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How
Do People Learn? Our focus in Unit Two is on
the process of learning: how do people learn? And,
because this course is about online teaching
and learning, we're especially interested in
how people learn best in the online
classroom. For starters, let's look at
learning styles. Students preferentially take in
and process information in different ways: by
seeing and hearing, reflecting and acting,
reasoning logically and intuitively, analyzing and
visualizing, steadily and in fits and starts.
Teaching methods also vary. Some instructors
lecture, others demonstrate or lead students to
self-discovery; some focus on principles and others
on applications; some emphasize memory and others
understanding. When mismatches exist between
learning styles of students and the teaching style
of an instructor, students may become bored and
inattentive, do poorly, and get discouraged.
Effective teachers vary their instructional styles
to accommodate a range of learning styles. At the
same time, students need to learn to stretch
themselves by experimenting with learning styles
that are less familiar or comfortable. It's kind of
like learning to use a mouse with one's less
dominant hand. But the point is that educated
persons are able to avail themselves of a wide
variety of learning opportunities that are not
necessarily consistent with their preferred
learning style. This notion of expecting
students to extend themselves beyond their range of
comfort is consistent with Howard Gardner's Theory
of Multiple Intelligences. Gardner argues that
human beings have evolved to be able to carry out
at least seven separate forms of analysis:
Read more about the Theory of
Multiple Intelligences below. Finally, the theory of
constructivism is often used today as a foundation
for the learning that occurs in the online
classroom. Constructivist theory views
the student as one who acts on objects and events
within his or her environment and thereby gains
some understanding of the features held by the
objects and events. Constructivism is not a new
idea. During the 1930's and 1940's, it was the
leading perspective among public school educators
in the United States. In this theory, the emphasis
is placed on the student rather than the
instructor. Instructors are seen as facilitators or
coaches who assist students construct their own
conceptualizations and solutions to problems.
The links below provide some
resources for you on constructivism and other
theories of learning. Reading
(to be read selectively): For more resources on
learning theories, do a "Google
search" for
learning theories. There are many very good
resources out there. B.
Let's have a
debate about
Constructivism.
You've seen now that there are pro's
and con's to this theory. Think about
how constructivism as a theory applies
(or doesn't) in your own discipline and
in your teaching. Take
a "pro" position on
Constructivism. How
can you use constructivism
to support your approach to
instruction? Take
a con position. In taking
your "con" position, what
other theory(ies) would
work better for
you? Remember
that this is a debate. Your
position should be
convincing (but you don't
have to believe
it!). Use the second
week of this unit to read and discuss
each other's essays. Use the discussion
to take issue with each other's
positions. Home Contents Syllabus Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 Group Summary Assignments WebCT Instructors |
