Does learning take place inside a brick building with students sitting in neat lines of desk? Does learning take place by a stream bed classifying organisms? Does learning take place in a public library reading room? Does learning take place in the car on a trip across country? Does learning take place on a Internet website? The answer to all of these questions could be yes!
Siemens (2004) stated "the pipe is more important than the content within the pipe". The pipe that he was referring to is a persons ability to learn, and the content of the pipe is knowledge. Siemens was predicting that future learning theory needs to take into account that with a rapidly changing world with exponentially growing amounts of knowledge, a person needs to know how to find the information that they need more often then have the information memorized. Shift Happens is a group that has been producing short videos on the rapidly changing world that we live in, and the career and educational challenges that our students face.
From the Ebbinghaus, to Thorndike, to Pavlov, and Gestalt the way that humans learn how been theorized and hypothesized. The difficulty with these learning theorists is that they did not create their learning theories with the 21st century challenges in mind. Siemens (2004) even suggests that with the current technology trends the way that humans learn could be changing. In today's 21st century with schools quickly adapting a larger variety of educational technology it is critical to look towards the suggested skills listed for the 21st century. 21st Century Schools is a website that clearly outlines what these skills are, and the differences between today's traditional schools and those that encompass 21st century skills.
People learn best once they have spent time learning in a variety of ways. Gardner, and other psychologists, have outlined in his multiple intelligences theory people all learning through their own unique combination of effective means. Once a person has spent time learning through a variety of styles they are able to determine which style is best for them. If a person is only exposed to a limited variety of ways to learn, then they may not have the chance to find their best learning style.
Learning theory is critical to education. Through learning theory controlled scientific experiments have proven a variety of elements crucial to providing the best learning environment for learners. Learning theory and educational technology are important with the rapidly changing world that we need to prepare our students for. Through the 21st century skills and what we already know about learning theory from Gardner, Thorndike, Pavlov, and Gestalt we can create a learning environment where the needs of the students and their learning needs meet. In this environment both the students pipe and plumbing will be fostered.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYou point out that learning theories of Thorndike, Gestalt, and others did not have 21 Century learning in mind when they were developed. I agree, however, I believe that the way that we learn has not changed. The tools we use to deliver instruction have become more sophisticated. We can write on a slate chalk board, white board, or use a fancy smart board. Students can take notes on a slate, notebook or iPad. These tools do not change the way that we learn. Learning theories in educational technology help us take the tools that are being developed and use them for teaching and learning.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteSarah, you make good points about learning theory and you provided a great analogy with plumbing. What are some of the ways we can clean out the plumbing when it gets clogged? In other words, what do you view as effective education reform?