Ch. 3

 

This chapter and many others in the text discuss theories of a number of researchers.  Keeping track of them all can have your head spinning.

 

Have a quick skim of the following where I have summarized some of the major contributors to learning theory.   

 

1.    When you think about learning now (after a couple weeks in class), which theorist resonates with you the most?

 

Robert Gagne
Gagne's early investigations into the psychological bases of effective teaching led him to believe that an instructional technology or theory must go beyond traditional learning theory. Gagne concluded that instructional theory should address the specific factors that contribute to learning complex skills (Lawson, 1974).

According to Gagne, nine events activate processes needed for effective learning. Gagne believes all lessons should include this sequence of events: gain attention, inform learner of objectives, simulate recall of prior learning, present stimulus material, provide learner guidance, elicit performance, provide feedback, assess performance, enhance retention and transfer (Lawson, 1974).

 

John Keller
Keller has made significant contributions as a scholar and practitioner of instructional systems design. First, he expanded Gagne's focus on the learner's ability to do something to the learner's will to do something. Second, he expanded the motivation focus from Skinner's extrinsic view to an intrinsic one. Furthermore, Keller laid important groundwork for developing a systematic, learner-focused design model based on the contributions of several significant theories, such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and humanism. Because of his emphases on a wide range of theoretical bases, Keller refers to his work as a theory and a macro model (Keller, 1999).

According to Keller, there are four major categories of motivational strategies: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (1999, pp. 44-45).

 

Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner's work of multiple intelligences has profoundly affected educational thinking and practice, especially in the United States. Here we explore the theory of multiple intelligences, why it has found a ready audience amongst educationalists, and some issues around its conceptualization and realization (Brualdi, 1998; and Kezar, 2001).

Gardner initially formulated a list of seven intelligences. His listing was provisional. The first two have been typically valued in schools; the next three are usually associated with the arts; and the final two are what Gardner called personal intelligences (Brualdi, 1998; and Kezar, 2001).

·         Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals.

·         Logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically.

·         Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns.

·         Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems.

·         Spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.

·         Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations, and desires of other people.

·         Intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears, and motivations (Brualdi, 1998; and Kezar, 2001).

M. David Merrill
"For the past several years I have been engaged in an attempt to identify first principles of instruction, those principles on which different instructional design theories are in essential agreement regardless of their theoretical or philosophical orientation" (Merrill, 2002, p. 41).

The Pebble in the Pond Approach is Figure 2 in Merrill, 2007, p. 8. "Compared to other instructional development approaches this model more effectively designs products that incorporate first principles of instruction" (Merrill, 2007, pp. 6-7).

 

Roger Schank
Schank's philosophy of training emphasizes learning by doing, preferably on the job, as long as doing so doesn't distract the learner or the company, and providing learners the opportunity to get advice from experts, often in the form of illuminating stories, whenever they are ready to listen (Beach, 1993).

Goal-based scenarios (GBS) is a learn-by-doing simulation approach that encourages learners to pursue goals using assistance and guidance provided by the interactive system. A GBS may be implemented as a teacher-led activity or, in this case, as a computer simulation. A GBS is a response to perceived limitations in traditional instruction, particularly fact-centric instruction, de-contextualized and unconcerned with intrinsic motivation. A GBS rests on the foundation that learning is a process that entails identifying goals, producing questions, and addressing those questions. All of these elements are pursued as a part of simulation that is made to resemble a situation. According to Schank, Berman, and Macpherson (as cited in Chung-Yuan & Moore, 2009), a GBS should consist of the following features: the learning goals, the mission, the cover story, the role, the scenario operations, the resources, and feedback.

 

Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Knowles' andragogy, the adult equivalent of pedagogy, is a leading brand in adult education theory (Bartle, 2008).

Andragogy makes the following assumptions about the design of learning: adults must know why they must to learn something; adults must learn experientially; adults approach learning as problem-solving; and adults learn best when the topic is of immediate value (Bartle, 2008).

In practical terms, andragogy means that instruction for adults must focus more on the process and less on the content. Strategies such as case studies, role-playing, simulations, and self-evaluation are most useful. Instructors adopt a role of facilitator or resource rather than lecturer or grader (Bartle, 2008).

 

Jerome Bruner
As early as 1967, Jerome Bruner introduced a theory of instruction that examined the relationship between content and process (Nagowah & Nagowah, 2009).

Discovery learning is a method of inquiry-based instruction; discovery learning believes that it is best for learners to discover facts and relationships for themselves (Nagowah & Nagowah, 2009).

 

Proponents of this theory believe discovery learning has many advantages, including the following:

·         Encourages active engagement

·         Promotes motivation

·         Promotes autonomy, responsibility, independence

·         Develops creativity and problem solving skills

·         Develops a tailored learning experience (Nagowah & Nagowah, 2009)

 

Ralph Tyler
Ralph Tyler is said to be the most influential curriculum writer to have developed step-by-step procedures for every aspect of curriculum planning, development, and evaluation ("Ralph W. Tyler," 2004). Ralph Tyler's rationale poses the four questions he urges all curriculum developers to raise as a means of building curriculum programs:

·         "What are the school's educational purposes?

·         What educational experiences will likely attain these purposes?

·         How can the educational experiences be properly organized?

·         How can the curriculum be evaluated?" ("Ralph W. Tyler," 2004, para. 4)

2.    Describe how the processes and components of social learning theory relate to training.

3.    Describe the cognitive and behavioral approaches to learning and their contradictory implications for instructional practices.

Ch. 5

 

1.    Learners have finished their training. They are going back to the job.  What could be done to increase the likelihood of transfer of training if the work environment conditions are unfavorable and cannot be changed?

2.    If a particular task were critical to saving a life (police officer shooting a gun, pilot responding to an emergency), what factors would you build into the design of training to ensure that the behavior was both learned and transferred to the workplace?

3.    Discuss the Gagné–Briggs theory of design and its relationship to social learning theory.

 

 

Ch. 9

Evaluation of training is a big deal, but it isn't done with the frequency you'd expect.  Handing out surveys at the end of class (what we call "happy sheets") is not evaluation. Training evaluation involves evaluating the effectiveness of the training and the business results it did or did not produce.  

 

1.    What motivation do companies have to evaluate training programs? How would evaluation help the company reach its long-term goals? What are the potential consequences of not evaluating training programs?

2.    Describe the various designs that are possible for evaluation and their advantages and disadvantages.

3.    Differentiate between the two types of cost-effectiveness evaluation (cost savings and utility analysis).