GDE – ACE:

Educational Computing
Computer-Integrated
Education

Theme 1: Theories of Learning

 Themes
• Theme 1:Theories of Learning
o Theories of Learning - Historical Perspectives
o From “Learning to Be” to Learning Activity Design
o Theories for Online Learning
• Theme 2:The Digital Learner in the Information
Age
• Theme 3:Design of Learning Environments
o Design Essentials
o Human Computer Interaction
• Theme 4:Evaluating Educational Technologies
o Rubrics for Evaluating Educational Technologies
o Research Trends
 Learning
Salient points
• Does the medium influence learning?
• Online learning
• Schools of learning:
o Behaviourism (Ertmer & Newby, 1993: The ‘what’)
o Cognitivism (Ertmer & Newby, 1993: The ‘how’)
o Constructivism (Ertmer & Newby, 1993: The ‘why’)
• Behaviourism and the implications for online
learning
• Cognitivism and the implications for online
learning
• Constructivism and the implications for online
learning
 Does the medium
influence learning?
• There is ongoing debate: technology
/computers or the design of learning
environments that improves learning (Clark,
2001; Kozma, 2001)
• Technologies provide access to learning
materials but do not influence student
achievement (Clark, 1983)
• Schramm (1977) - learning is influenced
more by the content and design of learning
environments than by the type of
technology used to deliver instruction
(1 of 2)
 Does the medium
influence learning?
• Design of learning environments must
o promote higher order thinking on the Web (online
learning)
o create challenging activities
o create meaningful knowledge and metacognitive
abilities
• Particular attributes of the computer are
needed to bring real-life models and
simulations to the learner; thus, the medium
does influence learning Kozma (2001) -
simulations must be developed using sound
design principles (2 of 2)
 Online learning
 What is Online learning? - e-learning, Internet
learning, distributed learning, networked
learning, tele-learning, virtual learning,
computer-assisted learning, Web-based learning,
and distance learning
 Benefits of online learning: - flexible, access
from anywhere, anytime, quality of learning
materials, updated resources, authentic,
interactive, supportive, collaborative – designer,
tutor, other learners – learning theories and
sound design principles
 Schools of learning
 How to take learning theories -
behaviourism, cognitivism and
constructivism - and translate them into
concrete practical ideas and exercises for
learning
 What value in all of the theories:
o the types of learners,
o the types of teachers presenting the material,
o The type of material itself and
o the context in which it is to be presented
 Behaviourism
 Learning is a change in observable
behaviour caused by external stimuli in
the environment (Thorndike, 1913; Pavlov,
1927; Skinner, 1974)
o observable behavior indicates whether or not
the learner has learned something, and not
what is going on in the learner’s head
 Cognitivism
 Learning is an internal process: - the
amount learned depends on
o the processing capacity of the learner,
o the effort expended during the learning process,
and
o the depth of the processing (Craik & Lockhart,
1972; Craik & Tulving, 1975), and the learner’s
existing knowledge structure (Ausubel, 1974)
 Learning involves the use of memory,
motivation, thinking, and reflection during
learning process
 Constructivism
• Learners learn best when they can
contextualise (construct knowledge )what
they learn for immediate application and to
acquire personal meaning
• Learners interpret information and the world
according to their personal reality, and that
they learn by
o observation,
o processing, and
o interpretation, and then personalise the
information into personal knowledge (Cooper,
1993; Wilson, 1997)
The three schools of thought:
A taxonomy for learning
 Behaviourists’ strategies can be used to
teach the “what” (facts) (observable),
 Cognitive strategies can be used to teach
the “how” (processes and principles), and
 Constructivist strategies can be used to
teach the “why” (higher level thinking that
promotes personal meaning in a situated
and contextual learning environment)
interpretation Ertmer and Newby (1993)
 Behaviourism and the
implications for online
learning
 Learners should be told about the explicit
outcomes of the learning
 Learners must be tested to determine
whether or not they have achieved the
learning outcome
 Learning materials must be sequenced
appropriately to promote learning
 Learners must be provided with feedback
Cognitivists see learning as
an internal process
Information from the
senses

Sensory store Information

persists 1 second -
Attention

Information
Short – term memory persists 20
seconds - WM

Long – term memory

 Cognitivism and the
implications for online
learning
 Learners must perceive and attend to the
information - transferred to working memory
 Learners must retrieve existing information
from long-term memory - new information
 Information should be chunked to prevent
overload during processing in working
memory
 Learners should apply, analyse,
synthesise, and evaluate info in MW – LTM
memory more effective
(1 of 4)
 Cognitivism and the
implications for online
learning
 Learning materials should include activities
for the different learning styles: (E.g.
Kolb, Meyers-Briggs)
o Concrete-experience – activists (feedback &
support)
o Reflective-observation - observers - before taking
action
o Abstract conceptualisation – theorists not with
people
o Active-experimentation – pragmatists (feedback)
 (2 of 4)
 Cognitivism and the
implications for online
learning
 Cognitive style – how do learners prefer to
process information ◦ Field-dependent vs
field-independent
 Adequate supports should be provided for
students with different learning styles
 Information should be presented in different
modes to accommodate individual
differences
 Learners should be motivated to learn
o Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction
(3 of 4)
 Cognitivism and the
implications for online
learning
 Learning should encourage learners to use their
metacognitive skills
 Online strategies should facilitate the transfer of
learning to different and real-life situations or
experiences
 Information is either assimilated (fits into existing)
or accommodated (existing is changed)
 Cognition is the scientific term for "the process of thought“
 The term cognition (Latin: cognoscere, "to know" or "to
recognize")
 Information processing is the change (processing) of
information in any manner detectable by an observer
(4 of 4)
 Constructivism and the
implications for online
learning
 Learners should be active in the learning
processing and not passive
 Learners should construct their own
knowledge rather than receive knowledge
 Collaborative and cooperative learning
should be encouraged to facilitate learning
 Learners should be in control in the
learning process
 Learners should be given time and
opportunity to reflect (1 of 2)
 Constructivism and the
implications for online
learning
 Learning should be made meaningful to
learners
 Learning should develop personal meaning
(interpretation)
 Situated learning
 Transformative learning
 Radical and Social Constructivism

(2 of 2)
 Assignment 1A
1. Participate in the online discussion using the
Discussion Tool (5)
2. Create an electronic mind map in which you
map your understanding of the three main
theories of learning (10). You need to
attach your file

 Due Date: 17 August 2009 15:30

 Discussion:
Constructivist Learning
 I want you to REPLY to this message.
What do you think about a Constructivist
approach to learning? Is it better than a
behaviourist approach? Why, or why not?
 Do you think it is feasible in your context?
(1 mark for each contribution of substance
that you make, five marks max)