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Turner: Week 6 Assignment

(1) Describe your understanding of edutainment theories in five paragraphs: Flow, Situated
Learning, Constructivist pedagogies, Activity theory and motivation theory (about 100 words for each, total 500 words). (2) Compare characteristics of three theories from your readings (about 300~ 500 words). Create a Venn (or other) diagram to show your understanding of your chosen theories (Diagram may show areas where theories overlap. You may use any software to draw a diagram. Insert the diagram in your file. Visit http://www.gliffy.com/ and get some idea.

Flow: Flow is a deep focus on the activity that you are performing. You often hear people say that they are in the moment. In flow, a persons thoughts, intentions, feelings and the senses are focused on the same goal (Czikszentmihalyi, M. ,1996). In flow, a person is deeply engaged in an activity. They have become submersed in task that they are performing. In flow, a person is so engaged in an activity that they are often unaware of external stimuli. In flow, the activity that the person is engaged in is neither too difficult, or too easy. The task is aligned to the individuals ability. There is also a loss of sense of time. The individual becomes so absorbed in what they are doing, they lose track of time. Situated Learning: Situated learning is often referred to as learning by doing. Situated learning is often referred to as cognitive apprenticeship. Cognitive apprenticeship supports learning in a domain by enabling students to acquire, develop and use cognitive tools in authentic domain activity. Learning, both outside and inside school, advances through collaborative social interaction and the social construction of knowledge (Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989). This type of learning makes me think of a prospective doctor completing an internship in a hospital. The intern learns about medicine within the environment of the hospital under the watchful eye of a skilled physician. The intern is confronted with real problems and learns through addressing and experiencing these problems. Constructivist Theory: In the constructivist theory, students construct their own knowledge by testing their ideas and applying these ideas in other situations. The constructivist theorists believe that learning is achieved by exploration. The instructor provides the necessary tools and serves as a guide. Often times in classrooms the teacher stands in front of the room and lectures. Constructivists believe that the instructors role is to facilitate learning. Constructivists believe that learners should learn how to learn so they can apply problem solving skills to other learning situations. This makes me think of my own classroom. I am constantly trying to teach my students problem

solving skills. I feel that once a student can logically problem solve, they are more apt to perform better in all subject areas. Activity Theory: The focus of the Activity theorist is the relationship between the learners and their tools. When we think of tools, we tend to think of hammers, screwdrivers, drills and other types of simple machines. However, with the Activity Theory, tools may include tools that are internalized within individuals. Individuals use tools to think and learn. At a primary level, these tools are material, "external"hammers, books, clothing, computers, telecommunications networks. But we humans also fashion and use tools at a secondary or "internal" levellanguage, concepts, scripts, schemas. Both kinds of tools are used to act on the environment collectively (Wartofsky 1979). The Activity Theory focuses on repeated social interactions with other people and their tools. An example might be an individual taking a golf lesson. The learner would learn by watching (a tool), by listening to words (another tool) and by being involved in the activity. Hopefully, through repeated interactions with the instructor, and their tools, their golfing ability would begin to change over time. Motivation Theory: The motivation to learn is critical for student success. The motivation to learn is personal and comes from within an individual, but can be influenced by external factors. Motivation is an internal drive that directs an individuals behavior toward an ending goal. Individuals will work longer and harder when they are motivated. There are many factors that can influence an individuals motivation. Instructors are often faced with having to increase the motivation of their students. There are a number of motivational techniques that can be applied when designing instruction. One such technique is The ARCS Model of Motivational Design. This model views motivation as a sequence of events. The learner gains confidence and increases motivation as the process unfolds. The satisfaction of the new knowledge provides motivation to continue learning. (Driscoll,1994) References: Brown, John Seely , et al. (1989). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning [Online]. Accessed 12/4/00: http://www.slofi.com/situated.htm. Driscoll, Marcy. (1994). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Wartofsky, M. (1979). Models: Representation and the scientific understanding. Dordrecht, Holland: Reidel.

(2) Compare characteristics of three theories from your readings (about 300~ 500 words). Learning theories have some similarities and some striking differences. For assignment two, I will be comparing the characteristics of three theories from week 6 readings. The theories that I will be comparing are: situated learning, constructivist theory, and the motivational theory. The focus in situated learning is the learning should be acquired by doing, and addressing real problems. The learning should be acquired in the environment in which the concept is taught. Situated learning involves activities and collaboration within an environment in which certain skills and beliefs are practiced. When I was studying to become a teacher, I performed numerous field studies that involved participation in classroom settings. Through the studies, I learned about teaching and the responsibilities of being a teacher. This would be a type of situated learning. The focus in the constructivist theory is that learning is an active process. The learner creates meaning from different experiences. The learning should be acquired by having the learner come to terms with something on their own with the teacher acting as a guide. The intent is that the learner will process the information and apply it correctly in another situation later on. The constructivists theorize that the learners build on prior knowledge to construct new knowledge. Knowledge is acquired through exploration. This type of teaching is often referred to as discovery based teaching. Motivation can be defined as the willingness of an individual to do something. The focus of the motivational learning theory is that the learner is motivated to try new learning experiences through various teaching techniques as well as internal and external factors. Motivational theorists believe that individuals are motivated by how they have been rewarded for past experiences. One technique for addressing motivation in teaching is the ARCS Motivational Design. This design follows a process for increasing learner motivation. The learner is motivated to learn through a sequence of events. The ARCS model focuses arranging resources and procedures to bring about changes in motivation.

. (3) Create a Venn (or other) diagram to show your understanding of your chosen theories (Diagram may show areas where theories overlap. Link to diagram: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1V1dMbnUPGRh6CRxSkSnG3SPnSseDx8NH8v-dNKBbccw/edit