Course Reflections

Given this opportunity I would like to share with you what I have learned and how it will change my career in the future.  While pondering what the question “what I’ve learned, how will it affect my future career,”  I reflected back over these last eight weeks and considered the discussions, reading texts, and video presentations.

Throughout this course one of the most surprising things for me has been my gaining an understanding of my learning theory.  Gaining this knowledge has deepened my understanding of the way in which I study, learn, and work.  Within the U.S. Army there are plenty of learning opportunities, being able to study and learn effectively will affect on our missions and the way we conduct them.  The Army always says that its people are its greatest asset.  After going through this course that statement means so much more to me now. 

With this knowledge I will be able to draw on this skill of understanding how I learn and share with others I work with some ideas to lead change within themselves and our unit and as I progress up the chain of command educate others about my experience and knowledge of learning theories to teach and train our younger soldiers.  As I currently serve as the executive officer, my primary responsibility is to see that the needs of the soldiers are cared for within my unit of 100 plus personnel.  Understanding how people can learn effectively helps me structure our training.  It is important to be able to assess both the internal and external environments and the needed changes in each along with being able to understand the core beliefs and values that are shared, and then guide the actions on behalf of the soldiers.  Hopefully, the goal is to then to promote this effective learning style training for the soldiers and to help others to accept this vision and to design a plan for the future to accommodate this type of training. 

In cautioning us about labeling a singular learning style on a learner, Gilbert and Swanier suggest that the most effective learning can come from the situation and the style and material on hand, and thus continuing to study learning styles and the knowledge of them as a leader will help train the greatest soldiers in the world.   Understanding the learning abilities of all those that I lead I will better understand how best to deploy my soldiers based upon what guides them to do what we do. Doing the job that we do requires some sacrifice on our behalf, and knowing how to read into their understandings of learning theories and how to better train them will help me plan and implement how we will execute our missions based upon the needs of the soldiers I have from a team within a squad up to a company sized mission.  Meaning I will be better able to place my soldiers where they will be most effective.  Currently I am part of a unit that is deployed oversees and has left a reserve back to train and replace soldiers to the forward element as needed.  It is up to me to ensure that the soldiers here are prepared to continue the forward elements mission should they be called up.  Knowing how to prepare and ready this reserve of men is not only my job but is my responsibility to the families.

In short, after having completed this course I have learned many things that will aid my efforts as a leader in the United States Army.  Many of the things I will experience in my career I will be able to view based on a new perspective that I would not have had I not completed this course.

Resource:

Gilbert, J., & Swanier, C. (2008). Learning styles: How do they fluctuate? Institute for Learning Styles Journal [Vol. l]. Retrieved from http://www.auburn.edu/~witteje/ilsrj/Journal%20Volumes/Fall%202008%20Volume%201%20PDFs/Learning%20Styles%20How%20do%20They%20Fluctuate.pdf

Learning Threory Matrix

At the beginning of this course I was unsure how I best learned.  Having not stuck to one specific style and jumped around, I found that it was harder for me to learn under conventional methods and to be honest, I often wanted to give up on learning -- new methods seemed overwhelming.  Never the less as I push forward with my education and finding myself studying this topic have found some relief.  Nearing the end of the course and having worked through the Learning Theory Matrix I am convinced more than ever that I am ever that I learn best with the Cognitive Learning Theory.  I feel that it is more in line with the way I think about things and logically try to process the information and store that information in my mind.  By taking in new information and combining it with the existing knowledge I already possess building off of it to gain a greater understanding of what I am learning is exciting to me. 

In the army we have training courses that focus on team building and creative thinking, commonly known as FLRC Lanes (Field Leadership Reaction Course), in these you are given a mission to complete with limited supplies and specific guide lines to follow.  An example could be a wall that you have to get over without touching the ground using two poles.  Logic and creative thinking is required to achieve this task. 

In what way will this technology play in my learning in the future?  I am finding that the way I study has changed before I would read texts books or worked on assignments without stopping to logically apply the information to my life.  I think now and from here on out I am trying to change that when I don’t identify with the information I am studying trying to develop my thought process and the way I store the said information will change the way I study and learn.  I am grateful have found this and look forward to it use in my life.  Having learned about the other styles I am finding that I can better relate to those I work with as I observe their learning styles. 

Respectfully,

Jeremey Willson

Mind Map Reflection

The network that I have developed has undoubtedly affected, and even more accurately shaped, the way I learn, in that I have discovered a multi-faceted arena of knowledge available to me in my different pursuits.  My ‘network’ is somewhat all over the place depending upon whether I am focusing on my military education or my civilian education.  However, in creating my mind map, I have discovered that the sources in which I seek knowledge, advise, and enlightenment all have one distinct thing in common – they are available to me, at my convenience, to help me achieve my goals and overcome my road blocks.  I have learned to call upon resources I would have never thought to seek out, and I have learned to build educational relationships with people who have advised me in my efforts to better myself – and in return, I have been able to properly and succinctly share my knowledge and advise others, which has made me a better educator.  It has given me the opportunity to express myself outside of a traditional classroom setting and taught me that there are other ways of learning.

I have found that the resources available when I have questions are boundless when you are involved in a network.  Search forums, online databases, chat rooms, discussion links, blogs, email, and social network tools are available when I need assistance, and through these means I am able to not only find the answers I’m looking for but develop my knowledge base beyond the additional queries I had.  My personal learning network is a means to support the tenets of connectivism in that, if I were unable to have access to the materials I have, I would not be able to educate myself to the degree that I think is possible.  I rely heavily upon all of the branches of my network, and find great comfort and excitement in the knowledge that they are there, and have many more things to share with me. 

Jeremey Willson

Connectivism - Mind Map

Here is my mind map - I used Text 2 Mind Map to create it.

Information Processing Theory

The concept of Information Processing Theory was developed to focus on how an individual person’s mind works.  Initially, it was thought that people’s mind functioned much in the way that computer’s do.  It has since been realized, however, that people are unable to function in the systematic manner that a computer would always do.  Computers are reliable, you type in a command and you get what it is you requested.  However, when human emotions are comingled with the thought process, no two people will learn in the exact same manner in every instance.  Therefore, it is important for us to develop a learning pattern based on previous learning attempts. 

Another formula for developing learning patterns is to create a script, that is to say acting in a repetitive manner as opposed to thinking in a repetitive manner. 

“Part of long-term memory involves storing information about the sequence of events during familiar situations as "scripts". Scripts help children understand, interpret, and predict what will happen in future scenarios. For example, children understand that a visit to the grocery store involves a specific sequences of steps: Dad walks into the store, gets a grocery cart, selects items from the shelves, waits in the check-out line, pays for the groceries, and then loads them into the car. Children ages 2 through 5 also start to recognize that are often multiple ways to solve a problem and can brainstorm different (though sometimes primitive) solutions.” (Oswalt, 2008)

It is imperative, as an educator, to understand the way the mind absorbs and stores information.  In order to fully accomplish this task, it is important to study the patterns and behaviors associated with the learning material you are presenting. 

“As a teacher you must be able to maximize the amount of information the brain processes, and maintain and encourage normal development of abilities and thought processes.” (Ganly, 2007)

Beyond the initial educating, it is also important that, as an educator, you know how to teach in a manner that the information will be easily retrievable at a later date.  As an instructional designer, you have the knowledge and ability to present the information in a design oriented manner.  It is imperative that you fully understand the information you are relaying, but also that you have the skills and ability to relay the information in a manner that is easily remembered, and easily retrieved. This idea is discussed in depth by Dr. Jeanne Ormrod, in her instructional video “Information Processing and the Brain.” 

“People can remember things for a long time if they have a vivid visual image of it. One of the things that we know from research is that if you get information in two different ways and you store it in two different ways—we use the term encoding, or "to store in different formats"—that if you encode it in two different ways, it tends to be much more memorable than if you only encode it in one way. For example, we know from research with online learning environments that when learners see something and hear something both, they remember it a lot more effectively than if they just saw it or just heard it.” (Ormrod) 

References

Ganly, Sarah. (2007, November 6). Associatedcontent.com. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/432876/the_information_processing_theory_and.html

Oswalt, Angela. (2008, January 16). Mentalhelp.net. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=12760&cn=462

Instructional Design Blogs

The three blogs I am adding to my blog are The Rapid E-Learning Blog, the Instructional Design & Development Blog, and finally Experiencing E-Learning Blog.  To give you a little bit of a brief overview of these three blogs I am adding would not be enough so I have added their hyperlinks as well for you to further read them. 

The Rapid E-Learning Blog shares practical tips and tricks to help you as an e-learner become a rapid e-learning professional.  It is this practical style that has drawn me to this blog with its topics that range from time saving tips to organization and management of e-learning.  These topics are both relevant as well as up to date.  This blog is hosted by Tom Kuhlmann who has over 15 years of hands-on experience in the training industry.

The Instructional Design & Development or IDDblog.org is maintained by the Instructional Design and Development department at DePaul University. The site’s primary goal is to provide information on enhancing instruction through the use of technology.  More than 15 staff members are contributors to this blog giving its detailed and insightful posts.  I enjoy this blog simply by the variety that comes from these various contributors.  Each is skillful in the e-learning realm.

Experiencing E-Learning is a blog dedicated to Building Engaging Learning Experiences through Instructional Design and E-Learning.  It is hosted by Christy Tucker who is an instructional designer focused on developing engaging e-learning and blended learning. Although her career has always been related to education in some way, she has bounced around from public school teaching to corporate training and now online instructional design. Her blog won’t be restricted to any one of those areas because she’s interested in all of them.  With her extensive experience this is a great blog and the topics are well thought out and engaging.