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8 - Learner-Centered Design

Reflections on the Past and Directions for the Future

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Chris Quintana ,
Namsoo Shin ,
Cathleen Norris  and
Elliot Soloway
Edited by
R. Keith Sawyer
Chris Quintana
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
Namsoo Shin
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
Cathleen Norris
Affiliation:
University of North Texas
Elliot Soloway
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
R. Keith Sawyer
Affiliation:
Washington University, St Louis
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Summary

As new information technologies have emerged, whether radio, television, or computers, advocates of those technologies hoped that each would have a radically transformative effect on education. However, in many ways, the scope of the resulting educational transformation was less than many had hoped for. In the last two decades, a wide range of new information technologies, such as personal computers, handheld computers, wireless networking, and the Internet, have emerged that again have a potential to transform education. Cuban (1986) noted some reasons why previous technologies have been less than successful for supporting learning. First, there is a failure to understand how technologies must be shaped to support the needs of learners. Second, there is a failure to understand how technologies can be effectively integrated into educational contexts in ways that truly support learning activities and goals. Therefore, if computers are to positively impact learning, educational software must be designed around learners' goals, needs, activities, and educational contexts. This approach to designing software is called learner-centered design (LCD) (Soloway, Guzdial, & Hay, 1994).

Here we will provide an overview of learner-centered design and summarize how it is different from typical software design approaches. We will discuss both the critical role of scaffolding in learner-centered design and how software can serve a scaffolding function for learners. We will describe different design frameworks that can impact LCD by guiding designers and researchers in developing intellectual support in software.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences , pp. 119 - 134
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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