AMERICAN LANGUAGE HUB_Level2_Student'sBook_Answerkey.pdf
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New learning theory
1. 1
A discussion of the trends in learning theory and the
practical implications for instructional design.
Tell me and I'll forget;
show me and I may remember;
involve me and I'll understand.
- Chinese Proverb
3. 3
The goal of this presentation is to stir your imagination...
- to get you to challenge your assumptions about how
to develop training.
- to get you to reflect on the nature of learning
4. 4
“The field of instructional design has enjoyed
considerable success over the last two decades...
Based largely on behavioristic premises ID is
adjusting to cognitive ways of viewing the learning
process.”
but it is now facing some of the pains expected along
with its growth.
Quoted from “Cognitive approaches to Instructional
Design”, Wilson, Jonassen
and Cole
5. 5
“In attempting to simplify learning in order to improve
instructional efficiency and effectiveness, Instructional
Systems Technology may be short circuiting relevant
mental processing.
Quoted from “Objectivism vs.. Constructivism: Do We
Need a New Philosophical Paradigm?” , D. Jonassen
ETR&D Vol. 39, No. 3. PP 5-14 ISNN 1042-1629
Designers attempts to simplify learning risk supplanting
the complexity that is inherent in the learning process or
the task to be learned.”
6. 6
The digital environment poses several problems
for Instructional designers:
- New digital technologies must be understood in
order to develop course content.
- Our increasing use of e-learning requires familiarity
with new software tools.
- e-learning, with its lack of personal contact, places
an additional burden on the curriculum.
- Students are now knowledge workers whose tasks
are difficult to define.
7. 7
“Hostility toward theory usually means an
opposition to other people’s theories and an
oblivion to one’s own.”
Terry Eagleton
8. 8
- explain
We use theories to help us:
- understand
A theory is nothing more than a plausible explanation.
- predict
9. 9
Everyone carries around with them their own
personal theories
We use theories to guide our perceptions and
actions.
Theories are what we use to understand an
otherwise impossibly confusing world.
10. 10
What is theory ?
Theory provides a general explanation for observations
made over time.
Theory explains and predicts behavior.
Theory can never be established beyond all
doubt.
Theory may be modified.
Theories are seldom thrown out completely
but in some cases have been widely
accepted for a long time and then
disproved.
11. 11
“Theory places things in a causal
context that is wider than the causal
context provided by common sense.”
Paul Feyerabend
12. 12
“Theories are built on piles driven down into
the swamp; not down to any given base.
Although they are really firm enough to carry
the structure.”
Karl Popper
13. 13
Instructional design and development must be
based on some theory of learning or cognition.
Truly effective design is enabled only when the
developer has developed reflexive awareness of
the theoretical basis underlying the design.
Why all this talk about
theory?
14. 14
Florida State University
Masters in distance Learning
EDP 5216 Theories of Learning and Cognition in Instruction
Syracuse University
Master in Instructional Design
IDE 614 Instructional Design Theory and practice
University of South Alabama
MS Instructional Design & Development
EPY 502 Psychological Principles of Learning
Boise State
MS Instructional and performance Technology
IPT 535 Learning Theory for Instructional Designers
Utah State University
MS Instructional Development
Inst. 6260: Instructional Design Theory
Rhodes University
MA in Distributed Learning
DL 501 Learning Theory and its Application in the Design &
Development of Distributed Learning
15. 15
There is said to be a qualitative change in
society in these times. It is variously labeled
post industrialism, the information age or
postmodernism.
16. 16
Newtonian Physics Quantum PhysicsContinuum
Newtonian Physics Quantum PhysicsRupture
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Thomas Kuhn 1962
What followed was chaos theory, fractal theory and other
indeterminancy theories that are redefining the natural
sciences
17. 17
Modernism / Postmodernism
“Contemporary societies with their new technologies,
novel forms of culture and striking economic, social and
political transformations….
constitute a decisive rupture with previous forms of life,
bringing to an end the modern era.”
The Postmodern Turn, Best & Kellner 1997
18. 18
The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge
Jean Francois Lyotard 1979
Unquestioning belief in Reason & Rationality
Empiricism and Objectivism
Apodictic Truth
Postmodernism challenges the
concept of Metanarratives:
Idealism
Faith in Progress
In postmodernity, society confronts its own
rationalist and technicist myths (truth,
reason, freedom, totality and representation
just as earlier society confronted the
naturalist and religious myths of feudalism.
21. 21
What is the dominant learning theory under
which most insructional design is developed
22. 22
Behaviorism is the school of psychology
that seeks to explain human behavior
entirely in terms of observable and
measurable responses to environmental
stimuli.
23. 23
Learning is a gradual strengthening of the
learned relationship between cue and
behavior
The relationship is strengthened by
reinforcement.
24. 24
Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of
behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its
methods,
nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the
readiness with which they lend themselves to
interpretation in terms of consciousness.”
J. B. Watson Speech, 1913
Some History
“Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely
objective experimental branch of natural science.
26. 26
Criterion Referenced Instruction is based on Behaviorist
theory.
• A stimulus is provided, usually in the form of a
short presentation or a reading assignment.
• A response is required, often in the form of the
answer to a question.
• Feedback is given as to the accuracy of the
response.
• Inaccurate responses result in either a
repetition of the original stimulus or a
somewhat modified and often simpler version
of it.
27. 27
New learning theory is the shift in focus from
stimulus response associations to mental
representations.
29. 29
“Learning, according to cognitive
psychology, is concerned not so much
with behavioral responses but rather
with what learners need to know and...
how they acquire it.”
David Jonassen
30. 30
Cognitive theories of learning focus on the mind
and attempt to model how information is received
by accommodation or assimilation, and then
restored and recalled
32. 32
The mind has the ability to:
formulate
synthesize
analyze
received information and stimuli,
and extract from -
in order to produce outputs that cannot
be directly attributed to the inputs
given.
33. 33
What does assimilation and
accommodation have to do with
developing curriculum?
More about Assimilation & Accommodation
Curriculum Content should vary
depending on whether information
will be assimilated or
accommodated
35. 35
Constructivism builds on cognitive theory
and holds that knowledge is not passively
received, but is actively built up
(Constructed) by the thinking subject.
Constructivism advocates Active Learning
36. 36
Learning is an active process in which
learners construct new ideas or
concepts based upon their current and
past knowledge.
The learner selects and transforms
information, constructs hypotheses,
and makes decisions, relying on
cognitive structures to do so.
Cognitive structures which can be
thought of as schemas or mental
models provide meaning and
organization to experiences and allows
the individual to go beyond the
information given.
37. 37
Ideas and thoughts cannot be
communicated in the sense that
meaning is packaged into words and
images and communicated to students
who unpack the meaning.
39. 39
According to constructivist learning
theory:
Knowledge encoded from data by
learners themselves will be more
flexible, transferable, and useful….
than knowledge encoded for them by
experts and transmitted to them by an
instructor or other delivery agent.
If you don’t take anything else away from this
presentation, please reflect on and try to internalize this
and the next slide...
Learners learn best when they discover
or are led to discover for themselves.
40. 40
Students must be enabled to construct
their own meanings with the aid of
curriculum.
Each student must be enabled to
build her or his own conceptual
constructs that will enable the
ordering of knowledge for use in
unique work situations.
Learners learn best what they discover
or are led to discover for themselves.
41. 41
“The idea of learner control is essential to
constructivism because constructivist
learning relies on the learner doing the
work of learning”
(Dershem 1996)
42. 42
Learning is a social, collaborative
activity
Learners can only interpret information
in the context of their own experiences.
Learning occurs most effectively in
context.
43. 43
We try to design curriculum that will
result in students acquiring the discreet
knowledge they need.
and construct meaning relative to their
own needs backgrounds and interests.
However they will interpret the
curriculum in the context of their own
experiences and existing knowledge,
44. 44
Students build on their pre-existing
knowledge
- to actively construct new knowledge
collaboratively,
- following learning paths that suit their
own interests and needs.
- in a rich contextual setting,
45. 45
Too often our curriculum teaches
students to follow rules or procedures,
which they aren’t inclined to do.
46. 46
Resist the temptation to be solely
driven by content that is easily
developed and measured.
Be sensitive to subtle yet highly valued
outcomes and effects.
It may or may not be possible to reduce
what is to be learned down to facts or
procedures
Many important learning outcomes
can’t be easily measured.
47. 47
In day to day practice knowledge workers make
innumerable judgements of quality for which
they cannot state adequate criteria, and they
display skills for which they cannot state rules or
procedures.
D. A Schon The Reflective practitioner
In other words, the work of experts can’t be
reduced to easily taught processes or tasks,
and training based only on objective analysis
cannot make experts.
49. 49
“The only remedy is to design rich
learning experiences and interactions.
The best analysis almost always falls
short of the mark.
Then learners can pick up, on their
own, that which would be missed by
letting content be driven strictly by
analysis.”
Brent Wilson , The Postmodern
Paradigm
50. 50
• but must be given the opportunity to
accommodate certain information.
• will build cognitive structures or mental
models as they learn.
• will interpret information in the context of
their own experience.
• can make the sum of the curriculum
equal to more than the parts
• But only If given the opportunity by the curriculum
Given the chance with the right curriculum, students:
• can assimilate much new information into their
exiting structures.
51. 51
Cognitivist & Constructivist Techniques
Use progressive disclosure through hints to encourage
student to think before giving them the answers.
Provide reflection exercises as learning devices.
Have students look back over their efforts to
complete a task and analyze their own performance.
Use Metaphors or analogies to help students
make connections with their existing knowledge.
Use modeling – Show how a process unfolds and
tell how and why it happens that way.
Provide coaching : anticipate questions, define
terms, define concepts.
52. 52
Cognitivist & Constructivist Techniques
Use scaffolding – Support learners with parts of
the task and gradually provide less support (fading).
Use guided discovery techniques.
Provide multiple representations of content and
different perspectives.
Provide multiple paths to learning elements to give
students choices of ways to learn.
Use concept maps to show relationships.
Acknowledge complexities – don’t over-
simplify by reducing work to tasks.
53. 53
Cognitivist & Constructivist Techniques
Use case studies and stories.
Employ Socratic Dialogue by asking leading
questions.
Provide role-playing exercises.
Have students articulate, i.e, think about and give
reasons for their decisions and strategies.
Focus on how work actually gets done rather
than on tasks.
Revisit the same material at different times from
different conceptual perspectives.
54. 54
Cognitivist & Constructivist Techniques
Make students aware of the knowledge building process.
Give students the opportunity to explore for solutions,
to try out different strategies and hypotheses.
Provide exploration opportunities.
Ask questions that create cognitive dissonance and
that require thought rather than recall.
Provide exercises so that students generate their own
meaning.
Make use of cognitive task analysis.
Use evaluation techniques other than just a
criterion test.
Hinweis der Redaktion
I ’ m gratified that so many of you showed interest in today ’ s topic I was really overwhelmed. I wasn ’ t sure what the reaction would be. This presentation should run about an hour. I have about 50 slides so I need to keep things moving. Some of the things I have to say may be controversial but I would appreciate it if we could save those conversations till the end. However, please feel free to ask clarifying questions. This is not a technology discussion.
Theory Theory in general… discuss what a theory is and why we need to use theory? Behaviorism Review behaviorist theory…. Discuss how we apply it in our training programs Cognitivism & Constructivism Review Cognitivist and constructivist theory and discuss their implications for training
Let me remind you that this is just a presentation not a training session. I think the most that I can hope for is that you will leave with some interest or at least some things to think about.
Now, let ’ s look a a couple of quotations about instructional design theory.
Ask them if they know what they are 1. Network operating systems, PC operating systems, PC applications etc. 2. RoboHelp, Flash , Icon author, etc. 3. Point three is the focus of my topic. Need to fill in holes left be absence of instructor.
Since we are going to be discussing New Learning theories I thought it might be a good idea to discuss the concept of theory. Theory of relativity Economic theories Etc. Some people have an aversion to the word theory. They think theory is just pie in the sky speculation ... something for those people in the ivory towers to worry about They ’ re driven by fact and don ’ t have much use for theory
But theory is not fact In it ’ s simplest form theory is just a plausible explanation.
Economic theory Social theory Behavioral theory Example: Human nature…It ’s human nature for people to….. WOLF BOY Whenever you make an assumption or prediction there ’s usually some sort of theory behind what you’re saying.
Expanding our common sense understanding of causes and effects to include new theories can broaden our horizons.
You may remember Popper as the guy that established one of the cardinal rules for formulating scientific hypothesis. According to Popper in order for a hypothesis to be legitimate it must meet the criterion of falsifiability. That is, there must be a way to test whether it is true or false.
THIS GOES WITH THE FIRST STATEMENT We don ’ t know for Certain how people learn so we need theory. THIS GOES WITH THE SECOND STATEMENT You can write a training module without a reflexive awareness by following a process…. but doing so will probably result in your later efforts being no better than your first efforts.
“ Quantum mechanics challenges modern representational epistemology on all possible grounds by theorizing a realm of being in which the perceiving subject cannot adequately grasp the objects of perception. (sub atomic particles) ” Best & Kellner 1997 Fractal Theory Chaos Theory If physical science can undergo such a radical transformation then what does that say about the social sciences?
Kuhn was a philosopher of science. You may wonder why we need… Lyotard - The collapse of metanarratives The grand stories by which we make meaning. A example is the age of reason (instrumental reason) empiricism. Liberalism in it pure sense, that is stressing individualism. Faith in progress. Empiricism
METANARRATIVES Idealism Linear progress
The postmodern movement has caused a polarization in the intellectual community. OBJECTIVISM VS. SUBJECTIVISM but here ’ s where it concerns us INSTRUCTIVISM VS. CONSTRUCTIVISM
Rat story Maybe - especially if I need a laugh or to lighten up.
As Mager tells us we must have measurable objectives.
Pavlov ’ s dog
This was a conscious effort to eliminate mental processes because they couldn ’t be observed; a kind of extreme empiricism. If you can’t observe it, it’s not worth studying. That ’s because behaviorism itself is based on a theory. The theory of Positivism or empiricism. The only things that can be known are those things that can be observed.
This Ladies and Gentleman is the mind as seen by behaviorists - represented as A black box. Changing the input results in predictable changes in the output. Responses to given stimuli can be predicted based on empirical research. Observing behaviors.
I think most of us intuitively understand that very complex processing goes on in the mind which can have an influence on the design of curriculum. So we do more than just base our training on nice neat measurable objectives. Before I go on to discuss the new learning theories I want to emphasize that I am not advocating replacing CRI with an alternative. CRI provides a process that I think I think is useful and necessary… especially for the more straightforward work tasks…. and there are still plenty of those However, I think we can benefit from different perspectives, particularly when it comes to actually developing the curriculum.
It ’s what goes on in the black box.
What happens within the black box. Jonasson ’s paper - Objectivism vs. constructivism: Do we Need a New Philosophical Paradigm? - 1991` This paper is what started me thinking that was about 1995 when I first read it. One of the problems with cognitivism as I see it is that at one point it became a very empirically driven project. From my point of view this happened when the field was pretty much taken over by computer scientists in an effort to program computers to mimic humans.
Piaget- Swiss Psychologist Assimilate Add to one ’ s existing cognitive structures Accommodate Existing cognitive structures have to be modified somewhat to adapt to the new information. Or put another way: The individual understands new experiences by relating them to prior experience. If the current experience doesn't make sense in relation to prior experiences, disequilibrium occurs. Disequilibrium requires the individual to readjust existing mental schema or create new schema in order to create meaning or understanding of the event that caused the disequilibrium. (Need examples)
As we all know, a lot goes on in that black box. The relationships between the inputs and outputs is not as direct as once thought. When appropriate curriculum should give students the ability and opportunity to synthesize and analyze. Students need rich curriculum to work with.
Obviously it is easier to assimilate than to accommodate. This has implications for the design of content. You may be presenting material that is so foreign to the students experience that it takes an act of accommodation to learn it. This requires a thorough and innovative approach to developing curriculum. So a cognitvist analysis would try to identify these areas.
Could introduce this topic by talking about the radical constructivists ant tie it to postmodernism.
In spite of what you may have heard, I didn ’t model for this clip art back when I had my mustache. As much as we would like to, we cannot pour knowledge into student's heads.
Talk about transfer and how important it is.
This is the most important point take away from this presentation. You can either develop curriculum that pretty much asks the student to memorize information or you can try to find ways to help students construct meaning which will stay with them and transfer to unique situations. In other words, you have to find a way within the curriculum, to get the student to think.
The last topic to discuss under cognitive constructivism is learner control. Since the student learns by constructing their own knowledge, it ’ s thought that giving them some control of the curriculum will facilitate learning. Fortunately e-learning technology provides ways to implement learner control.
Situated Learning - John Seeley Brown Performance support systems!!! Communities of practice Two Service Reps working together in class. Service Rep bull sessions.
Have you ever wondered why a given student just didn ’t catch on to something everyone else was getting. It may not have been their intelligence or even their lack of technical prerequisites.
They know from experience that when they try to apply the rules or procedures something unique will happen and they will be on their own. In some cases it is more appropriate to get them to assimilate information into their existing structures or even to accommodate information by changing their structures.
Note: this is the main point of my introducing new learning theory .
Note: Our target population has changed over the years. Just like we have had to change.
Here we have the student. Notice that the box is no longer black. Now we have the developer and the question is …. Given a knowledge of constructivism and cognitivism what does the developer do differently?