Connectivism, constructivism, cognitivism. These all sounded like Greek to me in November. Now, just eight short weeks later I am pleased to report that these learning theories are a key part of my instructional design toolbox. Greek sounding? Not any longer!

In order to design effective instructional materials for others, I will first need to have a thorough understanding of the various learning theories and styles and how to apply that understanding to materials. Learning about theories, styles, motivation and multiple intelligences has given me a firm foundation for design.
This course started off badly for me as I took an instant dislike to our textbook, which I found to difficult to get through and lacking in clarity and organization. There were far too many theories and styles to read about; at times I felt a bit overwhelmed. I managed to get through the textbook, supplemented by numerous online resources. And surprisingly, I actually began to enjoy discovering new learning theories and how to apply them.

Most surprising to me is my newfound appreciation of constructivism. When I first read about constructivism I dismissed it out-of-hand as one of the pie-in-the-sky, ethereal “isms” that Ph.D.s like to postulate, but in reality, have no real use. I have since come to understand constructivism as an extremely important learning theory which many believe to be the single most significant explanation of how complex and higher order learning occurs. In fact, I now believe that I learn best by mentally constructing meaning and knowledge from my experiences and prior knowledge. At the start of this semester I believed firmly in the behaviorist view of learning: rote memorization strengthened by positive reinforcements. This still works well for certain types of learning. But is it possible to thoroughly understand complex concepts such as cognitivism or even constructivism by simple memorization? Obviously, the answer is no. Learners have to construct their own understanding of such concepts.

My view and appreciation of technology has also changed quite dramatically in these past eight weeks. Eight weeks ago I did not even know what a blog was, let alone know how to contribute to one. What’s fascinating is that technology is growing at such a rapid pace and has so many applications for learning that there is now a theory devoted to technology and learning: connectivism! One of the tenets of connectivism is that knowing where information is housed is just as important as knowing the information itself. That was a difficult principle to swallow, but is none-the-less true. In this day and age who can learn all the information there is about a particular subject? Why should they? With the world virtually at our fingertips via the web, knowing where to find information is becoming a coveted skill.

This has been a most exciting and interesting eight weeks. Challenging? You bet! But I have learned much . . . or should I instead say ‘I have constructed much’?