Essential Question: How do learning theories manifest themselves in online courses?I think in any online course you would see bits of all 3 of the learning theories from our reading: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. These are not the only 3 learning theories out there, but theses are 3 of the most dominant learning theories. I believe much of education is shifting towards constructivism, but the other 3 are still valid and widely used. "There are a variety of methods that serve different learning needs. It’s the skilled and intuitive educator that analyzes a learning situation, leverages the resources at his or her disposal and is able to analyze the situation and design the very best learning experience for his or her student" (Morrison 2014) Behaviorist learning theory focuses on a stimulus and response. "Skinner explored how a direct stimulus led to a positive response that created a behavioral change" (Harasim 2012). So many online programs include badges and rewards to keep students engaged and willing to learn. Skinner found that "a behavior followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in increased probability of that behavior occurring in the future, whereas a behavior no longer followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in a decreased probability of that behavior" (Harasim 2012). So these badges reinforce the learner to keep learning. ClassDojo and Classcraft are 2 other behavior modification tools for teachers. These tools allow teacher to either give points to students for good behavior and take away points for behavior that is out of line. Technology has come so far from the "Drill and practice, and 'electronic page turning,' both associated with CAI, were the earliest forms of educational software" (Harasim 2012). "Cognitivism is concerned with identifying and describing mental processes that affect learning, thinking and behavior, and the conditions that influence those mental processes" (Bates 2014). According to Harasim (2012) cognitivism came about because behaviorism did not explain the brain. Cognitivists wanted to to know why we did what we did. This is how cognitivism became known as the "mind as a processor of information, much like a computer" (Harasim 2012). This is a huge application to online courses. We must know how the brain processes information in order to develop courses that will allow learners to engage in course content and develop our skills at a higher level than we were when we entered the class. Below is an image of some of Bloom's taxonomy on the different parts of cognitivism. With cognitivism there are lower level types of thinking and higher level thinking as well. You need both to successfully make sense of new concepts. The constructivist learning theory is very easy to incorporate in online courses unless it is an online lecture course. If students are given tasks then they must complete the task in their own way. It is up to the student to make their own meaning through "problem solving, experiential and/or social learning experiences" (Morrison 2014). Constructivist pedagogies have been characterized by terms like active learning, learning-by-doing or learning-by-making, scaffolded learning and collaboration. (Harasim 2012). From these terms it is easy to tell that this is a student centered philosophy. I have been trying to incorporate this theory into my teaching more and more. It is so hard as a teacher to allow students this much freedom. As a teacher we have specific goals in mind and these are harder to be sure they are met when the student is behind the wheel. Sources
Bates, T. (2014, July 29). Learning theories and online learning. Retrieved September 16, 2016, from http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/07/29/learning-theories-and-online-learning/ Harasim, L. (2012). Learning Theory and Online Technologies [Kindle Edition]. New York, NY: Routledge. Morrison, D. (2014, January 31). Why Educators Need to Know Learning Theory. Retrieved September 15, 2016, from https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/why-educators-need-to-know-learning-theory/
4 Comments
Josie Leach
9/16/2016 07:45:55 am
Hello Sara,
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Sara Lucas
9/18/2016 04:14:08 pm
I keep thinking back to the summer courses for constructivism as well. It is so hard to keep it separate from constructionism. Even though they are related they are different. So much research is showing the benefits of students learning things on their own rather than teachers trying to stuff it all in their brains, so to speak.
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Dan Marshall
9/16/2016 02:25:49 pm
Sara, you commented that "If students are given tasks then they must complete the task in their own way. It is up to the student to make their own meaning through "problem solving, experiential and/or social learning experiences" (Morrison 2014). This was eye-opening to me since I was struggling with the concept of how to incorporate this in an online situation, but you are so right. It follows that the student is forced to problem solve on his end in order to accomplish the tasks. Well said.
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Sara Lucas
9/18/2016 04:16:16 pm
Thanks. I am glad you found a takeaway from my post. I firmly believe that when you construct your own model or representation you will remember it. Most students remember the project they did on class not the fascinating lecture that I gave. They remember the interactions they had with others. This is something that I am trying to remember and focus on as I create my lessons.
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