EDUC 6115 Week 7: Fitting the Pieces Together

My assignment this week is to reflect on how my view has changed since the beginning of the course, now that I have a deeper understanding of the different learning theories and learning styles. After reviewing what I wrote for my first discussion post in this class, about which methods are best for my own personal learning, I realized that my views from that first week were mostly inadequate.

Seven weeks ago I was not familiar with the different learning theories, styles, or aware that I was already heavily dependant upon using technology to learn. With this limited knowledge, I viewed myself as a self-directed learner that could simply read through class materials and grasps new concepts with repetition. Since I did not have any prior exposure to learning theories, I found that this was not as easy as I had expected. To overcome my lack of experience in this field, I referenced my classmate’s experiences that were shared in our group discussions. I read through my peer’s postings to find examples of how these theories were applied in a classroom.  During the forth and fifth weeks of class, I figured out that I was applying a constructivist goal to my own learning. I even posted the following statements in our discussion group to show the connection that I had made:

“As a self-directed learner in this course, I find that I am encountering a lot of challenges with understanding theories that I have no personal experiences to reflect upon. When this happens, I end up having to repeatedly read my classmate’s discussion posts until I am able to find a link between the course resources and a peer’s experience” (McLaughlin, 2013).

I believe that last week was a pretty significant tipping point for me in this class, as I was able to piece together the realization that I should be expanding my areas of study and finding ways to use different learning styles outside of my comfort zone. After all, as a future instructional designer, I do not want to be limited to creating instruction for just one learning method.

In addition, I expect technology to continue as an extremely valuable tool in my learning. I can utilize search engines on the Internet for research. I can subscribe to more blogs, and read them on my mobile device. I can create activities that include Quick Response (QR) codes. I can increase my social media presence in order to connect with other Instructional Designers. I will keep an open mind and be happy to embrace new technology as it becomes available.

Reference:

McLaughlin, A.L. (2012, February 7). Week 5: Adult Learning Experiences. [Discussion group comment]. Retrieved from the Walden University Blackboard Learn discussion group: https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2096258_1%26url%3D