Class 4

Educational Technology 1 – Educ 4038

July 16, 2009

Class 4 (3 Hours)

Dr. Diane P. Janes – Diane_Janes@cbu.ca – Office hours by appointment – Phone: 563-1236

Learning Theory (continued)

The following (pdf) article by Sharon Derry explains what learning strategies are and how they are applied.

1. Derry, S.J. (1988). Putting Learning Strategies to Work. Educational Leadership, December 1988/January 1989, pp. 118-124. (article sent to you by email)
   

As well, constructivism and multimedia are often tied together in what might be called "constructivist learning environments". Given these, consider the possibilities for its use in multimedia and e-learning and post it in your blog, as you review Elizabeth Murphy's comments on Constructivist Learning Environments at this web site: http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emurphy/stemnet/cle5c.html

Conceptions of Teaching

Our assumptions about what is knowledge (epistemology) and how it is acquired (learning theory) tend to influence how we teach. Our philosophy or conception of teaching can also impact on our choices in the classroom or in the creation of learning courseware.

For many teachers, teaching is like riding a bike. Once they learn how to do it, it becomes second nature, an activity that one just does without too much thought. But there are many different ways of teaching and I believe it is an activity that needs to be constantly reexamined and reflected upon.

Dan Pratt has written extensively on teaching in adult and higher education and has investigated teaching in a number of different cultures. His research suggests that it is useful to think about teaching in five fundamentally different ways, what he calls five perspectives on teaching. I think his work also has value in the K-12 environment.

Perspective	Description
Transmission	Effective delivery of content
Apprenticeship	Modeling ways of being
Developmental	Cultivating ways of thinking
Nurturing	Facilitating self-efficacy
Social Reform	Seeking a better society

Read a summary on the five perspectives of teaching: http://www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/faculty/pratt/DPtpsum.html

1. Also visit Dan's website (http://www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/faculty/pratt.html ) and take his online inventory - http://www.teachingperspectives.com/

2. As you read the material and go through the inventory, reflect on your own teaching.

3. What perspective do you think you have? Also, try to determine - what is the underlying epistemological and learning theory of each teaching perspective. Add these thoughts to your blog.

Read: one of the two papers below and post a summary of the paper and your thoughts on it to your blog.

Gimbert, B. & Zembal-Saul, C. (2002). Learning to teach with technology: From integration to actualization. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 2(2). Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol2/iss2/currentpractice/article1.cfm

Fardanesh, H. (2002). Learning theory approaches and teaching methods. British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(1), 95-98.