Module 2 Blog Post



I have read the assigned blogs and here are my thoughts about the information provided in them.

Bill Kerr views the different _isms as a guide to learning process but not the know all, be all of it. He didn’t agree with the Cognitive Information Processing theory of how people learn.  He also believes that each _ism relies on the other. He doesn’t think the _isms could stand alone.  The _isms being referenced are constructivism, behaviourism, connectivism, etc.

I really enjoyed reading Karl Kapp’s Blog. He made reference to Bill Kerr’s blog and how he agreed with his point of view. I agree that one theory cannot explain how humans learn because each human is wired different. When I think about human learning being compared to that of a CPU in a computer, I think about the different amounts of RAM, Memory, and Storage space computers have.  The amount of information being processed by humans can be based on age.  As infants and toddlers there is basic information that humans are taught that create a foundation for what will be stored later in life. Throughout the life learning process various theories are used to help humans learn different skills and store different facts into the long term memory.

The bottom line is, how do humans learn is a difficult question that doesn’t have just one answer.

References:

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/

3 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I always disagree with the example of a human being compared to a computer. Humans store information, but can forget it. If it is in the computer, it is not forgotten and can be pulled up at any time. With that said, computers cannot build on information that is not there. Humans can use the information stored to create new information.

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  2. Hi Reggie,

    I understand where you are coming from. What if we thought about information that is being entered into a computer? If there is a power outage while the data is being entered the document or data could be lost or "forgotten" if it is not saved. I know most MS Word documents may be able to be recovered but there are other applications that can't. Also, if there is a virus on the computer the data could be lost or "forgotten". You can always add data to an existing database on a computer or update an existing document. This is Building on the information that is already there just as humans build on prior knowledge.

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  3. Sure, but in both of those scenarios, something has damaged the computer, causing it to lose memory. What is the comparison to a person? Traumatic brain injury?

    I don't think adding data to existing information is building on prior knowledge. The information you add to the data cannot work together independently.

    This is just my opinion about the brain/learning as a computer. I realize several theorists use this.

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