16 Sept 2009: Theories of Learning

Outlining the factors that are most important to learning:
- Modeling
- Scaffolding
- Reinforcement
- Mentoring

Ertmer article

1) Behaviorism
- Arrangement of Stimuli
- Conseqences of Stimuli
- Positive Reinforcement (donut if you come to class)
- Negative Reinforcement (quiz if you don't come to class)
- intervals of reinforcement (what point to begin the intervention)
- learner as agent to be acted upon
- tailoring the environment

2) Cognitivism (Cognitive Information Processing)
- building a building with bits (bricks, wood, mortar)
- structuring (positioning/timing/context) & sequencing (time) of information
- encoding (mental schema), packaging smaller bits of information
- repeated practice & tapping into memory
- learning how to store knowledge better

3) Constructivism
- focus on the building in its total complexity (e.g real world problems & solutions)
- learner's prior experience/ metacognition
- social negotiation & interaction with others
- collaboration
- scaffolding (mentoring)
- learner as free agent to decide what to learn

Theories: (EXPLAINS) descriptive for what impacts/inputs will lead to learning; takes a broad look at how people learn (but doesn't necessarily include the approach/mechanism for helping people learn), prescriptive aspect

"theory" comes out of scientific paradigm, laden with prestige, "eureka!" - science/technology debate - identifying enduring principles/relationships that you can put in a simple explanation (heat applied to atoms makes them move faster). Technology is different because it involves prescription.

What are the different nuances of:
Instructional Theory: explanation of how to instruct best
Learning Theory: explanation of how people learn best

Methods: (HOW) what a teacher does in a classroom (small group discussion), what you do to get a certain outcome drill & practice/ (These are not owned by one theory) - shared by different camps, but one may be more dominant in one camp than the other

Factors: (APPROACHES) social negotiation, collaboration, stimulus/response/memory, implementation of the social negotiation is a method

Charles' Classic Quote: "The lady salt must flavor the whole group!"

New Trends:
* Researcher as instrument (instead of using third person, speak in first person), especially in qualitative research
* Avoid colloquial language (writing like we talk)
* Write to your audience (dissertation oriented)
* Come into your community of practice (writing papers & publishing, not writing a dissertation)
* Consider what journals you'd like to submit papers to & conferences
* Keep a record of where I've published and presented

Next time:
* Difference of science and technology
* Come ready to discuss primary factors of our own personal theories (integrating all 3 kinds of theories)