Learning Theory

The tasks that we were required to complete this week were definitely very interesting and definitely helped me to distinguish between how the brain works and how as future Learning Managers we can create learning experiences that are going to be the most beneficial for our learners.

To start with by reflecting on learning theory, I found it really interesting that the ways in which students learn can be broken up into parts.  Cognitivism, Behaviourism, Social Constructivism and Connectivism were the different theories discussed and each theory plays an integral role in how learners learn.

To become a well rounded and efficient learning manager, I believe that all these different learning theories need to be used side by side.  For example, we may live in a world where it is important to connect to others and learn about things through connectivism, but it is also important to understand how students learn and that can’t be accomplished successfully without aspects of social constructivism and cognitivism.  Social constructivism shows that learning is a social process and is something that is achieved when working with teachers and peers alike.  Cognitivism shows how information is stored in a learner’s brain.  Lastly, behaviourism shows how a learner learns new things and stores them to the brain, by following the lead of another.

The aspects of learning theory each have their positive points, but would be wasteful to use without the aide of another theory.  To be an efficient learning manager, one needs to try to incorporate all these different aspects when designing learning experiences.  It seems like a challenge, but definitely something that I am excited to start learning about.