The way we learn, the way we process information and how we solve problems are all linked to the way our brain is structured. Becoming aware of brain research is but one of the steps towards a better understanding on how we function as human beings.
The first source I found in which the author is making a direct connection between brain research and how to apply the findings in education is Eric P. Jensen, with an article A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education. In his article he discusses how discoveries through brain research have direct implications in education. One of these discoveries is neurogenesis. This one is defined by Jensen as the production of new neurons in the human brain which is a discovery that has become crucial to brain-based education. Jensen defines brain-based education as the "engagement of strategies based on principles derived from an understanding of the brain."
He discusses the notion that we should focus on the benefits of brain research but using information from multiple disciplines. Using multiple sources of information will give educators a broader understanding of the implications of brain research in education. The author explains how if we as educators, and those involved in policy making regarding education make the connections between the limitations we have in our educational system and findings in brain research, we could address educational concerns with the solutions already found through research.
This is a very valuable source because the author not only gives insight as to how we can apply brain research in education but also has generated responses directly related to how educators are supposed to interpret scientific data. An example of a response article is Sternberg’s (2008) in which he does not question the value of brain research used for improving education, but the accuracy in which educators apply brain research. Like this one, there are plenty of critics for Jensen’s work and its value.
I am in no position to take sides about Jensen’s claims or not, but I am delighted to have found his work because if anything, there is discussion about this issue in the first place. What would be the point of brain research if not to benefit the human race? And what better way to benefit our race than by educating ourselves not only on what has been done within brain research but why is it important and most importantly: how can we use the new information?
The way we process new information has been a curiosity for human kind for a long time. Check here if you want to know how this all began. Information processing theory is one of the cognitive theories of learning. This one is covered at length by Huitt, W. (2003) in his paper The Information Processing Approach to Cognition.
According to the author, the model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968 is that of a stage model. This one proposes there are three stages of how we learn. The first one being the sensory memory is related to the information we receive in our brain from our senses. The second one is the short-term memory or working memory. The first and second stages are working on you as you read this paper: Your eyes (senses) are sending signals to your brain to pay attention to these words (stimulus), and your thinking about what you are reading IS the sign that your short memory is at work. If you do not connect the new information you are reading to something you already know, this information will not be stored in your long term memory. Long term memory is the third stage of this model.
To remember new information, think of the first time you did something such as reading a series of books. Authors of series draw from their first book; its characters might be the same, though the adventures might be different. This helps you remember and make connections from the first book to the second, and from the second to the third and so on.
Huitt, W. (2003) goes on to explain the ways in which we organize our knowledge. Most importantly he uses this paper so the reader makes the connections necessary to remember this type of theory of learning: he gives examples on how to use the ways we connect information in the classroom setting. This article is a great starting point to learn of information processing theory and how to use the information.
Furthermore, in thinking of instructional design, I find it useful for transferring the use of this approach’s principles into online teaching. The problem now would be to find out how to apply these principles for online teaching purposes. One cannot think of processing information without thinking of how to problem-solve. So how do we do that? As I move forward in my studies, I will share the way I am finding out how to solve this problem. In doing so, I’ll explore theories of solving problems and how these work in our brains. Everything is connected indeed.
References
Huitt, W. (2003). The information processing approach to cognition. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University.
Jensen, E. P. (2008). A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education. (Cover story). Phi Delta Kappan, 89(6), 408-417.
Sternberg, Robert J. (2008). The Answer Depends On the Question: A Reply To Eric Jensen. Phi Delta Kappan February 2008 vol. 89 no. 6 418-420
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Review of Blogs
As an assignment to create my own blogs on instructional design and learning I have explored and read many blogs from the educational community. My own process of choosing which blogs to comment on my own blog is linked to the four orientations to learning which Smith, M. K. (1999) lists as behaviorist, cognitivist, humanist and the social/situational orientation to learning.
Within the social or situational orientation to learning, Smith states that "learning involves participation in a community of practice". Because of my own participation within the homeschooling/unschooling community, I have chosen the first blog to be that of Rachel Tennenbaum's An Unschooling Life. Specifically, her blog on "How Unschooling is Changing How We Think of Learning" where she gives an overview of what unschooling is about mixed with opinions from other unschoolers.
She mentions educational philosopher John Holt whose philosophy of learning is that we humans are "a learning animal; we like to learn; we need to learn; we are good at it; we don't need to be shown how or made to do it. What kills the process are the people interfering with it or trying to regulate it or control it. (As interviewed by Dr. Bumgarner in1980 )
Based on this philosophy, the interconnection of all information in life is explained and with that, she quotes many unschooled kids and parents. One of the parents specifically states that in life "the critical thing is that you know how to learn, how to think, how to communicate". The importance of this in the educational field cannot be taken lightly and within instructional design it cannot be underestimated. Learning is seen as a process (Smith, M. K.,1999).
The need for instructional design that truly connects to the different ways we learn is crucial. Kids who are unschoolers or homeschoolers in general are being given an alternative learning experience. Outside of an institution, private classes and online classes are all included within these alternatives. Though the reasons for seeking out the alternatives varies in each families, the one common thing we all have is that we look for and find out the different ways children learn. With unschoolers it is mainly thorugh living and being guided through personal interests. This brings me back to the participation in the community that Smith (1999) talks about, as many unschoolers/homeschoolers reach out into the communities through family's WebPages or blogs in which they record their life experiences in the hopes of sharing and learning with and from others with similar interest.
The second blog I chose was Experiencing E-Learning from Christy Tucker . Tucker's blog caught my attention after reading about her background. She was trained as a music teacher who ended up being an instructional designer. Clearly her life experiences lead her to change her focus within learning communities and apply her knowledge into something that was more meaningful to her.
Her entry "What does an instructional designer do?" provided me with answers as to the steps an instructional designer takes to create learning experiences. On this specific blog she explores the different ways in which instructional designers develop experiences which can help learning. She states that instructional designers "know how people learn and have ideas on how to help them learn better".
The ways in which instructional designers do their job correlate with a couple of the orientations of learning stated by Smith M. K. (1999). Having to work with the subject matter experts to begin with implies the need for interaction and observation as stated within the social and situational orientation. Information is given to the instructional designer not only through the experts in the subject but also through the students. Also developing objectives goes hand in hand with the structure of content described within cognitivism.
Instructional designers as well as other professionals in the field of education are using blogs not only to share knowledge. Many are using these for curriculum development, reviewing resources, having philosophical conversations (Ferriter, B. 2009). As a student who is learning about instructional design using online methods, I would have loved to see samples of her work linked to this post. Though I realize this specific post was an overview of what instructional designers do, maybe adding a link to look at samples would have been more helpful to me.
The third blog I chose was one of Ferdinand Krauss with a very short post called "A Framework for the Pedagogical Evaluation of eLearning Environments" . This one is a reference to a paper with the same name which itself quotes Chickerin & Gamson's (1987) 'Seven Principles of Effective Teaching'. Chickerin & Gamson's paper is focused on the undergraduate education with little to no emphasis on virtual education. The first link posted on this blog led me to think it was geared towards e-learning, but after clicking on the link for the first addressed source and not having access to that one, it might have defeated the purpose of even adding it to this blog.
However, I still included it on this review because it enlighten me on the responsibility one has about posting information, leading readers to and from sources and the value of these actions. Making reference to non-accessible information would not be a valuable post. I am officially using blogs as a learning tool in my own class of Learning Theories and Instruction and will be using this blog also as a reflection of my own learning experience in the use of virtual education.
Resources
Ferriter, B. (2009). Learning with blogs and wikis. Educational Leadership, 66(5), 34–38.
Smith, M. K. (1999). Learning theory. The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm
Within the social or situational orientation to learning, Smith states that "learning involves participation in a community of practice". Because of my own participation within the homeschooling/unschooling community, I have chosen the first blog to be that of Rachel Tennenbaum's An Unschooling Life. Specifically, her blog on "How Unschooling is Changing How We Think of Learning" where she gives an overview of what unschooling is about mixed with opinions from other unschoolers.
She mentions educational philosopher John Holt whose philosophy of learning is that we humans are "a learning animal; we like to learn; we need to learn; we are good at it; we don't need to be shown how or made to do it. What kills the process are the people interfering with it or trying to regulate it or control it. (As interviewed by Dr. Bumgarner in1980 )
Based on this philosophy, the interconnection of all information in life is explained and with that, she quotes many unschooled kids and parents. One of the parents specifically states that in life "the critical thing is that you know how to learn, how to think, how to communicate". The importance of this in the educational field cannot be taken lightly and within instructional design it cannot be underestimated. Learning is seen as a process (Smith, M. K.,1999).
The need for instructional design that truly connects to the different ways we learn is crucial. Kids who are unschoolers or homeschoolers in general are being given an alternative learning experience. Outside of an institution, private classes and online classes are all included within these alternatives. Though the reasons for seeking out the alternatives varies in each families, the one common thing we all have is that we look for and find out the different ways children learn. With unschoolers it is mainly thorugh living and being guided through personal interests. This brings me back to the participation in the community that Smith (1999) talks about, as many unschoolers/homeschoolers reach out into the communities through family's WebPages or blogs in which they record their life experiences in the hopes of sharing and learning with and from others with similar interest.
The second blog I chose was Experiencing E-Learning from Christy Tucker . Tucker's blog caught my attention after reading about her background. She was trained as a music teacher who ended up being an instructional designer. Clearly her life experiences lead her to change her focus within learning communities and apply her knowledge into something that was more meaningful to her.
Her entry "What does an instructional designer do?" provided me with answers as to the steps an instructional designer takes to create learning experiences. On this specific blog she explores the different ways in which instructional designers develop experiences which can help learning. She states that instructional designers "know how people learn and have ideas on how to help them learn better".
The ways in which instructional designers do their job correlate with a couple of the orientations of learning stated by Smith M. K. (1999). Having to work with the subject matter experts to begin with implies the need for interaction and observation as stated within the social and situational orientation. Information is given to the instructional designer not only through the experts in the subject but also through the students. Also developing objectives goes hand in hand with the structure of content described within cognitivism.
Instructional designers as well as other professionals in the field of education are using blogs not only to share knowledge. Many are using these for curriculum development, reviewing resources, having philosophical conversations (Ferriter, B. 2009). As a student who is learning about instructional design using online methods, I would have loved to see samples of her work linked to this post. Though I realize this specific post was an overview of what instructional designers do, maybe adding a link to look at samples would have been more helpful to me.
The third blog I chose was one of Ferdinand Krauss with a very short post called "A Framework for the Pedagogical Evaluation of eLearning Environments" . This one is a reference to a paper with the same name which itself quotes Chickerin & Gamson's (1987) 'Seven Principles of Effective Teaching'. Chickerin & Gamson's paper is focused on the undergraduate education with little to no emphasis on virtual education. The first link posted on this blog led me to think it was geared towards e-learning, but after clicking on the link for the first addressed source and not having access to that one, it might have defeated the purpose of even adding it to this blog.
However, I still included it on this review because it enlighten me on the responsibility one has about posting information, leading readers to and from sources and the value of these actions. Making reference to non-accessible information would not be a valuable post. I am officially using blogs as a learning tool in my own class of Learning Theories and Instruction and will be using this blog also as a reflection of my own learning experience in the use of virtual education.
Resources
Ferriter, B. (2009). Learning with blogs and wikis. Educational Leadership, 66(5), 34–38.
Smith, M. K. (1999). Learning theory. The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm
Friday, January 7, 2011
My Blog
This blog is being created as part of my first experience as a student in an online setting. I intend to use it as one more learning tool for myself and readers.
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