This week focused on theories and approach. Some of the questions raised include questions like: What are some of your basic theories/models? About how life works? About how Media works? What counts as affective communication?
Andrew mentioned that even if you don’t like them, theories are hard to avoid.
So how are theory and approach tangled up?
I came across a great article in the Gale Encyclopedia of Learning that talks about a constructivist approach as a theory. It is described as an epistemology used to explain how people know what they know.
Technology and constructivism. Cognitive research has uncovered successful patterns in tutorial, mentoring, and group discussion interactions. However, typical Internet chat and bulletin-board systems do not support a constructivist approach to learning and instruction. During the 1990s, researchers created tools such as Knowledge Forum, the Knowledge Integration Environment, and Co Vis to more fully address constructivist principles. Each of these tools invites collaboration by structuring the kinds of contributions learners can make, supporting meaningful relationships among those contributions, and guiding students’ inquiries. Teachers who use information and communication technologies in their classrooms are more likely to have a constructivist perspective towards learning and instruction. Additionally, sophisticated information and technology communications tools can capture the cognitive processes learners engage in when solving problems. This affords teacher reflection and coaching to aid deeper learning. It also affords teachers the chance to learn from each other.
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