Week 8: Reflection

Throughout this course my eyes have been opened to many new strategies and concepts to consider with creating a learning environment.  I thought that I had a strong knowledge of the learning theories from my undergraduate education, but there is so much more I have learned from this course.  In this paper I am going to reflect on my learning experience and how I can apply it to my future career as an Instructional Designer.

            There were a few things that struck me as I went through this course. First of all, I had always thought there were three main learning theories; Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism.  Now to see that more learning theories are playing a major role in education today opened my eyes to what is to come.  It was interesting to see how the Social Learning, Connectivism and Adult learning approaches grew from the original theories and brought new elements to the table.  Through our resources there has been a few quotes or remarks that stick out to me the most.  Some from Dr. Ormrod were that we “Have to teach so that students can retrieve” (Dr. Ormrod, Information Processing and Problem Solving, n.d.).  Another quote from her that I think I need to always keep in mind is “Is something interesting.” (Dr. Ormrod, Motivation in Learning, n.d.)  These are thing that I sometimes feel as though I look over, but both are very important in a student’s success and both have to be addressed.

            When it comes to the connection between learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation, I realized more then ever that all of the concepts are linked in so many ways.  My prior knowledge of how learning theories and learning styles are linked has helped me so far in my career as an educator, but as I move forward in the online learning environment, I can see how the motivation and strategies used in this environment are linked.  You need to present materials in a stimulating and engaging way.  You have to get the learning to apply and explain how they are interpreting classroom materials.  By having the students work together or discussing the materials it can only further their knowledge.  Yes the designer needs to keep these concepts in mind, but at the same time, as and adult learner, you need to have intrinsic motivation and you need to want to succeed. 

            I think that this course was very beneficial.  It provided me with many tools and strategies to move forward with this career path.  Through this course I have learned about the “Blogging” world. Before there were a few blog I followed for entertainment reasons, but now I can see how this tool can be used in an educational setting. Also, how this tool can be used as resources to further my education.   Through the discussions I was able to see other classmates opinions and viewpoints on concepts.  Now only do I think that this will help me in the future, but I think it has impacted my outlook today and the way in which I teach my current students. This course has reminded me of materials that I may have learned a while back that I have forgotten along the way.

            I am very excited to move on to the next step in my education, but I feel as though material that I learned here will be always be beneficial to where I head in the future.  

Week 7: Fitting the Pieces Together

After learning in depth all of the learning styles, my opinion to how I learn best has changed. In the beginning of the course I claimed to be a cognitive learner.  After learning more about different theories I tend to lean more towards the Constructivist theory.  This theory is based off of the way that people learn by relating personal experiences to their learning.

When filling out our Learning Theory Matrix, we answered the questions of: 
1.)How does learning occur?
2.)What factors influence learning?
3.)What is the role of memory?
4.)How does transfer occur?
5.)What types of learning are best explained by this theory? 
6.) How is technology used for learning in your industry? 


When seeing of my responses to these questions, I found myself falling more in this theory of learning.  I like being actively engaged in my learning, whether it be through discussions, projects or creating slide shows or presentations.  To sit and write notes and then take a test on materials, I tend to "study for the test".  When all is said and done, I remember nothing of what I learned. I feel as though the material never makes it into my Long-Term Memory.  The cognitive approach relies a lot on problem solving and reasoning.  I do not see myself as a good problem solver or reasoner.  


The role that technology plays in my learning is that of my social networks, personal relationships, professional  relationships, media and there are many other outlets that assist me in my learning. All of these are resources and opinions that I can take into consideration. With enrolling into Walden, my eyes have been opened to all of the ways in which i utilize technology in my education. 


This class has really opened my eyes to how people learn and the materials that aid them to succeed.  As an educator I feel as though not only with this help me with my current position, but also as an instructional designer in the future.