Fitting the pieces together

I don’t feel really that my view on learning theories and styles has changed too much during the time spent in this course. By that I mean to say that the information presented in this course has had significant correlation to my previous studies in education. What was new and different, and has provided for a good deal of self-reflection, is the addition of the role of technology usage in not only my learning, but how it is used and how it can or should be used when developing courses, specifically for adult learners. When paired with specific learning styles, such as musical learning style, curriculum can be tailored to play into a learner’s cognitive strengths, or may challenge the learner to develop new ways of comprehending and synthesizing information.

For my own personal learning preferences, I adapt quickly to new information that contains patterns. As I posted in an early discussion, this learning tendency most likely stemmed from the musical training I received as a child. This habit has expanded to include patterns in science and mathematics, which are subjects that I enjoy and excel at. The expansion came from the recognition of similar patterns into different curriculums with the ZPD and scaffolding. Linguistics is still more difficult for me as it is harder to develop rhythm or patterns in language, without breaking into poetry or song.

Technology is an interesting tool for learning. It can bridge multiple learning styles simultaneously, such as a video clip (visual) with audio (auditory) and closed-captioning (verbal). Different applications such as manipulatives (massive multiplayer online gaming) or discussions can further contribute to a student’s learning by addressing kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal learning styles. Technology can also be a hindrance or obstacle for a learner to overcome in the pursuit of knowledge if the technology is unfamiliar or cumbersome to work with. The learner may become frustrated and lose motivation if training, time and reinforcement are not also included in the assignments. As was lately pointed out in the investigations on the Horizon Project, various applications of technology may now or in the near future make learning much less traditional and more immediate and personally significant through the use of smart technology, mobile devices, and semantic-aware applications. Personally, I use technology as an organizational device, to gather and bring order to my communications, applications, research, and work products.

Johnson, L., Levine, A., & Smith, R. (2009). The Horizon Report (2009 ed.). Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/

Lowe, J., & Holton III, E. (2005). A theory of effective computer-based instruction for adults. Human Resource Development Review, 4(2), 159-188. Retrieved October 6, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 842876681).

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson.

My mind map is split up into three main areas, although there could be many more; Information Resources, Interactions, and Applications. This activity was challenging from a strictly organizational point of view, as many aspects of the learning network can be and often are connected in more than one way.

I first gain information from program resources, texts, journals, etc. After processing the information and relating it to my own experiences, I then interact with others about the information to gain their perspectives to add to my own. Taking this large mass of information, I apply it to my different applications either for personal use or for professional use as a classroom teacher. As my student interact with the new information of technology, I learn from their experiences, and return back to my peers to share the information and experiences with them.

Networking and especially digital networking has allowed me to be more efficient in searing for particular kinds of information. Search engines and databases filled with indexed research topics can quickly narrow my investigation to a few key points. It also allows me to more readily seed opinions of others associated with my field of study (either peers, instructors, professors, or industry experts) to meld with my own levels of experience. I tend to learn best through interactive environments, especially with visual representations and quick feedback on replies from peers. Digital tools, such as FlashMedia, discussions, and live chats all help to facillitate thist ype of learning. Whenever my questions are not initally answered, I will either post my questions on my blog, where one of my 'readers' may respond, or I will directly communitcate with one or more individuals whom I know to be knowledgeable in the field.

In looking at the characteristics of connectivism, I would say that my learnign network supports the ideals of connectivism, rather than refuting it. For example, connectivism theory appreciates and encourages the explorations of a diversity of opinions to facilitate learning. (Davis, Edmunds & Kelly-Bateman, 2008). I seek out others' opinions and add them to my own as I learn and comprehend new ideals or concepts. Because of the nature of connectivism and digital mediums, there is also and urge to remain up-t0-date with current events, research, political and popular opinions, and relevant feedback to your own applications of materials. Learning networks rely on new and prompt information to stay current and most effective.

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., &Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

My Mind Map on Connectivism

I am having technical difficulties imbedding the image to the blog. Here is the link to the map through Webspiration.

Information Processing and New Approaches to Studying

The resources that I found this week focus on two different aspects of how humans learn and interact with information. The first is an article by W. Huitt, published in 2003 in Educational Psychology Interactive. This article is more about the theories in how the brain accepts, uses, stores, and retrieves information. The second resource is an article recently published by the New York Times. Using evidence from several university studies, the article challenges the old methods of ‘good’ study habits and how different methods may actually improve retention and retrieval of information in the brain.

Much of the information presented in Huitt’s article reinforces the material from this week’s course resources, but it also provides more detail, too. The article defines and reviews the different stages of information processing (stage theory model), including sensory input, working or short-term memory, long-term memory, and retrieval. The overview section of the article also discusses three other theories of information processing: level-of-processing, parallel-distributed processing, and connectionistic. The author provides a brief explanation of each alternate theory. The connectionistic theory, originally proposed by Rumelhart and McClelland (1986), extends the parallel-distributed processing theory and offers evidence more in line with current research data, suggesting that the brain stores new information in more than one location.

What I found most interesting about this article was the table at the very end. The table sets out examples to information processing steps for the classroom. As I read over the list included in the table, I began to think of how the same step would be adapted for a learning environment other than a traditional classroom. Step 2 on the table is entitled “Bring to mind relevant prior learning” with one example being a discussion on previous lesson’s content. In an e-learning or other digital environment, this could be replaced by interactive recall questions, or a brief overview by the presenter in the video or presentation before introducing new material.
Benedict Carey’s article about study habits brings university research findings to the public and how students today may benefit more by not following the old advice of quiet places for study habits. Various research studies showed that student performed better on tests if their study habits were changed by variables such as length of time (shorter periods over subsequent days), location (different rooms or environments possibly allowed students’ brains to build more network links to the information allowing for greater probability of recall), or mixing content (several questions of the same type vs. several questions of varying complexity on the same issue). The article is rather surprising to me, but it also makes a lot of sense. The study locations part was what caught me the most. Learners have long been told to pick quiet location, free of distractions to study. Yet this article, and the research that it cites, says that may not be the best way to remember material. Subconsciously, the brain may be associating the materials with sensory input from the environment. By studying or reviewing the material in multiple locations, the brain may form more links to the same material. The greater network of neurological links allows for a greater probability for retrieval later.

Carey, B. (2010, September 7). Forget what you know about good study habits :[Science Desk]. New York Times. (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. D.1. Retrieved September 18, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 2131438941).

Huitt, W. (2003). The information processing approach to cognition. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved September 18, 2010 from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cogsys/infoproc.html

Rumelhart, D., & McClelland, J. (Eds.). (1986). Parallel distributed processing: Explorations in the microstructure of cognition. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Welcome to my blog! A little bit about me first: I am a high school physics teacher at a large high school just south of Washington, DC. As I am often one of the ‘last stops’ before my students head off to college, majoring in engineering and bio-medical fields, I try to incorporate many instructional practices that the students are likely to encounter in post-secondary educational settings. This includes web-based instructions, activities, and assessment tools, as well as online discussions to aide students with course material.

Up until this point, I have largely been self-taught in the use of technology with instructional design. In my explorations, I have come across several websites that have proved to be either helpful in using different techniques, thought-provoking in teaching and technology practices, or directly relate to physics instruction using non-traditional classroom methods.

Learning Physics Online is a site designed for physics instructors to use and share web-based videos illustrating physics content. The videos are often based or accessed through You-tube.com. I have used the videos and comments to shape my practice in the classroom and I have also challenged my students to create their own similar instructional or research-based videos to share with classmates. We have posted our videos on the school-based website (closed to the public) and had open discussions about the content and methods illustrated in the videos.

The Tempered Radical is a large site, containing opinions and challenges to teaching practices, the art and state of education, and the advantages of using technology in various ways in the classroom. The author not only provides instruction on implementing technology practices, but also revisits the issues and updates instructions with tips and caution points.

Cathy Moore’s blog Making Change – Ideas for Lively eLearning is geared more towards adult learners in the business world. She offers a lot of ideas to keep learning interesting and relevant from both the student’s perspective and the instructional designer’s perspective. Her writing is energetic, quick and to the point. She also uses the comments section to have open discussions with her readers on how her entries relate to their applications and to share ideas.

Hi!

Welcome to my blog! Hopefully, this will prove interesting and informative for everyone.