Socially Shared Cognition

Socially Shared Cognition: Analyzing Success in Technology-Based After-School Programs Haley Dixon Boise State University November 7, 2011

Socially Shared Cognition

Abstract As technology continues to become a driving force in after-school programs seeking to combine play with learning, studies are honing in on learning theories successfully utilized within the programs (Jonassen & Land, 2000). Background information regarding learning theory and its application in a technology-based learning environment are discussed, noting the successful integration of educational technology requires determining where it can have the highest payoff and then matching the design of the application with intended purpose and learning goals (Valdez, et. al, 2000). Highlighting socially shared cognitive learning theory as a route towards success for Fifth Dimension programs, KLICK! (Kids Learning In Computer Clubhouses!), MAEP (a multi-year after-school arts technology program), and after-school digital storytelling programs, various measurements of program results are explored. Studies indicate educational technology integration in an after-school setting results in success including participant increased G.P.A., and standardized test scores, literacy skills, and overall technology skills and problem solving capabilities if the program is administered with socially shared cognition in mind (2000).

Socially Shared Cognition

Socially Shared Cognition: Analyzing Success in Technology-Based After-School Programs As technology continues to become a driving force in after-school programs seeking to combine play with learning, studies are honing in on learning theories successfully utilized within the programs (Jonassen & Land, 2000). The method for measuring results of the technology implementation varies, as does the definition of results amongst different studies. Analyzing long-term effects of technology use in after-school programs provides valuable information for optimal participant learning enhancement. Although studies conducted highlighting the positive effects of technology based after-school programs, it is undetermined which measures are adequate for calculating successful application of learning theory in an afterschool program setting (Betts, 2006). Application of Socially Shared Cognitive Learning Theory Ertmer & Newby (1993) note, The way we define learning and what we believe about the way learning occurs has important implications for situations in which we want to facilitate changes in what people know and/or do (p. 50). In bridging the gap between educational technology based program and research relevant to successes/failures, relevant questions can be asked of the program, including: What are the situational and contextual constraints of the application? What is the degree of individual differences amongst the learners? What form of solutions will or will not be accepted by the learners as well as by those actually teaching the materials? (p. 51).

Socially Shared Cognition

If program administrators understand the needs of their program, and are able to identify the learning theory application necessary for success, positive results are more likely to be achieved, and goals become more reachable for both teachers and students (1993). The American Psychological Association has noted the need for social cognition research by examining decision making, prejudices, motivations, emotions, and reciprocal influences between and among small group members (Ruscher, 1997, p. 10). Although psychologists offer that in addition to cognition, participant experiences can be shared with others, and help to form identification within an educational group, the act of participating in a group helps shape the collective nature of shared understanding (Thompson & Fine, 1999). Emphasis on increasing a students ability to analyze the process between information, media message, and the audience, ultimately prepares a student for adequate literacy in the 21st Century, and is considered a prominent goal of after-school programs embracing socially shared cognition (Gainer, 2010). Digitally-based after-school activities promote expansion of opportunity through use of technology based virtual learning (Valdez, McNabb, Foertsch, Anderson, Hawkes, & Raack, 2000). The encouragement of programs sprouting from the research and analysis of technology based learning concludes that studies have progressed in their effort to provide a route for success. Aligning with the findings of KLICK! (a computer lab after-school program), research productivity stems as a result of technology based programs ability to engage a student in learning activities (Girod, Martineau, & Zhao, 2004). In review of phases noted in the implementation of technology in an educational environment, as to the direction in which educational technology programs are headed, the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

Socially Shared Cognition

generalizes, findings from technology research has been difficult because it is a rapidly moving target due to changes in technology and an educational vision (Valdez, et. al, 2000). The success or failure of technology involves seeing it as a valuable resource (Sadik, 2008). The successful integration of educational technology requires determining where it can have the highest payoff and then matching the design of the application with intended purpose and learning goals (Valdez, et. al, 2000). The failure of technology-enabled learning experiences often follows inappropriate pairing of the software design and instructional methods surrounding its use in education. The success of educational technology is more dependent on human contextual factors than on hardware and software. As has been proven through research regarding instructional technology classroom integration, educational technology is most successful in a setting where teachers have been properly trained how to maximize engaged learning with technology (2000). The cognitive approach to educational technology involves how we plan and strategize our thinking, remembering, understanding, and communicating lessons/information (Valdez, et. al, 2000, p. 3). In an after-school setting, the use of educational technology offers participants an opportunity to develop skills in logic, problem solving, and literacy. Through the participant use of fun, educational technology focused activities; learning skills taught during school hours are reinforced. The study of open-access literature available through K-12 online programs, as well as after-school technology based programs, show focus placed around student readiness/retention, placing expectations comparable to those proposed in adult distance learning studies (Cavanaugh, Barbour, & Clark, 2009). Drawing comparison between technology-based after-school programs, existing K-12 online programs, and NACOLs National Standards for Quality Online Courses, studies published by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

Socially Shared Cognition

in highlighting student expectation of learning outcome increases with long-term participation (2000). After-School Educational Technology-Based Programs The Fifth Dimension play world consists in an after school setting in which a dozen+ 614 year old students participate in activities designed to engage group collaboration to complete tasks administered through computer games (Jonassen & Land, 2000). Students share computers (2-3 children per computer), and the activity often includes sharing learned knowledge. A wizard (make-believe Internet entity) often serves as mediator between the students as well as a guide assigning activities to the group. The time a student spends in the fifth dimension varies, and interaction between students at one location and other fifth dimension sites around the world occur occasionally (2000). Sharing refers to using, receiving, and in general experiences in common with others, and is noted as a Janus-headed concept (Jonassen & Land, 2000). The term socially shared cognition is used to discuss the organization of learning within the Fifth Dimensions (educational play world), as well as the organization of collaboration amongst scholars actively researching the Fifth Dimension in an effort to enhance educational after school activities through shared game-like activities. Through combination of observation analysis and analysis of participants ability to increase performance (scores) on standardized tests, the Fifth Dimension program seeks to shed light on effective after-school educational technology-based programs (2000). The core shared concepts of global efforts to develop cognition through administration of the Fifth Dimension program included, the use of features such as computer technology, the

Socially Shared Cognition

Internet as an organizing force, the mix of play and education, the presence of undergraduates as researchers and assistants at the site, the use of maze and task cards (Jonassen & Land, 2000, p. 213). Focusing on the study of socially shared cognition in an after-school technology based program, the Fifth Dimension program offers research resulting from undergraduate observation of participants involved. Comparable to the KLICK! program, outlined in the article Afterschool computer clubhouses and at-risk teens (Girod, Martineau, & Zhao, 2004), the Fifth Dimension places the method of learning up to the participant, as various routes of gaining the same skills/knowledge are presented through a mix of technology based play and education (2000). KLICK! (Kids Learning In Computer Clubhouses!), a federally funded program, is a means for supporting positive, engaging, and innovative after-school activities for teens (Girod, Martineau, & Zhao, 2004). Advocating socially shared cognition as an attention holding method of instructional administration, the program focuses heavily on engaging teens in activities as means for reducing teen crime rates, and lowering teen drop-out statistics. The clubhouse embraces the idea that technology holds the attention of a teen, as well as an opportunity for learning outside school hours (2004). On average, KLICK! attendance across ten schools is approximately 200 students per day (Girod, Martineau, & Zhao, 2004). Students spend time at the program facility (computer clubhouse) surfing the Internet, playing games, chatting online, filming and editing digital movies for view of the other participants, building webpages, and in general, exploring computers, and use of the Internet. Much like use in the Fifth Dimension, participants are encouraged to choose their own route for finding answers via the Internet, and the idea of

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multiple correct methods for solving problems is embraced as a positive effect of socially shared cognition (Jonassen & Land, 2000). Exploring the success of a multi-year after-school arts technology program (MAEP) and its lasting effects on the students who completed five straight semesters as participants, highlights the need for long-term, continuous program participation (Betts, 2006). MAEP attempts to engage students in technology with the hope they will develop new career and critical thinking skills by recognizing socially shared cognition as well as applied cultural historical activity theory. According to Betts (2006), Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) views human consciousness as emerging from tool-mediated object-oriented activity and it emphasizes the socio-cultural aspects of learning as well as the cognitive, acknowledging the nature of the developing learner (p. 4). Digital storytelling has become a means for teachers and program administrators to enrich a students learning experience in both classroom and after-school settings (Sadik, 2008). Such programs stress the importance of teacher expertise regarding the technology used in the classroom, and target achievement through socially shared cognition. The goal of the program, to assist Egyptian teachers in teaching and learning through the use of MS Photo Story, are achieved through the illumination of digital storytelling in relation to students ability to retain information presented. Students completing group digital storytelling projects showed increased literacy abilities through demonstration. The program, following the gesture of other afterschool technology based programs, keeps students engaged and interested in education (Sadik, 2008). Study Successes/Results

Socially Shared Cognition

Success of the Fifth Dimension is commonly measured through increase in standardized test scores (Jonassen & Land, 2000). The Fifth Dimension project effects on the undergraduates are concluded as, they become adept at guiding the childrens learning while, gaining an increased appreciation of, and mastery over, basic theoretical concepts that are the core of the practicum class that places them at the sites (Jonassen & Land, 2000, p. 202). Researchers also concluded that elementary children who attended 15 or more sessions in the Fifth Dimension had improved school-district test scores in the areas of math and reading, as well as an improved ability to follow written directions, and exhibited an increase in general computer usability (2000). Overall, the children displayed improvement in problem-solving skills as a result of time spent in the Fifth Dimension, but administers of the project agreed that the core principles of the program must evolve as a living thing in order for the Fifth Dimension to remain successful. In sharing individual site successes and failures in the Fifth Dimension, researchers have developed an understanding that active reflection is the key to ensuring the project has a positive, lasting effect on the participants. In part, the success of one Fifth Dimension site shared may have the effect of moving another site in the direction of success (Jonassen & Land, 2000). Aligning with the MAEP study highlighted in Multimedia arts learning in an activity system: New literacies for at-risk children (Betts, 2006), pre-tests and post-tests administered to KLICK! participants are reviewed to determine markers of progress through longevity in the program. Participant completed pre- and post-test questionnaires help to measure changes in perceived self-efficacy and attitudes about art, technology, and learning. Both MAEP and KLICK! value the impact of widening the student view of learning, and are concerned with capturing the attention of at-risk teens. Studies analyzing the participant advantage of KLICK! ,

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correlate long-term participation in the program with elevated school G.P.A. (Girod, Martineau, & Zhao, 2004). In regards to the success of socially shared cognition use in the KLICK! program, researchers noted: Our hypothesis was that the unique, exploratory, and self-directed nature of KLICK! allowed teens that were perhaps less successful in more traditional school environments to thrive on a sense of empowerment as they learned new technology skills and applied them in ways that allowed considerable autonomy (Girod, Martineau, & Zhao, 2004). KLICK! administrators speculate the empowerment experienced by the participants, their selfesteem increases and they view school in a more positive light (2008). MAEPs pre-test, post-test method of measuring participant ability/learning curve produced scores that were analyzed using Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) (Betts, 2006). From a pedagogical standpoint, the program sought to foster skills in design, art, arts technology, literacy, arts career development, and to increase critical thinking skills through socially shared cognition. The students participating in MAEP earned a small stipend for achieving goals, acquiring skills, and completing projects. Students who complete the program are given a computer and printer for graduation, in a program effort to encourage life-long learning and skill development (2006). MAEP considers both lesson planning and review/analysis of student participation necessary for bridging the gap between program intentions, and measurable success (Betts, 2006). The success of MAEP somewhat mimics students long-term program participation in the Fifth Dimension study, in the respect that students in both programs demonstrated increased

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critical thinking awareness post participation (Jonassen & Land, 2000). It must be noted; however, that the effects of MAEP on participant graduation rates are spotty if the students did not participate long-term, stressing the need for student commitment to the program (Betts, 2006). In line with research and practice in other after-school educational technology-based programs, after-school programs promoting development of digital storytelling projects focus success of the program around engaging the participant and holding their attention long-term (Sadik, 2008). Relying heavily on open-access literature to introduce participants to learning through digital project application, student progress is tracked through increased literacy skills. Sadik notes, While digital storytelling is most often associated with the arts and humanities, research indicates that it can also be an effective strategy for learning in mathematics and science (2008, p. 489). The after-school digital storytelling programs not only arm the participants with increased literacy skills, but raise standardized test scores in all classroom subjects (including math and science) through equipping students with multi-level problem solving capabilities (2008). Conclusion As a commonly accepted definition of learning, the outcome of all after-school educational technology-based programs is supported in the representation: Learning is an enduring change in behavior or in the capacity to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice or other forms of experience (Ertmer & Newby, 1993, p. 53). Through participation in after-school educational technology-based programs, students have the chance to actively engage in choice as much as judgment in problem solving and creative activities (Valdez, et. al, 2000).

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Whether the results of an after-school educational technology-based program are measured through attendance, G.P.A. increase, standardized test scores, or more abstract results such as increased literacy skills and/or problem solving skills, it is important to note that as the administrators and teachers of such programs experience student use of technology application within the program, digital technologies may result in a shift in technology utilization (Sadik, 2008). The use of socially shared cognitive theory integrated into an after-school educational technology-based program has the potential to enhance students learning after class to the highest degree (Betts, 2006). In 2001, it was estimated that 38 percent of children in kindergarten through eighth grade participated in some sort of after-school activity at least once during the course of a week. Successful integration of play technology-based activities has the highest potential to hold a participants attention while engaging them in developing skills applicable to classroom subjects as well as real-world situations. In agreement with Betts, These skills call forth new ideas and the transmediation of those ideas in a reciprocating spiral of learning from idea to tool and back as the effects of and with technology are felt in tandem (2006, p. 5).

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References Betts, J.D. (2006). Multimedia arts learning in an activity system: New literacies for at-risk children. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 7(7). Cavanaugh, C. S., Barbour, M.K, & Clark, T. (2009). Research and practice in K-12 online learning: A review of open access literature. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(1). Ertmer, P.A., & Newby, T.J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-72. Gainer, J. (2010). Critical media literacy in middle school: Exploring the politics of representation. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(5), 364-373. Girod, M., Martineau, J., & Zhao, Y. (2004). After-school computer clubhouses and at-risk teens. American Secondary Education, 32(3), 63-76. Jonassen, D.H., Land, S.M. (2000). Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments. Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. p. 1-239. Ruscher, J., (1997). What's social about social cognition? Research on socially shared cognition in small groups. Contemporary Psychology, 42(12), 10-93. Sadik, A. (2008). Digital storytelling: A meaningful technology-integrated approach for engaged student learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 56(4), 487-506. Thompson, L., Fine, G. (1999). Socially shared cognition, affect, and behavior: A review and integration. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(4), 278-302.

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Valdez, G., McNabb, M., Foertsch, M., Anderson, M., Hawkes, M., & Raack, L. (2000). Computer-based technology and learning: Evolving uses and expectations. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. P. 1-41.