CSE 590D
Computer-Based Learning Environments (Autumn 2001)
Welcome to the 590D Autumn 2001 home page!
Meetings most Wednesdays from 3:30-4:20 in EE1 045
(Electrical Engineering Building, basement).
.
CSE Faculty Coordinator: Steve Tanimoto
GENERAL TOPIC: The design of computer-based learning environments.
FOCUS THIS QUARTER:
-
The University of Washington was recently awarded one of
NSF's Information Technology Research grants for a project
entitled, "A Learning Environment for Information Technology
Concepts Using Intensive, Unobtrusive Assessment."
This project touches on a number of different topics, and
we propose to discuss many of them in the seminar.
They include the following: Facet-based pedagogy;
interdisciplinary aspects of image processing;
how best to introduce computer programming
to novices; how to build models of student comprehension
by analyzing their writing, analyzing their graphical
sketches, and analyzing what theu are doing within a
constructive learning environment; and how to evaluate a
learning environment by measuring student outcomes.
This is an interdisciplinary
seminar, typically involving participants from CSE, Cognitive Psychology,
the College of Education's Curriculum and Instruction program, and EE.
Our activities include reading and discussing recent papers, critiquing
software systems, designing components of computer-based learning environments,
and occasionally, visiting classrooms to observe K-12 or undergraduate
students interacting with computers.
Schedule
- 3 October. Organizational meeting.
- 10 October. The INFACT facet-base editor; Other components
of INFACT.
- 17 October. The tentative plan is for us to attend
a special lecture in the Dept. of Psychology by Steven Poltrock.
Miscellaneous Resources
Here some papers and web pages that describe various aspects of the project.
The
project as a whole
involves elements of software design and integration,
inference of student understanding and misunderstanding,
design of instructional materials, and evaluation.
The notion of a "facet" of understanding is key to the assessment
methodology used in the project. Jim Minstrell has provided
online definitions for
facet and facet cluster.
Much of the project activity takes place during an actual
course, a
freshman seminar
on image processing and related subject matter. (Paper
written for the IEEE Workshop on Combined Research-Curriculum
Development in Computer Vision.)
An example of topical material that sometimes falls within
the purview of the seminar is
the mathematical concept of function.
(Paper presented at ED-MEDIA 2001.)