I was originally from the school of thought that behaviour wasn’t something that was changed easily. Everyone has heard the all too familiar line that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” (I have no idea how far back that quote goes, it’s not mine). Truth is, it’s possible. From my experience though, it’s easier to teach them the way that’s best for them from the beginning.
From my beginning in learning and technology, I have always been in an adult learning environment. By that I mean teaching adults, mostly the new software that is required for them to hit targets, or run their business. That’s a make or break situation. I have tried made the effort to pair up with peers in this MALAT program with individuals who are not in the adult learning field. Now in my new job (I say job because I’m not sure I’m cut out for it); I have a new found respect for those that are in the K-12 area. I have joined them and I’m terrified.
I always believed I was both a behaviourist and a cognitivist. Now that I am experiencing K-12 for the first time, I realize I am part of the cognitivist tribe. However, as far as I am concerned; they are intertwined. Sometimes, we have no idea how we learn best. I’m reminded of a slogan which was my elementary schools slogan (I guess I took it to heart). It was “Learning to Care, Caring to learn”. Funny, isn’t it? I think behaviorism and cognitivism go hand in hand like the slogan I just mentioned. If you are learning and being encouraged; your behaviours will change. Encouragement is a large portion of it. Expectation and encouragement are two very different things.
I’m not even sure why or how I constantly want to learn. Is it inherent? Is it because my mom would spell words out when she thought I wasn’t listening? Sometimes our childhood memories will tell us a lot. I am starting to believe it has nothing to do with behaviours and everything to do with the ways in which people learn, maybe how they are taught.
In my current role, we are a three to one teacher ratio. If you think about most classrooms today, they are one teacher to thirty students; if they are lucky, less. Thing is, everyone learns differently. “Behaviourists would focus on the design of the environment to optimize that transfer, while cognitivists would stress efficient processing strategies” (Ertmer and Newby, 2013, pp.53).
As far as I’m concerned, one doesn’t come without the other. Transfer of knowledge is extremely important, but the cart doesn’t come before the horse. Learning styles play a large role. How do we find out how a student learns? In my current position, we do an in depth cognitive and academic assessment of where they stand based on age and grade level. More often than not it’s a problem with spelling and reading. If you cannot read a question, you probably cannot complete the question. It doesn’t mean that you are bad at any subject. It starts with one. “The designer must have the ability to diagnose and analyze practical learning problems. The way a doctor prescribes effective remedies with a proper diagnoses” (Ertmer and Newby, 2013, pp.44).
Instead of saying you have to know this to run your business successfully (adults have to jump on board). Instead you say, what do you want to be when you grow up? Superman? Well Superman definitely knows math because he has to avoid kryptonite. “Learning is promoted when new knowledge is integrated into the learner’s world” (Merrill, 2002, pp. 45).
References
Ertmer, P., & Newby, T. (2013). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing critical features
from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and
Development, 50(3), 43-59.
September 20, 2018 at 11:53 am
Andrea, you bring up one of the main ideas that I wanted everyone to grapple with: it’s not easy to select one theory of learning to align with, and perhaps it is unnecessary to do so. This conversation also needs to account for learners’ age as you point out: K-12 might have different needs than military training than learning how to brew coffee to your liking. Thanks for expressing these ideas clearly!
September 24, 2018 at 6:51 pm
You are very welcome. I was out of town this past weekend and did not get to moderate my blog. Apologies to those who commented. I will be responding shortly as I just got home from work.
September 21, 2018 at 8:34 am
Hi Andrea. I 100% agree. It is hard to align yourself with just one theory. I teach at a trades school and I find that I use all three theories for different aspects of the course. It is like Ertmer and Newby state, “We believe that the critical question instructional designers must ask is not ‘Which is the best theory?’ but ‘Which theory is the most effective in fostering mastery of specific tasks by specific learners?” (p.61)
On a side note, what are you teaching now? It sounds like you have made a big change.
references
Ertmer, P., & Newby, T. (2013). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
September 21, 2018 at 5:40 pm
Hi Andrea, I enjoyed reading your blog post and am curious if you find yourself ever applying constructivist approaches with your students? I am thinking about students using what is learned in class and applying the new knowledge in a real world activity. Or using a math concept and applying it in a different situation to see if students are able to apply the concepts learned, outside of the parameters in which they were taught. All of these examples would indicate a constructivist approach. I wonder if you could see yourself as a constructivist in addition to being a behaviourist and cognitivist? I always proclaimed myself a constructivist, only to find out that in instructional design I actually apply behaviourist and cognitivist principles as well.
September 26, 2018 at 12:02 am
I think Constructivism is more about learning and not so much about teaching. Certainly, past experiences and using real-world examples absolutely help learners grasp important information; especially as it relates to what they do on a daily basis.
September 21, 2018 at 10:15 pm
I really enjoyed how you wrote your journey to the conclusion and the inclusion of the different elements that led you there. It was interesting though because as I read your response it actually strengthened my personal understanding in the theory from Merrill that you didn’t mention. I could see how your cognitivism was related to constructivism but it actually made me ask the question of “can constructivism really exist without cognitivism”? After reading your post I really don’t think it can (which may actually contradict my own writing).
Thanks for the thinking points and great elements of relating this to real world experience.
September 25, 2018 at 3:13 pm
Hi Andrea, Thanks for the post. As I was reading it, I was reminded of a moment 2 years ago when my 8 yr old son said to me, in tears ” Please do not ask my teacher for any more extra work Mom. I cannot do any more meaningless work. ”
I had always believed children learn differently from adults and in MALAT Residency, I took on the Adult Learning theory in an assignment to discover more. What I found was the realization that individuals fall on a spectrum, regardless of age. My 8 year old needed to incorporate his social role into his learning, connect it to the real world, was intrinsically motivated, goal oriented, and would constantly relate his learnings back to previous experience.
Most of these learning ‘styles ‘connect to Adult learning theory and, in fact, Andragogy ( the theory of adult learning presented by Knowles) is criticised by many for its inflexibility (Merriam, 2001).
This opened my eyes up to the fact that, potentially, every individual must be considered and respected for their needs in their learning process. Our family’s journey in the public education system in B.C. has been like a swift kick to the belly as we realize we must advocate for this ourselves.
As adults, we are on our own, self-advocating for our needs. This makes it really helpful to understand the learning principles and theories…from a MALAT program perspective. Hopefully, most employers tap into trained learning designers to support those individualistic needs for their employees!
Christy
References:
Merriam, S. B. (2001). Andragogy and self-directed learning: Pillars of adult learning theory. New directions for adult and continuing education, 2001(89), 3-14.