Lesson 1

How does knowledge form?

Structure & Progression

This roadmap is designed with a linear and intuitive structure. Each node is shape and color coded to create a consistent user interface and manage learner expectations. For example, all learning content is coded as a circular node, but videos are coded blue, readings are coded red, and audios are coded green. Anywhere that input is required by the student such as the collaborative notes and bibliography, the node is coded as a black rectangle.

The direction of the arrows creates a general top-down flow from the driving question to the evaluation. However, the bi-directional arrows between the learning content nodes implies that learners explore each item in any order.

At the center of the roadmap is an unlinked purple diamond node that points student to a discussion on Twitter.

Content

The content of the lesson focuses on the fundamentals of cognition including attention, sensation, and perception, as well as the Baddeley and Hitch Model of Working Memory. Through a mix of videos, presentations, and multimedia articles, students will learn about the functions and limitations of memory and learning. This information will prepare them to consider the subject of lesson 2: multitasking and memory.

Pedagogy

In this lesson, the learning theory is rooted in Cognitivism and Constructivism. From a Cognitivist approach, the learning content is not merely delivered to students through one medium or another. Rather, the Collabrify Writer App is employed to ask students guiding questions as well as follow-up questions that encourage reflection and rehearsal of information.

From a Constructivist approach, students are encouraged to explore the content in any oder they like. Most importantly, they are asked to contribute their findings, opinions, insights, and questions to a collaborative note space that will be used during the summative assessment in Lesson 3. Likewise, students must contribute to a collaborative bibliography that will also be used in the final assessment.

By using a custom hashtag created for the lesson, students can access a class discussion on Twitter. Here, they are encouraged to share insights, resources, questions, and answers with their peers.

Multimedia

The media of this lesson vary between videos and text presentations/articles. Text is rarely static and students are invited to engage in brief experiments. Moreover, each content item is framed by the Collabrify Writer to make them more thought-provoking and interactive. This strategy is used to scaffold the learning process in Lesson 1 only. Lesson 2 is based more on experiential learning, and students should be more familiar with the flow and learning content, therefore the Collabrify Writer scaffolds were omitted.

Evaluation

In addition to the requirement that students make meaningful contributions to the collaborative notes and bibliography, they are tasked with assembling a collaborative interpretation of Baddeley and Hitch's Working Memory Model using the Collabrify Map App. Like the other collaborative resources, the map of working memory that they construct together can be used as a resources in their summative assessment.