Final Thoughts

      The good thing about learning is that it is continuous and once it has been identified that it is not effective, strategies can be put in place to enhance learning environments and experiences. Throughout this course I was introduced to learning in-depth: from how the brain itself works to what factors influence the adult learner specifically.

      Historically, learning theories were meant to explain how learning occurs and serve as a guide and insight on how individuals learn. However, it has continuously been proven through this course that learning theories have evolved overtime and especially in the technological age we live in, the need for revised learning theories will help educators truly understand learners today. One thing that I found surprising through this course on how people learn is this final week of learning. In Learning Theories and Instruction (Ormrod, Schunk & Gredler, 2008), the section that talks about affect (feelings, emotions and general moods) never occurred to me as being a major factor in how learners are motivated to learn. This particular chapter discusses how mood can affect our motivation to learn in that if we are in a good mood, we tend to be more interested in the subject matter and make references from long term memory. On the other hand, bad moods can cause negative effects on learning.

      While I do know that mood can have an effect on everyday life, the readings have proved that it can hamper our learning development, especially for adult learners. Personally, I have found that anxiety has had a negative effect on my learning and participation in online learning. While my desire for learning is there, as I have a strong need to advance in my career, this is my first time that I was place in a large online learning group where at time I felt lost due to inexperience and the lack of courage. Will my discussions be sufficient?, will I have enough experience to contribute to discussions among my fellow peers? were just some of the questions that came up constantly throughout the course. At this point, I think it would be beneficial to me to continue reading more scholarly articles on how anxiety has affected learning and the various strategies that can be used in order to counteract its effects.

      Learning theories, learning styles, educational technology and motivation are all inter-related as evidenced by the various readings throughout the weeks. Learning theories give an insight on how individuals learn, learning styles provide an indication on the best strategies for learning, educational technology describes the emerging trends in hardware and software applications that enhance the learning experience and motivation dictates an individuals’ desire to learn. Each of the properties mentioned has different sections that can be applied to the other in ensuring effective learning. As an educator, we need to be able to select the correct learning theory successfully pair it with the other factors that influence learning to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our students.

      Taking this course has been very beneficial as I foresee that it will not only impact how I continue learning but also how I develop any future courses that I have the opportunity to create. Attempting this degree at my current position has been met with many advantages and disadvantages.  One major disadvantage that I am facing, is not being able to put theory into practice and seeing first-hand how the applications learnt directly relates to learners. While this course has given me deeper understanding of myself as a learner, the fact that I am not able to experience any type of environment where I am the instructor is proving to be some sort of disconnect with the course. At this stage, it feels like I am absorbing information without and outlet to practice. On the other hand, I have seen the great advantage that this course brings despite my inexperience. This course has taught me that teaching is not about presenting information to a class and testing at the end of a semester. Teaching is about analyzing the environment, learners and one’s own teaching methods in order to create an effective learning experience. 

      With all the factors that are present today (the need to learn, motivation, accounting for learning styles, etc), I must be able to understand the dynamics of the learner and use the available theories about learning to my advantage. With the continuing improvements to the various technologies available, it is vitally important to be able to continue to incorporate and come up with new strategies for learning while taking into consideration the various type of learners. At the end of the day, we all learn differently, and although adult learning is supposed to be self-centered and promote independence in learning, the role of the facilitator still needs to be an individual who stimulates, encourages and reminds the learner of their final learning outcomes.  

Learning Viewpoint Changed

A month ago, my understanding of learning was “ensuring that the student has a full understanding of the material and is able to carry over those experiences into real life situations instead of just being able to recite the information without it having any substance in that student’s day to day activities.” While I still believe this to be true, with the completion of this course, I now know that learning is much more than that. Learning is all about how we process, retain and use information that surrounds us every day. In my original view of learning, I stated that I best learn in an online environment but as I complete this course, I have to say that has changed. The online environment is only a segment of learning as I was not aware of the many theories and elements that go along with it. Learning is more than the environment in which it occurs and as Dr. Ormrod discussed in one of the video files, we cannot only focus teaching the individual how to learn but we need to focus on teaching strategies for effective learning. With this new found knowledge that I have gained, I can say that my view on how I personally learn has changed.

I now believe that my learning styles is a combination of comprehension monitoring and mnemonics. As I looked back on my academic career, I have seen that in order for me to be successful in any course, I would have to have complete understanding of a module before I am able to move one to another. My mode of learning would be to research and read material in addition to having self-checks to test my knowledge before moving further into the subject matter. Without proper comprehension of what was learned, I would often struggle to move on to other areas. Through constant checks on material that I have to review, instead of just learning course work I am able to have a thorough understanding of the subject matter.

In addition to comprehension monitoring, I have noticed that I have also employed the method of mnemonics as a strategy of learning. When I first started working for Blue Cross and Blue Shield, I was never exposed to medical terminology. But due to a compressed training period, I was suddenly faced with force feeding my mind a new concepts in a short period of time. When I first started training, no matter the effort I made in memorizing CEO’s and important dates, it wouldn't resonate with me. Under the pressure of weekly tests (in which we were made to believe we had to make more than a 90%), I found the easiest method was abbreviating the main idea into something more memorable.

One of the most interesting things that stood out to me during this course’s research and reading was the blog by Bill Kerr in which he states that all these “isms” are to be used as a guideline rather than a rule for understanding how an individual learns. Through this course, I was not able to find a specific theory that explains how I learned but instead a combination of theories shed light on how I process information and my reason for doing so.

I have been fortunate to experience how technology has made significant strides in the education system and learning. As a junior in high school, I remember computers were just being introduced in the school setting. While technology did not play a major role in how students learned, it was an optional outlet for those students who chose to. Today, I can sit here and say that I do not have to be tied down to a specific location to learn. Technology has afforded me the opportunity to be mobile as well as accessible to learning. With work and family obligations, I am now able to logged into my “day job”, while searching the web on my mobile phone for resources that aid in my understanding of any given subject matter. Being able to be mobile has a great influence on my learning as most of my time is spent moving from one location to another. Rather than going to a library to look up information, the resources found in the Walden library makes research accessible and convenient. Not only are the resources found online limitless, I am also able to be influenced by other participants in the online forum with their viewpoints they share. As technology advances, I am confident that there will be a greater source of innovative ways to access learning and how we correspond with each other in the future.

Resources 

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Learning styles and strategies [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Bill Kerr: http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Connectivism And My Mind

The theory of connectivism purports that information is stored in our brains through a series of connections rather than the methodology of rules (Slavin, 2006). I have been very fortunate live in different regions and encounter individuals from various backgrounds. When I first moved to the United State to attend community college, I found that the principles I used from my primary and secondary school learning carried over to my start of my college experience. Culturally, I was always exposed to being a top achiever and striving to be top of the class. During my secondary school years, rather than doing the required school hours, I was also involved in after school (which we called “lessons” – which was primarily an extension of subject matter learned in school) learning activities. As I moved through my college experience, the principle from secondary school learning process remained with me and I learned and shared these traits with connections I made at community college and university. My network expanded as I moved Arkansas and explored different fields through my time at university and work experiences.  

My experiences with online learning and its different forums, I have found two methods that have worked best to facilitate learning for me: chat rooms and discussion boards. With large online class groups, many of my facilitators divided the class into manageable group sizes, making it easier to connect and respond to discussion postings from other students. In my last online course even though there were set groups formed for the discussion forum, every two weeks the facilitator would rearrange the members in the group. This method worked best as I was able to interact and build relationships with other adult learners in the course, rather than forming bonds with only specific members. Another method that I have found useful in facilitating learning was the use of chat rooms during group projects. The use of real time active chatting has been essential in my distance learning. Distance learning can often times make it difficult to coordinate group projects, however, I have found that the use of the chat room feature, group members are able to interact with each other in real time similar to a traditional classroom atmosphere.

Through my graduate studies, I have learned the importance how valuable scholarly research plays in the learning process. It was not until completing my first semester of graduate school that I found my learning process changed. Instead of constantly asking questions or asking for suggested resources, I began to be heavily rely on my own resources and seeking out information on my own. Presently, if there are any questions that I have or if I desire to acquire a new skill, I would thoroughly conduct research on the subject. It is only when I am unable to formulate a clear concise answer, would I feel comfortable asking for the insight of someone else. This habit is also reinforced at my place of employment as team leads and managers require you to perform self-research before seeking help; with questions such as “what resources were used before contacting me?” being the first inquiry, I have conditioned myself to rely on all available tools before asking questions.  

I strongly believe that my personal learning network support the tenets of connectivism. In Davis, Edmunds & Kelly-Bateman’s 2008 article, the authors discussed several principles of connectivism that apply to my personal learning network and how it directly reflects on my learning processes. I have always noticed that no matter what field I enter, I can always draw on past experiences and use them to respond to new stimuli. My first instinct is always use what I know (as it favored positive results), and if it does not bring about desired results, I try to find a past connection until it does.    

References

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Connectivism#A_Comparison

Slavin, R., E. (2006). Educational psychology theory and practice (8^th ed.). Boston: Pearson

Natoya's Mind Connections

Brain Development and Learning

The brain is a very complex organism and it is very fascinating learning about how it works in relation to learning and retaining information. How many times have we heard the argument between left/right brain learners or how many have you wondered the true importance the brain has in relation to learning?

Myths on the brain and learning:

In Worden, Hinton, & Fischer’s article, they seek to explore five different myths (the brain is irrelevant in learning, neuroscientist know it all and teachers don’t understand research, Johnny is right brained and that is why, everyone knows you can’t learn a language after age, and girls are better at reading, but boys dominate math and science) on the relation between the brain and actual learning.

This week’s readings on the inner working of the brain gave insight on the different parts of the brain and how each system contributes to the workings of the brain and how it connects to the functions of other parts of the body. As the text outlines, there are many methods of brain research (animal studies, postmortem testing and case studies), and authors Worden, Hinton, & Fisher has recognized its value but also warned that caution is needed when reviewing research that is being done.  One of the myths that stood out to me is the myth that neuroscientist know it all and teachers don’t understand research. Through their discussion, the authors have noted that in order to support brain research and have it directly correlate to classroom education, would be a collaboration between the two fields. In doing this, contributions will be made by both scientists and teachers in an effort to formulate plans to incorporate into daily teaching practices that would enhance learning and foster an environment in which research and teaching can take place cohesively.

The information processing theory and learning disabilities

While we have a clear understanding of how the brain works on a healthy functioning human, what are the differences in the information processing theory in an individual with a learning disability? This article is interesting it seeks to understand the main difference in information processing between a “normal” individual and a learning disabled individual and what strategies can be placed to improve the learning process of a learning disabled person. In an attempt to recognize how this theory affects students with learning disabilities, Swanson (1987), has also identified that the learning environment can have a direct effect on learning processes. For many teachers, most learning happens in the classroom, and the author has indicated that the learning environment can ultimately have a direct effect on the successes or failure of a learning disabled student.

This article is the first in four series that explores information processing and learning disabilities. I found it useful in that it identifies the various factors that affect the learning process (environment, subject matter, and age) and this early research seeks to offer strategies in improving and understanding the information learning process in learning disabled individuals.

References

Swanson, H. L. (1987). Information processing theory and learning disabilities: An overview.

      Journal Of Learning Disabilities. 20(1), 3-7

Worden, J. M., Hilton, C., & Fischer, K. W. (2011). What does the brain have to do with

      learning? Phi Delta Kappan, 92(8), 8-13.

Blogging - Education of the future!!!

       Static is not the way to describe today's education systems and methods. Everyday new innovations are conceived, in an attempt to keep students motivated while still having them play an active role in the education process. While I may be new to the blogging process, the thought of expanding instruction outside of the classroom is astonishing in that we are not forced to (on the instructor side) stop the physical aspect of teaching but provide new means for students to be active participants even outside of school hours.

      While the word critique may be harsh and often associated with the negative aspects of a review, I think it is necessary for the growth in daily life. It allows others to formulate an opinion (whether negative or positive) surrounding an individual, business or organization, and offer an analysis of the thoughts presented. Today, I have chosen to examine three other instructional design blogs in hopes that I learn from their entries and they in turn, strengthen my blogging experience for future entries.

Encouraging mastery
      The birth of this blog explores the true end goal of instructional design - mastering the subject at hand. How do we go from students learning material to actually mastering the intended subject? While the popular learning model 70% (on job experience): 20% (mentoring and coaching): 10% (classroom courses and reading) is explored in this blog, it is compared to how some organizations have actually executed this model.

      The first entry post focuses on developing an educational ecosystem that will promote mastery instead of learners being competent in a particular subject matter. The attempt here is to use the existing resources (technological advances, existing learning theories, learning processes) to create a system that will not only support the phases of moments of need (learning for the first time, learning more, applying what was learned, when things go wrong and when thing change) but will also encourage mastery instead of competency.

      It would be very interesting to continue to explore this blog and follow how the author will expand on how the model applies to different organizations, and how technology will play a role in the development of this model in instructional design within the organizations. The effectiveness in this blog will come in the exploration of applying the 70:20:10 learning model and how it can be altered to fit the educational goals of different organizations.

Training victoriously
      Brian's blog explores the effective means of training. Out of the three researched blogs done, this will be the most visited. The content presented details the different aspects of training and how it can be effectively done. It does not explore any one side but from past posts on this blog, its intent is to review the different elements of training. Training is not merely presenting information to a group of individuals but starting with the presenter and the materials that the presenter has to offer.

      This site will be very useful in picking apart the different aspects of training, from inception of the training program to post survey tactics. I like that the author has recognized that not only does the materials distributed and power-point presentations need analyzing, but also the trainer themselves. The examination of the different elements in instructional design will make for life long learning in the end.

E-Learning Article Reviews
      This blog provides an essential article review of the different elements of online learning. Online learning has become such a large part of today's educational community and this blog provides various article reviews, spanning from app design for online learning to effective course design. This blog thoughtfully reviews articles on the emerging trend of online learning and provides useful elements to prepare instructors in designing an online course.

      At first glance, this blog appeared to be about organizing various articles, but on further exploration, it provided resources, book reviews, videos and podcasts for the E-teacher. I see this blog as an ongoing support system in finding not only additional articles and books for online learning, but also an abbreviated and concise overview of the article presented.