Reflection

 Reflecting on Learning Theories and Instruction

“I have a Master’s in Education, what in the world am I going to learn in a class on Learning Theories and Instruction?” That was my pompous thought process as I saw the next course I was to take here at Walden. It did not take long for me to eat my words so to speak.  As I reflect on the course Learning Theories and Instruction I can see that I have gained a deeper understanding of how of my own personal learning process operates, the connection between learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation, as well as how this knowledge will be implemented in my future position as an instructional designer.

In my previous degree I learned quite a bit on differentiated Instruction.  Truth of the matter is the degree could have been called a Master’s in Education in Differentiated Instruction.  There was so very much I did learn, but now I see there is also so very much I had left to learn. In this course the creating of a Mind Map was very revealing to me. I have been aware for a while that I was a visual learner, but then to see how my learning has evolved with the use of technology was quite a different matter.

Going into this course I was a bit more interested in the constructivist theory of learning. At present I am the First Vice Chair of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Student Unit. The discipline of Family and Consumer Sciences has been found by research to be best taught and learned in the Constructivist theory. It is for this reason that I was interested to see how this theory of learning leant itself to online learning. Certainly the intense project we had to complete of the Learning Matrix not only showed me the Constructivist, but all others as well. I was very surprised at the difficulty I had in mulling my way through that assignment. One would have thought with my prior degree that this assignment would have been a relative easy assignment. However, I found it to be quite taxing at times as it challenged me in ways of understanding that I had yet to explore. Thanks to that assignment I now believe I have a complete understanding of the learning theories and how they relate to the various aspects of designing instruction.

At present I work with the “at-risk” youth of my community. I only work with about 12 or so at a time. With these youth 12 is plenty at any one time. One of the questions that has plagued me is how to motivate these students. I generally have taken away all of the “excuses” for these students in the learning environment I have provided for them. However, motivating them to want to learn has been another issue altogether. Dr. Ormrod’s talk on motivation really helped me to learn how to help these students want to learn. I have since applied what I have learned to two of my most unwilling students. I am happy to report these two young men actually sit, and truly do their work now.

There has been so much in this course that I know I will be using in my future as an instructional designer. It is my hope to bring the Family and Consumer Sciences curriculum into the technology era by incorporating online instruction into the classroom of idle and high schools across the country. Then, this important discipline will be brought back to life within the schools. So, as I reflect on the course Learning Theories and Instruction I can see that I have gained a deeper understanding of how of my own personal learning process operates, the connection between learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation, as well as how this knowledge will be implemented in my future position as an instructional designer.

References

Ormond, J. (2009). Theory of Social Cognitive Development, [Video Presentation], Laureate Education.

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson.