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This pilot case study sought to investigate patterns of interactions between learners and their instructor in a teacher education course called “Computer Science for Teachers”. This course was constructed to leverage aspects of open world game design elements in order to investigate the effects of degrees of autonomy in gameplay/learning. This course was conducted in a specially built social learning platform based on Elgg software. Student interactions with the instructor and other students in this course were analyzed to determine the learning networks students constructed during each key learning activity as well as the epistemic spaces defined by these interactions. Descriptive statistics along with social network analysis (SNA) and epistemic network analysis (ENA) were used to investigate these data. The findings indicate that more traditional/less open world gaming type learning activities were associated with learning networks and epistemic spaces that were teacher-centered and narrower, while more open world gaming/high levels of autonomy (student-centric) learning activities were associated with learning networks that were highly decentralized and epistemic spaces that featured students asking and answering questions of/for one another. These findings were consistent with existing research into player behavior in open world type games and learner behavior in settings with high levels of autonomy support. Implications for further research are discussed.
Gerald Ardito; Betül Czerkawski. The Development of Autonomous Student Learning Networks: Patterns of Interactions in an Open World Learning Environment for Teachers Exploring Teaching with and through Computer Science. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8696 .
AMA StyleGerald Ardito, Betül Czerkawski. The Development of Autonomous Student Learning Networks: Patterns of Interactions in an Open World Learning Environment for Teachers Exploring Teaching with and through Computer Science. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):8696.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGerald Ardito; Betül Czerkawski. 2021. "The Development of Autonomous Student Learning Networks: Patterns of Interactions in an Open World Learning Environment for Teachers Exploring Teaching with and through Computer Science." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 8696.
Problem-solving and critical thinking are considered important skills to be developed by students, and are supported by the development of Computational Thinking (CT) skills. This study investigated the collaborative development of CT skills in sixth grade students via a six week LEGO robotics program. This robotics program focused on the development of four key CT skills: engineering/building, coding, problem-solving, and collaboration. Students in the program maintained journals of their activities, and these journals were analyzed in order to understand the collaborative development of CT skills in these students. Findings suggest that this process is a gendered one, with the boys focused more on the operational aspects of building and coding their robots while the girls focused more on group dynamics. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Gerald Ardito; Betül Czerkawski; Lauren Scollins. Learning Computational Thinking Together: Effects of Gender Differences in Collaborative Middle School Robotics Program. TechTrends 2020, 64, 373 -387.
AMA StyleGerald Ardito, Betül Czerkawski, Lauren Scollins. Learning Computational Thinking Together: Effects of Gender Differences in Collaborative Middle School Robotics Program. TechTrends. 2020; 64 (3):373-387.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGerald Ardito; Betül Czerkawski; Lauren Scollins. 2020. "Learning Computational Thinking Together: Effects of Gender Differences in Collaborative Middle School Robotics Program." TechTrends 64, no. 3: 373-387.
In K-12 education in the USA, teachers are typically trained to work in content area silos. This structure shapes how teacher certification is organized as well. Biology, chemistry, economics, and urban planning are each considered distinct disciplines. Although there are some benefits to this approach in terms of focus and scope, there are also limits. Deeply integrated topics such as water resilience require a more unified and interdisciplinary pedagogical approach. This paper describes work done to train new science teachers to utilize systems and network models through the use of concept mapping to reconstruct their thinking and understanding of such topics. These teachers were then asked to create appropriate unit and lesson plans that reflected these system and network models. Preliminary findings suggest that educators who participated in this training were better able to teach deeply integrated topics to their K-12 students in more meaningful and productive ways.
Gerald Ardito. Teaching to teach systems and networks: preparing to teach for water resilience in the K-12 classroom. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 2018, 8, 385 -394.
AMA StyleGerald Ardito. Teaching to teach systems and networks: preparing to teach for water resilience in the K-12 classroom. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 2018; 8 (4):385-394.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGerald Ardito. 2018. "Teaching to teach systems and networks: preparing to teach for water resilience in the K-12 classroom." Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 8, no. 4: 385-394.