Cognitive Apprenticeship in Training for Conceptual Modeling.
Jakob Tholander, Klas Karlgren, Patric Dahlqvist, Robert Ramberg · WebNet · 1998
We take situated learning as starting point for designing a training tool for an undergraduate course on conceptual modeling for information system design. The purpose of tool is to create training scenarios that provide same kind of problems and complexity which conceptual modelers face in 'real world'. School training of conceptual modeling has mostly consisted of problems of well-structured character with ideal solutions. In this tool we want students to practice in scenarios that resemble authentic environments while receiving some support in critical phases. The design of tool is based on issues such as cognitive apprenticeship, authentic activity and language use, which have been in focus in situated learning debate [Brown, Collins & Duguid 1989.], [Ramberg & Karlgren 1998]. Authentic activities as defined by Brown refer to the ordinary practices of culture [Brown, Collins & Duguid 1989]. Our goal with this research is to evaluate how cognitive apprenticeship learning model can be used to create complex and some what realistic exercise scenarios to facilitate training of skills needed for conceptual modelers out in 'real world'. We have used video recordings to study problem solving activities of experienced modelers. The modelers were asked to create a conceptual model corresponding to a textual domain description, while thinking aloud. In order to ensure some degree of authenticity we picked a problem domain that was unfamiliar to modelers, and also let them interact with a person acting as stakeholder and domain expert. The purpose of video recordings was not to find out general strategy used by experts to solve these kinds of problems. It was rather to gather examples of how experts could go about solving problems like this. A Scenario Environment Currently, we are building a prototype with two major components. The first component is an environment in which problem scenarios, such as financial risk handling or airline flight scheduling, are presented. In scenario environment, student can explore problem domain by reading hyperlinked documents, posing questions to simulated domain experts, and watching video clips illustrating important and problematic issues in problem domain. In scenario environment there is also a workspace where students create actual model by drawing objects, relations, and attributes, etc. In object-oriented community within system development notion of patterns has been a buzz word last couple of years, especially in object-oriented programming. Lately patterns have also become more popular in object-oriented design, by so called analysis or modeling patterns [Fowler 1997]. A goal of course is to make students create general and reusable models and one way of doing this is by using patterns. Here we view analysis patterns as a language, which students should practice to use, not as special constructs that they should memorize. Therefore we provide a pattern library from which students can pick patterns to use in workspace in their solutions. The patterns will also be accompanied by example ways of how they are used. By integrating pattern library with workspace we let student use and modify patterns from pattern library in workspace and thus increasing students' active use of patterns. Apprenticeship and Scaffolding Features The second component includes some apprenticeship features and scaffolding support by providing 'tracks' illustrating how experts proceeded in solving same problem, a pattern library, supported dialogs, and support for workspace activities. One general feature of workspace is that possible ways of modifying, adding, and removing objects, attributes, relations, etc are restricted, i.e., only a pre-specified number of new objects can be created and patterns can only be modified in certain ways. This makes it possible to keep track of where students are in modeling process and makes it more manageable to provide apprenticeship and scaffolding features. We have used video recordings in two different ways to ensure some degree of authenticity and to provide scaffolds for students' problem solving. Firstly, to be able to show learners how experts go about solving similar problems. When learners run into a problem they can be shown video clips of how experienced mo delers proceeded from point where student currently is. Secondly, we used video recordings as a point of departure in design of system in several ways. One way was to create master problem solving tracks, which students can follow if they feel they need guidance on how to solve current problem. The tracks consist of 'steps', each corresponding to different actions taken, or decisions made, by experts during problem solving. At each step student gets to model same parts as expert did at this point. When students are following a master track we can give feedback on solutions or partial solutions based on where students are currently at in track. We also use recordings to extract critical points in problem-solving process. We have seen that experts all come to some common points of insight, e.g., that some generalization should be made or that some object should be split into several. We intend to use these insights to create 'stations' that students should pass when going through a scenario. The purpose of these stations is to make it possible for students that do not follow any of tracks to still get support in critical or problematic phases.