Analysis of the Discovery Learning Theory

Artifact Introduction: During our first week in Theoretical Foundations of Educational Technology, we were to review a serious of resources including the textbook Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments. We were then to choose a learning theory to research and reflect upon on. I chose the Discovery Learning Theory and my reflection on it is included below.

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References:

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71. doi:10.1002/piq.21143

Castronova, J. (2002). Discovery learning for the 21st century: What is it and how does it compare to traditional learning in effectiveness in the 21st century? Literature Reviews, Action Research Exchange (ARE), 1(2). Retrieved from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/are/Litreviews/vol1no1/castronova_litr.pdf.

Saab, N., van, J. W. R., & van, H.-W. B. H. A. M. (2005). Communication in collaborative discovery learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 4, 603-621.

Sun, L. & Li, F. (2010). Online instructional design based on meaningful discovery learning theory. 2nd International Conference on Education Technology and Computer, Shanghai, 2010. pp. V1-237-V1-239. doi: 10.1109/ICETC.2010.5529260

 

Reflection of Learning/Standard Connection:  This assignment required me to delve into several articles and websites to develop a thorough understanding of the Discovery Learning Theory.  I got the experience to analyze various perspectives and synthesize the information I’ve learned to explain the theory clearly.

• AECT Standard 5.1 Theoretical Foundations: To write about the Discovery Learning Theory, I had to develop and then demonstrate foundational knowledge of the contribution of research to the past and current theory of educational communications and technology.
• AECT Standard 5.3 Assessing/Evaluating – o write about the Discovery Learning Theory, I had to apply formal inquiry strategies in assessing and evaluating processes and resources for learning and performance.

Annotated Bibliography-Problem Based Learning

Artifact Introduction: During our fourth week in Introduction to Educational Technology, we were to delve further into research. We gained familiarity with Google Scholar, the Albertsons Library, Google Docs (for research), APA & many other tools for researching and then citing the sources. We were to explore Google Scholar and the Albertsons Library to find recent, peer-reviewed articles on an area of technology-supported instruction that interested us. We needed to read these articles in depth to be able to summarize, assess and reflect upon it. Our project was to create an annotated bibliography on five of these articles, incorporating the citing techniques we learned. I decided to conduct research on problem-based learning (PBL) and create an annotated bibliography using articles that I found on this subject.

Reflection of Learning: One of my favorite aspects of this lesson was getting to choose what we conducted research on, I decided to choose PBL, and learned so much about it. It was a little overwhelming to explore APA citations since it has been so long since I’ve used researching and citing information. Learning what DOI was and using Cross Ref Simple Text Query was one of my favorite aspects, it really helped me understand the importance of not only citing but making the citation information accessible to the audience. Once I started composing my Annotated Bibliography I found myself looking at the prompting questions for summarizing, assessing and reflecting, regularly to remind myself what my goal was in the bibliography. Overall, I found this assignment to be challenging because of the quantity of information for researching and citing that we reviewed and because we had the ability to choose what we wanted to research (which made me weary that I was making the “right” choice). I feel that my biggest accomplishment after completing this assignment was really becoming familiar with APA citation and researching techniques.

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