week 8 reflections

Reflections on the course Learning Theories and Instruction
As this course draws to a close my first reaction is “WOW!!! Has it really been eight weeks already?
When I started this course I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have not had any classes related to learning theories since my undergrad days when I was pursuing a degree in Education. What I found surprising was that some of the information came flooding back to me as I started reading the assignments.
I remembered learning about Behaviorism, where learning occurs when a proper response is demonstrated following presentation of a specific environmental stimulus. As a child I learned in this way. Touching a hot stove will hurt you so don’t do it. In elementary school most learning was also behaviorist. I learned everything by practice and repetition. We had spelling bees and grammar bees and arithmetic bees and to win the bee or at least be in the top 3 of the class was a great reward.
I didn’t remember learning the term Cognitivism but I know I learned some subjects in this way. In Cognitivism learning occurs by relating new information to existing information. We think and build on what we already know. For example we can take information that was learned in English class and apply it to writing a paper in History. As I addressed the question “How should instruction be structured” in cognitivism, I was reminded of my college teaching of math class. At the time teaching for meaning and understanding was a foreign concept to me and what I thought was a new concept in the education world. When I went out into a real classroom I understood that as a teacher we have to make information real to the student. Writing 1 + 1 = 2 on the blackboard doesn’t necessarily make sense to a 1st or 2nd grader. But give that child 1 crayon and then another 1 crayon aha! The light goes on I have 2 crayons.
The other term that was new to me is Constructivism , which is defined as a “function of how the individual creates meaning from his or her own experience” and “the Constructive mind filters input from the world to produce its own unique reality.” Constructivism stresses collaborating with others, taking what we already know and using it to develop new solutions and then implement those solutions creating a new unique reality. I learned by the constructivism method on my last job. I worked with a team to collaborate on ideas and solve problems.
My answer to how do I learn was by all three methods. As the class went on I also added connectivism to how I learn. Connectivism includes using the technology tools that are now available to us and creating a “knowledge” network that we can utilize to help us learn and get information. Our assignment was to create a mind map of our learning network. My Map included websites such as Google, LinkedIn, and individual blog pages.
This class helped me to put terminology to how I learn. As an adult learner I have taken many on-line classes but this is the first actual university class I have taken. I really enjoyed the variation in presentation of the class materials. I intend to use a mix of video, readings, discussion, live chats and hands on learning and a mix of behaviorism. cognitivism and constructivism in the classes I design. I believe in order to be a good instructional designer I have to get the material across to the student in the best way possible. So it is up to me to decide what will work the best for the material I am presenting.
Prior to this class I had written and presented some training materials to colleagues in the Information Technology field. I did not consider how people learn or what motivates them to learn. The training materials I created were well received by my colleagues and learning did indeed take place as evidenced by their ability to use the applications they were trained on. I had a very specific target audience for my training materials. However I know as I move ahead in the field of Instructional design the materials I produce will be used by a more diverse group of students. I may not necessarily know their background or their learning styles therefore I have to insure that I use the varied learning theories mentioned above and also keep in mind the motivational aspects that we discussed this final week of class. Using the ARCS method to gain and keep Attention, show Relevance of the class materials, contribute to the students Confidence level in learning the course materials, and poll the student satisfaction level at course completion.
I am looking forward to the next class to start putting these theories into practice.