Question: What are your beliefs about how people learn best? What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?
As a 2nd grade teacher and team leader, I believe that people learn best when instruction and learning are organized with the "learners" in mind. What I mean by this is, when an instructor is designing the curriculum, they need to have the audience they are delivering the content to in the forefront of their mind. This will help ensure that the curriculum is presented in an organized and relevant manner to the students. As a teacher myself, I believe that people learned best in a variety of ways. Some learners learn best through listening to instruction, while others learn better through seeing or touching and experiencing the learning. Learners learn best when instruction is delivered in a way that encompasses all of these senses. If an instructor teaches lessons with their listening, seeing, and touching students in mind, and makes the instruction relevant to all of the learners, learning is inevitable.
The purpose of learning theory in educational technology is to influence instructional design and the instructional designers. in regards to learning theory in educational technology, Moore (1989) argues that there are three types of learner interaction (learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner interactions). Instructional designers must keep Moore's three types of learner interaction in mind throughout the entire design process.
Reference:
Moore, M. (1989). Three Types of Interaction. As retrieved from http://www.ajde.com/Contents/vol3_2.htm#editorial.
I agree children come to school now with many different learning styles. As a teacher we must be aware of these differences in order to help them be successful. As I look back on my educational up brining, I do not recall much differentiation taking place in the classroom. The lessons where lead by the teacher in a lecture format and we just listened and took notes. Times have really changed.
ReplyDeleteI agree that relevancy and addressing the needs of the learner are crucial to learning. In your opinion, where does motivation fit in? When you stated that learning is inevitable in the case of a relevant lesson that addresses multiple learning styles, do you think motivation will affect learning?
ReplyDeleteI am also like LaTonya...times have changed from when I was a kid and the overhead projector was high tech!
The concept of learning styles refers to the strategies preferred by students with regards to the ways they gather, interpret, organize, and process new information. When learning a new concept, some students focus on the details, others in the logical, others prefer to reading or applying them into practice through activities. I agree with your excellent point that, it is therefore necessary to plan activities tailored to the students’ individual learning style and expectations, ensuring they are more receptive.
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that as teachers, we should differentiate our teaching styles and lessons as much as possible. In my school, our principal subscribes to the thinking: what’s good for special ed students is good for all students. In other words, if we are making an adaptation in lesson design or presentation for one student with a special need, we should employ that adaptation for all students.
Which learning theory do you most subscribe to: behaviorism, cognitvism, constructivism, connectivism?
-Christine