Week 9 reflection

I figured I'd get this weeks reflection out of the way since I'm getting ready to attend the conference and won't have extra time this week. There are original questions for these reflections that I've been blowing off in favor of writing about topics of my choice but I think this week I will stick to protocol. So, what did I learn this week? I learned that each time we do the same exercise where we have to design a lesson plan for the given scenario, it gets easier because each theory plays off the other in some way. We are learning in the same way we are being taught to design instruction and that is having an impact on me for sure. I like social learning theory because it feels like a combination of behaviorism and cognitivism that I can relate to. I was feeling like I could use aspects of both theories so combining the two into social learning really appeals to me. My learning scenario seemed to go a lot smoother this time around though, with the cognitivism kb. So I am looking forward to putting together the social learning kb as well now. I felt that my learning scenario was tailored more to cognitivism and it felt like I was forcing it to fit into the behaviorism theory, only because of the map making process and the idea that I have that there's a thought process that goes into how we make meaning of mapping. There's that qualitative bit again! What else...I like that we are actually working with the same groups each time because I know what to expect from my team members and it makes it easier to do the work. We have each other figured out, we know our own limitations and can put a design together better now that we have familiarized ourselves with each other's work habits, ethics, styles, etc. That's all for now.

Week 8 reflection

I almost forgot to submit a reflection this week! I feel like missing a class really put me behind the eight ball in that I think I missed some great conversations about cognitive learning. I can get the just from the notes but it's more useful to me to learn by interacting with a group because I get to hear different opinions of how others perceive things and that helps me to see the same thing in many different ways. I got a lot out of the readings on cognitive behavior though so that will certainly help in putting my cognitive kb together. I also think the cognitive kb will be easier for me in the learning scenario I have chosen because all the while I was writing the learning scenario out for the behaviorist kb, I felt like I was grabbing at straws a bit. What I mean by that is that each time I came up with something I would think to myself how it really fit more with cognitivism instead of behaviorism. For each aspect of the behaviorism kb I was thinking okay, how can I turn this into a behaviorist kb because right now it looks like a cognitivist kb? I guess I am more of a fan of the cognitivist aspect of learning because I can see that there needs to be a mindset involved in learning and hat it's not as simply as just see it, repeat it, learn in. I think it's more about how we perceive things, how we are taking in the information and how we are making sense of that information in our minds. Then how do we translate that into meaning to show that we actually have learned something? It's just a process that makes more sense to me. I think that because we learn so differently, the cognitive process almost has to take precedence over the behaviorist process. In looking st my project I think I will have to tweak my learning scenario a bit to meet the needs of both aspects though. I was thinking I would have to do that but I really wasn't sure until I got involved in the cognitive piece a bit more. I was almost wishing we had started it with the cognitive piece, then molded that somehow into a behaviorist scenario after. It seems more difficult going the opposite direction. I think that's because the cognitive piece seems a bit less challenging so if we started out on the simpler side, adding a more difficult plan to the lesson wouldn't be as challenging. Needless to say, it will get done! Thankfully, this is only a draft so I will be looking forward to feedback!

Week 7 reflection

Since I wasn't in class this week I will comment on the readings. I'm sorry I missed the class though because I really enjoy this stuff! This is actually where I think it gets interesting. Behaviorism is one thing, I mean who can't train a monkey to do tricks?? But the cognitive stuff is where it's at for me. I read something in one of the chapters that mentioned that learning can take place without a specific change in behavior and I tend to agree with that. I think the behavior change can be noticed over time but it owlud seem that behaviorists are looking for instant gratification and I don't necessarily believe it always has to work out like that. I think back to my training as a steamfitter. There was a lot of repition on the job and in the classes but there were certain things I learned that I didn't apply for years. We never drilled certain things (I mean skill drilling, not actual machine drilling...hard to know which one I'm speaking of due to the nature of the trade!) and we never got the chance to practice certain things either so it was just the idea that we learned the information then when we needed it we would be expected to recall it for future use. Granted, we always had a journeyman with us in the beginning to help refresh our memories but the point is that there was no immediate behavior change when we were initially taught the information. It seems that behaviorism is more tuned in with the elementary tasks and while I think many cognitive skills can be reduced to such elementary tasks, I think that in order to fully grasp it for use and significance at a later time, cognitive learning had to be present. I think the cognitivist point is much more imrtant when we study things like learning disabilities because we need to attempt to understand what the person is thinking and how that person learns. The behaviorist ideal would suppose that everyone, regardless of disability, can learn by doing. we all know that some people simply are not wired to learn that way so we need to better understand how they think.
I took a learning class as an undergrad and I remember the professor giving us this cognitive test in every class. She would say 15 items slowly while we listened, then she would go about her lesson for the next 15 minutes. Then we would be asked to recall and write down what words she said. The catch though is that some of the words would be used again in her lesson in such a way that themes were built around the word, or including the word. So for instance if one of her words was "social" she would use that word a few times related to her lesson. In each class we were encouraged to not simply concentrate on the word we heard so we could recall it easier, we were encouraged to formulate groupings of the words. To categorize them if you will. After our recalls it was always so interesting to see how each person grouped things together so differently based on their own schema. I always loved that class because we were able to see on a weekly basis how different people learn simply based on what attributes they bring into the mix or based on what existing knowledge they already had.
So alas, I'm glad we're on to the fun stuff!

Week 5 reflection

Sorry I forgot to post my reflection! We didn't have any readings for the week so I will just comment on what we learned in class last week. Nothing really surprised me but it was fun to work in groups again, to design instruction for the sundaes and poetry. It's refreshing to work with such different learning styles and to see who naturally gravitates to which style or design. I tend to gravitate toward the written word whereas as one of my usual teammates who is a proponent of online instruction is always advocating for visual tools. This works well together with my ideas because I feel like we cover a lot of ground. I always love to hear when we go around the room though because I gain so much insight into what other styles people are thinking of. It's always interesting to me to hear what other people coke up with from the same initial concept. Sometimes that's what's surprising! At times I wonder why I didn't think if that! I think the whole aspect of behaviorism is quite interesting and I can't wait to see what the cognitive theorists have to say. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed to peruse back through my Smith & Ragan book from 631 and to read that behaviorist theories, specifically classical and operant conditioning, do not really serve a purpose in instructional design today. I like the idea of knowing learning has occurred due to measurable and observable changes in behavior and I wonder how the cognitivists make sense of that. I am excited about cognitivism though because I think my two favorite topics in learning (motivation and change) will be addressed in greater detail (if at all) within that framework. Both of those have a lot to do with how things are perceived so how the mind works is of greater importance that in behaviorism. Until next week....