EDUC-7105-1/EDUC-8845-1 Module 1 Blog Post

My name is Ena Smith-Goddard.  I created this blog just before the course started mainly because I wanted to tinker with the blogging environment.

In response to topic 1: What are your beliefs about how people learn best? What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?

How an individual learn best rest upon first, the required learning outcome that is needed and second, whether the learning strategy relates well with that required learning outcome.  As seen in this week’s required reading, result/outcome is part of Driscoll’s list of three basic components that are needed for building a learning theory:  results, means and inputs (Driscoll, 2005, p. 9). These three basic components required for building a learning theory are related to Ertmer & Newby’s five definitive questions: 1) how does learning occur? 2) what factors influence learning ? 3) what is the role of memory? 4) how does transfer occur? And 5) what types of learning are best explained by this theory?

The types of learning that behaviorists are employing in this digital age are linked to the basic behaviorist view that emphasis should be placed on observable measurable outcomes in students (Ertmer & Newby, 1993, p. 56). However, based on what I have read so far, instructional designers are now writing objectives that combine behaviorists’ views with cognitive processes (Classweb, 2006). In other words, instructional designers have had to adapt to the changes as they occur in this digital age wherein the internet has caused a power shift in classrooms (Siemens, 2008, p. 19).

Dr. Moller made a statement that makes perfect sense to me.  He mentioned that the reason earlier theorists were not concerned with the internal workings, was that they had no idea of how to study the mental processes that went on inside the mind. Hence, behaviorists presented the “Black Box Metaphor” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 34).

In closing, I would say then that the purpose of learning theory in educational technology is to ensure that educators form constructs that not only identify students’ need or academic goals, but to provide a philosophy that acts as a guide when employing instructional strategies. This will increase the chance of positive learning results for students.  I find the YouTube video on this site called “Changing Educational Paradigms” to be very interesting. It relates to this topic, what are your thoughts on the author’s views in the video?

References

Classweb. (2006). Instructional Design Knowledge Base, Retrieved on September 9, 2011. Retrieved from http://classweb.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/IDKB/models_theories.htm#implications

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Ertmer, P. and Newby, T. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6 (4), 50-72.