Development and Tryout of a Distance Learning Course for In-service Teachers Using a Prior Inference Type of WBL Materials (<Special Issue>Studies on Practical Use of e-Learning)

Abstract

In this study, we developed a new type of distance learning resources for school teachers who were distance learners of graduate school for in-service training. We set up "inference tasks" in process of WBL. In this task, learners are presented a practical case that is the solution of a problem in a certain school (e.g., a photo of learning material developed by one teacher with some intentions), and are requested to reason about the meaning or effect of the case and to present a short report about it. Those inference tasks were expected to be effective in reflecting learners' various experience on learning process and in keeping learners' highly-motivated learning. We call this type of resources "a prior-inference task of resources". Test courses were generally evaluated as useful by on-campus school teachers. However, it was also suggested that an inference activity was more effective in the case of presenting simple information than that of complicated one.