Kinesthetic Learners Achievement Levels in Technology Rich

Kinesthetic Learners Achievement Levels in Technology Rich Classrooms

Hypothesis With Operational Definitions

Computers and Kinesthetic Learning

Existing Research

The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project

Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) Project

Apple Classroom of Tomorrow Project

American Culture in Context: Enrichment for Secondary Schools

SchoolNet / Rescol Report: The emerging contribution of online resources and tools to classroom learning and teaching

Lehrer HyperAuthor Study

The Highly Interactive Computing Environments (HI-CE) Group

Lego/Logo Project

Interactive technologies that are appealing to kinesthetic learning such as multimedia, hypermedia, and visualization in virtual learning environments hold great promise for enhancing the learning experience. A variety of research studies have produced results ranging from the ability of interactive computing not only to enhance the student's ability to absorb complex information, but also to fundamentally reshape the learning process.

Interactive computing holds exciting potential to create student-controlled learning environments in which students are more responsible for their own instruction. And, interactive computing may change the learning behavior of students leading them to carry over the concept of information associations in multimedia and hypermedia into their own thought processes where they reach out to a broader range of external resources; form a greater consideration of who their information will be presented to; interact in longer-term projects with a broader context; and make stronger connections to subsequent learning and events.

Currently, technology implementation in schools is far ahead of the learning curve for understanding how technology can be used to best improve education and what the implications of this are for the educational process. There's still an incredible need for research to understand how technology can be used to improve education.

1.0 Introduction

This paper researches the impact of computer technologies on kinesthetic learners, one of seven learning intelligences identified by Howard Gardner in 1983. Because the characteristics of the kinesthetic learner include learning through touching, moving, interacting with space and processing knowledge through bodily sensations, only highly interactive technologies that appeal to this group such as multimedia, hypermedia, visualization, and interactive computer programs are included in this research.

The research results of eight studies covering education and technology are summarized and then analyzed for their impact on learning and the learning process itself.

These studies include:

The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project

The Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) Project

The Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) Project

SchoolNet / Rescol Report: The emerging contribution of online resources and tools to classroom learning and teaching

The American Culture in Context: Enrichment for Secondary Schools (ACCESS) Project

The Lehrer HyperAuthor study

The Highly Interactive Computing Environments (HI-CE) research

The Lego/Logo project.

2.0 Statement of the Problem

Computer technology has made its way to the classroom even though its impact on learning isn't fully understood. Some educational experts question the value that technologies such as multimedia, hypermedia, visualization, and interactive computing have on the learning process. Others are concerned that these tools may be useful, but will dramatically change the learning and teaching processes in ways that should be better understood.

3.0 Hypothesis With Operational Definitions

New computer technologies such as multimedia, hypertext / hypermedia, visualization, and interactive computer programs can all contribute to the learning process by engaging students in their work. Not only is technology likely to accelerate learning, it is also likely to fundamentally improve the way the learning process and the classroom environment.

Multimedia is defined as more than one concurrent presentation medium such as CD-Rom or a Web site. Multimedia is used in this report to mean the combination of any of the following.

Text and sound

Text, sound, and still or animated graphic images

Text, sound, and video images

Video and sound

Multiple display areas, images, or presentations presented concurrently

The use of a speaker or actors and "props" together with sound, images, and motion video

Multimedia can be distinguished from traditional motion pictures or movies because it is smaller and less expensive and because it can offer audience interactivity or involvement. Multimedia is more complex in both production and presentation than simple text-and-images.

Hypertext is the organization of information units into connected associations that a user can choose to make.

An instance of such an association is called a hypertext link. Hypertext was the main concept that led to the invention of the World Wide Web which is information content connected by hyperlinks.

Hypermedia extends the notion of the hypertext link to include links among any set of multimedia objects such as sound, motion video and virtual reality and typically connotes a higher level of user interactivity than hypertext.

Interactive computer programs allow a dialog to occur between a human being and a computer program.

Games are an example of a program that fosters a great amount of activity. Although business applications such as an order entry application allow a user to interactive with the program, they do so in a very constrained bi-directional way and are not classified as interactive computer programs.

Lastly, Visualization is the process of representing abstract business or scientific data as images that can aid in understanding the meaning of the data. Visualization is only explored within the context of multimedia and hypermedia for the purposes of this study.

4.0 Literature Review

4.1 Background

The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Howard Gardner and presented in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Gardner identified seven learning intelligences and how these groups are able to best learn:

Intelligence How they best learn

Linguistic

Saying, hearing and seeing words

Logical/Mathematical

Categorizing, classifying and working with abstract patterns/relationships

Spatial

Visualizing, using the mind's eye and working with colors/pictures

Musical

Using rhythm, melody and music

Interpersonal

Sharing, comparing, relating, cooperating and interviewing

Bodily/Kinesthetic

Touching, moving, interacting with space and processing knowledge through bodily sensations

Intrapersonal

Working alone, individualized projects, self-paced instruction

In addition to multiple intelligences, people also have different learning styles to process information. People either receive information through what they see (visual), what they hear (auditory), or through their sense of touch and body awareness (tactile/kinesthetic).

Computers have proven to be a very effective learning tool, due in part to its ability to appeal to different intelligences and learning styles. Computers technologies, in general, may provide the following beneficial impacts:

Characteristic:

Impact on learning:

Digital

Enables computer to "read" and "listen" (voice recognition; speech synthesis)

Multimedia

Provides opportunity to tap into multiple learning styles; gets kids attention; show and tell

Interactive

Engages learner by giving choices in which sequence information is presented

Internet

Gives access to vast amounts of information in electronic format

Conferencing

Provides opportunity for distance education and collaborative learning

4.2 Computers and Kinesthetic Learning

According to kinesthetic learning experts, there are differences in the way kinesthetic intelligences like to interact act with and use the computer in the learning process. Those with kinesthetic intelligence like to be actively engaged in learning and typically relate well to the following technologies:

Keyboarding, mouse, joystick, and other devices for movement

Scientific probes and microscopes

Video production - skits, dances, sports, role playing, demonstrations

Animation - Macromedia Flash

Claymation - sequence of movement

Handheld Palms and Alphasmart - you can carry them everywhere

Virtual Field Trip - using and creating

Lego Logo and Robotics - other construction kit projects

Digital still and video cameras - skits, plays, role playing, demonstrations

The computer's reliance on eye-hand coordination for their operation such as keyboarding and the use of the mouse or touch-screen are highly effective for making a kinesthetic student an active participant in the learning process and for reinforcing learning. The popularity of video games is due to the total engagement of the player and skillful physical response to the challenges.

Computer programs such as "Lego Logo" offer ways for kinesthetic learners to connect the computer to external manipulatives, such as Lego blocks with gears, wheels, and motors. Using these, students can invent different machine types to control through computer programs they develop themselves. Other computer programs that combine kinesthetic activity with the development of analytical thinking are Broderbund's "Science Toolkit" and IBM's "Personal Science Lab." The student creates either physical or scientific experiments and the program analyzes and displays the results on a computer screen.

Computer simulations enable students to experience events seldom encountered in everyday life. With "Electronic field trips." students feel as if they are actually exploring the depths of the sea or the inside of a volcano as they accompany researchers in areas where very few can go. Recently, classrooms of students, linked electronically to explorers investigating the tectonic plates in the depths of the Mediterranean, were able to communicate with the scientists, ask questions, or request the viewing of areas or objects more closely.

Multi-media technology involves much actual physical activity as information is gathered from databanks, books, and photos, as new information is generated by camcorders, and finally as all of it is pieced together electronically through hypermedia programs such as HyperCard or LinkWay. The production of filmed plays or dance programs also involves and exercises kinesthetic intelligence.

4.3 Existing Research

In 2002 there were approximately forty-five million children in schools in the United States, and almost all were exposed to computers in that setting. As of 1999, almost ninety percent of schools had Internet access and that number is expected to increase to one-hundred percent (Center for Information Technology and Health Research). Over thirty million American elementary school children had computers in the home in 2002 (U.S. Census Bureau). This number is expected to continue to increase over the next few years. There are a number of well-known research studies that demonstrate the positive effects of computer technologies on learning such as The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project, the Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) Project, the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow Project, the SchoolNet / Rescol Report, the American Culture in Context: Enrichment for Secondary Schools (ACCESS) project, Lehrer HyperAuthor study, the Highly Interactive Computing Environments (HI-CE) research and the Lego/Logo project.

4.3.1 The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project

The Challenge 2000 Multimedia project conducted from 1995 to 2001 involved collaboration between Joint Venture: Silicon Valley, a partnership of area businesses focused on improving the quality of life in Silicon Valley, and the San Mateo County Office of Education. The study was funded by a U.S. Department of Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant. The project studied changes in classroom processes in project-based classrooms using multimedia technology. The project's aim was to engage students in their own learning and develop student's skills of collaboration, decision making and complex problem solving. SRI International conducted a five-year evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of the project. This company's sample studies included 6th and 7th grade classrooms and included twelve multimedia and nine comparison classrooms.

SRI found that multimedia project classrooms were more likely to be focused on longer-term projects that spanned a week or more, learner-centered, collaborative, and oriented toward people and communities outside the classroom than were comparison classrooms. An analysis of students' actions revealed that they were engaged in complex, cognitively challenging tasks in multimedia project classrooms. Students were engaged in more "cognitive activities of design" such as deciding on the structure of a presentation; creating multiple representations, models, and analogies; arguing about or evaluating information; thinking about one's audience; and revising or editing work.

In multimedia project classrooms, teachers spent more time having students practice skills on their own with strategic assistance provided by teachers as needed, than having students watch or listen as teachers performed a task for them or explained a process to them. Data revealed that multimedia project teachers were more likely to give major responsibility to students for their own learning than were comparison teachers. Teachers in multimedia project classrooms were more likely to be engaged in assisting or helping students by moving about the classroom and responding to student questions or providing help when they saw a need for it.

Students in multimedia project classrooms were more like to spend time engaged in small group collaboration than were comparison students. In contrast, comparison classrooms were much more likely to be observed as having a lecture-oriented discourse dominate classroom time. Students in project classrooms were also more involved in taking advantage of external resources. For example, students in project classrooms spent half of the time observed using the Internet, searching for information, graphics, pictures, sounds, and other material to use for their multimedia presentations. The Internet was not used at all in comparison classrooms. Thirty-five percent of the activities in project classroom involved students considering the audience of their work, whereas none of the activities observed in comparison classrooms found students attending to the audience of their work beyond the teacher.

SRI concluded that the Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project met its objective of transforming classroom processes so that they became more student-centered.

They found that multimedia project classrooms were more likely to be learner-centered and engage students in long-term, complex assignments.

4.3.2 Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) Project

In 1996, the National Science Foundation program in Networking Infrastructure for Education sponsored a study to explore the issues of scaling, diversity and sustainability as they related to the use of networking technologies to enable high school students to work in collaboration with remote students, teachers and scientists. Participating students studied atmospheric and environmental sciences using scientific visualization software, video teleconferencing and collaborative computing. Research results indicated that students spent their time productively, preferred CoVis activities over traditional science labs, and learned both content and scientific inquiry skills.

4.3.3 Apple Classroom of Tomorrow Project

In 1985, Apple Computer, Inc. began its Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) Project, a ten-year collaboration with several widely-separated school districts around the United States. Apple gave students and teachers computers and software for both school and home use, and research. ACOT classrooms also had access to videodisc players, video cameras, scanners, CD-ROM drives, modems, and online communications services. The research program focused on answering six major questions:

What kinds of collaborative environments and tools are most helpful in inquiry-based classrooms?

2. What happens when teachers and students have access to rich online resources and remote experts?

3. How can the computer's power to represent knowledge in multiple media support learning?

4. How can the computer be used to support students in problem-solving?

5. What happens to motivation and learning when students have the same access to the sophisticated tools that experts use?

6. How can the learning and competencies accomplished in a technology-rich environment be assessed?

Coley summarized the impact of ACOT students as follows:

Explored and represented information dynamically and in many forms

Became socially aware and more confident

Communicated effectively about complex processes

Used technology routinely and appropriately

Became independent learners and self-starters

Knew their areas of expertise and shared that expertise spontaneously

Worked well collaboratively

Developed a positive orientation to the future

4.3.4 American Culture in Context: Enrichment for Secondary Schools

ACCESS)

The American Culture in Context: Enrichment for Secondary Schools (ACCESS) Project (Spoehr, 1994; Spoehr & Shapiro, 1991) focused on teaching United States history, American literature, and American studies in high school. For this project, teachers assembled a hypermedia collection of textual, pictorial, audio and video materials to supplement their courses. Students who made extensive use of the conceptual organization built into the system benefited more than the students who simply used the materials for information retrieval. The study found that hypermedia's effectiveness depended on the extent to which students internalized the conceptual structure as they browed the subject matter.

The ACCESS project orientation later shifted from teacher-created hypermedia materials to student-generated hypermedia documents. Students produced several small hypermedia documents of increasing size and complexity early in the school year to become familiar with the authoring process. Later, they generally took on one or more major research projects, the results of which were presented as hypermedia. According to Spoehr (1994), the structures that students impose on their hypermedia knowledge varied.

Five to ten percent of students underutilize the power of the hypermedia and used a linear format (i.e., one overview card followed by a linear series of screens).

But, most students produce more interesting organizational types, including the "star," in which the entry point was an overview containing buttons to two or more subtopics, each of which appears as a linear sequence, and the "tree," in which one or more main branches off the initial overview in the program are subdivided into further subtopics that are then organized as linear sequences or divided into sub-subtopics. Students using the "tree" organization showed more sophisticated understanding of the topic than students using the "star" structure.

There were many ways that the ACCESS Project students benefited from their experiences as hypermedia authors, most of which fall into the category of superior knowledge representation and higher-order thinking skills. Spoehr reported that students who built and used hypermedia developed a proficiency in organizing knowledge about a subject in a more expert-like fashion. They are able to represent multiple linkages between ideas and organize concepts into meaningful clusters. In turn, these superior knowledge representations supported more complex arguments in written essays. Most importantly, the conceptual organization skills acquired through building hypermedia were robust enough to allow students to generalize these skills to content that they acquired from other sources.

4.3.5 SchoolNet / Rescol Report: The emerging contribution of online resources and tools to classroom learning and teaching

The SchoolNet/Rescol Report was a two-year online research project from 1996 to 1998 that dealt with the contribution of new information technologies to learning and teaching in elementary and secondary schools and universities. The search was exhausted an included articles, reports, papers and books meeting the criteria for scholarly publications. The report found the following seven dominant trends in the use of technology in classrooms.

Trend 1: Higher Levels of control by learners are called for as classrooms are getting more online.

Trend 2: Learning situations become more realistic and authentic as classrooms are getting online.

Trend 3: Online resources boost student interest and motivation in the classroom through a greater diversity of learning goals, projects and outcomes.

Trend 4: The successful online classroom combines information technology with appropriate pedagogy.

Trend 5: The classroom is extended to online learning communities with the potential to support or even challenge locally-established curriculum.

Trend 6: The education is broadened to include just-it-time and/or collaborative learning.

Trend 7: Educators use online learning as a driving element of educational reform.

4.3.6 Lehrer HyperAuthor Study

Lehrer describes the results of a hypermedia construction tool called HyperAuthor that was used by eighth-graders to design their own lessons about the American Civil War. This study exemplifies the principle that: "Cognitive tools empower learners to design their own representations of knowledge rather than absorbing knowledge representations preconceived by others." According to Lehrer, students should be engaged in "HyperComposition" by designing their own hypermedia because knowledge is a process of design and not something to be transmitted from teacher to student.

HyperComposition" requires learners to transform information into dimensional representations, determine what is important and what is not, segment information into nodes, link the information segments by semantic relationships, and decide how to represent ideas. Lehrer asserts that this is a highly motivating process because authorship results in ownership of the ideas in the presentation.

Students in the 1993 Lehrer study were both high- and low-ability eighth-graders who worked at the hypermedia construction tasks for one class period of forty-five minutes each day over a period of several months. Students in the study were high- and low-ability eighth-graders who worked at the hypermedia construction tasks for one class period of forty-five minutes each day over a period of several months. The students worked in a media center of the school's library where they had access to a color Macintosh computer, scanner, sound digitizer, HyperAuthor software, and numerous print and non-print resources about the Civil War. An instructor was also available to coach students in the conceptualization, design, and production of the hypermedia programs. Students created Programs reflecting their unique interests and individual differences such as hypermedia about the role of women in the Civil War, the perspectives of slaves toward the war, and "not-so-famous people" from that period.

According to Lehrer, "The most striking finding was the degree of student involvement and engagement." Both high- and low-ability students became very task oriented, increasingly so as they gained more autonomy and confidence with the cognitive tools. A year later, when students in the design and control groups were interviewed by an independent interviewer unconnected with the previous year's work, important differences were found. Students in the control group could recall almost nothing about the historical content, whereas students in the design group displayed elaborate concepts and ideas that they had extended to other areas of history. Although students in the control group defined history as the record of the facts of the past, students in the design class defined history as a process of interpreting the past from different perspectives. In other words, the hypermedia "design approach lead to knowledge that was richer, better connected, and more applicable to subsequent learning and events."

4.3.7 The Highly Interactive Computing Environments (HI-CE) Group

The Highly Interactive Computing Environments (HI-CE) Group at the University of Michigan has developed a multimedia composition tool called MediaText. This group believes that learners should use media to generate their own instruction to learn more about content rather than using media to deliver instruction to learners. The HI-CE group has studied high school students creating MediaText stories, biographies, or instructional aids, as well as multimedia essays. Research results in 1993 and 1994 found that students have learned to use techniques such as mentioning, directives, titling, and juxtaposition in their documents. They have found that as students' experiences with MediaText increase, their documents become more integrated rather than merely annotated text. Students have been very enthusiastic about being "constructionists" believing that they are learning more because they understand the ideas better.