Chapter 4: Designing Digital Learning Environments
INSTRUCTOR NOTES
This chapter addresses ISTE Standards for Teachers 1, 4, 5, and 6.
Chapter Goal
Understand how to select and use appropriate learning strategiesand integrate effective use of
technology and media to design digital learning environments.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the chapter, students should be able to do the following:
1. Describe ten learning strategies in the classroom.
3. Differentiate between types of learning contexts.
4. Describe the value of integrating free and inexpensive materials into instruction.
Chapter Overview
Within the chapter you will find four main topics: Learning Strategies, Integration Techniques,
Learning Context, and support of learning through a variety of free and inexpensive technology
and media (see table 4.1). Often students who are taking this course have not completed any
content methods courses. Thus, when discussing strategy selection, which is the second step in
the ASSURE model introduced in Chapter 3, they are not well versed in the variety of
instructional strategies that are used in today’s classrooms. Because of this, the list of ten
instructional strategies included in Chapter 4 will be especially beneficial.
Using This Chapter
The ASSURE Classroom Case Study for Chapter 4: Using Instructional Strategies to Achieve
21st Century Learning provides your students with an opportunity for a look into an authentic
21st century learning environment. The case study shares the experiences of co-teachers Lindsay
Kaiser and Jena Marshall. The fifth-grade teachers have learned their students have limited
interest in social studies and they use a WebQuest to guide their students’ exploration of Lewis
and Clark’s famous expedition. Throughout the chapter you will find reflection questions to
relate the chapter content to the ASSURE Classroom Case Study. After viewing the video, the
reflection questions can act as a guide for a class discussion about 21st century instructional
strategies in a real context.
The “When to Use…” feature, also provides some suggestions as to when a teacher-centered or
student-centered strategy might be effectively used in the classroom.
Professional Vocabulary
ASYNCHRONOUS SETTING– A distance learning setup in which the teacher and students are not
together at the same time.
BLENDED INSTRUCTION– A combination of synchronous and asynchronous instruction.
COLLABORATIVE– A sharing or cooperative nature of an experience.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING– A grouping strategy in which students work together to assist each
other’s learning.
DEMONSTRATION– Learners view an exhibition of a skill or procedure to be learned.
DIORAMA– A static display consisting of a three-dimensional recreation of real scenes.
DISCOVERY– A teaching strategy that uses an inquiry approach to learning that fosters a deeper
ILL-STRUCTURED PROBLEM – A problem that can be solved in more than one way. Students must
propose their own solutions to the problem.
INTEGRATED LEARNING SYSTEMS – Computer or Internet-based instruction that provides
immediate, individualized feedback to each student.
JUST-IN-TIME PEER DEMONSTRATIONS –An experienced student showing a peer how to perform a
presentation software, etc.).
PRESENTATION– An instructional strategy in which a source tells, dramatizes, or disseminates
information to learners.
PROBLEM–BASED LEARNING– A process in which students actively seek solutions to structured or
ill-structured problems situated in the real world.
constitute an appropriate response.
SYNCHRONOUS SETTING– A learning situation where the teacher and the student are together at the
same time, for example, a face-to-face classroom or real-time video conferencing.
TUTORIAL– Involves learners working with an agent – in the form of a person, computer
software, or special printed materials – that presents the content, poses questions or problems,
requests the learner’s responses, analyzes the responses, supplies appropriate feedback, and
provides practice until the learner demonstrates a predetermined level of competency.
WEBQUEST– A set of steps that provide guidance when seeking information about a simulated
problem.
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Suggested Materials
2. Presentation tools (i.e., PowerPoint or Prezi, printed materials, Internet sites, and
clickers)
4. Drill-and-practice: store-bought or self-made flashcards, student devices, internet
6. Cooperative learning: plain paper, instructions for building a paper plane
8. Simulations: URLs for online simulations
9. Discovery: disposable containers, dry ingredient, water, fabric, heat source, ice, etc.
Introduction
In Chapter 2, your students learned that today’s learners are often multi-taskers with a strong
desire to learn from multiple formats. Furthermore, your students read that not all individuals
have the same abilities nor do they learn in the same way. An understanding of learning styles
and theories will help your students select and apply appropriate instructional strategies for their
learners.
Types of Learning
PRESENTATION
In a presentation, the medium provides the information to the learners.
In a demonstration, learners view an exhibition of a skill or procedure to be learned.
Suggested Activity. Perform a simple yet memorable demonstration (examples include making a
peanut butter and jelly sandwich, hanging up a coat, or hand washing). Follow the
demonstration with a class discussion about appropriate uses for demonstrations within their
content areas.
DRILL–AND-PRACTICE
In drill-and-practice, learners complete practice exercises to refresh or increase fluency in
content knowledge and skills.
Suggested Activity. Complete a stack of multiplication flashcards with your students. Explain
TUTORIAL
Learners work with an agent for practice and feedback until competency is achieved. The
difference between tutorial and drill-and-practice is that the tutorial introduces and teaches new
material, whereas drill-and practice focuses on content previously taught.
Suggested Activities.
1. Have your students use their laptops or mobile devices to locate an appropriate tutorial
for their content areas. Interactive tutorials can be found online or in the form of mobile
2. Discuss in small groups the differences between drill-and-practice and tutorial. Have
students provide example of each for their content areas.
DISCUSSION
Discussion involves the exchange of ideas and opinions among students or among students and
the teacher.
Suggested Activity. Chances are, you have already involved your students in whole group
discussions during this course. Now would be a good time to have your students engage in small
group discussion. After grouping your students, you might consider asking the following
questions: 1) How does age affect engagement in discussion activities? 2) When is discussion an
appropriate instructional strategy? 3) How can teachers ensure equity of voice during
discussions? 4) What are some ways teachers can encourage higher-order thinking during
discussions? 5) How can technology be utilized during discussions?
Follow the activity with a discussion about the effectiveness of cooperative groups and
appropriate uses in the classroom.
SIMULATIONS
Simulations allow learners to confront a scaled-down version of a real-life situation.
Suggested Activity. Demonstrate one or more online simulations such an as animal dissection
from ScienceBank or an economic opportunity from Federal Reserve Education.
DISCOVERY
The discovery strategy uses an inductive, or inquiry, approach to learning that fosters a deeper
understanding of the content through the learner’s involvement with it. When designing
discovery lessons, teachers should ensure that the selected strategies include sufficient guidance
and support when students are utilizing technology, media, and materials to solve the problem.
Suggested Activity. Practice a discovery lesson: properties of water. Assemble a variety of
materials such as clear cups, sandwich bags, water, fabric, dry ingredient (flour, dirt, etc), a heat
lamp or blow dryer, ice cubes, etc. Divide the class into groups. Pass out the items to each group
PROBLEM–BASED LEARNING
Through the use of problem-based learning students actively seek solutions to structured or ill-
structured problems situated in the real world.
Suggested Activity.
2. In small groups, have students create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast Problem-
based learning and Simulations.
GAMES
Educational gaming provides a competitive environment in which learners follow prescribed
rules as they strive to attain a challenging goal.
Suggested Activities.
1. Play Sample Games. Students can gain some familiarity with instructional game formats
and get to know some of the more popular examples by playing some of these during a
class or as an out-of-class activity. Gather as varied a collection as you can from local
2. Game Project. Let students borrow from the collection discussed above, taking home one
3. Allow students to spend some time exploring Oregon Trail online. Then, discuss their
recollection of educational games from their K12 schooling. What benefits did they
experience from physical games, computer games, etc.?
4. Have students locate an online game to evaluate using the rubric on page 80. Discuss the
rubric and games in a class discussion or add the game link and evaluation to the
students’ portfolios for future use.
Learning Contexts in Today’s Classrooms
Learning today is happening in a variety of settings, in the classroom and in the virtual world. In
fact, some K-12 schools are requiring students complete an online course prior to graduating
high school. Today’s teachers need to be prepared to teach in a variety of learning contexts.
Suggested activity. Discuss the variety of learning strategies and the learning context in the
ASSURE Classroom Case Study for Chapter 4. You might ask your students the following
question: How would the lesson change if the context changed from face-to-face to a blended,
distance, independent study, or informal study?
Integrating Free and Inexpensive Materials
Rather than lecture about open source and free/inexpensive materials, have your students become
the experts for these instructional materials. Each student should locate and learn about one
resource as homework. During the next class, your students could demonstrate the resource for
Questions for Thought
Professional development activities for students are included at the end of each chapter. Included
in those activities are opportunities for students to reflect on their learning. You might wish to
expand their reflections by asking questions such as these:
1. What are some reasons for selecting particular instructional strategies?
2. Do instructional strategies change with the learning context?
3. How might emerging technologies such as online virtual schools or video conference
affect the use of distance learning?
How do your objectives guide your selection of instructional strategies?