Joy Hooker 

Attribute 6: Analyse relevant adult education and cognitive theory and draw on this in practice

 

In 2010 I completed a 15 credit level 7 AUT course on Developing Distance and Flexible Learning (paper 297111).  At the time I was also completing a Bachelor of Applied Theology at Carey Baptist College.  I had an avid interest in online education, particularly in the religious studies sector and wanted to gain knowledge and understanding that might aid me in any future involvement in this field.  The frustrations I sometimes encountered as a distance student at Carey Baptist College during 2007 and 2008 added to my desire increase my knowledge.

 

The course content covered learning theories, online activities and assessment.  Course activities included required and optional readings, online discussions and blog posts.  The final assessment was to create our own online unit that brought together all we had learnt during the course.  Below is an outline of the online unit I created.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As this course was my first introduction to learning theories, I took copious notes.  The most helpful resource I found that approached learning theories from a Christian perspective was Created to Learn: A Christian Teacher's Introduction to Educational Psychology by William Youngt.  Youngt examined each of the major theories, their historical roots, and evaluated each of these from a Christian perspective.  What follows is my own short summary of the most relevant of Youngt's findings:

 

 

Behaviourist learning theories

B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory - Skinner believed that the environment controls behaviour, not ideals, emotions, will or ideas.  Whoever controls the environment, controls the people.  From a Christian perspective, behaviourist principles can be utilised without accepting the worldview of behaviourism.  Behavioural principles therefore need to be used with ethics - i.e. helping (not shaping) learners.  Behaviour changes must have student co-operation.

 

Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory - Bandura sought to integrate cognitive processes alongside behaviourism by focusing on observing behaviour and then modeling that behaviour.  From a Christian perspective, the church is a context for social learning.  The community aspect of biblical Christianity means we develop as we relate to others.

 

 

Cognitive learning theories

Cognitive learning theories emphasise the thinking of learners rather than behaviour or attitudes.

 

Jerome Bruner's Discovery Learning Theory emphasised discovery through exploration.  The focus here is on student activity, student initiative and student solutions.  David Ausebel proposed an alternative called Reception Learning where teachers provide the structure, select the materials and present them in order to give a framework for learning to occur.  From this foundation, Directed Discovery methods developed.  In Directed Discovery, teachers control the learning process and direct students to make discoveries. 

 

Discovery learning in a Christian context can involve teaching concepts, ideas of principles of Scripture rather than just facts and stories.  We don't want to teach "Bible facts, but to help students think biblically, to consider real-life problems from God's point of view" (Youngt, p. 201).

 

 

Constructivist learning theories

Building on the work of Bruner and Piaget, constructivism emphasises the active importance of involving learners in constructing knowledge for themselves.  For Christians, who believe in an objective reality, a subjective reality that maintains "reality is whatever I make it," carries constructivism too far.

 

Youngt makes a number of suggestions for teaching constructivism in a Christian context.  While these suggestions are not limited to a Christian approach, they are certainly helpful.

- Use explanations, demonstrations and pictures to help learners understand concepts.

- Learning should be flexible and exploratory, allowing learners to solve problems on their own.

- Arouse curiosity, minimise risk of failure, and maximise relevance of the subject to students.  Ask questions to focus on key concepts.

- Periodically return to important concepts.

- Encourage informed guessing, then lead learners to analyse answers to determine if they are right.

- Use a variety of materials and games.

- Let learners satisfy their own curiosity, even if ideas are not directly related to the lesson.

- Use examples that compare and contrast the subject matter to related topics.

 

 

Humanistic learning theories

Humanistic learning theories emphasise values and attitudes rather than behaviour or thinking.  The affective domain focuses on the individuality of each learner - their emotions, feelings, values, attitudes, predispositions and morals.  Leading theorists include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.  From a Christian perspective, while the affective domain is important because it reflects a concern for the needs, welfare and interests of people, it should enhance, not replace, other forms of learning.

 

 

Adult learning theory

In addition to the major learning theories outlined above, the AUT course also overviewed adult learning theory (Knowles, 1978, 1990).  Adults generally see learning as a way to acquire useful knowledge that can be applied in practice or for furthering their career.  Adults require a less structured approach to learning they also appreciate concrete learning experiences.  They also appreciate self-directed and collaborative learning experiences.

 

 

Conclusion

From a Christian perspective, most educational theories are founded on an inadequate view of humanity and human nature.  While educational theory has captured aspects of truth, Christians are not able to agree with some of its underlying assumptions.  This is primarily because most educational theory has humanity as its central pivot point with a view that humanity is able to solve its own problems.  A Christian worldview claims that humankind is unable to solve their own problems without Christ.  God therefore forms the central point, focusing on relationship with God, knowing what the Bible says, understanding what it means and putting it into practice.

 

My own approach to teaching and learning is a combination of discovery learning (Ausebel) where the teacher provides the overall structure and resources, and constructivist learning theory where learners are actively involved in their learning through activities, discussion and reflection.  Teaching in a Christian environment requires me to be able to utilise the appropriate principles of learning theory, recognising that some of the underlying assumptions may not be consistent with the Christian worldview.

 

 

Drawing on learning theory in practice

Case studies 1 and 2 demonstrate how I have put learning theory into practice.  While EMTC provides the overall structure and teaching material, learners are actively involved through:

- integration of theoretical learning with practice in the workplace

- reflective journals

- online forum discussions

- facilitated group discussions and brainstorming

- research and presentation

- reflection and evaluation reports.

 

The student workbooks consist of the powerpoints for each lesson that give the main points, and space for the learners to make their own notes from what the lecturer says, or from their own reflection during the lesson.