Learning Design Brief
“Learning with ICT is beneficial only when appropriate learning approaches are taken.” (Fasso, 2011)
“Learning should be authentic, it should be embedded in a real context” (Fasso, 2011)
Every student learns in a different way, which can make the role of a teacher challenging, as they should maximise the learning through their facilitation of the information in different ways. ICTs are one tool that can enhance the students’ learning, when used appropriately. Wiki is a form of ICTs that I have been involved in using over the past three weeks and this is the conclusion on my personal learning experience in using them. The activities and using ICTs encourages a higher order thinking, a term from Bloom’s taxonomy, a learning framework. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of the six levels of learning starting with the lower levels of remembering, understanding and applying and finishing with the higher order thinking, what was being used within the wiki scaffolds, analysing, evaluating and creating. (website)
Learning Theory in Practice
Behaviourism
Behaviourism’s main foundation is that learning is distinguished by a recognizable difference in behaviour. (Fasso, 2011) Behaviourism played a role in the wiki activities because it challenged me on how to learn, my behaviour in approaching learning has changed, and I now, also, see people through their learning style and own unique blend of multiple intelligences. I previously would have naïvely assumed that everyone learns and has a preference in learning similar to mine.
Cognitivism
Cognitivism is understanding “learning in terms of mental processing”. (Fasso, 2011) Cognitivism views learning as having been achieved when information is retained from sensory register through working memory into long-term memory. This is achieved through “chunking” and schemas. (Fasso, 2011) Cognitivism played a role in the wiki activities through “chunking” theories and using them in the wikis, which aided the retention of the information. It also played a role within collaboration, in the profile wikis we were to contact someone who we believed we would work well with, this was a cogntivist activity because it was mentally processing information about people and mentally retaining that which was valuable.
Constructivism
Constructivism is the viewpoint that “learning is an active, constructive process” (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2011). The student constructs his or her own learning. Information is objective but through previous experience and personal learning style the student constructs that information subjectively causing differences between individual students’ learning. Constructivism was the strongest underlying theory behind the use of the wikis. Constructivism encourages students to use high order thinking which was an important factor with the wikis. The wikis were scaffolded but the students constructed the learning. Through their worldviews and past experiences students shaped the wiki information subjectively, for example, students subjectively chose profiles from the wiki they believed would work well with them, criteria was not provided for this selection but was constructed by the student. Another example of how the activities were constructed was through the mobile phone wiki, the scaffold was de Bono’s hats but the information was collaborated and constructed through the viewpoints of the students.
Online learning spaces and collaborative construction
The approach to the design of the learning activities was constructivist. The activities were scaffolded but the learning was constructed by the students through collaboration with each other and with the wikis. Using wikis for learning, I believe, caters for a specific type of learner rather than diversity. From Felder and Soloman (n.d.) Wikis would suit the learning style of a student whose bias is towards being:
· An active learner – Wikis are effective when students are actively involved in the learning process, that is, reading and submitting feedback in the de Bono’s hat activity, collaborating with a partner in the learning theory activity and by reading other students’ profiles. Wikis have been online group work, which is the preferred method of learning for active learners.
· An intuitive learner – Wikis were about “discovering possibilities and relationships” (Felder and Soloman, n.d.). This is exactly how intuitive learners prefer to learn.
(Felder and Soloman, n.d.)
Scaffolding e-Learning spaces for planned learning outcomes
“Learning with ICT is beneficial only when appropriate learning approaches are taken.” (Fasso, 2011)
Scaffolding was the approach used within the wikis to encourage higher order thinking as it encourages students to construct their own learning as explained within the theory of constructivism. “Scaffolding can be seen as a one-way process wherein the scaffolder constructs the scaffold alone and presents it for the use of the novice” (Daniels, 2002,as cited in Verenikina, 2003 p 3). Two examples of scaffolds that were used in the wiki activities were PMI and de Bono’s hats.
“Plus, Minuses, Interesting” (PMI) is a scaffold that aids examination of information. Pluses are the advantages of the views presented by the information, minuses are the threats or issues associated with presented information and the interesting factor is anything else the student deems worth considering in their analysis. (Fasso, 2011)
“De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats” is a scaffold that can be used by one person or by a group to investigate a variety of viewpoints on a topic. Used in conjunction with a wiki different perspectives are culminated creating a balanced examination. (Fasso, 2011) Scaffolding as can be seen in the PMI and de Bono’s Hats ensures students take into consideration other viewpoints, it ensures a holistic and self-directed approach to learning.
The implications of wikis and ICTs for my own learning design have been encouraging. The engagement theory has underpinned the whole of my learning journey thus far – “students have to be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks”. (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999) The engagement theory is based on Relate-Create-Donate. Engagement theory focuses on collaborated constructed contributions. Effective learning comes not only through teacher-given information but also through interaction with others including students, and through autonomous, purposeful and relevant activities.
Bibliography
Webpages
Atherton J S (2011) Learning and Teaching; Bloom's taxonomy. Retrieved March 2011 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/bloomtax.htm
Felder R. M. & Soloman B.A. (n.d.) Learning Styles and Strategies. Retrieved March, 2011 from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm
Kearsley G. & Shneiderman B. (1999) Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, Retrieved March 2011 from http://home.sprynet.com/%7Egkearsley/engage.htm
Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2011). Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved March, 2011 from http://www.learning-theories.com/
Verenikina, I. (2003). Understanding scaffolding and the ZPD in educational research. Retrieved March, 2011, from https://www.aare.edu.au/03pap/ver03682.pdf
Moodle
Fasso, W. (2011). Active Learning, Learning Diversity and the Theory. Retrieved March, 2011, from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design
Fasso, W. (2011). Effective e-Learning Design. Retrieved March, 2011, from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design
No comments:
Post a Comment