Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO) Access to Knowledge in Early Digital Era and Development of Pedagogy for Conceptual Thinking

2020 ◽  
pp. 22-53
Author(s):  
Uri Shafrir
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning Objects ◽  
Formative Assessments ◽  
Conceptual Thinking ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Reusable Learning Objects ◽  
Digital Knowledge ◽  
Meaning Equivalence ◽  
And Mathematics

This chapter describes the effects of availability of digital knowledge on teaching, learning, and assessment, and the emergence of pedagogy for conceptual thinking with meaning equivalence in different knowledge domains in early digital era. It includes three proof-of-concept implementations of meaning equivalent reusable learning objects (MERLO) in three different contexts: 1) Course ‘Risk management in the Supply Chain' at Material and Manufacturing Ontario (MMO) Centre of Excellence, in 2002, to evaluate the potential of MERLO to assess and improve learning outcomes in workplace workshops to be offered jointly by MMO and University of Toronto Innovation Foundation; 2) in 2004, secondary school courses in mathematics, physics, and chemistry at Russian Academy of Sciences, Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Lycee ‘Physical-Technical High School' at St. Petersburg, to train teachers in administering MERLO formative assessments and evaluate learning outcomes in STEM courses (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics); 3) in 2006, implementing MERLO pedagogy, including development of MERLO databases for grades 9 – 12 mathematics courses at Independent Learning Center (ILC) of TVOntario.

scholarly journals Pedagogy for Conceptual Thinking in the Digital Age: Enhancing Learning Outcomes with Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO) Formative Assessments

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Shafrir ◽  
Masha Etkind ◽  
Ron Kenett ◽  
Leo Roytman
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Learning Objects ◽  
Formative Assessments ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Conceptual Thinking ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Reusable Learning Objects ◽  
Meaning Equivalence

The research presented in this paper is the fruit of an ongoing international collaboration with the goal of enhancing students learning outcomes by implementing and sharing a novel pedagogy for conceptual thinking, and use of an innovative didactical and methodological tool: Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO) that provide student-centered, weekly formative assessments for exploring and discussing conceptual situations in small groups. It was developed, tested, and implemented in Canada at University of Toronto and Ryerson University, as well as in Israel, Italy, Russia, and Australia, in different knowledge domains, including: physics; biology; mathematics; mathematics teacher education; teacher training; developmental psychology; English as a second language; architecture; management; business; project management. Statistical analysis of MERLO data collected since 2002, shows that conceptual thinking enhance learning outcomes and deepens students’ comprehension of the conceptual content of learned material.  Conceptual thinking is learnable, and provide metrics to document continuous increase in higher-order thinking skills such as critical conceptual thinking, transfer of knowledge, and problem solving. Pedagogy for conceptual thinking is currently implemented with Brightspace (http://www.brightspace.com/), Integrated Learning Platform (ILP) offered by D2L (http://www.d2l.com/) that supports customizable online pedagogy.

Concept Science

2017 ◽  
pp. 103-116
Keyword(s):  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Learning Objects ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Conceptual Content ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Unstructured Text ◽  
Meaning Equivalence ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The University

This chapter describe the evolution of Concept Science that gave rise to Concept Parsing Algorithms (CPA). Concept Science developed ways to clarify conceptual content encoded in unstructured text that communicate context-specific knowledge in a sublanguage within a discipline. It was developed and tested since the early 1990s at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University in Toronto (Shafrir and Etkind, 2010). Concept Science lead to Pedagogy for Conceptual Thinking with Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO) that offer a powerful tool for engaging and motivating students, and enhancing learning outcomes. This chapter describe some of Concept Science-based tools that provide new ways to discover, encode, and manage knowledge in large digital libraries of unstructured text in educational, governmental, NGO, and business organizations.

Learning in the Digital Age with Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO)

2016 ◽  
pp. 310-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masha Etkind ◽  
Ron S. Kenett ◽  
Uri Shafrir
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Higher Order Thinking ◽  
Learning Objects ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
Reusable Learning Objects ◽  
Information Research ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Meaning Equivalence

In this chapter we describe a novel pedagogy for conceptual thinking and peer cooperation with Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO) that enhances higher-order thinking; deepen comprehension of conceptual content; and improves learning outcomes. The evolution of this instructional methodology follows insights from four recent developments: analysis of patterns of content and structure of labeled patterns in human experience, that led to the emergence of concept science; development of digital cyber-infrastructure of networked information; research in neuroscience and brain imaging, showing that exposure of learners to multi-semiotic inductive problems enhance cognitive control of inter-hemispheric attentional processing in the lateral brain, and increase higher-order thinking; research in evolutionary dynamics on peer cooperation and indirect reciprocity, that document the motivational effect of knowledge of being observed, a psychological imperative that motivate individuals to cooperate and to contribute to the common good.

Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO)

2017 ◽  
pp. 80-102
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Objects ◽  
Knowledge Domain ◽  
Representational Competence ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
Sign Systems ◽  
Reusable Learning Objects ◽  
Semiotic Representations ◽  
Meaning Equivalence ◽  
Teaching Learning

In the chapter we discuss Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO), a multi-dimensional database that allow sorting and mapping of important concepts in a given knowledge domain through multi-semiotic representations in multiple sign systems, including: exemplary target statements of particular conceptual situations, and relevant other statements. MERLO pedagogy guides sequential teaching/learning episodes in a course by focusing learners' attention on meaning. The format of MERLO assessment item allow the instructor to assess deep comprehension of conceptual content by eliciting responses that signal learners' ability to recognize, and to produce, multiple representations, in multiple sign-systems - namely, multi-semiotic - that share equivalence-of-meaning. Exposure of scholars and learners to multi-semiotic inductive questions enhance cognitive control of inter-hemispheric attentional processing and enhance higher-order thinking. It highlights the important role of representational competence in scholarship, teaching and learning.

Meaning Equivalence (ME), Boundary of Meaning (BoM), and Granulary of Meaning (GoM)

2017 ◽  
pp. 58-68
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Multiple Representations ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Semantic Space ◽  
Conceptual Thinking ◽  
Sign Systems ◽  
Semantic Spaces ◽  
Meaning Equivalence

This chapter describe Meaning Equivalence (ME), Boundary of Meaning (BoM), and Granularity of Meaning (GoM). Meaning Equivalence (ME) is a polymorphous - one-to-many - transformation of meaning that signifies the ability to transcode equivalence-of-meaning through multiple representations within and across sign systems, and multiple definitions of a concept in multiple sign systems. Boundary of Meaning (BoM) is the boundary between two mutually exclusive semantic spaces in the sublanguage: (i) semantic space that contains only representations that do share equivalence-of-meaning with the Target Statement (TS); and (ii) semantic space that contains only representations that do not share equivalence-of-meaning with the TS. Granularity of Meaning (GoM) is the deepest level in which lexical label of a co-occurring subordinate concept appears in the Target Statement. It is therefore a measure of the ‘depth of exploration' of building blocks of a super-ordinate concept in TS. Boundary of Meaning (BoM) and Granularity of Meaning (GoM) are concepts in Pedagogy for Conceptual Thinking, a novel teaching and learning methodology in the digital age (Etkind, Kenett & Shafrir, 2016). These constructs describe important aspects of learning outcomes.

High Order of Conceptual Thinking

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Masha Etkind
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Higher Order Thinking ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Conceptual Content ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
Conceptual Thinking ◽  
Information Research ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Meaning Equivalence

This chapter describe a novel pedagogy for conceptual thinking and peer cooperation with meaning equivalence reusable learning objects (MERLO) that enhances higher-order thinking; it deepens comprehension of conceptual content and improves learning outcomes. The evolution of this instructional methodology follows insights from recent developments: analysis of patterns of evolving concepts in human experience that led to the emergence of concept science, development of digital information, research in neuroscience and brain imaging showing that exposure of learners to multi-semiotic problems enhance cognitive control of inter-hemispheric attentional processing in the lateral brain, and increase higher-order thinking. The research on peer cooperation and indirect reciprocity document the motivational effect of being observed, a psychological imperative that motivates individuals to cooperate and to contribute to better common knowledge. Teaching courses in History and Theory of Architecture to young architecture students with pedagogy for conceptual thinking enhance higher-order thinking, deepen comprehension of conceptual content, and improve learning outcomes; it allows one to connect analysis of historic artifact, identify pattern of design ideas extracted from the precedent, and transfer concepts of good design into the individual's creative design process.

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