Teaching Roles for Instructional Software James Hutto Columbus State University

Main Types of Instructional Software Drill-and-Practice Tutorial Simulation Instructional Game Problem-Solving

Drill-and-Practice Users can work problems or answer questions and get feedback on correctness. Allows the effective rehearsal students need to transfer newly learned information into long-term memory. Beneficial for teachers of students with learning disabilities. Yields equivalent or better benefits when compared to paper-pencil practice. More efficient and appealing to students.

Benefits, Limitations, & Examples of Drill-and-Practice Immediate feedback Increased motivation Saving teacher time Limitations: Instructional overuse or misuse Criticism by constructivists Examples: Flash card activity Chart fill-in activity Branching drill Extensive feedback activities

Tutorial Entire instructional sequence on a topic. Students should be able to learn the topic without any other help or materials. True teaching materials. Sometimes confused with drill-and-practice. Often categorized as linear or branching tutorials.

Benefits and Limitations of Tutorial Immediate feedback Motivation Time savings Self-paced instruction Limitations: Criticism by constructivists Lack of well-designed products Reflect only one instructional approach

Simulation Computerized model of a real or imagined system that is designed to teach how the system works. Incorporates both directive and constructive teaching styles Simulations that teach about something: Physical simulations Iterative simulations Simulations that teach how to do something: Procedural simulations Situational simulations

Benefits and Limitations of Simulation Compresses time or slows down processes Gets students involved Makes experimentation safe Makes the impossible possible Saves money and other resources Allows repetition with variations Allows observation of complex processes Limitations: Criticism of virtual lab software Accuracy of models Instructional misuses

Instructional Game Software products that add game-like rules and/or competition to learning activities. Incorporates both directive and constructive teaching styles. Promote excitement and challenge due to competition. Can include educational video games.

Benefits and Limitations of Instructional Game Add fun and excitement to the classroom Fosters noncognitive skills Makes learning more engaging and motivational Used to create a desire learn a curriculum topic Limitations: Belief that students just want to have fun and not learn Confusion of rules Inefficient learning Classroom barriers

Problem-Solving Three components: Recognition of a goal Process (sequence of physical activities or operations) Mental activity Fosters component skills in or approaches to general problem-solving Two main approaches: Content-area problem-solving skills Content-free problem-solving skills

Benefits and Limitations to Problem-Solving Promotes visualization in mathematic problem solving Improves interest and motivation Prevents inert knowledge Limitations: Names versus skills Software claims versus effectiveness Lack of skill transfer

Criteria for Effectiveness Teaching Roles Characteristics Criteria for Effectiveness Benefits Drill-and-Practice Presents items for students to answer. Gives feedback on correctness. User control over presentation rate. Appropriate feedback for correct, incorrect answers. Gives immediate, private feedback. Motivates students to practice. Saves teacher time. Tutorial Presents an entire instructional sequence. Complete instruction. Can be linear or branching. Extensive interactivity. Thorough user control. Appropriate pedagogy. Adequate answer judging and feedback. Same as drill-and-practice. Offers instruction that can stand on its own. Simulation Models a real or imaginary system. Can model physical phenomena, procedures, and hypothetical situations. Users can see the impact of their actions. System fidelity and accuracy. Good documentation to explain system characteristics and uses. Compresses time or slows down processes. Gets students involved. Makes experiments safe. Saves money & resources. Allows repetition with variations. Instructional Game Promotes excitement and challenge. Incorporates both directive and constructive teaching styles. Appealing and appropriate formats and activities. Instructional value. Social, societal, and cultural considerations are addressed. Adds fun and excitement to the classroom. Makes learning more engaging and motivational. Problem-Solving Tools to help students solve problems. Environments that challenge students to create solutions to complex problems. Problems to help develop component problem-solving skills. Opportunities for practice in solving content-area problems. Challenging, interesting formats. Clear links to developing specific problem-solving skills or abilities. Challenging activities motivate students to spend more time on the topic. Prevents inert knowledge by illustrating situations in which skills apply.

Reference Roblyer, M.D. (2015). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.