How Does Technology Facilitate Learning? (continued)

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Causal

Causal reasoning is one of the most basic and important cognitive processes that underpin all higher-order activities, such as problem solving. Hume called causality the “cement of the universe” (Hume, 1739/2000). Reasoning from a description of a condition or set of conditions or states of an event to the possible effect(s) that may result from those states is called prediction. A baseball pitcher predicts where the ball will go by the forces that he or she applies when pitching the ball. When an outcome or state exists for which the causal agent is unknown, then an inference is required. That is, reasoning backward from effect to cause requires the process of inference. A primary function of inferences is diagnosis. For example, based on symptoms, historical factors, and test results of patients who are thought to be abnormal, a physician attempts to infer the cause(s) of that illness state. Thinking causally is also required for making explanations. Explaining how things work requires learner to identify all the causal connections among the things being explained.

Causal thinking is really more complex than learners understand. In order to be able to understand and apply causal relationships, learners must be able to quantify attributes of causal relationships (direction, strength, probability, and duration) as well as be able to explain the underlying mechanisms describing the relationship (Jonassen & Ionas, 2007). Why does a force applied to a ball cause it to move in certain direction?

Analogical

If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are also known as synonyms or metaphors. One word conveys attributes to the other, often using the word “like” or “as” as a connector. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans was said to be inundated with a “toxic gumbo.” Gumbo is a complex New Orleans–style soup that contains a variety of ingredients. The waters that surrounded New Orleans contained a complex variety of toxic substances—thus metaphor as analogy.

People most commonly think of syllogism as analogies. A syllogism is a four-part analogy. For example, love is to hate as peace is to ———. The analogy makes sense only if the structural characteristics of the first analogy can be applied to the second.

In using technologies to represent their understanding, students consistently are required to engage in the comparison–contrast reasoning required to structurally map the attributes of one or more idea to others, that is, to draw an analogy.

Expressive

Using technologies as tools to learn with entails learners representing what they know, that is, teaching the computer. To do so, learners must express what they know. Using different tools requires learners to express what they know in different ways. Technologies can be used to help learners express themselves in writing. Learners can express themselves using a variety of tools, such as databases, spreadsheets, and expert systems, each tool requiring different forms of expression. Ttechnologies can support verbal expression, while chapter 9 focuses on visual expressions. Contrast these varieties of expressions to those required by state-mandated tests, where students’ only form of expressions is the selection of answer a, b, c, or d.