Abstract
Direct instruction approaches, as well as the design processes that support them, have been criticized for failing to reflect contemporary research and theory in teaching, learning, and technology. Learning systems are needed that encourage divergent reasoning, problem solving, and critical thinking. Student-centered learning environments have been touted as a means to support such processes. With the emergence of technology, many barriers to implementing innovative alternatives may be overcome. The purposes of this paper are to review and critically analyze research and theory related to technology-enhanced student-centered learning environments and to identify their foundations and assumptions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackermann, E. (1991). From decontextualized to situated knowledge: Revisiting Piaget's water-level experiment, in I. Harel & S. Papert, eds., Constructionism (pp. 269–294). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
APA (1992). Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: Guidelines for School Redesign and Reform (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Anderson, J.R. & Reder, L.M. (1979). An elaborative processing explanation of depth of processing, in L. S. Cermak & F.I.M. Craik, eds., Levels of Processing in Human Memory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Anderson, R., Spiro, R. & Anderson, M. (1978). Schemata as scaffolding for the representation of connected discourse. American Educational Research Journal 15: 433–440.
Bagley, C. & Hunter, B. (1992). Restructuring, constructivism, and technology: Forging a new relationship. Educational Technology 32(7): 22–27.
Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist 37: 122–147.
Belmont, J. (1989). Cognitive strategies and strategic learning. American Psychologist 37: 122–147.
Bereiter, C. (1991). Implications of connectionism for thinking about rules. Educational Researcher 20(3): 2–9.
Bransford, J., Franks, J., Vye, N. & Sherwood, R. (1989). New approaches to instruction: Because wisdom can't be told, in S. Vosniadou & A. Ortony, eds., Similarity and Analogical Reasoning (pp. 470–497). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Brown, J.S. (1985). Process versus product: A perspective on tools for communal and informal electronic learning. Journal of Educational Computing Research 1: 179–201.
Brown, J.S., Collins, A. & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher 18(1): 32–41.
Brown, J.S. & Duguid, P. (1993). Stolen knowledge. Educational Technology 33(3): 10–15.
Choi, J-I. & Hannafin, M.J. (1995). Situated cognition and learning environments: Roles, structures, and implications for design. Educational Technology Research and Development 43(2): 53–69.
Chung, J. & Reigeluth, C. (1992). Instructional prescriptions for learner control. Educational Technology 32(10): 14–20.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1991). Technology and the design of generative learning environments. Educational Technology 31(5): 34–40.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992). Emerging technologies, ISD, and learning environments: Critical perspectives. Educational Technology Research and Development 40(1): 65–80.
Collins, A., Brown, J.S. & Newman, S. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics, in L.B. Resnick, ed., Knowing, Learning and Instruction (pp. 453–494). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Craik, F.I.M. & Lockhart, R.S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 11: 671–684.
Craik, F.I.M. & Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 104: 268–294.
Crane, G. & Mylonas, E. (1988). The Perseus Project: An interactive curriculum on classical Greek civilization. Educational Technology 28(11): 25–32.
Cunningham, D.J. (1987). Outline of an education semiotic. The American Journal of Semiotics 5(2): 201–216.
Derry, S. & Murphy, D. (1986). Designing systems that train learning ability: From theory to practice. Review of Educational Research 56: 1–39.
Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think. Boston: Heath.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Collier Macmillan.
Dick, W. (1991). An instructional designer's view of constructivism. Educational Technology 31(5): 41–44.
Dick, W. & Carey, L. (1990). The Systematic Design of Instruction (3rd Ed.). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, and Company.
diSessa, A. (1982). Unlearning Aristotelian physics: A study of knowledge-based learning. Cognitive Science 6: 37–75.
diSessa, A. & White, B. (1982). Learning physics from a dynaturtle. Byte 7: 324.
Driver & Scanlon (1988). Conceptual change in science. Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning (5): 25–36.
Edwards, L.D. (1995). The design and analysis of a mathematical microworld. Journal of Educational Computing Research 12(1): 77–94.
Gagné, R. (1985). The Conditions of Learning (4th ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Gagné, R., Briggs, L. & Wager, W. (1988). Principles of Instructional Design (3rd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Gagné, R. & Merrill, M.D. (1990). Integrative goals for instructional design. Educational Technology Research and Development 38: 23–30.
Glaser, R. (1976). Components of a psychology of instruction: Toward a science of design. Review of Educational Research 46: 1–24.
Guba, E.G. (1990). The alternative paradigm dialog, in E. Guba, ed., The Paradigm Dialog (pp. 17–27). Newbury Park: Sage.
Hannafin, K.M. & Grumelli, M. (1993, February). Focusing Pedagogy on Problem Solving: Modeling Problem-Solving Strategies in an Undergraduate Humanities Course. Presented at the National Conference on Successful College Teaching and Administration, Orlando, FL.
Hannafin, M.J. (1989). Interaction strategies and emerging instructional technologies: Psychological perspectives. Canadian Journal of Educational Communication 18: 167–179.
Hannafin, M.J. (1992). Emerging technologies, ISD, and learning environments: Critical perspectives. Educational Technology Research and Development 40(1): 49–63.
Hannafin, M.J. (1995). Open-ended learning environments: Foundations, assumptions, and implications for automated design, in R. Tennyson, ed., Perspectives on Automating Instructional Design (pp. 101–129). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Hannafin, M.J., Hall, C., Land, S.M. & Hill, J.R. (1994). Learning in open-ended environments: Assumptions, methods, and implications. Educational Technology 34(8): 48–55.
Hannafin, M.J., Hannafin, K.M., Hooper, S.R., Rieber, L.P. & Kini, A. (1996). Research on and research with emerging technologies, in D. Jonassen, ed., Handbook of Research on Educational Communication and Technology (pp. 378–402). New York: Scholastic.
Hannafin, M.J., Hill, J. & Land, S. (in press). Student-centered learning and interactive multimedia: Status, issues, and implications. Contemporary Education.
Hannafin, M.J. & Rieber, L.P. (1989a). Psychological foundations of instructional design for emerging computer-based instructional technologies: Part I. Educational Technology Research and Development 37: 91–101.
Hannafin, M.J. & Rieber, L.P. (1989b). Psychological foundations of instructional design for emerging computer-based instructional technologies: Part II. Educational Technology Research and Development 37: 102–114.
Harel, I. & Papert, S. (1991). Software design as a learning environment, in I. Harel & S. Papert, eds., Constructionism (pp. 41–84). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Hooper, S. & Hannafin, M.J. (1991). Psychological perspectives on emerging instructional technologies: A critical analysis. Educational Psychologist 26: 69–95.
Jonassen, D. (1991). Objectivism versus constructivism: Do we need a new philosophical paradigm? Educational Technology Research and Development 39: 5–14.
Jonassen, D. (1992). What are cognitive tools? in P. Kommers & H. Mandl, eds., Cognitive Tools for Learning. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Jonassen, D. (1996). Computers in the Classroom: Mindtools for Critical Thinking. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.
Jonassen, D. & Reeves, T. (1996). Learning with technology: Using computers as cognitive tools, in D. Jonassen, ed., Handbook of Research on Educational Communication and Technology (pp. 693–719). New York: Scholastic.
Karmiloff-Smith, A. & Inhelder, B. (1975). If you want to get ahead, get a theory. Cognition 3(3): 195–212.
Kember, D. & Murphy, D. (1990). Alternative new directions for instructional design. Educational Technology 30(8): 42–47.
Klatzky, R. (1975). Human Memory: Structures and Processes. San Francisco: Freeman.
Kozma, R. B. (1987). The implications of cognitive psychology for computer-based learning tools. Educational Technology 27(11): 20–25.
Land, S.M. & Hannafin, M.J. (1996). A conceptual framework for the development of theories-in-action with open-learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development 44(3): 37–53.
Land, S.M. & Hannafin, M.J. (in press). Patterns of understanding with open-ended learning environments: A qualitative study. Educational Technology Research and Development.
Language Development and Hypermedia Research Group (1992). Bubble Dialogue: A new tool for instruction and assessment. Educational Technology Research and Development 40(2): 59–67.
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. New York: Cambridge.
Lebow, D. (1993). Constructivistic values for instructional systems design: Five principles toward a new mindset. Educational Technology Research and Development 41(3): 4–16.
Lebow D. & Johnson, D. (1993). Integrating emerging technologies into fitness education. FAHPERD Journal Fall: 38–42.
Levin, J. & Waugh, M. (1987). Educational simulations, tools, games, and microworlds: Computer-based environments for learning. International Journal of Educational Research 12(1): 71–79.
Lee, O., Eichinger, D., Anderson, C., Berkheimer, G. & Blakeslee, T. (1993). Changing middle school students' conceptions of matter and molecules. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 30(3): 249–270.
Lewis, E., Stern, J. & Linn, M. (1993). The effect of computer simulations on introductory thermodynamics understanding. Educational Technology 28(11): 8–12.
Li, Z. & Merrill, M. (1990). Transaction shells: A new apprach to courseware authoring. Journal of Research on Computing in Education 23(1): 72–86.
Linn, M. & Muilenburg, L. (1996). Creating lifelong science learners: What models form a firm foundation? Educational Researcher 25(5): 18–24.
Marchionin, G. (1988). Hypermedia and learning: Freedom and chaos. Educational Technology 33(1): 45–58.
Mayer, R.E. (1984). Aids to text comprehension. Educational Psychologist 19: 30–42.
Mayer, R.E. (1989). Models for understanding. Review of Educational Research 59: 43–64.
McCaslin, M. & Good, T. (1992). Compliant cognition: The misalliance of management and instructional goals in current school reform. Educational Researcher 21(3): 4–17.
McDermott, L. (1984). Research on conceptual understanding in mechanics. Physics Today 37: 24–32.
Merrill, M.D., Li, Z. & Jones, M. (1990a). Limitations of first generation instructional design. Educational Technology 30(1): 7–11.
Merrill, M.D., Li, Z. & Jones, M. (1990b). The second generation instructional design research program. Educational Technology 30(3): 26–31.
Miller, G. (1956). Information and memory. Scientific American 8: 28–32.
National Science Teachers' Association (1993). NSTA Standards for Science Teacher Preparation: An NSTA Position Statement. Washington, DC: National Science Teachers' Association.
Novak, J. & Musonda, D. (1991). A twelve-year longitudinal study of science concept learning. American Educational Research Journal 28(1): 117–153.
Olson, J. (1988). Schoolworlds/Microworlds: Computers and the Culture of the Classroom. New York: Pergammon Press.
Palincsar, A. & Brown, A. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction 1(2): 117–175.
Papert, S. (1993a). The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Papert, S. (1993b). Mindstorms (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Pea, R.D., (1991). Learning through multimedia. IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications 7: 58–66.
Pea, R.D., (1993). Practices of distributed intelligence and designs for education, in G. Salomon's, ed., Distributed Intelligence (pp. 47–87). New York: Cambridge.
Perkins, D. (1991). Technology meets constructivism: Do they make a marriage? Educational Technology 31(5): 18–23.
Perkins, D. (1993). Person-plus: A distributed view of thinking and learning, in G. Salomon's, ed., Distributed Intelligence (pp. 89–109). New York: Cambridge.
Perkins, D. & Salomon, G. (1989). Are cognitive skills context-bound? Educational Researcher 18(1): 16–25.
Perkins, D. & Simmons, R. (1988). Patterns of misunderstanding: An integrative model for science, math, and programming. Review of Educational Research 58: 303–326.
Phillips, D.C. (1995). The good, the bad, and the ugly: The many faces of constructivism. Educational Researcher 24(7): 5–12.
Piaget, J. (1952). The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York: International University Press.
Reigeluth, C.M. (1989). Educational technology at the crossroads: New mindsets and new directions. Educational Technology Research and Development 37(1): 67–80.
Reigeluth, C.M. (1996). A new paradigm of ISD? Educational Technology 36(5): 13–20.
Rieber, L.P. (1992). Computer-based microworlds: A bridge between constructivism and direct instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development 40(1): 93–106.
Roth, W.M. & Roychoudhury, A. (1993). The development of science process skills in authentic contexts. Journal in Research in Science Teaching 30(2): 127–152.
Salomon, G. (1979). Interaction of Media, Cognition, and Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Salomon, G. (1986). Information technologies: What you see is not (always) what you get. Educational Psychologist 20: 207–216.
Salomon, G., Globerson, T. & Guterman, E. (1989). The computer as a zone of proximal development: Internalizing reading-related metacognitions froma reading partner. Journal of Educational Psychology 81(4): 620–627.
Salomon, G., Perkins, D. & Globerson, T. (1991). Partners in cognition: Extending human intelligence with intelligent technologies. Educational Researcher 4: 2–8.
Scardamalia, M. & Bereiter, C. (1985). Fostering the development of self-regulation in children's knowledge processing, in S.F. Chipman, J.W. Segal & R. Glaser, eds., Thinking and Learning Skills: Research and Open Questions (pp. 563–577). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Scardamalia, M., Bereiter, C., McLean, R., Swallow, J. & Woodruff, E. (1989). Computer-supported intentional learning environments. Journal of Educational Computing Research 5: 51–68.
Schön, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Schwartz, J. & Yerushalmy, M. (1987). The Geometric Supposer: Using microcomputers to restore invention to the learning of mathematics, in D. Perkins, J. Lockhead & J. Bishop, eds., Thinking: Proceedings of the Second International Conference (pp. 525–536). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shotsberger, P. (1996). Instructional uses of the World Wide Web: Exemplars and precautions. Educational Technology 36(2): 47–50.
Spiro, R., Feltovich, P., Jacobson, M. & Coulson, R. (1991). Cognitive flexibility, constructivism, and hypertext: Random access instruction for advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. Educational Technology 5: 24–33.
Spiro, R. & Jengh, J. (1990). Cognitive flexibility, random access instruction, and hypertext: Theory and technology for non-linear and multidimensional traversal of complex subject matter, in D. Nix and R. Spiro, eds., Cognition, Education, and Multimedia: Exploring Ideas in High Technology (pp. 163–205). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Steinberg, E. (1977). Review of student control in computer-assisted instruction. Journal of Computer-Based Instruction 3: 84–90.
Steinberg, E. (1989). Cognition and learner control: A literature review, 1977–1988. Journal of Computer-Based Instruction 16: 117–121.
Strommen, E. & Lincoln, B. (1992). Constructivism, technology, and the future of classroom learning. Education and Urban Society 24: 466–476.
Thurber, B.D., Macy, G. & Pope, J. (1991). The book, the computer, and the humanities. T.H.E. Journal 8: 57–61.
Tobin, K. & Dawson, G. (1992). Constraints to curriculum reform: Teachers and the myths of schooling. Educational Technology Research and Development 40(1): 81–92.
Trollip, S.R. & Lippert, R.C. (1987). Constructing knowledge bases: A promising instructional tool. Journal of Computer-Based Instruction 14(2): 44–48.
Twigger, D., Byard, M., Draper, S., Driver, R., Hartley, R., Hennessy, S., Mallen, C., Mohamed, R., O'Malley, C., O'shea, T. & Scanlon, E. (1991). The ‘conceptual change in science’ project. Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning 7: 144–155.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
White, B. & Horwitz, P. (1987). ThinkerTools: Enabling Children to Understand Physical Laws. Cambridge, MA: BBN Laboratories.
Whitehead, A.N. (1929). The Aims of Education. New York: MacMillan.
Wilensky, U. (1991). Abstract meditations on the concrete and concrete implications for mathematics education, in I. Harel & S. Papert, eds., Constructionism (pp. 193–203). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Winn, W. (1993). Instructional design and situated learning: Paradox or partnership? Educational Technology 3: 16–20.
Yankelovich, N., Haan, B., Meyrowitz, N. & Drucker, S. (1988). Intermedia: The concept and the construction of a seamless information environment. Computer 21(1): 81–96.
Young, M. (1993). Instructional design for situated learning. Educational Technology Research and Development 41(1): 43–58.
Young, M. & McNeese, M. (1995). A situated cognition approach to problem solving, in J. Flach, P. Hancock & K. Vicente, eds., The Ecology of Human-Machine Systems. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
HANNAFIN, M.J., LAND, S.M. The foundations and assumptions of technology-enhanced student-centered learning environments. Instructional Science 25, 167–202 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1002997414652
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1002997414652