Design Issues for Learning Environments

I found this article to be quite interesting. The beginning questions whether skills should be taught in school that can now be completed on a computer. I do feel that this is a valid point but I don't feel that computers should take the place of critical thinking.

The learning goal that stands out the most is cognitive vs. physical fidelity. I believe that simulated environments are an excellent teaching strategy that keep the students engaged, but I also agree that it doesn't necessarily show them how to apply what they've learned. Students may not be able to make correlations in real life situations when simulated environments are used.

When comparing fun learning to serious learning, I found that the comparisons were very accurate. As I student, I remember playing around the world with math facts. Although I enjoyed the game, the only reason I did so well was because I already knew my math facts. This game only increased the speed of blurting out facts, but never helped students memorize them. I do agree that serious learning is more effective because students can be engaged in learning that will still be enjoyable for them and while learning at the same time.

Of the teaching strategies, I think that coaching is most effective because it touches on all the strategies at once. I don't necessarily agree that students don't like to reflect on their performance because I do believe that in many cases, students are interested in improving. So the reflection perspective is a bit skewed.