Thoughts on Theories-Module #2

While reading about the different learning theories I have found it difficult to say that behaviorism or cognitivism is “better” than the other. I read about behaviorism and I reflected upon my experiences with students…that rote, repetitive practice of multiplication tables will help most children remember the facts. We played quiz games, flashcard games and computer games to reinforce the facts. But then the word “most” begins to haunt me because then I remember Ty (and many others) who just couldn’t memorize his facts. Ty needed to use mnemonic clues like “eight times eight fell on the floor, I picked it up and it was sixty four.” He needed to see a chart to see the patterns with the numbers. He needed to use objects to visualize groups of objects to understand the concept that multiplication is just a quicker way to add groups of objects. Once he was given more concrete information, he was able to begin to memorize and remember facts, maybe not as quickly as others, but he could retrieve the information given time. He was able to thrive by using cognitive strategies to build knowledge.
I agree with Karl Kapp when he stated in his January 2, 1997 blog post, “What we need is to take the best from each philosophy and use it wisely to create solid educational experiences for our learners.” He has expressed what I believe to be the most critical component of learning theory…the individual learners. Each student comes to us with his/her own set of needs, own prior knowledge, own particularly wiring in their brains. How could we even begin to assume that each learner needs the exact same thing? If I am serving dinner to a group, I must take into consideration that one guest is lactose intolerant, another is allergic to eggs, one is vegetarian and one is diabetic. I cannot design one meal for all. I need to provide a menu of items that addresses the particular dietary needs of all. I do not think that one learning theory is absolute and can meet the needs of every student. In his blog post on January 1, 2007, Bill Kerr states, “It seems to me that each _ism is offering something useful without any of them being complete or stand alone in their own right.” What an effective educator or instructional designer does is choose from a menu of items to meet the needs of the learner.
The challenge for the educator is to understand the individual learner’s needs while also understanding the external influences that will impact the desired outcome of student learning. The impact of technology on our world has educational leaders scrambling to prepare our students in a world that is changing so quickly, where the jobs that our students will be doing in the future might not even be created yet. This is why educational reform has no quick fix and no one learning theory can be the answer.