8.3 Some examples of new pedagogies, tools and models

Some examples of new pedagogies, tools and models

Different learning outcomes call for different pedagogical approaches, and there is growing use of a blended approach in which different locations and activities are combined to support the learning. Sometimes the resulting blend is limited to a combination of learning at school and online or other technology-supported activities. However, an ideal blend consists of at least three aspects, namely learning at school, learning at the workplace, and technology-supported learning (often, but not always, online). This three-way blend should support individual, collaborative and directed learning. The challenge is to ensure that learning happening in one place is carried over smoothly to the next place. Learning activities in the different places should be related to, and support, each other.

There are many examples of new pedagogies rooted in constructivism. Here, we will present some examples and some tools and models as a starting point to help you find the right pedagogy. The pedagogy will depend on the desired learning outcomes and content. This will also inform the learning activities. The Technical Pedagogical Content Knowledge can help in this regard:

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006)

The model is based on the model of Pedagogical Content Knowledge developed by US scholar Lee Shulmans in 1986, which demonstrates how teachers simultaneously confront their knowledge of the content to be taught and their knowledge of pedagogy, to come up with the best blend of both. A part on technology was added to this model, assuming that teachers base their learning activities on their knowledge of the content, the desired pedagogy to teach the specific content and the technology that would best support this learning process.

Flipping the classroom is a concrete example of how technology can support learning. Traditionally, time spent in the classroom is devoted to a teacher explaining a concept or specific skills. After the class, students receive homework to enforce the newly-learned concept, or practice the skills. In a flipped classroom, students watch the lecture online and/or read materials at home, to prepare for the classroom activities. In this way, the time at school can be used for further inquiry, application, and assessment.

The PADagogy Wheel, created by Australian learning designer Allan Carrington to encourage the use of technology in the classroom, offers a practical way for teachers to introduce app-based educational technology into the classroom. The wheel combines Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives with activities and apps that are available to support them.

However, the use of technology itself is not the aim; the intention is to enable learners to achieve the learning outcomes. Finding the blend in which the chosen pedagogy and technology fully support the learning process is the task of teachers and curriculum.

Problem-based learning is another example of a pedagogy rooted in constructivism. In problem-based learning, the module is structured around a complex, real-world problem. The problem serves as a vehicle to promote learning of different concepts, principles, and skills needed to create a solution. The given problem should motivate students to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to solve it. Problem-based learning supports collaborative working as students often work in groups to come up with reasoned decisions in developing their solution to the given problem. Problem-based learning becomes even more appealing to learners when the problems are provided by companies or organisations from the sector they are studying or intending to work in. The 4C/ID model (Van Merriënboer & Kester, 2014) can be used to develop a problem-based learning module.

Design-based learning is closely related to project-based learning. With design-based learning, learners solve real-life design problems while reflecting on their learning process. Cognitive processes such as scoping, generating, evaluating and creating are core activities in design-based learning, and it fosters creative problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration and communication skills, as well as occupational knowledge and skills. While design-based learning has much in common with problem-based learning, it has a stronger emphasis on important transversal skills such as creativity and future thinking.

Further reading:

• Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054.
• Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14.
• Van Merriënboer, J. & Kester, L. (2014). The Four-Component Instructional Design Model: Multimedia Principles in Environments for Complex Learning. In R.E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (pp. 104-148). New York: Cambridge University Press.