Week 2 - Theories & Models of Learning & Instruction

Chapter 4 -Psychological Foundations of Instructional Design

By Marcy P. Driscoll

The psychological concepts and principles of learning which created the foundations of instructional design (ID) are found in such researchers as B. F. Skinner, a behaviorist, R. M. Gagne’ a constructivist lead the way for the field. Their principles and ideas on how learning occurred in children was the foundation to help define ID and the learning as a cultural process. They believed that learner’s experiences and interactions with the world is how learning takes place.

The Behavioral Learning Theory was born mostly from Skinner’s research which believed that learning was based entirely on behavior of the learner and with behavior modifications they learner can change his reactions to his environment.  Cognitive Information Processing Theory also believed that the environment played a major role in how an individual learned but with this theory the way the information is processed by the person is the key variable. (Driscoll, 2012) Out of these two theories the one aspect that I agreed with was the value of “feedback” and how the learner makes connections because of it.

Another aspect of learning that I just learned about in the past year was Schema Theory and its value to the learning process.  In this theory, it discusses how the learner places information into categories so that it can be recalled and used as they learn new information. The more practice a individual has in developing these schema the more automatic it becomes. Cognitive Load on the other hand sees learning as a process of how an individual learns complex data by adding to their cognitive skills gradually by loaded up data over a period building one bit of information on another. In this case it’s a gradual building and adding to the information that is learned. Gagne’s Theory of instruction based learning on cognitive information processing with the factors of 1) taxonomy of learning outcomes, 2) concept of learning hierarchies’ and3) related concepts of instructional events and conditions of learning. (Driscoll, 2012)

To fully understand Gagne’s Theory, I did some additional research on his nine events of instruction and the five-category breakdown.  There were several points that I found interesting in my readings. 1. Was the value of motor skills and attitudes in the five categories and of the nine events 2. The stimulation of recall of prior learning informally and 3. Providing feedback and the ability to access performance (p. 39). These points have value to me because I am curious as to the impact of informal learning situations on the total metacognitive learning that occurs to a learner over time. I feel that informal learning has as much if not more of an impact on what and how an individual learns and maintains that knowledge than the formal learning that is offered in a classroom setting.

Finally, the Constructivist Theory.  This theory hit so many point that I agreed with that I feel this one aligns more than the others with my line of thinking on this matter. It discusses the learning conditions and instructional strategies that are used having a major impact on how and what a child learns. It listed the following key aspects:

• Engage learners in activities authentic to the discipline in which they are learning;
• Provide for collaboration and the opportunity to engage multiple perspectives on what is being learned;
• Support learners in setting their own goals and regulating their own learning; and
• Encourage learners to reflect on what and how they are learning.(p. 41)

These are the key principles of Constructivism and they should be what every teacher in class should strive for.  In early years and still in some fields today, there was a Master Craftsman, who had an Apprentice who worked alongside the Master Craftsman to learn a trade or skill.  In these informal settings, a lot of collaboration and opportunities for sharing of ideas and skills was done.  This apprentice worked with the Master Craftsman until the skill was mastered enough for him to become a Master Craftsman. He was constantly getting the support he needed setting new goals and regulating his own learning to improve his craft. When a mistake was made they had to reflect on what they learned and where their mistake was and how to improve it. They were engaged in authentic learning. But, today we have very few occupations that still have the apprenticeship format but with constructivism we can simulate that kind of learning.

Chapter 5 -Constructivism in Practical and Historical Context

By Brent G. Wilson

Going deeper into Constructivism we see learning as a process of constructing meaning out of what you are learning as you encounter new challenges. According to this theory knowledge is “constructed by the knower based on mental activity where individual’s construct their knowledge of, and give meaning to, the external world.” (Wilson, 2012)

This is where I made my connections to Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 2005) where he talks about “knowledge dumping.” In constructivism it “stresses active, ongoing meaning-making through authentic engagement” during all “levels of education and training. (Wilson, 2012)

The key components of the constructivism model are:

• Problem-based learning
• Anchored instruction
• Cognitive apprenticeship
• Intentional learning environments
• REALS (Rich Environments for Authentic Learning) (Wilson, 2012)

The writers also listed the four benefits of this line of instruction as:

• Correspondence to how people really learn
• Higher-order learning outcomes
• Better integration of affect and emotion
• More relevance to job and out-of-the-classroom performance. (Wilson, 2012)

The last bulleted statement aligns with my ideas because it impacts informal learning that is so important to me. The transfer of knowledge to the ability to work in any setting more easily is a key component here. This type of learning conditions will emulate the natural conditions in a working environment or in a job setting.  At one time schools offered that kind of training for many occupations such as cosmetology, barbering, cooking, carpentry and brick masonry, and many other skilled occupations.  It was called Vocational Education; over my early years and my beginning teaching years they were taught in every high school. These types of programs have been taken out the public schools and the only way these trades are learned now is from continuing education trade schools or specialty junior colleges. At one time a young student could leave high school and be able to walk into any of these professions trained and licensed. Many young high schoolers stayed in school just for this training opportunity so that they will be marketable after high school without further education. They got opportunities for OJT (on-the-job) experience and to see if their choice was really a good fit for them. And it was all free for the high school diploma. Young men and women could leave high school ready for the job market. In the last 25-30 years all of that has changed. (Tucker, 2012) As Tucker describes in his article:

“Years ago, when I was in high school, almost all the larger cities had selective vocational high schools.  They were hard to get into; that’s because the students who were admitted were virtually assured good jobs when they graduated.” (Tucker, 2012)

There were many social issues that caused the demise of vocational training, but I won’t discuss them here. There are many research findings and editorial articles written addressing this lack of vocational education in today’s time. It would be worth your time to review some of these.

Chapter 6 -The Learning Sciences: Where They Came From and What It Means for Instructional Designers

By Christopher Hoadley and James P. Van Haneghan

This section dealt more in depth with the many theories of learning in psychology that have evolved over the last sixty to seventy years.  They discuss the theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Dewey and Thorndike to name a few.  Much detailed information was discussed and explained from the cognitive development, zone of proximal development (ZPD), Woodbury’s Cognition and Technology Group work with CD-ROM and video disc players.  It’s funny when I think back there are far too many of these theories that have impacted my life either as a student or teacher. Definitely from the 50’s until current times. Educators are always looking for the new development that will be the ultimate tool for teacher youngsters.  I believe there isn’t one ultimate tool, but we can take these many theories and glean from them those things that can be adapted to the populations that we teach.

With that in mind, the cognitive constructivist or social constructivist theories fits my ideal learning environment. It is learner-centered and allows for growth and exploration. The teacher has many opportunities for scaffolding and it has a little bit of the “apprenticeship” look and feel to it.

Chapter 9 -Motivation, Volition, and Performance

By John M. Keller and Markus Deiman

This chapter of the book focuses on how motivation and volition affect the performance of a learner and how much they will learn.  The authors discuss six questions that was reviewed about understanding motivational design. There discussions explain why the value of these two components can have an effect on learner outcomes and performance also why they should even be considered to have any value in the learning process.

The introductory scenario could almost be me except my motivational level has not waned because I started this journey so late in life I am totally committed to seeing it though.  But during my academic journeys I have seen this happen to so many. It’s as if they can’t keep up the momentum to the very end. This kind of comment goes past motivation to do well but it delves into the “will” of volition to go on.

The will to push ahead even when many distractions and adversities start forming all around you is that little unexplainable thing that those who comment to a task must have. The authors used several metaphorical analogies to explain how this works in individuals.  As ID theorist they must take into consideration these things when making plans on teaching this type of individual.  What can be incorporated into the study plan that will help to keep them focused on course? The hard part is that it varies from person to person, situation to situation. Plus it must come from within.  When I’m teaching I never tell a student that they can’t do this or that.  My statement to them is “you can do anything, it only depends on how badly you want it.”  I then follow-up with “nothing in the universe is going to help you to accomplish this task, but you must be determined to see it though.” The volition to push through until the end! The reward is not in trying, it’s in the completion of the task.

Reflections:

1. Epistemology and the differences from instructional methods theories or models of learning.

Epistemology deals with knowledge of how and what we know.  It is a construct of the postmodern era and modern instructional methods and theories are based upon this method of understanding how humans gain knowledge.

1. Contrasting stances in positivist, relativist, and contextualism. Which of the three is my stance?  Describe the conflict experienced with an instructor who I did not agree with their perspective.

Positivist- knowledge is based on natural phenomena.

Relativist – belief that there is not absolute truth (only truth is based upon cultural and individual beliefs.)

Contextualist – learning only takes place when teachers are able to offer the information in a way that students can develop meanings from them based on prior knowledge and experiences.

In reviewing the terminology my stance is definitely contextualist. It’s important that education meets the needs of the learner and allows them the freedom to manage and explore as they learn.  You never know what exposure will change the direction of a child.  We as educators want to make sure they are positive and that they move them towards productive growth.

I guess I’ve never had the experience of dealing with an instructor that was not like-minded to my general school of thought.  When I was a young and upcoming teacher there was so much to learn I did not argue the point because I knew very little to have a strong stance.  Now that I’m older I am careful not to put myself in a situation that would be confrontational.

1. Explain differences in problem-solving when approached from behaviorist and constructivist perspectives. How do differing approaches affect the nature of the problem to be solved and in facilitating the problem-solving process and what effect these differences have on learner motivation?

Behaviorist approach to problem solving - this group believes that the environment plays an important role in learning and therefore the approach to problem solving is solely sensory dealing with a cognitive approach to learning. They believe that problem-solving skills will occur as a process of the reproduction in any organism. The use of trial-and-error is all problems are solved. Thorndike’s theory of the “law of effect” is a good example of this. (p56)

Constructivist approach to problem solving - in this approach tries to explain how individuals know what they know and their approach to problem solving differs in that as people solve problems and discover consequences for that action they will reflect or recall those past experiences to make adjusts in their behavior and construct their own understanding of the learning that is needed to address a problem. The roots of this theory is found in the work of Piaget which studied the adaptive function of cognition. (Educatonal Encyclopedia State University, 2017)

Because each of the above theories are so different in their methodology will definitely have differing effects on how the learner views problem-solving and how it may practice it. One deals strictly with the environment and emotional connections while the other is a more analytical which is based upon conclusions drawn from past experience and knowledge.

Articles to Check:

https://www.treehugger.com/culture/what-happened-vocational-training-schools-and-can-it-come-back.html

https://psmag.com/education/the-future-of-work-how-i-learned-the-hard-way-what-happened-to-vocational-education

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/05/02/the-return-of-vocational-high-schools-more-options-or-the-kiss-of-death

Kincheloe, Joe. (1995) Toil and Trouble. Good Work, Smart Workers, and the Integration of Academic and Vocational Education. Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education, Vol. 7.

Coleman, J. S. (1966) Equality of education opportunity. Department of Health, USA. American Journal of Sociology. University of Chicago Press Journals. (pp. 354-356)

References

Driscoll, M. (2012). Psychological Foundations of Instructional Design. In R. A. Reiser, Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 34-44). Boston: Pearson.

Educatonal Encyclopedia State University. (2017, June). State University.com. Retrieved from Learning theory-constructivist approach, schema theory: http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2174/Learning-Theory-CONSTRUCTIVIST-APPROACH.html

Freire, P. (2005). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York and London: Continuum.

Tucker, M. (2012). The Death of Vocational Education and the Demise of the American Middle Class. Education Week.

Wilson, B. G. (2012). Constructivism in Practical and Historical Context. In R. A. Reiser, & J. V. Dempsey, Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 45-52). Boston: Pearson.