Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
A RETROSPECTIVE OF TWO DECADES’ INSTRUCTIONAL
STRATEGIES USING METACOGNITIVE AND HUMAN
CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVES ON STUDENTCENTRIC LEARNING (SCL) PROCESSES
Wong Teck Foo
INTI College Sarawak, Malaysia ([email protected])
ABSTRACT
Due to the democratization of education and the proliferation of tertiary learning establishments in recent
decades, a great diversity of classroom situation, multi-dimensional instructional delivery, authentic assessment
and student-centered learning (SCL) approaches have become more popular compared to classical instructional
techniques and teacher-centered approaches. This paper will explore and narratively present the deliberation of
retrospective analysis and critical review based on nearly twenty action research papers related to teaching,
learning and training [which are co-authored and published in various conferences, journals, seminars, symposia
or books during] over the past two decades (1991 to 2011). The review seeks to discuss the relevant causal
aspects of the theory of knowledge, the mental representation of concepts, metacognitive structures, the role of
theory-practice interplay, personal innate characteristics, environmental impacts on learning processes, the role
of virtual e-learning technological tools, and the design of adaptive closed-loop learning (ACLL) techniques in
the quest to achieve effective student-centric learning (SCL) educative goals and motivated instructional
aspects.
KEYWORDS
Adaptive close-loop learning (ACLL), constructivism, learning space, metacognition awareness, student-centric
learning (SCL)
1.0
INTRODUCTION: A GLIMPSE OF THE THEORY OF EDUCATING
Fundamentally, the dynamic of societal development and the progression of affluent society
(alternatively, known as the information-era or K-economy society), is loosely-coupled to an
indication of how far and to what extent intended educational outcomes have been attained by
individuals or institutional entities. The outcomes encompass the integral attainment of a
body of knowledge, specific technical and transferable skills, and sound attitude, whether it is
at the level of the individual human being, business unit, institution, or society as a whole.
According to Gowin and Alvarez (2005), knowledge has a structure of parts and relations
between the parts. An educational outcome or structure of knowledge for a focused
object/event can be explained by using proposition links on the inter-relationships among the
related concepts via the V-heuristic epistemological stance, which will be discussed in
Section 3.3. Gowin and Alvarez (2005) went on to state that having knowledge about
knowledge gives us a powerful way to regulate our learning about learning. Learning in
relation to the achievement of educational outcomes in parsimony terms, includes four main
milieus/ dimensions/ elements, namely: product of learning, process of learning, psychology
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INTI International University, Malaysia
of learning, and experience of learning. Based on these multi-dimensional aspects, Novak
(1977) in his book “A Theory of Education” states:
“ While there are many defintions of learning, all include the idea that learning
is a change in the behavior of an organism resulting from previous experience.
The study of learning therefore, crosses many disciplinary boundaries including
biology. psychology, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, education, and
cybernetics.” (p64)
Educating aims to produce graduates who are of high creditability, good character, and
competent in their respective field of specialization. It is a social practice that takes into
consideration both formal and out-of-school experiences (Gowin and Alvarez, 2005), via
both overt curriculum and hidden curriculum, respectively. Gowin and Alvarez (2005)
assert:
educating becomes possible when it is viewed as a social event of shared
meaning between individuals..... As educative events come increasingly under
the control of individuals, educating becomes self-educating (p3)..... Learners
need to be able relate their trusted background knowledge and experience to
risk new information or a new situation (p17) .... educating changes the
meaning of experience but new meanings work to stabilize further changes in
experience (p20)
As meanings are exchanged interactively among learners in the learning process, educating
for achieving meaningful learning is constructivism. In other words, knowledge is not a static
entity, but involves the evolutionary epistemological stance within a particiular contextual
social framework. As such, the author would like to define knowledge as follows:
Knowledge is omnipresent and it exists indefinitely. It appears to oneself
idiosyncratically when in need to understand, explain and describe a particular
event, object or matter. It is stored as the individual’s mental representation;
ready to be reused, modified, restructured,or shared with others. It is
evolutionary, expands over time, and links to a more complex situation or
relational world system.
This paper will cover the reflective interpretations, deliberations and implications of the past
two-decades’ research and development outcomes related to the scope of instructional
strategies, rationales and purposes of interventions in implementating the student-centric
learning (SCL) system in tertiary education institutions.
2.0
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Worldviews and Trends of Teaching-Learning Principles
Multifaceted factors and field forces affect all educative events. These include individual
differences, prior experience, social norms, cultural diversities, gender gaps, innate
personalities, preferred learning styles, orientation to learning, and contextual-environmental
aspects. How teachers teach is dependent on the theories and the theoretical constructs of
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INTI International University, Malaysia
teaching that they hold, consciously or unconsciously (Bajunid 2001). As elaborated in the
‘Introduction’ section, the understanding of the teaching-learning process involves
multifaceted ideologies and different perspectives. As teaching is an art as well as a science,
according to Bajunid, education has a dual nature, for it can be studied scientifically, and it
can be also studied speculatively.
One cannot study the effectiveness of teaching discretely without engaging the knowledge of
those aspects and factors that influence how learning takes place. In order to create effective
learning episodes, inevitably we ought to link the five essential elements of educating:
namely, teaching, learning, curriculum, governance, and societal environment (Gowin and
Alvarez, 2005, p9). We ought to create effective teaching methods, appropriate and relevant
curriculum structures, quality consensus educational management, and understand how
physical environmental factors affect teaching-learning relationships. Gross (1991) and Wick
& Leon (1993) state that when formulating a theory of teaching based upon a theory of
learning, we must take into consideration how the learning of the learner takes place and how
the teachers help in the learning process through the teaching.
As such, effort to assess learner needs is crucial for the design and development of effective
instructional practices. In the pursuit of assessing learner needs, the instructor ought to
recognize and identify three interactive dimensions involved in any teaching-learning
episode: feeling (affection or emotion), action (psychomotor overt behaviour), and thinking
(mental and meta-cognition), simply denoted as the “FAT” concept. For educating to occur,
Gowin and Alvarez (2005) asserted that:
“we work together to achieve meaning through the interaction of thinking,
feeling and acting.....(p10) Teachers can help students in making connections
between thinking and feeling that leads them to act on these feelings and
thoughts in their problem solving and decision making.” (p17)
When teaching is seen as a science, there is an attempt to confront theories that underlie
approaches, methods, and techniques, and thereby develop professional foundations for the
improvement of teaching in substantial ways. Such influences and theories relate to the goals
of education, how learning take place, the traits and motivations of learners, why and how
results are assessed, learner-teacher relationships, the experiences and professional lifestyles,
and life experiences of teachers (Mager, 1995). In regard to the successful educative process,
Wong (2011) cited:
‘The indicator of effectiveness of teaching-learning is the degree of alignment
or congruence of competency between the source domain (teacher’s
understanding) and target domain (individual’s understanding)......
effectiveness in this educating context represents how much and how well the
individual’s mental representation is mapped with the intended subject matter
delivered by the teacher. This transformed learning domain (intended
understanding) forms an idiosyncratic coherent cognitive structure.’(p115)
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2.2 Constructivisim and Meaningful Learning
Constructivism is the theory which states that knowledge cannot exist outside the mind of the
students, but it is built in the mind based on real experience. Vygotsky suggested that all
higher mental functions originate as a direct result of interactions between and among
individuals. In other words, learning takes place on an interpsychological plane (between
people) before it becomes internalized on a personal, intrapsychological plane (within the
individual) (Wertsch, 1991, p263). This claim is supported by Belenky et al., (1986: 137)
who said that ‘All knowledge is constructed, and the knower is an intimate part of the
known’. In other words, acquisition of knowledge (conceptualization) occurs
idiosyncratically by the individual, within his/her own mind, through shared meanings of a
body of knowledge, via social construction and deconstruction activities, and interactively
through dialogical processes among community members, who come to interact among
themselves and the world systems.
The primary goal of education or teaching practice in specific, is to modify learners’
behaviour towards greater maturity in apprehending and comprehending a particular field of
study or body of knowledge. This involves conceptual changes in the individual via the
processes of assimilation, accommodation, and divergent and convergent thinking. Anderson
and Smith (1987) describe the knowledge base for conceptual change teaching as three-fold:
understanding of the subject matter, knowledge of the students’ views about key conceptions,
and knowledge of appropriate instructional strategies. Correspondingly, this claim is similar
to the research synthesis of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) pioneered by Shulman
(1986), which includes: subject matter knowledge, knowledge of context, and pedagogical
knowledge. Immanuel Kant, in the Critique of Pure Reason quoted ‘Thought without contents
are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind’. In short, the challenge for effective teachers
is to apply appropriate and relevant instructional strategies to bring about the acquisition of
precise conceptual understanding in order to achieve meaningful, deep and quality learning
among diverse groups of multiple-intelligent learner environments. Wong (2009) termed this
mode of learning as adaptive closed-loop learning (ACLL). To reach this stage of
recognizing the ACLL as a meaningful, quality and effective learning, the author has
undergone the journey of action researches, which encompass the understanding of
andragogical aspects; reliability of test design (Wong 2003); fairness of assessment (Wong
2008); practical knowledge (e.g., Handal and Lauvas 1987; Wong and Zurida 2002);
visualization learning tools using concept mapping (Wong and Lee 2007), virtual e-lab
simulation-based software (Wong 2001); guided inquiry with analogies and metaphor (Wong
2011), and V-heuristic diagramming, which depicts the role of theory-practice interplay
(Wong, 2006a). They are discussed in Section 3.
3.0
RETROSPECTIVE ON PUBLICATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1
Interactive and Integrative Teaching-Learning Principles: The Role of TheoryPractice
Teaching and learning activities occur in an interactive and integrative manner. During his
early action research works, Wong (1993) created an interactive learning model named the
‘HOPE’ (Hear - Observe – Practice – Edify) Teaching-Learning Model. This model was
discovered before the author knew about the Kolb Experiential Learning Model, Honey &
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Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
Mumford Learning Model and Felder-Silverman Inventory Learning Style Model. When
this HOPE Model was analysed together with all these models, a new combined hybrid T-L
structure resulted, as depicted in Figure 1. From this diagram, we realized that learning
involves a continuous interplay of theory-practice episodes. Such learning properties
support the merging realm of education and training; and according to Cheah and Wong
(2007), education and training are complementary as well as supplementary. The
convergence and divergence thinking processes are interchangeable in this process-based
perspective.
Figure 1 Association of HOPE Student-Centred Closed-Loop Learning Model with the Kolb-Learning Model,
Honey & Mumford Learning Model and Felder-Silverman Inventory Learning Style Model
3.2
‘Start-at the Middle’ (SAM) Instructional Strategy
Referring to Figure 1, instructional strategy research in the past two decades reveals that
learning is a universal ‘theory-practice’ interplay and a cyclic process chain. It is a two-way
deductive-inductive directional learning model. It interlocks the ‘Mind-Heart-Body’ domain
which can be viewed as the ‘Reflective-Experiential-Action-Learning’ (REAL) cycle. The
author argues that there is no specific starting point for teaching. There is no dictated rule
stating that learning has to begin with either deductive or inductive thinking, clockwise or
anti-clockwise direction. Instead, learning may start at any juncture of the learning stations.
Eventually, we realized that learning occurs in duplex mode. This realization was discussed
in the ‘Chicken and Egg” discourse by Wong (2006a) known as the ‘Start-at the Middle’
(SAM) instructional strategy.
3.3
The V-Heuristic Diagram
The V-heuristic diagram emphasizes the interchanging dynamic role of theory and practice as
shown in Figure 2. The V-heuristic epistemological stance is an adaptive close-loop
meaningful learning strategic tool. The left-hand side comprises critical ‘thinking’
dimensions (including philosophy, theory, and principle/conceptual systems), while the righthand side consists of the ‘doing’ dimension, which involves experiment, recording and data
transformation of an event or object, that eventually leads to knowledge and value claims.
The content in this diagram is an example of the instructional journey to understand how an
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electronic amplifier works with the focus question to analyze the electrical characteristics and
physical behavior of this device.
Conceptual
Methodological
Focus Question
World View:
Op-Amp is the most versatile electronic block
that forms many useful application circuits.
Philosophy:
Ideal Op-amp possesses a ‘virtual’ earth property.
This may be called the Principle of Insignificance
Input difference (PIID). However, a practical OpAmp possesses imperfect balance conditions.
To investigate how imperfection
at the input terminals of
Op-Amp affects its output
characteristics
Principles:
(i) Op-amp has a very high open-loop gain, typically 105..
(ii) Practical Op-Amp possesses error offsets due to
imperfect balance in the Differential Amplifier design.
(iii) Open-loop Op-Amp circuits become saturate if their
output voltage exceeds the power supply rail values.
- What do I understand about Op Amp imperfection?
- What are the typical values for input offset?
Parameters and maximum input differences?
- What is the possible open loop gain?
- What are the typical output voltages when saturation
occurs? And what is the phase relationship between
input and output for different circuit configurations?
- What is the limitation of the theoretical linear gain?
equation?
- Have I learn the potential divider rule concept?
- Why do I need to choose suitable resistor values?
- What are the important lab skills that I had realized?
- What caused the discrepancies between the
theoretical and actual readings?
Transformations:
Based on the data collected and referring to the data sheet
information on typical open-loop gain and error parameters,
calculate and estimate the potential input offset errors, the
possible range of maximum allowable input voltage difference to
avoid saturation.
Concepts:
(i) The Op-Amp output will be saturated when both input
terminals are grounded together.
(ii) Open-loop Op-Amp is sensitive to input voltage
difference (Vd).
(iii) The phase relationship between input and output
depends on the feeding polarity and strength of
the input signal.
Knowledge/ Values Claims:
Records of Events or Objects:
Record the resistor values, output voltages, power supply, and the
potentiometer readings. Record new input and the corresponding
output voltages when the input resistor network is replaced by a higher
or lower value. Useful tables should be generated.
Event/ Objects:
Observe circuitry connections (signal source, types of meter,
layout pad configurations, power supply features etc) and
component values suggested by the lab instructor.
Figure 2. V- Heuristic Diagram Showing Epistemological Elements that are Involved in the Investigation of the
Amplifier Saturation Concept [Adopted from Wong, 2009].
3.4
Impact of the Learning Process, Learning Orientation, Learning Styles, and
Contextual-Situational Aspects to Instructional Design and Strategies
McLoughlin (1999) asserted that the learning-centered approach can be identified as a
distinct stream of style based research that differs from the psychological orientation of
cognitive-perceptual research. According to Riding and Rayner (1998), this approach has
been motivated by educationists addressing the diversity of environments in which learning
takes place, and driven by process-based concerns relating to meeting individual differences
and learning needs. The focus has shifted from concentrating on the constructs of intelligence
and processing of information to an increased interest in learners’ active response to the
learning task and to the learning environment. The learning-centered tradition has grown out
of process-based models of learning such as:
 The learning process as a form of experiential learning (Kolb 1984)
 Learners’ orientations to learning (Entwistle 1981; Biggs, 1979)
 Cognitive skills and strategy development (Kneef & Monk, 1986).
3.4.1 Context - Situational Factors and Gender Differences on Preferred Learning Style
Kember and Wong (2000), in their research on the evaluation of teaching, asserted that
students’ conception of learning could bias their rating of teaching, and this phenomenon
could discourage innovation in teaching. What teaching orientation or approaches will the
teacher take to meet the students’ learning needs and styles? What delights students and
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motivates them to learn? Motivation is a critical quest in the pursuit of an effective teachinglearning process. There are three principal types of motivation in schooling: ego
enhancement, aversive, and cognitive drive (Elton, 1988). By identifying and recognizing the
needs for learners, we can devise appropriate motivation and drives that develop interest for
learners to achieve both societal and individual educating goals. Also, what ‘Approach-toStudy’ techniques are there for learners which will enable them to adapt and achieve desired
learning goals? A research conclusion made by Laurillard (1979) states that student study
strategies are context-dependent rather than student-dependent, i.e., students choose strategies
appropriate to the particular situation in which their learning takes place. Since this context is
governed largely by their teachers, we realise here that teachers can exert a considerable
influence on the motivation and approach which students take to their learning. This will, in
turn, affect their achievement. In his thesis, Wong (2006 b & c) studied the quality of the
learning process among prospective and practicing engineers based on the Personal Learning
Domain (PLD) conceptual framework, encompassing both personal preferential inherent
characteristics as well as contextual- environmental factors. The PLD model used a
combination of the modified Felder-Solomon Inventory of Learning Style, that consists of
four dichotomies: sensing-intuitive (SI), active-reflective (AR), verbal-visual (VV) and
sequential-global (SG), and the Biggs Approach-to-Learning Inventory, that consists of the
four dimensions: surface-motive (SM), surface-strategy (SS), deep-motive (DM) and deepstrategy (DS). This research framework derives from the collective considerations of
cognitive psychology, information processing, orientation to learning, conception of learning,
and learning taxonomies. His summarised findings revealed that the preferred learning styles
– AR and SI dichotomies-- are dependent on contextual situations, while the- VV and SG are
specifically inclined to different genders.
3.4.2 Merging the Realm of Education and Training Functions: Bringing Real World
Problems into Classrooms
The dynamic socio-economic changes and borderless cross-cultural shifts are part of the
influence of globalization, liberalization, technological advancement, and the
internationalization of education. These factors shape the education systems worldwide
continuously. One of the inevitable challenges faced by tertiary educationists, as well as
relevant policy makers, is to produce graduates who are employable and can fit easily into the
work requirements on the shortest learning curve. This challenge is not a contemporary issue
but is an age-old issue, quoted by Dewey (1933) many decades ago:
“Pupils are taught to live in two separate words, one the world of out-of-school
experience, the other the world of books and lessons. Then we stupidly wonder
why what is studied in school counts so little outside.”
This mismatch of teaching-learning issues was report by Felder& Silverman (1988). He said
that professors at universities adopt deductive teaching which is more verbal-oriented and
focus global outlooks in instructional practice. This choice of teaching style is totally in
contrast with the majority of student learning styles. As quoted by Duoban and Wong (2007),
such teaching-learning mismatch coupled with the curriculum gap, leads to the difficulty of
training novice engineers to pick up advanced product design skills due to the ‘I can’t see’
effect. This phenomenon is hindered, mainly because novice engineers lack implicit and tacit
knowledge before they become more familiar with the workplace contextual settings.
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It is widely acknowledged that learning is a phenomenon that is situated in its cultural context
(e.g., Brown et al. 1989; Darrah 1995; Resnick 1987), including ethnicity and first language
background (e.g., Cooper 2002). This implies that learning in a workplace environment is
very different from that in school or in a tertiary learning and training institution. One of the
main differences between learning in the educational system and learning at work is that the
former is based on formal, unintentionally planned education activities, while the latter is
mostly informal in nature (Marsick and Watkins 1990; Eraut et al. 1998). Nevertheless,
education and workplace have increasingly been linked together (Smith, 2000); for example,
the need to inject investment for the retaining and “reskilling” schemes offered by many
multinational industrial employers as reported in Penang Economic Monthly Bulletin (Vol. 7,
Issue 2, 2005:4). In an attempt to reduce such needs, innovative student-centred teachinglearning methodologies during the school-to-work (STW) transition is encouraged. Wong
(2001) found that instructional techniques using virtual e-lab, ‘role-play’ and games, multidimensional assessments, metaphor and analogies can help to minimize the gulf of this
school-work transistion competency gap.
Duoban and Wong (2007) asserted that the wave of the educational system has moved from
the classical traditional methods of the 20th century into the contemporary competency-based
or performance-based educational system in the 21st century. Many institutions are now
promoting authentic teaching practice, such as problem-based learning or industrial-based
learning curricula.
Sophocles said, “One must learn by doing things, for though you think you know it, you have
no certainty until you try”. Since learning space involves cyclic episodes of experiential
learning components in an active learning system, the author introduced the “Bringing
Industrial Experiences into Classroom” intervention. Figure 3 illustrates an example of
instructional activity for teaching a subject ‘Management in Action’ in an undergraduate
business program. It focuses on
student-centric learning using a constructivist
approach.Through this human constructivist instructional practice, students learn to value
and respect unique contributions of individual human minds, as well as the essential aspects
of a supportive social environment (Mintzes, in Mintzes (Eds.), Wandersee and Novak,
1998). The traditional teaching approach, which is teacher-centred previously, is now moving
towards the learner-centred emphasis. The learning focus is shifting further toward a lifelong
autonomy and self-directed learning orientation, with more tertiary education and training
institutions implementing Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for the life-long formal
learning process.
Figure 3. An experiential action learning of management functions based on the constructivism approach
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3.5
Instructional Strategies Using Visualization Tools
In the quest for seeking effective instructional techniques for diverse learning groups using
concept mapping, the author discovered the concept of an adaptive closed loop meaningful
learning system – the 3T Teaching-Learning Model (Wong & Lee, 2007). The 3T learning
links – Transfer, Translate and Transform; correspond to the following three domains: Source
domain (teacher schema), target domain (learner’s schema), and the understanding domain
(the intended learning outcome which is produced in the form of concept maps). In line with
the Paivio Dual-coding Theory (Claik & Pavio), this 3T Teaching-Learning Model supports
the additive effect of multi-channel presentation, which makes concepts dual coded (audio
image and pictorial image) and thus results in increased learning and retention (Paivio, 1990).
These 3T episodes also correspond to the ‘V.I.A’ cyclic learning process. The ‘VIA’ stands
for – Visualization, Internalization and Actualization.
3.5.1
Metacognitive Driven Learning With Concept Mapping
Concept maps provide a diagrammatic means to establish spatial and visual clarity in
interpreting the contents in the learners’ cognitive mind. The map serves as a visualization
tool can make complex information easier to comprehend (e.g., Larkin & Simon, 1987;
Zhang and Norman, 1994). It helps to identify errors, omissions, or misconceptions; it is also
powerful to provide an external representation of information that has analogue properties
(Hegarty & Steinoff, 1997), especially for scientific and technical subjects. In their
exploratory case study of using concept mapping as a quality learning strategy, Wong and
Lee (2007) found that the generation iY learners are more tied to visual clues; in fact, 96.15%
of the participants in the sample were found to be ‘Visual’ learners. Similar high percentages
were reported in other research (Felder & Brendt, 2005; Wong, 2006b, 2006c). In the Wong
and Lee (2007) study, the variables ‘Visual” and Concept Mode Learning (CML) were found
to be correlated at r(visual, CML) = 0.45 at p = 0.05. This indicates that the majority of visual
learners preferred CML to the traditional text-based learning (TBL). Based on the
metacognitive perspective, in this intervention, learners are given opportunities to redraw and
resubmit for reassessment with the aim of improving their skill in developing more accurate
concept maps, and motivating them toward empowered learning. Metacognition practice and
the student-centered collaborative team learning approach emphasize assessment ‘for’
learning instead ‘of’ learning. With this approach, it allows learners to do correction and
resubmit the assignment as part of a learning reinforcement strategy. It has proven to increase
the motivation of learners significantly. Figure 4 displayed one example of a student’s
concept map work in a research project by Wong and Lee (2007). Other than concept
mapping, other visualization learning tools include the use of computer-aided graphical
simulation courseware, story-telling, metaphors and analogies. Such tools can create positive
interest among diverse learners for an active learning environment.
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Figure 4. A Concept Map on Human Computer Interface Produced by an IT Undergraduate
3.5.2 Virtual e-Lab Instructional Strategy
An E-learning using virtual lab instructional technique was investigated by Wong (2001).
Many similar studies on e-learning revealed that students are highly motivated and achieve
significant conceptualization improvement when using an electronic-based virtualexperiment approach in disparate situations. The e-lab instructional process demonstrates that
the constructivist approach with visualization modality teaching results in significant success
in motivating diverse groups of multiple-intelligence learners in active learning settings.
Research studies also showed positive results in using moving graphical visualization effects,
especially for technical topics that seek to demonstrate parametric adjustment and its effects
on other phenomena or variable changes. Moving objects were more likely to be
preferentially selected and recalled then were stationary objects (e.g., Calvert, Watson,). The
simulation software can greatly arouse learners’ interest if it incorporates animation
capability, color coding, graph relationships with scalability features, (while dynamic
continuously varying graphical outputs can be simultaneously generated) when relevant
physical input parameter adjustments are made.
3.5.3
Metaphor and Analogies
Prior learning experience and knowledge contributes to the conceptual reconstruction. The
teacher helps students to become aware of what they already know and to see the importance
of making use of their prior knowledge and experience. It is incumbent on the teacher to
connect the students’ prior knowledge and work experience to the new information that is
taught by using either metaphors or analogies. Campbell (1957, p129) believes that
“analogies are an utterly essential part of theories, without which theories would be
completely valueless and unworthy of the name.” In addition, Nercessian (1992, p20)
concludes that “analogies are not ‘merely’ guides to thinking, with logical inference actually
solving the problem, but analogies themselves do the inferential work and generate the
problem solving”. Using metaphors or analogous modeling in teaching technical subjects,
Wong (2011) found in his research that students can comprehend complicated and abstract
concepts. For example, Figure 5 showed an example of using the water pipe system to
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illustrate the electrical properties of a transistor used in electronic systems. Table 1 shows the
equivalent parameters and physical diagrams of the two systems.
Table 1: Analogous parameters comparing the transistor and water piping system
Transistor
Water Piping
Wout = Win * A …… (c)
IC =  IB ………… (a)
IB = Vin*[1/RB] ……(b)
Win = P * [T] ……. (d)
Collector
IC
RC
RB
Vin
Base
IB

Emitter
T
Pressure, P
Win
Cross-sectional
Area, A
WO
Figure 5 Transistors and the Analogy Model of the Water Piping System
4.0
CONCLUDING REMARKS
As educative events come increasingly under the control of individuals, educating becomes
self-educating (Gowin and Alvarez, 2005). Ideally we need to design teaching episodes
according to individual differences if we want to maximize effectiveness and achieve our
desired educational goals. This phenemenon also implies that an ideal constructivist
education system should promote student-centered learning (SCL) instead of teachercentered learning (TCL). However, in contrast, unfortunately, our iY generation is rather IT
savvy in this information era and the internet virtual simulated world completely influences
and shapes their learning behaviour. This diverse learning behaviour in turn poses greater
challenge for instructors to design and deliver effective instructional interventions.
In reality, we cannot claim to be professional educators until we successfully accomplish the
required teaching function, assessed and judged by the learning outcomes of the intended
performance standard in which ultimately the learner is able to demonstrate motivation,
inspiration and independence, as continuous autonomous life-long learners. If students have
not learned, the teachers have not taught. The evolutionary change of instructional models
and approaches in higher education is the manifestation of the existence of these multifaceted
complexities, environmental shifts, and context-cultural factors. In general, many institutions
have moved from conventional behaviourism into cognitive and constructivist educational
settings in which learners acquire a specific body of knowledge through social interaction
processes and community-shared meanings within a particular disciplinary context.
Apart from the individual’s personality style in learning, other moderating aspects, including
prior experience, external surrounding learning environments, technological interventions,
industrialization, scientific evolution and digitization applications--all play a prominent role
in shaping the teaching-learning movements in education and training institutions.
Metacognition involves self-regulation in which learners plan and then examine success and
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correct errors in relation to their intentional learning activities (Bransford et al., 1999). With
this mindset, learners monitor their mastery of skills and their comprehension, implementing
strategies to improve their accountability of learning. In other words, for individual
development, one ought to be acquainted with the competency of ‘learning how to learn’
(metacognition awareness of ‘learning competency’). Adaptive closed-loop learning using
visualization tools, metaphors and analogies, and V-heuristic inquiry-based constructivist
teaching can enhance effective meaningful learning, as has been researched by the author in
the past two decades.
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