EDUC-6115 Course Reflection
As
the weeks passed on in this course, my eyes have opened immensely in regards
to, what I now know, is a complex and intricate study of how people learn. As a
high school educator, one can lose focus on the learning environment outside of
educating children and in the field of instructional design that is a big
mistake. I would have to say that the insight that I have gained into Social
Learning theories is probably the most fascinating information that I was
exposed to in this course, in reference to the learning of others. Due to the
immature nature of high school students, I find that social learning can become
more of a burden than an asset in the classroom in a lot of settings; this can
cause educators to avoid maximizing the learning potential of this theory. I
personally incorporate it as much as I can, but use caution knowing that the
social aspect of learning can easily spiral out of control. Due to the
difference between adult and child learners I never realized the potency of
social learning; entering into this program I expected to learn how to design
materials for adult learners, but did not consider having to design from the
standpoint of incorporating cooperative/collaborative exercises and social activities.
Now that I am aware of this, I am actually substantially more excited. Making use of social learning theories opens
up a whole new world of options that I will be able to access, making me more
valuable as a designer, as well as an educator. Social Constructivism
emphasizes the need for collaboration among learners (Kim, 2001). With software
developers such as Adobe creating suites that allow Instructional Designers to
incorporate social elements into their materials, I am now able to see how
learners in different places can work and learn together effectively.
One
of the more pleasant surprises in this course was the Connectivism learning
theory. I have been known as the “tech geek” in my personal circles, as well as
in my professional environment for a very long time now. My wife has made fun
of me because I “stopped writing” (as she says) in 2005. Grocery/ To Do lists,
phone numbers, educational notes, directions…you name it and I will not write
it down. When I take a person’s contact information, if they do not have a
V-Card, then I force them to give me a V-Note (and usually assist them in
setting up a V-Card). Any time I am introduced to a foreign or unfamiliar
concept, I immediately Google from my phone or tablet and save any relevant
information to the cloud for later study; I also pose questions/scenarios on
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Quora, tapping into my social networks
constantly. For years, this was the geek in me, but I know that my habits are
actually the elements of a learning theory. Previously, I felt a small bit of
guilt learning this way, as if I was cheating in some way or not really
learning the right way, but now feel, not only justified, but ahead of the
curve having embraced this style of learning almost a full decade before both
my social and professional cohort. The Week 5 video from this course (Seimens, TBD)
discusses Connectivism, placing emphasis not only on the need for social
learning theories examine the how of learning, but the need to seek out and
examine future trends. This is an area that is especially important for those
that learn this way as Connectivism is dependent on technology, which tends to
be old news the day before it comes out. I believe that younger adult learners
can/will thrive in an environment that uses this theory as it’s’ design basis
and believe that I may have found the foundation for my curriculum design
platform.
As
far as learning theories and learning styles are concerned, I have come to
realize that they are not interchangeable terms, as I thought previously. As a
psychology major, the concepts of learning theories were superficially covered
in a class or two, but I do not recall much mention of learning styles,
especially in any way to differentiate between the two substantially. Theories
refer to studying how learner’s minds take in, process and store knowledge
whereas styles refer to strategies that the individual learner uses to
accomplish these tasks. In my opinion, this is the first thing that any and
every instructional designer should learn, as it complete alters ones approach
to curriculum design strategy. As mentioned earlier in this paper, educational
technology, while still an emerging area (Johnson, Levine, & Smith 2009),
is intricately tied into to the adult learning environment and will continue to
grow exponentially from here on out. When learning first became a subject of
study technology was not an option and up until very recently, though existent,
not really part of the equation. Due to the nature of our connected world and
the likelihood that adult learners are more apt to be digitally connected than
most, anyone that is designing curriculum for adults cannot ignore the
interconnectedness nor the inherent importance of Connectivism and learning
theories/strategies.
Motivation
is a beast unto itself that I had not taken into consideration prior to this
course. The distance learning environment is probably the arena that is most
likely to have the highest percentage of people that require extrinsic
motivation; not because a certain type of person takes online courses, but more
likely a person with a certain lifestyle. A lot of online environments consist
of busy professionals and home-makers that simply lack the time to make it to a
face to face learning environment. After a long day of work, putting the kids
to bed and cleaning up there is not usually a lot of enthusiasm in the reserve
tank when it comes to sitting in front of a computer screen at 11:00 p.m. on a
week night. I have two jobs, a 1 year old son that frequently is admitted to
the hospital and graduate school. If I did not have intrinsic motivation oozing
out of my pores, I am not sure where I would be in this program. A situation
like mine is not uncommon and it has made me realize how important it is to
design materials with this in mind. Learning styles and strategies go out the
window when the learner loses interest, making motivation a top priority for
all instructional designers.
I
had a job interview during week 5 of the course; if I had the interview after
week six, I believe that I would have gotten the job. This course has been
quite informative and has me very optimistic about the rest of this program. I
will now approach curriculum design with individual learners’ styles taken into
full consideration, as well as make sure to take aspects of from each of the
different learning theories, instead of subscribing to one, in an attempt to
create materials that do not ostracize any type of learner. Connectivism has
had the most impact on me; I now feel that information technology and
information networks should be at the forefront of adult learning environments
not only because of its social relevance, but because it allows learners to
retrieve information from sources that they are comfortable with and can also
provide learning opportunities, perhaps different instructional styles that the
curriculum creator may not have provided, making learning easier or more
complete.
All
in all, after completing this course, I feel as if I could go into an
organization and properly assist with the design of an adult education course.
While I am admittedly not quite ready to take the helm, I am confident that
valuable I could provide valuable input and using a combination of my
professional experience as an educator and the information that I have received
from this course. I have started the journey into a new and exciting career and
feel confident that this course has provided a solid foundation for the
upcoming career change that I am actively pursuing.
