Practicing connections: A new design framework for developing courseware in rich domains
Abstract: Students of complex domains (such as statistics) gain some knowledge of a large assortment of concepts and skills, yet often fail to comprehend the core ideas that link these concepts and procedures together. In order to give students a more coherent view of a rich domain, and thus a more flexible understanding that can be applied appropriately across a number of situations, we develop a framework for instructional design based on research in cognitive science called the Practicing-Connections Hypothesis. We implement that framework in a free online interactive textbook for introductory statistics. We report on the initial design of the course and our first experiences implementing these ideas.
Presider: Patrick Devey, Algonquin College