Microworld

Definition

• Microworlds are a form of exploratory learning

• In educational technology and instructional design, a microworld implements a constructivist instructional design model that lets the learner "play" within an artificial or real (e.g. a Sandbox) environment and learn by building things.

• Rieber (1996:583) defines microworlds as collection of software, that << is based on very different principles, those of invention, play, and discovery. Instead of seeking to give students knowledge passed donw from one generation to the next as effeciently as possible, the aime is to give students the resources to build and refine their own knowledge in personal and meaningful ways. >>

• Clements (1989:86) cited by Rieber (1996:587): A microworld is a small playground of the mind

(p. 86).

• Alternative names according to Rieber (1996:583) are: computational media (diSessa, 1989), interactive simulations (White, 1992), participatory simulations (Wilensky & Stroup, 2002), and computer-based manipulatives (Horwitz & Christie, 2002)

• We agree with Rieber (1996) that microworls are not the same as simulations: "However, microworlds have two important characteristics that may not be present in a simulation. First, a microworld presents the learner with the "simplest case" of the domain, even though the learner would usually be given the means to reshape the microworld to explore increasingly more sophisticated and complex ideas. Second, a microworld must match the learner's cognitive and affective state. Learners immediately know what to do with a microworld - little or no training is necessary to begin using it (imagine first "training" a child how to use a sandbox)." (Rieber, 1996)

• " A Microworld is a term coined at the MIT Media Lab Learning and Common Sense Group . It means, literally, a tiny world inside which a student can explore alternatives, test hypotheses, and discover facts that are true about that world. It differs from a simulation in that the student is encouraged to think about it as a "real" world, and not simply as a simulation of another world (for example, the one in which we physically move about in). " quoted from Microworlds

History

In 1980 Paper published his book "Mindstorms" and that made popular concepts developped around the programming language Logo whose design was influenced by a particular constructionist vision of education. Logo included "turtle geometry", a drawing pen in the form of a turtle that children could move and draw around on the screen or the floor. The turtle is an "object to think with", i.e. a cognitive tool. Since Logo many other environments in the same spirit have been built. E.g. MIT Lego-Logo that adds a more physical dimension in the spirit of augmented reality.

under construction

Examples

under construction

• LOGO and variants like Lego-LOGO, Starlogo

References

• Clements, D. (1989). Computers in elementary mathematics education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

• diSessa, A. A. (1989). Computational media as a foundation for new learning cultures. Technical Report G5. Berkeley: University of California.

• Horwitz, P., & Christie, M. A. (2000). Computer-based manipulatives for teaching scientific reasoning: An example. In M. J. Jacobson & R. B. Kozma (Eds.), Learning the sciences of the 21st century: Research, design, and implementing advanced technology learning environments (163-191). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

• Rieber, L. P. (1996). Seriously considering play: Designing interactive learning environments based on the blending of microworlds, simulations, and games. Educational Technology Research & Development, 44(2), 43-58. http://it.coe.uga.edu/~lrieber/play.html

• Rieber, L. P. (1996) Microworlds, in Jonassen, David, H. (ed.) Handbook of research on educational communications and technology. Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology. Second edition. Simon and Schuster, 583-603 ISBN 0-02-864663-0

• White, B. Y. (1992). A microworld-based approach to science education. In E. Scanlon & T. O\u2019Shea (Eds.), New directions in educational technology (pp. 227\u2013242). New York: Springer-Verlag.

• Wilensky, U., & Stroup,W. (2002, April). Participatory simulations: Envisioning the networked classroom as a way to support systems learning for all. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.D