After completing this course I feel I have gained and deepened my
knowledge about learning greatly. My
foundation of understanding of how people learn and the ability to identify
what learning style they lean towards and the learning theory that will most
greatly aid the learner has become much more firm. One of the most influential or striking
concepts I have come to learn is that even though individuals may have greater
tendencies to learn most readily from a particular learning style it is
important not to isolate that learn from other learning styles. As mentioned in the vast amount of resources
covered in this course a individual learner’s learning style may vary depending
on the content and information being presented.
In the past I think I had a greater tendency to identify one particular
learning style a student may gravitate to and continually present information
in predominantly in a particular way to that student. After completing this course I will now be
much more cognitive of not isolating a student to a particular learning style
when presenting new or different content.
My understanding of my own personal learning style has also
deepened. I do feel that for me
personally real world application and being able to draw on experiences from
other areas of life have also greatly enhanced my own learning. Before taking this course I was unaware of
adult learning theory. The idea that
adult learners can and should use a variety of settings and opportunities to
learn and not one source is something I felt I have done in my life now for a
while. Being able to gain perspective from a variety of revered scholars on the
subject has allowed me to have a greater awareness of my own learning and when
it is or is not “going well”.
An additional point to adult learning that I think is equally
important to make considering I work in the educational field is my
relationship and ability to relate information to parents and legal guardians
of the students I teach. Before when
explaining concepts or rational for projects in class or related to students I
feel I used a more traditional approach to relate this information. After this course the information I relate to
parents or legal guardians will be done with consideration to this learning
theory.
Adult learning theory and adapting learning styles for learners as
content changes are not the only two benefits I gained from this course. Considering all the learning theories covered
(Behaviorist, Cognitive, Constructive, Social, Connectivism, and Adult
Learning) and the exponential growth of technology and communication can seem a
bit overwhelming when attempting to identify the best possible presentation of
information for the learning audience.
Having the learning theory matrix as a reference tool to identify the
appropriate learning theory to apply for the technology being used will help
increase the effectiveness of the information being presented.
In my instructional design five
questions I intend to carry with me while creating or editing instruction are the five "definitive questions" posed by Ertmer and
Newby. By answering these questions when developing instruction it will
be much easier to choose the best learning theory and then apply it to the
information being presented. I know that
with my new found knowledge my ability to accurately plan has already
improved. Along with improving my
ability to plan I feel Keller’s ARCS model serves as a great tool in informal
assessment to identify where learners are at.
The attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction that the learners
are receiving during the learning process is again something that I will be
much more aware of now after completing this course than I ever was before.
Now equipped with the knowledge, information,
and resources I have developed while taking this course I know my ability to
design instruction has improved and so has my appreciation and understanding of
the learning process.
