Reflection

As I trudge towards finishing another college course, I am reflecting back upon the past eight weeks in order to evaluate my learning and think about what I have accomplished. Last week’s blog post included a section where I wrote about my opinion of theory-based courses: even though I’ve taken lots of classes on educational theory and psychology, I never really felt like I was learning anything that would be of that much value as far as practical applications go. But this class felt like a good blend of theory and practice – understanding the basics of the different learning theories was important, but I also learned about how those theories could be used in real situations by an instructional designer.

I found surprising and interesting facts nearly every week as I learned about learning. One of the concepts that was most appealing to me was the idea presented by Dr. Ormrod in response to the discussion of different learning styles. Gardner (2003) is fairly well-known for his presentation of the different learning styles and how educators can use these learning styles in order to tailor instruction to every student. However, Dr. Ormrod suggested that while some people are definitely more visual learners while others are more verbal, one of the best things teachers can do is to teach students different learning strategies that have been proven successful. I really liked this concept for several reasons: first, it makes students responsible for their own learning; second, it give students tools that they can use in the future in a variety of circumstances; and third, it takes some of the responsibility off of teachers, who have enough to do without trying to cater to each student’s whims (Now, I definitely believe in individualized instruction, but I think my time is better spent teaching a whole class how to use a mnemonic device and then modeling its use for a specific concept, rather than developing 25 different ways to teach a particular concept to 25 different students.)

In contemplating my own learning process, I think the most important aspect is motivation. Learning comes easily to me – I can read an article and understand it thoroughly in just a few minutes, and I can whip up an A paper with very little effort. But if I’m not interested in the material, I have a very hard time staying focused and motivated. Even as an adult learner who typically, according to last week’s discussion, should be fairly self-motivated, I have a difficult time.

Learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation are the four main aspects that we covered in this course. I believe that they are intricately linked together in good teaching. An effective teacher needs to understand the various learning theories and learning styles, be able to use technology to deliver or enhance instruction, and understand and use motivational factors in order to maximize student learning. Without the understanding of the theory, a teacher doesn’t have a clear understanding of different educational methods. I find myself strongly drawn to the concept of connectivism, which is a theory that deals with the interconnectedness of technology, information, and social networks.

I think what I have learned over the past few weeks will be incredibly useful as I learn and grow as an educator. Understanding connectivism, especially, has important implications for teachers in an online environment. I also know that a solid understanding of theory has been useful more often than I would have expected.