Infographics
#1 - Theory Overview
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#2 - Instructional Design
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Links To Instructional Theory Examples:
The Jigsaw Technique - 10 Easy Steps for Collaborative Learning
Reading Rockets - Reciprocal Teaching (With Video)
The Jigsaw Technique - 10 Easy Steps for Collaborative Learning
Reading Rockets - Reciprocal Teaching (With Video)
Learning Situation:
Social Learning
Khan Academy: Physics (Online Learning)
Before starting each unit within the Physics course, the student takes a Unit Test to unlock a “personalized study plan.” This 30-minute test requires the student to answer questions from each topic within the unit, recording their accuracy and providing hints and links to helpful videos when students get stuck. Once the student has completed the test, the website provides a list of lessons recommended for the student’s study (and highlights the videos and articles within those lessons that are most-closely tied to the problems they missed). The website then lists the student’s Unit Test score (listed as a Mastery out of 100%) at the bottom of the lesson plan, challenging the student to earn complete mastery by re-taking the test and earning a 100% score.
When studying within a unit, content presentation takes on a somewhat standard formula. First, the student watches a video in which the fundamental terms and concepts are defined and demonstrated by an instructor using a digital blackboard. Second, the student reads one or two articles which provide further explanation while offering links to external sites for students to dig deeper and learn about particular elements. Third, the student watches a video in which an instructor explains conceptually how a particular topic is applied to solve a particular problem. Fourth, the student views one or many videos of the instructor completing sample problems of varying difficulty or circumstances. Fifth, the student is given seven (7) practice questions to apply the concept, with each question providing hints and links to relevant videos to help students achieve a 7/7 Practice Score.
On every page of every lesson (one for each video, article, and problem section), the student can scroll down and view two tabs of comments left on that page. Most of these comments are in the “Questions” tab, which sorts questions based on their “upvote” count from the community of other students. Anyone can respond to these questions (with the most helpful responses being shown first), but answers from website moderators are displayed first by default. As a special feature, any comment can include a timestamp (like 2:13) to point to a specific section of the video on that page.
Each time a student gets a question correct in a practice section or a Unit Test, a happy sound effect and star symbol congratulate the student, and the website adds points to their “Energy Score.” This score also accumulates as the result of watching the entirety of instructional videos, clicking on special links, and making helpful contributions in the comments section of any lesson page. As students earn points in particular courses or during particular challenge periods, they can earn “Badges” which mark their achievements and mastery of certain subjects.
Before starting each unit within the Physics course, the student takes a Unit Test to unlock a “personalized study plan.” This 30-minute test requires the student to answer questions from each topic within the unit, recording their accuracy and providing hints and links to helpful videos when students get stuck. Once the student has completed the test, the website provides a list of lessons recommended for the student’s study (and highlights the videos and articles within those lessons that are most-closely tied to the problems they missed). The website then lists the student’s Unit Test score (listed as a Mastery out of 100%) at the bottom of the lesson plan, challenging the student to earn complete mastery by re-taking the test and earning a 100% score.
When studying within a unit, content presentation takes on a somewhat standard formula. First, the student watches a video in which the fundamental terms and concepts are defined and demonstrated by an instructor using a digital blackboard. Second, the student reads one or two articles which provide further explanation while offering links to external sites for students to dig deeper and learn about particular elements. Third, the student watches a video in which an instructor explains conceptually how a particular topic is applied to solve a particular problem. Fourth, the student views one or many videos of the instructor completing sample problems of varying difficulty or circumstances. Fifth, the student is given seven (7) practice questions to apply the concept, with each question providing hints and links to relevant videos to help students achieve a 7/7 Practice Score.
On every page of every lesson (one for each video, article, and problem section), the student can scroll down and view two tabs of comments left on that page. Most of these comments are in the “Questions” tab, which sorts questions based on their “upvote” count from the community of other students. Anyone can respond to these questions (with the most helpful responses being shown first), but answers from website moderators are displayed first by default. As a special feature, any comment can include a timestamp (like 2:13) to point to a specific section of the video on that page.
Each time a student gets a question correct in a practice section or a Unit Test, a happy sound effect and star symbol congratulate the student, and the website adds points to their “Energy Score.” This score also accumulates as the result of watching the entirety of instructional videos, clicking on special links, and making helpful contributions in the comments section of any lesson page. As students earn points in particular courses or during particular challenge periods, they can earn “Badges” which mark their achievements and mastery of certain subjects.
Learning Situation:
Social Learning Analysis
Reflection:
Social Learning
wFor the past fifteen (15) years I have been systematically training myself to conceptualize theories from a fundamental, axiomatic perspective. In other words - I always start from the philosophical foundations in order to understand both the assumptions and implications of any given theory.
Social Learning Theory is founded on Constructivism, which argues that knowledge is contextually and societally constructed. In simpler (albeit less generous) terms, Constructivism argues for relative truth and rejects absolute truth. While I am an advocate for nearly all of the instructional theories informed by Social Learning (especially those centered around observational learning and reciprocal teaching), I prefer to think of collaborative learning as dialectic - that is, centered around the synthesis of truth between competing antitheses through reasoned discourse. This is best represented by the Socratic thinkers, but Martin Buber's "I and Thou" captures the importance of this philosophy from the Christian perspective to which I hold my beliefs and frameworks of reasoning.
However, it would foolish to reject all of the powerful facets of Social Learning because it appears that both Albert Bandura and I agree on discourse being one of the most powerful mechanisms for furthering knowledge. I have spent a great deal of time working as a college student counselor and orientation leader, and the idea of acting as a catalyst for growth through the facilitation of meaningful dialogue has become readily apparent through my work experience. As a tutor I have learned many techniques that specifically focus on self-efficacy and self-regulation - aspects of student learning that I consider to be nearly as important as cognitive development itself. In addition, I can see the value in recognizing vicarious acquisition when it occurs - demonstrating the consequences of actions in a public way can surely shape the behavior of a group of students.
Our class was unable to spend much time diving into this topic during our sessions, but I learned from the Knowledge Bases that most of my peers appreciate this theory more than the other two learning theories. I think that part of this lies in the fact that Social Learning has less content to conceptualize and seems more intuitive than its counterparts. However, I also think that it's much easier to argue in favor of a system of knowledge over which we have complete control. I think that it is the more popular viewpoint to simply say that "we create our own truth" because it deconstructs academic hierarchies, maximizes personal agency, and seemingly eliminates objective accountability in the truth-seeking process.
In a more practical sense, I respect the work of social learning theorists in creating instructional designs that incorporate effective methods of encoding into the engaging process of collaborative learning. Reciprocal teaching, for example, utilizes elements like Questioning, Predicting, Clarifying, and Summarizing in the student's approach to new texts. This seems like an incredibly engaging technique and one capable of instilling intrinsic motivation for learning and growth.
Overall, Social Learning Theory really seems to understand (or at least heavily weight) the role that relationships and emotion factor into learning. As an educator interested chiefly in positive psychology and intrinsic motivation, I have discovered quite a number of useful terms and studies as a result of this unit.
Social Learning Theory is founded on Constructivism, which argues that knowledge is contextually and societally constructed. In simpler (albeit less generous) terms, Constructivism argues for relative truth and rejects absolute truth. While I am an advocate for nearly all of the instructional theories informed by Social Learning (especially those centered around observational learning and reciprocal teaching), I prefer to think of collaborative learning as dialectic - that is, centered around the synthesis of truth between competing antitheses through reasoned discourse. This is best represented by the Socratic thinkers, but Martin Buber's "I and Thou" captures the importance of this philosophy from the Christian perspective to which I hold my beliefs and frameworks of reasoning.
However, it would foolish to reject all of the powerful facets of Social Learning because it appears that both Albert Bandura and I agree on discourse being one of the most powerful mechanisms for furthering knowledge. I have spent a great deal of time working as a college student counselor and orientation leader, and the idea of acting as a catalyst for growth through the facilitation of meaningful dialogue has become readily apparent through my work experience. As a tutor I have learned many techniques that specifically focus on self-efficacy and self-regulation - aspects of student learning that I consider to be nearly as important as cognitive development itself. In addition, I can see the value in recognizing vicarious acquisition when it occurs - demonstrating the consequences of actions in a public way can surely shape the behavior of a group of students.
Our class was unable to spend much time diving into this topic during our sessions, but I learned from the Knowledge Bases that most of my peers appreciate this theory more than the other two learning theories. I think that part of this lies in the fact that Social Learning has less content to conceptualize and seems more intuitive than its counterparts. However, I also think that it's much easier to argue in favor of a system of knowledge over which we have complete control. I think that it is the more popular viewpoint to simply say that "we create our own truth" because it deconstructs academic hierarchies, maximizes personal agency, and seemingly eliminates objective accountability in the truth-seeking process.
In a more practical sense, I respect the work of social learning theorists in creating instructional designs that incorporate effective methods of encoding into the engaging process of collaborative learning. Reciprocal teaching, for example, utilizes elements like Questioning, Predicting, Clarifying, and Summarizing in the student's approach to new texts. This seems like an incredibly engaging technique and one capable of instilling intrinsic motivation for learning and growth.
Overall, Social Learning Theory really seems to understand (or at least heavily weight) the role that relationships and emotion factor into learning. As an educator interested chiefly in positive psychology and intrinsic motivation, I have discovered quite a number of useful terms and studies as a result of this unit.
