By Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
In eLearning, you will build, cross over, and reflect upon many kinds of bridges. Some are cognitive, and some are based on learning to work with new technologies and use new skills. In each case, the new pathways you are forging will help you have success in future endeavors. This is especially the case when the nature of the future is largely unknown, particularly as it relates to technology and the world around us.
Learning Preferences.
In 1984, researcher and cognitive psychologist David Kolb developed the Learning Style Inventory, LSI, which measured the individual learner’s preferences and ways of approaching new information. Harris etal characterized Kolb’s approach in the following way: “Kolb observed that leamers' preferences for different combinations of apprehending and transforming place them in one of the four [categories]” (Harris etal, 2003, 15). Depending on the category they fell into, Kolb “labeled them as "Divergers," "Assimilators," "Convergers," or "Accommodators"” (Harris etal, 2003, 15).
Although his approach has been criticized by Garner (2000) for its over-reliance on linkages with Jung’s typologies, and for being influenced by gender (Brew, 2004), Kolb’s LSI continues to be a cornerstone in the evaluation of how individuals cognitively approach the educational process.
Harris and others (2003) concluded that the inventory may not be reliable in its present form in web-based instruction because Kolb’s model is based on the notion of experiential learning, and Harris believes that web-based learning is not directly experiential. One could suggest that the eLearning space is at least as experiential a place as a face-to-face classroom, and that further, because mobile devices allow the learner to actually be in the field with a possible course topic, eLearning could be considered a first-order experiential learning opportunity.
Even if the learning is more or less second-order (mediated by the technology, rather than a first-order hands-on experience with the content), eLearning allows one to interact with others and the content at the same time. In fact, one could revisit Kolb’s categories and suggest that e-learning (and mobile learning) have so many different types of tasks that individuals might occupy more than one category. A learner could be a Diverger and an Accommodator, but one’s tendencies would be more pronounced in one technological modality than another. A person may be a Diverger in a discussion board arena, but an Accommodator in collaborative activities and/or simulations.
Experiential Learning.
Researchers such as Heffler (2001) suggest that the sequence of the experience is more important than whether or not it is web-based, or if an individual fits into one of Kolb’s categories. For Heffler, the starting point in the experiential learning process begins with the concrete experience, and then moves to reflective observation. From there, with the guidance of a mentor (or a well-designed website or course materials), the learner begins to be able to form abstract conceptualizations. Finally, the experiential elements are activated again as the learner participates in active experimentation. In a web or mobile environment, the experimentation could include contact via discussion boards, or posting to blogs, listening to podcasts, posting one’s own podcasts, and also downloading and listening to packets of mobile content, such as video on demand (vodcasts).
Here is a checklist of “Bridge” elements, which connect learning preferences and course content:
Technology and Access. Instead of being reliant on a single delivery method or course modality, eLearning students can choose from an array of ways to experience the course content. The typical eLearning class with mobile elements allows students to choose from text, video, audio, interactive and collaborative activities, and case studies.
Multiple Methods of Contact with Professor. The student can develop a relationship based on trust and solid mentorship when there are numerous ways to contact the professor and to receive comments and guidance.
Social Learning. Discussion boards, collaborations, and multiplayer simulations allow students to test their assumptions and to apply their learning. Simulations are a kind of experiential learning, which is made even more relevant when connected to actual lived experience in the past, or anticipated for the future.
Whether eLearning, mobile learning, or a hybrid or “blended” learning experience, the bridges will have the same outcomes. You will develop categories (schemata) for organizing knowledge. You will generalize from the particular in order to develop abstractions. Finally, you will be able to communicate what you have learned in an effective way that demonstrates unique perspectives and new insights..
[Listen to the companion podcast at:
http://community.elearners.com/blogs/inside_elearning/attachment/652.ashx - 10.3 MB]
Watch Susan!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8388703621389315480&q=susan+smith+nash&hl=en 3