{"id":834,"date":"2017-09-22T10:22:20","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T14:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/?p=834"},"modified":"2017-09-22T10:22:20","modified_gmt":"2017-09-22T14:22:20","slug":"activity-5-theoretical-and-pedagogical-reflection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/activity-5-theoretical-and-pedagogical-reflection\/","title":{"rendered":"Activity 5 – Theoretical and Pedagogical Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Creative Commons CC0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For activity 5 we were asked to reflect upon the <\/span>Ertmer & Newby (2013) and Merrill (2002) readings and investigate how they apply to our work. \u00a0After selecting a theoretical position we were asked to explain why we felt it resonated with us and describe how it applies to our work. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I found this task challenging as I think it is hard to completely align with only one theoretical position. \u00a0I believe it is not only human nature to have various thought processes that include many theoretical positions, but it makes for a better and more well rounded teacher (and learner). \u00a0Ertmer & Newby (2013) describe in detail behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism from an instructional design perspective and as I read through the author’s descriptions of each, I found myself thinking that I could relate my teaching to behaviourism and constructivism. \u00a0Merrill (2002) describes several instructional theories and again I found myself connecting to Jonassen\u2019s <\/span>Constructivist Learning Environments<\/span><\/i> and Schanks<\/span> Learning by Doing (<\/span><\/i>pp. 55-56)<\/span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In behaviourism I can relate to doing an assessment of a learner before starting a task, making sure that they master each step before moving on to the next, and providing constant feedback to ensure that their performance improves (Ertmer & Newby, 2013, p. 49). \u00a0This sequence is very similar to how I teach a lesson in our carpentry lab. \u00a0First I would do an assessment of the learners safety and skills on the tools, then provide detailed step by step instructions of the task ensuring that they check in with me at each critical point, all the while providing feedback to ensure that they maximize their potential. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning by doing is an important part in any trades training. \u00a0Learners are constantly encountering new situations in carpentry as no two jobs are exactly the same. \u00a0As such, we teach them to draw on past lessons (cases) that resemble the new one and apply their existing knowledge to the new lesson (Merrill, 2002, pp. 56-57).<\/span><\/p>\n

Ok, time to stop dithering…if I had to pick a camp I would place myself in the area of constructivism as I believe that creating meaning in your learning is essential to one\u2019s growth. \u00a0In my classroom, the best learning experiences are when I can equate the content to a real life situation that the students have experienced. \u00a0Having others share how their previous life experiences relate to the content also helps the students to interpret ideas and apply them to their own experiences (Ertmer & Newby, 2013, p. 55) creating a deep learning environment. \u00a0I constantly set up assignments that maximize the student’s opportunity to experience learning (often physically rather than only mentally) and provide them with time to reflect on that learning. \u00a0For example, rather than lecturing to them about concrete columns, I put them into teams and have them do a scavenger hunt around the college searching for four different types of columns (and have them take pictures with their phones or iPads). \u00a0Upon return to the class they make a quick presentation describing the characteristics and functions of the columns and share it with the class. \u00a0Before finishing the lesson we have a group discussion on the subject as a whole. \u00a0This type of lesson could easily be taken from on-ground to blended or online format.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although I find myself favouring constructivism, I can honestly say that I can find elements of my teaching in most, if not all, of the theories in these readings. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/b><\/p>\n

Ertmer, P., & Newby, T. (2013). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. <\/span>Performance Improvement Quarterly<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>26<\/span><\/i>(2), 43-71.<\/span><\/p>\n

Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. <\/span>Educational Technology Research and Development<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>50<\/span><\/i>(3), 43-59.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For activity 5 we were asked to reflect upon the Ertmer & Newby (2013) and Merrill (2002) readings and investigate how they apply to our work. \u00a0After selecting a theoretical position we were asked to explain why we felt it resonated with us and describe how it applies to our work. \u00a0 I found this … Continue reading Activity 5 – Theoretical and Pedagogical Reflection<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lrnt523","tag-lrnt-523"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":837,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions\/837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}