Blog 1 Week 1

Learning Theories

'This wheel might turn slowly, but it turns'

Photo Credit: Johanna Backen

 

Behaviourism

The behaviourist theory is organised around the principle of ‘stimulus response’ and that all behaviour is learned; hence can be un-learned or replaced. This being that the learner is rewarded for ‘good’ behaviour (positive reinforcement/stimuli) and disciplined for ‘bad’ behaviour (negative reinforcement/stimuli). Stimuli, such as rewarding behaviour is a key element to this theory, it holds that with consistent rewards behaviours can be learned, changed and further developed. Over time the rewards for ‘good’ behaviour gradually dwindle until ‘good’ behaviour becomes the norm by the students own choosing.  This is a type of physiological conditioning to which the students automatically associate correct behaviours with positive consequences and incorrect behaviour with negative consequences (Standridge, 2002).

Conversely, when discussing ‘Responsibility Theory’, Ragnar Purje 2014 argues that there should be ‘No gold stars, even for gold star performance’.  He poses that the psychological effects of a ‘stimulus response’ system cease once the positive re-enforcement ceases, ‘They do not create an enduring commitment to a set of values or to learning they merely temporarily change what we do’ (Kohn, 1993, within Purje, 2014 p. 100)’. Another aspect of this argument is that extrinsic rewards for intrinsic learning can undermine the intrinsic learning (Purje, 2014).

I’m not sure where I come down on this one yet – I always enjoyed behavioural rewards when I was young…

Cognitivism

This follows the previous discussion, whereby cognitivism seems to be the reaction to behaviourism. This theory revolves around the information processing aspect of learning, whereby learning is internally viewed as mental constructs which can be externally manifested in concept maps and diagrams, as opposed to programmed behaviours .The learning process is illustrated in the below diagram:

Source: (Culatta 2011)

The information is introduced as sensory input; it is acknowledged internally and moves into short term memory. Hopefully the information is viewed as meaningful, organised and/or elaborating on existing knowledge which is then encoded and placed into long term memory. This model also shows that information can be displaced if not repeated or is seen to be disorganised or not of value.

Social Constructivism 

 

This learning theory involves metacognitive processes, whereby learning is achieved or enhanced by receiving scaffolded information from other more knowledgeable people such as teachers, peers, guest speakers, documentaries etc. Hence students regard learning as a shared social activity entrenched in classroom activities. Brooks and Brooks 1993 organise teaching social constructivism under 12 headings:

1. Teachers using constructivist principles encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative
2. Constructivist teachers use raw data and primary sources, along with manipulative, interactive and physical materials
3. When framing tasks, constructivist teachers use cognitive terminology
4. Constructivist teachers allow student response to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies and alter content
5. Constructivist teachers inquire about students understandings of concepts before sharing their own understanding of those concepts
6. Constructivist teachers encourage students to engage in dialog both with the teacher and each other
7. Constructivist teachers encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open0ended questions and encouraging students to ask questions of each other
8. Constructivist teachers seek elaboration of students initial responses
9. Constructivist teachers engage students in experiences that might engender contradictions to their initial hypotheses and encourage discussion
10. Constructivist teachers allow wait time after posing questions
11. Constructivist teachers provide time for students to construct relationships and create metaphors
12. Constructivist teachers nurture student’s natural curiosity through frequent use of the learning cycle model (Brooks & Brooks, 1993).

Connectivism

‘Connectivism presents a model of learning that acknowledges the tectonic shifts in society where learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity’ (Siemens, 2004).

This theory seeks to surpass the other theories discussed here, by claiming that in this digital age it is impossible to know everything; hence the most pertinent part of education knows where and how to access the desired information.  The learning occurs through interconnected networks akin to web structures. Siemens 2004, outlines 8 Principles for Connectivism:

1. Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
4. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
5. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
7. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
8. Decision-making is itself, a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

Summarised nicely in ‘Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today’ (Siemens, 2004).

  Benefits of ICT in the Classroom

 

I thought I’d start this off with a website for my fellow ‘newbs’ http://www.boxoftricks.net/internet-resouces-for-education/ this is a simple alphabetised list of ICTS (with links) and a short definition of each for use in the classroom. This has been fantastic to trawl through, though it was last updated in 2013 so I bet by now there are a stack more to add to this.

This is a BBC documentary series called “Teach First” which follows pre-service teachers through their first year or so teaching in the UK. This does not directly address ICT’s but I’ve found it helpful simply to see that they have the same struggles and anxieties about teaching as I do!

PMI 

 

I thought I’d represent some of my observations about ICT in the classroom as a PMI table, and have a converse table for the traditional classroom.

 

PLUS	MINUS	INTERESTING
Enhanced access to learning materials, internet etc.	Plagiarism.	ICT’s can be simple but fun and creative little things to make a lesson pop.
Ability to make lessons more relevant to learners by incorporating current technologies.	Generation ‘spell-check’, loss of literacy skills.	With appropriate instruction ICTs can be used by anyone (including me!)
Interactive tools for cognitive concept mapping.	ICT’s for ICT’s sake?
Online communication forums/spaces for social/group based learning.
Creativity galore!

The Traditional Classroom

PMI

PLUS	MINUS	INTERESTING
Less electronic distractions (mobile phones etc).	Blackboard or Whiteboard only.	We all managed to get through this and come out ok...
More face to face engagement and communications.	Series’ of static information presented as block text.
Hand writing skills, enhanced literacy.	Less ability to get creative and ‘think outside the box’ when trying to make lessons engaging.
	Hard copy texts only.

Personal Musings…

In this week’s readings there is a heavy emphasis on differentiated learning which at a theoretical level I totally understand and on a personal level I have noticed within myself and by observing others. I seem to be able to look at a lengthy piece of unbroken wordy text and absorb the appropriate information very quickly and regurgitate it into a mind map of key ideas and linkages; this is something I’ve always had an affinity for which has greatly helped me with my studies. As long as I have a hand written hard copy of my decoded interpretation of the information, I can recall the content as a mental image quite easily, truth be told I have a huge arch lever folder with hand written text, mind maps and diagrams for every week of every subject I completed in my undergraduate degree! This being said, and with much dismay from my partner, when someone physically shows me how to do something (tying knots for the boat is a real kicker for me) I don’t take it in first time, or even second time, it takes me a fair while and lots of practice for the message to really ‘sink in’ and even then I’m unsure if I haven’t undertaken the task for a while. Funnily enough if you write the instructions out on a piece of paper I’ll remember it immediately and be able to perform the action overtime, maybe because the task has been scaffolded (nice word use Jo) clearly into a mental image?. 

Hmm, I’ve never actualised this part of myself in words before; how cathartic, I’m learning about myself! I think I may be a Cognitive learner.

On an external level I’ve observed other types of differentiated learning through my studies as well as in work and social groups. I studied my undergraduate degree with many lovely folks and made some great friends; looking back we all complimented each other’s learning styles quite well which was unintended but I wonder if that happens quite a bit on a sub-conscious level. One  such lovely person I mentored through first year had a wealth of knowledge, really knew her stuff, you could always ring her when you were unclear on a concept and she could easily verbalise how, when, where and why it worked the way it worked, just off the top of her head. Transversely when it came to write a report or essay she struggled getting the right words to hit the page, she knew absolutely everything about the subject matter but found it difficult to make the connection between knowing it all and writing it down. When we’d get together we’d go through the assignment, usually she would have a ton of stuff in a word doc, way too much info, and it was disorganised, so we’d put it aside and go back to the question, what did the paper call for? What is the essay question? We’d have a really good discussion about this and it would help us come up with headings and sub headings (whether they were used or not in the final draft was irrelevant), which we could cut and paste her existing info under. This painted a pretty good picture as to where the gaps were and where there was superfluous information.  I guess this seems like a general planning style for university papers which of course she knew how to do but the talking about it part really helped her feel confident and more organised. It seemed like she had an overwhelming amount of knowledge stored upstairs but the stumbling block was sifting through it, akin to sifting it through a finer more specific sieve.

So I can see differentiated learning styles in my life and in those surrounding me, which makes me feel somewhat comfortable with the theory. Though the idea of practicing this for a group of up to 30 students is quite intimidating, my first thought was; how do you plan for 30 unique styles of learning!?

Neuroplasticity is a fairly new concept for me; I’d heard the term thrown around but have never really looked into it deeply. I like this quote from Michael Posner, founding director of Cornell University's Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychology, found within Grace Rubenstein’s paper ‘Brain Imagery Probes the Idea of Diverse Intelligences’

"One should not think of intelligence as a single thing that's fixed and that nothing can be done about".  

This goes against the grain of what I was taught through my high schooling, you were either smart, in the middle or were told ‘you’re talents must lie in other areas’… I wonder if someone had told me from a young age that intelligence is not fixed, if I would have developed knowledge in other areas I now look at as areas that I’m simply not gifted in…

During the residential school Ragnar Purje spoke about his experiences with a famous boxer whom was wheel-chair bound, and through ‘brain training’ I guess you’d call it, helped him rebuild and make new neuro pathways to the point that he became fully functional again. Such an inspirational story. This concept has left me contemplative; I’ve been rolling over some questions in my mind:

‘Where is the roof on this thing? Just how far can this go?'...
'Can everything be fixed?' 
Can we make ourselves super intelligent beings? ‘Would that even be a good thing?’

Food for thought…

References

Brooks, J. and Brooks, M. (1993) In search of understanding; the case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, Virginia, USA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Culatta, R. 2011. Innovative Learning. Cognitive Theories of Learning. Retrieved 10/03/2015 http://innovativelearning.com/educational_psychology/cognitivism/index.htm

Purje, R. (2014). Responsibility Theory (Who’s got the power). Australia, Purjie Publications.

Siemens, G. 2004. Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved 10/03/2015 http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Standridge, M. (2002). Behaviourism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved 10/03/2015 from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/