Connectivism

Mind Map Neely

Week 2

Part of my assignment in week 2 required locating at least two resources dealing with our topic of the week:  the brain and learning, information processing theory, and problem-solving methods during the learning process.  First of all, there is a ton of information out there to sift through!   Here are two sites that I chose to feature this week:

Website #1:

After Google searching and reading for awhile, I ran across the website Reading Rockets.  I chose this site because as an elementary teacher, I find the study of the brain and its impact on learning fascinating.  Why do some children come to third grade with below grade reading levels?  Why do some children struggle to learn to read?  Reading Rockets, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, highlights some brain imaging research that may indicate why some children struggle to read.  To learn more about the brain and learning research, I watched the four short video segments included on the Reading Rockets website.  Research is being done on babies as young as one day old to predict later struggles with reading.  In the video segment Reading and the Brain, doctors use MRIs to diagnose dyslexia in children.  They hope that one day MRIs will be used more commonly to offer early diagnosis in order to provide appropriate interventions.  By the time students get to third grade, if they are a struggling reader they often develop a low self-image, begin to hate school, and struggles begin to also show up in math, science, and social studies due to their lower reading abilities.  With early interventions, we can help many of these students become stronger readers before they begin to hate school and think of themselves as stupid or dumb.

http://www.readingrockets.org/atoz/brain_and_learning/

Website #2:
Another source of interesting information I came across was on the ASDC website.  The website featured chapter 4, Movement and Learning, from Eric Jensen’s book Teaching with the Brain in Mind, 2^nd edition.  At my current school, our administration emphasizes shorter lessons, keeping students active, and creating hands-on math learning activities to help students learn.  Well, this chapter discusses the brain research behind this.  The chapter begins with a great quote:

             “It’s truly astonishing that the dominate model for formal learning is still “sit and git.” 

            It’s not just astonishing; it’s embarrassing.  Why do we persist when the evidence that

lecture alone does not cut it so strong (Dolcourt, 2000; Slavin, 1994)?

Jensen’s chapter 4 goes on to discuss that exercise increases oxygen to the brain, and also feeds it neurotropins that “increase the number of connections between neurons”.  Further, exercise increases the baseline of new neuron growth.  I’m not a brain expert and I don’t claim to understand all of the science, but what I do understand are the results of exercise; exercise can have the capacity to improve cognition according to Jensen.  Some of the examples that Jensen gives include what you might typically think of as exercise, such as running, soccer, and dance.  However, there are indoor exercise/play activities that are also beneficial to improved cognition:  building models, stretching, solving puzzles, scavenger hunts, or playing make believe.

When teaching younger children, we try to keep them moving.  But, when I think of my own sons in middle and high school, they spend most of their day sitting and listening.  There is no recess break.  My middle school son attends P.E. one quarter each school year.  My high school son took P.E. online over the summer to fulfill that four year requirement.  Further, as an adult learning, when I attend professional development we sit and listen, sometimes for hours.  Why do we require learners past 5^th grade to sit all day when learning?

I know that when I go back to my classroom next week, I’ll work to incorporate more of Jensen’s suggested exercise into my daily teaching routine.  However, after reading this chapter, I’m left wondering how this research impacts adult learners.  Has similar research been completed showing that teens and adults have improved cognition and learning benefits from exercise?  Intuitively, I believe that the research holds true for older learners as well.  I know that hours of sitting and learning is not effective for me.  As someone who may be training or instructing adults in the future, I would like to delve into this area further. 

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104013/chapters/Movement-and-Learning.aspx

 

Instructional Design Blogs

The goal of my first posting was to enter the world of blogging by first creating my own blog (did it!) and to search out some helpful blogs related to instructional design.  Here are a few blogs that I selected to feature on this posting:

David Anderson has two blogs related to instructional design and learning.  First, his E-learning Examples blog highlights different examples of multimedia learning.  He states that he wanted to provide “inspiration and learning opportunities” for professionals that are designing learning.   Some of the multimedia categories that he highlights are:  quizzes and activities, corporate e-learning, interactive maps, Adobe Flash journalism, and infographics.  Within each category, there are real world examples.  Mr. Anderson’s second blog is Multimedia Learning.  Here he posts learning videos that give technology tips.  For example, his latest posting is how to use Tube Chop.  This is a technology that allows you to easily edit and shorten any YouTube video if you only want to use a portion of it.   As a student of instructional design and a relative novice at technology, I found both of Anderson’s blogs interesting.  I enjoy the examples of multimedia learning, and I find the technology ideas and instruction helpful.

http://multimedialearning.com/

http://elearningexamples.com/about/

 

Another blog that I will be following is Joel Gardner’s Reflections on Instructional Design.  His blog focuses on practical ideas and professional development for instructional designers.  I find his blog helpful because some of his posts discuss basic design theories that will help me develop as a professional.  For example, one of his posts is titled “What is Instructional Design?”  This posting details his definition of what an instructional designer does.  As a graduate student in my second course at Walden with no background in instructional design, I found this blog posting helpful.  I appreciate learning from someone in the field teaching and designing courses. 

http://joelleegardner.blogspot.com/p/home.html

 

In researching instructional design blogs, I also came across eLearning Industry.  This site is an online site for instructional designers and eLearning professionals.  On this site, one can find job opportunities, as well as a forum for sharing ideas.  There are articles, links, and featured industry bloggers.  I think it will be helpful to see what is out there as far as eLearning and instructional design jobs.  Further, there are links to blogs of instructional designers and elearning professionals from a variety of fields.  I find it useful that all of these professionals are available on one site.

http://elearningindustry.com/subjects/jobs/item/292-senior-instructional-designer-position-in-englewood-co