Inspirations from Ed Tech Theory

Over the course of our Ed Tech Theory class, I have gained multitudes of inspiration which has bee a catalyst to the formulation of my future Capstone. I have gleaned a myriad of new insights into learning theory which I can now apply to my curriculum and my pedagogy. Here is a glimpse into the my project and the learning theory influences.

Apathy of our youth will continue to perpetuate the same ideologies and attitudes that allow social injustices to occur, unless the cycle of perception created by Eurocentric education and White Supremacist Consciousness is interrupted. It also means that socially unjust ideologies will continue to be perpetuated by our youth unless we can offer 21st century skills to build next-gen critical thinkers. Therefore, my recommendations and plan of action are to implement, through Capstone, a comprehensive curriculum that addresses the problematic phenomenon that I identified in my action research, which is the primary driving force that generates apathy and indifference in our students regarding social responsibility. Students are immersed in technology as a part and way of life. The curriculum must be delivered through 21st-century platforms and frameworks that encompass a holistic approach to educating and engaging our students, because traditional methods and one-dimensional practices attempting to engage students are not compatible with the way young students are learning today. Social relevance is key. Teaching to multiple modalities is essential. Personalizing learning and accommodating students from diverse backgrounds is critical. Proficiency-based and community-based learning initiatives are founded in today’s technological advances. Meeting core standards to align with federal and state mandates is required. My Capstone project will attempt to fold every single one of these aspects into one deliverable, online curriculum.

In order to accomplish this educational feat, I will employ a plethora of learning theories both from the traditional base, which I trained in for my MAT-SJ coursework, as well as educational technology learning theory that I am studying during my MAT-T coursework. I am attempting to bring the best of both worlds together through Capstone. I will employ the social justice pedagogy I mastered from my teaching for social justice practice while evolving and delivering the social justice pedagogy technology integration and ed tech theory and practices. Both of which I have applied to my praxis teaching in 7-12 public high school. The primary objective is to reach students at all levels and with all backgrounds, while providing equally accessible, educationally relevant and socially focused coursework which will not only assist students in meeting and exceeding proficiencies and standards, but also help students use their acquired skills learned from the curriculum to apply to real-world problems and everyday situational circumstances. This goal will require a balanced approach through numerous learning theories, namely the following:

Experiential Learning-Dewey
A key aspect in this curriculum is that it is going to target how students’ past experiences interact with present situations. The course is designed to challenge each student’s personal belief systems and perspectives and guide the student to uncover where these beliefs and perspectives originate. The purpose is directly tie the students’ experiences with others in order to promote empathy. Students will examine how their past experiences influence their future experiences. Therefore the teacher must take into account each student’s experience. Understanding each student is a crucial aspect of the curriculum so that the coursework offers flexible pathways and choice to help students engage. “Dewey argued that the one-way delivery style of authoritarian schooling does not provide a good model for life in democratic society. Instead, students need educational experiences which enable them to become valued, equal, and responsible members of society.” (Neill, J. (2005). John Dewey. Retrieved fromwww.wilderdom.com/experiential/ExperientialDewey.html, 2016)

Pedagogy of the Oppressed-Freire
I adopted Freire’s learning praxis because it is one that speaks about education being an active open dialogue between teacher and student and not a top-down approach, because he speaks to the fact that teaching and learning can not be shrouded in ambivalence and it speaks out against oppression. Dialogue suggest equality among teacher and student. Reflection is also a huge piece to this curriculum and Freire’s ideas about “conscientization” are huge factors as my course will emphasize reflection and action. Finally, his concept of “codification,” to build perspective through real situations and real people, is a stable of this course since we are working with problem-based and community based-learning skill sets. His most important contribution to the curriculum of the course I am designing is his critical pedagogy. To prompt students to look at literature, social events and education through a critical lens and continue to reflect on key questions, such as “who benefits and who is exploited?” A great quote from Freire that completes this idea is, “We have a strong tendency to affirm that what is different from us is inferior. We start from the belief that our way of being is not only good but better than that of others who are different from us. This is intolerance. It is the irresistible preference to reject differences. The dominant class, then, because it has the power to distinguish itself from the dominated class, first, rejects the differences between them but, second, does not pretend to be equal to those who are different; third, it does not intend that those who are different shall be equal. What it wants is to maintain the differences and keep its distance and to recognize and emphasize in practice the inferiority of those who are dominated.” (Freire, Paulo; Teachers as Cultural Workers - Letters to Those Who Dare Teach, Translated by Donoldo Macedo, Dale Koike, and Alexandre Oliveira, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1998. Retrieved from www.newfoundations.com, 2016)

Cognitive Learning Theory-Piaget
Emphasizing schemata in during curriculum design to effectively utilize its importance in helping learners make sense of the world around them and their learning through background knowledge, cultural and personal identity. Schemas are the basic building blocks of such cognitive models, and enable us to form a mental representation of the world. Piaget (1952) defined a schema as: ”a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning” (McLeod, S. A. (2015). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html, 2016)

Behaviorism-Skinner
Behaviorist learning theory is applied strictly for its observational, objective and scientific method. Elements of behaviorist theory such as classical and operant conditioning will be important to measure student response and offer students immediate feedback while engaging in the course such as grading and other incentives used as rewards or punishers to motivate student engagement. “Behaviorism emphasize the role of environmental factors in influencing behavior, to the near exclusion of innate of inherited factors. This amounts essentially to a focus on learning.” (McLeod, S. A. (2016). Behaviorist Approach. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html, 2016)

Constructivism-Bruner
Anticipating that students will construct knowledge and make meaning from their experience past and present while taking the course. The course will utilize technology so that students may engage in active techniques and real-world problem solving through construction of digital material to be applied to their learning. “To Bruner, important outcomes of learning include not just the concepts, categories, and problem-solving procedures invented previously by the culture, but also the ability to "invent" these things for oneself.Cognitive growth involves an interaction between basic human capabilities and "culturally invented technologies that serve as amplifiers of these capabilities." (McLeod, S. A. (2008). Bruner. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html, 2016)

Connectivism-Downes and Siemens
Will probably the most prominent implementation of course as the curriculum’s primary feature is the digital components to both engage and interact with students. Students will be making connections through the course with their lives and their community and online through networks and formations of their own personal learning environments. Also, Students will learn from situational circumstances (situational learning theory, Lave) and be assessed through authentic assessment which will drive the backward planning of each lesson to meet core objectives. There are also elements of Bruner’s Discovery Learning Theory enmeshed in connectivism. “Connectivism is a learning theory that explains how Internet technologies have created new opportunities for people to learn and share information across the World Wide Web and among themselves. A key feature of connectivism is that much learning can happen across peer networks that take place online. In connectivist learning, a teacher will guide students to information and answer key questions as needed, in order to support students learning and sharing on their own. Students are also encouraged to seek out information on their own online and express what they find. A connected community around this shared information often results.” (Lee, J. (2016). Downes and Siemens Retrieved from www.learningtheories.com, 2016)

Thanks to this Ed Tech Theory course, I have been able to put my vision into educational action!