Sunday, April 15, 2007

 
Inquiry Method of Instruction (IMI)

© Sanjay Mukherjee and Rukesh Patel

This paper has been written based on the work of Rukesh Patel and Sanjay Mukherjee. The duo collaborated in an effort to find a new method to adapt the principles of Socratic teaching and Dialogue Driven Learning to the teaching of Math in the eLearning environment. IMI is an attempt to formalize the more challenging of the two realms of applications of Dialogue-Driven Learning (DDL). Rukesh Patel has earlier written a paper describing and defining the applications and limitations of the approach.



Premises

1. L earning can occur through a constructive system of questioning.
2. Effective instruction can be imparted through conversation.
3. Conversation needs a definite personality to be effective.
4. The method of instruction must respect the learner’s ability.


Challenges

1. Learner interaction is critical to this method. The exposition cannot move ahead without learner input.
2. Since this method calls for a significant amount of branching, it may require more time than other methods to complete an ‘exposition’.


Methodology

This method of exposition integrates the Interactive Conversation Interface (ICI) with the Socratic Method. It starts by posing a lead-in question to the learner and then replying with a question for every answer. The focus is to capitalize on the learner’s deductive reasoning ability by asking logically leading questions and addressing any errors or contradictions in logic through constructive dialogue.

The dynamics of the conversation must create an environment of trust between the learner and the ‘personality’ of the course. We talk of personality because the concept of personality is fundamental to creating a conversational learning journey as opposed to a guided discovery or direct teaching approach.

Compelling contextual scenarios will form the basis of the conversation and the arguments, wherever the math skill under discussion naturally lends itself to exposition via a context. These contexts will run right through the exposition.

This method would take advantage of stacked responses wherein certain key learner responses will be remembered to provide accumulative feedback. This enhances the learner’s experience by maintaining the illusion of his/her awareness by enabling the course to respond to more than just the learner’s immediate responses.

Pattern of Dialogue

Question
Options

Question
Options

Question
Options


This pattern of dialogue encourages deductive thinking in the learner since each answer option is followed by another question with options requiring further logical thought on the initial foundation. Each answer option at any point in time initiates a distinct branch of reasoning. One of these serves as the main branch or the ideal thread of deductive logic and the other branches eventually lead back to this main thread of logic running through the exposition.


Learning Paths

There are two critical learning paths which define the level of the learner: Efficient Leaning Path (ELP) and Inefficient Learning Path (ILP). The ELP is for students on the fast track, while the ILP is for students who take their time in getting things into perspective. The language for each path is determined by these considerations thus ensuring a customized learning experience. iMi allows for a change of gears from one learning path to another which enables a student to fast-track his/her learning.

The method of branching is such that it eliminates the wrong answers till the learner arrives at the correct answer through reasoning. The focus is on learning and not teaching with the learner playing the central role.

The number of answer options for each question will vary between two and four depending on the question and its objective. The options would be of the following type:

‘Logically Correct, Arithmetically Correct’ answer
‘Logically Correct, Arithmetically Incorrect’ answer
‘Logically Incorrect, Arithmetically Correct’ answer
‘Logically Incorrect, Arithmetically Incorrect’ answer
‘No Answer’ answer

There will be a minimum of two options for any question and one of the options will be a correct answer.
‘Logically Correct, Arithmetically Correct’ answer
Choosing this option implies the learner has followed the logical path and arrived at the correct answer.

The branch that follows from this option will continue to build on the prime logic or the ideal thread.

‘Logically Correct, Arithmetically Incorrect’ answer
Choosing this option indicates that the learner has followed the logical path but has made a common arithmetical error due to oversight or lack of attention to detail. The branch that diverges from here will address the specific arithmetic error and lead back to the main thread.

‘Logically Incorrect, Arithmetically Correct’ answer
Choice of this option indicates the learner is making a known logical error and then computing the arithmetic correctly.

The branch that emanates from this option would address the flaw in logical reasoning by exploring the context and the learning problem and then lead back to the main thread.

Logically Incorrect Arithmetically Incorrect answer
This option can’t really be designed. It’s a random implausible answer that stands in for some flaw in the deductive logic of the learner or some other error.

The branch that emanates from here can try to ascertain the true nature of the error and lead the learner from there or try an alternative logic/question to lead the learner through the same essential problem.

The ‘No Answer’ answer
This is the 'How/I Don’t Know/You Tell Me' kind of option, which asks for an explanation without offering an answer. The difficulty of instruction here lies in the fact that the learner may be fatigued or has not been able to think through the logic or does not want to think through the logic. Essentially, in this kind of an option the learner has exercised the freedom not to think things through and therefore does not arrive at the correct answer on his/her own.

The conversation in this branch would present the problem in another light and continue with indirect questions, eventually leading back to the main thread.


Dynamics of Conversation

The combination of conversation and questioning aims to explore the logic behind a fact/concept and help the learner construct his/her way to arrive at it.

The nature and tone of the conversation aims to build a relation with the learner such that the learner understands that the course is treating the learner like an able participant or peer in the learning process.

There are two important aspects of the learning environment that this method focuses on:

1. Empathy with the learner
2. Understanding the connection between the context and the acquisition of knowledge


Empathy

The core belief here is that the learner has a consistent internal logic which can be led to discover things on its own starting from first principles.

The conversation must follow a style that a member of the target audience (in this case, seventh and eighth graders) uses naturally. The level, depth, or complexity of content/logic must also be adjusted to the learner’s level. This is crucial because a part of the progress of learning is hinged on the relationship of the learner with the course. And that relationship works only if the course is able to converse at the same level as the learner and convey the feeling that it understands the learner’s world.


Context and acquisition of knowledge

The conversation also illustrates the relevance of the learning to the learner’s immediate world. Therefore, the content of the conversation has two distinct purposes:

Relate or describe mathematical problems and solutions in real-world terms through contextual examples
Build rapport and mutual respect through a shared language


* * * * *
posted by Sanjay Maya 10:17 PM

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

 
Sanjay Maya Mukherjee

The other day I was watching TV when I got myself into a quarrel with my wife. And yes, it was all my doing. She was in the living room watching American Idol on TV. I was stargazing outside on the terrace. Then I went inside and started watching American Idol. Most of the contestants were giving okay performances. Then this girl came onto the stage and I thought she had a fabulous voice. My wife didn’t think so. Here’s the conversation that followed:

“She’s good.”
“Nope, she isn’t.”
“She’s got a good voice. She can sing.”
“No she doesn’t. No she can’t.”
“Listen to her. She has the range, she has the power – she could be the next idol.”
“She has no presence and she’s not the next idol.”
“She can be – she has the package.”
“She doesn’t have the package. There is nothing different about her. She’s like Fantasia from last to last year and Fantasia was much better.”
I knew what she was saying was correct but I couldn’t just stop arguing.
“Yes, she has a style that is similar to Fantasia but she’s good.”
“I am not saying she’s not good. I am saying she’s not unique enough to be an idol.”
“Yes, she is!”

Even I was surprised at my vehemence. My wife was quiet cool and she was talking calmly. I was agitated. Frankly, that contestant wasn’t the one I was actually rooting for. There ensued a great debate on music, performance, performing arts… and I lost miserably. In fact, I think in the end my wife decided I was behaving like a child and therefore topped the debate.

Now all of this happened because of my ignorance; ignorance not about the subject matter (which also was a factor), but about the concept of opposing viewpoints. I think ignorance is blindness to that which we are not aware of or that which we do not subscribe to. Paradoxically, this blindness is not that of a blind individual, but the blindness of a sighted individual – blindness of the mind.

Very often, we let our ignorance take our decisions and rule our actions (and words, in my case). We are quite often at loggerheads with others because we believe they are ignorant. At various stages of our life we think we are wise, that we have a handle on reality; that we have the vision to see. But we all see fragmented pictures the boundaries of which are defined by our limited vision and perception.

But is there something called wisdom and if yes, what is it? I think it is the state of being aware that our understanding is only a part of a much larger image. The wise individual is open to possibilities and aware that there are other realities based on other perspectives.

So is there a characteristic that defines a truly evolved mind? I have met a few people who I think are very wise. Over the years I have been able to identify one quality that they have in common: they can hold two opposing viewpoints in their mind without taking sides.

Thus, if I were an evolved mind I would be able to look at a situation, consider at least two viewpoints, and get down and dirty with both viewpoints so that I can make a strong case for both with sincerity. And after doing this, I should be able to come out of the debate with two perspectives without taking sides. Without taking sides because I would know that both are relevant points of view and not warring factions.

I have also observed that the wiser the individual, the greater the number of perspectives they are able to hold without taking sides. The greater, thus, is their understanding of the world.

I am, of course, far from being that evolved. So, most of the time, I begin by taking sides and then the conversation goes downhill from there. Some times, for variety, I start on a neutral point and then take sides so that the conversation can go down its usual hill. Most people that I know or have met are like this.

I think this is because we invest a lot of our time searching the ‘one’ key that opens all doors of knowledge, that one perspective or theory that explains everything, that one system that connects the whole world. As we grow, the key keeps changing but the search for the one key does not. And therein lays the problem: each one of us has a different key at every point in time, which is why there is a clash of perspectives.

I don’t think there is a single key for all doors. And I think so because there are no doors. I think we learn more about the same stuff as we grow older. It’s like when you are on the ground floor you can only as far as your eye can show in any direction. When we go to the first floor, we see a little more because we are at an elevation. And so on till the top floor. But it’s only when we reach the terrace that we can see for a much wider distance all around instead of only on one side of the building.

Yep, I think there are no doors. Now if only I can grow up and always respect an opposing viewpoint, then I might be on the path to becoming wiser. It’ll take some time, but I will get there… I think.

(This piece was published as a column in 'The Maharashtra Herald' newspaper, Pune on March 17, 2006.)
posted by Sanjay Maya 9:58 PM

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

 
The quest for inspiration

© Sanjay Maya Mukherjee

A month or so ago, I met this guy and he asked me, "Who do you turn to when you need inspiration?"
So I looked at him and said, "I get inspiration from anyone and anything."
He thought about it, but was not satisfied with the answer. So he said, "There must be someone who you can always depend on to inspire you."
"No there isn't. But tell me what's troubling you?"
"I was just wondering how to cope with the meaningless routine of my work. No one gives a damn whether I am here or not. No one takes the trouble to appreciate the work that I do. But everybody pounces on me whenever the slightest thing goes wrong. I have spoken to other colleagues, but they don't have any answers either. Who do I turn to for guidance? Who do I turn to for inspiration? If I have inspiration then I can really work. But I see nothing around me that is inspiring."
"Do you see the sun every day?"
"Yes."
"No, you don't. In fact, I am quite sure you don't look at the sun for days, probably weeks- you just know it is there."
"I guess that's right. I consciously look at the sun only when it is too hot or when it is cloudy."
"But the sun rises every day."
"Yes, it does."
"Isn't that reason for inspiration?"
"How can that inspire anyone?"
"The sun rises... everyday. It does not bother whether there is someone to rise for or not. It does not bother whether there is any need to rise or not. It does not look for inspiration to rise. It rises because it has to."
"That's too simple an explanation. The sun is not a person. It is part of a system."
"That is true. And you are part of a system too."
"Yeah, yeah, I know that viewpoint. I am part of the organization; the organization is an organism, blah, blah, and more blah."
"Well, yes. You have a role to play like everyone else. So long as you are doing your part, your boss has no reason to say anything to you. So he doesn't. The moment you don't do your part, your boss pounces on you because the overall work is affected. That is probably how his boss behaves and how his boss's boss also behaves... maybe that is why in some organizations no one appreciates anyone as a matter of habit. It’s not because they don’t want to appreciate you – they just don’t realize that they have to."
"But I can't work like that."
"Are you unhappy with your role or your salary or work hours?"
"I am unhappy about the environment in which I work. I think it is fair to expect appreciation and inspiration."
"But why should your boss inspire you?"
"Then why is he my boss?"
Now that question stopped me completely in my tracks. I don't remember looking for inspiration in any of my bosses. But that is because I had decided that it is too heavy a burden to place upon the shoulders of frail human beings. I have realized that people are able to inspire me to great heights if they don't know that they are an inspiration for me.

But it is also true that I am always looking for inspiration.

I have thought about this matter for long and I have thought about this matter really hard and I have spoken to quite a few people as well. It seems to me that many of us look for inspiration every now and then. And at the work place, we look for this inspiration in bosses, peers, environment, maybe the leaders of the organization and so on. What we tend to forget is that very few people are capable of consciously inspiring others. Let’s be honest: how many leaders do you see among our elected representatives? Someone who you believe in, someone who inspires confidence, trust, pride… someone who spurs you to stand up and do things for yourself and for your nation? I see none.

But I see quite a few leaders in corporate India. I recognize some in the field of Indian literature (written in Indian languages), a handful in civil services, some in the field of social work and a host of potential leaders among common men. I am troubled that I am unable to identify any capable leaders in politics, entertainment, sports, and education – I am sure many people will beg to differ like my friends do. But I only see icons in sports and entertainment – I don’t see any leaders.

Leadership is a matter of investing the same amount of respect in others that you invest in yourself. Leadership is about keeping the arrogance of your ego aside and then looking at people and situations. It is about trusting other people. It is about nurturing other people till they rise to their potential. It is about giving direction when there seems none. It is about standing back and letting people do their own thing when required. And it is about having a vision that not only looks ahead but also understands the role of each individual in that future ahead and the trials and tribulations that the organization would face before that future comes alive. A leader is someone who helps shape the future of others in a constructive manner for the common good so that the future of the society is secure.

That’s a really tall order. In all the while that I have been working in professional organizations (14 years now), I have found only one such leader: A lady going by the name Sherna Gandhy, the editor of the newspaper I used to work for at an earlier time.

Along the way I have worked with a few good managers, and some more good-hearted people who were in leadership positions. My wife and my friends have told me of people who were definitely good leaders. I have read about people and followed the careers and conduct of many other great leaders in the press or through movies and books. I see and hear about good leaders in various organizations around me. But they are few and far in between.

So what do you do when you need inspiration? I say, don’t wait for it. Take it from wherever you find it. If you are unable to find it, then you become the inspiration and lead others down the right path. The inspiration always comes from within your own self. While you are waiting for someone to inspire you onto greater deeds, someone else - maybe a whole nation - is waiting for you to inspire them.
posted by Sanjay Maya 8:24 PM

Thursday, July 21, 2005

 
The Dancer

If I had it my way I would be a painter; a painter who had just bathed in color and then took to a stage to dance against a background of white, having a dialogue with the music, finding out what it is the sound was searching for and figuring out whether my soul was searching for the same thing.

If I had it my way, I would be a poet; a poet whose blood was his ink and whose feelings were crying to be freed from his mortal body and who, driven by this desire for freedom, was dancing in the minds of those who beheld him so that the blood would course through his veins and scream silently till the need for freedom and the lamentable lack of it was so apparent that the beholder would never forget the poetry.

If I had it my way, I would be a runner; a runner running free and wild, hair flowing behind him, the whole body leaning ever so slightly forward, arms, legs, and body one in a rhythm so poetic that the animals would witness and recognize the dance that had been created by the lord – the dance that is understood only by those who dance this dance of the eternally united soul, the dance of the animal born free.

If I had it my way, I would be a leaf on a sapling standing six inches tall; a leaf just old enough to flutter in the wind and giggle with glee as the kiss of the lord tickled its being, and young enough to dance without a care that it was but a tiny, unspectacular speck on a small struggling sapling which was far from being a mighty tree that might withstand the forces of the world.

Yes, if I had my way, I would be a dancer; I would dance every which way, in every which season, in any which memory, to any which music, just to let the world know that I was alive and that I knew what it meant to be alive. Yes, I am an artist and a poet and an animal and a leaf... and yes, every form of me loves to dance.
posted by Sanjay Maya 5:31 AM

Monday, June 27, 2005

 
Dance of the Restless Wind
© Sanjay Maya Mukherjee

I live atop a hill; a hill that is serene and restless at the same time. Serene and restless at the same time - how can that be, you might well wonder. Well, it’s like so. The hill is actually a mesa. For those who don’t know, a mesa is a flat, elevated table land with one or more cliff-like or steep sides. While there isn’t any ‘cliff’ in our mesa, there is something of a steep side. It’s the closest I’ll ever get to living on a mesa in this town, so a mesa it is.

Now this mesa stands proud in the village of Dhayari, some distance off the Sinhgad Road. It is developing as a township with apartments and the like. The drive up to the township is winding through the hill. Once you reach the top, you can see the city below you towards the east. Khadakwasla Lake and Sinhgad set the stage for an intense sunset down the western front. If you stand on the northern ridge you will find yourself staring up at the neighboring mountains, while in the south you have an expanse of open land leading up to distant hills. Being a mountain man, I feel right at home in this part of Pune.

Every morning, I go down from my apartment to a breakfast on the promenade with sweeping winds kissing me good morning. Every evening you can take a stroll down the hillside or around the township and breath in the fresh air waltzing around your senses. Every night you can bathe in the moonlight and gaze at the city lights sprawled across the wide eastern expanse.

When the rains come a-calling, this mesa is the center of a cosmic dance of such power and grace that it leaves you gasping in amazement. The wind gets stronger till you are but a sapling dancing in a whirlwind. The sky thickens with the rage of a thousand frustrated clouds and through that ominous blanket you glimpse strands of white brilliance snake through towards the earth, eager to strike with forked tongues. And then the cannons thunder across the mountains, announcing that life is on its way down from the heavens.

As I was saying, the mountains are serene on any given day. And yes the mountains are restless on the same given day.
posted by Sanjay Maya 4:48 AM

Friday, June 24, 2005

 
I feel like a song today. I don’t mean that I feel like singing, but that I feel like a song. I am starting slow and uncertain, but I can see a promise some where up ahead in the distance; a promise that things are going to pick up. Yep, I feel like a song today.

And now that I am a song, I can also see that I am pretty much like a bird. I take off from a branch on a tree that’s been around for a hundred years and I start soaring towards a mountain that’s been a beacon for close to a few thousand years. With the wind in my hair and the wide open sky for a canvas, I know I can scale any octave today.

And like a true song, I know that I have to dive into the depths of the ocean and lie low with the fish; only to rise again with the waves and kiss the sunrays goodbye as they say hello to the moon shine on the horizon. Ah yes, I am a song. I have known love. I have known hate. I have known success. I have known despair. I am life. I am death. I am my own destiny.

Today’s a brand new melody in this grand show called life. So, here’s a good morning wish to all of you my friends: may you treat everybody you meet the way you would want them to treat you.
posted by Sanjay Maya 1:44 PM

Thursday, March 18, 2004

 
Flame and Fire

There is a beautiful candle which lights up my living room many evenings. It is a white-coloured, rolly-polly work of art in wax. And it sits on a wrought iron perch. Yesterday evening, the candle called out to me, since I had not lit it for some time.
“Kya re? You think the tube light is better than me or what?”
“Uh?” I replied.
“You bought me as a showpiece or what?”
“Uh?”
“Do you know how irritating it is, to sit here and wait for you to notice me? Wake up!”

For years now I have been living in a tube-lit world, adding to the power of my spectacles. The tubelight is the harbinger of one-dimensionality - everything seems the same in its light.
The sodium bulb on the other hand highlights the little nuances of every piece in a room, raising it to the status of an objet d’art, adding aesthetics to art. But it is the candle which makes life worth living.
As a child, I remember visiting our ancestral home in Varanasi. I remember watching dusk slowly creep up on daylight and envelop the world in an ethereal glow. I remember, clearly, the purple sky and dark silhouettes. And I distinctly recall the aroma of rotis coming alive on a mud choolah, while my grandmother lit the diya and incense stick, taking both on a tour of the house.
I remember sitting in a room lit by a solitary candle, listening to the souful voices of my uncles and aunts singing bhajans. Later, after dinner, I remember coming alive, with tales of everyday life and fiction, recounted by family members.
So what, you may rightly wonder. For starters, every evening I would see a new perspective to the room, depending on the playful mood of the candle. Every day, the flame would fan my imagination with its soulful dance to the music of the wind. And every day, I would live a new life, learn new things about the room and learn new lessons from the same old stories. The candle is a great teacher, because it reveals the secrets of the world layer by layer.
The tubelight on the other hand, washes everything in its own colour. And soon the room becomes boring, with no new lessons, no new secrets. The only life left in the room flashes by on the television screen and we become a part of the furniture, stagnant.
Throughout the week, we burn in the fire of expectations, routine, achievements, disappointments, hard work and harder partying. Once in every week, I think it is necessary to become a flame instead of a fire. So that our minds are free and our bodies rested. So that we can get up and see life in a different perspective.
Recently when I chanced upon this place called D’s Gallery in Baner, I found a new perspective to the candle. There are many little children in special schools around the country who toil to make candles for you and me. One of the candles that light up my house was made at one such school.
Always remember, it takes a flame to spread the light. And you have it in you to be that flame.

posted by Sanjay Maya 8:09 PM