Learning Theories
Running head: APPLICATION OF LEARNING THEORIES
Application of Learning Theories to Courseware Authoring
Team A
Gladys Carey-Sewell
Joelyn K Foy
Michelle Larison
J. Patrick Wright
EDTC/570
Courseware Authoring
University of Phoenix
25 March 2003
Application of Learning Theories to Courseware Authoring
Learning theories can be applied to courseware authoring. Courseware authoring must be grounded in sound pedagogical or andragogical theory and practice. Both Semple (2000) and Wild and Quinn (1998) indicate the importance of using technology and technological advances as tools for learning, but tools which must use educational theories as guiding principles for design. NETg is a skills-based blended learning program that consists of Content, Technology, and Services (Thompson, 2003). NETg uses primarily a behaviorist model. The behaviorist model assesses learners to determine a starting point of instruction. There is not little, if any, problem-solving and no or interaction with other learners or facilitators. It is mostly a program of continual knowledge assessment.
Courseware, a combination of the terms course and software, is meant to be a merging of course materials used for learning, teaching, and training with the latest computer software technologies. It would serve as an electronic skeleton or scaffold on which to hang and build instructional materials. The final products could take the form of self-directed computer-based training (CBT), Web-based tutorials, distance learning courses using Internet-based technologies, or a host of other configurations of materials and presentation or delivery methods.
Courseware design and implementation involves learning objectives, content, assessment, navigation, and presentation. The learning objectives define the purpose of the training or education; they enumerate the desired outcomes for the students. The content comprises the knowledge base and information needed by the students to achieve their objectives. Assessment may occur either before the lessons or after, but in both instances they serve to measure comprehension, retention, and even application of the content as defined by the objectives. Presentations may rely on self-paced instruction or instructor-mediated lessons; they may be synchronous or asynchronous; or they may use self-contained or Web-based media. Closely tied to these issues of platform designs is that of navigation. The navigation will direct students through the course content and assessment; it is the interface between the course materials and the students.
NETg is a courseware authoring program that supports the behaviorist and cognitive learning theories. The designer analyzes the situation and sets a goal. Individual tasks are
broken down and learning objectives are developed. When using NETg tutorials, students are expected to answer questions correctly to make the image on the screen do what the students directed. According to Mergel, evaluation consists of determining whether the criteria for objectives have been met. A key part to the design of NETg involves the image on the screen makes the change along with a written text box explaining proper procedure when students do not answer correctly. Once students finish the tutorial, they can elect to take it again to further assess their learning. Mergel also states that this is somewhat of a closed system, although it may allow for some branching and remediation, the learner is still confined to the designer's world.
The guiding lights for all these components are the accepted and developing theories about the human mind and its ability to learn and change. Among the more widely cited theories are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Although psychologists formulated these theories some thirty to fifty years ago, modern educational specialists and psychologists continue to refine and redefine these theories in terms of more recent research concerning the physiology of the brain.
Haseman, Nuipolatoglu, and Ramamurthy (2002) note the objective of Skinner’s behaviorist theory is “to understand what learners do” (p. 31). They describe this theory’s emphasis as retaining and changing behaviors through stimulus-response activities. Semple (2000) adds further that behaviorists are not concerned about the internal changes happening in learners since the changes are not observable. Therefore, learner participation would be passive by nature. The process of learning in the behaviorist model relies on the stimulus-response mechanism.
While behaviorism emphasizes the external responses of learners, cognitivism strives to understand the internal motivations and attitude changes of these learners (Haseman et al., 2002; Semple, 2000). What impact do these factors play in shaping the components of courseware? This process manifests itself in courseware as drill-and-practice and tutorial programs in which learners receive pieces of information in a carefully designed sequence moving from the simpler to the more complex and positive feedback on responses in regular intervals (Semple, 2000).
NETg has learning management systems that are interoperable with third party content
and tools. Its desktop and professional development courses and highly interactive content are designed to capitalize and leverage the employees of the corporate world. The closest NETg approaches constructivism is through the Wave Boot Camps. This learning option employs self-directed learning and mentoring. Interactivity between learners, however, remains at a minimum. Another learning option, which may approach constructivism, is Cardean University. NETg’s Cardean University offers certifications and an MBA program.
The development of courseware requires a thorough understanding of learning theories to enable for provisions for the learning environment. Instructional Design for courseware may change as increased advancements to technology are made. The development of courseware allows for an increasing number of theoretical applications and physical possibilities. The
intelligent application of learning theories to courseware will allow designers to fulfill the learning requirements of this century. The further development of NETg solutions for courseware will allow it to accommodate the needs of the learner more efficiently.
References
Haseman, W. D., Nuipolatoglu, V., & Ramamurthy, K. (2002, April–June). An empirical investigation of the influences of the degree of interactivity on user-outcomes in a multimedia environment. Information Resources Management Journal, 15(2), 31–48.
Kim, B., Williams, R., & Dattilo, J. (2002, Summer). Students’ perception of interactive learning modules. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4), 453–473.
Mergel, B. (1998, May). Instructional design and learning theory. Retrieved March 24, 2003 from
NETg. Retrieved on March 24, 2003 from
Semple, A. (2000, September). Learning theories and their influence on the development and use of educational technologies. Australian Science Teachers Journal, 46(3), 21–28.
Stanton, N., Porter, L. J., & Stroud, R. (2001, May). Bored with point and click? Theoretical perspectives on designing learning environments. Inovations in Education and Teaching International, 38(2), 175–182.
Wild, M., & Quinn, C. (1998, January). Implications of educational theory for the design of instructional multimedia. British Journal of Educational Technology, 29(1), 73–82.
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