Respons to -isms in Learning Theory

I believe most of the _isms have a place.   From our text, Learning Theories and Instruction, I have developed the impression that each _ ism has validity and usefulness in certain circumstances, but not in all.  In most cases each has a place, behaviorism is effective as a means to learn facts, problem solving theories describe how facts and experiences become solutions, constructivism is appropriate particularly when we are working on projects of interest or in our careers where creativity and innovation is called for.  Each _ism is required for functional learning, but we may acquire needed building blocks for a project 10 years before they become the base to a constructivistic project.

My other observation is, although there are many ways to discuss memory, cognitive informational processes, and learning processes, they all revolve around/ depend upon particular brain processes: encoding, organization, elaboration, meaningfulness, links with schema, analysis, placing learning in broad associated networks which can be activated and require motivation with conditional procedures regulating the appropriate brain process. The –isms are highly related.

One study, “Speech Perception and Language Acquisition in the First Year of Life”

Annual Review of Psychology (1/2010) is an example of an attempt in the field of psychology to meld these _isms together to aid in applying  our knowledge of learning effectively. The purpose of this article was to weld differing theories of infant language acquisition as complimentary pieces of the whole. Their conclusion: “We have reviewed evidence suggesting that nativist and empiricist proposals are incomplete if they fail to include innate dispositions and learning in a broader, integrative, biologically anchored language acquisition theory. In addition, we have shown that a third type of mechanism, perceptual and memory constraints, needs to be evoked to provide a full account of early acquisition.”

In conclusion, it seems wise to theories but not to pontificate, to use accumulated wisdom to create multiple learning pathways and environments to meet each  learners unique abilities and providing creative challenges that motivate learners.

Usefulness of Gaming in Education Response

I agree with you that gaming has such potential in education particularly for teaching problem solving skills.  In the text, Learning Theory and Instruction (pp 125-129), the discussion on "Activation of Knowledge and its "Instructional Applications" provide support for this opinion.  The main topic, transfer, is described as occurring "when knowledge and productions are linked in LTM with different content."  We can encourage this by having students practice new knowledge put to use in a variety of settings and modes.  In the gaming environment these factors are easily manipulated.  Skill levels can more easily by provided than by static text by requiring transfer via the high road, the low road, forward reaching or backward reaching. For example, our text states, " students who have difficulty learning new material employ backward-reaching  transfer when they think back to other times when they experienced difficulty and ask themselves what they did in those situations (p. 127). 

The additional plus a gaming environment offers is immediate feedback, which keeps the behaviorists happy. Page 128 provides this support, in a study of adults working on verbal analogy problems some were given corrective feedback while others were given strategic advice, it was concluded, “corrective feedback was superior to advice in promoting transfer of problem solving skills.’

The last point I would like to address is that of motivation covered by this quote from p.129, “Students do not transfer strategies automatically…. Practice addresses some of the concerns but not others…. More complex skills, such as comprehension and problem solving skills will probably benefit from this situational cognition approach( Griffin, 1994). Teachers may need to provide students with explicit motivational feedback that links strategy use with improved performance and provides information about how strategies will prove useful in that settings.” Your example of military training exemplifies this concept.

Miracle of Language

The information on propostitional networks from out text, Learning Theory and Instruction page 74, set me thinking.

This material covered Anderson’s ACT Theory ( Anderson, 1990,1993,1996; Anderson, Reder, & Lebier,1996).  Quoting from the text: ACT-R is a model of cognitive architecture that attempts to explain how all components of the mind work together to produce coherent cognition, (Anderson et all., 2004). A proposition is formed by combining two nodes with a subject-predicate link, or associations; one node constitutes the subject and another node the predicate.  Examples are (implied information in parenthesis): “Fred (is) rich” and ”Shopping (takes) time.”  A second type of association is the relation-argument link, where the relation is verb (in meaning) and the argument is the recipient of the relation or what is affected by the relationship.  Examples are “eat cake” and “solve puzzles”.  Relation arguments can serve as subjects or predicates to form complex propositions.  Examples are” Fred eat(s) cake, and “solv(ing) puzzles takes time.

This passage made me return to page 42 in the text where it posited the question, “To what extent is the brain “prewired to know or learn things?”  The discussion began by looking at language acquisition. It states that ”speaking and understanding language is a miraculous accomplishment indeed; children must master not only the subtle motor movements involved in producing various consonants and vowels, but also tens of thousands of word meanings plus syntactical structures so numerous and multifaceted that even linguist have been hard-pressed to catalog them all.“  The passage continues and is quite marvelous.  The conclusion of many researchers is that children are born with a predisposition to acquire language. (e.g., Cairns, 1996; Gopnik, 1997; Hirsh-Pasek & Golnikoff, 1996; Lennenberg, 1967; Lightfoot, 1999)

You may consider my next observation right out of the chapter of pretheory (p. 3), a myth maybe, but I next recalled that John 1:14 reads ,”And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (ESV).  If you are a creationist, like I am, it makes beautiful sense that language be prewired in a child, because the Bible tells us that we are made in the image of God who is the Word who became flesh.

Journal Review - British Journal of Educational Technology

This journal would be wonderful support for Instructional Design students.  This is accessible through the Walden University Library. I did not write this review.

The British Journal of Educational Technology provides readers with the widest possible coverage of developments in educational technology world-wide. BJET is a primary source for academics and professionals in the expanding fields of education, training and information technology.

Articles cover the whole range of education and training, concentrating on the theory, applications and development of educational technology and communications. The Colloquium section publishes shorter contributions, summarising work in progress, raising queries, and questioning received wisdom.

PsycINFO

Sample: The relationship between motivation, learning strategies and choice of environment whether traditional or including an online component.

Detail Only Available

 Clayton, Karen; Blumberg, Fran; Auld, Daniel P.; British Journal of Educational Technology, Vol 41(3), May, 2010. pp. 349-364. [Journal Article]

Subjects: Academic Achievement Motivation; Learning Environment; Learning Strategies; Adulthood (18 yrs & older); Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs); Thirties (30-39 yrs); Middle Age (40-64 yrs); Female

Database: PsycINFO

Journal Review - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

Here is an appropriate journal for Instructional Design students ccessible through the Walden University Library.  I did not write this review.

The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition publishes original experimental studies on basic processes of cognition, learning, memory, imagery, concept formation, problem solving, decision making, thinking, reading, and language processing.

The journal emphasizes empirical reports, which may be either multi-experiment, integrative articles, or research reports. Research reports are limited to 3,000 to 5,000 words in length (including references, but excluding abstract and footnotes).

The journal also publishes specialized reviews and other non-empirical reports, called observations, which are theoretical notes, commentary, or criticism on topics appropriate to the journal's content area. The journal will only consider commentaries on articles that were published in the journal. Observations are limited to a maximum of twenty pages of text all-inclusive. Commentaries on articles should be at maximum half the length of the target article.

For further information on content, authors should refer to the editorial in the January 2007 issue of the Journal (PDF format: 21 KB).

Subscribe to the RSS feed for Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

Sample Article : How does processing affect storage in working memory tasks? Evidence for both domain-general and domain-specific effects.

Full Text Available

Jarrold, Christopher; Tam, Helen; Baddeley, Alan D.; Harvey, Caroline E.; Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Vol 37(3), May, 2011. pp. 688-705. [Journal Article]

Subjects: Cognitive Processes; Human Information Storage; Short Term Memory; Adolescence (13-17 yrs); Adulthood (18 yrs & older); Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs); Thirties (30-39 yrs); Male; Female

Database: PsycINFO

Another Look at Language Acquisition

I reviewed this article:

Speech Perception and Language Acquisition in the First Year of Life

Annual Review of Psychology

Vol. 61: 191-218 (Volume publication date January 2010)

First published online as a Review in Advance on September 28, 2009

DOI: 10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100408

Judit Gervain1 and Jacques Mehler2

1Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada

2Neuroscience Sector, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Trieste 31014, Italy; email: mehler@sissa.it

The purpose of this article was to weld differing theories of infant language acquisition as complimentary pieces of the whole.  

First they stated the following, “One of the most fundamental and at the same time most surprising perceptual abilities of newborns is that they are able to discriminate most sound contrasts used in the world's languages. In other words, they are born as “citizens of the world,” ready to learn any natural language.”

Next cited, were works with song birds where it was determined that “song culture” is the result of an extended developmental process, a ‘multigenerational’ phenotype partly genetically encoded in a founding population and partly in environmental variables.”

In addition studies on infants exposed to statistical information, phonotactics, allophonic clues and prosody were cited. From these they concluded, “Taken together, these studies indicate that statistical segmentation alone is not sufficient to solve the task of extracting word forms from continuous speech. Other clues, taking into account the morphophonological properties of individual languages, are needed to complement statistical computations.”

Also stated in this paper, “One of the most important findings of this increasing body of research is that the newborn and infant brain shows a functional organization for language processing that is similar to that of the adult brain. ”This organization appears to be at least partly under genetic control and develops even without experience with language (e.g., in congenitally deaf individuals).

Their conclusion: “We have reviewed evidence suggesting that nativist and empiricist proposals are incomplete if they fail to include innate dispositions and learning in a broader, integrative, biologically anchored language acquisition theory. In addition, we have shown that a third type of mechanism, perceptual and memory constraints, needs to be evoked to provide a full account of early acquisition.”

My response: The design for human language acquisition is remarkable.  The organization for the categorization and relationship of information is laid within the foundation of the mind.  Building blocks of language are perceived by the learner and repeated in the environment for memorization, patterns are identifiable within language allowing for sequencing of words to relay information, plasticity within the brain is encountered as means of adaptation to the environment and needs of the learner, and multiple and complex relationships are easily formed for Increased complexity of expression, self sufficiency and enjoyment.  These remind me of  the components of good instructional design as described within Learning Theories and Instruction (2009).  Language is a marvelous gift to man allowing him to appreciate, expand his knowledge, share and join into relationships.

Education Theory

http://edtheory.blogspot.com/

This blog contains well cited information on teaching methods and learning from a professor of pharmacology. He also has lovely photographs.  I will enjoy checking in with his posts.

Instructional Design Blog Review 3

My learning path this time took me to http://ben1976.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/popular-instructional-design-models/.


I chose wordpress.com, did a search, Instructional Design.  Many reading options were presented.  I chose this one about instructional design models.  In this case this was a single entry on Instructional Design and then moved to a fishing post.  There were RSS feeds on elearning on this blog, but the author had not persisted in this field.  Many blogs seem to be a mix of personal fun and some technical information.  These would not be efficient sources of information for someone searching for ideas or help in the middle of a project.

Instructional Design Blog Review 2

http://ideas.blogs.com/lo/


This second instructional design blog I reviewed is scholarly, carefully citing works and addressing knowledgable designers.  I am not familiar with blogs, but the question arose, why such a difference between blog sites? There must be quite a lot of maintenance to keeping a consistent and focused blog that meets the ideals of the participants.

Instructional Design Blog Review

 http://en.wordpress.com/tag/instructional-design/ 


I streamed this blog to my RSS reader. The postings discussed employing social media assets to further the learning of their clients.  The posts varied from queries for ideas, to informal posts, which I had difficulty following, to scholarly information that really will be helpful when developing a project.  There were also job postings, which is always hopeful. Instructional designers would find this blog site helpful.