Reflection: Learning Theories and Instruction
My undergraduate degree is in education so learning theories are not new to me. However, I never delved this deeply into theories or studied more than the basic theories. Piaget, Skinner, Maslow; that is what I remember from my undergraduate courses. In the 1990s, no one was particularly concerned with incorporating technology into instructional design. I started teaching school in 1995 and it was 1998 before I got a desktop computer in my classroom. I do remember in 1996, the media specialist at my school was very excited to have a remote control mouse with a huge tracking ball. This is truly a reflection. I had forgotten how far things have come in a short amount of time.
Many things in this course surprised me. I have always been a big proponent of early childhood education but was surprised to find that the later years are just as important as the younger years in learning; that gains made will be lost if stimulating learning environments are not continued (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009). I was relieved to find out that short term memory can only hold about 5 pieces of information as I often worried about myself (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009). I never realized how important reflection is on the; without reflection, transfer cannot occur (Fenwick and Tennant, 2004. It is intriguing to me to see how differently people learn, “learning is not one thing…it is multi-facetted,” (Kapp, 2007).
I have learned a great deal about my personal learning process as well. The key thing that I have found out is that learning is not merely reading text and taking a test; to process information I have to do something with it; to transfer it to my long term memory, I have to do something with it. I need to encode information in various ways so that it is stored effectively (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009). It reassures me and frightens me to know that memory decreases with age (Cercone, 2008). I learn well through social interactions (Kim, 2001). I create more meaning from the experience I have with the material as I interact with my classmates and learn from their experiences and perspectives (Ertmer & Newby, 1993). As we share out life experiences with one another, the discussions are enriched and I learn even more (Spencer, 2004). We cannot all personally experience everything that we need to know about so we must access one another’s experiences and knowledge; technology makes this possible (Davis, Edmunds, &Kelly-Bateman). Learning is about change and I have definitely changed throughout this class (Cercone, 2006).
Examining learning theories in light of instructional design gave me some new insights. The role of the teacher should be to challenge students to think (Ormrod, Schunk, &Gredler, 2009). Lecturing is not going to accomplish that. I will need to give learners tools rather than facts (Ertmer & Newby 1993); teach them to use learning strategies (Laureate Education, 2009). Each individual must be an active participant in constructing meaning so multiple interpretations will exist (Jenkins, 2006). As an instructional designer, assessments must be designed in which students can make use of their own intelligences and ensure that it does not just assess those who are good with numbers and words (Gardner, 2000).
As an instructional designer, it is important to incorporate different learning styles into lessons so that most of the participants feel comfortable; then they can be asked to stretch outside of their comfort zone (Gilbert & Swanier, 2008). When designing a training that is employer imposed, the imposition should be acknowledged and trainees should be assured that their time will be well spent (Laureate Education, 2009). No matter what the situation, the attention of the participants should be grabbed right away with a puzzle or a paradoxical situation (Laureate Education, 2009). If all intelligences are kept in mind when designing the task, the task should be motivating to the participants (Gardner, 2003). Using a piece of technology because it is the newest thing around is not going to motivate the audience. Varying presentation styles and relating the topic to the learner’s work can help hold attention (Keller, 1999). In instructional design, it is important to keep in mind that not all learners have the same level of comfort with technology. It is important to design tasks and assessments so that students can do what they feel comfortable doing. Frequent, genuine feedback is important in any instructional situation as feedback promotes competence and self-determination (Ormrod, Shunck, & Gredler, 2009).
I have learned a great deal about learning theories and how to apply them. As I move on to other classes, I will not forget how much more I learn when I am an active participant in a network (Siemens, 2011), I will not allow myself to just sit back and listen. I feel that the small size of this class has been most beneficial to me. I will not always be privileged to be in such a small class but I can build community for myself (Hackelman-Goode, 2011). I will encourage active participation within my classes from now on. I will design activities in which even the students, who choose to sit off to the side, will have to take part so that they can be a part of the network. I believe that knowledge is in the network (Hackleman-Goode, 2011) and I want to build a network for myself and my students.
References
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Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism
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