Paper Presentation at the8th Annual EDINEB International Conference:

Technology, Pedagogy and Innovation, Nice, France, 20-22 June 2001

The Experience of Self-Organised Learning Through the Use of Learning Plans for Knowledge Management

Vivien Lee Looi ChngLecturer

Temasek Polytechnic21 Temasek Avenue 1

Singapore 529 757Tel: 65 - 780 5870 Fax: 65 - 789 7413

Email: looichng@tp.edu.sg

and

Steven CoombsAsst. Professor

Department of Curriculum Studies & Secondary EducationSchool of Education

Sonoma State University1801 East Cotati Avenue

Rohnert ParkCa. 94928-3609

USATel: 1-707-664-3270 Fax: 1-707-664-2483

Email: steven.coombs@sonoma.edu

Keywords:

Self-Organised Learning, Learning Plans, Constructivism, Social Constructivism, Knowledge Management, Information Management, Action Research, Learning Organization, Reflective Learning, Critical Thinking, Economics Education

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Abstract:

The rapid advancement of the telecommunications technology resulting in the easy availability of a massive amount of information has led to the need to evaluate existing critical thinking pedagogy. In the light of developing students as critical thinkers, discerning of the information available to them, this paper details the findings of an action research project conducted at a local polytechnic which looked into how it could overcome students’ “cut and paste” mentality when using information sourced from the World Wide Web for completing economic analysis of news articles.

The theoretical basis of Self-Organized Learning (S-O-L) developed by Thomas and Harri-Augstein (1985) was used to consider how students could be taught to manage information. Based on the theoretical notions of social constructivism and conversational learning, S-O-L offers a practical framework of conversational tools for project management. This paper goes on to specifically explore the use of one such conversational tool - Learning Plans (LPs). As a Knowledge Elicitation System (KES), it is a flexible, content-free technology allowing students to scaffold their own learning and to manage the information that they encounter. As a systematic model of learning, it is built upon progressive learning tasks and activities that guide the student towards thinking critically about how economic concepts and principles can be applied (Coombs, 1995).

The use of LPs is found to have developed the critical thinking dispositions of students, resulting in students' increased ability to apply economic concepts and principles in a more rigorous manner. The increased confidence and competency can well be extended to all fields of learning even in the long run as critical thinking becomes a life skill crucial for survival in learning organizations. Finally, the paper explores the implications of LPs for instructional design and curriculum planning.

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1. Introduction

The call for educators and policy makers to pave the way in preparing students to participate effectively as the workforce of the technological age is a common one. The onus is on education ministries to develop students who are capable of coping with change, who are apt at problem solving, communication, and teamwork whilst exhibiting qualities such as adaptability, responsibility and creativity. Central to this, is the issue of how the rapid advancement of telecommunications technology has resulted in the easy availability of a massive amount of information. Many agree that the approach to solving this problem is to instil in students an independent spirit of lifelong learning, and equipping them with the skills to reflect on information and knowledge to manage and use it where necessary. The situation is no different in Singapore which has chosen to develop itself as Thinking Schools Learning Nation. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong explains,

Our collective tolerance for change, and willingness to invest in learning as a continuous activity will determine how well we cope with an uncertain future … LEARNING NATION will require innovation at every level of society. We must get every organization to recognise that every individual, regardless of status, has a contribution to make in improving the organization … We must get away from the idea that it is only people at the top who should be thinking, and the job of everyone else is to do as told. Instead we want to bring about a spirit of innovation, of learning by doing, of everyone at his own level all the time asking how he can do his job better. With such an approach of always looking out for improvement, always asking what is the purpose of our job and whether there is a better way to accomplish that purpose, we will achieve our ambition of national excellence … Such a national attitude is a must for Singapore to sustain its prosperity (Available URL: http://www1.moe.edu.sg/speeches/020607.htm).

Clearly there is a need to evaluate existing critical thinking pedagogy and teaching approaches. As such, this paper begins with a comprehensive discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of Self-Organised Learning (S-O-L) based on reflective conversational learning and social constructivism. It further proposes how S-O-L can be integrated in the light of developing students as critical thinkers, discerning of the information available to them in the form of a new technology, Learning Plans. It specifically considers how writing to learn in economics promotes sounds critical thinking by reviewing the findings of an action research project conducted at a local polytechnic which looked into how it could overcome students’ “cut and paste” mentality when using information sourced from the World Wide Web for completing economic analysis of news articles.

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2. Self-Organised Learning

S-O-L is based on the group learning theory of social constructivism as well as instructional design axioms that provide a practical set of thinking tools that enable systematic reflection on one’s experience to construe personal learning. According to Harri-Augstein and Thomas (1991), all human learning within the S-o-L conversational paradigm is defined as the “conversational construction, reconstruction and exchange of personally significant, relevant and viable meanings with awareness and controlled purposiveness” (p.23).

In S-o-L, the “conversational individual”, or C-indi carries out a Learning Conversation of a dual nature. Two conversations exist; one from within our self, to our self, and another externally, with others (Thomas and Harri-Augstein, 1985). Thomas’ and Harri-Augstein’s notion of the conversational individual assumes “human beings as meaning, construing, negotiating and attributing organisms”, which explains personal learning as a form of conversational knowledge construction (p.20). Coombs (1995) differentiates these two types of reflective learning psychological experiences as “inferential” and “referential” Learning Conversations.

Evaluating for learning can be based on the general structures of meaning heuristic offered by Harri-Augstein and Thomas (1991). They recommend a three-step critical thinking criteria consisting of (i) elicitation of items of meaning, (ii) the sorting of relationships and (iii) the display of final patterns (p.271). Deriving S-o-L's “structures of meaning” is based upon George Kelly’s (1955) Personal Construct Theory (PCT). From a psychological perspective of systems-based thinking, it states that individuals self-manage their inner reflective process, constructing knowledge and modelling concepts of the world experienced through a complex process of personal “hypothesis testing” between past and present experiences. In constructing personal constructs, the “personal scientist” adopts a holistic world-view, linking one’s personal experience with societal influences and behaviours (Coombs and Smith, 1998).

Bannister in Reason and Rowan (1981) describe Kelly’s creativity cycle to explain the learning that takes place. In making any kind of learning, the individual would undergo three recursive phases of circumspection, pre-emption and control. Circumspection is the “phase in which we are bound by no rules and where our mind may and should wander happily up and down every avenue and blind alley”. Daydreaming, brainstorming and activities where there are no limits to creative aspirations characterize this stage (p.192). Following circumspection comes the pre-emption phase. In this phase, a clearer picture of our aspirations are beginning to form in that “we invent/choose/discover our issue of concern” (p.193). Lastly, the control phase is where the problem of concern is operationally defined for resolving.

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Coombs (1995) gives support to the three-phase creativity cycle as three steps of reflective modelling:

Step 1: Idea capture phase - early stage brainstorming as a loose construing process

Step 2: Idea development phase - key issues focused into an operation strategy as a tight construing process

Step 3: Operational management phase - project control through a “recursive cycle” (p. 153)

These models have provided a means for the construction of a system for reflective project management based on S-O-L which is explained in the next section.

The role of schools and teachers in S-o-L environments is to therefore create the social context where students have time to reflect and to be proficient and skilled in making the choices that will help one arrive at personal mastery in reconciling and coping with the differences between textbook knowledge and reality. Such self-mastery is at the heart of managing personal change.

S-o-L pedagogy is a student-centred learning approach where one is responsible for one’s own behaviour while managing one’s own actions and directions through critical reflection (Coombs & Wong, 2000). This is achieved in both an individual and social group learning context. This conversational psychology provides both a pedagogical and systems thinking approach that fits into a social constructivist model of learning and explains knowledge construction through reflective elicitation and self-organisation of one's thinking experiences (Coombs & Smith, 1998 & 1999).

2.1Self-Organised Learning for the Students

S-o-L pedagogical resources offer conversational tools for the students' in the form of Learning Plans (LP) as a conversational tool for project management (see Appendix 1). Coombs (2001, in press) describes a LP as a conversational tool that allows for the skills of critical thinking to be modelled through practical tasks simulating the real world. LPs offer a flexible, content-free technology allowing students to both scaffold and manage their own learning. This is possible as the LP design breaks learning events into small tasks and activities with opportunities for students to apply their understanding at regular reflective milestones. Student-centred scaffolding is workable as the LP defines discrete learning pathways that gain access to what Coombs defines as the principle resource “Learning Nodes”. Teachers operating as Learning Coaches can negotiate LPs with students to arrive at customised solutions with the scope for self-directed learning (Coombs & Smith, 1998). LPs are thus a flexible project management critical thinking tool with built-in curriculum and assessment goals. As a Knowledge Elicitation System (KES), it is a flexible, content-free technology allowing students to scaffold their own learning and to manage the information that they encounter. As a systematic model of learning, it is built upon

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progressive learning tasks and activities that guide the student towards thinking critically about how economic concepts and principles can be applied (Coombs, 1995).

More than just chance-based discovery learning, there is systematic reflective problem solving occurring in a well-focused activities-based learning environment. The learning tasks making up the LP are designed as real-world simulations that play an important social function of helping the learner to personally identify with the abstract concept and model personal knowledge from the experiential event. Such a controlled reflective process gives voice to prior knowledge, designing experiential linkages between past and present learning, thus increasing meaning making to a greater depth of personal relevance. To support such student-centred learning, the teacher facilitates as "Learning Coach" and guides and supports the learning process (Coombs, 1995). They help students come to an awareness of their problem solving skills necessary for independent learning and inculcate a positive attitude towards critical thinking through empowering student control of the curriculum tasks to be achieved.

From an information processing perspective, such a reflective learning approach has its basis in constructivism. This move away from teacher-centred lesson plans towards student-centred LPs recognises that there are many meanings and personal perspectives from which to experientially structure and frame the world and there is no single or correct meaning that learners should accept, no ultimate shared reality (Duffy and Jonassen, 1992). Situating cognitive experiences in socially authentic tasks and increasing transfer between in-school and out-of-school experiences is an educational goal described by Resnick, Levine and Teasley (1991) whereby the emphasis is not on the acquisition of knowledge, but rather on the learning of thinking process skills geared towards problem solving and meaning making in social situations requiring such skills. Put another way, such a curriculum philosophy provides transferable thinking skills, which has become an essential skill to be developed in knowledge-based societies.

3. Theoretical Background

3.1 Reflective Learning

In defining reflective learning for students, Stefani, Clarke and Littlejohn (2000) define reflective learning as

developing the ability to determine for themselves whether or not they have a sufficient grasp of concepts, principles or skills such that they can bring all of this to bear on new situations and problems, and the ability to decide in which ways their present competencies can suffice and in which ways they may need to acquire new skills for knowledge for new situations (p.164).

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According to Stefani, Clarke and Littlejohn the key to encouraging reflective learning is to develop students’ ability to self-assess or self-evaluate. To ensure this, three measures were recommended; (i) make clear the evaluation criteria, objectives and the standards to be used for any learning activity, (ii) ensure understanding of what constitutes a high quality of learning outcomes and (iii) provide a sense of constitutes further action to be taken on any learning task or process (p.165). In-built into this structure of learning is formative feedback that provides students with a genuine sense of ownership as to how they can self-organise and manage their own learning.

Stefani, Clarke and Littlejohn further introduce the relevance of David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle for reflective learning. According to Kolb, learning comprises of four recursive steps: experiencing, reflecting, abstracting and applying. Experience alone does not ensure learning. It is reflection on concrete experience and the opportunity to apply learning to new situations that bring about learning through which new personally relevant knowledge is constructed and meaningless abstract learning reduced.

Linking learning to experience, is not a new idea, for even Dewey (1933) describes reflection as “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusion to which it tends” (p.6). Schon (1983) has a similar notion of reflection-on-action where re-constructing and re-construing events and actions experienced become central to the learning experience as a professional act. Underlying these definitions of reflection is the notion of “conversational constructivism”, where reflection on personal experience becomes a learning opportunity (Coombs & Smith, 1998). However, more than just personal knowledge construction, interaction with society is also necessary and of value. Social constructivism is discussed in the next section.

3.2 Social Constructivism

Flower in Cohen and Spencer (1993) offer a model of writing that demonstrates quality critical thinking. In the preliminary author-based writing stage, writing is described as a powerful tool for idea generation and planning through making links between ideas. Whilst ideas that are formulated can be a result of interaction with the environment, much of the linking at this stage is attributed to the inner conversation of rationalisation. This is what Harri-Augstein and Thomas describe as the personal meaning making, construing process, much akin to stages of circumspection and pre-emption of George Kelly’s creativity cycle previously discussed.

The second stage according to Flower is the reader-based prose where the writer ensures the readability of the article for the reader, by organising, structuring and presenting arguments clearly. This is writing that facilitates

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thinking more akin to the external conversation which Harri-Augstein and Thomas describe as taking into consideration the societal trends and behaviour.In writing, this Kelly control phase ensures that the prose is “operationally ready” in that it suits its target audience and also meets assessment criteria. This could be achieved through interviews of subjects, observations and asking assessors pertinent questions to ensure further accurate construing of new knowledge.

Figure 1 below diagrammatically relates Flower’s model of writing to that of Learning Conversations, where double-headed arrows describe a two-way relationship.

Figure 1: Relating the conversational process to the writing product

3.3Social Constructivism and Reflective Critical Thinking in Economics Education

The literature on critical thinking in the teaching and learning of economics offer a range of perspectives as to how critical thinking can be developed. With its roots in psychology, William Perry’s taxonomy of cognitive development in Thoma (1993) lists four stages of cognitive development. Firstly, there is lower order “dualistic” thinking, where responses are of an objective yes or no, right or wrong, true or false nature; hence requiring little deliberation. At the second stage, students are able to perceive knowledge as subjective, but are not equipped to evaluate this knowledge. Next, students begin to recognise the criteria and methods for evaluation in each academic field. Finally, at the highest level of thinking, subjectivity is introduced as Feiner and Roberts (1995) explain, decision-making is “inherently comparative and self-consciously value-laden” (p.367). Students therefore need to be taught how to prioritise criteria for making judgements. Table 1 presents the Nelson variant of the Perry framework by recommending how educators can help students make the transition between each stage of cognitive development and for which Thoma applied in his discussion of critical thinking in economics. The last uses actual writing samples obtained from students’ work.

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Writing ProductConversational Process

Inner Conversation

External Conversation

Stage 1: Writer-based prose

Stage 2: Reader-based prose

Table 1: Nelson variant of Perry’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Development applied to economics education

Perry Scheme

Pedagogical Practice Sample from Student Writing

Mode 1: Dualism

Helping students recognise positive economics as having an objective nature.

“The rise in February was 1.3%, a 0.7% drop in Consumer Price Index compared to January”.

Transition 1:Uncertainty and Ambiguity

Can be achieved by having students summarise a news article about real world events and recognising that different points of views exist.

“Economist Daniel Lian reported that Singapore’s economy would grow 6.6% this year due to the fact that firstly, citizens save less and therefore have higher marginal propensity to spend. This is further encouraged by tax cuts and an increase in government spending. …. JP Morgan’s Tan Tzu Ping however says that GDP will not be as high as 6.6% this year due to asset appreciation. Due to the high cost of housing and luxury items, people are unwilling to spend”.

Mode 2: Multiplicity

Students are able to differentiate normative economics having a subjective nature.

“Prof Tan … suggested that the government should keep business and wage costs down till the economy gains strength in order for moderate growth to take place”.

Transition 2:Opinion as insufficient

Achieved by having students differentiate opinions by establishing criteria to evaluate various opinions. The end result is that students take a position and are able to support it. Examples, models and diagrams are useful at this stage.

“However even if inflation is low, these figures (estimates) may not be accurate as the values used are nominal GDP values, which are the value of the current period’s production measured at current market prices. Instead, real GDP values, which are the value of current output using prices of a selected base year, should be used”.

Mode 3: Contextual relativism

Students are able to recognise that different disciplines use various evaluation criteria and are able to apply the critical thinking skills to different contexts.

“I agree with BOJ governor Masura Hayami that Japan should promote structural reforms and implement monetary policy to ease the effects of the deflationary spiral”.

Transition 3: Joining values and analysis

Achieved by having students see the relevance of critical thinking in the real world. They should recognise that differing values exist, for example, progressive and regressive tax structures and the benefits it brings to different economic groups.

“Nevertheless, I think that people nowadays are more affluent and are willing to give up their money in exchange for status, image and a higher standard of living”.

Mode 4: Contextually

Students are able to choose from competing choices based

“I encourage the workers to take up this training programme as firstly, they will be

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Appropriate Decisions

on sound economic thinking and personal values.

able to learn new skills and also they will have an advantage over others by having upgraded their skills and knowledge. In this way, they will not be easily retrenched and they can even compete with others should they switch jobs due to reasons such as a salary mismatch or the relocation of the firm”.

Source: Adapted from Thoma (1993).

Quite unlike Perry’s hierarchical model of critical thinking, Shackelford (1992) advocates a more philosophical approach via “feminist pedagogy” to bring critical thinking into the classroom. As an approach, it empowers economics students as critical thinkers as the emphasis is on the process, that is, the methods and approaches should be student-centred, emphasising cooperation where change is commonplace. She suggests that the design of courses consists of “assignments, discussions, and other activities that focus on discovery and encourage students to use their personal experience” and where “dialogue allows students to explore the language, argument, and discourse of economics, and at the same time to create knowledge as part of an emerging community of learners” (p.573). Shackelford elaborates that writing assignments naturally lend itself to this exploration and internalisation and more importantly, “empower students to seek answers beyond texts or lectures and to reconstruct questions, thereby fostering life-long learning attitudes and skills” (p.574).

Hansen (1988) too expounds on the constructivist opportunities of writing activities. He describes the five writing proficiencies in order of complexity as (i) accessing existing knowledge, (ii) displaying command of existing knowledge, (iii) interpreting existing knowledge, (iv) applying existing knowledge and (v) creating new knowledge. As a discipline specific activity through which the mechanics of writing are specified by the use of subject specific terminology and methods, the writing process would naturally lend itself to an economic way of thinking in both analysis and creation of new knowledge. Petr (1990) describes this active constructivist process that leads to the building of knowledge units as dependent on the social environment:

What is built is an always changeable notion of the way the world works. How it is built is through repeated, progressively more thorough engagement by the learner with that world, its events, its ideas, its people, its diversity, its challenges. Knowledge is not built, I think, through absorption, adhesion, or osmosis. Writing is one method of accomplishing the requisite interaction of student with world (p.129).

The evidence of student interaction with the world can be viewed through the writing portfolio that is not an uncommon feature of writing intensive courses. In the same way, portfolio writing promotes constructivism in that it encourages an “intellectual self-consciousness” that investigates connections between what is known, what is read and what is felt. As elaborated by Dewey in Kish and

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Sheehan (1997) learning involves critical judgement for “preserving it where it exists, and changing looser methods of thought into stricter ones whenever possible” (p.254). As an assessment mode, the portfolio increases student accountability by requiring active, personal reflection. From the multiple sources of evidence collected over time in authentic settings, the portfolio gives the student voice and also demands that students both select and justify the contents. Cohen and Spencer (1993) likewise found that student writing did result in students who “are better able to think like economists” (p.219). As Davidson and Gumnior (1993) in citing Tchudi (1986) expound, promoting writing as a constructivist activity is

successful because they actively involve students in the learning process. Drawing on the work of James Britton, Stephen Tchudi (1986) argued that “one cannot separate knowledge from languaging. The very act of writing, … forces a person to reconsider and reorder his or her thinking” (p.15). In other words, writing is extricably connected to learning, writing is learning, and therefore thinking and writing skills cannot be taught effectively if separated from content (p.242).

As such, whilst critical thinking is often associated with higher order cognitive skills, such as that advocated by Perry’s highest level of cognitive development, I am inclined to argue that it should be more than just skills. Critical thinking is a whole mindset and approach in itself that contributes towards a purpose. Halpern (1997) aptly defines critical thinking as “the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome … describ(ing) thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal directed” (p. 4). However, more than just critical thinking skills, Halpern further suggests that for critical thinking to be effective, it is the attitudes and dispositions towards critical thinking of the learner needs to be developed. Critical thinkers will exhibit the following dispositions or attitudes:

Willingness to plan - (developing a personal) habit to counter impulsivity

Flexibility - willingness to consider new options, try things in a new way and reconsider old problems - suspend judgment, gather more information, and attempt to clarify issues

Persistence - diligence following the willingness to start Willingness to self-correct - positive mindset towards feedback

and improving upon feedback by abandoning ineffective strategies and subsequently coming up with improved solutions

Being mindful – a metacognitive awareness of one's own thinking

Consensus-seeking - high-level communication skills to work towards putting thoughts into action (pp.11-12).

It is these good critical thinking attitudes that make up the building blocks of intellectual self-consciousness resulting in the scholarly ownership of learning.

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This call to promote critical thinking was also echoed by Thoma (1993) who suggests “the highest level of critical thinking also involves changes in attitudes and understandings of the very source and nature of learning, thinking, and education” (p.128).

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4 Action Research Project 4.1Current Practice and Need for Action

First year business students at Temasek Polytechnic take two courses in economics; Microeconomics in semester 1 and Macroeconomics in semester 2. The purpose of the Macroeconomics course is to introduce the students to the fundamental economic objectives of any government, and the tools and policies used to achieve these aims.

As part of course fulfilment, students are required to compile an economics portfolio that constitutes 15 percent of their final grade. The portfolio assignment requires students to prepare eight analyses of newspaper clippings over a period of 12 weeks. Students are free to select articles of interest in relation to any of the topics taught over the 12 weeks. As a general guide, students are told to write analyses that include a brief summary followed by an explanation and application of the relevant economic concepts and principles. Students are also encouraged to include their own comments and opinions. There is a period for interim submission after Week 8, during where students are required to submit three drafts to the tutor for feedback. This process of submitting a draft provides students with an opportunity to clarify their thinking. Cohen and Spencer (1993) have this similar practise of requiring the writing of abstracts for in their opinion, this writing worked towards “sharpening awareness of the existence (or lack of) a clear thesis in the paper” (p.223). This practice of applying economic concepts in news analysis has been going on for several years.

Clearly, the purpose of introducing portfolio writing is to encourage independent learning by having students apply the macroeconomics concepts discussed in the classroom to a range of real world situations and specifically how real world economists and policy makers use macroeconomics. The writing of each news analysis is challenging in that it requires students to demonstrate understanding of basic definitions of concepts and principles, the use of diagrams as an economic tool for analysis, applying the theories to changes evident in the dynamic external environment whilst appreciating the fact that many factors and events influence economic decisions. This has been found to be the case with students commenting:

“By applying the topics to the articles, I will be able to see the practical side of learning economics rather than just memorising the facts”

“Doing economic analysis of news articles enables me to apply concepts which I learnt during lectures. It also helps me to understand those topics which I’m unsure of before I analysed the news articles. This is because I have clarify my doubts with my friends before I can analyse those news articles”

and

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“We learn how to relate what we have studied to the actual world and we can cerate a better understanding of the topics we have learnt”.

Such an approach of actively engaging students in an economic way of thinking has also been recommended by Petr (199) through the use of an “economic issues notebook” which provides the teacher with feedback on student understanding (p.130). Hansen (1998) has a similar approach of getting students to write about two concepts in a newspaper article that deals with some economic issue.

Following the experience of the previous semester where students were given free rein over the organisation of their microeconomics portfolios, it has been found that it is not uncommon in this Internet age that news clippings are obtained from online sources. With the massive availability of news article available on the Internet, it is not surprising that students are not discerning when selecting news articles. Starting with badly chosen articles that provide more of a socio-political commentary rather than an economic perspective, it is found that students simply re-produced the article by writing long summaries with little attempt to engage in economic analysis. Students appeared unable to identify the relevant economic concepts and principles to use or either applied the concepts wrongly. It further illuminated students’ economic illiteracy when they were unable to interpret any data provided. As such an action research study seeking to improve this classroom practice made sense.

A focus group interview with five students provided insights that confirmed my gut feelings and observations about students’ difficulties. When asked what problems were encountered in the completion of the project, some typical response were:

“Actually, we are not very sure which topics we should focus on. Like maybe on this topic, we can relate to many other topics, we don’t know which sub-topic to relate the article to”.

“By analysing, sometimes you worry that you are analysing it wrongly. You may think that it is an increase in aggregate demand, but actually it is a decrease in aggregate demand. But actually, if you know the concept, you can easily do the analysis”.

and

“I find difficult in making assumptions. For example, we might need to assume the US is in a recession, but sometimes, we don’t know what countries are going through”.

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4.2Action

Motivated by the need to enhance students’ dispositions to think more critically, the theory of S-O-L and the conversational tool Learning Plan was reviewed. A preliminary LP was designed and introduced to two classes following the submission of the first draft (see Appendix 1). The LP was designed to aid the process of reading, summarising and finally analysing the article, that is, from low order to high order thinking activities. In designing successful writing assignments, Davidson and Gumnior (1993) too point out the importance of sequencing the writing assignment. Something which Cohen and Spencer emphasise as the need to focus on the “writing processes, the strategies and procedures followed in the act of writing” (p.219), rather than simply the finished product. The direct involvement of students is needed to facilitate internalisation.

Hansen (1988) provides four pointers in the design of economics writing assignments to ensure minimum standards in the quality of learning and this is applied to evaluate the usefulness of LPs. Firstly, always negotiate manageable assignments with students. In this aspect, LPs are made up of different learning tasks presented in order of increasing difficulty making each stage of the process achievable. As Appendix 1 illustrates, Task 1 has to do with simply reading to familiarise oneself with the article, Task 2 entails writing a summary and finally Task 3 involves higher order thinking in the form of analysis writing. Scaffolding is clearly evident from the achievable goals at each stage. This is further complemented by the opportunities that students have to consult their tutors for further assistance to deliberate over the writing process. The transferability of skills is also ensured as the nature of Learning Plans for writing is recursive by nature, where working on Tasks 1, 2 and 3 can be worked through in a cyclical manner. As a recursive process, the process of writing is simulated where writing drafts is a part of the review process of re-reading and re-writing (Cohen and Spencer, 1993).

Secondly, a checklist should be provided to give students a sense of what the minimum standards are. Such a checklist was incorporated into the LP as each task is broken up into systematic sub-points. For example, in summary writing, the student should begin with a one sentence thesis statement, followed by a one-paragraph summary and finally provide examples of evidence to support the paragraph. The third pointer is that a writing assignment should provide incentives to secure high quality performance. This is ensured as the portfolio score a student gets constitutes 15% of the student’s final score on macroeconomics. Self-motivated students would put in the effort to submit quality work. Lastly, involve students in peer discussions as collaboration brings advantages such as enhanced understanding and reduces students’ dependence on lecturers. The LP by its very nature as a physical point of reference with tasks laid out in a stepwise incremental manner serves as a guide for students keen on independently managing their own group discussions.

The preliminary LP for economic news analysis was introduced to two

tutorial groups in Weeks 5 and 6 who were provided with a news article to actually

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spend time in class completing one written analysis. The written work was collected so that I could review whether the instructions were clear and to identify areas needing further improvement. It was at this stage that I determined that students faced a real problem in that they had no idea how to select appropriate news articles for use. This later became the second stage of my action research cycle. Following the period of interim portfolio submission in Week 8, the new improved LP was distributed to the same two classes for use.

4.3Review of Action

At the end of Week 12, about four weeks after the LP was introduced, the two classes comprising 37 students completed a questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale about their experience of having used the LPs. The questions asked were meant to assess if students had found the LPs useful in the aspect of encouraging reflective critical thinking whiles providing opportunities for social constructivism. The preliminary results are summarised in Table 2 below. With at least 73% or higher indicating agreement with LPs, it is clear that LPs do have the potential to promote skilful critical thinking and committed, continuous reflective learning for it scaffolds learning. The teacher-designed LP is able to achieve the aims of conversational learning and social constructivism as set out by the theory of S-O-L.

Table 2: Results of Survey Indicating Percentage in Strong Agreement or Agreement

1. The Learning Plan is useful as it is organised in a way that helps me think systematically.

81.1%

2. The Learning Plan provides guidelines and yet gives me the freedom to complete the analysis in a way I am comfortable with.

86.5%

3. The Learning Plan provides guidelines that my friends and I can use for our discussion to analyse news articles.

73.0%

4. The Learning Plan provides guidelines but I can still approach my lecturer for help in completing the news analysis.

94.5%

5. The Learning Plan is useful as it organises the tasks to be completed in order of difficulty.

75.7%

6. The skills I acquire from using the Learning Plan will help me think more critically about other subject areas.

72.9%

7. A Learning Plan is most useful when introduced to students at the beginning of the microeconomics course.

89.1%

However, it needs to be pointed out that these are merely early stage findings collected from use of LPs over a short four-week period during mid-project. As such the take-on rate of this new technology would have been lukewarm, as one student explains, “I am used to doing the news articles on my own so I encountered difficulties to adjust myself with the guidelines given to me”. More rigorous use of the LP will be necessary, and this best done so at the start

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of semester 1, when students first take a microeconomics course. The students themselves have suggested the use newspaper clippings as examples to elaborate on each step of the Learning Plan. Stefani, Clarke and Littlejohn (1993) explain that good examples provide students with a good sense of what makes up quality writing, and this will serve as criteria for facilitating self-assessment,. As for evidence of improved thinking abilities, more in-depth interviews with students will provide further insight into their experience of using LPs. An evaluation of the writing samples gathered from the portfolio is also necessary.

As to the potential benefits of portfolio writing in Economics, Kish and Sheehan (1997) highlight that more than just cognitive benefits, social-emotional and moral growth is also possible. Petr (1990) identifies five benefits of writing and these are the opportunity for learning using a “productive learning tool” (p.127), emphasis on “enhanced cognitive functions” (p.127), an avenue for teachers to diagnose the mental processes of students, an opportunity for students to evaluate their own progress, and most importantly, as previously discussed, it actively engages students in learning of a constructivist nature.

As for further improvements that can incorporated in the next semester, one of these is to better stimulate the external environment where the external conversation takes place. The instructions and assessment outcomes of the Learning Plan could have made clearer the context in which the student is writing for. Cohen and Spencer (1993) suggest “creat(ing) an imaginary reader to serve as a more “realistic” audience for the student”. They recommended the use of lecturers or classmates in reading the draft. I will however further recommend that the question be re-written as “Select an appropriate news article on a topic of your choice and by following the checklist below, complete a 200-300 word analysis of it to be printed in a Business Newsletter for all polytechnic students”.

With a clearer picture of the requirements provided to students, it makes clear the assessment criteria for students. With a better idea of how they will be evaluated, ambiguity is reduced and students are more confident. The writing outcomes are improved as students are able to write critically sound economic analysis. I also personally found grading the portfolios a less arduous task.

5 Educational Implications

The implications for instructional design and curriculum planning are that S-O-L emphasises the development of the experience of learning through awareness of the process rather than the outcome. This is precisely what Cohen and Spencer (1993) advocate, “To fully exploit a writing-to-learn approach, instructors must devote energy not just to the students’ finished papers but to the students’ writing processes, the strategies and procedures followed in the act of writing. It is also important to devote attention to assignment design, to clarifying the appropriate audience for the paper, and to responding to student writing” (p.219).

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This implies that there is a new role for educators who are no longer just knowledge providers. New competencies are required for educators to be equipped as competent and confident facilitators of learning. They should be able to play their role as Task Supervisors, Learning Coaches and Intentionality Managers (Harri-Augstein and Thomas, 1991). For as Coombs (2000b) explains, LPs constructed in a manner which is user-friendly would enable “the user to interact in a meaningful and conversationally fluent manner, so as to maximize one’s creative learning potential” (p.21). Distinguishing reflexive skills from reflective skills, Coombs and Smith (1998) describe reflexive skills as in-built responses automatically triggered by situations calling for a standard response. Reflective skills, on the other hand, imply a “conversational constructivist effort” to derive new meaning (p.21). It is this latter skill, the fluency of conversational thinking strategies that is a prerequisite of a user-friendly reflective learning system, which is within the control and influence of our teachers.

As such a recommendation that can be made for the effective authoring and use of LPs is that teachers should diagnose the students, subject matter and environment to design an educationally sound LP and to provide a learning environment that support S-O-L. As thinking professionals engaged in active scrutiny of how situations can be improved, they bring with them practical know-how for the customisation and adaptation of pedagogical theory to the needs of students whom they know best, setting appropriate curriculum activities and adopting suitable teaching strategies. However, more than just a diagnosis of the students, subject matter and environment, Solomon and Morocco (1999) also caution the need to diagnose pedagogy. As educators in professional practice, pedagogical knowledge should also be constantly updated. Figure 2 below defines the task management roles as key facilitator competencies to ensure successful S-O-L.

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Figure 2: Re-defined components of task-management roles with primary facilitator competencies identified for a S-O-L environment. Adapted from Coombs and Smith (1998).

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Social Domain as situated learning environmentThis comprises all human and physical learning support resources.For e.g., instructional materials, classmates etc.

LEARNING POLICYFor e.g., influence of Ministry of Education,

School’s Board of Directors

EXPERT FACILITATORManages all tasks well and possesses a sound pedagogical knowledgebaseDIAGNOSES PEDAGOGY

TASK SUPERVISOROrganizes Social DomainDiagnoses Environment

INTENTIONALITY MANAGERDesigns the learning opportunities

and authors the resources i.e. conversational tools and courseware

DIAGNOSES SUBJECT

LEARNING COACHConversational learning assistant,

initiating scaffolding exercises using conversational tools and reflective

techniquesDIAGNOSES STUDENTS

Self-Organized LearnerReflective skills, creative

and critical thinking to manage personal

constructs

Inner Learning Conversation

LearningConversatio

nActive

learning from social

experiences within the

conversational domain

results

As a reflective experience of my having used learning plans in the classroom, Table 3 below compares the essential differences between my own reflective practice and what I regard as best practice.

Table 3: Role for the facilitator in the economics classroomFacilitator

CompetencyExisting Practice Recommended

ImprovementTask Supervisors

Organise the social domain

No formal opportunities for social learning. LPs introduced were mostly used by students independently.

Build in cooperative learning opportunities to encourage peer review, thus providing more opportunities for social constructivism.

Learning Coaches

Conversational learning assistant, initiating scaffolding exercises using conversational tools and reflective techniques

Currently available for consultation at students’ request.

Responding to emails.

Giving hints when a suitable news article is sourced.

Initiate students into use of LPs by initially providing examples of news articles and demonstrating how each learning activity can be carried out.

The next stage could involve providing news articles and asking leading questions.

Intentionality Managers

Designs the learning opportunities and authors the resources i.e. conversational tools and courseware

Designed the first version of the LP for economic news analysis.

Author supporting learning materials such as examples and leading questions outlined above.

Design the LP to incorporate more negotiated learning with student, reviewing success of LP use during period of interim portfolio submission.

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6. Conclusion

Starting with the need to develop critical thinkers, this research study reviewed the theory Self-Organised Learning and the conversational tool in the form of a Learning Plan to consider how it can be integrated into economics instruction. Specially, the LP based on reflective conversational learning and social constructivism, was introduced to enhance students’ critical thinking abilities when writing an economic analysis of a news article. The action research project has had favourable preliminary findings in that students now have a clear criteria and point of reference in organizing and structuring their written work. Through achievable goals and favourable learning experiences, the improved critical thinking attitudes of students can be expected to facilitate learning across contexts. If indeed, developing learning organisations is the way to go in this knowledge age, then further encouraging self-organised learning can’t be that far wrong. As a content-free technology, the LP is easily adaptable for integration into any discipline or subject field.

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References

Bannister, D. (1981). Personal construct theory and research method. In Reason, P. and Rowan, J. (Eds.), Human inquiry: A sourcebook of new paradigm research. pp.191-200. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.

Cohen, A. J. and Spencer, J. (1993). Using writing across the curriculum in economics: Is taking the plunge worth it? In Journal of economics education, 24(3), pp. 219-231.

Coombs, S. J. (1995). Design and conversational evaluation of an information technology learning environment based on self-organised learning. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Centre for the Study of Human Learning, Brunel University, London

Coombs, S. J. (2001 in press). The teacher's role in using IT to manage student-centred learning in Chang, A., & Smith, I. (Eds.), Critical and Creative Thinking, Volume. 2. Singapore: National Institute of Education.

Coombs, S. & Smith, I. (1998). Designing a self-organized conversational learning environment, Educational Technology, 38(3), 17-28.

Coombs, S. and Smith, I. (1999). Integration of critical and creative thinking skills into Singapore's IT post-graduate teacher training programme. Change: Transformations in Education, 2(2), 80-92.

Davidson, L. S. and Gumnior, E. C. (1993). Writing to learn in a business economics class. In Journal of economics education, 24(3), pp. 237-244.

Duffy, T. M. and Jonassen, D. H. (1992). Constructivism: New implications for instructional technology in Duffy, T. M. and Jonassen, D. H. (Eds.). (1992). Constructivism and the technology of instruction: A conversation. Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

Feiner, S. and Roberts, B. (1995). Using alternative paradigms to teach about race and gender: A critical thinking approach to introductory economics. In American economic review, 85(2), pp.367-371.

Halpern, D. (1997). Critical thinking across the curriculum: A brief edition of thought and knowledge. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Hansen, W. L. (1998). Integrating the practice of writing into economics instruction. In Becker, W. E. and Watts, M. (Eds.). Teaching economics to undergraduates: Alternatives to chalk and talk. pp.79-118. UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.

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Harri-Augstein, E. & Thomas, L. (1991). Learning conversations: The self-organized learning way to personal and organizational growth. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Kish, C. K. and Sheehan, J. K. (1997). Portfolios in the classroom: A vehicle for developing reflective thinking in High school journal, 80(4), pp.254-261.

Petr, J. L. (1990). Student writing as a guide to student thinking. In Saunders, P. and Walstad, W. B. (Eds.). The principles of economics course: A handbook for instructors, pp. 127-140. NY: McGraw Hill Publishing Company.

Shackelford, J. (1992). Feminist pedagogy: A means for bringing critical thinking and creativity to the economics classroom. In American economic review, 82(3), pp.570-576.

Solomon, M. Z. and Morocco, C. C. (1999). The diagnostic teacher in Solomon, M. Z., (Ed.), The diagnostic teacher: Constructing new approaches to professional development. 231-246. New York: Teachers College Press.

Stefani, L. A. J., Clarke, J., Littlejohn, A.H. (2000). Developing a student-centred approach to reflective learning in Innovations in education and training international, 37(2), pp.163-171.

Thoma, G. A. (1993). The Perry framework and tactics for teaching critical thinking in economics in Journal of economic education, 24(2), pp.128-136.

Thomas, L. F. and Harri-Augstein, S. (1985). Self-organised learning: Foundations of a conversational science for psychology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

--. (2 June 1997). Speech by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at the Opening of the 7th International Conference on Thinking on Monday, 2 June 1997. Singapore: Ministry of Education. Retrieved 3 February, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://www.moe1.edu.sg/speeches/020697.htm.

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Appendix 1LEARNING PLAN FOR ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF A NEWS ARTICLES

InstructionsSelect an appropriate news article on a topic of your choice and complete an analysis of it using the steps laid out below. Each step can be viewed as components of a checklist.

Learning ObjectivesBy the end of this project, you should be able to:1. Summarise a news article2. Analyse the news article from an economic perspective3. Identify appropriate economic concepts to apply in the economic analysis of the news

article.

Task 1 Reading the News Article1.1 Survey the article

Read the heading and sub-headings Read the introductory and concluding paragraphs Review any pictures/graphics, noting the captions

1.2 Question Turn the heading/sub-headings into questions. Ask: What did the lecturer say about this topic when it was assigned? Ask: What do I already know about this topic?

1.3 Read Read each paragraph one at a time with your questions in mind. Look for answers, making up new questions when necessary. Make a list of the important points; underlining or highlighting them.

Task 2 Summarising the News Article Using the main points identified in Task 1, write a one-sentence thesis statement

that sums up the article. Condense the article into a one-paragraph summary by including the major points. Do include one or more of the author’s examples and/or evidences.

Task 3 Writing the News Analysis Identify all the economic concepts and principles used in the article by highlighting

them. Categorise the concepts and principles highlighted above according to chapters

and sub-chapters. Identify the chapter and sub-chapter you would like to do further analysis on. Explain the relevant concepts briefly. Use diagrams to illustrate the main points where necessary. Ask: Are there any hidden assumptions in the article? Ask: Are there any weak arguments in the article? Ask: Are there other points of views that can be considered?

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