ERIC Number: ED373730
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1994
Pages: 8
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Authentic Activity as a Model for Appropriate Learning Activity: Implications for Design of Computer-Based Simulations.
Lebow, David G.; Wager, Walter W.
Implications of using authentic activity as a model for appropriate learning activity are discussed, particularly in regard to the design of computer-based simulations and project-based learning activities. Mere provision of computer-based simulations and reality-centered projects does not ensure that a student will derive the benefits of in-context learning. Characteristics of real-life problem-solving tasks, such as ill-structured problems, complexity, and duration, must be incorporated. The cognitive apprenticeship framework provides the primary rationale for using authentic activity as a model for appropriate learning activities. Theory suggests that learning outcomes are maximized when fidelity and complexity are added progressively in the simulation. A useful way to regard authentic learning activity is to see it as a simulation in which instructional overlay is designed to support a related set of values, integrating ends with means. Design must support the learner in establishing a learning enterprise within the global task environment, and the learning situation must afford activities that can be transferred to the real environment. (Contains 29 references.) (SLD)
Descriptors: Computer Assisted Instruction, Computer Simulation, Computer Software Development, Context Effect, Educational Theories, Elementary Secondary Education, Higher Education, Instructional Design, Learning, Linking Agents, Models, Outcomes of Education, Problem Solving, Student Projects, Teaching Methods, Theory Practice Relationship, Values
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A