“Old” Learning Theories in
the E-learn Environment
Mikhail Bouniaev
Department of Mathematics,
Southern Utah University, USA
bouniaev@suu.edu
How we learn and how we teach stories of two parties

Learning Is Effective
When
based on the general

psychological
principles of

learning.


Instructional Design is
implementation and
reflection of
Objective psychological
laws
Pedagogical principles
Methods of teaching the
subject
Instructional strategy
XVI-XX Centuries Pedagogy
Do we really based our teaching on general
psychological principles, even we do not
know what are they about?
 How the pedagogy and methods of teaching
have been shaped?
 Can we apply the same teaching methods to
the new delivery modes?

Puzzle: What would happened if
porcupine is mated with snake?
Mates?
Shaping of e-learn methods
400 years of “trial and error”?
 Try to apply recommendations of the
modern learning theories to the
development of e-learn methods of
teaching?

Modern Leaning Theories
How our brains and minds learn?
Galperin, P.; Leontiev A.N.; Papert, S; Piaget,
J. Talyzina, T.; Scanner, B.; Vygotskiey J;
 Constractivism and Satge by Stage
Develoment of Mental Action Theory
 Piaget: “reflective abstraction is a means by
which students construct abstract structures
as a result of a student reflecting on his/her
own activities and the arguments used is
social interaction

Stage by Stage Development of
Mental Actions Theory (SSDMA)



The SSDMA theory reveals the general
principles of learning in respect to methods of
delivery.
It discusses what action is and what are
independent characteristics of action.
It suggesting five stages of instruction that
seem to follow immediately from these
principles and are not closely connected with
traditional methods of delivery
The foundations of the SSDMA
theory were developed in the fifteessixtees by Russian psychologists:
A.N. Leontiev
 P. Galperin
 T. Talizyna


We are working on further
development of this theory in
application to the computer
based instruction including
developing methods of elearn instruction
SSDMA can be applied very efficiently
for organizing CBI in well-structured
domains such as mathematics. We also
have some experimental data to believe
that the same ideas that we incorporated
to the CBI could be utilized for e-learn and
blended teaching and not only to teaching
mathematics
Basic Notions of the Stage-byStage Development of Mental
Actions Theory
» Actions
»Operations.
According to the SSDMA theory, the major
goal of instruction is developing mental
actions with objects in the studied field.
Instruction is viewed as controlling and
organizing students' actions and activities.
All actions can be referred to
two categories:
general logic actions
and
specific actions
Examples of general logic actions:
 Attributing to a concept
– Show that object X belongs to the
class Y. Say show that a cow is the
mammal
– Show that Slovakia is the central
europian country
– Prove that 5 is a prime number
Examples of general logic
actions
 Classification
– Based on some reasons split the
given set of numbers into
different groups: 1,2,3,4,5
– Classify the different periods in
Europian civilization
Specific actions are basically
inherent to a given subject field.
Multiplication in mathematics
 Finding euphemism instead of clear
and straightforward words in politics 
Almost any general logic action has a
specific component
 Prove that 5 is a prime number

As a rule, the performed actions
consist of other, more primitive
actions, which in their turn can
be part of other actions
 Actions
that are part of a given
whole, are called operations.
 That is, operations are also actions,
hence the term "operation" implies
only the hierarchical subordination
among actions.
Different groups of Operations
perform different functions
Some part of performing an
action is taken up by preliminary
work, a preparation for an action
in a certain sense.
 This preparatory part is called
orientation part of an action.

The SSDMA theory specifies
four independent characteristics
used to determine the level of
development of an action.
INDEPENDENTCHARACHTERISTICSO
FACTION
FORMOFACTION
DEGREE
DEGREE
DEGREE
O
FG
EN
ER
ALIZATIO
N OFCOM
PLETNESSOFASSIM
ILATION
FORMS OF ACTION
FO
R
M
SO
FAC
TIO
N
M
ATER
IALO
R SPEEC
HFO
R
M
M
ATER
IALIZEDFO
R
M
M
EN
TALFO
R
M
The materialized form of action is
connected with manual activities
(manipulation, hand-on activities,
etc.).
OBJECTS OF ACTION are
presented in the material form
RESULTS OF ACTION should
be real transformations of these
objects
There is no doubt that actions in the
given examples and pictures are actions
in the material form. But there may be
different examples.


The action of sketching
pictures on a computer
screen with the mouse
or moving some objects
from one part of the
screen to another
Probably, there is no need to
discuss the next form of action – the
speech form of action, but it should
be noted that according to the
SSDMA theory
Writing and typing belong to the
speech form.
The mental form of action is the
highest form of an action
development.
 An action in this
form cannot be
observed.
 Only results of it
can be recorded
and observed.
Each of the described forms of
an action has another three
independent characteristics
ANACTIONINANYFORM
DEGREE
DEGREE
DEGREE
O
FG
ENERALIZATIO
N OFCOMPLETNESS OFASSIMILATION
Generalization of an action
means
the ability to determine and
discriminate essential for
performing an action properties
the ability to apply them to objects
of different nature


The degree of completeness
indicates whether all the operations
that were to be performed in the
process of performing an action
have been actually completed.
 If
the action is already developed, then
the student who performs it practically
does not discriminate operations from
each other, i.e. the action takes place in
the compressed form.
The degree of assimilation, as a
rule, is connected with such
indicators as
the speed of performing an
action,
 technical errors and mistakes,
 the level of automatism, etc.

As it follows from most modern
psychological theories at the initial stage
of instruction the object of an action should
be presented in a material or materialized
form

Moreover, the action in a materialized form
should be developed at a high enough level of
generalization, completeness and assimilation
The SSDMA theory
singles out five stages in the
process of instruction.


Remainder: the major goal of instruction is
developing mental actions with objects in the
studied field. Instruction is viewed as
controlling and organizing students' actions
and activities.
Any action presupposes an object at which it
is directed.
The First Stage of Instruction
At the first stage the student gets
Information about the goals and objects
of the action to be developed.
 The structure of the action is defined,
which includes orientation, executive
and control parts
 Links, connections and relationships
with actions and studied previously
objects are determined

At the first stage traditional
instruction includes:
–
–
–
–
Class presentations
Visual aids
Laboratory experiments
Reading textbooks or manuals
The organization of instruction at the first
stage in the e-learn environment should
involve at least the following components:
Multimedia incorporated into on-line
presentation of material.
 Computer modeling of the action’s object
 Internet search
 Students' work with hypertext and active
zones
 More structure in the presented material

Multimedia

It goes without saying that even a
traditional form of presentation with
multimedia is much more efficient than
without it. It is especially true for the
present generation of students that
were brought up with hours of daily
internet browsing and playing
computer games.
Modeling



Model of a jet with changing wing angles in
studying aerodynamics
Model of a grammar form in studying a
foreign language
Group of commands of a programming
language
Internet search makes it possible
To solve motivation, attention, and
concentration problems
 To connect mental activities with the
manual ones
 To connect objects of action with visual
images and its models
 Allows students to move in their own
speed

In designing an e-learn environment, we
do not exclude traditional forms of
presenting a new material.

Just reading the textbook is not a sufficient
activity for students to master a subject.
Reading a textbook is made more
effective with a available hypertext
 Using the support of visual images


reducing the time for search of the already
studied material
At the first stage of instruction
technologies could be used


As a tool to help students visualize dynamics
of different phenomena and processes that
cannot be observed in reality.
To provide a graphic interpretation of the
studied process to model and imitate it
Three factors that determine the crucial role of
technologies at the first stage of instruction in
the e-learn environment.



The studied material should be visually
interpreted.
Motivation problems should be resolved.
Students should get additional means
(besides a traditional textbook) to reproduce
the action, its components and objects on
their own, without the instructor.
The Second Stage of Instruction
The second stage of developing an action
focuses on students performing actions
in the material or materialized form
 Any action presupposes an object at
which it is directed. If the action is
manual, then the object should be
material. If the action is mental, then the
object of action should exist in the
student’s mind

Modern technologies provide some
means for creating models of
materialized objects that the action
under development is aimed at.
Graphics, drawings, tables, figures,
diagrams, text blocks, group of commands
of a programming language, etc.
 Computer models of action to be developed
may incorporate sound, dynamics and color.

Designing “objects to work with”
probably is the most challenging task for
both traditional and e-learn learning
environments

Next challenge is to organize the learning
activity aimed at the properties of the
object that students are supposed to learn
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
such as WebCT and Blackboard provide
good tools to organize on line and blended
courses

“Such systems provide a generic
framework for web-based courses, and
even some functionality aimed
specifically at math and science, such as
math-enabled message boards.”
The third stage of developing an action is
that of the speech form
At this stage all the elements of the action
are presented in the speech form
 The action is becoming more generalized
but still remains non automatic and not
compressed
 The speech form of the action should be
developed in the operation-by-operation
mode

There are some features inherent in elearn environments that make us
believe that the e-learn environment
could be competitive with traditional
teaching
Asynchronous and synchronous chart
boards
 Shared documents and images
 Chart boards archives

At the fourth stage the action should be
developed in the inner speech form.

The inner speech form is the first stage
of the mental form of an action
Action are still performed in the
operation-by-operation mode
Students should be provided with
incentives and opportunity to describe
in a compressed form the performed
operations or to do them in a dialogue
regime
 The executive part of every operation
could be performed by computer at
student’s command

The students’ activities at his stage
should be thoroughly planned and
organized.
These activities should be organized in
synchronous as well as asynchronous
modes
 The exercises that require participation of
all students in the group and operation-byoperation control should be developed

The fifth stage is development of an
action in the mental form



The action at this stage becomes an inner
mental act with only the product of this action
explicitly evident and observable.
Assimilation of the action at a given level of
compression and generalization becomes a
matter of top priority in developing an action at
this stage.
The problems that have to be resolved at this
stage are mostly related to motivation and
control over the final result of students’ works.
Prompt Control of Action
Development in On Line Teaching
One of the problems with traditional
face-to-face teaching is prompt control
and feedback at the first through fourth
stages of instruction.
 The SSDMA theory recommends that at
the initial stages of action development,
control is provided after every
operation of the action.

Organizing work groups of students is
one of the plausible solutions to the
control and prompt feedback problem

The instructor should determine:
– The measurable objectives of each session
– What interactive exercises will be done
online,
– What the role of each participant is
– How students will get feedback on the
results of each session
The most efficient way to use the
synchronized online discussions is:

To develop the orientation part of action and
to provide a step-by-step control of
operations execution
– disintegrated action into elementary operations
– Develop each operation separately a the high lelel
of generalization and assimilation
– To shift control for the action performance to the
entire group
Final Comments
The following elements are are essential
for effective e-learn teaching
 Sound learning theory as the starting
point and foundation for developing
instructional strategy
 Extensive use of technology
 Well organized structure of the course
and well organized structure of every
course unit and element
