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Web-Based Instruction > My Research Discoveries

Instructivism vs. Constructivism

In reading across disciplines (education, psychology, information technology, training & development), it became apparent to me that most of the higher education faculty issues with the web could be explained by their adopted theory of learning...

The "instructivist" theory predominant in higher education sees the teacher as the subject expert who knows what needs to be learned, and in what sequence, and delivers instruction without regard to the learners' individual needs. This approach forces the web into the role of replacement for the instructor, since there is only one instructor/subject expert in the class.

The "constructivist" theory taking hold in K-12 education sees the teacher as one who facilitates learning by helping students connect new information and skills to prior knowledge, taking into account the students' experience and learning styles. This approach is learner-centered and depends on all students contributing to the making and understanding of new knowledge. A constructivist sees the web is one of many different tools for learning.

Faculty don't need to adopt one theory as oposed to the other, but need to think about where they are on the continuum between the two theories. I think that more knowledge about constructivist learning theory--and coaching on some creative uses of the web as a tool for learning--would give higher education faculty a vast array of new possibilities for web-based instruction. Understanding of constructivist theory can alleviate some of the intractable issues faced by higher education faculty in web-based instruction. In my estimation, faculty who undersand different learning theories are better prepared for web-based instruction than those who understand how to use web page technology.

I have not found any references to these ideas in higher education literature.

Skills vs. Knowledge

In education sources (books, journals, research reports, online publications), the term "web-based instruction" is used as a general term implying the delivery of instructional material via the web. In the web-based training literature of the business world, the delivery of instruction is analyzed and designed according to its purpose: learning skills or acquiring knowledge.

Skills can only be learned by practice and feedback.

Knowledge needs to be connected to other knowledge.

Design of corporate web-based training depends on the purpose of the instruction; design of web-based instruction by educators seems confusing in comparison. I think the introduction of this concept from web-based training, along with some practice and feedback, would help educators design more effective web-based instruction.

I have not found any references to this idea in any education literature.

WWW Math: K-12 vs. University

In K-12 web-based instruction there is a lack of internet use for teaching math subjects. The CRITO annual survey of internet use by K-12 teachers names "math teacher" as one predictor of low or no use of the internet for classroom instruction. In higher education, quite the opposite is true. [insert] If higher education math faculty were to mentor K-12 math teachers, or hold workshops for them, there might be a quick turnaround in web-based instruction in math that would increase motivation, facilitate remedial help, and prepare more future mathematicians.

The Intel Corporation recently gave $10 million to prepare "master teachers" in Arizona to train their K-12 colleagues to use instructional technology more effectively. If Intel had been aware of the CRITO survey, they might have stipulated that a percentage of the "master teachers" must be math teachers. Reading across disciplines creates insight.

Web Teams

From the business and industry literature--teams must be skill-based and members must have communciation and facilitation skills as well as content knowledge or skills in instructional design, information design, graphic design, information technology, information architecture, and software applications. In library and university web teams we are still trying to be democratic and include people from all departments or content areas instead of focusing on the skills or learning styles they bring to the team mix.

I have not found any references contrasting the web team composition in education vs. industry.

Library Database Interfaces

This title was going to be a take-off on a well-known web page, namely "Library Database Interfaces That Suck," but once you have read about information architecture, web design, and web usability, most library database interfaces fall into this category. They are not just bad because they seem bad; they are bad because the design interface has been proven to be bad by independent researchers. How can we get vendors to change their pages? Meanwhile we are losing library users to the web because the search engines are easier to use than WebSpirs.

Deep Thoughts

These are some ideas and conclusions I have after having studied and thought about these topics for over a year...Deep Thoughts.

Web-Based Learning: A Librarian's Guide: Home
By Carolyn Johnson
email:carolyn.johnson@asu.edu