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
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I enjoyed your post. I agree with the what you said about how students learn. Each student is so different, probably now more than ever. Because our students come with such a wide range of prior knowledge, "labels", and capabilities; we have so much work to do in the classroom. Having over crowded classrooms can hinder us from doing the very thing that would promote learning. Teachers need to to learn the different learning theories to better address students need. I wish I had learned more about theories when I started teaching. That is one of the areas that I feel teachers need to be trained in.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Neena. I really enjoyed this post. I totally agree that we need learning theories to aid in how we teach using technology -- it is a completely different ball game with computer screens in front of kids' eyes. It is going to be interesting to see how instruction changes over the next few years and how we, as part of the group of scholar-practitioners will be part of it!
ReplyDeleteThis blog brings me back to what I'm writing my first KAM on. I'm looking at the effects of technology at home on instruction in the classroom. I want to study how technology affects the learning process of students. Now is a great time to study educational technology.
ReplyDeleteNeena,
ReplyDeleteThought-provoking post. I, too, wish I had known more about learning theory when I first began teaching. Like many others, I simply taught the way I had been taught, without realizing much about learner needs, learning styles, prior knowledge, and so on. What do you think of pursuing a grounded theory study to create a new learning theory?
Neena,
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the twenty-first learning skills everyone is talking about are a natural progrssion which is arising out of the constructivist movement? It is a complete shift and it appears to be economically motivated as students who are not skilled in collaborative learning will not be skillful in collaborative workplace settings. I certainly am not a product of collaborative anything:) and had to learn these skills as an adult. I am the product of the tradition lecture. If I had not become adept at collaboration and constructing knowledge I wouldn't be employed..I wonder if there is a difference in the application of these theories across various populations for instance children of poverty. Are they receiving the same opportunities for differentiated, constructivist learning as their more affluent peers. It seems to me that the conditions that prevail in lower socioeconomic schools, large class size, discipline issues etc. would make implementation of these progressive techniques less common but even more necessary to level the playing field.