Teachers' Mental Models for Design of Learning

Daniel Churchill
Philip Wong
Singapore

Teachers' thinking is becoming increasingly recognized as an important factor in the context of educational reforms which emphasis new literacy for knowledge based economies. However, teachers' thinking remains to be largely unarticulated and distinct from academic debates emphasizing that the key to reforms is new models to teaching and learning, in particular, constructivism, which would permit for more facilitation on the part of a teacher, and more thinking and metacognition on the part of learners. In this presentation we present teachers' thinking in the context of design of learning and propose areas which might be obstacles to new models of teaching and learning.

Teachers-as-designers mental models' for design of learning is a phenomenon that becomes explicit in the process of design. Teachers-as-designers are not aware of their mental models as understanding of their mental models might be generated only through the process of design of learning. Mental model is based on number of theories held and brought to design situation by teachers-as-designers. Through our research into mental models of a group of teachers-as-designers, we accumulated understanding that these theories might be classified into eight major themes describing advantages of technology, disadvantages of technology, learners' characteristics, knowledge and learning, roles of facilitator, self concept, impact of changes and planning of Learning. In this presentation we discuss each oft these group of theories and present a view that one of four of these major themes might play central role in design of Learning. These four include advantages of technology, learners' characteristics, roles of facilitator and knowledge and learning. The central theme is that what drives overall teachers-as-designers' mental models when designing Learning.

In this presentation we also argue that a typical teacher-as-designer is likely to exhibit a mental model which is driven by pedagogical orientation aligned to behaviorist theories about learners' characteristics, roles of facilitator or advantages of technology. On other side, to design Learning with constructivism as background pedagogical orientation, knowledge and learning must be the central theme behind a teacher-as-designer's mental model. Accordingly we recommend that any intervention with intentions of equipping teachers-as-designers with skills and knowledge to design Learning as a process of learning must also include facilitation of a shift of their mental models towards the mental model with knowledge and learning as central theme.