24.3.2 Designers as Learners
Ironically, the people who seem to learn the most from the systematic instructional design of instructional materials are the designers themselves. Jonassen, Wilson, Wang, and Grabinger (1993) reported this discovery while developing expert systems advisors that were intended to supplant the thinking required by instructional designers. The process of articulating their knowledge about the process of instructional design forced them to reflect upon their knowledge in a new and meaningful way. Following the old adage that the surest way to learn about subject matter is to have to teach it, the process of designing and producing instructional materials as performed by designers of educational communications enables instructional designers to understand content much more deeply than the students whose thinking will be constrained and controlled by the very materials they are developing. It follows that empowering learners to design and produce their own knowledge representations and educational communications is a powerful learning experience.
24.3.3 Learners as Designers
Langer (1989) and others (cf. Salomon & Globerson, 1987) have reminded us of the importance of mindfulness in learning. Students learn and retain the most from thinking in meaningful (mindful) ways. Some of the best thinking results when students try to represent what they know. Representing knowledge as a mindful task can be enabled by cognitive tools such as hypermedia construction software or electronic spreadsheets. Such cognitive tools require students to think in meaningful ways to use the application's capabilities and features to represent what they know. Just as electronics troubleshooters cannot work effectively without the use of tools such as probes and oscilloscopes, students cannot learn deeply or mindfully without access to cognitive tools that help them assemble and represent knowledge. In short, the real power of computers to improve education will only be realized when students actively use them as cognitive tools rather than passively perceive them as tutors or repositories of information.
24.3.4 Experiential and Reflective Thinking
Norman (1983) distinguishes between two forms of thinking: experiential and reflective. Experiential thinking evolves from our experiences in the world; it is reflexive and occurs automatically. We experience something in the world and react to it; e.g., we see a red light and brake the car. Reflective thinking, on the other hand, requires more careful deliberation. We encounter a complex situation, think about it, reflect on stored knowledge, make inferences about it, determine implications, and reason about it. Reflective thought is the careful, deliberate kind of thinking that helps us make sense of what we have experienced and supports our construction of what we know. For example, consider the reflective thought required by major decisions in life concerning career, family, and health. Reflective thinking often requires external support, including books, computers, or other people. Norman contends that computers support reflective thinking when they enable users to compose new knowledge by adding new representations, modifying old ones, and comparing the two. Cognitive tools should be readily accessible to learners to support reflective thinking within the context of learning.