Teaching and Technology By: Andrea Enders

Operant Conditioning/Behaviorist Theory How Do people learn?The Use of Technology in learning: Classical conditioning; (Pavlov) – Involuntary response (dog salivating over food) OR Operant Conditioning; (Skinner) – control over responses (behavior to receive reward or avoid punishment) Educational software used to correct identified weaknesses in students Software with built-in assessment can be used to measure students against a certain criteria Multi-media can be used to present content during instruction Educational software used to develop prerequisite skills

Operant Conditioning/Behaviorist Theory (Skinner): Idea that learning is a function of reinforced behavior Changes in behavior in response to events in an environment Stimulus-Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded); conditioned to respond (e.g. hitting a baseball) Reinforcers: good grades, verbal praise, feeling of satisfaction wikipedia resource

Examples of Operant Conditioning/Behaviorism: Practice should take the form of question (stimulus) - answer (response) frames which expose the student to the subject in gradual steps Require that the learner make a response for every frame and receive immediate feedback Ensure that good performance in the lesson is paired with secondary reinforcers (verbal praise, prizes, good grades, etc).

Information Processing Theory How Do people learn?The Use of Technology in learning: Through: Rehearsal, organizing, elaborating, imagery, etc Through systematic and structured learning environments By teachers controlling all aspects of the learning situation: content, stimulus, environment, time, activities, sequence, etc. Educational software used to correct identified weaknesses in students Software with built-in assessment can be used to measure students against a certain criteria Multi-media can be used to present content during instruction Educational software used to develop prerequisite skills

Information Processing Theory (G. Miller): First concept of “chunking” & capacity of short term memory (5 - 9 chunks of information) “chuck” is any meaningful unit (digits, words, people’s faces, etc) Second concept is TOTE (Test-Operate-Test-Exit) A goal is tested and re-tested until achieved or abandoned Has become a general theory of human cognition Information Processing example with computers

Constructivist Theory How Do people learn?The Use of Technology in learning: By participating in experiences and activities that are meaningful Learning occurs when a person constructs their own unique way of retaining knowledge Examples: visual formats, cooperative learning, exploration, project based learning, problem oriented activities Computers and software help foster creativity (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design, etc) Problem solving and multi- media software (thinking about how you think) Multi-media student presentations to foster cooperative group work Visual formats to promote meaningful learning

Constructivist Theory (Bruner): Learning is an “active” process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon current/past knowledge Learner selects & transforms info, constructs hypotheses & makes decisions Four major aspects: 1.Predisposition towards learning (readiness) 2.The ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured (to be most easily grasped) 3.The most effective sequences in which to present material and 4.The nature and pacing of rewards and punishments

Examples of Constructivist Theory: Much of this theory is linked to child development research Focused on science and math learning Popular Theory Supporting the Use of Computer Simulation of Experiential Learning Popular Theory Supporting the Use of Computer Simulation of Experiential Learning

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HW PowerPoint Justification  I choose my background based on two things. First I like the fact that it had a neutral color, thus making it feasible to write on the entire slide. Second, the fact that it had a somewhat modern look to it and it had the world on it. Symbolizing the importance of not only the types of learning theories, but also that all three theories effect our world  I chose to touch base on all three theories in technical way (meaning pure definition) and I also wanted to find other web resources that would make the learning theories easier to understand. An example of this can be seen in my link to short and long term memory and how it relates to different types of computer hardware. Also, for last theory on constructivist, I found a related web article to the theory and teaching with computers.  Finally, I chose to save my power point as an html to not only figure out how to do it, but also to receive some extra credit.