Evolution of educational theory isms

Module 2 Blog Posting

While the idea of evolution of the human species might not appeal to certain populations, the idea that ideas or people evolve from earlier versions of themselves holds some truth.  We have seen sports and athletes evolve over the years and records smashed as technology and athleticism improve.  The same evolution process has occurred with the learning theories proposed over the year.  No matter who you think is the mother or father of a learning theory or how well you think it explains learning, future theories evolve from these foundations.  These foundation theories drop seeds that get planted and grow into other theories.

As Kerr (2007) noted, the different –isms that populate textbooks on learning theory do not stand still.  And while these ideas might have different bits and pieces that we disagree with, each idea does have merit and deserves consideration.  A good thing about the variety of these learning theories is that it makes sense that we all do not learn the same way.  Since individuals come from all different backgrounds with distinct experiences, how can we say that Behaviorism or Cognitivism is the best explanation for how these individuals learn?  If Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) is mainly focused on memory, is it possible to believe that those with memory issues cannot learn? 

I think Kapp (2007) summed it up best when he stated we should take bits and pieces from each of the learning theories.  As they evolve, we pick the strongest bits and get rid of those which are inadequate for explaining how we learn.  As we noted in a class discussion, we cannot get to Connectivism if students are not versed in how to make connections with nodes of information.  We have to teach them the skills on how to get that knowledge.  This teaching could take on a Behaviorist approach where learners are given a stimulus (problem to solve) and choose the best tool, technology or otherwise, and then are provided with the response to either strengthen that behavior or to weaken wrong choices.  We help these same students with memory skills through dual coding of lessons, providing practice, and helping them store knowledge in their long term memory.  These steps are not the functions of the main idea, Connectivism, but we use stepping stones of other learning theories to get to those which best help us solve educational problems we face.

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/