Latika Nirula & Earl Woodruff OISE/University of Toronto Cognitive Work Analysis and Design Research: Designing for Mobile Human-Technology Interaction Within Elementary Classrooms Latika Nirula & Earl Woodruff OISE/University of Toronto lnirula@oise.utoronto.ca ewoodruff@oise.utoronto.ca

Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) An approach used in the analysis, design, and evaluation of complex sociotechnical systems Follows an ecological approach to examining potential constraints that impact human-technology interventions

Components of a Cognitive Work Analysis Vicente’s (1999) five key components of a CWA: (1) Work Domain (2) Control Tasks (3) Strategies (4) Social- Organizational (5) Worker Competencies

The Human-Tech Ladder

CWA and Design Research: What can a CWA offer a design research experiment? The addition of CWA can be an important complement methodologically to design research CWA should be seen as an integral precursor to any design iteration, aiding in the design and evaluation of innovations

CWA in an Elementary School Context An observational period Individual CWA interviews Focused field observations “Think Alouds” with participants using their existing technology Preparation and verification of a summary report Introductory activities using the new technology (handhelds)

Emergent Themes from a CWA of an Elementary School Differing Personal Values (Priorities) Distribution and Access to Technological Resources Literacy and Achievement Focus Professional Development

Participant Expectations for the PDA Intervention Study Principal: How can this study translate to the ‘regular classroom’ and the larger school context? Technology Lead Teacher: How can the technology support the students’ learning? Teacher: How can the technology help the students to become more organized in their thinking and with their work?

What do the students expect?

Potential Constraints Political Constraint Existence of a Board-level technology policy for schools; most staff unaware of its existence Design: PD on document should be provided to all school staff; document should be made available in their school database Organizational Constraint Sign out procedures for using the technology are not being followed (teachers forget) Design: Sign out coordinated by TLT (or administrator) with them providing tech. Team Constraint Collaboration and support using technology only among J/I teachers (Primary not using tech or seeking support) Design: Collaboration could be extended by pairing Primary teachers with J/I teachers for tech. support Psychological Constraint Teacher wants to provide opportunities to interact 1-on-1 and provide feedback Design: Promoting transparency as individualized notes are beamed to students Physical Constraint Classroom setup makes difficult reconfigurations to allow for individual or group work using the technology Design: Using handheld computers requires minimal setup and allows for flexibility

Some Initial Innovations Teacher-beamed notes of encouragement and positive reinforcement Literacy-based “fun” activities (Joke/Riddle of the Day; Word Scrambles, etc.) Reading comprehension strategies developed as students mark up text on their handhelds Using Inspiration® software to create concept maps of prior knowledge on reading topic Using dictionary on handheld to look up difficult words Difficult words recorded in a private vocabulary list Using the Internet to locate additional information on a topic

Implications of CWA Critical in designing educational interventions that are reflective of the complexity of real-world schools CWA enables us to identify the priorities for schools, given the goals and constraints of each stakeholder Results of CWA should directly be considered in both pedagogical and technological innovations CWA may provide platform from which to make recommendations in the design of hardware and software CWA may assist in the design, evaluation, and interpretation of results from a design research study