The Research Behind the Project

A Whole New Mind
Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age
By Daniel H. Pink
Education pedagogy has evolved over time but especially more so in the 21st century with the gradual move from the information age to a new era called the conceptual age. Daniel Pink in his book, A Whole New Mind, rightly observed that “Abundance has satisfied, and even over-satisfied, the material needs of millions-boosting the significance of beauty and emotion and accelerating individuals’ search for meaning.”

He postulates that as a result of the abundance of information (mobile phones and computers readily available in most homes around the world), automation and the increase in outsourcing of various tasks and jobs around the world, we are entering the age of conceptualization which would focus on people’s qualities and skills.

He then proposes that in the conceptual age, six aptitudes would be needed for success in the workplace; design (ability to engage people’s senses), story (product narratives rather than just arguments), symphony (innovation and big picture thinking), empathy (ability to go beyond logic and engage people at the emotional level), play (aptitude for humor and light-heartedness), and meaning (purpose).

For educators to be effective in preparing their students for this age therefore, would require a more hands-on approach to teaching and learning that aims to combine classroom instruction with other forms of instruction that would be collaborative, media rich and engaging, with focus on developing real world skills needed in the job market.


Blended Learning Research: The Seven Studies You Need to Know
By Michelle Davis (Links to an external site.)
April 13, 2015

With the increasing demand for more effective pedagogical methods, various research works have proposed novel instructional methods. A key one among them is the blended learning approach which combines both online and classroom instruction.

This article by Michelle Davis, highlights 7 such researches on blended learning. The various research works showcase among other things, what works in a blended learning approach, effective tools for personalization, designs of blended learning systems, standards for competency among others. For example, "Evaluation of the MIND Research Institute's Spatial-Temporal Math (ST Math) Program in California," conducted by WestEd in 2014, reported on the impact of a game-based blended learning math instruction program on students’ performance. The results of the research indicated a significant improvement in students’ math scores.
A key characteristic of this approach to teaching and learning, as suggested by Julia F. Freeland, a research fellow at a California-based think-tank, is that, a blended learning approach has the unique ability “to personalize education to meet individual needs.”

Although some research outcomes also showed little or no improvement in student outcomes in schools engaged in blended learning, the general perception is that if used effectively and with the right tools, blended learning promises to be an improvement on the traditional classroom-based instruction.

Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement
By Heather Wolpert-Gawron

In an effort to find effective means of instruction, this Middle school teacher, Heather Wolpert-Gawron, conducted a survey on her 220 students and summed up the responses into 10 themes in this article.
Her guiding question was “what engages students?” A finding from the responses indicated that most students found it more “interesting and exciting” to be working in teams and with peers than in seclusion. They would also rather work with technology in a “learning by doing” approach in which they can collaborate and be fully engaged in the learning process.

Among others, the students felt more engaged when effective visuals are used (video/pictures), a mixed bag of experiences are used in the teaching/learning process, and they had a choice in some aspect of the decision on what was taught.

My focus in this project is to use a research-backed approach to build and test out various learning management systems with features that allow for better and more engaged learning across devices. I will share my experiences as well as other best practices from other experts on this blog

References
Davis, M. (2015, April 13). Blended Learning Research: The Seven Studies You Need to Know. Retrieved from Education Week: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2015/04/blended_learning_research_the.html?_ga=1.156550459.162637120.1473243438
Pink, D. H. (2005). A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. New York: Riverhead Books.
Walpert-Gawron, H. (2015, April 24). Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement. Retrieved from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-engagement-stories-heather-wolpert-gawron