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Interest in engaging the student during learning has been long-standing. However, student-centered learning efforts have been seriously hampered; limited understanding of how to structure such environments, concerns about the limited ability of individuals to regulate their learning, and logistical problems in accessing needed information.
With the advent of increasingly powerful and affordable technologies, learning environments of unprecedented power have emerged. These systems, open-ended learning environments (OELEs), provide electronic tools and resources with which students attempt to address authentic situated problems (Hannafin,1992). Examples of OELEs range from problems on the World-Wide Web (Shotsberger,1996) to the Jasper Woodbury mathematics (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt,1992) and from Science Vision (Tobin & Dawson,1992) problem-solving videodisc environments to anatomy CD-ROMs, such as ADAM and the Human Body (Iiyoshi & Kikue,1995). The individual determines what needs to be learned and the knowledge and skill to be pursued as well as which resources and tools will be used.
However, these systems are not without problems. A number of issues have surfaced related to learning theory, pedagogy, and technology. These issues pose significant challenges to educational leaders. In this paper, recent developments in student-centered learning environments are briefly summarized, issues in design and utilization are analyzed, and implications for teaching, learning, and technology practice are presented.
Student-Centered OELEs: A Primer
Conventional instructional approaches have been criticized for ignoring recent developments in teaching, learning, and technology (Hannafin, Hall, Land, & Hill, 1994; Kember & Murphy, 1990; Spiro, Feltovich, Jacobson, & Coulson,1991). They tacitly reflect a positivist epistemology: information and concepts are separated from the contexts in which they naturally occur, meaning exists independent of the perceiver, and attainment of externally defined learning outcomes provides evidence of acquisition. Student-centered approaches, on the other hand, are rooted in constructivist epistemology: knowledge and context are inextricably connected, meaning is uniquely determined by individuals and is experiential in nature, and the solving of authentic problems provides evidence of understanding.
OELEs support student-centered learning. They provide interactive complementary activities that enable individuals to address their unique learning interests and needs, examine content at multiple levels of complexity, and deepen understanding (Hannafin, 1992). There exist several important distinctions between open and directed learning environments. As illustrated in Table 1, OELEs establish conditions that enrich thinking and learning and...