Davis gives a great thesis of what he believes to be the problem of education, outlines where we need to challenge students, gives his solution (in this case being the Keller Plan of the PSI model), and then finally gives an example of the proposed solution in action to strengthen his overall thesis. I agree with most of Davis' argument, but I do not agree specifically with his idea on trying to achieve a truly asynchronus learning environment is (1) too far-fetched and impossible but also (2) a turn in the wrong direction of where we, as educators, are trying to take education. To keep me from getting too philosophical, I just want to state that education is more than the content that we teach. We are to teach our students about other real-world applications, such as deadlines, working under stress, understand that we cannot control everything. Now I do not think Davis is stating all or any of this, but that is what I interpret when I hear asynchronus learning and its objectives; its all a little too Montessori for me. Davis also does a good job mentioning the barriers to this model's use but I do not see them as barriers but more as necessities to education, as I stated earlier.
At the high school level, I am not sold so far on using this method to the students that I teach right now, but I can see its utility in some aspects. If there is a course that is primarily built on or around concepts. This could allow students to really achieve that mastery level Davis was discussing. Students could then easily move from concept to concept, achieving the level on their own time, and if they are stuck on one concept they can move onto the other and come back. Using the high school course of Civics and Economics as an example, we have units that are concepts that are loosely related to one other, meaning they are not linear and it is not necessary to master one unit to move to the other. For example, it is not necessary to master the Executive Branch unit to understand the Legislative Branch unit, but a small understanding of one will help the other. You could easily move from these two distinct concepts on the PSI model, therefore achieving that asynchronus learning environment that Davis is discussing.
Although this model was created in the 1960's by Keller, I believe that the tools that Davis mentioned in his article are a great jumping point to start discussing Web-based tools that will increase the effectiveness of this model when utilized for the Internet. Using various blogs, vlogs will be essential to creating an effective course online in the PSI eye. Again, I am just thinking from my Social Studies perspective/bias, having various interatctive tools is necessary so the students can have instant feedback on their efforts. SAS, a renowned company based here in Cary, NC, created an entire database full of interactive online tools for various subjects, e.g. World History, U.S History, and Civics & Economics. These activities can easily be completed by the student anywhere and e-mailed to the teacher for keeping and instant feedback to the student.
References
Davis, R. L. & Ragsdell, K. M. (2000). Design of an effective, web-based, global learning environment using the Keller Plan.
Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point when you suggest that the modules be linear and related to one another in a logical sequence. I think these topics orsubjects are where we can best utilize the PSI.
I agree with your feelings about PSI not providing real world applications. Since you teach high school students, it is very necessary that you prepare them for careers and the political process. These students do not just need to know the facts about Civics and Economics, but relating the information to what they will encounter as a voter and as an adult.
ReplyDeleteNicholas, I was curious about your statement, "its all a little too Montessori for me" - I'm vaguely aware of pre-school montessori programs and thought they were generally perceived as good practice, so I'm interested to know your critical take on it.
ReplyDeleteCurious as to how you saw blogs as tying into the PSI framework? Was it in the manner of an instructor being able to comment and provide feedback on a student product as a type of assessment of what they have learned? Are those SAS products examples of commercial software, kind of in a tutorial type format? I can see where that type of thing could tie in PSI as you suggest.
ReplyDeleteNicholas -
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your comment about "its all a little too Montessori for me", I had to laugh since my oldest daughter spent a short time in a Montessori school when she was 5 and we pulled her out because of this very aspect. It was too independent and there was not enough interaction or collaboration (or let's face it - fun!). I think you hit on something - not all models work for all stages of learning or life. We have to think about our audience and make sure that what we are offering fits with what they can and should be doing. This is a good lesson for me since I have just started a job in a community college, coming from the corporate training world and the teaching in a graduate program. I keep having to remind myself that I need to come up with solutions that fit who I am working with and not the other way around.
Hey guys, I have seen your comments and I have now just had some brief time to respond to some questions. Hyun-Duk, I think Barb summed it up really well for me about why I believe the PSI model to be a little too Montessori and for the grade level for me (9-12) I believe the PSI model to be too independent and not contain enough structure for that age group to achieve the mastery we expect as educators on a true individual basis. To Kevin and your questions about the blogs, I feel it would be a great tool for feedback with students, also I remember reading about video footage being placed inside modules to allow students to see how hands on material would work, so that is what I was primarily relating to. Also, the SAS tools are great because they are information loaded with specific directions to complete the work and send to the teacher who can then turn around give immediate feedback based on answers provided. Now I wouldn't use directly from the SAS page because they are independent but I do not think it would be difficult to create activities of that nature to be utilized in a PSI model class.
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