Maria Knobelsdorf, University of Dortmund, Germany - Didaktik der ...

Real-world
context
Views
of
Computing
Context
Artifacts
Technological framework;
tools and media
Classroom
context
Figure 4: When context artifacts (e. g. Greenfoot
scenarios) are developed as a vehicle for bringing
context into the classroom, they need to be designed
in such a way that they integrate not only with the
technological framework and the educational context
but also with the ‘real-world’ context and the
different perspectives on Computing.
school network infrastructure and learning management system.
Educational context. Special attention must be paid to
the educational context the artifacts are designed for, i. e.
subject-matter, learning objectives, curriculum and educational
principles like learning theories, gender and diversity
aspects etc. Often context artifacts need to be specifically
adapted to the classroom context.
Real-world application context. Moreover, in an Informatics-in-context
learning environment, context artifacts serve
as vehicles bringing the real-world context into the classroom.
They are not just learning objects but represent the
‘real world’ and translate meaning from the real-world application
context into the classroom context. Therefore they
must be designed to bear a meaning when contextualized in
or related with the real-world context.
Informatical perspective. Finally Informatics-in-context
classes are Informatics classes. Hence context artifacts must
be selected or designed on the basis of their relevance from
an informatical point of view. On the one hand curricula define
what the body of knowledge of Informatics is and what
is relevant for educational purposes. On the other hand, as
we see it, Informatics in context aims at presenting a broad
image of Informatics. Therefore the design of context artifacts
should integrate multiple views on Computing and
Informatics.
Evaluation of phase 2.
The phase-two students’ feedback proved that clarity and
project organization had improved. At the same time we
succeeded in maintaining the strengths of the project:
” Guter Themenbereich, eher ungewöhnlich für
FB Informatik“
[Good topic, quite unusual for the department of
Informatics]
” Die Veranstalter waren immer gut vorbereitet.
Die Aufgabenstellungen waren größtenteils klar
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definiert. Durch die Projektwoche war die Arbeit
nicht so einseitig.“
[The lecturers were always well prepared. The assignments
were mostly clear. The school project
offered a diversion from the other activities.]
Moreover many of the students appreciated the guidance by
the lecturers. But there were still also many critical voices:
” teilweise unübersichtliche Organisation, schwammig
gestellte Aufgaben, was zu Unklarheiten führte“
[sometimes unclear organization, vaguely formulated
assignments resulting in confusion]
Other objections were related to the composition of teams.
Some students complained about “unequal” teams and demanded
“fair group forming” for future projects. Therefore
in phase three we gave attention to roles.
3.4 Phase 3: Pre-educational stage
and educational stage
At the beginning of phase three we started to ask which
of the proposed tasks teachers can effectively assume when
preparing lessons. While in the first cycle of our project
course there were many students studying IS (14 in 21),
the students in the second course had a very diverse background,
majoring in CS, SE, IS or CSEd, so that they focused
on different aspects of the project. Students from CS,
SE and IS concentrated mostly on different aspects of decontextualization
(analysis of context and construction of
context artifacts), whereas CSEd students were interested
in the recontextualization (preparation and implementation
of teaching units).
Thus the idea to discern a pre-educational and an educational
stage seemed appropriate. The pre-educational stage
is independent from a concrete educational context though
it nevertheless assumes an educational purpose. Because of
its independence the first stage can be treated by external
experts, or educators can be supported by them in doing so,
e. g. in cooperation with universities. The educational stage
needs to be conducted by educators.
The distinction of pre-educational and educational stage
brought about another distinction. As a result from this
iteration we also distinguish between context artifacts and
teaching units. Teaching units are a class of artifacts augmented
with context artifacts. In contrast to context artifacts,
teaching units are not decontextualized from the realworld
application context but they provide plans for classroom
activities and teaching-learning situations. They can
describe a single lesson, a whole course or any meaningful
chapter of it.
Evaluation of phase 3.
In the first iterations of the project we focused on the
design of the university-level project course. Now we broadened
our scope to include the adoption of Informatics-incontext
in schools.
The context artifacts the students developed were not only
used in the school projects but also in the Informatics Profilkurs
(advanced placement course) of one of the cooperating
schools. Profiles – implemented only recently and only in
part at German secondary schools – are meant to promote
competition among schools and to encourage the formation