Active learning in a simulated environment

LUIS A. GODOY

Salta

Congreso; MECOM 2012 - Salta; 2012

AMCA

Teaching science and engineering is not what it used to be. At some stage, it was recognized that not all students learn everything in the same way: there are different learning styles. This new understanding of how people learn has been the subject of research in education, with the consequence that different learning styles are now emphasized as valid (and desirable) forms of learning. A second change has been the introduction of personal computers as part of our lives. This work emphasizes novel ways to teach and learn that can be developed by most instructors provided that they have the patience and interest to produce class innovations using computers. The specific approach discussed in what follows has been called ?learning-by-doing (or active learning) in a computer-based (or virtual) environment?. This is an approach initially explored by Roger Schank since the 1990s with emphasis on learning for the workplace, and it has been here adapted to engineering education. Schank proposed that learning that is done in a computer should involve the participants in such a way that they perform a task to accomplish a mission assigned to them. One expects to train students to do sophisticated tasks in a way similar to what an expert would do. The only way to see if the learner has learned a lesson is to ask her to perform a task in specific situations. The general conclusion is that in most cases a young student cannot learn in the real world because failure to perform up to a standard has severe consequences and may lead to high costs. Thus, one is left with a simulated situation, in which the student may perform and there are no consequences if she makes a wrong choice or follows a wrong path. The center of this approach is the detailed reconstruction of a case, so that the students can perform some activity, such as role-playing, further explorations, etc. The general format of all tools developed in this research as learning modules include a problem statement, in which the participant is informed of the specific task that is required to be accomplished by her. If the participant accepts the challenge, then the system allows multiple paths to be followed in order to gather information and expert advice. There is a virtual library, in which literature related to the case is available; a computer room, in which computations can be carried out to obtain data for the case; there is expert advice, in which typical questions related to the topic are responded by experts in this field; and there is a navigation dimension, in which the participant can interact with the case by means of asking questions to virtual characters, exploring data specific for this case, going to a virtual field, and others. As a result, the participant should provide her response to the problem statement which originated the study. Construction of the navigation tool is made by means of a web-page with a tree structure. A number of simulations have been implemented, with differences in contents and also in complexity.