Month: May 2022

An Overview of the Characteristics of the Approach 

“Direct Instruction is a teaching method developed in the United States in the 1960s, focusing particularly on the needs of children with learning difficulties” (Louden, 2014). This form of instruction focuses on behavioural learning and aims to break down learning material into smaller portions making it more digestible and easier to understand. Teachers who use this methodology use lesson plans and students work in groups to complete tasks and the class moves forward as a whole rather than individual progression. A con about the direct instruction methodology is that as a remedial program it takes out the human connection between children and teachers and doesn’t allow teachers to be exceptional (Louden, 2014).

How the Approach Does or Does not Align with Poetry

Certain aspects of the Direct Instruction approach do align with teaching Poetry as this subject can be broken down into sub-sections. These sections can be taught individually making the concepts easier to grasp for students. These sections can be separated by the different types of poetry and the different literary devices that can be utilized in poetry. Also, working as groups within the class allows students opportunities to create and share their poetry which allows for them to get instant feedback. Areas, where this methodology may not align, are using strict lesson plans which may prevent teachers from providing the best learning environments. Poetry is a subject that requires both the students and teachers to be understanding and creative, having a strict lesson plan may hinder the overall creativity of the class. Finally, human connection and understanding of emotions and meanings behind words are essential for poetry. As mentioned above, “direct instruction methodology is that as a remedial program it takes out the human connection between children and teachers” (Louden, 2014). So utilizing just this methodology may not be the best course of action, however, certain portions of this learning methodology can be used.

Does this Method have a Place in our Final Interactive Learning Design?

As mentioned in the previous section of this post, certain aspects of the direct instruction approach can be considered for the final interactive learning design. These aspects are breaking tasks into smaller more digestible concepts as well as creating a group learning environment. However, I do not believe that this methodology cannot be solely relied on for the final interactive learning design. Being creative and having an understanding of human emotions and the meaning behind words is an essential concept of poetry. This requires an adaptable learning environment for both the student and teacher.

Reference(s):

Louden, B. (2014, July 17). Direct instruction and the teaching of reading. Direct Instruction and the teaching of reading. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/direct-instruction-and-the-teaching-of-reading-29157#:~:text=The%20Direct%20Instruction%20method&text=Building%20on%20behaviourist%20learning%20theory,proceeding%20to%20more%20difficult%20skills.

This blog post will discuss three learning theories and my personal experiences with these theories. The three learning theories are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Below you will find two sections that will go into detail on my personal experiences and how they affected my learning environment.

Describe an example from your life of when you were taught using each method described in this article: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.

Below are my experiences with the three types of learning theories.

Behaviorism:

In my experience, behaviorism has been shown in many classes as either rewards for doing well or reinforcement punishments when you are not completing your tasks. For example, I took a statistics class during my second year in university. This class required us to solve equations that were presented to us. In this class we were given an incentive to do well on our assignments as the professor would only mark the best 4 out of 5 assignments. So, in this case if you did well on the first 4 assignments then there is no need to complete the last one. This was a reward for those who put forth the effort early on in the course. Personally speaking I find this learning theory relies heavily on things such as rewards and punishments. It also does not adhere well to students who may have learning disabilities or take longer to process and understand material. 

Cognitivism:

Cognitivism theories shift away from observable behavior and more towards problem solving, information processing and thinking. In my experience I have found this form of learning more in university than any other level of education. For example, in high school I found that the behaviorism learning theory was more commonly used but here at UVIC I have found classes taking a more cognitive style of learning. Requiring students to understand the core concepts and be able to identify a problem, think of a solution and solve the problem. I find this learning theory to have a longer effect on a student as the knowledge becomes more ingrained into them. Within the Health Information Science program (which I am in) there is a focus on cognitive theories, infact one of our required courses focuses on this topic. We are asked to understand the key concepts of health information systems, their history, and trends within the healthcare system. This knowledge is then applied during our co-op work terms where we go out and work for health authorities. Utilizing the cognitive learning theory helped prepare me for my co-op terms and put me in a better position to provide support while continuing my learning experience.

Constructivism:

Constructivism is a powerful learning theory in my opinion as it uses real experiences and interactions to teach. An example of this I went through was during my first year at university. I took a first year chemistry class and in this class I struggled to understand the core concepts just by reading the text and going to lectures. However, the lab that I went to for this class is where I got hands-on experience. This is where I got to experience things such as chemical reactions and I found that this type of learning helped me understand the concepts of the class a lot better as I got to experience things first hand. 

Share a story about your best learning experience (could be a formal course or something more personal). Why did you enjoy it?

My best learning experience came from an astronomy101 course I took during my third year at university. Similar to the chemistry course I discussed in my example of Constructivism, this course followed a similar format of lecture and labs. While I was able to process lecture material a lot better by my third year the labs were the highlight of this course. I was able to learn and experience a great deal during these labs. These experiences made learning fun and more enjoyable. The most memorable part of this course was the last lab where we got to use the UVIC telescope to look out into space, we were able to observe distant galaxies, stars and planets. This course’s mix of lectures and hands-on labs made the material much more interesting and I found myself really invested in learning more.