.g. knowledge type, test type) • Set of different LS offered to be used with the strategy template • Appropriate didactical explanation and recommendations • Predefined by a strategy-designer in Strategy editor • Learning strategy • Keep epistemological pluralism => one strategy template should include more LS • Ordered (sub)set of KI • KI may be re-used in different LS => Strategy template: (commented) set of KI + set of LS

10. Concept Main idea (example)

11. Concept Basic Scenario Course-author • Author Strategy-designer • Strategy editor – extension of Authoring environment • Basic scenario: • Strategy-designer creates a strategy template (using a Strategy editor) • Course-author loads the strategy template into AE: • Set of (partially predefined) KI appears on the desktop Course-author fills the KI with content and sets up a course • Learner chooses a LS (from those predefined by strategy-designer) and view the course in adopted order

12. Concept New features I. • Relations • Didactical: defined throughout strategy template • Matter of fact: Editable in AE • Before – 2 KI must be presented in suggested order • Belongs to – close relationship of connected KI, does not specify any policy on the order • Associated objects • Group of learning objects with the same pedagogical role • Not all of them must be visited • Support for explorative learning • Can address: • Learning styles • Learner context • Based on the concept of adaptive presentation • Learner or system can choose the most suitable knowledge item

13. Concept New features II. • Tests • Adding of decision fork (depending on the test-result) • Metadata • Course authors are “forgetting” to fill e.g., knowledge type and media type => content player does not have valid data • Solution: no default value (resp. ‘neutral’) • Visualization

14. Strategy Editor Basic description • Editor for implementation of strategy templates • Each strategy template includes • Set of KI • Instruction Elements • Tests • Associated Objects • Set of LS • Sequences of subsets of KI • Pedagogical comments and recommendations • for the course-author • for learner (e.g. descriptions of LS)

15. Strategy Editor Implementation • Management of templates, LS and KI • List of openedtemplates and used KI • Metadata • Strategy template • Represents different pedagogical approaches • Carries set of (complementary) learning strategies. • Contains appropriate didactical description. • Author (in AE) is free to (pre)select different learning strategies from the template.

16. Strategy Editor Design of a Learning Strategy • “Linear” sequence of knowledge items:

17. Metadata • Currently • LOM based files • SCORM export (1.2) • Analysis for export into SCORM 2004: restrictions on functionality • New version (to be implemented) • Content will be organized in few independent structures (according to learning strategies). • Order of KI in associated objects will vary (e.g., according to learner’s preferences) and will be dynamically generated by the system. • Number of obligatory KI from within associated object is predefined (by a course-author). • Each test can be freely linked with (at least) two spots in the learning path according to test result. • SS of SCORM 2004 does not support associated objects • IMS LD seems to a good possibility, but there may be difficulties with adaptivity within an assosiaced object (?)

18. Future Research • Preparation of the Authoring Environment for the integration of the strategy templates. • Guideline based on learning theories (for Strategy editor and for Authoring environment). • Preparation of Content Player for the usage of design learning strategies. • Extension of the Meta data definition for a more general usage in other Learning Environment. • Evaluation of the efficiency of learning strategies. • Evaluation of the efficiency of the suggested authoring process.

19. Thank you for your attention!...any questions? Contact: jana@tk.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de koidl@hotmail.com

20. Concept Possible extensions • Priority (AE) • Different possibilities to achieve more flexibility by learning: • must or can • most important concepts, recommended for good understanding of the topic, for students interested in the area • Based on experiment: allow 0%-100% and observe, which granularity is the most useful for course-authors. • Learner can choose minimal priority of KI (e.g, last repetition before exams - only “most important concepts”) • Importance (SE) • Attribute for KI: how important is the KI for the particular LS? (core, recommended, additional) • AE: not possible to delete a core KI • First course, second template • Scenario for course-author: create KI, search for the most fitting strategy template (comparison of used KI)

21. Concept Adaptivity • Adaptive navigation • The navigation will stay in principle the same, but will be enriched of associated objects and in extended version also of related pages (see “Extended version”) • Teaching approach (strategy templates) • author can choose for each course module from the database of strategy templates the one which fits the best learning materials provided and underlying teaching approach (pedagogy) • Learning strategy (adaptive order) • each strategy template will be contain several possible learning strategies and each of them will provide: • a specific choice of learning units (not all of the learning units must be included in each learning strategy, some of them might be left out) • a specific order of the learning units, which defines the “best offer” learning path for each learning strategy • a possibility to use the fork after the test (for defining of specific flow for passed/failed test) • Associated objects • Within one associated object will be applied adaptive selection (respectively adaptive order) according to the KT or MT • Related pages (from Possible extensions) • adaptive selection and adaptive order

22. Concept LS in use • Combining of different LS of different LN within the course: • Random • Learner-oriented approach • Learner’s profile includes preferred LS for each strategy-template • Active choice for each new strategy template (based on description provided by strategy-designer)