Reflection on Learning Theories and Instruction

For me as an international student this first experience at Walden was striking in many respects. Learning Theories and Instruction being the opening course in the certificate of Instructional Design and Technology provided an insight not only into online education and American education in general but also broadened my understanding of e-learning and instructional design. I was happy to find scientific evidence that proves many ideas I have tried to comprehend in layman’s terms.

Thus, I have found the way Cogninitive theory explains the transfer of knowledge most appealing and now I can see what underlies the strategies for successful learning in first place. “Metacognition comprises two related skills.  First, one must understand what skills, strategies, and resources a task requires. Second, one must know how and when to use these skills and strategies to ensure the task is completed successfully” (Ormrod, Schunk & Gredler, 2009, p. 101).

Further exploration of learning styles and strategies allowed me to relate Ormrod’s “top-to-down” approach to teach students strategies for "learning effectively rather than cater to these preferences that may or may not actually exist in the self-report kinds of assessment techniques" (n.d.).

Brain theory principles (Gardner (2003) defined 8 relatively autonomous brain systems each responsible for an intelligence) provides a connection between Multiple Intelligences and information input mode. So now I have come to realize there are no learning strengths or weaknesses. But, otherwise, there is a need to provide an appropriate context to foster both students’ present and potential Multiple Intelligences. 

Besides, I had to consider a very important question through the lens of Social Constructivism if online learning environment can be as efficient as a traditional one. "Social constructivists view the classroom as a community whose task is to develop knowledge... where knowledge is socially constructed and distributed among co-participants" (Ormrod, Schunk & Gredler, 2009, p.19).

According to Nicholas C. Burbules (2004) there are four factors that are vital to creation of a successful online environment: interest, involvement, imagination, and interactivity. On my part I tried to consider what theory each factor resonates with.

Interest: Problem solving, pacing, and alternative paths of investigation can all help promote interest. Good teaching and project design can elicit interest even with material that is not immediately interesting or of concern to students. Interesting subject matter is engaging and puzzling at a level that poses an attractive challenge to the learner. Too difficult and the student loses interest out of frustration; too simple and it loses its quality as a challenge. This resonates with Vygotskiy's Zone of Proximal Development and warns us against setting inadequate goals.

Involvement: Learners are involved with things that matter to them. N.C. Burbules suggests that instructors instead of trying to make the subject matter important through extrinsic rewards, or sometimes through the threat of adverse consequences should use Dewey’s advice "to start where students are already motivated and eager to learn, and link our purposes to that engine". This presumption in my opinion is of key importance to construction of meaning as no knowledge or experience would be internalized if it is of no value to a learner.

Engaging: How do I engage the learner’s imagination with this problem? Burbules' examples include simulations, models, case studies, or narratives that construct a plausible version of reality and allow room for the participant to interpolate or extrapolate new content as they work to make sense of it. Those practices can be employed to create social context for learning.

Interactivity: to facilitate interactions between students and the learning situation instructors should make use of team projects, multiple channels of communication, opportunities for open deliberation and for private, personal reflection on course activities. Thus, the constructivist principle of social interaction with knowledgeable members of society is realized.

To address Technology as another component of this program that is meant to facilitate and promote efficient self-directed learning I would like to bring up Connectivism and Adult Learning Theory. As an online student and online ESL instructor I am seeking connections in online social environments through such media as Walden University and various Professional and Personal networks. Paraphrasing George Siemens as adults are those responsible for their learning outcome, they need to stay current in complex learning environments and exploit technology in order to function well with others in achievement of individual tasks. Thus, the educational potential of rapidly emerging technology cannot be realized without implementation of learning strategies that enable students to make sense of abundant easily accessible information and learning tools and the role of instructors is to provide those strategies and guidance.

In his article Engaging Learners in Online Learning Environments Cher Ping Lim (2004) addresses the key strategies that constitute a learning kit of a successful online instructor. Based on the assumptions about online learners’ strategic skills, knowledge and attitude Lim suggests some effective guiding and supporting activities gradually delegating the control of learning to learners themselves.

But learning no matter how facilitated technologically and strategically it is will not happen without motivation. And we have to keep in mind that “learners are almost always motivated in one way or another… Teachers should never question whether their students are motivated. Instead they should try to determine in which way their students are motivated” (Ormrod, Schunk & Gredler, 2009, p.224). Now I am able to determine that utilizing the ARCS model suggested by Keller (2009) and comprising 4 dimensions of motivation known as attention (A), relevance (R), confidence (C), and satisfaction (S).

To conclude, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Paige who demonstrated the ARCS model in action and whose support, feedback and genuine interest helped me as a Walden student to make a step up towards fulfilling my dream of starting an online ESL school.

References:

Armstrong, T. (2001) Multiple intelligences in the classroom, 2nd. edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Lim, C. P. (2004). Engaging learners in online learning environments. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 48(4), 16–23.

Nicholas C. Burbules, (2004) "Navigating the advantages and disadvantages of online pedagogy." Learning, Culture, and Community: Multiple Perspectives and Practices in Online Education, Caroline Haythornthwaite and Michelle M. Kazmer, eds.

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson.

Learning Theories...Rocked My World!

As I was reading through my first week discussion initial post I realized my approach to education had shifted from a teacher-centered to a learner-centered one. The key question was “How do you understand your own learning process?” but my answer was the one of a teacher, not the one of a learner. My new understanding of construction of meaning helps me to better understand how I can effectively design a learning process for my students as an online instructor.

Behaviorism and Cognitive theory have been something I had to revisit, though I definitely got to learn quite a few new things about those seemingly familiar theories. Thus, I understood that many tech tools in ESL sphere are actually based on behaviorist principles. A lot of software and tools I used in teaching are based on the link between stimuli and a learner’s response. Many of them have been here for some years, e.g. Grammar and Pronunciation software, e.g. EyeSpeak, Vocabulary building tools, e.g. Online Mnemonic Dictionary, Lingvo Tutor and others like simulation games that are yet to become common reality as soon as they become cost effective.

At the same time I realized that aforementioned technologies have developed due to the assumptions of cognitive theory that have direct relevance to designing learning tools in ESL:

·         Learner control, metacognitive training (e.g. self-planning, monitoring, and revising techniques).

·         Cognitive task analysis procedures.

·         Use of cognitive strategies such as outlining, summaries, synthesizers, advanced organizers, etc.

·         Recall of prerequisite skills; use of relevant examples, analogies.” (Ertmer & Newby, 1993)

There were also quite a few revelations with Constructivism and Connectivism, too. Thus, never before I paid much attention to the importance of shared cognition. Now the phrase “interaction with more knowledgeable others” doesn’t mean a student interacting with a teacher only but also peers and learning context come to the foreground. Hence the determination with which I started to implement the following technological means to construct social environment online for the individual students I teach:

·         Learning platforms, e.g. Elluminate that I am planning to use for group lessons online;

·         Forum software I have started to use in order to engage students into project work juliasclass.com;

·         Chat rooms for ESL practice, e.g. Yahoo Messenger, Skype, Google Talk;

·         Personal blogs on ESL and podcasts I encourage my students to use  in their self-directed learning, e.g. esl.about.com

But it was Connectivism that turned out a real goldmine and changed my world forever. A new type of learner that was born together with the Internet calls for a shift in the way we learn and we teach – “the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing”. (G. Siemens) A “networker” is a new type of learner who creates his/her own learning network to easily access and share expertise. My next step as an instructional designer would be to help my students find a way to connect to those who can be defined as “more knowledgeable others” through many personal networks and teach them navigation strategies. 

References:

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. Emerging perspectives on

learning, teaching and technology .

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing

Critical Features from an Instructional Design Perspective. Performance Improvement

Quarterly , 50-72.

Social networks: the right people, the right conversations, the right time.

My whole life is online: my two jobs Technical Translator and Online ESL Instructor, my international and Russian friends Skype, Facebook, Online Dating Websites, VKontakte and my school Walden University. 

Connectivism is a concept my life is built on. My cultural background is Russian and we are very connected people as our approach to life is very communal. We often get jobs and school opportunities through our family and friends. Similarly I have got an excellent translation job still being a student because my mom’s old friend called her and asked if I might be interested in a position of a Technical Translator with an International power engineering company.

Besides, being a digital native I had no problems to find a job online after I graduated. I live in a small town in the mountains but the bulk of my clientele are people who reside in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Also my personal and professional connections include people from the USA, UK, Australia, Turkey and even Iraq.

I always resort to Internet whenever I have a question or a problem, the widespread term is “Google it”. Also I ask people in my social networks, and I have valuable advisors who help me to find a solution to any problem in the quickest possible way. At the same time I always offer my assistance to whoever asks for it.

All in all, my networking goes on lines of the principles discussed by Michael Dulworth in his book Connect Effect: Building Strong Personal, Professional, and Virtual Networks. According to Dulworth strong, powerful networks have four key qualities: (1) quantity, (2) relationships, (3) diversity, and (4) quality. 

After I completed the test that determines NQ (networking quotient) my result was what he calls a “Networking Genius”. It turned out I naturally followed his10 Successful Networking Tips.

Top Ten List of Successful Networking Tips by Michael Dulworth

1. Keep networking at the top of your priority list every day. (I check my emails the first thing in the morning and before I go to bed).

 2. Help others in your network, first and foremost (All my friends and acquaintances have 24/7 access to my help, assistance and support).

3. Build a PBOD (Personal Board of Directors) to support your career and life. (Among those people the most valuable are a US Online Gender Studies Professor and my Russian English-by-Skype coordinator who has immigrated to Australia and works at Sydney University now)

4. Get organized— in whatever way works best for you (The only organizational problems I have are my messy apartment and weird sleeping schedule).

5. Map your current network. It’s probably better than you think. (Thanks to Walden it is off my list now).

6. Play “One Degree of Separation” to see whom you might include in your network. (Trevae Golden an ESL teacher and my Walden classmate is now among people I can proudly call my professional friends!)

7. Be interested in people and ask them a lot of questions. Networks are built through personal connections, and you never know how you might connect with someone. (I really tried hard to do it last week starting a forum for my classmates. The result is my new friendship with Trevae, with whom we’ve been productively collaborating since then).

8. Go for quality over quantity. (I am a “people cutter” and always keep my contact lists trimmed, so all my connections are meaningful).

9. Diversity, diversity, diversity! The more, the better. (My contacts are multiracial, from different age groups, occupations, continents and educational backgrounds).

10. Build your personal brand. (I am working on it, the example can be the forum I started last week for my ESL students Julia's Class)

Michael Dulworth states that when you have a network with all these qualities you get “the right people, the right conversations, the right time.”

All this makes my experience resonate with G. Siemens definition of learning. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.

References:

1. Dulworth, Michael. Connect Effect : Building Strong Personal, Professional, and Virtual Networks.

Williston, VT, USA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2007. 

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/waldenu/Doc?id=10205950&ppg=61

2. Siemens, George. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved from: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm 

Connectivism

So here's my mind map created by means of MindGenius software. Later I will post my reflections on my learning connections.

Online you get to know your students' minds not just their faces...

This weeks' questions for discussion articulated my own concerns with regard to online learning. "Social constructivists view the classroom as a community whose task is to develop knowledge...  where knowledge is socially constructed and distributed among co-participants". (Ormrod, Schunk, Gredler, p.19)

 The question arises: can online learning environment be as efficient as a traditional one? After I did some reading on online learning and reflected on my own experience as both an online English instructor and a student of an online course the answer I produced was emphatic YES! 

First, I'd like to share some interesting information provided by Nicholas C. Burbules a Professor at the University of Illinois. In his chapter Navigating the Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Pedagogy N.C. Burbules establishes four factors that are vital to creation of a successful online environment: interest, involvement, imagination, and interactivity.

Interest: "Problem solving, pacing, and alternative paths of investigation can all help promote interest. Good teaching and project design can elicit interest even with material that is not immediately interesting or of concern to students. Interesting subject matter is engaging and puzzling at a level that poses an attractive challenge to the learner. Too difficult and the student loses interest out of frustration; too simple and it loses its quality as a challenge". This resonates with Vygotskiy's Zone of Proximal Development and warns us against setting inadequate goals.

Involvement: "Learners are involved with things that matter to them". N.C. Burbules suggests that instructors instead of trying to make the subject matter important through extrinsic rewards, or sometimes through the threat of adverse consequences should use Dewey’s advice "to start where students are already motivated and eager to learn, and link our purposes to that engine". This presumption in my opinion is of key importance to construction of meaning as no knowledge or experience would be internalized if it is of no value to a learner.

Engaging: How do I engage the learner’s imagination with this problem? Burbules' examples include "simulations, models, case studies, or narratives that construct a plausible version of reality and allow room for the participant to interpolate or extrapolate new content as they work to make sense of it." Those practices are employed to create social context for learning.

Interactivity: to facilitate interactions between students and the learning situation instructors should make use of "team projects, multiple channels of communication, opportunities for open deliberation and for private, personal reflection on course activities". Thus, the constructivist principle of social interaction with knowledgeable members of society is realized.

Finally, as an online instructor I can say that I managed to realize  Interest, involvement and imagination but I still struggle with creating an opportunity for my students to interact with one another as I work in individual programs of "face-to-face" instruction via Skype video conference. However, as I plan to start an online English school I intend to create a learning community where students would be able to interact in a meaningful and productive way through the use of team projects and multiple channels of communication.

Besides, as a student of a given online classroom I would like to note that a vital component of "social presence" seems to be lacking in our learning community. I have no problems with social presence of Dr.Paige (he has an instructor's profile with a PICTURE besides talking to me through my gradebook and discussion board). But I struggle to perceive my fellow students as real people. I think that would be solved by a profile each of us could create with an avatar picture that displayed under each comment of a certain student. Also, I would like to have an opportunity to interact with my peers through multiple channels while engaged in team projects. I often feel alienated and communication with higher degree of social presence would certainly solve this problem for me and those with similar issues. 

N.C. Burbules' practice shows that social presence can be and should be achieved in an online classroom. A good example of team work in Burbules' online classroom (as a means of social presence establishment) is White Papers on Technology Issues for Educators.

References:

Nicholas C. Burbules, "Navigating the advantages and disadvantages of online pedagogy." Learning, Culture, and Community: Multiple Perspectives and Practices in Online Education, Caroline Haythornthwaite and Michelle M. Kazmer, eds. 

Computers ≥ Brain?

Dichotomy of human brain and artificial intelligence is both a popular Sci-Fi topic and a serious subject for research. I remember watching Matrix sequel and thinking “50 more years and we may as well end up there, sitting like stupid eggs in a basket and dreaming life. Machines will rule the world.” It seems though that human mind is much more complex than any machine invented so far.

Hans Moravec in his article When will computer hardware match the human brain? compares processing and memory capacity of the artificial intellect and the human brain. Based on technological trends of the last century he predicts that computers that match general intellectual performance of the human brain will be available and cheap in the 2020s. For now home computer’s intelligence matches a spider’s one, and Deep Blue Chess machine has as many MIPS (million instructions per second) as a mouse.

However, the point of this week’s material was that computers are unable of “emotional thought” which plays a crucial role in human processing and encoding of the information. The importance of imagery and emotions in cognitive processes are stressed in the article We Feel, Therefore We Learn: The Relevance of Affective and Social Neuroscience to Education by Mary Helen Immordino-Yang and Antonio Damasio. When it comes to learning many teachers fail to recognize that humans are social and emotional creatures and the contributors present the evidence of emotion playing a crucial role in many cognitive processes. Further in the article it runs as “hidden emotional processes underlie our apparently rational realworld decision making and learning”. As a conclusion, the contributors express their hope that better understanding of neurobiological underpinning of cognition will provide a basis for innovation in the design of learning environments.

Personally, I enjoy technology to the fullest. And I don’t believe in Terminator-like possibilities. Machines are ever destined to remain tools, with higher MIPS than me probably, but never as creative, adaptable and resourceful. 

References: Moravec, Hans (1998). "When will computer hardware match the human brain?". Journal of Evolution and Technology 1.

Immordino-Yang, M.H., & Damasio, A.R. (2007). We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain and Education, 1(1), 3-10

Mind Boggling? Not really.

I'd like to devote my first posting to Brooklynn A. Welden - an Assistant Professor of Diplomacy and Gender Studies at the International University of Humanities and Social Sciences, San Jose, Costa Rica. I met her when I was considering Walden as an international student. She is my colleague at an online English school and she was guiding my steps through the admission process. Actually writing this blog has a lot to do with her being such an inspiration. Well, today strangely enough I've got an email from her with a quote that best describes my feelings about this course so far "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called Research."- A. Einstein.

To go through many things I didn't understand and among them technology the least worrying I did a lot of contemplation and here I will try to sum it all up.

I tried to provide a 3 dimensional outlook on what learning is: theoretical, practical and spiritual.

Thus, all learning theories of the week were summed up in a concise and logical manner in Meredith's Musings blog created by a previous student of this course at Walden. It provided many good examples on how I can improve on organizing, reflecting and mind-mapping information. Besides, it is an excellent stop on route to further immersion into the program.

Another blog I had to explore is the blog that would give some practical ground to exemplify what I need to use in my classroom as an online instructor and that also enables me to see how I can extend my instruction over cyber time and space. Teacher Reboot Camp felt as if written by me a while since today. I have been thinking about starting a language community where all of my students would be able to share their experience and learn through interaction with one another. It seems to be a corner stone of the course presented. Are you with me Dr. Paige?

The last blog and my pet lamb is the Talent Code not exactly an educational resource but more of a psychological coaching program which I ran into translating a self help book for Dr. Joe Vitale. As the author of the Talent's Code Daniel Coyle puts it “great talents are a product of the following combination: deep practice, ignition, and master coaching.” I found his amusing 3 Deadly Habits: How NOT to Develop Your Talent resonating with some of the learning theory we dwelled on this week.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM “In order to develop your talent slowly, you should regard your talent as your own private creation, and your challenges as private challenges that only you can solve. Don’t look elsewhere for guidance; certainly not to other performers.”

BEHAVIORISM: “In order to develop your talent slowly, you should never, ever review your performance. You should regard errors as unfortunate, unavoidable events, and do your best to immediately hide their existence or, even better, erase them from your memory.

And COGNITIVE THEORY: In order to develop your talent slowly, you should approach each practice and performance as if you’ve never, ever done it before. You should be casual. You should avoid any repetition of actions, thoughts, or patterns of any kind, and instead make every day completely different.

I think many instructors can find it helpful to have a look at Coyle’s EXPLORE YOUR TALENTS section which stands proudly in my teaching kit. I use it to identify a learning bug of a student I’ve got this time 