The Ignition of collaboration, curiosity and effective thinking through cross-
curriculum tools: a case study on the usage of LEGO in project-based learning
inside the primary classroom.
PhD in Education (Research Proposal)
Khaled Mabrouk
11-02-2019
Table of Contents………………………………………Page
I- Abstract………………………………………………1
II- Research question……………...................2
III- Research objectives……………………………2
IV- List of topic ideas…………………………..……2
V- Literature review………………………………..3
VI- Methodology………………….....................6
VII- Reference list……………………………………7
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I- Abstract
Teaching students how to construct knowledge and meaning from their own learning
experiences is one of the challenges that schools face today, which means each kid
should be given the opportunity to show that s/he is the maker of meaning and
knowledge, instead of only receiving information from his/her teacher (Ultanir, 2012). In
other words, students should construct their knowledge rather than searching for it
(Boghossion, 2006).
However, most of the learning tools and activities that students rely on today at schools
do not show the meaning of constructive learning that a student requires in his/her
daily life as most of what teachers teach or what students learn at schools focus on
lecture and tutorial (i.e., whether face to face or video tutorial), and thus there must be
a performance of understanding through some appropriate constructive tools that help
students to gain a new knowledge and make it function through what they produce
(Biggs, 2003).
By the same token, encouraging students play more will equip the foundation of social
emotional learning as playing will help children to experience and understand the world
easily (Anderson, 2018). Accordingly, elementary education curriculum should be
connected with a tool, or a device that helps in engaging with group members",
conceptualize their journey of development, and indeed help elementary students to
make connections in their learning by engaging them in a playful domain (Cavaliero",
2017).
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II- Research question
What are the outcomes of understanding for primary students rely on theoretical
learning tools and those who are surrounded by playful learning tools (LEGO)?
III- Research objectives
- Identify the differences between physical, theoretical, and virtual
educational resources.
- Evaluate critically the usage of playful tool (e.g., LEGO) in project-based
learning and its influence on students’ learning.
- Explore through observations the effect of LEGO on students’ understanding
and thinking.
- Formulate recommendations on the use of LEGO as an integrated tool in
three subject areas (Literacy, Numeracy and Science).
- Examine the attitude of those students who integrate LEGO in subject areas",
and those who do not.
IV- List of topic ideas
- Why do primary schools need to engage students in playful learning?
- Does the use of cross-curriculum tool (e.g., LEGO) facilitate teaching and learning
inside the primary classroom?
- Why backpacks are not filled up with LEGO, instead of books?
- Does the primary student use the iPad as a theoretical tool or a digital tool?
- Do primary students get distracted easily by iPads?
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V- Literature review
Introduction
Palpable tools play a vital role in today’s education, especially for young learners, as
primary students prefer to construct things, and they also love to learn from their own
experiences (Somyurek, 2015). Accordingly, some schools apply what is called today
blended-learning, while other schools prefer to apply playful learning (Lillard, 2013).
But, some teachers still struggle with the blended-learning classroom because of its
tools, because they discovered that most of the kids get distracted easily by their iPads",
which leads students to ask their teachers to repeat the lesson instructions once more",
as most of their heads down and iPads up (Frohlich, 2017).
On the other hand, some schools discovered that playful learning tools would encourage
the kid to use his/her iPad wisely (Hinske and Langheinrich, 2009). In other words",
virtual tools can be used as good facilitating companions or instruction manuals that
help the kid to search for what s/he wants to apply (Eady and Lockyer, 2013). Regardless
the facilitation that such great device brought to schools, children still need to see
reality inside the classroom through the iPad, and not the opposite (Hinske and
Langheinrich, 2009). Which means that the use of iPads only will not help in improving
young learners achievements as teachers should find a way that can encourage their
learners to integrate these devices into education and help students to build, create, or
produce (Geer et al., 2017). Therefore, K12 education should ask for the call of
augmented tools, instead of virtual tools, as augmented tools help in integrating the two
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worlds of the kid; the real-physical world and the virtual world at the same time, while
virtual tools limit the social interaction of the kid with his colleagues (Hinske and
Langheinrich, 2009).
Discussion
Learning with technology has become fundamental today, as teachers and students use
virtual tools whether to facilitate learning or to develop understanding, and that is why
digital tools are so important because they help in introducing students to new topics",
provide access to different text types and engage learners in different activities that are
not possible to be applied inside the classroom (Eady and Lockyer, 2013).
However, primary students are indeed still want to play and construct their
understanding via the use of touchable tools that help in bringing the virtual world to
reality (Hinske and Langheinrich, 2009). Therefore, It is hard to say that solely
technology can work, as many still fail in their final assessments with the intensive
existence of the digital tools (Porter, 2013).
On the other hand, many teachers mix between technology as being a specific subject to
teach and technology as an integral tool, which means there is no difference between a
kindle book (electronic book) and a normal book, especially when teachers ask their
students to only focus on reading, and thus there must be a learning skill that teachers
should apply to hold their students on learning something new plus reading, and that
means the new era requires a multi-tasked student; a student who gains digital skills
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and knowledge at the same time (Mayas and Freitas 2007, cited in Beetham and Sharpe",
2007 p.13).
21st century education asks for teachers who know how to nurture the spirit of every
child inside the classroom (Hammond, 2006). The reason behind that is because
students are fluent in the digital language of computers, and thus they can search for
any information that increases their knowledge anytime and anywhere, as today’s
learners do not need to read a manual to understand a program, which means life
changed and young learners became symbiotic with technology, and that is why ICT is
essential for them (Prensky, 2005).
“Teachers need and deserve the time and training to be experts in managing and
instructing with the tools they are expected to use in their trade.”
(Hower et al, 2015 p. 17)
In addition, teachers should understand first, how to control and direct ICT inside the
classroom, which simply means that education technology (edtech) should be at the
service of teaching and not the opposite (Economist, 2017), and this is also argued by
Prensky’s discussion from 2010 on 21st century education requirements where he
states;
“The key change and challenge for all 21st century teachers is to become comfortable not
with the details of new technology, but rather with a different and better kind of
pedagogy: partnering",” (p.3).
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Consequently, relying on virtual learning will not provide students with all skills needed
because students will become isolated from the real world, and they will not face any
physical or social challenges (Hinske et al., 2008).
Conclusion
As a result, primary students require a 3 skill kit that helps them to communicate, create
and play, but having a virtual tool inside the 21st century classroom will not encourage
today’s learners to become social, but rather the social life of those who only use virtual
kits will become at risk because they are going to be alienated from face to face social
interactions (Hinske and Langheinrich, 2009)
Equally important, elementary students require playful learning; a kind of learning that
develop their mental skills and help them in activating the virtual tool effectively, and
without getting distracted by it, and thus the use of augmented kits will help in
developing blended-learning (Hinske et al., 2008).
VI- Methodology
Research Methodology is the research section that helps the researcher in collecting
and analyzing his/her own empirical data as the researcher here should state the
approaches and strategies that s/he adopts for the research, so it is a combination of
what and why the researcher is doing things that way (Biggam, 2011).
The data will be collected in this research is more qualitative than being quantitative",
therefore It is better to say that the research philosophy is more subjectivism, than
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being objectivism, as subjectivism refers to qualitative, phenomenological, humanistic
and interpretivist approaches, while objectivism refers to quantitative, positivist",
scientific, experimentalist, traditionalist and functionalist approaches (Hussey and
Hussey 1997, cited in Holden and Lynch, 2004 pp. 397-409).
Since this research study tends to be qualitative study. Therefore, the study here follows
the qualitative analysis process, and thus the data will be collected via both observation
and documentation (Biggam, 2011).
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