Learning - Blog #1

                                                           Blog post #1:  Learning

 Through these modern-day technological changes, it is changing the way students are learning today. This blog post will be to help you guys gain understanding of the three learning theories. The first of those theories would be called Behaviorism. Behaviorism is the learning theory the observation in behavior their observation. The theory emphasis how others interact with one another and that all behaviors are learned through interactions with the environment. Behaviorism is most useful when learning involves building and strengthening stimulus responses, including the use of instructional cues, practice, and reinforcement. 

    The second theory that we'll discuss is called Cognitivism. Cognitivism learning is to be used in processes such as thinking, problem solving, language, concept formation and information processing. The approach to this learning is to focus on the mental activities of the learners and help them lead up to a response, develop more knowledge, and encourage mental planning. Memory is a particularly important part of keeping this knowledge, but the learner must be able to believe that what he or she is learning is useful for it to be activated in their head. This learning is best used with complex forms of learning such as reasoning, problem solving and information processing.  

    The third, and final learning theory is called Constructivism. Constructivism is the learning theory that equates learning with creating meaning from experience. Constructivism is the one of the three that believes that what we know from our experience in the real-world has to do with our learning. The use of this learning is to understand the learning which has taken place within an individual and use it within your learning. The use of memory is important to be able to interpret the situation and information. This learning can be beneficial when exploring complex topics and helps learners gain understanding through validation or through social negotiation.  

    With technology improving the choice between online and in person is starting to become a student's choice.  Synchronous learning would be the learning in which instructors and students come together at the same time, rather it may be in person or virtual, and has peers and instructors interacting in “real-time”. Asynchronous learning refers to students accessing materials at their own pace and time and interacting with each other over longer periods of time.  

    Of course, as we've been learning we know every students learning is different but there are pros and cons to learning in an online environment. Starting off with the pros, a major one for a lot of students would be flexibility. With online learning you majority of the time can make your own schedule and when and where you want to complete your assignment. With a lot of student's transportation isn't always an easy situation to figure out so online learning would be another benefit as well. A benefit I find to be helpful would be being able to understand what learning helps you and have the openness to take your course in the learning style that's fitting for you. With all that there are still cons to online learning. With online learning the decrease in in person contact may cause students to decrease their interest and not get the ability to speak up as much since there is no instructor face to face with you. With online learning you're in charge of your learning and the time you put into it. It may make or break certain students that's why it's important to know yourself and how you learn when you're choosing between an online or in person class