Group items tagged

Article on PBL: The assumption of non-constructivist approaches to learning has been that as long as learners are provided with knowledge, they will be able to use it. Education based on that assumption is thus primarily concerned with transferring substance to the learner, and little importance is placed on the role of the learning activity. From a constructivist view, on the other hand, learning is the process of constructing knowledge - not merely obtaining it - in social environments (Brooks & Brooks, 1993). The theory of situated learning consistent with this view asserts that what we come to know and understand is fundamentally a product of the learning situation and the nature of the learning activity. Learning tasks should thus, as far as possible, be embedded in the target context and require the kind of thinking that would be done in real life (Brown et al., 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1991).

"In the original 2004 article I stated: "The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today. A real challenge for any learning theory is to actuate known knowledge at the point of application" (Conclusion section, � 1). I find Verhagen�s (2006) critique falls at precisely this point. The core of what I wrote in the initial article is still valid: that learning is a network phenomenon, influenced (aided) by socialization and technology. Two years is a lifetime in the educational technology space. Two years ago, web 2.0 was just at the beginning of the hype cycle. Blogs, wikis, and RSS�now prominent terms at most educational conferences�were still the sandbox of learning technology geeks. Podcasting was not yet prominent. YouTube didn't exist. Google had not released its suite of web-based tools. Google Earth was not yet on the desktops of children and executives alike�each thrilled to view their house, school, or business in satellite images. Learning Management Systems still held the starting point of most elearning initiatives. Moodle was not yet prominent, and the term PLEs (personal learning environments) did not exist. In two years, our small space of educational technology evolved�perhaps exploded is a more accurate term."

An interesting mind-map of the various learning theories and how they interconnect.

"The Myth of 'Learning Styles' "A popular theory that some people learn better visually or aurally keeps getting debunked." Despite all the research to the contrary, teachers (and students) continue to believe in 'learning styles.' Let's take a step back, read the actual studies, and look at ways to make students better learners all around.

diSessa 2000 Changing Minds--need page of quote

"No reliable research has ever demonstrated that instruction designated as appropriate for any "tested" learning style is effective because it matches that style. The research is missing several important control validations. For example, there are no statistically valid studies comparing the response of a mixed-learning-style control group with the results of a learning-style-matched group. To qualify as "effective," there must be support of claims that superior outcomes are the direct result of teaching to individual learning styles and not a general result to the instruction. There is no evidence that "visual learners" have better outcomes to instruction designed for "visual learners" than do mixed-style learners taught using the same instruction. Without comparison groups, the before and after results could simply mean that the particular instruction is the most effective method for teaching that specific content to all students (Pashler, et al)." Excellent blog debunking some of the neuromyths that instruction is guided by, particularly in the public school system of the U.S.

"What I like the most about this chart is the fact that it emphasizes the social and affective component in learning, something which is often overlooked in today's digitally-focused learning paradigms. These mechanical skill-based and market-oriented paradigms reduce students to 'cheerful robots' and view pedagogy as 'merely a skill, technique, or disinterested method' to teach pre specified subject matter' (Giroux, 2011). Instead, education should be viewed as an important locomotive not only for gainful employment but also for 'creating the formative culture of beliefs, practices, and social relations that enable individuals to wield power, learn how to govern, and nurture a democratic society that takes equality, justice, shared values, and freedom seriously.(Kindle Location, 67 from "On Critical Pedagogy")." The checklist is also quite short.

"In this podcast, George argues that traditional courses, where students rely on the educator to structure their learning experience, rob the learner of an enormous part of the learning experience. So, he makes the case for social learning networks and he explains how educational institutions and corporate enterprises can embrace social media & social networks as part of the big shift towards informal and on-demand learning. "

In this case, "cheating" involves find the best answers. The game shows that cooperation, generally, gets better results than going it alone, competitively. Thought-provoking for student teachers to think about. Would it work as a procedure? A flipped testing situation?

Our articles offer a new learning theory to accommodate the learning styles and preferences of today's digitally immersed students, discuss how preservice teachers can be prepared to integrate gaming into their curricula, and present technological solutions to challenges in teaching and testing. --EHS

IRRODL is a refereed e-journal to advance research, theory and best pratice in open and distance learning.\n--EHS

Four interpretations of guides to help in writing objectives using Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive learning objectives. These are set out in table format with sample questions and assessments. They should all be very useful in writing curricular objectives and analyzing proposed activities.

A colorful diagram of all the learning theories with notes and references.

"The theories children build, whether they are right or wrong, are not capricious. They are often logical and rational, and firmly based in evidence and experience." by Karen Worth This article is very explanatory and is a good argument for maker and project-based learning.

Article from the Informal Education Homepage. infed (the informal education homepage) was established in 1995 as an open, independent and not-for-profit site. Put together by a small group of educators, it is now accessed around 6 million times a year. Our aim is to provide a space for people to explore the theory and practice of informal education, social action and lifelong learning. We want to encourage educators and animateurs to develop ways of working and being that foster association, conversation and relationship.

"Description: A wonderfully designed site with lessons and tools to create digital music and teach music theory. Lessons start at a very basic level and build to advanced compositions." For middle and higher students. May get the uninterested moving.

"Forgetting is almost immediately the nemesis of memory, as psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered in the 1880s. Ebbinghaus pioneered landmark research in the field of retention and learning, observing what he called the forgetting curve, a measure of how much we forget over time. In his experiments, he discovered that without any reinforcement or connections to prior knowledge, information is quickly forgotten-roughly 56 percent in one hour, 66 percent after a day, and 75 percent after six days." Five teaching strategies are suggested: peer-to-peer explanations, multiple opportunities to go over a concept, frequent practice test or games, mixing up problem (rather than grouping similar ones), and combining text with images/visual aids.And keep in mind sensory memory works to prevent memory loss -- context is important.