Theories Of Instructional Design

Theories of Instructional Design Psychological Foundations, Learning Environments & Learner Motivation Jordan Carswell February 4, 2008 Assignment 2 INST 5131 Philosophical Foundations Many psychological theories have contributed to the field of instructional design. Underlying them all, however, is the belief that instruction will lead to learning. (Reiser and Dempsey, 2007) •  Perceive, recognize, Mind as Computer Sensory and code patterns Memory   The central hypothesis of cognitive science is that thinking •can best be understood in terms   Temporary holding; Short-term make connections of representational structures in Memory the mind and computational procedures that operate on •  Remember and apply those structures. Long-term information over time Memory (Stanford University, 2007, para. 9) (Reiser and Dempsey, 2007) The Learning Sciences Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise   Grounded in the cognitive that, by reflecting on our sciences experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world   Learner as active agent, responsible for creating we live in. Each of us generates understanding our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make Design Research sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the   Formative experiments process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new   Learning takes place within experiences. the context of research (Funderstanding, 2001, para. 1) (Reiser and Dempsey, 2007) The activity in which knowledge is developed and deployed, it is Learning as Participation now argued, is not separable from or ancillary to learning and cognition. (Brown, 1989, p. 32) Individual Defining Characteristics   Learning takes place within a Community community of practice   Knowledge is gained in the Organization process of participating in the activities of the community (Reiser and Dempsey, 2007) (Wenger, 1998, as cited in Reiser and Dempsey 2007) Connectivism is the Defining Characteristics integration of principles   Diversity of opinions explored by chaos, network,   Connecting nodes of information and complexity and self-organization theories.   Learning can reside anywhere   Connections must be nurtured Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous   Recognition of connections environments of shifting core   Staying current with information elements – not entirely under the control of the individual.   Individual decision-making (Siemens, 2004, paras. 25-27) Learning takes place in cognitive diverse settings. No one theory holds true for all situations. Therefore, good design connectivist design constructivist is agnostic, analyzing each unique problem and finding the appropriate solution situational whatever the source. Learning Environments Whether in a lecture hall, on the job, or from a home computer, learning is shaped by place. The learning environment is a key component of any theory of instructional design. Learning Environment Students observe the practices of experts as they learn to perform tasks on their own In ancient times, teaching and   Abstract tasks are presented in a real-life context learning were accomplished through apprenticeship: We taught our   Task’s processes are visible children how to speak, grow crops, to all learners craft cabinets, or tailor clothes by   Tasks are varied to encourage showing them how and by helping skill transfer by learners them do it. (Collins, 1991) (Collins, 1991, para. 1) Key Attributes Communities of practice are 1  The Domain groups of people who share Shared competence and identity a concern or a passion for 2  The Community something they do and Shared activities and learn how to do it better as information they interact regularly. 3  The Practice Shared experiences (Wenger, n.d., para. 3) and resources (Wenger, n.d.)