1.
Epistemology (the study of what and how we come to know) is discussed in
multiple chapters in this section. Distinguish epistemology from instructional
methods or theories. What are the differences between theories, methods, or
models of learning and epistemologies or underlying beliefs about ways of
knowing?
“I believe that knowledge is built by an individual, is internal
to the individual, and is affected by the social culture and experiences of the
individual and that the role of the educational practitioner is to guide
individuals as they individually construct their knowledge.” Dr. Susan Colaric, Director of Instructional
Technology, Saint Leo University
This quote from Dr. Colaric’s Epistemology website stuck with me
as I tried to make sense of this week’s reading and blog post. I had to understand first what epistemology is
so that required a Google search which brought about so much information that I
had sensory overload. Basically I
finally figured out that it is how we learn and is based on truth and not how
to do something. Once I figured that
out, I was able to realize that theories, methods, and models of learning are
simply how the information we need to learn is presented to us as individuals. So as Dr. Colaric states above, our knowledge
is built by us individually and we are responsible for how we construct our
knowledge and teachers should be there to guide us in seeking out that
knowledge. They do this by creating
lessons which engage us and allow us to learn by interacting with our world and
each other.
2. Chapters in this section discuss three contrasting epistemic stances: positivist, relativist, and contextualist (or hermeneutical). Positivists believe that the only truth or knowledge is objective truth. Relativists don’t believe that objective truth is possible and that all knowledge is subjective to perception or relative to a particular frame of reference. Contextualists believe that truth or knowledge is relative to context rather than individual, subjective understanding. While designers and educators with a positivist stance generally apply behaviorist principles to the design and development of instruction, those with either a contextualist or relativist epistemological framework employ constructivist theories and methods. Reflect on whether your stance is primarily positivist, relativist, or contextualist. Then, identify an instance when your perspective or stance as a learner conflicted with that of your instructor. Describe the conflict that you experienced and analyze whether opposing epistemic stances may have been at the heart of the conflict.
As I read through the chapters and then of course employed Google to help me understand all three of the stances better, I realized that depending on the day of the week and subject I am teaching, I can relate with all three of them. For example, if I am teaching my Pre-AP Science students about photosynthesis, then I relate to the positivist stance. It is a fact that plants take in carbon dioxide and water then in the presence of radiant energy, convert it to glucose and oxygen. That will not change no matter what context it is in. It is never subjective and will not change whether I am sitting in my classroom in Forney, Texas or a Hindu temple in India. On the other hand, if we are talking about my English class and reading The Outsiders, then I may be looking at the context that the story was written to determine what the author meant when she said that Johnny thought Dallas Winston was like the southern gentlemen in the book Gone With the Wind. At this point, my students may all have a different answer depending on what they read into this statement and their cultural beliefs. Again, I really believe these three stances will be determined more by the subject you are trying to design a lesson for, rather than the individual instructor. Since I primarily teach science, I lean more towards that positivist stance because I deal with absolute truths more than context.
I tried to think of a time I, as a learner, did not agree with my instructor and honestly could not come up with one. I am not sure if this is because I have had great instructors who have similar beliefs to mine, or I just did not like conflict when I was younger and never “rocked the boat” so-to-speak. I did recently have a course with a professor who seemed to be disorganized and did not give timely feedback. After having several courses in both my undergraduate and graduate studies where the professors not only gave timely feedback, but also went out of their way to explain why you may have missed something, it was very hard for me to sit back and wait. I was even more disconcerted when I received my grade only to find there wasn’t one bit of feedback on why I did not receive full credit. Only after emailing for clarification, did I receive the feedback I needed to “learn” from my mistakes. I guess this qualifies as an instance where I as a learner conflicted with my instructor. Thinking more on it and the definitions above, as a learner, I lean more towards the positivist stance as I want to know in empirical data, my grade. I am not sure this particular professor understood the importance of keeping my 4.0 GPA in my graduate courses. I am sure she was very busy and had many other things going on, but in my world, I was only concerned with my grade in her course and how it would affect my overall GPA.
3. Differing epistemic stances lead to differing approaches to learning and instruction, and ultimately to problem-solving. Explain differences in problem-solving when approached from behaviorist and constructivist perspectives. How do the approaches differ in both the nature of the problem to be solved and in facilitating the problem solving process? Finally, what effect might these differences have on learner motivation?
Behaviorist Perspective on problem-solving
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Constructivist Perspective on problem-solving
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·
Students are encouraged to engage in learning with
peers using positive reinforcement from teacher.
·
Instructor minimizes negative behavior with
negative reinforcement.
·
Students are given no time to evaluate or
self-reflect on learning.
·
Simply informed whether they are right or wrong in
their learning.
·
Emotions and feelings are not involved in
assessment.
|
·
Students or learners are encouraged to
collaborate with their peers on real-world problems.
·
Instructor does not give information, but merely guide
students in finding the solution to the problem.
·
Students are able to evaluate their solutions and
determine if they solve the problem.
No definite right or wrongs.
·
Assessments are based on context of problem and
if all learning objectives are met.
|
Behaviorist problem solving seems like it would be the simplest. I believe an example would be touching a hot stove with your bare hand. Usually it only takes you once to learn from your mistake. However, if you still think it is a good idea, there is always room for more negative reinforcement. It is a quick right or wrong situation and while senses are involved, the emotions do not have any place in the problem solving. My mom told me not to touch a hot stove when I was a little girl. If I did touch it, then I did not learn from her verbal warning and therefor did not receive any coddling from her when I chose to burn my hand on the hot stove. Instead I heard those words no kid wants to hear, “I told you so”.
Constructivist problem solving is a little trickier. For instance, I might tell my students that Disney Corporation has decided to build an amusement park in our town. The piece of land they are looking at is in an area deemed wetlands and they must determine if it is feasible to build there. There are many things they would need to consider and I might want to determine what concepts they already know before guiding them in their research. Once we establish their prior knowledge, they would be able to determine what factors they need to know in order to make a sound decision in the feasibility to build in the wetlands. In this situation, I gave my students the problem they needed to solve, but will not tell them how to solve it. This is a true real-world problem that allows them to make decisions and determinations that may affect their lives and our town. Behaviorists problem solving would have required me to tell them how to come up with the “right” answer instead of letting them see that their opinions and thoughts matter.
Students are motivated in different ways. Those who are motivated intrinsically or extrinsically may lend towards the behaviorist perspective because their learning is related to not only their own, but the instructor’s. However, motivation that is due to a gap in the learner’s knowledge or their curiosity is peaked, lends more towards the constructivist perspective. These learners are challenged by the idea they are able to problem solve and thus their motivation is self-promoted. They want to collaborate with their peers and determine if their solution to the problem is probable. Learners may fall on one end or the other of this spectrum, but most will fall in the middle. Most students that I have encountered crave the adventure perceived in working on a real-world problem, but only if they will also receive praise for their hard work.
- Behaviorism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2002, January 19).Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behaviorism
- Colaric, D. S. (n.d.). Epistemology.Redirect. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://iteach.saintleo.edu/InstructionalDesign/Epistemology.html
- ED 190 Online: Education for Change: Journal #14- Alternate Pedagogies (Ashmi). (2011, April 6). ED 190 Online: Education for Change. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://educ190.blogspot.com/2011/04/journal-14-alternate-pedagogies-ashmi.html
- Langford, D. (2007, October 10). Presbyopia Patient Education – optoblog.com. optoblog.com - Scripts from Optometrists. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://www.optoblog.com/2007/10/10/presbyopia-patient-education/
I am incredibly impressed with your blog post! You are a pro!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was researching about epistemology, it helped for me to think about it as a more philosophical view while the theories and methods are more scientific in practice. I am not sure if that is completely accurate, I agree that exact meaning was difficult ascertain, but I suppose that is how it goes with philosophical thinking.
I, too, had a hard time deciding between epistemic stances, although mine differ between my teaching life and my personal life. In my teaching life, I identified with contexualism as a music teacher that wants her students to be able to apply music concepts in a variety of musical contexts. In my personal life I relate to relativism relying very heavily on perception when trying to understand someone else's thoughts and opinions.
I loved the way you broke down the different kinds of problem solving and expanded it in your own words. Superb job this week! Thanks for sharing your views and observations with me! :)
It seems like many of us had trouble with the definition of epistemology. I think you did a great job of explaining that in an easily understandable way. I like the thought that we build our own knowledge, and our teachers are our guides in learning. This fits with the constructivist side of my teaching philosophy.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting, and refreshing, it is to me that many of us waver between the differing philosophies, both because of subject matter and because of the age we teach. To me it shows how flexible we are as teachers and how much we realize the necessity of being able to adjust to the needs of our students...sometimes from lesson to lesson, and sometimes right in the middle of a particular lesson. And yes, I taught ELA, so I dealt more with context and so used more of a constructivist approach to learning. I never thought about it being more fitting for my subject matter until I read your blog...thanks for opening up new insight for me!
your post was so thorough and very informative. I enjoyed reading your post and it provided ideas and thoughts that had not entered my mind yet. That's what unique about all of this is that we can post our own blog then go back and read our classmates and see a different or similar point of view. I too had a hard time with this topic. I like that you provided feedback how you can take different stances in looking at your professional and personal life. I also like how you pointed out in a classroom that students are motivated in different ways and they might relate more towards one theory or style than the other. Great post look forward to reading more of your thoughts and understanding of the course content.
ReplyDeleteI, too had a little problem with epistomology. It's something that still a little fuzzy for me as well - even at this time. I loved the look you give to your posts. Well organized and thought provoking. I'm going to follow through on some of your postings to get more information.
ReplyDeleteThanks!