Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
The Brain and Learning; Information Processing Theory
As I continue to familiarize myself with resources on learning theories, I discovered that the options are limitless when researching and learning how to apply them. This week I attained two articles pertaining to learning and the brain, and information process theory.
“What Does the Brain Have to Do with Learning?”
Jennifer M. Worden and Christina Hinton are doctoral candidates at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Kurt W. Fischer is director of the Mind, Brain, and Education program at Harvard University and founding editor of the Mind, Brain, and Education journal and Charles Warland Bigelow is a professor in the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Mass.
This article aims to find the correlation of learning and the brain through the use of educational neuroscience. Information on this correlation can be overwhelming and some of the content can be inaccurate. As a result, several myths have derived from these inaccuracies and this article provides clarity to the information. “Ignoring important findings from this field can be just as dangerous as uncritically embracing products or interventions that claim to be based on these findings” (Worden, Hinton, & W., 2011) . Listed below are the myths:
1. The brain is irrelevant in learning
2. Neuroscientists (Savolainen, 2009) know it all, and teachers don’t understand research
3. Jonny is right brained and that is why….
4. Everyone knows that you can’t learn a language after age…
5. Girls are better at reading but boys are better at math and science (Worden, Hinton, & W., 2011) .
As I explore the correlation of neuroscience and learning, I will use this resource to understand how the researchers and the educators can successfully work together to build knowledge. “While brain research alone can’t tell us how to teach children, understanding the brain leads to uncovering underlying learning mechanisms” (Worden, Hinton, & W., 2011).
"Information use and information processing”
Reijo Savolainen works in the Department of Information Studies, University of Tampere, in Tampere, Finland. He developed this article to describe the process of using information by comparing two approaches; the constructivist approach and the human information processing approach. The constructivist approach focuses on the ways in which the individual’s mind constructs knowledge through experiences that enable individuals to build “mental models” of the world (Talja, 2005) . Whereas the human information approach focuses on how information is stored in memory and retrieved. “In contrast to cognitive psychologists, researchers in consumer research do not primarily explore the micro level issues of how information is stored and retrieved from memory” (Savolainen, 2009) .
Reijo Savolainen states that both of these approaches can be effective if the educator uses specific strategies to understand how the information will be processed and used. The main categories describing information use as a process are:
1. The major constituents of information use.
2. The phases of information use.
3. The strategies of information use (Savolainen, 2009) .
Reijo Savolainen further describes each category and how to consider the learners’ information process. This article will be very valuable to me as I continue to study and work in the Instructional Design field. It will have an impact on how I design curriculum and how the information will be processed by the participants. As a result, this information will help me to dig deeper into information processing and information use.
Works Cited
Savolainen, R. (2009). Information use and Information Processing: Comparison of Conceptualizations. Journal of Documentation , 187-207.
Talja, S. T. (2005). Isims in information science: constructivism, collectivism and constructionism. Journal of Documentation , 70-101.
Worden, J., Hinton, C., & W., K. (2011). What does the Brain have to do with Learning? Phi Beta Kappan , 8-13.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Nancy's Instructional Design Resources
This week I evaluated three instructional design resources in which I will use as I work within the instructional design field. I will provide the location of the resource, the content displayed, and the benefits of each resource.
“Cathy Moore “Let’s save the world from boring eLearning”
This site is written by Cathy Moore, “an international thought leader dedicated to saving the world from boring instruction” (Moore, 2012) . The purpose of this blog is to obtain ideas that will help instructional designers develop action-packed learning materials such as videos, blogs, and graphic design. All of these materials are catered for working adults. In addition, this blog contains information on services such as workshops and individualized consulting. I will be using this blog as a resource since I am looking to enhance my development skills.
“Instructional Design & Learning Theory”
Brenda Mergel is a Graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan. She is currently studying Educational Communications and Technology. This online paper resource describes the basics of the Learning Theories being used in today’s society.
The basic theories are Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism:
· Behaviorism is based on observable changes in behavior. Behaviorism focuses on a new behavioral pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic.
· Cognitivism is based on the thought process behind the behavior. Changes in behavior are observed, and used as indicators as to what is happening inside the learner's mind.
· Constructivism is based on the premise that we all construct our own perspective of the world, through individual experiences and schema. Constructivism focuses on preparing the learner to problem solve in ambiguous situations (Mergel, 2011) .
In addition, a detailed summary of the history of Learning theories is mentioned. Finally, this resource provides techniques on how to implement the Learning theories when practicing Instructional Design. This paper will be used a guideline to understand the learning process of the participants and develop effective learning events.
“Characteristics of a Complete eLearning Solution”
Jay Cross uses stories, mixed case studies, and recommendations to deliver humorous, easy to understand training sessions. He also writes books, blogs, and articles on business effectiveness. For the past 3 decades, Jay has been a keynote speaker to executives, marketers, entrepreneurs, chief learning officers, sales staff, instructional designers, HR directors, bankers, and academics (Cross, 2011) .
This blog describes an outline for selecting an eLearning solution. There are so many options available to Instructional Designers and it can be very challenging to select the correct solution based on the needs of the organization. As a result, I will use this site to identify the characteristics of an effective elearning solution. Some of the characteristics include assessment and curriculum design and development, branded educational content and broad and easy access to information (Cross, 2011) .
Works Cited
Cross, J. (2011, January 6). Characteristics of a Complete eLearning Solution. Retrieved from Internet Time Blog: http://www.internettime.com/itimegroup/characteristics.htm
Mergel, B. (2011, January 6). Instructional Design & Theory. Retrieved from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm
Moore, C. (2012, January 6). Cathy Moore. Retrieved January 6, 2012, from Let's save the world from boring eLearning: http://blog.cathy-moore.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)