ANCHORS: EXPERIMENTS WITH ANCHORED ... - CiteSeerX

FROM “REAL” TO “MEDIA” ANCHORS: EXPERIMENTS WITH ANCHORED INSTRUCTION OF NOMADIC CHILDREN Dr. M V Ananthakrishnan & Professor Krithi Ramamritham Media Lab Asia, Kanwal Rekhi School of Information Technology Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076 INDIA Abstract The nomadic tribes in India show very little concern for educating their children and, because of their wandering nature, it has become near impossible to have a continuum in their education, even if it made available. The authors have made an in depth study of three tribes in Maharashtra (India) over a period of four months and evaluated the various resources and methods that could be exploited successfully in sustained education of the children. It included a comparative study of media versus traditional teaching, instructional technologies rich in physical resources and exploiting the typical nomad locale using anchored instruction. Historically, anchored instruction talks of media resources being used as anchors in classrooms . However, the authors have explored the possibilities of using “real-life” anchors available in the nomad camps and its precincts. Experiments were conducted in two phases. Phase I was carried out over four class-days in a camp. Using the School tent as the anchor, 20 children, broken into two groups of 10 each, were taken for a visit inside the camp and made to identify the objects in the camp, identify the charts, count the number of pictures on a chart, identify colours and shapes on a chart and name the specific elements on a chart (an animal from an animal chart). At the end of the session, random queries were made by the facilitator, resulting in one hundred percent correct answers. Further, to ensure that it was not a chance event, volunteers went for three successive days subsequently to verify the learning and retention. One hundred percent success was once again evident. The experiment of Phase I was video-recorded during a subsequent visit. The recorded tape/CD was used as an anchor in another nomad camp and, using it, the new group of children were taught/ enlightened. We plan to test a number of similar anchors and produce a complement of CDs that could be used across camps. The CDs, along with a laptop, would then serve the purpose of a roving instructor in tandem with the tribes. 1.

The Nomadic Tribes in Maharashtra

1.1

General Traits

A year 2000 study of the nomadic tribes in Maharashtra (Rathod, 2000) is representative enough of their current status. According to this study, Maharashtra has 5 million nomads in an all-India estimate of 60 million nomads distributed over 313 nomadic tribes across the country (Figure 1)

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Fig. 1: The nomads The tribes, because of their supposedly criminal history since the British days, are still subject to frequent harassment by the police, leading to arrests and, in extreme cases, to shifting camps. The tribes exhibit traits like a) worshipping nature in different forms b) sacrificing animals during religious functions c) following tribe-specific dress codes d) Jat Panchayats (during the annual fairs) to govern their social life with the decisions/verdicts being given on individual and social issues Each tribe has a distinct cultural identity in that it has a) unique dialects b) exclusive folklore c) unique customs and practices d) social interactions that are marked by their lifestyles and professions Being “wanderers” by nature and setting up camps (called Pals) in different places, they are isolated from society. Further, they tend to stay near jungles so as to ensure ready supply of food and items for sale. 1.2

Issues of Concern

The tribes are socially backward. The children have no opportunity to be educated on a continuing basis, because of their wandering nature. Further, they are deeply entrenched in superstition and ignorance, often resulting in their being backward socially and economically. The girl child is still looked upon as one destined only get married, bear children and manage the kitchen. Education for the girl child is still a far cry!

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Fig. 2: A typical nomad habitat Hygiene, both personal and community, is abysmal (Figure 2). They live amongst the filth created by them and the animals they have (poultry, pigs, goats, sheep, cows, bulls and monkeys, to name a few). Common “ills” include: a) not washing after answering nature’s calls b) not washing prior to eating food c) not washing prior to drinking water d) not washing glasses/vessels before using them e) indifference to animals entering the tents and fiddling with the food, water etc. f) leaving food/water uncovered g) not having a bath followed by wearing clean clothes h) easing oneself anywhere and everywhere Therefore, education and hygiene are seen as of very little consequence by the community. According to them, Education and good hygiene will not take them up the social ladder. 2.

The Profile of the children in two typical nomad camps

Fig. 3: The children in Ambernath Camp

Fig. 4: The children in Umerga Camp

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Figures 3 and 4 depict the groups that were exposed to the studies in the two respective camps. Table1 gives the profile of the children in the two camps (Ambernath and Umerga). Number Age(yrs)

Boys

Girls

Average Age (yrs) Overall

Boys

Girls

Overall

13.0

12.1

9.1

8.5

UMERGA NOMAD CAMP 6

1

0

1

7

2

0

2

8

2

0

2

9

0

1

1

10

0

0

0

11

1

0

1

12

0

2

2

13

2

0

2

14

4

0

4

15

1

0

1

16

1

2

3

17

1

0

1

11.8

AMBERNATH NOMAD CAMP 5

2

1

3

6

1

1

2

7

3

2

5

8

5

0

5

9

1

2

3

10

3

0

3

11

1

0

1

12

1

2

3

13

0

0

0

14

0

0

0

15

0

1

1

8.2

Table 1: Profile of the children exposed to the experimental studies 3.

The Instructional Strategy: What will work?

The problem of educating the nomad child poses a stiff challenge, a challenge with many facets including a) can we have a strategy/methodology that is “mobile”? b) can the course material be modified as and when needed? c) can the course material be tribe-independent?

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d) can the material be used by the local teacher(s) in the same way as conceived by the developers? e) is the course flexible enough to facilitate the instructor incorporate local content and personal experiences? f) will the course be exciting enough to trigger cascading ideas in the minds of the learner/instructor? One, therefore, needs to evaluate the various instructional strategies in light of the desired goals set for the nomadic children. The instructional strategies identified and tried out initially include: a) Instructor-led vs. Media-led b) Course-specific c) Action Learning 3.1

Instructor-led vis-à-vis Media-led

This study was carried out with the Medhangijoshi tribe, currently stationed in Ambernath, facing the Lok Nagri Housing Complex. Ambernath is a small industrial suburb, an hour’s journey by train from Mumbai (India).The children (around 30 in number) were divided into two groups, Group A and Group B, based on their ages. This was a very crude distribution methodology as the children were separated, based on their height and appearance. One had to live with it because the camp elders had done the sorting. Multimedia instruction

Traditional lecture-cum-discussion

Gains • • • •

Entertaining Absorbing Effective in correlating animals to their names Language comfort (Marathi)

Gains • • shown

Problems • Inability to recall • Limited learning • Limited group learning Possible Riders • Children carried away by the technology • Children not focussed on learning and possible recall

• • • • •

Ability to count (using fingers) Ability to identify numbers (1 to 10) shown using fingers, even when rapidly changing Ability to identify alphabets Ability to build words from alphabets (limited vocabulary) Writing skills observed (with limitations in their correct formation) Reasonably good recall Relationships connected well

Problems • • •

Weakness in reeling off a sequence of natural numbers as and when asked to start from a random number Correlating terminology with actions/operations Shyness & feeling of insecurity resulting in limited participation

Table 2: Comparison of Multimedia vs. Traditional 5

While Group A was exposed to a multimedia CD presentation involving recitation of poems and reading of stories, Group B went through the classroom session with the instructor as facilitator. The Groups were then swapped and the modes repeated. The overall findings of the observations are summarised as given in the Table 2. The logical conclusion that could be drawn from the above experiment was that a hybrid approach (Media + Instructor) might be a preferred alternative. 3.2

Course-specific

A detailed study was carried out of the curriculum prescribed by the Maharashtra State Board of Education for Grades 1 to 4 (for this constitutes primary education). The relevant textbooks and associated teacher guides were studied. Based on this, Vigyan Ashram, an NGO located in Pabal (Maharashtra), developed a series of displays. These displays were designed to teach the alphabets, numbers, colours and shapes. This basic kit was tried out in the Ambernath Camp and later on put on display in the Get-together Function of the Nomadic tribes of Maharashtra in Yemgarwadi (Maharashtra).in early April 2005 (Figure 5).

Fig. 5: The Instructional Resources 3.3

Action Learning

This was the experiment that ultimately led the authors to think in terms of using “anchored instruction” as an instructional strategy. This was carried out with the same children in the Ambernath camp during a subsequent visit. The experiments and the relevant findings are shown in Table 3. Aspect (a) Concept of Height

Action/Exercise/Observation The 20 children line up by height (shortest to tallest). The problem: What is the meaning of height? Resolved by facilitating the first few. However, a tendency to be first in the queue (competition) was evident

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(b) Segregation into boys and The children were asked to separate out into boys and girls in two girls separate lines, again as per height. The Problem: The children tried dissembling chaotically and took quite sometime, with mentoring, to form the two lines Resolved partially half-way by (a) preventing the lines from getting completely dissembled, (b)keeping the organised portion in tact and (c) asking each child to join the respective line Lesson learnt: Once organised, the organisation can be retained with some fore-thought Children were given the option to pick any word/sing any song with (c) Antakshari (Wordthe prescribed alphabet, arising out of the preceding word building) Competition encouraged by limiting the time taken to respond and awarding points to the team whose word string could not be continued! The limitations of the vocabulary was evident, after the identification of the first 10 words – words either repeated or irrelevant words concocted Only one song was sung in the sequel Frequent prompting was necessary to elicit more words! The team reaching 10 points first was declared the winner. The boys’ team won! (d) Formation of closed loops (e) Drawing Skills

- The individual lines of girls and boys were split into two and each of the four formed closed loops holding each others’ hands -The groups were asked to sit down in their respective positions - A leader was identified for each of the four teams - Each team was given a drawing book and a set of colour pencils - Each member of the team was required to write their name on a sheet of the drawing book and then draw something of their choice and colour it - An approximate time period of 5 minutes was given to each student Problems/issues evident - Leadership (“I will start first”) - Distribution of one pencil per person and so falling short of pencils! - Use of drawing space (one corner!) - Not more than one colour used! - Putting each pencil back in the box before giving the next one (Possessive!, Making sure that no pencil is lost) - Resource Management Remedial measures exercised midway - Reminding that the whole sheet has to be used - Hinting on colours of objects drawn to facilitate use of more than one colour - Taking all the pencils out of the box and putting them all on the floor - Advising the leader to count the number of pencils after all have completed and then return the pencils

Table 3: Action Learning: Experiments and Observations

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4.

Anchored Instruction: The possible Panacea!

A series of visits to the Ambernath camp followed the first tryst with Anchored Instruction Figure 6). The first three were on consecutive days whilst the fourth and the fifth were after a significant break, even in between visits. The subsequent sections will detail out the exciting and sometimes disturbing outcomes.

Fig.6: The Ambernath School Tent 4.1

What is Anchored Instruction?

Anchored Instruction is a major paradigm for technology-based learning that has been developed by the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV), under the leadership of John Bransford (1990). Anchored Instruction is closely related to the “situated learning” framework and the “Cognitive Flexibility” theory in its emphasis on the use of technology-based learning. The scope, as stated by the author of the strategy, includes reading, languages, arts and mathematical skills. The CLGV developed a set of interactive videodisc programmes called the “Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series” involving adventures in which mathematical concepts were used to solve problems. However, according to Bransford and Stein (1993), “the paradigm is based upon a general model of problem solving”. 4.2

Attitude towards a new technology in the workspace

Bill (1997) has brought out the critical issues that influence the acceptance of technological changes in the workspace. If employers desire to adopt technological

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innovation to improve/quicken the process on the one hand, employees remain divided on their attitudes. Then what is it that brings about this divide amongst the employees? Are the individual experiences (good/bad) that decide the attitude? Bill (1997) talks about the various “lenses” through which an employee (or parents/ children/ society) views the innovation. (the instructional strategy in this case) viz., a) Beliefs and Values b) Age, gender and cognitive/mechanical ability c) Organisational Control Factors d) Organisational Social Factors 4.3

The Nomads and their attitude towards New Methodologies/Technologies

Fig. 7: Children watching the Video “Anchor” on a Laptop This was indeed one of the hardest nuts to crack in the entire exercise (Figure 7). Table 4 shows the various lenses as defined by Bill (1997) and specific to the nomads. Bill’s Lens Beliefs and Values

The Nomad’s reaction/response a) How does education benefit me? b) Will the higher societies accept me if I am well educated? c) How does personal hygiene improve my living standards? d) The children need to be dirty to succeed in begging. So why neat dresses? e) Why save? Eat and make merry…the more I earn the better will be my repast! f) I am always on the move... so how do I study/educate my child? g) After all…My children will also be nomads! h) The more the children, the more money I can get. i) Corporeal punishment is the law of the day! j) Girls to be married off early. Child marriages are common!

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Age, Gender, Cognitive/Mechanical Ability

a)

We are too old to follow up with the instruction given in the regular sessions b) The ladies are only to look after the babies, cook food and take care of the family c) Girls are not to be educated d) Girls are to be married off at the earliest opportunity but definitely before they come of age e) Cognitive/mechanical abilities restricted to the specific needs of the tribe… and they excel in these!

Community (Organisational) Control Factors

a) Follow the leader (local chief/mukhiya) b) Minor problems settled by local chief c) Major problems taken up during annual tribe-specific meets

Community (Organisational) Social Factors

a) Women are always subservient b) Girls of age dissuaded from attending classes c) Girls taken off from education once they come of age…to be married off! d) Men-folk prone to arrests by Police…following any case of theft in the neighbourhood… resulting in lock-ups or imprisonment e) Following (d), instances of the woman getting married to another man in the community… resulting in the children being ill- treated. f) Polygamy and polyandry are common phenomena! g) Children run away from home…to be kidnapped, illtreated, abused and sometimes killed in accidents/feuds and the like

Table 4: Bill’s Lens vis-à-vis The Nomads 5.

Anchored Instruction: Its implementation

Based on a detailed survey of the nomadic camps in terms of possible “anchors”, the following were identified as relevant and effective anchors: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h)

The immediate environment The individual “pals” (tents) The animals The journey from the tent to the village/town while going out to carry out their trade/profession The family The community living Health & hygiene The school

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The study was carried out in two phases viz., a) Phase I - Using “real” anchors b) Phase II - Using “video” anchors 5.1

Phase I: “Real” anchors

5.1.1

The Respective Anchors

The scenarios in and around the individual camps in the three locations (Ambernath, Tuljapur and Umerga) were used as “real” anchors (Figure 8) for the anchored instruction exercise viz. a) Ambernath (the school) b) Tuljapur (the surrounding area) c) Umerga (the school and its precincts)

Ambernath

Tuljapur

Umerga Fig. 8: The “Real” Anchors in the three camps

In each case, the children were taken around the respective anchors in each camp. The corresponding elements and learning outcomes were as given in Table 4.

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Camp

Anchor

Ambernath

Tuljapur

Umerga

Elements • The school tent and its School components o Central pole o Supporting poles o Windows o Anchors • The charts inside the tent[(Animals (wild, domesticated), Birds, Fruits, Flowers, Vegetables, Transportation, The Human Body, Insects & Reptiles] • The school building School o Shape o Neighbourhood o Charts o Alphabets o Fruits o Animals • The school shed School • Charts & its precincts • Neighbourhood • Flora & Fauna

Learning outcome(s) • • • • • • •

Identification Counting Vocabulary Colours Shapes Relationships Associations

• • • •

Identification Counting Vocabulary Colours

• • • • • • •

Identification Counting Association Colours Flowers and plants Animals/birds Measurement

Table 5: The “Real” anchors used in Phase I of Anchored Instruction 5.1.2

The Ambernath “Anchor”: The “Recap” Exercise

The Recap was done following the anchored instruction exposure. Students were called at random to a) Count the number of charts b) Count the number of pictures in a chart c) Identify specific charts d) Identify an animal in the chart e) Identify/count flowers in the chart f) Identify flowers with leaves in the chart g) Identify two wheelers in the chart h) Identify animal-driven vehicles in the chart

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i) j) k) l) m)

Identify transport vehicles that fly Count the number of transport vehicles that go on water Identify parts of the human body Identify the insects in the chart Identification of specified item from amongst the various charts

A series of recap sessions were conducted on successive days to assess the assimilation and recall. These sessions showed one hundred percent retention and recall. 5.2

Phase II: The “Video” anchor in Anchored Instruction

5.2.1 The making of the anchor

Fig. 9: The anchor used of the video-recording in Ambernath The “video” anchor (Figure 9) was prepared by video-recording one of the “real” anchor sessions conducted in the Ambernath camp. The video footage was made up of: a) The approach from the entrance of the nomad complex to the school a. The path through the various individual tents b. The various animals and birds found in the path c. The precincts of a typical family tent d. The people moving in and out of the camp b) The students a. Boys b. Girls c) The exterior of the school tent a. Around the school tent b. The various components of the tent c. d) Inside the tent a. Charts b. Components of tent

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5.2.2

The “video” anchor in action in Ambernath

The camp was visited after a break of a week following the recording. The children were shown the video on a laptop in two rounds (Figure 10) viz. a) Round 1 for the children to have the excitement of seeing themselves and sharing the moments of fun with all b) Round 2 for the children to learn and add value to their knowledge

Fig. 10: The video used as an anchor in Ambernath The first round was “a treat to watch” with the kids vying among themselves to identify animals, birds, tents, friends, relations and the precincts while the second round was helpful in finding out how much of the information they were able to recall as also some of the details that they had missed when going through Phase I (actual tour of the school and its precincts). This was what was very exciting and fulfilling for the children as well as the project team. The significant “errors” that were noticed were: a) The number of charts b) The number of images on a particular chart c) The colours of animals and birds d) The count in the number of boys and girls 5.2.3

The “video” anchor as used in Tuljapur and Umerga

The visits to the Tuljapur and Umerga camps followed immediately after the Ambernath visit. The children in these two camps were shown the video on a laptop (Figure 11). The responses were seen to be believed. The fact that the video was not of their camp was an advantage. The children were focussed more on the content and, as a result, the element of discovery was evident right through. They seemed to observe every fine detail and come out with much more learning than the Ambernath children.

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Umerga

Tuljapur Fig. 11: The video anchor being shown on a laptop

Examples of this value-added learning included a) identifying mistakes by the child (in the video) while counting the number of charts in the school tent b) confirming the number of images on a particular chart c) debating on the colours of animals and birds d) counting in the number of boys and girls as seen in the video The video was shown once again to help some of the children who could not succeed in the first screening. This second screening also saw the brighter children help the slower ones in identifying and correctly answering the various questions. 5.2.4

New video anchors based on the Tuljapur and Umerga schools and their precincts

Tuljapur

Umerga Fig. 12: Video anchors selected in Tuljapur and Umerga

A fresh set of videos were shot in each of the locations on the same lines as the inaugural one in Ambernath. Plans are in hand to use these as anchors in the other locations (Figure 12).

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6.

Conclusions

The phased approach to the testing and implementation of the instructional strategies did help a lot in designing and developing the appropriate “anchors”. The field testing of the Ambernath “video” anchor in two new locations proved its effectiveness in a) Discovering the wealth of information available in one’s own backyard b) Helping children learn through participative, exploratory and social experiences c) Creating an environment of excitement and discovery conducive to learning d) Providing information about other nomad camps and their lifestyles e) Correlating with each other f) Proving that the medium was a very effective in ensuring portability, consistency and repeatability across locations and tribes 7.

Further Work

The effectiveness of the “anchored instruction” approach will be analysed by using it across other nomadic tribes spread across the state of Maharashtra and the adjoining states and subsequently across the country. The results of the macro-level study across a nation could be used to formulate a set of guidelines that could be universally applied to such experiments in other parts of the world. 8.

Acknowledgements

The authors want to put on record their sincere thanks to Prajakta Patil, Rahul Swami and Rohan Kulkarni (all of Media Lab Asia, IIT Bombay) and Mr. Yogesh Kulkarni and Jyothi Shinde (both of Vigyan Ashram, Pabal, India) for all the groundwork and analysis. Mr. Girish Prabhune (BVVP) and the Nomad Camp teachers deserve special mention for facilitating this important experiment and helping in the evaluation of its outcomes. 9.

References

Bill D T (1997)

Contributing Influences on an Individual’s attitude towards a new technology in the Workplace, www.centurionsys.com/rtd47.htm

Bransford J D (1990) Anchored Instruction: Why we need it and how technology can help, Cognition, education and multimedia, Hillsdale, Erlbaum Associates Bransford J D and Stein B S (1993)

The Ideal Problem Solver, New York, Freeman

Rathod M (2000)

Denotified and Nomadic Tribes in Maharashtra, DNT Rights Group Newsletter, Vadodara, Apr-Jun & July-Sep 2000

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