Reflection - Learning Theories Wiki

This activity gave me the opportunity to learn more about behaviourism which I never knew much about previously. It also gave me the chance to read fellow class members PMI responses to other learning theories in the wiki. I also felt it was good working with a partner because she considered things I missed and vice versa. By scaffolding the activity this way made everyone think in a pre-determined way, however, everyone had different perspectives and ideas they put forward which made it interesting to read.

How could this strategy be used to support the learning of my students? Firstly, by the students using the wiki and reading and learning about the different learning theories. I think it makes it more fun doing it on a computer rather than reading from a boring text book and students have the information available on the wiki if they need to refer back to it. I also believe the PMI strategy is an effective way of analysing information.

Are there any visible elements of constructivism? I believe there is, Vygotsky (1962) stated that social interaction has a large impact on learning. This activity involved collaboration with other students. We can build on our knowledge by referring back to the wiki. I felt there was a slight degree of cognitivism, it’s all about how we process and store information. I think the PMI was used to some extent as a schema to help organise the learning content. Having the 3 separate headings (plus, minus & interestings) helped me remember most of the content. Are there any visible elements of behaviourism? No there was no positive or negative reinforcements and no feedback. I also think connectivism was present because we were encouraged to build our own personal learning network by collaborating and learning from other students.

Does the design of this activity support a diverse range of students? Like I have said before, you can’t please everyone. I found working with a partner great because I was able to discuss my ideas, however the activity involved a lot of reading and writing which might not suit every student. I think this activity catered most for the active learner because they understand and absorb information best by discussing and explaining it with others. This e-Learning activity supports learning by allowing students to collaborate to analyse a specific reading and sorting through to find the important points to place in their PMI and then adding it to the wiki.