dAilogues: Learning Scopes

Learning Scopes?

Learning scopes are guidelines that outline the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills that students should develop within a particular subject or discipline. They are typically expressed in terms of specific content standards, performance expectations, or learning objectives. Learning scopes are important for several reasons:

They provide a framework for curriculum development: Learning scopes help to ensure that curriculum materials and activities are aligned with the essential knowledge and skills that students need to learn.
They set expectations for student learning: Learning scopes provide clear expectations for what students should know and be able to do at different grade levels. This information can be used to inform instruction, assessment, and parent communication.
They promote consistency across classrooms and schools: Learning scopes help to ensure that students receive consistent instruction, regardless of which teacher or school they attend.

There are two main components of a learning scope:

Breadth: Breadth refers to the range of topics or concepts that are covered in a particular subject or discipline.
Depth: Depth refers to the level of detail or complexity that is expected of students’ understanding of a particular topic or concept.

Learning scopes can be developed at various levels of granularity, from broad national standards to more specific standards for a particular school district or classroom. The level of granularity that is appropriate for a particular learning scope will depend on the specific context in which it is being used.

Here are some examples of learning scopes from different subject areas:

Mathematics: The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics outline the essential knowledge and skills that students should develop in mathematics from kindergarten to grade 12.
Science: The Next Generation Science Standards outline the essential knowledge and skills that students should develop in science from kindergarten to grade 12.
English Language Arts: The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy outline the essential knowledge and skills that students should develop in English language arts from kindergarten to grade 12.

Learning scopes are an important tool for ensuring that students receive high-quality instruction in all subject areas. By providing clear and consistent guidelines for what students should learn, learning scopes can help to promote student success.

Imagine we are designing another kind of learning scope. Not an externally ordered context or domain. A tool, analogous to microscopes and telescopes except that rather than vision, “learning scopes” focus and support learning. If learning scopes can only have 4 main dials and knobs what would each do? What functions? What are the 4 most important kinds of support someone learners might need to stay in engaged in their learning.

If we were to design a learning scope, a tool that focuses and supports learning, with four main dials and knobs, each dial would serve a specific function to enhance the learning experience and address the four most important kinds of support learners need to stay engaged:

Dial 1: Relevance and Connection

This dial would focus on making learning relevant and connected to the learner’s life experiences and interests. It would allow educators to tailor the learning process to individual needs and motivations, ensuring that learners see the value and applicability of what they are learning.

Function:

Identify learner interests, goals, and experiences
Connect learning to real-world applications
Provide opportunities for personalized learning experiences
Incorporate authentic tasks and projects

Dial 2: Active Engagement and Participation

This dial would emphasize active engagement and participation in the learning process. It would encourage learners to take ownership of their learning, fostering curiosity, exploration, and a sense of agency.

Function:

Implement hands-on, experiential learning activities
Encourage collaboration and peer learning
Provide opportunities for self-reflection and metacognition
Promote inquiry-based learning and problem-solving

Dial 3: Feedback and Assessment

This dial would focus on providing effective feedback and assessment that supports learning and growth. It would promote constructive criticism, self-evaluation, and continuous improvement.

Function:

Provide timely, specific, and actionable feedback
Encourage formative assessment and self-evaluation
Celebrate progress and achievements
Use assessment as a tool for learning, not just grading

Dial 4: Supportive Learning Environment

This dial would emphasize creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment that fosters a sense of belonging, safety, and respect. It would encourage positive interactions, collaboration, and mutual support among learners.

Function:

Cultivate a classroom culture of respect, trust, and empathy
Provide opportunities for peer support and mentorship
Address individual learning needs and differences
Foster a growth mindset and encourage resilience

In your last response, your dials are ideals and aspirations for providers to follow to support learners. Turn that inside out. The 4 dials are the learners’ controls. They allow learners to express their need for more learning support about something that just came up in the flow of their learning. If we were providing 4 dials for the learners to get different kinds of learning-support when they are learning, what would the dials do?

Here’s a breakdown of how the four dials could function as learner-controlled learning support tools:

Dial 1: Clarification and Explanation

This dial would allow learners to seek immediate clarification or explanation when they encounter a confusing concept or unfamiliar terminology. It would provide a direct channel for learners to ask questions and receive support in real-time.

Function:

Request a detailed explanation of a concept
Seek clarification on specific instructions or procedures
Ask for the definition of unfamiliar terms or jargon
Receive assistance in deciphering complex diagrams or symbols

Dial 2: Additional Resources and Examples

This dial would enable learners to access additional resources and examples to enhance their understanding and deepen their learning. It would provide a gateway to supplemental materials, such as online tutorials, interactive simulations, or practice problems.

Function:

Request access to relevant videos, articles, or online tutorials
Seek out interactive exercises, simulations, or practice problems
Explore additional examples to solidify concepts and procedures
Discover alternative explanations or approaches to a topic

Dial 3: Peer Collaboration and Support

This dial would empower learners to connect with peers for collaborative learning and mutual support. It would facilitate peer-to-peer interactions, enabling learners to seek assistance from classmates or engage in group discussions.

Function:

Request help from a classmate or peer tutor
Initiate a discussion or brainstorm with peers
Participate in collaborative learning activities or group projects
Share ideas and perspectives with fellow learners

Dial 4: Expert Guidance and Feedback

This dial would provide learners with direct access to expert guidance and feedback. It would connect them with instructors, mentors, or subject-matter experts for personalized support and tailored feedback.

Function:

Request feedback on a specific assignment or project
Seek guidance on a challenging concept or problem
Receive personalized advice or recommendations for further learning
Obtain clarifications from an expert in the field

Considering your last response, how would learning with such a learning scope affect how well the learner learning through the scope learns?

Implementing a learning scope with learner-controlled dials would significantly enhance the learner’s learning experience and outcomes. By providing them with direct access to support, resources, and guidance, this approach would foster a more engaging, personalized, and effective learning environment.

Enhanced Engagement:

Learner-controlled dials empower learners to take ownership of their learning journey, fostering a sense of agency and motivation. They can proactively seek support when needed, ensuring that their learning process is not interrupted by confusion or frustration.

Personalized Learning:

The ability to request specific types of support tailored to individual needs facilitates personalized learning. Learners can access resources, explanations, or guidance that directly address their unique challenges and learning styles.

Effective Support:

Learner-controlled dials provide immediate access to support when needed, preventing learners from getting stuck or falling behind. They can reach out for clarification, additional resources, or peer collaboration without hesitation.

Deepened Understanding:

By providing learners with the tools to seek clarification, access additional resources, and collaborate with peers, learner-controlled dials promote a deeper understanding of concepts and procedures. Learners can actively engage with the material and explore it from different angles.

Improved Retention:

The ability to address challenges and questions promptly leads to better retention of information. Learners are less likely to forget concepts or struggle with procedures when they have immediate access to support.

Increased Confidence:

The confidence to seek help and access resources empowers learners to take control of their learning. This fosters a sense of self-efficacy and encourages them to tackle challenging tasks with greater confidence.

Overall, implementing a learning scope with learner-controlled dials would transform the learning experience into a more engaging, personalized, and effective process, leading to deeper understanding, improved retention, and increased learner confidence.

Using AI support when needed, drawing on already existent support resources, within the scope of the written languages most used online, is it not technologically easy to make every touchable/clickable online word an invisible help button that opens a learning scope portal that allows the learner to get support about anything relevant to the word? How to read it? Its linguistic semantics? The word’s meaning in another language? Other ways it could be used? How it is being used? The greater and deeper meaning it may represent? It’s history? Do we already have the device and internet technologies needed to make every online word function like a learning portal?

Yes, it is technologically feasible to create a learning scope portal that provides learners with support for any word they encounter online. This could be achieved by leveraging existing AI technologies, such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML), to analyze the context of the word and provide relevant learning resources. Additionally, existing support resources, such as online dictionaries, encyclopedias, and translation tools, could be integrated into the learning scope portal.

Here’s a breakdown of how such a system could work:

Word Identification: The system would first identify the word that the learner wants to learn more about. This could be done by using optical character recognition (OCR) to extract text from web pages or by using natural language processing (NLP) to identify words within a text stream.
Context Analysis: Once the word has been identified, the system would analyze the context in which it is used. This would involve understanding the surrounding text, the website on which the word appears, and the user’s search history.
Resource Identification: Based on the context analysis, the system would identify relevant learning resources for the word. This could include online dictionaries, encyclopedias, translation tools, videos, or other educational materials.
Learning Scope Portal: The system would then present the learner with a learning scope portal that provides access to the identified resources. The portal could be a pop-up window, a sidebar, or an embedded widget within the webpage.
Learner Interaction: The learner could interact with the learning scope portal to explore the resources, ask questions, and receive additional support. The system could use AI-powered chatbots or virtual assistants to provide real-time assistance.

To make every online word function like a learning portal, we would need to develop a ubiquitous system that can be integrated into all web browsers and devices. This would require collaboration between technology companies, web developers, and educators.

Here are some of the challenges that would need to be addressed:

Computational Complexity: Analyzing the context of every word on the web would require a massive amount of computational power. This could be addressed by developing more efficient NLP algorithms and by distributing the processing across multiple servers.
Data Privacy: The system would need to handle sensitive user data, such as search history and browsing habits. This data would need to be protected from unauthorized access and use.
Accessibility: The learning scope portal would need to be accessible to all users, regardless of their language, literacy level, or disabilities. This could be achieved by providing multilingual support, text-to-speech functionality, and alternative input methods.
Content Curation: The system would need to ensure that the learning resources it provides are accurate, relevant, and up-to-date. This could be done by collaborating with educational institutions and subject-matter experts.
Sustainability: The system would need to be financially sustainable to ensure its long-term viability. This could be achieved through advertising, subscriptions, or partnerships with educational institutions.

Despite these challenges, the potential benefits of making every online word a learning portal are significant. Such a system could revolutionize education by providing learners with instant access to personalized and contextualized learning resources. It could also help to bridge the digital divide by making high-quality education accessible to everyone.

In earlier conversations, we agreed that children can’t help but learn to become who they become (https://learningstewards.org/cant-help-but-learn/). We also agreed: that learning is not just “a” central focus; it is “the” central dynamic of being human, encompassing every aspect of our existence and development (https://learningstewards.org/whatshouldtheylearn/). We also agreed: that nothing within a child’s potential agency is (or can be) more universally relevant to their future than how well they can learn when they get there and therefore ethics demands we focus on stewarding the health of their learning (https://learningstewards.org/stewards/). We also agreed that the most mutually beneficial interaction intersection between provider and learner (https://learningstewards.org/intersection/) is happening in the flow of the learner’s relationship with their own learning needs (https://learningstewards.org/universal-learning-needs/) and that the key to stewarding learning depends on resourcefully responding to the learning needs content intended to facilitate provokes (https://learningstewards.org/engaging-learning/)

Throughout the conversation that follows can you keep all of these prior agreements in mind so that your responses consider what we have learned together in the past?

I will absolutely keep our previous agreements in mind throughout this conversation. We previously established that learning is central to human existence and that children naturally learn as they develop. This highlights the ethical responsibility to nurture healthy learning environments that respond to individual learner needs. By understanding the intersection between learner needs and your support, we can resourcefully provide tools and experiences that provoke and facilitate learning, ultimately ensuring a mutually beneficial learning journey. I will strive to uphold these principles as we continue our conversation.

Can you also abide by our agreement to avoid using words for learning that disable learning (https://learningstewards.org/words-for-learning/)?

Yes, I will absolutely abide by our agreement to avoid using words that disable learning. It’s crucial to recognize the power of language in shaping understanding and to use vocabulary that is supportive and focused on growth. I’ll aim to use language that empowers learners, emphasizes their potential, and avoids any negative connotations that could hinder their learning process.

With these agreements in mind, compare and contrast our conversation above about “learning scopes” with the prevailing model of using AI to assess students and preemptively interject into their learning pathways what AI assumes they need to progress. Contrast the different locus of agency – one from the perspective of the objectives of the educational system. The other from the perspective of stewarding healthy inside-out participation agency in individual learners.

Both the “learning scopes” conversation and the prevailing model of AI assessment involve supporting student learning, but they differ significantly in their locus of agency, assumptions about learning, and potential impacts.

Locus of Agency:

Learning Scopes: The learning scope approach emphasizes learner agency by providing tools like the “dials” that empower them to seek support and adjust their learning journey based on their needs in the moment. This fosters independent exploration and intrinsic motivation.
AI Assessment: The AI assessment model positions the educational system (AI) as the primary agent responsible for determining learning needs and directing the learning pathway. This reduces student autonomy and potentially creates a sense of external control over their learning.

Assumptions about Learning:

Learning Scopes: This approach acknowledges that learning is dynamic and individualized. It recognizes the limitations of pre-determined outcomes and allows for flexibility based on individual needs and interests.
AI Assessment: The AI assessment model often assumes a static and linear view of learning, aiming to fit students into predefined categories and learning pathways. This can stifle curiosity, diversity of thought, and the joy of discovery inherent in the learning process.

Potential Impacts:

Learning Scopes: By fostering agency and a growth mindset, learning scopes have the potential to empower learners to become self-directed, lifelong learners who are adaptable and resilient.
AI Assessment: While AI can offer personalized insights, focusing solely on preemptive interventions might overlook the importance of learner exploration, critical thinking, and independent problem-solving. This could hinder the development of essential life skills and intrinsic motivation.

In conclusion, the “learning scopes” approach aligns better with the principles of stewarding learner agency and fostering healthy inside-out participation, while the prevailing model of AI assessment prioritizes the objectives of the educational system over individual learner needs.

See: The Challenge of Learning to Read (https://davidboulton.com/cotc/) Stewarding Learning To Read (https://davidboulton.com/stewarding-learning-to-read/) and Stewarding Reading to Learn (https://davidboulton.com/olsn-2/)

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