Hi all, herewith an update as we move towards week three.

Resources from this week’s session

I have shared the resources from our guest speaker Chris Reck in the social spaces page on our website. Chris is happy to hear from you if you want to follow up, now, or in the future as you delve deeper into your projects. His contact information is available there as well. I have invited him to Mattermost as well for ongoing conversations.

Below find a screen shot of our discussion about the Most Likely to Succeed film. Feel free to reference, save, cite it if needed.

Jamboard brainstorm of ideas related to the most likely to succeed documentary.

Jamboard brainstorm of ideas related to the most likely to succeed documentary.

Theme for Week Three: Learning Theory

This coming week we will focus in on learning theory. For some of you this might be a review, but I hope you an use this as an opportunity to refresh and expand your thinking on the topic. I aspire for you to be familiar with the notions of behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism/social-constructivism, and connectivism and be able to draw linkages between the theory and practice of teaching.

Why are we starting with theory? I believe it creates a solid foundation for designing learning and as teachers it is important to reflect on our assumptions and beliefs. As Bates notes “every teacher starts from some epistemological or theoretical position, even if it is not explicit, or even if the teacher is not fully aware of their beliefs” (Bates, 2014, pg. 46). Theory helps us in various ways by challenging us to create links between our understanding of the way learning works and what we do and see in practice. Consider the following the passage about the importance of learning theory in the context of emerging technology:

Wilson (1997) has described three functions of a good educational theory. First, it helps us to envision new worlds. Few of us need help envisioning new worlds in the midst of the hype and exuberance of online learning proponents that flood the popular press. We do need theory, however, to help us envision how education can best take advantage of the enhanced communication, information retrieval, creative tools, and management capability provided by [new technologies]. It is all too easy to consider new innovations in a horseless-carriage manner, and attempt to develop new actions based on old adaptations to now obsolete contexts.

Second, a good theory helps us to make things. We need theories of online learning that help us to invest our time and limited resources most effectively. There are many opportunities, but always critical shortages of resources – time being perhaps the scarcest of these – demanding that we maximize the efficiency of our development and educational delivery efforts.

Third, Wilson argues that a good theory keeps us honest. Good theory builds upon what is already known, and helps us to interpret and plan for the unknown. It also forces us to look beyond day-to-day contingencies and ensure that our knowledge and practice of online learning is robust, considered, and ever expanding.

Ally, 2008, pg. 43

Readings for Next Week

I have provided three key reading resources below for your review. The final resource Hanley, T. (2020, October 16), provides a timeline of the development of learning theory, key thinkers, and events for a visual and spatial reference.

Please make at least one hypothesis annotation in one of the readings. You may want to identify things you want to flag for discussion, ask questions about, or reflect on.  If you choose to do more than one, that is fine too!

  1. Hanley, T. (2020, October 1). What are learning theories and why are they important for learning design? Instructional • Learning Design • MyBRAINisOPEN. https://www.mybrainisopen.net/learning-theories-and-learning-design/ 
  2. Bates, T. (2019). The nature of knowledge and the implications for teaching. In Bates (Ed.), Teaching in a Digital Age. AU Press. https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/chapter-2-the-nature-of-knowledge-and-the-implications-for-teaching/ [Chapter 2 only]
  3. Ally. (2008). Foundations of Educational Theory for Online Learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.), The Theory and Practice of Online Learning (2nd ed). AU Press. https://www.aupress.ca/app/uploads/120146_99Z_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf [Chapter 1 only]
  4. Hanley, T. (2020, October 16). Learning theories timeline: Key ideas from educational psychology. Instructional Learning Design MyBRAINisOPEN. https://www.mybrainisopen.net/learning-theories-timeline/