[Xerte] Pedagogical Patterns (was non coders?)

Wed Feb 24 09:52:00 GMT 2010

Dare I say metadata? I imagined some sort of database holding the
patterns, then it's easy to keep the information separate. Right now,
what we should worry about is documenting some patterns, and testing our
template out.

I like the idea of noting any underlying theories, and of course we have
to acknowledge any sources.

With something like ARCS, it would be perfectly possible for a pattern
to provide guidance on the whole A-R-C-S sequence, just as it would be
perfectly OK for a pattern to deal simply with one of the steps:
'Relevance'. We need to avoid pointless discussions of the chin
scratching 'well, hmm, it depends what you mean by pattern' sort: there
may well be patterns of patterns.

With the Nine Events this would almost certainly be the case, as you'd
never nail down the whole thing on one page, and each event could easily
be a pattern in it's own right. The question is whether those
sub-patterns have validity without the rest of the supporting patterns.
This might be important information in the documentation as well.

It's good to be talking about instructional design again.

J

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Peter
Pretorius
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 4:44 PM
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: Re: [Xerte] Pedagogical Patterns (was non coders?)

Julian,

I share your concern over "Related Patterns" and the difficulty in
maintaining such a section.  I do think it may be valuable to designers.
I found Bergin's use of it informative and helpful.  You suggested
keeping it externally.  I like that notion.  External, but perhaps
connected in some fashion; maybe as simple as a separate page that's
linked to.

- Pete

On 2/23/10, Julian Tenney <Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote: 

OK, how about:

Name: The Pattern Title

Summary: Short summary.

Audience: Brief description of the audience and any requirements.

Problem: This sets out the context and offers a rationale for the
solution. It includes the stuff from the 'forces' heading.

Solution: More detailed informaton, building on the summary.

Considerations: I think this section is maybe optional, but provides a
place for suggested next steps, any implications, any key success
factors.

Example: A worked example / commentary. There could be several of these,
and it would be good to add more examples easily later. Preferably a
link to a real life example.

Related Patterns. There could be several of these too. This information
will be quickly outdated as more patterns are documented - so I'm not
sure if this is the best place for this information as it will be hard
to maintain - I'd be happy not to include this.

What optional headings would you include? I think it's important that
the headings are words people have seen before...

J

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Peter
Pretorius
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 6:15 AM
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: Re: [Xerte] Pedagogical Patterns (was non coders?)

Julian,

Of the links you listed, I found the patterns detailed by Pace
University, Joseph Bergin, to be much more easily accessible than those
listed at pedagogicalpatterns.org <http://pedagogicalpatterns.org/> .
I'm not commenting on their respective value, but rather solely on how
the patterns were presented.  I think those on the csis.pace.edu
<http://csis.pace.edu/>  pages are much easier to read and understand.
I think it's due to the liberal use of section headings within the
pace.edu <http://pace.edu/>  pages; though it's perhaps also due to the
choice of headings, and the style of writing.

I like the approach you took with your example.  In addition, I do think
Bergin's use of a "Thumbnail" section immediately after the name was
very helpful, since I found that the first question that always occurred
to me after reading the pattern name, whether it was Fixer Upper,
Mistake, or Larger Than Life, was, "What is this Pattern?"  And the
"Thumbnail" section succinctly answered that.  

I also liked the "Audience / Context" heading that Bergin uses, since a
question for me would often be, "When can/should I use this?  In front
of what audience?"  I think "Context" alone could suffice, but I think
the former heading may be more descriptive, and so offer greater clarity
to a wider audience.

By the way, the Pace.edu page seems to have different iterations.  The
"Thumbnail" section wasn't present on the link you provided, but it is
present on this version of the page:
http://csis.pace.edu/~bergin/PedPat1.2.html#earlybird.

I think deciding on a template as a first step, as you suggest, makes
sense.  As with Weisburgh's template (the Wikipedia page), perhaps some
sections could be optional, and so be present or not depending on
whether they apply to the current pattern.  I also like the idea of
keeping the patterns to one page, and of trying to keep their
explanations as simple as possible (but not simpler), so that even a
layman can understand them.  As you have suggested, the more clearly we
can explain a pattern, the more we amplify its utility.

- Pete

On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 6:39 AM, Julian Tenney
<Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:

Here's a pattern I know quite well, written up in as simple a format as
possible. I think  the aim has to be to make these easily undestood and
accessible to the layman, like a good recipe book. The main criticism I
have of intructional design tools is that you normally need a good
insight into ID to use them - in which case, you probably don't need
them. We need to get this to people who don't have the ID insight, and
make it readily accessible.

I took the patterns language from the wikipedia page on pedagogical
patterns, and ripped out most of it, this is what was left. I think as a
guideline we would not want more than a page per pattern. I'm happy to
include the bits I missed out, but I found them a bit confusing. What do
you think?

Design Pattern: Multiple Perspectives

Problem: In many disciplines problems do not have simple, single
solutions. Some problems, particularly in the arts and social sciences,
become more complex as more thought is given to them. Introducing
students to points of view they might not have considered helps broaden
their thinking on the relevant issues, and helps develop a deeper
understanding.

Solution

Present the students with opinions of a diverse group of people on the
issue. Try and include opinions outside the experience of the student.
Prompt discussions between the students. Prompt the students to consider
various aspects of the person and their opinion, and to compare and
contrast the various views portrayed. Ask the student to make a brief
statement before reviewing the media setting out their own position on
the issue. After the media has been reviewed, ask the student to
consider if their position has changed.

Example

Students are developing ideas of a perfect society, and are attempting
to answer the question 'what would make a perfect society?' Prior to
reviewing the material, students print out a worksheet and make a brief
statement of their own view - these might be discussed in the peer
group, where different views will be apparent. However, it is likely
that the peer group will share many viewpoints.

The students are then presented with views on 'the perfect society' from
several different people from very different walks of life and are asked
to consider how the background of the person might influence their views
on society. Students are then prompted to record how the media has
influenced their own viewpoint, and whether it has changed. 

Students then work together in a group to discuss their findings, and
are prompted to discuss other factors with questions such as 'does our
view of society change as we age?' or 'what are the factors that
influence someone's view on society'. Ask the students to identify the
things that have most influenced their own point of view throughout the
exercise, and to suggest further opnions that would be helpful.

See http://example.ac.uk <http://example.ac.uk/> .

Related Patterns

This is useful, but the problem here is that related patterns might not
have been documented yet, so I think this information needs to be held
outside the pattern itself.

From: Tenney Julian 
Sent: Monday, February 22, 2010 8:31 AM
To: 'Xerte discussion list'
Subject: RE: [Xerte] non coders?

OK, lets make it happen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogical_patterns has some useful
suggestions for how to document a pattern.

http://csis.pace.edu/~bergin/PedPat1.3.html has some examples of
patterns.

http://www.pedagogicalpatterns.org/ is another project doing this work.

So there is some stuff to start to go at. For me, the result would be a
very friendly set of patterns that are easy to read and understand to
people coming to this for the first time. The problem with some of the
existing work is it quickly gets quite ID-heavy, and I think that might
be a barrier to the target audience we are trying to reach.

I think there is also a can of worms in attempting to classify them as
any taxonomy probably relies on some underpinning theory. I think
behaviourists would probably classify their patterns differently to
constructivists - and indeed would probably have quite different
patterns - it's not my intention to get drawn into those sort of
debates, rather, where a particular strategy has been found to have
value, it should be offered up for re-use.

I like the idea of developing a template with which to describe a
pattern as a first step: what do you think of the headings documented at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogical_patterns? Maybe we should try
using them to document a pattern or two of our own?

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Peter
Pretorius
Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2010 7:50 PM
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: Re: [Xerte] non coders?

J,

That sounds like a very worthwhile project.  What you're suggesting is
non-existent, as far as I know.  A toolkit full of pedagogical designs,
complete with illustrations and/or examples.  Wow!  That's an
instructional designer's dream.

- Pete 

On 2/19/10, Julian Tenney <Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote: 

Good idea. I was thinking about setting up a page on the xerte web site
maybe, or the wiki, where we can contribute pedagogical design patterns,
maybe with links to examples. I agree entirely that the instructional
strategy is what underpins the actual learning. As a technologist I have
heard educational types chastise me with 'well, we can't have the
technology leading the pedgogy', to which my muted response is usually
something along the lines of 'ok, lets see the pedagogy then'.

I think it would be great for people starting to use online materials in
their teaching to have a source of inspiration for how to use them
effectively. Simple, sound ideas that we can describe in a couple of
paragraphs, and not necessarily Xerte specific.

J

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