Reflection

As I reflect upon my time in this course, the thing that surprises me the most is that it seems more people than not take into consideration the fact that people learn in different ways.  I am very disheartened to know that there are children out there in the world struggling with their education, not because they are not capable of learning, but because their teachers will not take time to alter their teaching methods so that these kids have a higher chance of furthering their knowledge.  I would feel like a failure if I was a teacher whose students were struggling in my class simply because I relied on one teaching method only instead of multiple ways for them to be able to absorb the information.

I have been aware for quite some time that I learn best by kinesthetic or hands-on teaching.  This course has helped me understand some other methods that might be beneficial for me in the future to help retain information for future use, such as mnemonics, comprehensive monitoring, and elaboration. It has also made me more aware of the different ways that people learn and how important it is to use as many different methods as possible when dealing with someone who just isn’t getting it.

What I have learned regarding the connection between learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation is that all of these varying ideals need to be taken into consideration and applied as much as possible in every learning environment.  Learning theories refer to the psychological ways in which people learn while learning styles refers to the way that someone learns and what is most effective for each person, so it is important to incorporate these different things into any classroom environment.  Giving the proper motivation for these students is also highly important and could be the difference in whether a student makes it in a class or not, so in order to be an effective teacher or designer, it is imperative to give your classroom as much of these different methods as possible.

This course has opened my eyes up about several things that I feel will be incredibly beneficial for me in my career as an instructional designer.  While I was already aware that adjustments need to be made in the ways in which teaching occurs, I have obtained some very valuable information on ways in which to help motivate students as well.  I have also learned much more insightful information about learning theories and how people process information psychological, which will be quite beneficial as well. 

Most people “can’t always make sense out of everything we learn” (Ormrod), which is why we employ teachers to help students who are struggling with these problems.  This is what teachers are paid to do, to teach.  Overall, I strongly believe that with a passion for conveying information to a classroom, there must also be a passion to give that classroom all the tools and resources they need to learn, apply, and retain the information given to them and that is what I intend to do!

References:

Ormrod, J. (2010). Learning Styles and Strategies.  (Video Program) Laureate Education, Inc.

How I Learn

At the beginning of this course, all classmates had to post on the discussion board what type of learner we each believed that we were.  Now that we are approaching the end of the course, it is not time to review our initial response to our learning type post from week one and reflect upon that.

I completely stand by my original learning style of being a kinesthetic learner and that visual and audio learning absolutely does not work for me as I have exhibited this throughout the years and in previous tests.  I also completely stand by my original post that I am both a Behavioral and Cognitive learner combined because, again, I am a hands-on learner but I also learn by observing behavior.  On the cognitive side, I have a tendency to process information best from previous experience and by duplicating knowledge; whereas on the behavioral side, I am very observative and by repeating experiences I tend to learn better. 

I can relate on some level to constructivist, social learning, and connectivism theories; however I do not believe I exhibit many tendencies of these.  Constructivist learners are more socially involved and participate in the social aspect of learner, which I tend to shy away from as I am introverted.  Social learning again focuses more on the social aspect of things, with a little behavior activity, but is still not relatable to my learning style.  Connectivism is all about networking and not being an individual learner and deals a great deal with technology, so I do demonstrate a small bit of this learning; however, it is still very social-related, which again, is not a good fit for me.

Technology plays a huge role in my learning these days as I use the internet in many aspects of my course work.  Anytime that I am interested in finding information on any topic, my first instinct is to go to the web and do some research, which is always very beneficial for me.  I also exploit my network of friends if I feel that I need input or more info on a topic. I completely utilize spreadsheets, word processing, and even databases as needed when recording information for my courses or just as a way to keep record of various information.  Without the use of technology, I am not sure that I could find enough time to finish my coursework in this day and age so I am very appreciative of everything that technology has to offer.

Mapping My Learning Connections

The mind map I constructed this week opened up a wealth of information for me and got me thinking about all of the ways in which I network on a regular basis.  This topic is quite interesting to me because I use lots of resources on a regular basis to help me find the things that I want or need to find, whether it be personal, work-related, or educational based.

I am typically the person that all of my friends and coworkers come to when they need to figure something out, because I will go the extra mile and find the resources I need in order to get an answer.  I often refer to myself as a Private Investigator in another life.  J  With that said, networking and knowing where to go to find out whatever you need to find out is of utmost importance!  The internet is my primary resource for everything and has definitely been an “explosion in how we connect with people and data sources” (Siemens).

As far as learning goes, my network has helped me to expand my horizons as well as my mentality.  I am well aware of all of the resources that are available to me as far as learning goes and I am continuously grateful that I am living during a time when there is so much connectivism at my fingertips!  If I run into a problem or if I just want information in general about anything, the internet is my be all, know all source to solve it.  I am truly not sure how the world functioned efficiently before the internet was used so wide-spread.

There are so many tools to be used online, whether you need to research a topic, find a picture or diagram to support documentation, or just find the name of someone who has more information on a subject.  Google is typically my first stop when researching anything and from there I can go to so many places, depending on the topic.  I have to admit that I do not utilize the college library databases as much as I could, because I feel that they are not as user-friendly as the internet is, in general. I have become dependent on the internet quite frankly and I believe that it is the most powerful resource we have ever seen; we just have to make certain that we are obtaining accurate information when researching on the internet.  Scholarly journals or articles are typically the best route to go; however, unless you are using the library database, it is sometimes difficult to obtain these articles on the internet.

My learning has been expanded so much in the past ten years or so.  Besides the internet, I also have several contacts in different arenas that I can defer to if I cannot find the information I need on the internet.  My personal learning network is and has been a definite wealth of knowledge over the years and I believe I have constructed a very solid network to build upon.

References:

Siemens, G. (2010). Connectivism.  (Video Program.) Laureate Education, Inc.

Connectivism