technology applications in education chapter 6
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Technology Applications in Education Chapter 6. Theories of Learning and their Application to Technology Shena Anglin Technology in the Classroom Dr. M. Minott March 5, 2010. Where are we coming from?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Technology Applications in EducationChapter 6
Theories of Learning and their Application to Technology
Shena AnglinTechnology in the Classroom
Dr. M. MinottMarch 5, 2010
Early 1900s - Psychological theories that were relevant for education were E.L. Thorndike’s dream.
Where are we coming from?
Technology awoke the dream!
Technology has shifted our interest back to the child-centered education that John Dewey distinguished from Curriculum-based education back in 1902
Child-Centered Education
The way technology is utilized is largely dependent on the educator’s concept of the way human beings learn.
The educator decides how he/she wants the learners to learn: i.e. what are the goals at the end of instruction.
What should student be able to do?
Let’s decide what’s best
We have learned that when the learner builds an understanding of the material presented then retention and transfer of the knowledge to new situations is better.
This is the Constructivist Concept of learning.
So what have we learned about the way that we learn
Currently the most widely accepted learning theory
Students active in trying to make sense of material presented
Seen as “knowledge construction” Learners apply their own cognitive functions
to learn the material instead of rote memorization.
Constructivist Learning
Response-Strengthening◦ As in programmed drill and practice with feedback◦ Consistent with Thorndike’s law of effect
Knowledge Acquisition (a.k.a Empty Vessel Metaphor)◦ Information is delivered by educator◦ Students learn by adding new information to their
long-term memories
Other Concepts of Learning
Drill and practice is useful in developing speed in spelling or addition/subtraction problems.
Knowledge delivery/acquisition model useful in presenting large amounts of information to the learner.◦ Researchers learned that humans process incoming
information instead of gradually learning a behaviour as with animals.
◦ So the advent of electronic computers of the 1950s highly influenced this learning style.
These Concepts have Some Merit
Information in and can be retransmitted
Assumes students will learn equally well when presented with same information no matter the format
Internet useful Assessment is on
how much is recalled
Learner active in constructing knowledge
Students need to be guided on how to process effectively
Student “makes sense” of a process or system
Assesses transfer
Acquisition vs. Construction
It does not adequately consider the motivational, social, cultural and biological bases of learning◦ Suppose a person is not interest◦ Suppose the info is irrelevant socially or culturally
to the student◦ Suppose there are some learning problems
Does constructivist learning have any shortcomings?
Cognitive Constructivism◦ Individually mediated◦ Socially mediated –learner constructs knowledge
in a group discussion for e.g.
Social Constructivism◦ Learning is a sociocultural event which takes
place in social or cultural groups◦ Ignores the individual aspect of learning and says
that all knowledge is stored as public knowledge
Types of Constructivism
Radical Constructivism – degree to which knowledge construction is based on outside world
Ranges from:
Knowledge is discovered (non-radical)
Knowledge is invented (radical)◦ The radicals assume that instruction is pointless as
communications mean different things to different people and teacher does not know what students know
Types of Constructivism Cont.
Selecting
Images
Selecting
Words
How Cognitive Construction Works
Images
Words
Pictorial Model
Verbal Model
Integrated Cognitive Structure
Prior
Knowledge
Instructional technology should guide the cognitive processes of the learner.
Deep understanding and meaningful learning should be the objective of the educator
What does it mean for today?
Learning is an active process involving selecting, organizing and integrating
Human beings have separate visual and auditory channels
The capacity of working memory is limited
Constructivist Multimedia Learning Summarized
The order in which learner receives information is important (Contiguity Effect)
Successive vs. Simultaneous
Therefore:
Tonight @ 8pm on HBO
Eight studies proved that students performed better on transfer assessment when presented pictures and narration simultaneously
The Coherence Effect in Multimedia presentation is also important
Students hearing irrelevant background sound performed poorly on transfer tests
More Technology Implications
Modality Effect
Animation and On-screen text hinders knowledge contruction as both are processed in the visual channel.
Animation works well with narration (not with text)
More Technology Implications
Redundancy Effect
How do you think a combination of animation on-screen text, and narration would work.
More Technology Implications
What we have learned about the way that we learn has influenced the way we design instructional technology for today and the future.◦ Educational tehnology should guide the cognitive
processes and foster a better understanding (sense-making) of the material, as in similations for better transferability to other applications/real-life situations.