Fitting the Pieces Together

It was rather humbling to take a glance at my first discussion in my Instructional Design course from six weeks ago.  It was obvious to me that I was extremely confused about the learning theories and how they relate to my learning and how I design instruction for others.  This is my first exposure to theories, as even though I do instruct others, my background is in healthcare.  Now that I have a better understanding of the learning theories, I think I can take a little from each of them when describing how I learn.  I also have now realized just how much technology plays a role in my, and others, learning.

I’ll illustrate a couple of examples of the theories and how they relate to my learning.  Sometimes I have to give presentations in front of an audience.  I have to learn the speech enough that I am not looking down a lot.  From a behaviorist’s perspective, I practice, and practice, and recite, and recite, until I get the desired response (Stanridge, M., 2001).  In addition, until I get encouragement or acknowledgement from someone that my speech is “good”, I keep changing it, adding inflections, illustrations, etc. until I get the desired response from the poor party who has to hear me practice.

I also often think I learn using the cognitive theory.  I am one who does not like to reinvent the wheel, but learn from what others have done, and build off of that (Ormrod, 2009).  For example, a couple of years ago I built a website for our local junior golf league.  It was a new experience for me, thus instead of starting from scratch, I researched other Michigan golf websites and got some ideas that we could use.  I didn’t copy them, but was able to get my creative juices flowing and tweak the website to our needs. 

Having the ability to research other websites to develop the junior golf league’s website is really just the tip of the iceberg.  With information now at my fingertips, technology has become a key part of my learning experience on a daily basis.  This is in line with the Connectivism theory, which describes how learning occurs through the integration of technology, networks, and information (Laureate Education, 2009).  I am connected to people through LinkedIn, Facebook, my interoffice communicator, and discussion forums.  If I need information about something, I can usually find someone to help me out or information about it on the web. 

I have found that I am a self-directed, adult learner that appreciates technology and the information it allows me to access quickly.  It has allowed me to keep up with everything from the latest trends in my career, to finding a recipe for dinner in a moment’s notice.  Technology has allowed me to be employed for a company in New York, while working in my pajamas in Michigan.  I am able to find resources that enrich my instruction to my clients, inspire me to create, and provide access to anyone.  I’m a big fan of technology. :)

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009).  Connectivism. [DVD].

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson, p. 137.

Standridge, M. (2001). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Behaviorism.