Anchored Instruction by Phoebe Skelson

Anchored Instruction Profile By Phoebe Skelson

EDT 605 Unit 2 Assignment - Instructional Model Profile

_______________________________________________________________________________

               Anchored Instruction                     

Anchored Instruction provides a problem that students can solve, typically through a story in a short video, in order to learn a concept or practice a skill.  The instruction is anchored in a storyline with characters that students form a connection with.  Students usually collaborate in small groups to  develop strategies for solving the problems presented in the videos.

ANCHORED INSTRUCTION IN MATHEMATICS

A well-known series of anchors for improving students' problem-solving skills in mathematics is called The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury (CTGV, 1997). The entire set of Jasper Adventures consists of twelve episodes, each one including a video-based problem and related extension problems. Three episodes were developed for each of four mathematical areas of study: Distance/Rate/Time, Statistics, Geometry, and Algebra.

Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/anchored-instruction/

_______________________________________________________________________________

  

Developer of Anchored Instruction

John Bransford of Vanderbilt University

 John Bransford led the Cognition and Technology Group (CTGV) at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee to develop Anchored Instruction in the late 1980s. By 1990, CTGV produced the Jasper Series whose goal was "to create interesting, realistic contexts that encouraged the active construction of knowledge by learners. Our anchors were stories rather than lectures and were designed to be explored by students and teachers"  ( CTGV, 1993, p.52)

  Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/anchored-instruction.html

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________________________________________________________________________

Family Tree of Anchored Instruction

                                    

Anchored Instruction is rooted from the Constructivist Theory.  This theory is based on several principles:

• ·         Learning is a process through discovery, utilizing student's background knowledge and own motivation
• ·         Learning through problem solving in task based or project based assignments that are authentic
• ·         Student typically work in groups or are engaged in discourse
• ·         Students reflect on the experience of learning
• ·         Teacher acts as a manager of discussion instead of the only source of information    

Who Planted the Seeds for the Theory of Constructivism?  

Piaget (1896-1980) Studied how people learn at different states of their lives, from birth to adolescence.  Created the four stages of Cognitive Development by focusing on the biology and psychology of learning.

Vygotsky  (1896-1934) Looked at the actual process of learning through social context. Proposed the Zone of Proximal Development, which states that a student can reach higher learning with proper support from teacher or peers, and tools. This is the basis for scaffolding within a lesson.  

(Harasim, 2012, pgs.61-68)

___________________________________________________________________________________

Embedded Theories Which Branch out from Constructivism

Situated Learning

·         Students apply skills to a problem that is complex and realistic in order to develop the learned concept.

·         Highly social activity that involves collaboration and support by peers with more experience.

                Retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/tip/lave.html

Cognitive Flexibility Theory

·         Based on students applying their knowledge to various, complex situations to solve problems.

·         Knowledge is not compartmentalized, but highly connected, i.e. students will use knowledge from a multitude of subjects to solve a math problem.

·         Students must build their own solutions in various representations to develop a deeper understanding.

Retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/tip/spiro.html

___________________________________________________________________________________

Example of Anchored Instruction

Enhanced Anchored Instruction - after students solve the media based situational problem, they will engage in a project that further uses their newly learned skill or concept.

 Media based problem called Fraction of the Cost and the hands on experience called Hovercraft Challenge. 

Fraction of the Cost - Story is based on three middle school students who try to figure out if they have enough money to build a skateboard ramp.  Students will use measurement and mathematical properties of rational numbers to decide if the characters in the video can build the ramp.

Hovercraft Challenge - Students actually build the most cost effective rollover cage for a hovercraft    (4 x 4 plywood board).  They use pvc pipes to form the rollover cage, and connect it to a leaf blower on the plywood to lift it off the ground.

Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/anchored-instruction/#C

____________________________________________________________________________________

Found Out More About Anchored Instruction

Education.com     http://www.education.com/reference/article/anchored-instruction/                                               

• ·         Get general information on Anchored Instruction (AI) for Mathematics
• ·         Learn about Enhanced Anchored Instruction (EAI)
• ·         Find out about the research findings for AI and EAI 

Jasper Woodbury     http://jasper.vueinnovations.com/adventures-of-jasper-woodbury

• ·         Official website for the Jasper Woodbury series from the makers at Vanderbilt University       
•               Learn about the series to see if it is a fit for your classroom

• ·         Order the series from this website

MathCounts Foundation: Math Video Challenge - Where's Waldorf (1012-13 Winning Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycLDJkTK-y8

• ·         Example of an Anchored Instruction video (4 minutes)
• ·         Student actors create a video about a character inspired by Where's Waldo who gets lost.
• ·         Students use what they know about the slope of a line in Math to figure out where Waldorf is located. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

References

Bottge, Brian (2009, December 23). Anchored Instruction. Retrieved from                                http://www.education.com/reference/article/anchored-instruction/.

Cognitive Flexibility Theory (nd). Retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/tip/spiro.html.

Harasim, Linda. (2012). Learning Theory and Online Technologies. New York, New York: Routledge.

Instructional Design (nd). Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/anchored-         instruction.html.

Learning Theories.com (nd). Anchored Instruction. Retrieved from http://www.learning              theories.com/anchored-instruction-cognition-technology-group-at-vanderbilt-bransford.html.  

Situated Learning (nd). Retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/tip/lave.html.