Teaching Roles for Instructional Software Alan Shurling

Teaching Roles for Instructional Software  Drill-and-practice  Tutorial  Simulation  Instructional game  Problem-solving program

Drill-and-Practice Teaching Function  Drill-and-practice software functions are exercises in which students work example items, and receive feedback on their correctness (Rayber, 2016)

Types of Drill-and-practice  Flash card activity  Students answer questions that are presented one at a time  Program responds by giving positive or negative feedback  Chart fill-in activates  Students are asked to complete a chart to test for fluency  Branching drill  Students must answer questions correctly at a predetermined mastery level  Then students will be moved onto more advanced questions  Extensive feedback activates  Students receive more than correct/incorrect feedback

Which Drill-and-Practice Software Should I Use?  The software must have the following  Control over the presentation rate  Answer judging  If questions are short answer, program must be able to discriminate between correct/incorrect  Appropriate feedback for correct and incorrect answers  Characteristics tailored to young learners

Benefits of Drill-and-Practice  Immediate feedback  Increased motivation  Saving teacher time

Problems with Drill-and Practice  Can be misused or overused  Can be considered an outdated approach to teaching

How to Incorporate Drill-and-Practice Software  Replace worksheets and homework assignments  Use it to prepare for test

Tutorial Teaching Functions  Tutorial software is an entire instructional sequence on a topic (Rayber, 2016)

Categories of Tutorials  Linear tutorial  Gives instructional sequence of explanation, practice, and feedback to all learners  Branching tutorial  Directs learning along alternate paths depending on how they respond to questions and whether they show mastery of certain parts of the material

Which Tutorial Software Should I Use?  Extensive interactivity  Thorough user control  Appropriate pedagogy  Adequate answer-judging and feedback capabilities  Appropriate graphics and/or video  Adequate recordkeeping

Benefits of Tutorials  Same benefits of drill-and-practice  Plus it offers a self-paced experience

Problems with Tutorials  Criticism since tutorials use direct instruction  Lack of well-designed products  Reflect only one instructional approach

When to Incorporate Tutorial Software  Use for students who are slower to understand the material  Allows for self-pacing  Alternate learning strategies  Use when teachers are unavailable

Simulations  A simulation is a computerized model of a real or imagined system that is designed to teach how the system works (Rayber, 2016)

Types of simulations  Physical simulation  Allows users to manipulate things or process represented on their screen  Iterative simulations  Speeds up or slow down processes that usually happen either to slowly or to quickly for students to see unfold  Procedural simulations  Teach the appropriate sequences of steps  Situational simulations  Gives students hypothetical situ

Benefits of Simulations  Compress time  Slow down the process  Get students involved  Make experimentation safe  Make the impossible possible  Save resources  Allow repetition  Allow observation of complex process

Problems with simulations  Criticism since it replaces hands-on learning  Students may develop inaccurate or imprecise perspectives on the systems’ complexity  Teacher misuse

When to Use Simulations  To replace or supplement lab experiments  Supplement role-playing  Supplement field trips  Introduce a topic  Foster exploration  Encourage cooperation

Instructional Game  Are software products that add game-like rules and/or competition to learning activities

How Do I Select Good Instructional Games  Appealing and appropriate formats and activates  Instructional value  Physical dexterity is reasonable  Social, societal, and cultural considerations are addressed

Benefits of Instructional Games  Allows teachers to take advantage of students’ need to play in order to get students to spend more time on the topic

Problems with Instructional Games  Schools ban games since students feel they are escaping learning  Confusion of game rules and real-life rules  Inefficient learning  Classroom barriers

When to use Instructional Games  In place of worksheets  To teach noncognitive skills  Teach cooperative group working skills  As a reward

Problem-Solving  Problem-solving software functions may focus on fostering component skills in or approaches general problem-solving abilities (Rayber, 2016)

Two Views on Problem Solving  Content-area problem solving  Software focuses on teaching content-area skills  Content-free problem-solving skills  Problem-solving ability can be taught directly by specific instructions and practice

How Do I Select Problem-Solving Software?  Format should be interesting and challenging  Should have a clear link to developing a specific problem-solving ability

Benefits of Problem-Solving Software  Promotes visualization in mathematics problem solving  Improves interest and motivation  Prevents inert knowledge

Problems with Problem-Solving Software  Terms are used to describe the software, but their meaning are unclear  Software claims verses effectiveness  Lack of skill transfer

When to use Problem-Solving Software  To teach component skills  To provide support in solving problems  Encourage group problem solving  To provide practice in solving problems

Teaching Role Summery Teaching functionProsConsIntegration Drill-and-PracticeImmediate feedback, increased motivation, and saving teacher time Can be misused or overused and can be considered an outdated approach to teaching Replace worksheets and homework assignments and use it to prepare for test TutorialSame benefits of drill-and-practice and it offers a self-paced experience Criticism since tutorials use direct instruction, lack of well-designed products, and reflects only one instructional approach Use for students who are slower to understand the material, alternate learning strategies, and use when teachers are unavailable SimulationCompress time, slow down the process, get students involved, make experimentation safe, make the impossible possible, save resources, allow repetition, and allow observation of complex process Criticism since it replaces hands-on learning, students may develop inaccurate or imprecise perspectives on the systems’ complexity, and teacher misuse To replace or supplement lab experiments, supplement role- playing, supplement field trips, introduce a topic, foster exploration, and encourage cooperation Instructional GameAllows teachers to take advantage of students’ need to play in order to get students to spend more time on the topic Schools ban games since students feel they are escaping learning, confusion of game rules and real- life rules, inefficient learning, and classroom barriers In place of worksheets, to teach noncognitive skills, teach cooperative group working skills, and as a reward Problem-SolvingPromotes visualization in mathematics problem solving, improves interest and motivation, and prevents inert knowledge Terms are used to describe the software, but their meaning are unclear, software claims verses effectiveness, and lack of skill transfer To teach component skills, to provide support in solving problems, encourage group problem solving, and to provide practice in solving problems