Learning Theories

2011 ◽  
pp. 31-55
Author(s):  
Kim E. Dooley ◽  
James R. Linder ◽  
Larry M. Dooley ◽  
Tim Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Philosophy Of Education ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Instructional Decision

In the last chapter, we discussed critical issues that impact the design and delivery of distance education programs. You were asked to write your own philosophy of education statement to serve as the foundation for your instructional decision making. For our final chapter in Part I -Foundations, we will introduce the historical and philosophical frameworks that continue to guide and direct instructional decisions—learning theory. Consider these questions as you read: Which learning theory best matches my own philosophy of education? What are some assumptions about the nature of learning that are built upon theory? How can I apply learning theory when developing and using practices in distance education?

“Common” Instruction? Logics of Ability and Teacher Decision Making Across Tracks in the Era of Common Standards

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 638-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Hodge
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Common Core ◽  
Common Core State Standards ◽  
Curriculum And Instruction ◽  
State Standards ◽  
School Structure ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Core State ◽  
The Common ◽  
Instructional Decision

This article investigates the interaction between the Common Core State Standards and curricular tracking by examining instructional decision making across tracks in a large metropolitan district. This study draws on institutional logics as a framework to analyze 106 instructional decisions from 24 participants involved in middle school literacy instruction. In lower-track classes, participants often adapted the curriculum and adopted a more teacher-centered approach. About half of the rationales for those decisions reflected a logic of tracking, less than a fifth reflected a logic of differentiation, and almost a third reflected elements of both logics. These findings demonstrate that despite common standards, a tracked school structure continues to serve as a powerful signal about the curriculum and instruction seen as appropriate for different groups of students.

Assessment in Inclusive Settings

2017 ◽  
pp. 426-443
Author(s):  
Brittany L. Hott ◽  
Rebecca A. Dibbs ◽  
DeMarquis Hayes ◽  
Lesli P. Raymond
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Level System ◽  
Quality Instruction ◽  
Inclusive Settings ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Instructional Decision ◽  
Effective Assessment

Assessment is one of the most controversial and challenging aspects of education. While increasing emphasis has been placed on student progress and accountability, effective assessment processes are often overlooked as a critical component of quality instruction. This chapter aims to provide practitioners, educators, and policymakers with an overview of assessment practices that provide information at the classroom and individual levels to drive instructional decision making. A multi-level system of support model is emphasized to illustrate types and administration of assessments needed to make instructional decisions.

Assessment in Inclusive Settings

2020 ◽  
pp. 90-107
Author(s):  
Brittany L. Hott ◽  
Rebecca A. Dibbs ◽  
DeMarquis Hayes ◽  
Lesli P. Raymond
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Level System ◽  
Quality Instruction ◽  
Inclusive Settings ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Instructional Decision ◽  
Effective Assessment

Assessment is one of the most controversial and challenging aspects of education. While increasing emphasis has been placed on student progress and accountability, effective assessment processes are often overlooked as a critical component of quality instruction. This chapter aims to provide practitioners, educators, and policymakers with an overview of assessment practices that provide information at the classroom and individual levels to drive instructional decision making. A multi-level system of support model is emphasized to illustrate types and administration of assessments needed to make instructional decisions.

Connectivism as a Learning Theory and Its Relation to Open Distance Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin Peter Hendricks
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Construction Of Knowledge

This paper focuses on connectivism as a learning theory and its relation to open distance education. Connectivism is presently challenging existing learning theories and is unlike behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism, which place learning at the centre of the cognitive development of the learner. Connectivism stresses that learning is located in different networks and the social construction of knowledge makes the learner key in the knowledge creation process. Connectivism is the thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks. This is a learning environment where students simply plug into the network and create their own learning. Unlike traditional learning methods and theories like cognitivism (where learning is an active, constructive process), behaviourism (a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning) or constructivism (the theory that humans construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences), with connectivism, learning is defined by connections to a network of knowledge that can include any form of interaction. Siemens’ theory of connectivism is based on Web 2.0 technologies. This raises key questions as to whether it can be seen as a learning theory in the context of open distance learning (a delivery mode and teaching and learning approach that focuses on increased access to education and training where barriers caused by time, place and pace of learning are eliminated). Web 2.0 learning in the last decade has impacted on the way we teach in traditional classroom settings and how knowledge is disseminated in an online learning environment. Siemens’ theory of connnectivism is a paradigmatic shift from traditional learning theories to new ways of learning through networks, databases, and Web learning on different virtual learning platforms. This raises questions about the radical discontinuity of traditional knowledge systems as the learner becomes part of the social creation and social construction of knowledge in a virtual learning environment.  

scholarly journals The Soft Power of Teacher’s Instructional Decision Making: An Empirical Study of 4 Chinese EFL Teachers and Native English Teachers

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Youwen Zhang ◽  
Zhihui Yang
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Instructional Decision Making ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Instructional Decision ◽  
Prior Experiences ◽  
Insight Into

Beliefs, concepts and perceptions drive teachers’ practices. This study reports a comparative enquiry into the soft power of decision making of two categories of teachers when approaching teaching in the language classroom. Decisions of tasks and participation structures teachers adopted in their instructions, and the underlying soft power of decision making in class are identified with reference to beliefs, knowledge, prior experiences and context. And it reveals that these teachers tend to capitalize on these theories eclectically, though they differ in the extent to which they stress one focus or another, and the logicality between teacher’s soft power and instructional decision making exists and gives an insight into the critical issues related to future study.

Critical Issues for Educators and Trainers

2011 ◽  
pp. 16-30
Author(s):  
Kim E. Dooley ◽  
James R. Linder ◽  
Larry M. Dooley
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Philosophy Of Education ◽  
Global Society ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
The Impact

In our last chapter, we explored the competencies and best practices needed to be successful in distance education. This chapter will continue to lay this foundation with a discussion of critical issues for educators and trainers. One of the first things to consider when creating or taking a new course at a distance is your own philosophy of education. Reviewing research studies can help educators, trainers, and learners understand the applications and practices that work in this setting. The concept of distance education as an innovation and the impact of technology in a global society are important as we consider the audience, access, and impact of distance education. Questions to guide your thoughts for this chapter are: What is the “no significant difference phenomenon” and how does research provide the theory to help guide the design, delivery, and evaluation of distance learning programs?

scholarly journals Constructivism and connectivism in education technology: Active, situated, authentic, experiential, and anchored learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 201 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Mattar
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Education Technology ◽  
Philosophy Of Education ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Proximal Development ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
Educación A Distancia ◽  
Tecnología Educativa

The main objectives of this theoretical paper are to compare some constructivist-related learning theories and explore how they can be adequately used in educational technology and distance education. After a brief introduction, constructivism is defined as a general philosophy of education encompassing several different learning theories. The article then presents and discusses the following theories: situated cognition, activity theory, experiential learning, anchored instruction, and authentic learning. Connectivism or distributed learning is also presented as a new and important theory, including its pedagogical view and practice in massive open online courses (MOOCs). These theories are then organized in a coherent way, classified under the constructivist umbrella, pointing their common and distinctive features. Connectivism is positioned as a new philosophy of education for the digital age, making Vygotsky’s concept of zone of proximal development (ZPD) more flexible and stretching it to include learning that lies outside the learner, in social networks and technological tools. The text finally proposes further work on how these theories can be properly combined and used as frameworks for constructivist projects and activities in the fields of educational technology and distance education. The article is based on the search and review of peer-reviewed articles on constructivism, connectivism, the other aforementioned theories, and education technology and distance education._________________________________________________________Este artículo teórico pretende comparar algunas teorías de aprendizaje relacionadas con el constructivismo y explorar cómo pueden usarse adecuadamente en el campo de la tecnología educativa y la educación a distancia. Después de una breve introducción, el constructivismo queda definido como una filosofía general de la educación que abarca varias teorías de aprendizaje diferentes. El artículo presenta y analiza las siguientes teorías: cognición situada, teoría de la actividad, aprendizaje experiencial, instrucción anclada y aprendizaje auténtico. El conectivismo o aprendizaje distribuido también se presenta como una nueva e importante teoría, que incluye su visión pedagógica y práctica en cursos masivos y abiertos en línea (MOOCs). Organizamos estas teorías de manera coherente bajo el paraguas constructivista e indicamos las principales similitudes y diferencias entre ellas. El conectivismo se posiciona como una nueva filosofía de la educación para la era digital, flexibilizando y ampliando el concepto de Zona de Desarrollo Próximo (ZDP) de Vygotsky para incluir el aprendizaje que se encuentra fuera del alumno, en redes sociales y herramientas tecnológicas. El texto finalmente propone un trabajo adicional sobre cómo estas teorías pueden combinarse y utilizarse adecuadamente como marcos para proyectos y actividades constructivistas en los campos de la tecnología educativa y la educación a distancia. El artículo se basa en la investigación y revisión de artículos revisados por pares sobre el constructivismo, el conectivismo, las otras teorías mencionadas y la tecnología educativa y la educación a distancia.

Steps for Success: Making Instructional Decisions for Students’ Essay Writing

2021 ◽  
pp. 004005992110010
Author(s):  
Kelley Regan ◽  
Anya S. Evmenova ◽  
Amy Hutchison ◽  
Jamie Day ◽  
Madelyn Stephens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Academic Growth ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Student Academic Growth ◽  
Instructional Decision ◽  
Data Driven Decisions

The process of analyzing student data to determine an appropriate instructional decision is crucial for student academic growth. This article details how teachers can make data-driven decisions to carefully design writing instruction. Steps are presented for teachers to follow throughout the data driven decision-making process in order to meet students’ specific needs when they are writing an essay. A case study is provided throughout the article to illustrate how students and teachers may navigate through this process while using a technology-based graphic organizer.

The United States and the Iranian Nuclear Programme

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Hurst
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nixon Administration ◽  
Comprehensive Plan ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nuclear Issue ◽  
The Relationship

The United States, Iran and the Bomb provides the first comprehensive analysis of the US-Iranian nuclear relationship from its origins through to the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. Starting with the Nixon administration in the 1970s, it analyses the policies of successive US administrations toward the Iranian nuclear programme. Emphasizing the centrality of domestic politics to decision-making on both sides, it offers both an explanation of the evolution of the relationship and a critique of successive US administrations' efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear programme, with neither coercive measures nor inducements effectively applied. The book further argues that factional politics inside Iran played a crucial role in Iranian nuclear decision-making and that American policy tended to reinforce the position of Iranian hardliners and undermine that of those who were prepared to compromise on the nuclear issue. In the final chapter it demonstrates how President Obama's alterations to American strategy, accompanied by shifts in Iranian domestic politics, finally brought about the signing of the JCPOA in 2015.

scholarly journals International Perspectives on Understanding and Improving Teachers’ Data-Based Instruction and Decision Making: Introduction to the Special Series

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-242
Author(s):  
Christine A. Espin ◽  
Natalie Förster ◽  
Suzanne E. Mol
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
General Education ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Instructional Decision Making ◽  
Special Series ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
International Perspectives ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Instructional Decision

This article serves as an introduction to the special series, Data-Based Instruction and Decision-Making: An International Perspective. In this series, we bring together international researchers from both special and general education to address teachers’ use (or non-use) of data for instructional decision making. Via this special series, we aim to increase understanding of the challenges involved in teachers’ data-based instructional decision making for students with or at-risk for learning disabilities, and to further the development of approaches for improving teachers’ ability to plan, adjust, and adapt instruction in response to data.

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