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The Application of Adaptive Learning Environment on Ox_Red Reaction Chemistry Web Title. Department of Applied Chemistry Providence University Taiwan Dr. Zangyuan Own zyown@pu.edu.tw. Introduction.
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The Application of Adaptive Learning Environment on Ox_Red Reaction Chemistry Web Title Department of Applied Chemistry Providence University Taiwan Dr. Zangyuan Own zyown@pu.edu.tw
Introduction • Adaptive Learning illustrates an ideal instructional environment. Its essence is to diagnose on the basis of learner's response and arrange curriculum in accordance with the learner's learning pattern and learning condition, thus contributes to effective learning.
Background • World Wide Web provides an excellent approach for the interaction between teachers and students. So far, a web-based tele-education environment has become a key in the development of domestic and oversea universities. • Adaptive Learning is aiming at providing different instructional environments in terms of the learners' characteristics or learning background, so as to facilitate their learning. As WWW-oriented network develops vigorously and a variety of technology involved attain to maturity, creating an adaptive learning environment with such infrastructure is becoming more practical. For this reason, a need exists to clarify the meaning, content and relative information structure of adaptive learning to establish the foundation of the development for adaptive learning system.
Research Purpose • The purposes of designing an asynchronous adaptive learning environment are: • (1) Create an appropriate learning environment for students according to the learners' characteristics and present this environment via asynchronous web title to achieve individualized instruction. • (2) Discuss the difference between the learning effectiveness of adaptive learning environment and those in conventional learning environment. • (3) Discuss the influence on students' learning effectiveness caused by the variation of their characteristics, such as gender, college, grade, etc. • (4) By means of situated analysis, discuss students' satisfaction with the adaptive learning environment.
Situated Learning • Situated Learning means the knowledge must be considered situated and learning be expected to proceed in realistic situations. And the formation and meaning of knowledge being explained from the perspective of learning by doing and practical intelligence was proposed. • According to Collins (1989), the meanings and practicability of situated learning contained the following benefits and effects: • 1. The learners get to learn to make use of the knowledge they gained in various situations. • 2. Different situations enhance the learners' creativity. • 3. The learners get to know the use of the knowledge they gain. • 4. Situations build out knowledge for all kinds of applications.
Constructive Learning • Constructivism emphasizes on an explorative learning process through which the learners connect the knowledge obtained with their prepositional knowledge and belief, thus changes the their ingrained concept and reconstruct individualized knowledge. In place of conventionally philosophical perspective on knowledge construction process concluded three essential principles of modern constructivism: • 1. Knowledge, instead of passive reception or absorption, is dynamic construction by the cognitive individual. • 2. Cognitive functions are adaptive and are suitable for organizing the world of experience, not for discovering the reality of the substance. • 3. Knowledge is the social construction molded by the negotiation and coordination between the individual and others.
Scaffolding Learning • Scaffolding Learning is extending the concept of potential development, which is the construction of scaffolding to helping students with specific problem or task to achieve their goals. Rather than being passive learners, the learners in Scaffolding Learning are positive participants with active thinking to build out their cognitive structure. Scaffolding Learning proposed by Greenfield (1984) covered six principles: • 1. In realistic instruction, the instructor acts as the assistant for the aptitude development of the learner. • 2. The level of support varies with the learner's ability. • 3. The level of support decreases as the learner's ability enhances. • 4. The level of support is proportional to the difficulty of tasks. • 5. Support progresses step by step in coordination with immediate correction. • 6. Support should be provided from inside out, helping the learners establish independency from their zone of potential development.
Research Approach • The subject of this research was based on the asynchronous web-course of "Life chemistry" in Providence University at Taiwan. Students taking the course of life chemistry in Providence University were studied. Valid samples amounted to 146 people in which 73 people belonged to the experiment group and 73 to the control group.
Log onto Internet This system offers a basic identity confirmation system and permission (adaptive learning environment and conventional learning environment) when distinguishing the users' learning patterns. When accessing the website with a browser, users simply type in their account and password to log in.
(2) User Grouping • After entering the student ID and password, students were randomly separated into two learning pattern of life chemistry. Two groups were formed, control group-"conventional learning environment" and experiment group-"adaptive learning environment".
(3) GEFT Analysis • To find out their cognitive pattern, the learners were asked to take Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) so as to classify their cognitive pattern as field-independent or field-dependent. In order to find out whether any difference exists between the pre-knowledge of the experiment group and the control group, the midterm grades were used as the basis for grouping: high pre-knowledge and low pre-knowledge.
(4) Learning Pattern • The students of experimental group are divided into three different models according to their typical personal type: • 1. Situated model: Field dependent students • 2. Constructed model: Field independent & Science college students • 3. Scaffolding model: Field independent & Non-science college students • The students of control group are given them a well designed conventional learning web, which is normal web title with the same content as adaptive web titles.
(5) Achievement Test • The learning achievement measurement of this research was based on “ACS Test Bank for General Chemistry". The purpose of this test was to examine the progress of the learners in oxidation-reduction reactions concept after "adaptive web-based learning" and "conventional web-based learning"
(6) Data Analysis • All data collected, including pre-test, post-test, learning effectiveness and system measurement, was analyzed by the social science statistic software SPSS. This analysis took the means, sigma and t-test out of the processed data, providing detailed explanation and the printed document.
Group Sample # Average Progress Score Sigma t P Experimental Group 73 33.15 21.62 3.833 .000* Control Group 73 21.91 13.81 Learning Effectiveness Analysis * P＜.05 indicating a significant difference
Experiment group outperforms the Control group • The result of this research indicates: the experiment group outperforms the control group. That is, when offering different learning environments, adaptive web-based learning environment is superior to conventional web-based learning environment. In current web-based learning environment, however, web sites simply feed students with pieces of teaching material, regardless of their aptitude and reading conditions. The result is an overload of information to the students and learning disorientation, not to mention learning effectively. For overall learning effectiveness, this research shows that better performance in oxidation-reduction reactions was seen in students under the adaptive learning environment. The reason is adaptive learning environment provides more flexibility and more opportunities for active participation and immediate feedback.
Cognitive Pattern Analysis * P＜.05 showing a significant difference
FI Students Perform Better • Field-independent students achieved significantly high learning effectiveness. Previous research found field-independence had positive influence on the browsing or learning effectiveness of multimedia or web-based instruction. Field-independent students tend to learning in an unstructured fashion and are good at constructing complicate concept and knowledge in multimedia-based learning. Being a active learner and with the supplementation of adaptive learning, field-independent learners will have better learning effectiveness through adaptive learning. Also field-independent learners show better performance in natural science. This is so because field-independent learners tend to process message analytically and that they possess better ability in cognition reconstruction. Since natural science involves in analysis and reconstructing message, field-independent learners, faced with a tough problem with insufficient information at hand, tend to clarify problems with their inner cognition and refurnishes the message a new structure.
Pre-Knowledge Analysis * P＜.05 showing a significant difference
High Pre-Knowledge Students Perform Better • Learners with more pre-knowledge were influenced through the clarification of the teaching materials, which coincided with the results of this research. In terms of pre-knowledge, students with higher pre-knowledge achieved better learning effectiveness through adaptive web-based learning than through conventional web-based learning. The main reason is that students with higher pre-knowledge are equipped with complete Oxidation-Reduction Reaction concept. Besides, with the adaptive web-based learning teaching materials of Oxidation-Reduction Reaction taken from people's living and the assistance of multimedia, the system individualized on the basis of the learners' learning features assures the learners of achieving better learning effectiveness under such adaptive learning.
Gender Analysis * P＜.05 showing a significant difference
Male Students Perform Better • Male students possess higher computer self-efficacy and more positive passion toward computers. Meanwhile, they have better absorption and comprehension in chemistry. In coordination with adaptive web-based learning that features individualization and active adaptation, they could fully understand and absorb the concept of Oxidation-Reduction Reaction after learning and achieve terrific learning effectiveness.
College Analysis * P＜.05 showing a significant difference
Science College Students Perform Better • College of science students in the experimental group show better learning effectiveness than those in the control group. This is so because college of science students usually possesses more chemical knowledge even though they may not fully comprehend the entire concept. Furthermore, traditional chemistry instruction is limited to abstract concept, instead of focusing on experimental evidence and the correlation of chemical phenomenon with living (that is, the learning content is over-abstract). Being more familiar with the course and possessing the foundation for this course, college of science students have better grasps at the content of the course and the content and questions on the instructional website. Moreover, they have the talents for finding out related information on the website than others do. Therefore, learners with related background achieve better learning effectiveness. With the demonstration of multimedia strengthening students' comprehension on abstract concept and compensating the insufficiency of their ability, college of science students in adaptive web-based learning exhibit remarkable learning effectiveness.
Satisfaction Analysis • The questionnaires were classified as "Extremely agree", "Agree", "No comments, "Disagree" and "Extremely disagree" from level 1 to level 5. • Students in adaptive learning exhibit a mean of satisfaction higher than 3 with interface design, curriculum content design, feedback design and the entire design. The results are partial to "Agree" and "Extremely agree". In other words, most students are satisfied with such a learning design. • Interface design • Curriculum content design • Feedback design • Overall design
Interface Design Mean Sigma User-friendly interface 4.05 0.78 Well-designed interface 3.86 0.98 Easy-to-use interface 4.06 0.81 Interface Design Satisfaction
Content Design Mean Sigma Teaching material content that simplifies learning 4.22 0.65 Vivid teaching materials 4.25 0.64 Adequate difficulty level for the test 3.94 0.90 Readable content 4.15 0.67 Adequate number of curriculum 3.83 0.88 Curriculum Content Design
Feedback design Mean Sigma Interactive design can enhance learning appetite 4.18 0.70 Prompts, suggestions and assistance provided facilitate one's learning 4.15 0.62 Provide real-time assistance 3.94 0.88 Feedback Design
Overall Mean Sigma The application of multimedia increases the appetite of learning with computer 3.85 0.92 Ability to apply the knowledge obtained 4.17 0.63 A considerable gain from learning this curriculum individually 4.23 0.72 Overall Design
Conclusion • Adaptive web-based learning have the very positive effect on overall students. • The adaptive web-based learning have the significant difference learning effects especially on: • Field-Independence Students • High Pre-Knowledge Students • Male Students • Science College Students
Conclusion • Learning theory is an important foundation for adaptive web-based learning. Grounded on this basis, this research discussed the application of adaptive web-based learning as well as its future development and design, in the hope of achieving effective "individualized" learning. With this in mind, learning-oriented web sites are to be brought into full play, instead of being limited to simply dazzling sound and visual effect or plain text. Meanwhile, it takes considerable time and energy in system designing and the edition of different versions of teaching materials. It may be a tough journey, but worthwhile.
