Last week I gave you a brief history of IDT and what it really means. This week I am going to jump into the theories and models of learning and instruction. Is there really a right or wrong? Is one theory better than the other? Personally, I feel that they are theories for a reason....they all work, just for different reasons and different situations. The big thing is that as and educator, you have to be able to determine what theory is best suited for your success, and we all know a successful educator has successful students! So let dive in and take a look at this weeks readings. :D
After reading through these chapters, I feel that epistemology can and has an array of meanings, comparing to instructional methods and theories. My perspective is that instructional methods is how we present a certain topic with the understanding that it can always be changed in different ways to fit the student. When we describe the meaning of beliefs, we know that people tend to grasp on to certain beliefs. This is something that can actually help with the success of a child's learning. We can look at a teachers teaching methods and know they are building a wonderful structure for their students education. Epistemology is honestly a theory that is kind of on its own and unlike any other theory or method. To me it defines how we expand our knowledge and in return bring those ideas and strategies into our planning and everyday teaching and classroom environment.
So what are these theories you speak of might you ask?! Well....below are some of the theories I have studied this week...
Behavioral Learning Theory by B. F. Skinner.
Skinner thought that learning could be understood, explained, and predicted based on observations. Two examples he gives is that a stop sign signals for a driver to stop and if a teacher says” listen up”, the students will know that they need to stop talking and listen. This theory is based on what the person should do when they see or hear a cue. He also states that in order for this theory to be successful, there needs to be sufficient opportunities to practice the behavior.
Cognitive Information Processing Theory.
It states that environment plays an important role in learning. This theory mainly focuses on internal processes of the learner explaining their learning.
Schema Theory and Cognitive Load.
Knowledge is represented in long-term memory called schemas with this particular theory. As a teacher, we always build on the student’s schema or what they already know about a subject.
Situated Learning Theory.
This theory takes on a more central and defining role. It is what we would define as “a work in progress” theory, because we are always learning. It is more based on social and cultural thinking of learning.
Gange’s Theory of Instruction.
In this theory, Grange's primarily concern was instruction and how what is known about learning and to how we learn it is interrelated. This theory based on two foundations, cognitive information processing theory and observations of teachers in the classroom.
Constructivism.
In this particular theory, the learner is taking the information from the environment and constructs knowledge around it. To me it is almost Montessori.
Upon reading and studying the different theories, I felt I leaned more toward constructivism. I feel that students really benefit the most educationally from learning experiences. When they are able to relate to an event or situation in education or something that they are learning in class to their own life experiences, the student tends to have a better understanding of what is being taught. With the constructivism theory, I feel it is a student centered learning experience. When you come into my classroom, it is never quiet and the students are never sitting and acting perfect. It is organized chaos....but isn't that what the classroom supposed to be? I don't think any theory is right or wrong or one is better that the other, I just think the educator needs to adopt a theory or theories that are best suited to their teaching style and the success of their students!
When problem solving is being approached from a behavioral standpoint, I feel that it is implies that there is only one way to solve a problem. When the teacher says for the class to be quiet, they are quiet. When you see a red light while driving you stop. It is an act of habit and common sense. You have to provide feedback, both positive and negative consistently with this theory. And if there is a negative reaction, you have to redirect immediately and the problem will be solved. Approaching from a constructivists standpoint, there are multiple ways to solve a problem. With the constructivism theory, it is a collection of views, not just one. With the constructivists theory, learning environments should engage, support and encourage learners, as well as provide collaboration.
References:
Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2012). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd ed.). Boston ; Munich, MA: Pearson
Ok you did a much better job than I did of citing the theories. I liked the listing. It shows you and the reader exactly what is being discussed. You are also very correct in reminding us all that there is no right or wrong way there is just the way that works for us in a particular situation. I have worked at 4 different schools in 13 years and each population is different and each class is different. A cookie cutter approach never works. I am going to ask you a question. Which theory works best for you in most situations?
ReplyDeleteGood question Laura? And, I agree with the statement about all theories are good, it is finding the right one for the appropriate situation. I think as educators, we all do this all the time, even without knowing the scientific causes or names, we are applying these strategies by instinct. Teachers are born with a gift of knowing and doing, thankfully. Otherwise, if we had to wait to do what we know to do by reading all the theories first, all of us would have had to start over. We probably would have screwed something up by knowing it all first. I like that we have scientists that test and prove the different theories while we practice them in our daily routines. I think as teachers we are flexible, hands on, observant and situational. This allows for us to be able to take what we see, do and think into an appropriate plan of action that comes off to others as a natural process. Thankfully, the gift of teaching comes with lots of tools long before we even know them by name. Great post over the readings this week. I really like the listing and the simplistic approach you have to what could have been complex.
ReplyDeleteGood question Laura? And, I agree with the statement about all theories are good, it is finding the right one for the appropriate situation. I think as educators, we all do this all the time, even without knowing the scientific causes or names, we are applying these strategies by instinct. Teachers are born with a gift of knowing and doing, thankfully. Otherwise, if we had to wait to do what we know to do by reading all the theories first, all of us would have had to start over. We probably would have screwed something up by knowing it all first. I like that we have scientists that test and prove the different theories while we practice them in our daily routines. I think as teachers we are flexible, hands on, observant and situational. This allows for us to be able to take what we see, do and think into an appropriate plan of action that comes off to others as a natural process. Thankfully, the gift of teaching comes with lots of tools long before we even know them by name. Great post over the readings this week. I really like the listing and the simplistic approach you have to what could have been complex.
ReplyDeleteNice Post! I love how you explained the theories. I find myself using the Behavioral Learning Theory because of my job. You pointed out that in this theory when we are looking at problem solving we are being told that there is only one solution to the problem. This can be found to be true if looking at certain aspects. My belief is that we are all trying to arrive at the same solution, we just might get there a little different. For example, he does give the example about the stop light. We are programmed to stop when we see a red light. In this instance the only solution would be to stop because if there was another way to solve this, we would have many accidents like we see when people think they can beat the light or they decide not to follow the rule. When thinking about a student, I see students who are trying to be successful in class but they are having difficulty due to other factors outside of their control. We come up with strategies to get them to the same outcome but they just have to do things a little differently to get there. The goal or the solution is for all students to learn. That will look different based on what students need. I enjoyed reading your post, it really gave me some insight on previous discussions I've had with counselors before.
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