[quoting Norman, 1 Apr 96] What do you think of the initiative toward a learner-centered education, one that involves the students in a constructive activity more than is today traditional in the lecture-centered curriculum. Note that I am not asking whether this is a new idea: the question is whether it is a good idea.
And if it is a good idea, and since the ideas have been around for a long time (perhaps since Socrates, certainly since John Dewey), then how come they haven't yet taken hold?
The very first paper on ITForum was about learners as designers by Dave Jonassen. Now almost two years later, we have Don Norman, wizard of user interface design and guru of mental models research, along with Jim Spohrer, introducing a special issue of the Communications of the ACM about learned-centered education. The movement (dare I say "revolution") continues!
With respect to Norman's first question, I think learner-centered education is a great idea, one deserving of far more support, innovation, and research at all levels of education or training. Later this week, I'll be starting the Spring '96 version of my Multimedia Design course, a graduate level course that I intend to be learner-centered. The fifteen students in the class are divided into three five-member teams with each member playing a different role (project manager, designer, evaluator, graphic artist/videographer, and programmer). Each team works for eleven weeks to design a prototype multimedia program for a "client," usually another faculty member in fields such as veterinary medicine, entomology, drama, journalism, or environmental design. Students have assigned readings, e.g., Brenda Laurel's edited volume on the art of human-computer interface design (with contributions from Don Norman among others). They also use an electronic performance support system (EPSS) that my students and I have created called Multimedia Development Tools. (A WWW version of these tools is located at http://mime1.marc.gatech.edu/imb/mime/MM_Tools/MMTools.html) We meet as a class once a week for five hours--two hours devoted to presentations and demonstrations and three hours devoted to team meetings and consultations. Most of the important work (and learning) is done outside the context of class meetings. The multimedia prototypes are pressed onto CD-ROMs at the end of the quarter so that each student can add one to his/her portfolio. I can't think of a better way of "teaching" this course. I hope it is learner-centered.
Of course, having only 15 students, most of whom are highly motivated, is a luxury that makes this approach possible. It would be extremely difficult to scale this up to the scores or hundreds of students, many unmotivated or ill-prepared for self-directed learning, faced by Johan Viljoen and most other teachers around the globe. One approach might be to divide large classes up into smaller groups with older, more motivated students, taking on leadership roles in the learner-centered activities. We are trying something like this with large sections of our required undergraduate course in environmental literacy. Classes of 100 or more students are divided into research groups led by a teaching assistant. On day one of a typical lab, after identifying hypotheses about stream quality or forest growth, students collect "real" data, e.g., water samples or tree measurements, at the nearby state botanical gardens. On day two, they analyze their data using computer-based simulations and analytic tools we have created with funds from the National Science Foundation. Fortunately, the ecology classes we are working with meet for two back-to-back class periods twice a week, or we wouldn't be able to have them collect real data in the field. We have tried to integrate similar approaches into large undergraduate sections that meet five times a week for only fifty-minutes periods without success.
With respect to Norman's second question, I think that the main reason learner-centered education hasn't taken hold is that it appears to threaten the established bureaucracies in education and training. These people aren't about to give up their power and privileges. Let's not forget that democracy is also a great idea, but relatively few of the world's inhabitants enjoy its benefits. Learner-centered education is still a "revolutionary idea," even if it is somewhat of a hyperbole to call what is happening today a "revolution."
It may be a long while before we have the technology to make learner-centered education a reality for the masses of children and adult learners who could benefit from it. For a glimpse of one possible future, I recommend Neal Stephenson's latest sci-fi hit, The Diamond Age, subtitled or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. The book's heroine is a young girl who is given a marvelous talking book that "mentors" her throughout her life's experiences. There are only three such primers in existence, but a plot is afoot to clone it for millions of children in the three great clans on the planet (Han, Nippon, and New Atlantis). Stephenson's earlier work, Snow Crash, is also highly recommended for its portrayal of the dark side of the "Infocosm" (what we now call the Internet).
Alas, even with marvelous talking primers, the education bureaucracy may still be able to keep learner-centered education in the realm of science fiction. The struggle continues. Meanwhile, I look forward to reading how others will address Don Norman's two questions.
Laurel, B. (Ed.). (1990). The art of human-computer interface design. New York: Addison-Wesley.
Stephenson, N. (1995). The diamond age, or a young lady's illustrated primer. New York: Bantam Books.
Stephenson, N. (1992). Snow crash. New York: Bantam Books.