In this module we explored theories which attempt to explain how we learn. These theories includes: Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, Connectivism and Technology theories which includes: Social Construction of Technology and Media Ecology.

 

Among these theories the one that resonate with me is "Cognitivism". The key idea behind cognitivism is that, we build knowledge based on existing knowledge. Scaffolding Instruction is therefore signficant to this theory. Scaffolding is an instruction technique based on student's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), the teacher models the desired learning strategy or task, then gradually shifts responsibility of using the strategy or completing the task to the student. If learning is scafolded by the teacher, students can not only accomplish tasks at a higher level, but also able to internalize the thinking and strategies used in one task to new tasks (EDPY, 2015).

 

One more thing that I like about this theory is that, it recognises the fact that memory can be overloaded or underloaded and that if any of these happens learning can not occur. As such, the cognitivism Load theory proposes solutions to avoid overload or underload. These solutions includes: chunking of information, graphic organizers, learning structures and instruction design (know your student prior to designing a lesson).

 

My preference for Cognitivism theory is not oblivious of the fact that none of these theories exist in a isolation. That is to say, an effective teacher will blend these theories together depending on his/her learners'/students' profiles with the view to maximizing his students' comprehension.

 

The following slides made using Emaze presents Cognitivism theory. I choose to present this theory using Emaze rather than BlendSpace and Sparkol because: Emaze has proffessionally designed free presentation templates one can easily create on. In addition, the final product is very good as can be seen below.