The pieces of a Learning Puzzle are starting to fit in place with the addition of each part.
At the beginnings of Learning Theories and Instruction at Walden University online, I had some knowledge with a few corners and a framework of learning theories with past understandings of Piaget, Erickson, Bloom, Skinner, Freud, Young some of the original "fathers" of learning theories. Not to mention the ancient wisdom of Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato who contemplated and initiated the essential as a science and art. In time, as other pieces are added to the picture, a greater picture is in place with the names of notable others. The picture could be a holograph of many faces from the past and the present. Previously, my perspective of learning was only a start, a bottom line of the picture, with just missing parts.
As I learn online more puzzle pieces are added and learning takes on increased size and dimensions. As I reflect back in time, I remember the complexity of putting together a 1000 piece puzzle given to me at Christmas of 1979 which was my first year of teaching. It meant so much to me and above all it was the symbol of a Crystal Apple as a photograph with a backdrop of rich burgundy. Ever year I placed it on my desk not realizing how much it represented a metaphor of my LEARNING CAREER. At first some of these 1000 pieces represented the children in my classes who I observed, challenged, taught and shared/cared for in large self-contained classroom. Other pieces consisted of learners with varied challenges in learning, while others were the structure in between. The reflective light portion on the Crystal Apple were those students (pieces) who arrived to school everyday modeling, mirroring and enabling the other pieces to fit together.
Today that picture puzzle has expanded to include unlimited possibilities with technology. As each day is anew so also is the picture and the pieces that make-up those new pictures. Possibly the picture is a holograph with new discoveries at each glance. The learning theories that have evolved in the past thirty, twenty, ten years in addition to the theories that have been discovered in the past few months, weeks and days provide a stronger, more expansive foundation in education. Being a major part of that Puzzle, I see my ideas of teaching and learning change with time from being what I see as a traditionalist to an open minded facilitator with incredible focus on the future of learning. Navigating the Internet and participating in online distance learning and practice is just the start of connecting to a network of communication that allows me to recreate my learning/teaching practices.
One card does not trump the others in adult learning, one size does not fit all, and if the shoe fits wear it. What works for learning today will grow by tomorrow. Considering every angle and finding the right matches that fit, learning has taken on different dimension with theories like Constructivism,Cognitive Learning Theory and possibilities for Adult Learning expansion the Behaviorism emphasis of the past does not stand alone. The definitive questions are: "How does learning occur? What factors influence learning? What role does memory have with learning? How is technology used in your industry? What types of learning are best explained by specific learning theories?" The theories are: Behaviorism, Cognitive Learning Theory, Constructivist, Connectivism, Social Learning Theory and Adult Learning Theory. The style or strategy of learning is dependant on the choices of the learner and the instructor with assistance from educators such as Howard Gardner, his theory of multiple intelligences and the wisdom of countless current and historical theorist.
Gardner, H. (2004, April 21). Multiple Intelligence after 20 years. Paper presented to the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
http://pz.Harvard.edu/pis/h Mi after 20 years.pdf
Ormrod,J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M (2009). Learning Theories and Instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson.
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