Fitting the Pieces Together: A Reflection On My Own Learning

This blog entry was created in fulfillment of an assignment to answer the following questions after revisiting a private discussion which I have re-posted here.

•    Now that you have a deeper understanding of the different learning theories and learning styles, how has your view on how you learn changed?

I think my discussion in week one actually demonstrated some grasp of all of the learning theories we discussed except possibly Connectivism (Lloyd, 2010, January 6), but I had an unrefined teaching style that was based on a belief that learning is transferred through a variety of experiences. Now I have a more refined understanding of how different learning styles interact together from person to person, and even from activity to activity, because everyone has multiple strengths and weaknesses that may interact in different ways at different times (Gilbert & Swanier, 2008). Previously I would have likened my approach to using a shotgun to insure a target was hit. Now, with my understanding of various learning theories, I will refine my “shotgun approach” into an arsenal of precision tools, starting with an emphasis on my own strengths and weaknesses as an instructional designer.

•    What have you learned about the various learning theories and learning styles over the past weeks that can further explain your own personal learning preferences?

In this class, we have explored seven perspectives on learning.

Behaviorism treats learning as a "black box" in which learning is influenced by positive and sometimes negative reinforcement until a learning objective is achieved.

Cognativism explores how new information is accommodated into an existing framework of understanding.(Omrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009, p. 50)

Constructivism recognizes that no one has a complete handle on reality, but each person constructs their own imperfect view of reality from new and previous experiences.(Omrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009, p. 185)

Social learning theory explores how the culture and multiple talents of individuals in a group combine to enhance the learning of members of a group.(Kim, 2001)

Connectivism focuses on how people use the resources at their disposal to continually update their view of the world around them.
(Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008)

Adult learning focuses on differences between how children and adults learn, especially in the context of career-focused learning.(Conlan, Grabowski, & Smith, 2010)

As I have been studying instructional development, I have been “trying out” new ideas with my ESL students and with my homeschooled students.

I have clearly become a more effective teacher, although some of my experiments have failed miserably such as attempting to use facebook to help ESL students practice English. I learned a valuable lesson in how technology can get in the way of learning. I underestimated the importance of “computer literacy” to using technology in the classroom. I found myself teaching students to use a computer rather than using a computer to teach English. One (only one) of my students is making new online friends, and will likely benefit from my efforts eventually, but my students were intimidated by the attempt, and one student has apparently dropped out of the class.

•    What role does technology play in your learning (i.e., as a way to search for information, to record information, to create, etc.)?

My learning will never be the same because I now understand how to incorporate social learning and Connectivism in an organized way. I have already benefited in some of my own personal research by having these new tools at my disposal such as Delicious.com social bookmarking, and zotero.org’s online citation management tool which I discovered as a result of my new discipline of following educational blogs.

References

Lloyd, D. (2010, January). Revising "Week One" of my course in instructional design [blog]. Recharge Point. Retrieved from http://rechargepoint.blogspot.com/2010/02/revisiting-week-one-of-my-course-in.html

Omrod, J. E., Schunk, D. H., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Custom ed., p. 50). New York: Laureate Education, Inc.

Omrod, J. E., Schunk, D. H., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Custom ed., p. 185). New York: Laureate Education, Inc.

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2010). Adult learning. Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology. projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

Gilbert, J. E., & Swanier, C. A. (2008). Learning styles: How do they fluctuate? Institute for Learning Styles Journal, 1. Retrieved from http://www.auburn.edu/~witteje/ilsrj/Journal%20Volumes/Fall%202008%20Volume%201%20PDFs/Learning%20Styles%20How%20do%20They%20Fluctuate.pdf

Kim, B. (2001). Social constructivism. In M. Orey [Ed.]. Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. cmapspublic3.ihmc.us/rid=1166849164796_503796730_2566/Social Constructivist Theory.doc

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey [Ed.], Emerging perspectives on learning. projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

Autism and Learning

Temple Grandin: My Experience With Autism

In this 20-minute video, Dr. Temple Grandin discusses autism, the brain,  educational strategies for visual learners, and an interesting perspective about how all people think and learn. She discusses how to distinguish between sensory overload and bad behavior. Anyone interested in learning and the brain, or just anyone who works with children will find this lecture interesting.

Connectivism

Our ability to find information quickly can be much more important than the information we have already learned.

Connectivism is the educational model that focuses on how learners construct their own dynamic view of the world around them by using their own private networks of information sources: both human and technological. Connectivism involves more than just using technology to look up information. It involves the way technology creates dynamic interaction of diverse viewpoints, and it involves the idea that what is learned is rarely static, but concepts continuously evolve, and Connectivism is a way of life in which education is an ongoing process involving a lifetime of constant adjustment. “Keeping current” is the focus of Connectivism. (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008).

Even before the advent of the internet, my own focus has been on the importance of knowing how to know and how to keep current over the importance of static knowledge. Working as an application software engineer over the last 20 years, I have experienced the “reinvention” of basic programming concepts several times. Years ago my learning network consisted of the people I knew, the books I owned, books and journals at the local library, in local bookstores, and broadcast media. I still use these resources, but they have largely been pushed aside as internet resources now form my primary framework for learning.

Now, instead of pouring over dictionaries and encyclopedias, card files and the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, I get my quick overviews from Wikipedia. If I want to query legal information, I read blogs and download the text of bills. To know about the latest research on a topic, I read blogs and download journal articles from Google Scholar or one of the “Inspire” databases (Indiana’s virtual library online). If I want to read a book, I go online to find the book at my library and have them reserve it for me, or I go to Amazon and download an ebook for a fraction of the cost of a physical book.

If I can’t figure out how to get started learning about an issue, or I need an expert opinion about something, I no longer have to wait to make contact by phone or in person. Now I can send an email to ask a question or I can post a question on a blog or on a social network. Generally I can educate myself about any subject within a few minutes by just searching Google or Delicious. With social networks, if I “once knew someone” who could answer a question quickly; chances are that person is either a Facebook friend, or has contact with a Facebook friend. All I need to do is post a question and I’m immediately connected with an old acquaintance that has the information or a connection to the information I need.
I still depend on other people for much of my learning, but I find I connect with others in ways I could never have imaged just a few years ago.

Now I send text messages and emails. I participate in bulletin board discussions, Facebook, and blogs. I “argue” with others online making the case for my view of how things should be done. Sometimes others persuade me of their opinions. Sometimes I persuade them. Sometimes I wish I had not persuaded them, because new information forces me to reconsider my opinion.

References
Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey [Ed.], Emerging perspectives on learning.  projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

cis339 (www2)

 I discovered an interesting power point presentation online this morning. The presentation describes a how a middle school in New York is using Google Apps to host various school functions. The presentation discusses how this school uses Google forms to create reviews, and Google email and chat for better communication with teachers and students. Students submit assignments using Google Documents, and teachers are able to post comments to the documents online. Take a look at this innovative presentation at:

cis339 (www2)

David Lloyd

Sleep and Memory

I read a blog this morning that was written by a teacher who has been helping a hard-working student who struggles with her mid-term exams. The student does well with daily work, but becomes overwhelmed when tests cover older material. (Cousins, 2010) 

The author laments that in an age when laptop computers are universally available that notes are not allowed in midterm exams. The student mentioned works hard, but in spite of long hours spent studying she is continually stressed by the requirement of recalling details during a test. The author says,  

 

"I wish I could spend my instructional time working on concepts, abstract reasoning and problem-solving. I would much rather explore why a formula works, or how the formula works, or when to use it in real-life applications. Instead, I spend way too much valuable tutoring time training students on mnemonic techniques."  (Cousins, 2010)

 

I don't have this problem. In fact I have noticed I seem to gain better recall of details about six weeks after I have studied a subject than I have when it is fresh in my mind. I have attributed this unusual gift to two things, a tendency to ruminate on new information, and that I get more sleep than many people. I don't allow myself to get less than eight hours of sleep each night, and I make a point of getting extra sleep when I am studying new material.
 

Recently the relationship between sleep and learning has been de-emphasized, and some appear to question its importance, but it is easy to find experts who give it the importance I was always taught to give it. I did a search on "sleep and learning." I found these articles:
 

In October of 2005, Robert Stickgold speaks of the importance to "memory reprocessing during sleep." (Stickgold, 2005)

 

In November of 2006, the oldb.org published an article that covers much more than the value of sleep. It includes numerous techniques for managing one's own ability to retain and recall information. ("Hacking knowledge: 77 Ways to learn faster, deeper, and better")

References

Stickgold, R. (2005). Review Article sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Nature: International weekly journal of science, 437. Abstract retrieved from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7063/full/nature04286.html

Cousins, L.P. (2010, January 23). Always learning: Midterm exams and 21st century knowledge [blog]. Retrieved from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/always-learning/2010/01/midterm-exams-and-12st-century-knowledge/

Hacking knowledge: 77 Ways to learn faster, deeper, and better. (2006). Online education database. oedb [blog]. Retrieved from http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/hacking-knowledge

Homework for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The public schools in our area are closed today. Our home school generally follows the same pattern as the public schools so our children have free time at the same time as their public school counterparts. However before they start their free day, I have given them a homework assignment. They are to read "Quiet Strength" by Rosa Parks, a table-top book of reflections on the civil rights movement. The book will take them about a half-hour to read, and it will put a proper perspective on the sacrifices that were made and continue to be made to insure that Dr. King's dream will become reality.

Parks, R., & Reed, G. J. (1993). Quiet strength. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House.

A lesson in humility: Passion and learning

This week I learned a lesson in humility.

At some point along the way, I made the mistake of equating knowledge of artificial neural networks with knowledge of the brain. At the beginning of the week, I had a critical attitude about our course text with regard to this subject, but online discussions with my professor and other students have given me a much-needed reality check. “All neural networks are created equal” is an unreasonable assumption. Artificial neural networks may provide a useful model for developing hypotheses about how the brain works, but the difference between the brain and artificial intelligence is significant, especially with regard to instructional design.

We don’t know a lot about how brains (biological neural networks) function. We can poke and prod at animal brains and make observations. We can create software simulations and try to build useful analogies. In a highly abstract sense, we can duplicate the structure of a biological neural network, but artificial neural networks differ from their biological counterparts in several important ways:

1. Plasticity (flexibility to learn new concepts) can be exchanged for computational speed in biological networks. (Paplinski)
2. Weighting of information depends on a rather simple indexing scheme in artificial networks, but the same function is complex and not well understood in biological networks and involves chemical “messages” and creation of new synapses. (Paplinski)
3. Huge disparity in the number of neurons and the interconnections between them. (Paplinski)

In my opinion, the most significant difference between artificial learning and biological learning is the life-motivation of living things. Machines have programmed goals, but they do not have passions.

I have often made the claim that AI illustrates the fact that intelligence is not about the “equipment” we were given. If each of us have one head, two eyes, two ears, arms, legs, hands and feet, then it is reasonable to assume none of us have a significant advantage over others to accomplish whatever we set our minds to accomplish. The difference for those who appear to have an advantage is their passion and their self-confidence.

Diane Demee-Benoit, in her blog about “Expeditionary Learning,” talks about how the brain learns better when heart and hands are engaged (Demee-Benoit, 2007).

In her essay What motivates you? “Life-Long Scholar” (listed as the author’s name) discusses how her enjoyment of the process of learning was her motivation that got her through graduate school. I understand her perspective. As an undergraduate, that was my perspective too. I was not nearly so focused on my goals as I was on how my current experiences were expanding who I was (and am).

Now my perspective is different. I have raised a family. The job is not complete, but it’s mostly done. Life has limited my options somewhat. I have a vision impairment that allows me to work at a desk, but challenges my ability to drive a car to work each day. Now I see education as a way to re-tool my capabilities toward a specific goal, but that takes nothing away from my love for learning. It just adds another reason to apply myself and do the best I can do.

References

Demee-Benoit, D. (2007, June 25). A passion for knowledge: An introduction to expeditionary learning [blog]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/introduction-expeditionary-learning

Paplinski, A.P. Artificial neural networks and their biological motivation. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.24.815&rep=rep1&type=pdf .

Scholar, L. L. (2008, October 21). What motivates you? [blog]. Retrieved from http://a-life-long-scholar.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-motivates-you.html