THE PRACTICE: Multiple Learning Strategies Technology-enhanced lessons and activities should represent a variety of learning strategies that include active learning strategies, constructive learning strategies, authentic learning strategies, cooperative learning strategies, and intentional/reflective learning strategies.
Content Presented By:
NEIRTEC, Northeast & Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium

Research summary

TERC's work, in turn, is drawn from the work of David H. Jonassen, a researcher in the field of instructional technology, and a Professor of Instructional Systems at Pennsylvania State University. Jonassen is the author of "Computers as Mindtools for Schools: Engaging Critical Thinking 2nd Edition" (1999). His work is widely respected and cited as fundamental to much of what is considered "cutting edge" in the field.

Jonassen focuses on individual learner differences as an essential aspect for consideration in the learning process, and he proposes five characteristics for meaningful learning environments. Learning environments should be:

Active
Learners explore and manipulate components and parameters of the learning environment and observe the results of their activities.

Authentic
Learners examine and attempt to solve complex, ill-structured, real-world problems.

Intentional
Learners determine their own goals, which allows them to regulate and manage their own activities.

Constructive
Learners articulate what they know and have learned, and they reflect on meaning and importance of this knowledge in larger social and intellectual contexts.

Cooperative
Learners collaborate with others and socially negotiate the meanings they have constructed.

These characteristics have influenced TERC's thinking around the multiple learning strategies proposed in the GMOTT spotlight for the successful and meaningful integration of technology into the K-12 curriculum.

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