ELearning Theories & Models

[Pages:9]Theories & Models Used for eLearning

In 2003, Van Buren and Sloman suggest ed t hat 62 percent of all learning t echnology init iat ives f ail t o meet expect at ions. Discouraging f igures like t hat should prompt eLearning leaders t o concern t hemselves wit h measures t o ensure a successf ul eLearning program.

In one of your readings f or t his lesson, Driscoll and Carliner (2005) warn t hat eLearning f ailures are of t en due t o t he f act t hat designing e-learning is dif f erent t han designing classroom and workbook-based l earning" (p. 13), and t his f act is of t en overlooked by t hose init iat ing eLearning ef f ort s. Driscoll and Carliner caut ion against t rying t o devise a universal solut ion f or eLearning design, since t here are many f act ors t hat approach one t akes, including t he subj ect cont ent , proj ect budget s, schedules and t he purpose of t he course. They recommend concent rat ing on t he specif ic problem t hat must be solved or cont ent t o be present ed t o guide design ef f ort s.

That said, t he more you know about learni ng and how people learn, t he bet t er you will be equipped t o direct ot hers as t hey seek t o solve inst ruct ional problems. There are many dif f erent approaches t o designing inst ruct ion and each one is based on dif f erent assumpt ions about learning and dif f erent philosophies about t he purpose of inst ruct ion.

How do people learn?

What does it mean t o " know" somet hing? How do we learn or " come t o know?" What is knowledge? These are quest ions concerning epist emology, or t he " st udy or t heory of t he origin, nat ure, met hods, and limit s of knowledge" (Webst er' s New World Dict ionary of t he American Language, 1970, p. 471). Def init ions f or how we come t o know and how we learn represent one of t he dif f erences bet ween learning t heories, and t he commonly accept ed def init ion has changed several t imes over t he past cent ury. Herbert Simon, winner of t he 1978 Nobel prize f or Economics, st at ed t hat " knowing" no longer means being able t o remember and repeat inf ormat ion, but now means being able t o f ind and use inf ormat ion (Simon, 1996).

There are many dif f erent def init ions of " l earning. " A f ew of t hose st at ement s are included below f or your considerat ion. Which descript ions of t he learning process are new t o you? Wit h which ones do you agree?

Lear ning is...

? Biochemical act ivit y in t he brain. ? A relat ively permanent change in behavior. ? Inf ormat ion processing. ? Remembering and recalling. ? Social negot iat ion. ? Thinking skills.

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? Knowledge const ruct ion. ? Concept ual change. ? Cont ext ual change (t ransf erring knowledge f rom t he inst ruct ional cont ext t o a

new cont ext ). ? Act ive and experient ial. ? Dist ribut ed among t he communit y (changes in our relat ion t o t he cult ures t o

which we are connect ed). ? Tuning your percept ions t o your immediat e environment . ? A self -organizing phenomenon (it is af f ect ed by numerous, unpredict able

variables, but when people in a syst em need t o learn, t hey will).

[ Adapt ed f r om Jonassen, D. H. , Howl and, J. , Moor e, J. , & Mar r a, R. M. (2003). Lear ning t o sol ve pr obl ems wit h t echnol ogy: A const r uct ivist per spect ive. Upper Saddl e River , N. J. : Mer r il l Pr ent ice Hal l . ]

In t heir review of eLearning t heories, f rameworks and models, Mayes and de Freit as (2007) emphasize t hat it is import ant t o be clear about t he assumpt ions underlying eLearning designs. This is, in part , because t hey claim t here really are no specif ic models f or eLearning, only enhancement s of exist ing models of learning which use t echnology t o achieve bet t er learning out comes. They provide t he f ollowing working def init ions t hat are helpf ul in any discussion of t heories, f rameworks and models:

T heories of learning are " empirically-based account s of t he variables which inf luence t he learning process and provide explanat ions of t he ways in which t hat inf luence occurs" (Mayes & de Freit as, 2005, p. 5). A t heory... provides a general explanat ion f or observat ions made over t ime, explains and predict s behavior, can never be est ablished beyond all doubt , and may be modif ied.

Models of eLearning " describe where t echnology plays a specif ic role in support ing learning. These can be described bot h at t he level of pedagogical principles and at t he level of det ail ed pract ice in implement ing t hose principles" (ibid).

Driscoll and Carliner (2005) provide anot her helpf ul def init ion f or t he phrase educat ional philosophy, which t hey def ine as " a set of belief s regarding t he purpose of educat ion" (p. 31). Your organizat ion' s philosophy of educat ion may be explicit ly st at ed or unst at ed, but it exist s, nonet heless. It is t he basic belief s about why you are init iat ing eLearning, and t his philosophy will guide your choices f rom t he met hods you use t o t each t he desired out comes, t o t he t ype of act ivit ies and t echnologies you select .

Learning t heories can provide a f ocal point f or t he ref lect ive designer. Knowing why you do what you do in an inst ruct ional design lends coherence and consist ency t o your plans, and enables you t o f eel conf ident about t he basis f or your design. That conf idence t ransf ers t o t he learners, providing a sense of securit y in bot h t he abilit y of t he inst ruct ion t o meet t heir needs and in t heir own abilit y t o learn.

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There are hundreds of learning t heories, but t hree cat egories remain dominant : Behaviorism, Cognit ivism, and Const ruct ivism. Some eLearning designers claim t o adhere religiously t o one of t hese cat egories. You may hear t hem say:

"I'm a behavior ist . "

"I'm a cognit ive inst r uct ional desi gner . "

"I t ake a const r uct ivist appr oach t o designing inst r uct ion. "

Ot hers t ake a pragmat ist 's approach and use "what works" - employing st rat egies int roduced by several dif f erent t heories t o accomplish t heir aims in inst ruct ion. Such st rat egies are generally based on a specif ic principle or assumpt ion about learning. Some of t hese principles and assumpt ions are universally accept ed and can be used t o j ust if y a variet y of t heoret ical designs.

Your readings f or t his lesson highlight t hose maj or cat egories of learning t heory ? Behaviorism, Cognit ivism, and Const ruct ivism (Driscoll & Carliner and Ert mer and Newby readings) ? as well as t hose t heories specif ic t o t he f ield of dist ance learning (Simonson, et al, reading). In t he Anderson (2008) select ion, you will read about t he at t ribut es of online inst ruct ion, t he role of int eract ion, and a pot ent ial t heory and model f or online learning. This reading select ion will highlight a f ew alt ernat ive t heories and models t hat are being used in t he f ield of eLearning.

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Ot her T heories Used for eLearning

In addit ion t o t he " Big Three" learning t heories (Behaviorism, Cognit ivism, and Const ruct ivism), you will come int o cont act wit h a wide variet y of ot her t heories, some of which are relat ed t o t he Big Three and some which have evolved f rom t he t heoret ical branch of social cognit ion.

Some of t he t heories and t he assumpt ions upon which t hey are based are list ed in t he t able below (f rom learning-t heories. com and ht t p: / / t ip. psychology. org/ t heories. ht ml). Ot hers can be viewed at : ht t p: / / t eachersgarden. com/ prof essionalresources/ learningt heorist s. ht ml

Theory (Theorists) Cognit ive Flexibilit y (Spiro)

Sit uat ed Learning (Lave)

Communit ies of Pract ice (Lave & Wenger )

Discovery Learning ( Br uner )

De scr ipt ion The abilit y t o spont aneously rest ruct ure one' s knowledge in many ways in adapt ive response t o radically changing sit uat ional demands, t o f acilit at e t he t ransf er of knowledge and skills t o new learning sit uat ions.

Learning is unint ent ional and sit uat ed wit hin aut hent ic act ivit y, cont ext and cult ure. Cognit ive apprent iceship (Brown, Collins, & Duguid) is a relat ed idea. An aspect of Sit uat ed Learning, communit ies of pract ice provide a place f or novices t o int eract wit h expert s and gradually acquire more expert ise. A met hod of inquiry-based inst ruct ion t hat maint ains it is best f or learners t o discover f act s and relat ionships f or t hemselves.

Assumptions About Learning 1. Learning act ivit ies must provide mult iple

represent at ions of cont ent . 2. Inst ruct ional mat erials should avoid

oversimplif ying t he cont ent domain and support cont ext -dependent knowledge. 3. Inst ruct ion should be case-based and emphasize knowledge const ruct ion, not t ransmission of inf ormat ion. 4. Knowledge sources should be highly int erconnect ed rat her t han compart ment alized. 1. Learning involves legit imat e peripheral part icipat ion which is usually unint ent ional. 2. Knowledge must be present ed in aut hent ic cont ext s. 3. Social int eract ion and collaborat ion are essent ial component s. 1. Learning involves legit imat e peripheral part icipat ion which is usually unint ent ional. 2. As t he novice moves f rom t he periphery of a communit y t o it s cent er, s/ he becomes more act ive and engaged in t he communit y and event ually becomes an expert . 1. Learning occurs when individuals encount er problems t hat must be solved. 2. When learners are allowed t o discover on t heir own, t hey are act ively engaged, mot ivat ed, and independent .

Social Development (Vygot sky)

Social int eract ion precedes development , and consciousness and cognit ion are t he end product of socializat ion and social behavi or .

1. Social int eract ion plays a f undament al role in t he process of cognit ive development .

2. A more knowledgeable ot her (t eacher, experienced peer, parent , et c) helps t he learner in t heir at t empt t o learn.

3. Learning occurs in t he Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is t he dist ance

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Theory (Theorists)

Cognit ive Load Theor y Elaborat ion Theory

De scr ipt ion

Assumptions About Learning bet ween a st udent ' s abilit y wit h guidance and t heir independent abilit y.

You can complet e t he chart above and add ot her t heories by ref erring t o t he inf ormat ion on t heories of learning provided at : ht t p: / / t ip. psychology. org/ t heories. ht ml

Changes on t he Horizon

In t he past decade, new t heoret ical pat hways and approaches have been suggest ed and are being invest igat ed by researchers and pract it ioners. Those individuals leading eLearning ef f ort s need t o keep abreast of t he development s in t hese new areas of research, since t hey impact t he pract ice of eLearning (Hayt hornwait e, et al, 2007). For example:

? Collaborative Learning ? Comput er-Support ed Collaborat ive Learning (CSCL) is a popular research f ield right now. There are many st udies being conduct ed in t he areas of learner collaborat ive behavior, learner-leaders, e-f acilit at ion, and coconst ruct ion of knowledge. Some of t he sub-areas of collaborat ion include dist ribut ed knowledge, dist ribut ed cognit ion, t eamwork, scient if ic and int erdisciplinary collaborat ion.

? Learning Communities ? Anot her popular area is t he st udy of learning communit ies. Researchers are invest igat ing int eract ions and learning in virt ual communit ies, group behavior and group learning, t he behavior and learning of novices when int eract ing wit h expert s in communit ies of pract ice (CoP), communit ies of inquiry, knowledge communit ies, and discourse communit ies.

? Social Learning Networks ? The current prevalence of social net works on t he Int ernet has prompt ed many educat ors t o invest igat e how net working t ies and relat ionships impact t he learning process.

? Other Areas of Research & Practice ? Ot her evolving areas f or research in eLearning t o be wat ching include Mobile Learning, Ubiquit ous Learning, and persist ent conversat ion (how communicat ion in email, chat , blogs, and t ext ing creat e records t hat can be used t o enhance f eedback in eLearning cont ext s).

Some of t he quest ions t hat researchers are asking and invest igat ing f or eLearning environment s include:

? What does collaborat ion or act ive learning look like in an eLearning cont ext ? ? What level of int eract ivit y bet ween l earners is right f or opt imal learning?

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