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Enter your email address to subscribe to the newsletter.4.2 – The LTfLL Service for Monitoring Conceptual Development (CONSPECT)
Download: LTfLL-Service-Description
Problem: In modern educational practice, lifelong learning is a mix of formal and informal opportunities, both of which emphasise development of independent self-directed learning. This is encapsulated by workplace learning environments where learning trajectories reflect interactions of learners with peers and professionals from their own domain, as well as with “clients” (e.g. patients, students, or customers). In such complex circumstances, it is sometimes difficult for learners and their tutors to discern clearly how a specific individual covers key topics and how they might apply this to “real life” issues. Hence, self-directed learning requires support, through formative feedback, but a key issue is how to gather and evaluate the evidence on which such feedback could be based.
Solution: CONSPECT is designed to provide a means by which a learner’s conceptual development can be monitored and feedback opportunities are promptly and effectively provided. CONSPECT monitors conceptual coverage of topics based on an automated analysis of textual evidence presented by learners, in comparison with others or over time, to identify shortcomings, misconceptions, and emerging learning opportunities within the learner’s zone of proximal development. It uses textual artifacts from both individuals and groups of learners, such as essays or blogs, to establish a visual model, a “conceptogramme”, of how learners relate concepts to one another. Learners are able to compare their own model with an emerging group reference model in order to identify differences, or to get feedback on where to seek advice from their tutor. This enables learners to monitor their development over time. Tutors can inspect the conceptual development of individuals and groups and use the outputs of the service to inform their interactions with learners.
Story: Marion, a learner in the Medical School is on her placement Cardiology for eight weeks. She attends a series of sessions in which she shadows her tutors, observing how they perform their tasks. In the same period, she assesses her competence in diagnosing symptoms and relating these to treatments within predefined PBL cases. This is done in a collaborative setting where she interacts with peers and tutors in online forums. She typically spends time reviewing her previous learning and researching new topics that help her to understand the workplace tasks and the PBL case. As part of her learning process, she reflects on her progressing knowledge and the lessons learnt, maintaining an online journal.
Marion launches CONSPECT, selects the topic space Cardiology and submits her knowledge evidences (from her online reflections and discussion contributions). CONSPECT displays a topic representation based on Marion’s input, showing the identified concepts and their relations. Marion compares her result with three models: that of her peer Peter, an emerging group model, and a tutor defined reference model. Finally she decides to make her model public to feed the emerging group model and to allow others to compare their representations with hers.
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