Learning and e-learning: The Role of TheoryTerry Mayes and Sara de Freitas

Azran Azmee Kafia

Outline Background The Associationist Perspective The Cognitive Perspective The Situative Perspective Implications E-learning and the learning cycle Current landscape of e-learning

Background What is learning? & What is e-learning?

Background LearningAnalysis of learning experience Associative perspective, Cognitive perspective, and Situative perspective

Associative Perspective Theorists : Skinner and Gagne

Associationist describes

individual learners

Building concepts or competences step by step

Overt activities+

Outcomes of these activities

Associative Perspective

Implications of learning Pedagogic Approaches

Routines of organized activity

Progression through component concepts or skills

Clear goals and feedbackIndividual pathways

matched to performance

Guided instructionDrill and practiceInstructional designSocratic dialogue

Cognitive Perspective: Constructive (Individual)

Theorist : Piaget, Papert, Kolb and Biggs

Cognitiveattempts

Achieving understanding through active discovery

Detailed structures+

Processes that underlie individual

performance

Cognitive Perspective: Constructive (Individual)

Implications of learning Pedagogic Approaches

Active construction and integration of concepts

Ill-structured problemsOpportunities for

reflectionOwnership of the task.

Cognitive scaffoldingExperiential learning

(Kolb’ learning cycle)Experimental learningConstructivist learning

environmentsProblem-based learningResearch-based learning

Cognitive Perspective: Constructive Perspective ( Social)

Theorists: Vygotsky and Laurillard and Pask

Achieving understanding through dialogue and collaboration.

Scaffold by social

environment

Peer learners and teachers play a key

role Engaging in dialogue,

developing a shared

understanding and providing

feedback

Cognitive Perspective: Constructive Perspective ( Social)

Implications of learning Pedagogic Approaches

Conceptual development through collaborative activity

Ill-structured problems Opportunities for

discussion and reflection

Shared ownership of the task

Reciprocal trainingConversational modelComputer-supported

collaborative learning

Situative Perspective Theorists: Lave and Wenger,Cole,

Engstrom and Wertsch

Situative outset

Developing practice in a particular community

Activity systems

aggregates group of learners

Individuals participate as members of communities

Situative Perspective

Implications of learning Pedagogic Approaches

Participation in social practices of enquiry and learning

Acquiring habits, attitudes, values and skills in context

Developing identitiesDeveloping learning and

professional relationships

(Cognitive) apprenticeship

Situative learning(Legitimate peripheral)

participation (continuing) professional

developmentWork-based learning

Implications

Blended learningLearning as1. Behaviour 2. Construction of knowledge and meaning3. Social Practice

Learning + e-learning

Learning and e-learning cycle

Situative perspective

Learner’s motivation

Associative perspective

Nature of performance

Cognitive perspective

Role of understanding and reflecting on action

Fowler and Mayes (1999) attempted to map broad pedagogies onto types of technology;

“Primary: distinguishing between the technology of presenting information

Secondary: the technology of supporting active learning tasks and feedback, and

Tertiary: the technology of supporting dialogue about the application of the new learning.”

“… work that demonstrated that practice will lead to performance improvements that proceed almost indefinitely even on simple perceptual-motor task.” (Welford,1968)

it proceedsNovice Expert

Current landscape of e-learningThis model suggests itself based on

a simple dimension of locus of control:Institutional

VLEs+

with their emphasis on

standardization

An environment that empowers learners to take responsibility for their own learning and make their own design decision

Institution-in-control

So, the popular notion is

Developing towards

Personalization of learning environment

Or Personalized VLE

Web 2.0To empower e-learners with great flexibility for learning through rich dialogue with like-minded others by its rapid identification process

a) Direct communication

+b) Sharing of relevant

information

A familiar curriculum design model :a) Describing intended learning

outcomes,b) Designing teaching methods,c) Learning environments to achieve

them,d) Making assessments to measure

how well they have been achieved, and

e) Making an evaluation of whether the stages are properly aligned.

(mostly the training of skills)

challengesConventional rationale of learning design

Mature educational infrastructure.

Understanding of e-learning maturesAppreciation of importance of theory deepens

For educational outcomes pointsTheory direction

Learner(community/group/individual) take responsibility for their

achievement of learning outcomes

Individual learner Role of Educator (social setting and peer culture)

A coherent and workable model of education with theory and practice aligned