comps reading - The Jasper Experiment: An Exploration of Issues in Learning and Instructional Design

This article described "The Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series," an illustration of "anchored" approach to instructional design, whereby instruction is situated in realistic, problem-rich settings. The theoretical framework underlying the series includes the following assumptions:

• Assumptions about goals: students learn to become independent learners
• Assumptions about learning:

1. constructive theories
2. generative learning
3. argumentation+reflection+refinement+sense-making
4. knowledge that is not acquired and used generatively tends to become what Whithead (1929) called "inert knowledge"-knowledge that is used spontaneously even though it is relevant (e.g., Bransford et al., 1986; Gick & Holyoak, 1980, 1983; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1985). Data indicate that knowledge is less likely to remain inert when it is acquired in a problem-solving mode rather than in a factual knowledge mode (Adams et al., 1988; Lockhart, Lamon, & Gick, 1988)

• Assumptions about instruction: cooperative learning setting

1. form community of inquiry
2. monitor one another
3. one of the differences between expert and novice is that experts can experience the changes in their own thinking that these ideas afford
4. self-generated information is better remembered than passively received information

• Assumptions about learning materials: concept of affordances

1. James Gibson (1977)
2. different types of instructional materials afford different kinds of learning activities

Based on these assumptions, there are seven design features underlying the Jasper Adventure Series. They, together with their respective hypothesized benefits, are listed below:

However, notice that whether these features are utilized depends on the teaching model at work in the classroom. In this article, three teaching models are mentioned:

• Model 1: basic first, immediate feedback, direct instruction
• Model 2: structured problem-solving

1. focus on the need to help students minimize errors and feelings of confusion
2. the greater the degree of guidance, the higher the probability that the students will not make errors
3. the strong point of this model is that students only work on correct plans; the tradeoff is that they do not engage in problem generation and monitoring

• Model 3: the "guided generation" model

1. emphasize the importance of generative activities on the part of students
2. make maximum use of the features afforded by the Jasper series
3. scaffolding concept: ZPD, Vygotsky