Constructivism vs. Objectivism:
Where is difference for Designers of e-Learning
Environments?
Miguel Baptista Nunes

Aims of this Session

The primary purpose of this session is todiscuss learning theories and their role in thedesign, development and delivery of elearning.
In order to so I will discuss:
Constructivism vs Objectivism; Appropriate Pedagogical Models; E-Learning Life Cycle;
 Realities of Practice in HE.
Need for change?
Changing circumstances in Society and Education
Studies show disappointment with results of Higher Education(Nabi and Bagley, 1999; Lange et al. 2000);
Industry asks for more flexible and self-confident professionals(Kakabadse and Korac-Kakabadse, 2000);
Deficiencies in traditional approaches create graduates without transferable
skills required by work environments (for instance problem solving,interpersonal and IT skills).
Individuals need to develop life-long learning skills to cope with increasingly
faster change;

Traditional teaching and learning methods may needrevisiting …

E-Learning DesignWhen designing online learning environments, educational designers, like allother designers, call on prior knowledge and experience.

They call to mind previous solutions and strategies they have used, haveexperienced, or have seen that fit the particular constraints of the current
situation.

These previous experiences play a central role in specifying the structure andcontent of e-learning environments, as well as the delivery strategies that makeuse of these.

Therefore, if the pedagogical component of the design is not consciously
considered and planned, the designer tends to incorporate his/her own model oflearning into the environment, which may be inappropriate or inadequate for thelearning activities planned.

E-Learning DesignWhen producing any learning materials, assumptions are made about thetype of learning and the process of learning that it is hoped will take place.
Hence, e-learning environments will always incorporate some form oflearning model, which may or may not have been intentionally considered.
So, one of the crucial factors to the success of an educational environmentis that any assumptions that are made about the learner and the learning
process, are incorporated into the design process in an explicit andconsistent manner.
Therefore, only with a clear sense of the theoretical foundations that
underpin assumptions about learning and cognition, can an efficient online
learning environment be appropriately designed..

Learning in HE

In general terms, academic learning can beseen as:“a series of activities that promote acquisitionof high-level knowledge”.

Why?

Why?

What was missing?
Context;
 Different Perspectives;
 Interaction;
 Negotiation of Meanings.
Constructivism“knowledge of the world is not a simple reflection of what
there is, but a set of social artefacts; a reflection of what
we make of what is there” (Shwandt, 1997)“knowledge or meaning is not fixed for an object, but rather
is constructed by individuals through their experience ofthat object in a particular context” (Duffy and Jonassen,1992)“knowledge is personally constructed from internal
representations, which are in turn developed by using priorknowledge as a foundation. ” (Spiro et al., 1992)

Implications of Constructivism
Knowledge Acquisition


meaning is imposed on the world by the individual;
there are many ways to structure the world and there are many
meanings or perspectives for any event or concept;
meaning is rooted in, and indexed by, experience.

Two major consequences:

learning activities must be “authentic activities” which must beembedded in realistic and relevant contexts (situated learning);
learners must be provided with the opportunity to explore multiple
perspectives on an issue, that is, one activity is not enough toacquire a comprehensive view of a particular concept.

Multiple Perspectives?
Different perspectives would be developed for theprison service dependent upon whether you saw itas:• a punishment system• a system to protect society• a system to ‘train’ criminals• a human storage system• a business• a public service.

Implications of Constructivism
Nature of Human InteractionThe construction of knowledge by individual learners is based on theprocesses of interaction with peers, facilitators and experts.
Conceptions and ideas are compared, confronted and discussed
through this interaction process. .

Two very different types of interactivity:
Individual - private activity between the learner and thelearning materials, which may range from the traditional
textbook to computer-based simulations; Social - activity between the learner and the tutor, thefacilitator or other learners .
A Constructivist
Pedagogical ModelExplicit Leaning Materials•Course Materials•Case-Studies•Links to relevant Web Sites

Leaning Activities•Individual Learning Activities•Group Learning Activities•Assessed Activities

The Learner

The PeersIs there a set way to design,develop and deliver e-Learning?
Well … not in the fast, dynamic and continuallychanging educational environment that characterises
HE nowadays.
There is simple series of steps, recipe, template orchecklist that can hope to predict and resolve thecomplex interactive processes involved in e-Learning.
Hence, e-learning requires a practice based
framework that allows practitioner reflection and theuse of both empirical and research evidence.

E-Learning Environments
E-learning environments are essentially ICT based constructs that
promote learning by supporting interactions between the tutor, thelearner and her/his peers, the subject matter and the learningmaterials.
All these interactions may, or may not, be computer mediated.
E-learning environments are developed to resolve a particular
educational purpose or learning need, and are thus limited tothe solution of the problems arising from that need.
Learning environments are usually conceived, designed andimplemented using appropriate design frameworks
that range from curriculum design to course delivery.

E-Learning
Development Framework
Curriculum Design• Construction not Interpretation;...

• Framework not a Methodology;
Other Components

Reference materials

Explicit WebMaterials

Development of thedifferent components

CMC facilities

Student and Tutor Feedback

Design and Specification of
the Learning Environment

Installation and Test
Delivery and Evaluation

General Design Framework adapted fromCroft (1993) and Nunes (1999).

• Based on a Rapid Prototyping
Approach.

E-Learning
Development Framework
Curriculum Design

Curriculum Design

Design and Specification of
the Learning Environment...

Other Components

Reference materials

Explicit WebMaterials

CMC facilities

Student and Tutor Feedback• Course/Module Aims;
Development of thedifferent components

Installation and Test
Delivery and Evaluation

General Design Framework adapted from
Croft (1993) and Nunes (1999).

• Learning Objectives;• Teaching and Learning Methods;• Syllabus Contents;• Assessment Methods.

Curriculum Design

Design and Specification

Design and Specification of
the Learning Environment...

Other Components

Reference materials

Explicit WebMaterials

Development of thedifferent components

CMC facilities

Student and Tutor Feedback

E-Learning
Development Framework

Installation and Test
Delivery and Evaluation

Specification of Contents;
 Specification of Collaborativeand Individual Activities; Design of the overall structure Specification of TechnologicalNeeds ->General Design Framework adapted from
Croft (1993) and Nunes (1999).



asynchronous facilities;
synchronous facilities;
contents facilities;
links and other scaffolding facilities.

E-Learning
Development Framework
Component Development

Development of thedifferent componentsDesign and Development of thedifferent components of thelearning environment:...

Other Components

Development of Contents;

Reference materialsExplicit WebMaterials

Design and Specification of
the Learning Environment

CMC facilities

Student and Tutor Feedback

Curriculum DesignInstallation and Test
Delivery and Evaluation

General Design Framework adapted from
Croft (1993) and Nunes (1999).



asynchronous facilities;
synchronous facilities;
contents facilities;
links and other scaffolding facilities.

Curriculum Design

Installation and Test

Design and Specification of
the Learning Environment...

Other Components

Reference materials

Explicit WebMaterials

Development of thedifferent components

CMC facilities

Student and Tutor Feedback

E-Learning
Development Framework

Installation and Test
Delivery and Evaluation

General Design Framework adapted from
Croft (1993) and Nunes (1999).

Testing of the Individual
Components separately; Pilot testing of the wholeenvironment with both tutors
and students;
 Preparing the environment forreal use.

Curriculum Design

Delivery and Evaluation

Design and Specification ofthe Learning Environment

Deliveryand...

Evaluation !
Other Components

Reference materials

Explicit WebMaterials

Development of thedifferent components

CMC facilities

Student and Tutor Feedback

E-Learning
Development FrameworkInstallation and Test
Delivery and Evaluation

General Design Framework adapted fromCroft (1993) and Nunes (1999).

The reality of e-learning practice
is not as easy as it may seem.

E-Learning Practice - NICLS

But … constructivist online courses imply new ways of learning forwhich students are not prepared for.
Most of today’s HE students were taught in the traditional basic
educational skills:
reading, writing, spelling, handwriting and numeracy.

New Learning Skills are required …

Networked Information and Communication
Literacy Skills (NICLS)E-Learning Practice - NICLS
Networked Information and Communication Literacy Skills (NICLS) are
required by e-learning, that is online and networked learning.
“Learning in which Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is used topromote connections: between one learner and other learners, between learners
and tutors, between learner community and learning resources”(Goodyear, 2000)

This suggests that these basic skills can be divided in different two categories:information skills;
communication skills.

E-Learning Practice - NICLSInformation Literacy Skills include
recognising information needs,distinguishing ways of addressing gaps,constructing strategies of locating information,

locating and accessing information,

comparing and evaluating information, as well asorganising, applying and synthesising information.

E-Learning Practice - NICLS

Communication Skills include:Technical aspects of using of CMC;
Social aspects
 Limitations and benefits of CMC require adaptation and changes inhuman behaviour for successful communication to take placelack of social cues
conventions, behavioural norms and netiquette

Collaboration and co-operation online.

In future NICLS are likely to be addressed at primary and secondary
education but for now … NICLS must be addressed prior starting
online modules.

E-Learning Practice – Tutor Skills
Online Tutoring

places greater emphasis on written skills; does not follow a linear conversation but instead
promotes multiple conversations; does not confine tutoring to specific times; places greater emphasis on student-student learning; requires tutors to develop new ways of encouraging
participation;
 requires
tutors to assess the worth of online
contributions.
E-Learning Practice – Tutor Skills



Online Tutors must have the ability to:plan and organise delivery by clearly specifying learning objectives andoutcomes;
set learning agendas and providing leadership and scaffolding in learning
activities;
welcome and embrace diversity of learning outcomes, attitudes and styles;
create an atmosphere of collaborative learning of which the e-tutor him/herself
is often an integral part;be able to cope with and resolve on-line conferencing conflicts and difficult
behaviours;
encourage active construction of knowledge by being actively involved in
discussions, activities and debates;
develop and implement methods for learner feedback and reinforcement.

Evaluation ...
Measurement of achievement of objectives of thecourse/module as a whole; Measurement of achievement of objectives of the individualcomponents of course (e.g. units, learning activities)
 Evaluation of the quality and effectiveness of the course
materials provided; Evaluation of the tutoring and support provided to thestudents;
 Measurement of the quality of the learning experience;
 Evaluation of the online environment; Evaluation of the face-to-face components;
 Measurement of achievement of student expectations andgoals.
e-Learning Challenges
Creating well designed e-learning
environments;
 Ensuring that modules still adopt
appropriate pedagogic approaches; Ascertaining that tutors are not only wellversed in their subject matter areas, but
are also able to facilitate the courses
online.
Conclusions (1)Implementing e-learning means much more than justdesigning a few web pages and specifying theirsequence.
Recognising both the technical and pedagogic
components of e-learning design and integrating themin a coherent framework is the key to the developmentof successful learning environments.
The process of design and development is one of coconstruction and negotiation, rather thaninterpretation.

Conclusions (2)However … designing good learning
environments is clearly not enough toguarantee the success of the learning process.
Learners and tutors need to be trained andencouraged to acquire these online skills
needed to be successful in a very different
learning environment.

Questions

If Questions later?
ThenEmail: j.m.nunes@sheffield.ac.uk