The following is a reflection on Week 1 (Class) of the Learning Theories module using Gibbs Reflective Cycle.
Description
Today’s class represented the first class of five classes that will constitute the core teaching section of Module 1 (Learning Theories). The lecturer for today was Dr. Roisín Donnelly who is also the Course Co-ordinator for the MSc in Applied eLearning course.
The class began with Roisín asking the question “What is learning?” to which she provided the following answer:
“The brain changes that occus having assimilated knowledge, skills, concepts.”
Later in the class, the students were asked to ‘crowdsource’ the features of an excellent teacher. These were as follows:
Ability to connect, subject knowledge, passion/enthusiasm, flexibility, clarity/logic, warmth/approachability/sense of humour, ability to create an open learning environment, ability to use a variety of tools, ability to encourage/develop/support students, patience.
The principal reading material / reference for today’s class (and the module overall) was a paper written by two researchers from Waterford Institute of Technology – Orison Carlile and Anne Jordan. The paper is called:
It works in practice but will it work in theory? The theoretical underpinnings of pedagogy.
Here is the APA reference for the paper which I ascertained from Google Scholar:
Carlile, O., & Jordan, A. (2005). It works in practice but will it work in theory? The theoretical underpinnings of pedagogy. Emerging issues in the practice of university learning and teaching, 1, 11-26.
Here is the web link:
Here is the Table of Contents web link from which the paper is taken:
The class was also encouraged to have a look at Marc Prensky’s website. According to his website, Marc is “…an internationally acclaimed speaker, author, innovator and consultant in the field of education.
Here is the web link:
Finally, the class was encouraged to check out David Perkin’s (Harvard University) ‘threshold concepts’. I had some difficulty in searching for references to this but eventually found a link to a keynote lecture Perkins gave at the Third Biennial Threshold Concepts Symposium in Australia in 2010.
Here is the web link to the one hour video:
Feelings
It was satisfying to feel that the course that I had carried out a fair degree of due diligence was finally under way. I enjoyed today’s class and it felt good to be studying learning theories after a gap of 26 years! I had last studied learning theories in the ‘Psychology of Learning’ module during the first year of my M.Ed. degree course in 1990/91.
Evaluation
The Carlile and Jordan paper was a good starting point for an overview of learning theories. However, today’s class reminded me of the breadth and depth of the field of learning theories.
Analysis
The main learning theories to be examined in this module will be:
Behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism and social constructivism.
The principal learning theorists associated with these theories are:
Behaviourism: Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, Skinner, Gagné.
Cognitivism: Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky.Constructivism: Piaget, Von Glaserfield, Bandura, Dewey, Habermas.
Social Constructivism: Vygotsky, Bruner, Bourdieiu, Foucault.
Conclusions
I will have to spend some considerable time familarising myself with the main learning theories and the important players (learning theorists) in the field.
Personal Action Plans
Carefully read the Carlile and Jordan paper during the week and if I have time, do some further reading from elsewhere on learning theories.
Check out Marc Prensky’s website.
Check out David Perkin’s (Harvard University) ‘Threshold Concept’.