After reading Bill Kerr's blog dated January 01, 2007 I started thinking about the importance of learning theories. I have to agree with Bill that "each _ism is offering something useful without any of them standing alone". In my nursing classes there are times when behaviorism is appropriate, other times cognitivism is an appropriate learning theory to guide the student instruction. For example, when I am teaching nursing skills, it is appropriate to teach using behaviorist principles. In doing so, step-by-step sequences can be quickly learned by students, and monitored and observed by faculty. Other times, behaviorist theory is not appropriate and the cognitivist theory is best suited such as when problem solving concepts need to be enhanced. We are reaching the end of a bed-based health care system and moving toward a high-tech outpatient based health care system. As nursing faculty I have a responsibility to prepare my students for a complex health care system that requires them to be critical thinkers. Karl Kapp stated in his blog on January 02, 2007, learning is "multi-layered" and "multi-faceted" and there are "too many levels for one school of thought or one model to do it all". I couldn't agree more.
Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Re: Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational.html
Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). Re: _isms as filter not blinker [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html
Learning and Learning Theory in Educational Technology
How do people learn best?
If I could place all people into a single category of learners, the answer might come more readily. However, the truth is that learners have their own rates of understanding, refinement, and application skills. In addition, there are many things that influence the rates of individual learning such as degree of motivation, degree of participation, prior knowledge and experiences, and the types of learning activities being used. Billings and Halstead (2005) stated that learning is "self-active" and can only be "accomplished" by the learner (p. 233). Freire stated (as cited by Billings et al.) that learning is also influenced by power structures that decide what knowledge is important or valid. Siemens (2008) stated that a key question should be whether students learn best by "minimal guidance" or "guided instruction" (p. 13). Certainly over recent years there has been a paradigm shift and emphasis is on having learners construct and create knowledge while faculty serve as facilitators (Billings, et al.)
What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?
The purpose of learning theory in educational technology is the same that it would be in any discipline. Learning theories focus on how people learn. Driscoll (2005) stated that a learning theory is built upon linking changes in observable performance and what caused the changes. Two major bodies of learning theory from which many other theories have derived include behaviorism and cognitivism. The behaviorists theory is based on the perspective that learning is observable behavior brought about by external reinforcement. The cognitive theory is based on the perspective that learning occurs through mental unobservable processes that may or may not be seen as change in behavior. In today's world, technology-mediated instruction has influenced the way we teach and the way students learn. We need learning theories to help us focus on how students learn.
References
Billings, D. M., & Halstead, J. A. (2005). Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (2nd ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf
If I could place all people into a single category of learners, the answer might come more readily. However, the truth is that learners have their own rates of understanding, refinement, and application skills. In addition, there are many things that influence the rates of individual learning such as degree of motivation, degree of participation, prior knowledge and experiences, and the types of learning activities being used. Billings and Halstead (2005) stated that learning is "self-active" and can only be "accomplished" by the learner (p. 233). Freire stated (as cited by Billings et al.) that learning is also influenced by power structures that decide what knowledge is important or valid. Siemens (2008) stated that a key question should be whether students learn best by "minimal guidance" or "guided instruction" (p. 13). Certainly over recent years there has been a paradigm shift and emphasis is on having learners construct and create knowledge while faculty serve as facilitators (Billings, et al.)
What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?
The purpose of learning theory in educational technology is the same that it would be in any discipline. Learning theories focus on how people learn. Driscoll (2005) stated that a learning theory is built upon linking changes in observable performance and what caused the changes. Two major bodies of learning theory from which many other theories have derived include behaviorism and cognitivism. The behaviorists theory is based on the perspective that learning is observable behavior brought about by external reinforcement. The cognitive theory is based on the perspective that learning occurs through mental unobservable processes that may or may not be seen as change in behavior. In today's world, technology-mediated instruction has influenced the way we teach and the way students learn. We need learning theories to help us focus on how students learn.
References
Billings, D. M., & Halstead, J. A. (2005). Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (2nd ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf
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