I want to comment on Kevin’s model and the slide show.
I think all learning theories or perspectives teach us something about learning, and all of them can be a valid approach. I prefer to approach learning in the context of the social constructivist approach, but that is because I mostly teach adults and I think it works well with that population. However, I often think about learning in terms of information processing as well, especially when I think about how a specific concept may be acquired best.
I use several different theories when I plan my writing class. When I think about how students will acquire skills regarding the writing process, I think about social interaction and constructivism. My assignments reflect that approach. However, when I think about how I teach certain grammar concepts to the students, then I’m often primarily guided by ideas I learned from the information-processing model, which I think is very useful when we plan for cognitive tasks and concept formation. For example, when I teach comma rules, I often need to go back and do a serious grammar review of dependent and independent clauses, subjects and predicates, etc. I carefully consider what it takes to acquire these concepts and build them up one by one. I think about what needs to be memorized and why. What has to be learned first, in order for other concepts to make sense.
Kevin’s model of guiding the learners through modeling and practice is very effective and I think most learning takes place within that framework.
What I’d like to emphasize is that all learning models are useful and teach us something important about the process of learning; even though educators have sometimes strong preferences or beliefs, we need to consider the following criteria when we choose a learning approach (or choose a blend of perspectives)
- Age of the learners
- Content or material
- How soon will the learners use the content/skill and how precise their recollection should be
I think we often use a blend of approaches and that is the most effective approach.
Posted by kcbrady on April 23, 2010 at 11:50 am
nice …
I, too, have spent years teaching adults (GED, ABE, remedial courses at community and state colleges and lots of continuing education courses) and I think that practical experience influences me far more than any theories.
But I also think the science of learning is developing very fast and that will change education just the way the science of biology has changed medicine. Herbert Simon saw this coming many years ago and a lot of his writing on the subject is still very important and useful.