Learning Theory Knowledgebase
Project Description: As a first-year MS student, I was assigned to build a knowledgebase of learning and instructional theories. The challenge involved identifying a single learning situation, and then to describe the learning situation in each of three learning theories: Behavioral, Cognitive, and Social Learning. Each theory was used to analyze the selected learning situation, and for how the theory informs Instructional Theory.
I selected as my learning situation a game to help my son Nico, then 3 years old, to learn ABCs. In the process of creating the learning situation, I built a game board out of wood and letter tiles, with the object of the game to pull out a letter tile, identify it, and then correctly place the letter on the game board where an outline of the letter was drawn.
If Nico identified the letter and also placed it on the board correctly, he was allowed to use the cordless drill (with my assistance) to drill a screw through the letter onto the game board. If he did not successfully identify the letter, he would be assisted by the teacher (me), and then he would place the letter on the game board – but would not be allowed to drill a screw through the letter.
At the end of the game, the successfully identified letters would remain screwed into the board, and then the other letters would be slid off and put back into the “pot” for another round at some other time.
Reflection: I felt that a learning situation would be more appealing to a 3-year-old if there was an aspect of it that involved an activity I knew he enjoyed – using tools. Also, Nico wasn’t as motivated to learn ABCs as he was with learning how to do physical things. This project required some creativity to come up with a way to satisfy both challenges: fulfilling the class assignment and making a learning activity that appealed to the student.
The value of the semester-long assignment was made clear when I wrote the second knowledgebase (Cognitive Learning theory) and described the entire learning situation all over again from an entirely different perspective. It was then that I understood the principles of alignment: that approaching instruction from a particular perspective required consistency from the inception of objectives, through assessment, and evaluation.
This project also included a dedicated website, which I thought would remain relatively dormant once the class was over. However, in a later class, I was teamed with another student on a Design & Management of Distance Learning project (also in this portfolio) who had not previously taken any ID classes. In order to help her to get up to speed on the project requirements, I shared my online knowledgebase, and directed her to the areas of interest. I had not anticipated that the knowledgebase would be useful to others, so I am glad that I put the time into it to make readable.
