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on a screen placed elsewhere and on which he could discuss with the rest of the
class what one group was saying. The new tool was then integrated in the “legacy”
environment of a whiteboard and a beamer (factor 13). Later on, we produced a
smaller simulation environment (40
50 cm) in such a way that four groups can
work simultaneously in the same class under four different TinkerLamps.
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The Shelve and Lantern Environments
The Recitation Section Model
Recitation sections are managed in our university in a way similar to many other
places: the students receive a set of exercises to be carried out with the help of TAs,
mostly PhD students. The sessions gather between 20 and 60 students in a room
with two or three TAs. The students work in groups of two to four; some prefer to
stay alone. They raise their hand to attract the TA's attention who joins the group
and provides help for a few minutes. Occasionally, if several teams face the same
difficulty, the TA gives a collective explanation on the blackboard.
The Lantern Environment
We observed several recitation sessions and noted several regulation problems: stu-
dents spend a lot of time chasing the TA instead of working on their assignments;
TAs do not necessarily come in a “fair” way (first asker is not first helped), some
students ask help from the very beginning of the exercises without even trying seri-
ously to solve it, most students do not complete all exercises while exam items
have a level of difficulty similar to the last exercises of the session (factor 12), etc.
(Alavi, Dillenbourg & Kaplan, 2009). To help the TA to orchestrate the session, we
developed two awareness tools. The “Shelve” (Fig. 26.7) is a central display where
teams indicate with a remote control device which exercise they do and when they
need help. The “Lantern” (Fig. 26.8) is a small device that teams put on their table
and which they use to provide the same information either by turning it (to indicate
their move through the exercises) or by pushing on its top (to ask TA's help). Both
the Lantern and the Shelve display the same information: which team is working
Fig. 26.7
The Shelve environment
