Reflecting on Learning Theories and Instruction

It has been a great next step on my journey to become and Instructional Designer.  I have learned about myself as a learner as well as the theories behind learning.  It has been a long and challenging 8 weeks. Life happens, but my goals are still attainable.

Being an education major in my undergrad studies gave me insight to most of the theories in education. Though I learned about these theories, I only learned from the pedagogical perspective.  After taking this class, I realized that the andragogical perspective is not that much different than what I learned.  I learned that there is a thin line between andragogy and pedagogy.   It was refreshing to learn of newer theories in education.  One for instance is the connectivism theory.  Who knew that your network of friends, family, work, technology had a theory to explain how they aid your learning.  It was also interesting to see how all of those things were connected, and even at times interconnected, through a mind map.  It started out a little difficult, but once I got rolling, my network was easy to map.

Looking at my own personal learning process, I’ve learned a lot.  I learned about the things going on inside, the actual process.  As I get older, learning about my brain functioning/processing has become more important. Learning about how my working memory takes in information repetitively and then associates it with the related information in my long term memory was very intriguing.   I have also learned that many things influence learning.  Motivation is a key component in the influence of the learning process.  My biggest “ahaa” moment came when I learned more about motivation.  Learning about Keller’s ARCS motivational process gave me a deeper insight in the learning process of an adult. Implementing experiences that gain ATTENTION, has RELEVANCE, builds CONFIDENCE, and gives SATISFACTION upon completion of the experience is important to motivation.  I will definitely consider this when I am creating instruction.

As the weeks progressed, we learned more about the theories of learning.  I could see they were all beginning to show similarities.  After completing the Matrix activity, it was clear that these theories were all comparable and interconnected in some way. 

Through this course, it has helped to prepare me to understand the adult learner better.  With this new understanding, I can take the next step and learn how to prepare materials and design instruction with the adult learner in mind. 

Reference:

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

Learning Theories.....Fitting the Pieces Together

Facilitating Learning through Connections

How I learned has changed since I was a girl in primary school. I was born into family of educators. What I didn’t know I’d ask mother who was an educator. If she didn’t know, she’d ask her sister then on to her other sister or her mother. Information then was learned and supported by the “elders” and their grapevine approach.  Places like the library were almost the last stop.  When I entered undergrad, it was then that I found a new love for the library.  Thousands upon thousands of books, waiting for my fingers in structured time blocks.  But even this was short lived.  As my networks around me began to grow, so did the technology.  Thank goodness for our technological advances!

Being able to gather various resources for a single topic is very important to my learning experience.  Gathering additional information helps to solidify meaning.  The best way for me to access this information is thru the internet.  There are all types of presentations, perspectives, and so forth.  You can access professional journals, conferences, associations, and join in discussions. There is no need to leave your house.  Not even for the library….it’s online too!  This is a great option for me and my young children. Now I am able to access information that I want, when I want. 

With so much out there to learn, I am bound to have questions. Getting the answers to my questions is relatively easy.  I start by looking at my personal stash of books.  Then I begin searching on the internet via search engines…my favorite…GOOGLE.  Through these searches, they pull up a plethora of information.  If I still have questions, then I contact family or friends I think may have knowledge of the subject. Because many of my friends are out of the area, I send emails or contact them thru Facebook.  To take it further, I canvass my co-workers for their insight.

Looking at my mind map in retrospect, my network would support the central tenets of connectivism.  In my network, I use technology to transfer to (and/or from) information between my friends, family, co-workers, and myself.  I seek opinions from them using emails and social networks as well as using search engines, on-line libraries, and (now) blogs.  According to George Siemens resource video, connectivism is a learning theory that integrates technology, social networks, and information.  I think my network is a prime example of his theory.