Assessing the Knowledge Structure of Information Systems Learners in Experience-Based Learning

Journal of Information Systems Education, Summer 2004 by Li, Weiqi, Zhang, Hanwen, Li, Ping

ABSTRACT

The fundamental goal of this study was to investigate the effects of an experience-based learning environment on information systems students' knowledge structure. The learning environment was structured in a way consistent with the problem solving approaches used by information systems experts. The focus of this paper is to report the assessment of the knowledge structure of the information systems learners in a self-managed and experience-based learning environment. The key issue here is whether information systems students can develop the necessary cognitive skills in such learning environment. To assess the knowledge structure of the learners, this study designed three research instruments that included a declarative-knowledge test, a problem-solving task, and a similarity-judgment task. The analysis results suggested that the learning outcome in this experience-based learning environment was very positive. The environment that imposed an expert-like organization both on information gathering and on problem solving activities resulted in improved problem-solving skills. The learners mastered the necessary declarative knowledge, as well as developed domain-specific basic skill and strategies.

Keywords: knowledge structure assessment, learning environment, experience-based learning

1. INTRODUCTION

The Information systems (IS) professionals are required to display a wide range of knowledge, skills and abilities, and most of these skills tend to be cognitive in nature (Blanton, LeRouge & Nohelty, 2000; Eierman & Schultz, 1995; Lee, Trauth & Farwell, 1995; Prabhaker, Litecky & Arnett, 1996; Yip & Ghafarian, 2000). Thus, IS graduates should be able to (1) understand how to acquire knowledge for problem solving, (2) understand how to apply the theory to practice, (3) have critical thinking and problem-solving ability, and (4) communicate effectively. They must be equipped with the academic knowledge and the practical skill for problem solving.

Becoming an IS expert takes substantial time and effort. This raises an interesting question: Is becoming an IS expert simply a function of time and effort, or can the path toward IS expertise be made more efficient? One of the challenges to the traditional view about the acquisition of knowledge is the view that knowledge can be constructed by the rational individuals. For example, problem-solving ability can be acquired in two ways (Lancaster & Kolodner, 1988). Individuals can obtain the knowledge required for certain problem solving through direct instruction. In this way, knowledge is merely acquired by passive absorption or by simple transfer from a teacher to a student. This type of individuals is called students in this paper. On the other hand, individuals can also derive the knowledge directly from their experiences with problems in the domain of interest. These individuals are called learners in this paper. Learners actively construct their own set of understanding during their learning process.

An educational philosophy that encourages active and meaningful learning is the constructivist philosophy. This philosophy believes that learning is a structuring process in which knowledge is derived from experience and is characterized by its viability in the natural world (Ausubel, 1963; Barba & Rubba, 1992; Driver & Oldham, 1986). Andersen (1982, 1993) proposed that individuals progress from possessing declarative knowledge to possessing procedural knowledge as they acquire cognitive skills. Since cognitive skill acquisition is an important part of IS education, assessing IS students on both declarative and procedural knowledge within skill domains is of extreme importance from a pedagogical point of view. Especially, when IS students study in a constructive learning environment, understanding their knowledge structure obviously is particularly important to the educators of IS professionals. The knowledge structure dictates what are or are not known by the learners, and will yield the most important information about their knowledge state.

The fundamental goal of this study is to investigate the effects of an experience-based learning environment on IS students' knowledge structure. The experience-based learning environment was structured in a way consistent with the problem solving approaches used by IS experts. This empirical study was a part of a project for restructuring the IS curriculum at a large university (Li & Zhang, 2001). The purpose of the restructuring project was to present IS students not only with the prerequisite mandatory knowledge of the available problem-solving techniques, but more importantly to equip IS students with the skills to use the vast collections of knowledge that are now readily available from a variety of sources, and to expand their ability to frame new problems and to think creatively. There are hosts of important educational issues that emerge in the debate about the method of knowledge acquisition in such learning environment. One of important questions is: "Is the structure of knowledge in learners parallel to the one in students?" The key issue in this study was whether IS students could develop the necessary cognitive skills through an experience-based constructive learning environment. In other words, this study tried to answer the question: "Can we make distinction between the knowledge structure constructed by learners through their own learning process and the knowledge structure obtained by students from teachers?" When learning in a constructive environment, it is equally important for the learners to master the bodies of knowledge that the scientific community regards as currently warranted. The learners would not be regarded as being scientifically educated if they did not know the publicly-recognized "funded wisdom" (Dewey, 1956).