Richard Jones EdTech 503

Types of Learning Reflection

In this module, students were required to write a reflection based on the strategies for learning as described by Smith and Ragan. Students were asked to read the first two to three pages from chapters 8-15 in the textbook and write two paragraphs based on their understanding of the material. The reflective responses will address the following questions: 1) In your own words, provide a brief definition for each of the strategies. 2) Please write your thoughts about what occurred to you as you read through the different strategy introductions. How does what you read relate to what you already knew? What aspects of the strategies (if any) struck you as new or unique? From a designer's standpoint, why might a separation of the strategies be important? Please note that I have attempted to provide examples of each type of learning based on my teaching experience as a social science instructor. Chapter 8: Declarative Knowledge Declarative knowledge describes the components of learning that involve an understanding of basic facts and information. It is often considered the lowest level of knowledge that one can have in terms of Blooms Taxonomy. Despite its ranking in this hierarchy, declarative knowledge is an essential component of the learning process as one cannot take part in activities that involve concepts, procedures, principles, and other higher order skills without first having a foundation of declarative knowledge from which to work. Some examples of declarative knowledge include the memorization of names, facts, lists, labels, and organized discourse. In a social science classroom one would encounter declarative knowledge like the definition of a key term, recollection of an important date, or by possibly listing the causes of a significant event. Some of the verbs that one might find within a learning objective about declarative knowledge includes define, describe, recall, or list. As I read through this chapter, I could not help but to think about how often social science subjects are thought to be about teaching declarative knowledge, especially in branches like history. While it is true that this field is highly reliant on a foundation of declarative knowledge, the true goal of social scientists is to use that in order to develop concepts, analyze cause and effect, state hypotheses, and interpret historical data. This relates to what I know because I completely understand the relationships that Smith and Ragan described when discussing the linkage between declarative knowledge and these other levels of observable skills. What I found unique about the authors description of declarative knowledge was their emphasis on its importance in the learning process. It seems that efforts to push learners toward higher levels of Blooms Taxonomy has caused educators to shy away from extended studies that simply focus on the basics of declarative knowledge. Thus, instructional designers must provide ample time and strategies to build these items into a learners prior knowledge.

Chapter 9: Concept Learning Concept learning cab be described as the application of knowledge to new and previouslyexamined situations related to the concept in question. An individual who has achieved proficiency in concept learning would be able to identify or provided examples of that concept in various settings. Concept learning is often confused with declarative knowledge as people believe that concept learning means knowing the definition of a concept. This would actually be declarative knowledge because there is no application of the learning, only recollection of the definition. As an American government teacher, I often have to teach the concept of using attack ads in political campaigns. Knowing the definition of attack ad would be declarative knowledge; however, recognition of attack ads from various campaigns would be reflective of concept learning. The other important detail that the authors note in this section is that concepts can be both concrete or abstract, meaning they can be theoretical or physically in nature. The thought that stood out most to me as I read about this strategy was how prevalent it is in my economics and government courses. I rely much more on concept development in these classes compared to the history courses that I teach. This is not to say that the study of history does not involve concept learning; rather, it is meant to simply suggest that other social science courses are much more reliant on concept-based lessons. I would not say that this is new to me, but I would say that the information in this chapter has reinforced my past decisions to teach these courses using different types of strategies and activities. As an instructional designer, one would need to make sure to provide ample time for learners to apply their understanding of the concepts and to new situations. This gives instructors a chance to assess whether or not students simply know the definition of the concept or if they truly understand it and can apply it to alternate settings. Chapter 10: Learning Procedures Procedures can be described as a collection of step-by-step instructions that a learner would go through when trying to solve a problem, reach a decision, determine an outcome, or complete a task. Procedural tasks are often divided into two categories: simple and complex. Simple procedures are those that involve one set of linear steps. On the contrary, complex procedures involve multiple steps and decision points where the learner must determine which path to follow. An example of procedural knowledge in social sciences would be to understand the procedure for calculating the change in demand for a product when a given stimulus occurs. This is one of the most fundamental procedures used in an economics course. Procedural learning is closely related to learning about principles as one uses procedures when attempting to work through situations that involve principles. In the case of the example above, the principle would be the law of demand while the procedure would be the steps in calculating the change. Finally, it is important to keep the abilities of the learners in mind when selecting the complexity of the steps. The idea that stood out the most to me in this chapter was the linkage between procedures and principles. As a non-math teacher, I often forget that I need to teach my economics students specific steps when it comes to calculating or determining the value of various problems relating to the principles that we study in class. I tend to assume that they have developed those skills in

their math classes, so before this reading I had not noticed the dependency between these two classifications of learning. An instructional designer must help learners to see procedures as more than just steps for completing a task. They must help the learner see them as pieces of the puzzle that is problem solving. This makes the teaching of this strategy extremely important. Chapter 11: Principle Learning Principles are characterized by a relationship between two or more variables or concepts. In other words, to understand principles is to apply the principle to a variety of situations in order to predict what might happen if one or more of the variables is altered in some way. An example of this from social sciences would be the law of supply. This is the idea that producers will make less when prices are low and will produce more when prices are high. Principles are essential in the process of solving problems as the learner must be able to determine which principle to use in a given situation. The authors also point out that much this is domain-specific meaning the principles occur only within that subject. Educators must provide ample opportunities for students to apply these principles to unfamiliar situations or scenarios. The most eye-opening aspect of this chapter was the fact that it helped me to better distinguish between principles and concepts. Before reading this selection, I would have inaccurately categorized most of the principles that I teach as concepts. After reading through this material I can see that principles are much more about understanding if-then relationships than they are about knowing what something happens to be. I also have a clearer understanding of the differences between principles and procedures. Procedures are the steps for calculating the response of stimulus on a principle. I have also learned that declarative knowledge is inherent in principle learning. Declarative knowledge merely asks learners to know the definition of the principle whereas principle strategies teach them to apply it to a variety of situations. Chapter 12: Problem-Solving Learning Problem-solving learning involves the ability for a learner to use multiple principles and skills from previously-studied materials with the goal of solving new problems. Unlike other types of learning, problem-solving learning is domain specific. This is a major difference between it and other types of learning that generally cross multiple content areas. However, problem-solving learning incorporates many other types of learning like declarative knowledge, procedures, principles, and cognitive strategies. The tasks involved in problem-solving can be simple or complex depending upon the number of principles that one must consider during the process. Finally, problem situations can be further broken down according to the clarity of the goal. Problems with a clear goal are termed well-defined while problems with vague goals are called ill-defined. An example of problem-solving learning in social sciences might be to ask learners to design a system of government that best represents the citizenry of a nation. The first thing that struck me when reading this chapter was the level of complexity involved in this type of learning. Problem-solving learning involves the highest levels of Blooms Taxonomy and clearly requires a deep level of thinking by the individual(s) involved in planning and carrying out the instruction. The information in this chapter was somewhat familiar to me as I have been practicing project-based learning for a couple of years now. One of the main tenants

of project-based learning is problem solving; thus, I have some experiences with the ideas that the authors mentioned. This is not to say that all project-based learning is problem-solving learning. However, there are many similarities between the two. The authors noted that this type of learning differs from principle learning because problem-solving learning requires the use of several principles that are selected by the learner as opposed to just one. Chapter 13: Cognitive Strategy Learning Cognitive strategy learning involves the methods that a learner might employ to monitor his or her own thinking and learning. In fact, Gagne has broken cognitive strategies into two categories: strategies for learning and strategies for thinking. Strategies for learning involve the ways people store and recall knowledge. Categories for thinking are those that promote inventive and creative products. One of the fundamental principles of this type of learning is the belief that information processing should be guided by the learner and not the teacher. This is not to say that all learners will be capable of doing so, but it is the ideal goal of this type of learning. My initial reaction to this category of learning was one of being overwhelmed with the concept of getting students to the point where they can take on the challenge of guiding their own learning. As an educator, this is an ideal goal that I wished students could achieve, but the practicality is somewhat daunting in nature. I am hoping that the chapter provides additional details about the various strategies for accomplishing this goal. My experience with this type of learning is fairly limited. I have heard discussions about self-directed or student-centered curriculum, but these two labels are not truly reflective of the definition that these authors provide for cognitive learning. The important distinction between this and other strategies in our reading is that it requires the learner to develop their own ability to select appropriate strategies for learning rather than having the instruction drive their single option. Chapter 14: Attitude Learning Attitude learning is that which attempts to alter the opinions, beliefs, or perspectives of the learners involved in the process. This type of learning is highly reliant on visible behavior and choices that the learners make as a result of instruction. This type of learning is often given the label affective learning. There are three components involved in the instruction phase of attitude learning. The first component, cognitive development, involves knowing how to complete a task or perform a psychomotor skill. The second component, behavioral development, is that which allows the learner to see how the task is performed. Finally, the affective component suggests that learners must understand why it is important to perform the task. An example of attitude learning in a social studies classroom might be a lesson that encourages students to vote in an upcoming election. There could be an affective appeal to encourage them based on the trials and sacrifices of those who struggled to give people that right. This is one of the more familiar of the learning types that we have studied in this textbook because I utilized it in the Boise State University courses that I took on multimedia production. Multimedia provides an excellent medium for affective messages because they can grab at

learners emotions and encourage them to take action as a result of the message. One thing that struck me in this reading is the when the authors discussed the fact that this type of learning has been neglected in recent history. I would wholeheartedly agree with this opinion and would suggest that much of this lack of inclusion in the classroom has to do with the emphasis on standardized testing and lower level tasks. Chapter 15: Psychomotor Learning Psychomotor learning can best be described as that which involves muscular movements by the body with specific attention being placed on the accuracy of such movements. Smith and Ragan make an important point when they discuss the reason for using the term psychomotor as opposed to just motor skill as it implies a cognitive aspect to the action. The overall category of psychomotor skills has been further divided into two subcategories: discrete and continuous skills. Discrete skills are those that involve only a few steps with clear beginning and ending points. Continuous skills are those where the beginning and ending of the task is much more vague. Finally, Smith and Ragan point out the difference between closed skills and open skills. According to them, closed skills are not impacted by the environment whereas open skills require participants to adapt to environmental changes. This is another category where I have some previous exposure to, but it is not one that I would label myself proficient in terms of designing lessons around the type of learning. I was required to create a YouTube-based lesson that involved psychomotor skills. I developed a lesson around the ways in which a pitcher can throw a curveball. In doing so, I searched YouTube for videos that would help to teach the psychomotor skills involved in completing this task. Therefore, I understand the concept of psychomotor learning, but I have never actually created original content to address it. There were also some new components of psychomotor learning that I found in this text. I was previously unaware of the subcategories and classification involved in this area. I was also unaware of its relation to instructional design and the lack of emphasis that the practice places on it.

References: Smith, P. L. & Ragan, R. J. (2005). Instructional design. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.