Course Reflection

I have a background in K-12 education and in college I studied human development and family science. Therefore, some of the theories and ideas we learned about in this course were not entirely new. This course certainly helped refresh my memory on how people learn, but it did a lot more than that. In college, I memorized what I needed to pass the course. As an adult learner, I am not merely interested in a passing grade. I truly want to learn how to apply these theories. I learned from Dr. Ormrod’s “Motivation in Learning Video”, that this is not an uncommon characteristic for an adult learner (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Furthermore, I am now interested in applying what I learned as an Instructional Designer and not as an in-class teacher.

            I found a couple things surprising about how people learn. I was unaware that brain-based research had come so far. Research methods such as animal research, electrical recording on the scalp, case studies, and neuroimaging technology have enabled scientist to learn a great deal about how the brain works (Ormrod & Schrunk, 2009). As we learn more and more about how the brain works, there will be obvious implications for teaching and learning. I was also surprised that there was a learning theory called Connectivism. I had not previously heard of this theory. However, with new forms of technology changing the way we seek information and learn it makes sense that there is a new learning theory (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008).

This course has deepened my understanding of my personal learning process. I now realize that my learning process has adapted over time based on my needs, motivation, and on my metacognition. My metacognitive awareness has developed over time and through my experiences (Ormrod & Schrunk, 2009). My understanding of how I acquire knowledge has shaped the way I learn and my motivation as an adult learner is different than it was years ago.

Each learning theory discussed in this course had a valid argument on how people learn. However, none of the theories provided an explanation that encompassed all of the complexities of learning. This reinforces the idea that no theory provides a silver bullet. Educators must take knowledge from each of these theories for their instruction (Kerr, 2007). The same hold true for learning styles and educational technology.  You should not teach to just a single learning style, and you should not teach using only one type of educational technology. To reach all learners and to help motivate your students it is best to use a variety of strategies.

What I have taken away from this course will have an enormous impact on my future endeavors as an instructional designer. This course was actually the first course I have taken completely online. One of the biggest things I will take away from this class is all of the learning that takes place in the discussion area. Unlike in a traditional classroom setting, everyone in class has a voice. It was beneficial to hear the opinions of my classmates, and helpful to see how the instructor was able to use scaffolding through this setting. In the future, I will keep the lessons from this class in mind and make sure to incorporate an ARCS motivational model. I do not know for certain if my instructor had ARCS in mind with the creation of this class, but I feel like the major points of the ARCS model were accomplished. My attention was held, the material was relevant, I gained confidence, and had a sense of overall satisfaction about the course (Keller, 1999).

References

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

Keller, J. M. (1999). Using the ARCS motivational process in computer-based instruction and distance education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning (78).

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Motivation and Learning [Video webcast].

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson.

Fitting the Pieces Together

Seven weeks ago in my initial blog post I felt that the Constructivist theory of learning seemed to encapsulate how I learned. I liked how Constructivists placed a major role on how we interact with what we learn and how individuals create meaning from his or her own experiences (Ertmer & Newby, 1993).

Now that I have arrived in week seven of this course, and have had time to explore the learning theories and styles on a deeper level, my thinking about how I learn has slightly changed. I still see great value in the Constructivist theory of learning. However, I now see how the Constructivist viewpoint cannot support all thinking and learning. In the Bill Kerr Blog, I learned that each “ism” (Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, etc..) offers something useful but none can stand alone in their own right (Kerr, 2007). I think there is a lot of truth in this, and I now believe that how and what I learn are factors that cannot be ignored when considering a theory that represents the learning. For example, perhaps when I memorize something I am using the Behaviourist theory and when I am problem-solving I use the constructivist theory or a combination of the two.

As new technologies emerge, the way I access, interact with, and use information changes. Although, I am not convinced that Connectivism is an actually learning theory. It is certainly true that each day I establish more “connections” in my learning network. As those “connections” prove to provide me with the sought after instruction, I rely on them more and more.

I use technology to collect information and to relay information in a variety of ways. I no longer just look up websites to find answers. Now I have wikis, blogs, videos, podcasts, applications, and social networks that provide me with a constant barrage of information. As I become more adept in using this technology, I also become better at sorting out how the technology can be used to actually improve my life and not just be the next new thing to distract me.

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50–71.

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Connectivism



How Do My Connections Facilitate Learning?

 

In the Connectivism article I learned that it is impossible to learn and experience everything first hand. "We must create networks which, simply defined, are connections between entities. By using these networks - of people, of technology, of social structures, of systems, of power grids, etc. - learning communities can share their ideas with others, thereby "cross-pollinating" the learning environment (Siemens, 2005, para. 21).

In the mind map I created above, you can see all of the connections that make up my learning network. The two major categories of my learning network are people and technology.

I still learn quite a bit from people. My experiences and interactions with family, friends, and coworkers still shape the way I learn a great deal. Also, there are occasions where I learn in a more traditional lecturing style. My boss, pastor, and instructors might deliver a lecture in which I learn from and interact with. However, unlike 10 years ago, all of these people that shape my learning also refer me to current technology so that I can further my learning.

The technology that makes up my learning network is ever changing and ever growing. The way I learn now is not like the way I learned in the past. I will use a real-life example to demonstrate my point. This week I needed to know how to replace a garbage disposal. So, I hopped on-line and did a search to find out information. There were enough websites, blogs, and videos (my favorite digital tools) posted for me to quickly learn the necessary tools and skills I would need to replace the disposal. In the past, I most likely would have gone to a hardware store to talk with an expert, checked out a library book on the subject, or hired a plumber.

As you can see, my personal learning network supports the tenets of connectivism. I can learn new skills through current technology that may have been impossible in the past. As my technological savvy grows I hope to add to the world of connectivist learning.

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

Siemens, G. (2005, January). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology & Distance Learning, Retrieved November 03, 2008, from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm

How Do My Connections Facilitate Learning?

Evaluating and Identifying Online Resources

For this week’s assignment I was able to identify three different websites that are related to the brain and learning, information processing theory, or problem-solving methods during the learning process. I will give brief descriptions of each site and then comment on the value of the material they contain.

http://brains.org/articles.htm
          This website discusses current brain research and then tries to draw the connection from the research to how it applies in the classroom. This site offers a wealth of articles that give insight into how the brain works.
          For example, there is an article titled Brain Biology http://help4teachers.com/gardening.htm that explains much of what we learned in our reading about electrical charges in the brain and new neurons being developed and lost. It also adds an interesting point about the importance of sleep throughout this process.
          Another article on this website I enjoyed is Why Hands on Tasks are Good http://help4teachers.com/hands.htm. The article discusses two different memory systems in our heads. One is called the semantic memory and the other is the episodic memory. Hands-on learning taps into both of these memory systems to increase learning potential.
          I feel that this website is a great resource. There are many other articles of interest on this website that I will continue to explore in the coming weeks.


http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v03n02/1.html
          Unlike the previous website I described, there is not a wealth of information within this site. However, the article that is posted here did support our reading for this week. For example, this article also pointed out that left-brain and right-brain learning are not generally accepted as true anymore. Brain research has shown how the two sides of the brain must work together.
          The information in the article about multiple intelligences and what a good learning environment looks like was also interesting to me. It reinforced the idea of presenting a variety of ways and opportunities to learn. This is a key point for an instructional designer.

http://www.funderstanding.com/v2/educators/brain-based-learning/
          This article breaks brain research and its influence on education into a list bullet points. The bullet points are easy to read and might make for a good presentation, especially to a group of teachers, but they do not go into much detail. I don't feel like this site will be as helpful to me as I continue in my studies of instructional design.

Blog Assignment: The Doorway to Professional Learning Communities

 The following sites are all sites that I think might be helpful as I continue my career in education and as an Instructional Designer. Some of the sites are from the Supplemental Resource List, but some are from the course readings or my own independent search. I will give a brief description of what I believe the usefulness of each site is and how I plan on using each site as a continue my career.


http://www.iddblog.org//
The instructional design and development blog will be a useful site that will help spark ideas on how I might incorporate technology into my career, the classroom, and in my daily life. The site is helpful because it seems to have a large amount of information that is broken into manageable pieces. The Search tool is also very helpful. I feel that as I continue learning the tools of an Instructional Designer I will be able to contribute my responses to some of the posts I find on this site.

http://en.wordpress.com/tag/instructional-design
I found the wordpress site helpful as well, but it took a little more work on my end to find what I thought was useful information. It is great that this site pulls a ton of different Instructional Design blogs together in one place, but this also makes the user do a lot of sifting to find what they need. It did seem like a lot of the blogs dealt with Instructional Design coursework. This might be helpful, since I will be going through some of the same struggles.


http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/
I love this site! I was an elementary school teacher for 5 years, and now I work for an educational publishing company. I can see myself using this site frequently in order to stay current on what is happening in schools. What are the issues that teachers are facing? How can I help them given my current role?


http://ideas.blogs.com/
The author of IDEAS is obviously someone with a lot of experience in instructional design that I can learn from. I clicked through some of the material linked to this site and found many useful topics. I watched a presentation on Instructional Design that the author created. I imagine I can use this site as a resource to learn more about how Instructional Design is shaping our world.