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This should do it...............they should be in the second halfQuotes:
- page 5 comment by akieser
- Selectionism is related to evolutionary theory in that it views
the complexity of behavior to be a function of selection contingencies
found in nature (Donahoe, 1991; Donahoe & Palmer,
1989; Layng, 1991; Skinner, 1969, 1981 comment by akieser
- “a robot, which behaved precisely like a person,
responding in the same way to stimuli, changing its behavior
as a result of the same operations, would be indistinguishable
from a real person, even though,” as Skinner goes on to say,
“it would not have feelings, sensations, or ideas.”
Perhaps most importantly, and in a less theoretical vein, has
been the rise of distance learning; particularly for those on the
bleeding edge of “any time, any place,” asynchronous learning.
In this arena, issues of scalability, cost effectiveness, maximization
of the learner’s time, value added, etc. has brought to the
forefront behavioral paradigms that had fallen from favor in
many circles. A reemergence of technologies such as personalized
system instruction (Keller & Sherman, 1974) is clear in
the literature. In our last chapterwe addressed these models
comment by akieser
- Probably no psychologist in the modern era has been as misunderstood,
misquoted, misjudged, and just plain maligned as
B. F. Skinner and his Skinnerian, or radical, behaviorism
pg 6 comment by akieser
- It is important to begin this discussion with what radical behaviorism
rejects: structuralism (mind–body dualism), operationalism,
and logical positivism.
pg.6
According to this article, Skinner was a radical behaviorist comment by akieser
- Two issues which Skinnerian behaviorism is clear on, but not
apparently well understood but by critics, are the roles of private
events and social/cultural influences
pg 7 comment by akieser
- The influence of the social group, of culture, runs through all
of Skinner’s work (see, e.g., Skinner, 1945, 1953b, 1957, 1964,
1974). For this reason, much of this work focuses on language comment by akieser
- Although it is dangerous to focus too hard on the “data”
alone, Skinner (1974) also cautions against depending exclusively
on the social/cultural stimuli and reinforcers for explanations,
as is often the case with current approaches
How does this relate to the those who are advocating the use of social media for learning? comment by akieser
- oops...p8 comment by akieser
- Behaviorism in the United States may be traced to the work
of E. B. Twitmeyer (1902), a graduate student at the University
of Pennsylvania, and E. L. Thorndike (1898).
p 7 comment by akieser
- Behaviorism, however, is in a paradoxical place in American education
today. In a very real sense, behavioral theory is the basis
for innovations such as teaching machines, computer-assisted instruction,
competency-based education (mastery learning), instructional
design, minimal competency testing, performancebased
assessment, “educational accountability,” situated cognition,
and even social constructivism, yet behaviorism is no
longer a “popular” orientation in education or instructional design.
An exploration of behaviorism, its contributions to research
and current practice in educational technology (despite
its recent unpopularity), and its usefulness in the future are the
concerns of this chapter.
p8 comment by akieser
- Basic Assumptions of BTheory on Instructional Technology:
Role of Learner, Nature of Learning, Generality of learning Process and instructional procedures
p.9 comment by akieser
- Role of Learner
Skinner goes on to explain how learners learn by doing, experiencing,
and engaging in trial and error. All three of these
components work together and must be studied together to formulate
any given instance of learning. It is only when these three
components are describable that we can identify what has been
learned, under what conditions the learning has taken place, and
the consequences that support and maintain the learned behavior.
The emphasis is on the active responding of the learner—the
learner must be engaged in the behavior in order to learn and
to validate that learning has occurred.
p.9 comment by akieser
- Nature of Learning
Learning is frequently defined as a change in behavior due to experience.
Stimulus events = Response Events = Consequence
Contingency - dependency btwn event and response or consequence.
p.9 comment by akieser
- Nature of Learner
Focus on individual in learning process
The goals are then written in terms of what the learner will accomplish via instructional event. p/9
comment by akieser
- Behavioral theory has contributed several important concepts
and principles to the research and development of instructional
technology. Three major types of behavior, respondent learning,
operant learning, and observational learning, serve as the organizer for this section. Each of these models relies on the building associations—the simplest unit that is learned—under the conditions of contiguity and repetition (Gagn´e, 1985).
p10 comment by akieser
- Behavioral theory addresses the key issues of complex learning,
problem solving, and transfer using the same concepts
and principles found in the everyday human experience. Complex
learning is developed through the learning of chained behaviors
(Gagn´e, 1985). Using the basic operant conditioning
functional relationship, through practice and contiguity, the
consequence takes on a dual role as the stimulus for the subsequent
opera
p11 comment by akieser
- Behavioral Roots of Instructional Technology
Carpenter (1962) developed several hypotheses based upon his interpretations ofthe research on media and learning and include the following
possibilities:
1. The most effective learning will take place when there is
similarity between the stimulus material (presented via a
medium) and the criterion or learned performance.
2. Repetition of stimulus materials and the learning response is
a major condition for most kinds of learning.
3. Stimulus materials which are accurate, correct, and subject
to validation can increase the opportunity for learning to take
place.
4. An important condition is the relationship between a behavior
and its consequences. Learning will occur when the behavior
is “reinforced” (Skinner, 1968). This reinforcement,
by definition, should be immediately after the response.
5. Carefully sequenced combinations of knowledge and skills
presented in logical and limited steps will be the most effective
for most types of learning. comment by akieser
- The standard view is that people represent information in their
minds as single or aggregated sets of symbols, and that cognitive
activity consists of operating on these symbols by applying to
them learned plans, or algorithms. This view reflects the analogy
that the brain works in the same way as a computer (Boden,
1988; Johnson-Laird, 1988), a view that inspired, and was perpetuated
by, several decades of research and development in
artificial intelligence.
p.79 comment by akieser
- (1) There is some direct relationship, or “mapping,”
between internal representations and the world outside, and
this mapping includes representations that are analogous to objects
and events in the real world, that is, mental images look to
the mind’s eye like the perceived phenomena from which they
were first created (Kosslyn, 1985). (2) There is both a physical
and phenomenological separation between the mental and
the physical world, that is, perception of the world translates
objects and events into representations that mental operations
can work on, and the altered representations are in turn translated
into behaviors and their outcomes that are observable in
p79 comment by akieser
- premise continued
the external world. (3) This separation applies to the timing as
well as to the location of cognitive action. Clark (1997, p. 105)
calls the way that traditional cognitive theory conceives of the
interaction between learner and environment “catch and toss.”
Information is “caught” from the environment, processed, and
“tossed” back without coordination with or sensitivity to the
real dynamics of the interaction. (4) Internal representations
are idiosyncratic and only partially accurate. However, there is
a standard and stable world out there toward which experience
and education will slowly lead us, that is, there are correct answers
to questions about the world and correct solutions to the
problems that it presents comment by akieser
- Computational view of cognition
Constructivists prorpse an altenative view to the computational view comment by akieser
- radical constructivisim has been criticized as being unscientific. If learning is based on the personal environment of the learner, it could be possible that they are constructing "wrong" knowledge. What role do the mechanisms of learning play in the constructionof knowledge?
the National Research Council (Shavelson &
Towne, 2002), which argues that education must be based on
good science. p.80 comment by akieser
- Other frameworks - focus more on cognition and the mental representation and cognitive process.
1. Systems theory
2. Biological Frameworks
3. Cognitive neuroscience
4. Neural networks comment by akieser
- A system-theoretic view of cognition
is based on the assumption that both learners and learning
environments are complex collections of interacting variables.
The learner and the environment have mutual influences on
each other. The interactions are dynamic, and do not stand still
for scrutiny by researchers. And to complicate matters, the interactions
are often nonlinear This means that effects cannot
be described by simple addition of causes
p.81 comment by akieser
- Biological Framework
relevant. This approach to our topic
raises three important points. First, what we call mind is an
emergent property of our physical brains, not something that
has divine or magical provenance and properties. This opens
the way for making a strong case that neuroscience is relevant
to education. Second, cognition is embodied in our physical
forms (Clark, 1997; Kelso, 1999; Varela et al., 1991). This implies
two further things. What we can perceive directly about
the environment, without the assistance of devices that augment
our perceptual capacities, and therefore the understandingwe
can construct directly fromit, are very limited—to visible
light, to a small range of audio frequencies, and so on (Nagel,
1974; Winn & Windschitl, 2001b). Also, we use our bodies as
tools for thinking—from counting on our fingers to using bodily
movement in virtual environments to help us solve problems
(Dede, Salzman, Loftin, & Ash, 1996; Gabert, 2001). Third, and
perhaps most important, the biological view helps us think of
learning as adaptation to an environment (Holland, 1992, 1995).
Technology has advanced to the point where we can construct
complete environments within which students can learn comment by akieser
- Cognitive Neuroscience
First, it lets us reject, once and for
all, the unfounded and often rather odd views about the brain
that have found their way into educational literature and practice.
For example, there is no evidence from neuroscience that
some people are right brained, and some left brained. Nor is
there neurological evidence for the existence of learning styles
(Berninger & Richards, 2002). These may be metaphors for observed
human behaviors. But they are erroneously attributed to
basic neural mechanisms. Second, research in cognitive neuroscience
provides credible and empirically validated accounts of
howcognition, and the behavior it engenders, change as a result
of a person’s interaction with the environment
p81 comment by akieser
- neural networks
learn through iterative (repetitive) adaption to input
novel problems are solved by recognizing similarity to problems already know how to solve.
Even the most complex cognitive activity is an emergent property of the coordinated activation of networks of many atmoic units - exist only in two states - on and off.
p.81
comment by akieser
- Beginning of Cognitive Theory
Wundt (end of 19th cent). Psychology as discp. bc of
1) conceptual - inner world, not outer physical body
2) methodological - introspection
research - descipriton of what people were thinking when they completed a task.
comment by akieser
- many of those experiences with which we are
extremely familiar. We all experience mental images, feelings,
insight, and a whole host of other unobservable and unmeasurable
phenomena. To deny their importance is to deny much of
what it means to be human comment by akieser
- Cognitive psychology’s reaction against the inability of behaviorism
to account for much human activity arose mainly
from a concern that the link between a stimulus and a response
was not straightforward, that there were mechanisms that intervened
to reduce the predictability of a response to a given stimulus,
and that stimulus–response accounts of complex behavior
unique to humans, like the acquisition and use of language,were
extremely convoluted and contrived. \p83 comment by akieser
- networks. Markowitsh (2000) discusses
some of these topics, mentioning that the successful acquisition
of information is accompanied by changes in neuronal morphology
and long-term potentiation of interneuron connections comment by akieser
- differnece with cognitive from behavioral
Cognitive - chunking - based on st of 7 itmes
Mental images
p84
comment by akieser
- networks. Markowitsh (2000) discusses
some of these topics, mentioning that the successful acquisition
of information is accompanied by changes in neuronal morphology
and long-term potentiation of interneuron connections
networks. Markowitsh (2000) discusses
some of these topics, mentioning that the successful acquisition
of information is accompanied by changes in neuronal morphology
and long-term potentiation of interneuron connections
The method of “Loci” (Kosslyn, 1985; Yates, 1966), for
example, requires a person to create a mental image of a familiar
place in the mind’s eye and to place in that location images of
objects that are to be remembered. Recall consists of mentally
walking through the place and describing the objects you find.
The effectiveness of this technique, which was known to the
orators of ancient Greece, has been demonstrated empirically comment by akieser
- Wolfram (2002) goes so far as to claim that every
action, whether natural or man-made, including all cognitive
activity, is a “program” that can be recreated and run on a computer.
Wolfram’s theory is provocative, as yet unsubstantiated,
but will doubtless be talked about in the literature for the next
little while.
Cognitive science = theory around computational instead of biological.
Additional roles of computer in cs = cognitive activity is computer-like
cs = theory and impetus to crate programs to think like we do - rise of ai
comment by akieser
- Summary of Section
Wolfram (2002) goes so far as to claim that every
action, whether natural or man-made, including all cognitive
activity, is a “program” that can be recreated and run on a computer.
Wolfram’s theory is provocative, as yet unsubstantiated,
but will doubtless be talked about in the literature for the next
little while
Cognitive science now critiqued bc of computational theory and functiionalism
comment by akieser
- 3 focuses:
1. Ed teach research needs to catch up with developments in psych theory
2. Tech dev into multimedia permit ed tech to develop serious alternatives to didactic instruction. Help student construct meaning.
3. proposed alternatives to comptue models = concept foundation for educational developments of virutal realities comment by akieser
- 4.3.1 Schema Theory
The concept of schema is central to early cognitive theories of
representation. There are many descriptions of what schemata
are. All descriptions concur that a schema has the following
characteristics: (1) It is an organized structure that exists in
memory and, in aggregate with all other schemata, contains the
sum of our knowledge of the world (Paivio, 1974). (2) It exists
at a higher level of generality, or abstraction, than our immediate
experience with the world. (3) It is dynamic, amenable
to change by general experience or through instruction. (4) It
provides a context for interpreting new knowledge as well as a
structure to hold it. Each of these features requires comment.
p84 comment by akieser
- Schema; Dynamic
Learning takes place by accretion, by
schema tuning, or by schema creation p86 comment by akieser
- theories of representation). The first concerns the assumption,
and attempts to support it, that schemata can be more effectively
built and activated if the material that students encounter
is somehowisomorphic to the putative structure of the schema.
This line of research extends into the realm of cognitive theory
earlier attempts to propose and validate a theory of audiovisual
(usually more visual than audio) education and concerns the role
of pictorial and graphic illustration in instruction (Carpenter,
1953; Dale, 1946; Dwyer, 1972, 1978, 1987).
The second way in which educational technology has used
schema theory has been to develop and apply techniques for
students to use to impose structure on what they learn and
thus make it more memorable. These techniques are referred
to, collectively, by the term “information mapping.”
The third line of research consists of attempts to use
schemata to represent information in a computer and thereby to
enable the machine to interact with information in ways analogous
to human assimilation and accommodation. This brings us
to a consideration of the role of schemata, or “scripts” (Schank
& Abelson, 1977) or “plans” (Minsky, 1975) in AI and “intelligent”
instructional
p87 comment by akieser
- Schemata and information mapping -
informaiton mapping has been shown to be effective comment by akieser
- All of this seems to suggest that imagery-based and
information-structuring strategies based on graphics have been
extremely useful in practice. Tversky (2001) provides a summary
and analysis of research into graphical techniques that
exploit both the analog (imagery-based) and metaphorical
(information-organizing) properties of all manner of images. Her
summary shows that they can be effective. comment by akieser
- However, there are two properties of mental models
that make them somewhat different from schemata. Mayer
(1992, p. 431) identifies these as (1) representations of objects
in whatever the model describes and (2) descriptions of how
changes in one object effect changes in another. Roughly speaking,
a mental model is broader in conception than a schema because
it specifies causal actions among objects that take place
within it. comment by akieser
- Cognitive theory’s challenges to the predictability of behavior
are numerous and have been described in detail elsewhere
(Winn, 1987, 1990, 1993b). The main points may be summarized
as follows:
1. Instructional theory is incomplete. This point is trivial at first
glance. However, it reminds us that there is not a prescription
for every possible combination of instructional conditions,
methods and outcomes. In fact, instructional designers
frequently have to select strategies without guidance from
instructional theory. This means that there are often times
when there are no prescriptions with which to predict student
behavior.
2. Mediating cognitive variables differ in their nature and effect
from individual to individual. There is a good chance
that everyone’s response to the same stimulus will be different
because everyone’s experiences, in relation to which the
stimulus will be processed, are different. The role of individual
differences in learning and their relevance to the selection
of instructional strategies has been a prominent theme
in cognitive theory for more than three decades (Cronbach
& Snow, 1977; Snow, 1992). Individual differences make it
extremely difficult to predict learning outcomes for two reasons.
First, to choose effective strategies for students, itwould
be necessary to know far more about the student than is
easily discovered. The designer would need to know the student’s
aptitude for learning the given knowledge or skills, the
student’s prior knowledge, motivation, beliefs about the likelihood
of success, level of anxiety, and stage of intellectual
development. Such a prospect would prove daunting even
to the most committed determinist! Second, for prescriptive comment by akieser
