Theories and Models of Learning and Instruction

Epistemology is the history of the various foundations of instructional methods.  It includes the psychological views and cognitive views of humans and their makeup.  The text referenced the idea of schemas and cognitive load which are not theories or methods of learning in themselves, but lay the groundwork for theories such as Gagne's nine events of instruction and constructivism.  One of the obvious differences between the theories and underlying beliefs is that the beliefs are the building blocks of the theories and do not stand on their own as a template for instructional design.  However, without the epistemologies, the theories and methods would have no foundation of research in the supporting areas of psychology or cognition.

I find it difficult to identify one epistemic "stance" because I see my self in all three stances.  I have not been trained as an educator, so my frame of reference is based on my training as an occupational therapist. In my approach to patients, I consider their point of view (perception) as well as their context including diagnosis and history. When regaining their daily living activities, they are very task oriented and use problem based learning.  Based on my own education and my current position of training future therapists, it will be important to approach their education in the same manner.  The students need to understand where their patients are coming from.  Additionally, the training they will receive in their own education will be presented in both positivist and relativist ways and the application will be completed in a constructivist/contextualist manner.  The fact that occupational therapists do not approach their patients from only one stance is what makes the profession so unique and tailored to the individual needs of our patients.  

If I were to consider an instance where my perspective was challenged by the perspective of an instructor, I believe it would be in a Mental Health in OT course where my instructor was unwilling to acknowledge facts as often as patient perception and an ever-changing outlook with each patient.  In retrospect, not being able to have an element of concreteness was very disorienting for me.  I believe that I lean more towards a positivist/contextualist stance, but I am willing to include the realitivist elements of each person in order to approach the complete person in treatment.  

As an educator, I am still trying to find my true "stance" for instructional design (obviously). I am continuing to absorb new information related to teaching so I can find my best approach to the training of my students as future therapists.  

Problem solving from a behaviorist perspective would be based on cues from the environment and consequences which would result in repetition, and learning from, a situation.  A constructivist perspective would allow freedom to impose their own meaning on an environment and learn from the process of that freedom.  The behaviorist theory does not allow for educated guesses and self-imposed change because it relies only on results that are seen; conversely, the constructivist methods allow for a very open approach and it may take longer to produce a solution. Learner motivation related to problem solving will also vary based on approach.  The behaviorist perspective might affect motivation by not allowing for freedom and keeping the student "tied down", but those students that like structure would feel comfortable and more motivated. The constructivist perspective would not give enough guidance for those who need it and would provide freedom for those students who thrive in an environment where they can guide their own learning and remain motivated.  

Defining the Instructional Technology Field

My definition of instructional/educational technology has primarily been the idea of media -- computers and the like.  The definitions found in the text, Trends and issues in instructional design and technology, are far more specific and include design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the process of instruction.  My exposure to "educational" technology has been limited to my experience as an occupational therapist and the use of technology in the treatment of patients with environmental controls, communication devices, and the use of a tablet for task specific practice such as visual or memory skills.  With this being my second course in educational technology, I am starting to open my eyes to a new world of technology and its use for more than lecture presentations.  

I have just begun my teaching career, so my skills in developing instruction are in their very early stages; however, I participated in a professional development workshop on my college campus to prepare new/novice professors for teaching.  The information was most certainly student (professors as the students) centered and goal oriented.  The PD specialist was intent on providing the professors in attendance with the tools they would need to become better instructors of their respective subjects.  The performance and skills provided were meaningful and the PD specialist was careful to engage the attendees in the process of learning the skills -- a team effort.  The final two aspects, measurable outcomes and empirical/self-correcting,  were difficult to achieve as the results of the skills learned would not be evident until the students began writing papers and taking tests to determine the effectiveness of the professors' teaching.  The PD specialist was very focused on the professors staying engaged in the process of learning the skills and not being passive learners.  The attendees were asked to form groups of varying sizes, discuss scenarios and reflect knowledge, and provided with task oriented, media rich, and interactive methods to gain the necessary knowledge.  Aside from the inability to assess the professors' ability to self-correct and measure outcomes, the aspects of instructional design were obvious and evident throughout.   

I believe Reiser excluded teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks from his definition of instructional media because they are more part of a "historical" definition of instructional media and they do not take into account the broad nature of the definition of media which has evolved.  The teachers and books are more the support to the delivery of instructional material of the modern educational system.  The prevailing idea of the constructivist theory with problem based learning and flipped classroom models provide the students with a greater opportunity to incorporate technology which is more reflective of the "real world" environment.  I would not say the "purpose" of instructional design is to incorporate media as much as modern instructional design lends itself to the inclusion of media to facilitate the greatest benefit to the learner.  The method of instruction should most closely reflect the environment in which the learner will be functioning after the learning has taken place.  More often than not, the "environment" will be less books and teachers and more interaction with technology for task completion in education or their career.  

Reiser, Robert, A. & Dempsey, John, V. (2012) Trends and issues in instructional design and technology.  (3rd ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.