Week 4: Posted on Behalf of Jennette

Research Paradigms and Perspectives on Learning, Jeroen J. G. van Merrienboer and Anique B. H. Bruin.  New York, 2014.

The question asked is "What is the most important factor  influencing human learning?" (p.21)  There is no one answer but the authors state that there are currently eight research paradigms that have strongly influenced theory development in educational communications and technology.  They say there is "infinite universe of instructional theories. (p.22).  In considering various paradigms it is necessary to remember that a "paradigm is a specific way of viewing reality, excluding alternate ways of viewing reality." (p. 23)

What follows are the eight common paradigms in educational research followed by the essence of what each research method encapsulates is  shown in quotation marks:

GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY  "reaching insight and understanding through restructuring".

BEHAVIOURISM AND NEO-BEHAVIOURISM-- emphasis on the individual--"reinforcement".

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY--Jean Piaget's name is synonymous with is area.--"the cognitive-development stage the learner finds himself in".

CULTURAL-HISTORICAL THEORY--"social interaction with the world and others".

INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORIES--"the active mental processing of information".

SYMBOLIC COGNITIVE THEORIES--this theory builds on the idea of the human mind as a computer but describes knowledge so that meaning is understood.  "discover what the learner already knows.  Ascertain this and teach him accordingly."

COGNITIVE RESOURCE THEORIES--"the limited processing capacity of the human mind".

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST THEORIES--"All knowledge is created by the human mind and therefore it is impossible to know what extent this relates to true reality". (p. 27)  "the construction of meaning and knowledge through the interaction with others".

There is a commonalty that runs through these theories or methods.  Learners need to work on meaningful problems.  .They need to recognize previous experiences, focus on what is to be learned, apply what has been learned and use it in their everyday life.

This was not an easy paper for me to fully understand in terms of my own learning style or, in fact, my own teaching style.  I suspect that what I need to do here is open my mind up to how the different theories might apply were I to try to bring that theory into a classroom situation.

I had a big "stop" in reading the paper.  It talks about that the universe of instructional theories is practically infinite and each one can only describe a small fraction of the whole universe.  That led me to thinking about the universe itself and how Earth is a microscopic dot in the greater scheme of things.  I try to get my head around the vastness of the universe.  It is practically impossible....so if I apply that thinking to educational research methodologies, I am comforted in knowing I shall  have a similar stretch of my mind in coming to terms with research methodologies as well. One can but try.

Vee chart Irwin article on art education research

Here is my vee chart:

Here I am trying to do a new post.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

welcome my dear cohorts!