Computer-Based Learning Environments for Deeper Learning in Problem Solving Contexts
Dr. Minhong (Maggie) Wang
Associate Professor, Director of the KM&EL LabFaculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong
Visiting Research ProfessorBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future EducationBeijing Normal University
June 9 (Fri), 2017, 2:00-4:00pm
Room 208, Yanbo Building, Beijing Normal University
Abstract: Learning through problem solving has been widely promoted in educational practice, and more recently in computer-based learning environments. Despite the support of technology, effective learning through problem solving is difficult to realize since learning in such contexts often involves complex processes. Many students tend to engage in surface experience rather than meaningful learning by developing in-depth understanding of practical experience, relating new ideas with prior knowledge, converging knowledge by resolving conflicts, and integrating discrete pieces of knowledge into a coherent whole. The speaker will share the research and development on how deeper learning in problem solving contexts can be empowered by effective design of computer-based learning environments, and by appropriate analysis of learning in such environments. The talk will be linked to two research workshops/symposiums on deeper learning in technology-enabled learning environment led by the speaker at the 2016 International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) and the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) – see details at http://kmel-lab.org/website/AERA.htm.
Bio: Dr. Minhong (Maggie) Wang is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. She established the Laboratory of Knowledge Management and e-Learning in 2009, and has been its director since then. Her areas of expertise include e-learning design and analysis, problem solving and scaffolding, visualization-based learning environment, STEM education, and medical education. She was a visiting scholar at Harvard Graduate School of Education, University of Cambridge, and MIT Sloan School of Management. She holds a Visiting Research Professor position at the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education, Beijing Normal University. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Knowledge Management & E-Learning (Scopus indexed), and Associate Editor of Information & Management (5-Year Impact Factor: 3.175). Her research has been supported by the General Research Fund, the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong. More details can be found on http://web3.edu.hku.hk/magwang/.
Keynote 2:
Fostering Critical Thinking Through Online Collaboration:Building on Past Success and Facing Future Challenges
Sharon J. Derry (APA Fellow)
Thomas James Distinguished Professor
School of EducationUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
June 14 (Wed), 2017, 2:00-4:00pm
Room 208, Yanbo Building, Beijing Normal University
Abstract: For many years I have taught and conducted research in online learning environments at major universities. I currently offer an online class (Human Abilities in Learning, aka HAL Online) in which education majors study conceptual material about the science of learning, then deepen their understanding by using concepts in authentic, mentored collaborative activities that take place asynchronously online. The HAL Online model, which has evolved through research over many iterations, accords well with current collaborative learning theory and provides a successful scalable model for online professional instruction. In this talk I will describe the model and report research demonstrating its effectiveness and providing insights into underlying learning mechanisms. However, this model requires continuous online monitoring and assessment of collaborative process, which is resource intensive. Its scalability requires developing algorithms to support large collaborative courses with appropriate analytics and automated forms of assessment. I will examine some of these major assessment challenges.
Bio: Sharon Derry is the Thomas James Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Illinois with specialties in both cognition and instruction and quantitative/evaluative methods. Her research focuses on design and study of innovative learning environments in which students learn through experience. Her numerous funded projects and publications represent a career interest in promoting innovation and theory at the intersection of learning science and technology. Derry’s publications appear in the American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Educational Psychology, Review of Educational Research, Educational Psychologist, and The Journal of the Learning Sciences, and she has edited books on topics related to technology in education and interdisciplinary collaboration in research.
Keynote 3:
Rethinking the Internet in Higher Education: Back to the Basics
Cher Ping Lim
Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Faculty of Education and Human Development
The Education University of Hong Kong
June 15 (Thu), 2017, 2:00-4:00pm
Room 208, Yanbo Building, Beijing Normal University
Abstract: Higher education institutions all over the world are faced with the inter-related challenges of education equity, quality and efficiency. Research studies have shown how the Internet provides opportunities to address these challenges. However, there are sustainability and scalability issues for many of these studies and these Internet-enabled practices have just been observed among a few courses in an institution. This keynote address seeks for a rethinking of the Internet in higher education but going back to the basics of (1) alignment of learning outcomes (including 21st century competencies), (2) design of assessment tasks, (3) establishment of partnerships and collaborations, and (4) promotion of and support for excellence in teaching and scholarship of teaching.
Bio: LIM Cher Ping is a Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation at the Education University of Hong Kong and the Editor-in-Chief of the Internet and Higher Education. Over the last two decades, he has been able to engage major stakeholders of higher education at the institutional, national and international levels. Organisations including UNESCO, Microsoft, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Sampoerna Foundation, and government agencies have become his partners for many of the education research and development projects that he has led.
Keynote 4:
Higher Order Thinking Skills, Technology and Social Interaction
Dr. Li Li
Senior Lecturer Graduate School of Education University of Exeter, UK
Higher Order Thinking Skills, Technology and Social Interaction
June 19 (Mon), 2017, 2:00-4:00pm
Room 208, Yanbo Building, Beijing Normal University
Abstract: Teaching thinking is important for learning and social practice to develop global citizens with creativity and innovative capacity (MacDonald, 2005). Policy reports from around the world stress that education for higher level skills, such as problem-solving, creativity and learning to learn, is crucial for future economic growth (e.g., World Bank, 2011), and equally critical thinking, resilience, tolerance and reasonableness are all also essential to personal and collective well-being in an increasingly globalised world (OECD, 2014). In educational research, the development of students’ thinking skills has been strongly recommended by many scholars and educators (e.g., Avargil et al. 2012; Wegerif, Li and Kaufman, 2015). At a policy level, there is a trend in including thinking skills in curricula. However, critical and creative thinking is still a myth to many educators and teachers. In this talk, I will be exploring how higher order thinking skills are developed/facilitated by technological environments and social interaction.
Bio: Li Li (PhD, MPhil, PCAP, BA) is Senior Lecturer at the Graduate School of Education in the University of Exeter. She conducts theoretical and empirical research on a range of topics but is particularly interested in teacher cognition and language, thinking skills, interaction and technology. She has published widely in these topics, with about 40 scholarly papers, 4 books, 2 special issues, and 1 edited book. In addition, she is a core member of THINK group at Exeter. She guest edited Thinking Skills and Creativity and a joint project with colleagues in ECNU on Millennium Learners. She also co-edited Handbook for Researching in Teaching Thinking Skills (with Rupert Wegerif and James Kaufman, 2015 by Routledge) and is currently working on a book series on thinking skills. She is also on editorial board of Thinking Skills and Creativity, and Classroom Discourse. Li Li has successfully supervised 14 doctoral research projects in different contexts and currently acting as the first supervisor for 15 doctoral students and second supervisor for 1 project.
LIM Cher Ping教授是香港教育大学学习技术与创新教授,并担任《互联网与高等教育》总编辑。过去二十年来,联合国教科文组织、微软、亚洲开发银行、世界银行、桑普纳基金会和政府机构等组织已成为他所领导的许多教育研究和开发项目的合作伙伴。
主题演讲4:
高阶思维技巧、技术与社会互动
主讲人:李利博士
英国埃克塞特大学教育学研究生院高级讲师
时间:2017年6月19日(周一)下午2:00-4:00
地点:北京师范大学演播楼208会议室
演讲摘要:
想要通过学习和社会实践来发展具有创造力和创新能力的全球公民,教学思维起着关键作用(MacDonald,2005)。来自世界各地的政策报告均强调解决问题、创造力和学习能力等高阶技能的教育对未来的经济增长至关重要(例如,世界银行,2011年),与此同时,批判性思维、顺应力、耐受力和理性思维对于日益全球化的世界中的个人和集体福祉也是不容忽视的(经合组织,2014年)。在教育研究中,许多学者和教育工作者十分推崇学生思维力的发展(如Avargil等,2012;Wegerif,Li and Kaufman,2015)。政策层面的趋势是将思维能力的培养纳入课程中。然而,批判性思维和创造性思维仍然是许多教育家和教师的迷思。在本次演讲中,我将探讨如何通过技术环境和社交互动来开发/提高高阶思维技巧。