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