What are my beliefs on how people learn best?
To start there is not a one shoe fits all when it comes to learning. Working in the educational system has confirmed that for me. As I have grown professionally, I have learned the positive impact that I can have in the classroom, by being able to identify the learning styles of my students. About four years ago, I accepted a teaching position as a Special Needs Kindergarten teacher. It was during this time in my teaching career that I realized the importance and the impact that differentiated instruction can have on children. It was obvious to me that not much was expected from me or my students due to the disabilities. Determined to prove that my Special Needs students had the ability to learn and retain academic content/standards just as well as a non-classified student, I spent endless hours coming up with creative ways to teach the standards to my students. Yes, I put in a lot of time but it was worth it!!! With all that being said, there is a quote that I always like to use whenever possible by an unknown author and it says,” All children can learn, but not in the same way or in the same day”. This quote was the fuel to the burning fire I had to help my student’s succeed.
What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?
I think that the learning theories play a very important role in the 21st century and have the stage for how we prepare our children for a technological society. Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism theories are the foundation to the technology that we use today. For example, Morrison’s formula of pretest, teach, retest, adapts and test (Saettler, 2004) is still being utilized in schools today. ALEKS is an example of computer software that utilizes the mastery learning approach.
Saettler, P. (2004). The evolution of American educational technology. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
LaTonya: Your answers to the questions were very sound, and I could relate to your professional approach to learning theory. Do think that children keep their specific learning styles from early years, or do they develop different learning styles through out their educational careers? I find your comments so interesting because I am approaching learning of my students from the opposite end of the spectrum - Adult learning.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
Chris Wallo
Good Question Chris,
ReplyDeleteSpeaking from my own personal experience, I think that children develop different learning styles thoughout their educational course. The reason that I believe this is because not all teachers adapt their lessons based on the learning styles of thier students. Some teachers teach according to their personal learning styles. In cases like these children have to make adaptions, if they can, or fall behind.
Using differentiated instruction helps us know how people learn best. All teaching can not be the same due to the fact that people do not learn the same. Teachers should be able to reach all students based on their learning style.
ReplyDeleteAisha Chadwick