CAT/L :
Computer Aided Teaching and Learning
A Conceptual Framework for
Re-Forming Education
Focus On Education Foundation
in collaboration with
The Center for Internet Research
W. Reid Cornwell Ph.D.
Jonathan R. Cornwell
http://tcfir.org
http://focus-on-education.org
(720) 212-0719
A Cause for Concern
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New studies of U.S. public school graduation rates reveal that graduation
rates are lower than the previously accepted, nationally-averaged rate of
85%. Some studies suggest graduation rates may be as low at 40%.
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Current studies conducted on the preparedness of entering college
freshmen show that 30 – 40% require significant remediation in math,
science, writing, research and other basic academic skills.
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Current reports from the U.S. Department of Education show that
approximately 20% of twelfth graders in the U.S. are “proficient” in science
and mathematics based on “No Child Left Behind” standards.
A Cause for Concern
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42% of all GED test-takers were teenagers in 2004, compared with 33% in
1991.
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Most studies on the rate of science and engineering degrees awarded by
U.S. colleges and universities show few changes or small declines over the
past 30 years. However, other studies show that the percentage of foreign
nations receiving these degrees has increased and, in some areas of the
U.S., account for nearly 50% of degrees awarded. In addition, the ratio of
advanced science and engineering degrees to country population has
declined in the U.S. while increasing in nearly every other country including
other developed nations.
Business and Industry: Stakeholders
in the Outcome of Education
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The U.S. public education system is the “prime mover” for the quality and
quantity of the U.S. workforce.
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The H1-B visa system and influx of foreign nationals to U.S. educational
institutions and workforce have masked the deteriorating position of the
U.S. education system to produce viable participants in the modern
economy.
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Global economic and technological change has altered what is valued by
companies in their workforce as compared to the economic realities of 50
years ago… or even two years ago.
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Not only is the U.S. education system not keeping pace with these changes
but it is also failing to even meet basic education requirements.
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While the impact of the quality of education affects all dimensions of society,
business and industry are most directly affect via the state of the available
workforce.
FOEF Mission and Vision
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The Center for Internet Research (TCFIR) and its parent Focus On
Education Foundation (FOEF) was formed to investigate the vast
intersection between Internet technology and the human experience using
cross-disciplinary research practices spanning the industrial, government,
scientific and academic communities.
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Of particular interest is the use of Internet-enabled technologies to improve
education at all levels, both domestically and abroad.
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FOEF has developed a conceptual framework called “CAT/L” that is the
centerpiece of our efforts to related to education.
Focus On Education (FOEF)
Mission and Vision
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FOEF is working to expand both basic research on the problems of
education as well as the development of practicable technologies and
methodologies to improve education.
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We believe that many aspects of improving education in the U.S. and other
developed countries are shared as well by governments and educators
trying to build modern education system in developing countries. In this
vein, FOEF has begun a relationship with UNESCO to address the
international implications of Connected Learning.
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While technology as already begun to transform the educational
environment, it is a shared belief by associates of FOEF most of these
changes are superficial and that the true potential of Internet-related
technologies to re-form education is almost entirely untapped.
The Mission and Vision
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CAT/L is seeking to expand both basic research on the problems of education
as well as the development of practicable technologies and methodologies to
improve education.

We believe that many aspects of improving education in the U.S. and other
developed countries are shared as well by governments and educators trying to
build modern education system in developing countries. In this vein, FOEF has
begun a relationship with UNESCO to address the international implications of
CAT/L.
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While technology as already begun to transform the educational environment, it
is a shared belief by associates of FOEF most of these changes are superficial
and that the true potential of Internet-related technologies to re-form education
is almost entirely untapped.
CAT/L Overview
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CAT/L is a conceptual framework for basic research on the problems facing
education and the development of practicable solutions.
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CAT/L is based on three principles:
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Connection: Investigation, development and deployment of Internet-enabled
technologies to improve education
Empiricism: Improved basic research; research-based development; data-driven
deployment; superior assessment and quality controls
Learner-Centered Education: A greater degree of self-determination and
customization of the education experience
CAT/L is not a “quick fix” for the education system, although it is the
assumption of FOEF that Internet-enable solutions will be “faster and
cheaper” to develop and deploy than non-Internet alternatives.
The “Connection” in
CAT/L
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It is easy to overstate and overestimate the transformational power of
Internet technologies. However, it is equally true that current and potential
Internet technologies deserve the much of the hyperbole. What has been
missing is a paradigm to harness the promise of the Internet to
fundamentally change education.
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Simply, we believe that it is possible to encapsulate almost the entire
current classroom experience within the framework of Internet technologies:
Textbook, library, lecture, laboratory, testing, assessment, lesson planning,
etc. We also believe that entirely new modes of education can be created
and other modes which are used sparingly – such as
collaborative/competitive learning – can be greatly enhanced.
The “Computer” in
CAT/L
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The most radical visions discussed include a return to a Socratic teaching
method in which teachers assume a mentor/enabler role to a body of
students in virtually independent study and the elimination of age-grades as
a feature of “promotion” through the general education curriculum. While the
latter ideas may be too radical for the current socio-political environment, it
is clear that body of Internet technologies that has so dramatically
transformed the global economy has the potential to transform education
beyond anything seen today.
“Empiricism” in CAT/L
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Improved basic research: It is significant that even simple facts such as the
actual high school graduation rate are the subject of debate.
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Research-based development: Given the stakes, development of education
reforms must be driven by data not speculation, tradition or opinion. New
research must be conducted but there is also a wealth of under-utilized but
peer-validated research than must be brought to bear as well from research
areas as diverse as educational psychology and game theory. In addition,
corporate training programs and vocation-oriented education institutions
(e.g. ITT Tech, Regis University, etc.) have produced successes that may
find application in the general education environment.
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Data-driven deployment: Any prototype education reform must be vetted by
good data gathering and analysis.
“Empiricism” in CAT/L
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Superior assessment and quality controls: Modern education theory is
significantly based in Behaviorism and Social Learning Theory, two
theoretical perspectives largely untouched by debate for decades. Timely
and accurate testing, assessment and grading are reinforcements in the
Behaviorist model and are critical to both determining student performance
and encouraging academic success. However, there are numerous
questions the current means and methods of testing and assessment.
An Alternative Assessment Paradigm:
Certainty-Based Assessment
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All current evaluation methods are statistical samplings of a student’s
knowledge of a body of material. Each method in use, from essays to
true/false questions, has advantages and disadvantages. Forced choice
methods (multiple choice, true/false, matching) are used most commonly
because they are the easiest to grade but are also subject to guessing and
strategies that defeat evaluation of the actual state of a student’s mastery. In
addition, evaluation is used infrequently and episodically, usually at the end
of a learning unit or because of calendar-driven traditions such as mid-term
or final exams. Infrequent evaluation means that both educators and
students can “drift” through materials for days or weeks before the first signs
of a problem with the material are noted.
An Alternative Assessment Paradigm:
Certainty-Based Assessment
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Certainty-based assessment, integrated with the learning process through
information technology, has the potential to allow educators and students to
evaluate progress through material in real- or near-real-time while also
capturing a student’s self-evaluation of the confidence with which they hold
newly learned material. Evaluation is transformed from a purely summative
paradigm into a formative one as well.
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While continuous evaluation alone has a great potential to enhance
learning, capturing “confidence” adds a qualitative dimension to evaluation
data that can help educators and students “hone in” on problem areas to
produce real mastery of material rather than a superficial, one-time success
on a test.
Learner-Centered Education
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The goal of any education system is to produce well-enculturated adults
adapted to the needs of their society and able to participate in a productive,
meaningful way. This is as true in hunter-gatherer cultures as it is in PostIndustrial nations.
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The education model of the Post-Industrial world is based largely on an
attempt to mimic the efficiencies of the factory:
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Utilization of a broadcast model of knowledge distribution in the form of lectures,
textbooks, class-based curriculum design, etc.
Promotion through a grade system predicated on the assumption that similar
ages represent similar stages of development and material mastery
Classrooms with large numbers of students
Reliance on summative evaluation
Little time allowed for individual tutoring or mentoring; etc.
Learner-Centered Education
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Given the millions of students that the U.S. education system must handle
each year, it is easy to see why a mass-production paradigm of education
would be used.
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However, the student population is diverse along every dimension that can
currently be measured. Education systems designed for one standard
deviation among a few student traits will, inevitably, fail those students in the
shoulders of the curve. Rather than ad hoc “bandaids” applied to a massproduction model of education, student diversity must be confronted directly
to ensure that no child truly is left behind… or to languish in the study of
materials they have already mastered.
Learner-Centered Education
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Prior to the advent of Internet-enabled technologies, a mass-production
paradigm was the only practical solution to accomplish the Herculean task
of educating millions of students each year. But now we have an opportunity
to re-form education in a way that will deal with the complexities of student
variation.
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Learner-centered education shifts the focus from educating classes to
educating students. Research-driven technology can individualize lessons,
measure the change in student knowledge and skills on a continuous basis
and still allow the education system to meet the demands of educating
millions of students in a timely, cost-effective manner.
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It should be noted, too, that solutions developed to deal with student
diversity in the Post-Industrial world will, to a large extent, generalize to the
needs of the developing world.
Learner-Centered Education
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As a final note, the education system plays a significant role in helping
students determine their adult vocation. Given the amount of education
required in a knowledge-based economy for most well-paying jobs, the
pressure on young people to choose wisely is enormous. The current
education system fails to help students with this discovery process. In
addition, public education, particularly at the high school level, has shifted to
preparing students for college when many students have neither the interest
nor traits for college level education. Even in a knowledge-based economy,
there must be a place in education for the non-college bound because it
benefits societies as a whole to enable all members of society to participate
in a constructive way.
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The learner-centered model of education enhances the journey through the
standard curriculum as it provides much better feedback to students and
educators alike on the abilities and aptitudes of the student. As the saying
goes, “Knowledge is power”: Better assessment of a student’s capabilities
can only enhance a student’s vocational choices.
Declaration of CAT/L Principles
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The education process must become learner-centered.
Assessment – diagnostic, formative and summative – must be improved and deeply
integrated into the learning and teaching process.
National and state academic standards must be met or exceeded.
Ethnic academic achievement “gaps” must be addressed and eliminated.
Learning must become more active.
The formation of life-long learning behaviors must be facilitated.
Education reform must be guided by empiricism.
Well-designed, technology-enabled education reform will be self-improving, selfreforming and self-documenting.
Teaching and learning content must be of the highest possible quality, current and
relevant.
Proven pedagogical methodologies and the best research from all fields with a
bearing on learning and teaching must be integrated into education.
The needs of all stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, administration,
government, business, etc.) must be served.
Reform must also address the need to improve the formation and achievement of
vocational goals by students.
Where minimum standards exist, the goal must be near-universal mastery rather than
a standard distribution of achievement.
Conclusion:
Technology, then, is the foundation of CAT/L
and an Archimedes Lever by which to move
the world of learning.
How You Can Help?

Supporting the Innovation 2008
April 14 – 15, 2008,
Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center,
Breckenridge, Colorado
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Providing both R&D and grant support to Focus On Education Foundation
Providing support for the Open Access research embodied In Innovation,
the journal of online education.