Behaviorism
Behaviorism's methodical approach provides an organized, empirically-backed framework for creating engaging online learning experiences for higher education. However, behaviorism ignores the need for human connection (emotion and consciousness). Particularly in the asynchronous learning environment, the teacher's presence in the same temporal space disappears, weakening positive reinforcement at the interpersonal level, which some students require for motivation.
Background photo by Francesco Ungaro
Behaviorism's Strengths
Behaviorism's methodical approach leaves no stone unturned. All variables along the stimulus-response continuum have been explored and carefully measured through the scientific methods.
Higher education has been a pioneer in instructional design, providing a blueprint for asynchronous learning since its rapid expansion in the 2000s. Online university courses generally follow the outline of Gagne's Nine Events with content broken down into smaller units. With each quiz and page turn, learners can get immediate feedback and track progress.
Students can sequence from simple to more complex concepts, enabling them to "level up" to advanced topics required in higher education. The asynchronous online platform further expands the geographic and socioeconomic reach of its student base making for lively discussions and engagement.
​
An ideal scenario for applied behaviorist approach in instructional design would be for AP Art History.
​
Learning Scenario: AP Art History's Artefact>>
​
Behaviorism's Weaknesses
In the behaviorist approach to teaching, the teacher controls the environment, as the psychologist controls the parameters of the puzzle box. Learning and engagement become limited to observable behavior.
The knowledge landscape is limited to prescribed empirical truths like the Law of Physics. However, a part of higher education is the development of a broader philosophical inquiry within the discipline. One is meant to question what constitutes valid knowledge in order to progress or make the subject relevant to the existing generation.
​
As Dr. Tony Bates states in Teaching in a Digital Age:
"An important part of higher education is aimed at developing students' understanding, within a particular discipline, of the criteria and values that underpin academic study of that discipline, and these include questions of what constitutes valid knowledge in that subject area....(Experts') assumptions are often assumptions are often so strong and embedded that the experts may not even be openly conscious of them unless challenged." (Bates)
​
Thus more essay-like discussion topics rather than quizzes on existing knowledge could capture student opinions and promote research that expands on current knowledge (consciousness and internal processes omitted by Behaviorism).
​
Cognitivism
Cognitivism places the learner center as an active participant. This inherently user-centered approach to learning design seeks to engage the student's own mental capacity to learn. The student is enabled to customize their experience at their own pace.
Cognitivism's
Strengths
Cognitivism considers the learner's mental processes in relationship to environmental conditions and context of learning. The learner is an active agent. Given the right resources that considers the learners stage of development and learning context, they can gain self-efficacy toward achievement.
Further, cognitive load theory, helps learners, teachers, and designers develop curriculum that's appropriate for optimal intake of information and knowledge.
​
The constructivist approach considers where the learner is through evaluation in order to develop appropriate scaffolding towards a learning objective. Students can sequence from simple to more complex concepts, enabling them to "level up" to advanced topics required in higher education when they are ready.
​
In considering education as a collaborative process between the teacher or peer and student, higher education's traditional canons of knowledge and standards of excellence can be adapted towards what's culturally relevant to the audience and the next generation.
Further, Vygotsky, Brunner, and Bandura's acknowledgement of culture's role in shaping learning considers how students outside the institutional norms may experience learning.
Access to first generation college students and international students would consider these differences and tailor curriculum to meet the student where they are.
​
Cognitivism's
Weaknesses
Piaget's cognitive developmental stage assumes everyone passes from the concrete operational to formal operations stage due to biology. Higher education serves the formal operations stage of hypothetical reasoning and abstract thinking. This may not be the case for all cultures. His study samples were a small sample of high socio economic status subjects.
​
With increased customization to the learner's capacity, it's more difficult to create a collective learning objective that every student can meet. Given the diversity, particularly in U.S. of students in higher education from various cultures and socio economic backgrounds, the divergence from a curriculum-based learning objective may be hard to maintain.​
​
Higher educational institutions have a reputation for being slow at adapting socially and culturally relevant content for its population given the canonization of knowledge within academic fields. Academic journals articles written by and for a small specialized population of contributors perpetuate this wall of exclusivity.
​
Further, in Bandura's learning scenario, knowledgeable peers play a central role in learning. However, in a society with widening socio economic gaps, the chasm between independence and knowledge just beyond reach in Vygotsky's zone of proximal development may be too wide to bridge. Self-efficacy may falter for some. Peer to peer knowledge gaps may be too wide to bridge.
​
Constructivism's learner-focused approach adds parameters that may not be institutionally sustainable but must be considered to meet the learner's needs.
Constructivism
Constructivism places the learner center as an active participant, constructing their own knowledge. Learning experiences seek to tap into instrinsic motivation with activities that encourage problem-solving, exploration, and questioning. With higher education comes increased autonomy and advanced learning. Each work well with self-construction and co-construction of knowledge.
Constructivism's
Strengths
Constructivism places the learner at the center of the learning process as an active agent. Students construct their own knowledge and the teacher is a facilitator.
​
Motivation is key. Whether extrinsic or intrinsic, students are figuring out whether or not the subject has some level of intrinsically motivating qualities or the extrinsic rewards are enough to sustain interest in knowledge acquisition.
​
By higher education, students have achieved a level of autonomy and continue to assert their free will. Piaget's and Vygotsky's outlook on knowledge acquisition can be even more heightened in this stage in life.
​
For one, the college and university experience can be a dramatic reset on reality. The world that surrounds them, this community of teachers and scholars, causes another adjustment. The comfort of rising with the same population in high school does another reset causing cognitive conflict with expanded parameters both pre-professional and intellectual.
One also needs to adjust to the expansion of a broader diversity of students outside one's immediate neighborhood or county. Sudden exposure to others realities means an expansion of one's awareness of other possibilities and perspectives.
​
I agree whole heartedly with Vygotsky's outlook on culture and language being central to knowledge acquisition. In a sense, each institution of higher education has its own culture and language of promoting learning. Schools choose the members of their community, based on the type of students the school attracts and what they prioritize in accepting applicants. Each school has its more popular majors which it builds its reputation on. Within each major, one learns the terminology specific to the subject, or industry, in pre-professional programs.
Since high school, peers play a more important role in students lives, as young people are continuing to figure out their identities, subscribe to certain schools of thought and begin to specialize in a subject. So Vygotsky's model of the social component of learning becomes more central, as teachers or professors become role models outside the student's previous parent, teacher, and coach community.
Ideally, there is a low enough student-teacher ratio to enable the teacher as facilitator role.
The teacher needs to able to assess where each student's knowledge is in the subject in order to design the Zone of Proximal Development with scaffolding. In a class that's larger in size, peers can play the role of MKO, more knowledgable other. However, it still requires careful pairing or grouping.
​
At the graduate level, the idea of knowledge as a co-construction is very applicable, since graduate students assist research, and both the professor and student are learning as they discover or uncover new findings. Students can also expand the professors area of inquiry by contributing their own experiences.
Constructivism's
Weaknesses
In public K-12 education, there's a cap on number of enrollees per class. A particular student-teacher ratio is maintained. When the teacher student ratio becomes large, like a 50 person lecture hall, there is no room for more Constructivist approaches. It would require assessments and customization by an more knowledgeable other (MKO) to the student's current abilities.
​
Also, there's rudimentary knowledge that needs to be learned prior to cooperative learning approaches. Reciprocal learning, jigsaw classroom, and structured controversies would work once the students have established a level of rudimentary knowledge or framework they can build upon.
​
I do think Keller's ARCS model which integrates motivational problem solving strategies, would be effective in such cases. Because constructivism relies on the learner being an active participant, sustaining student attention and interest is important. Gaining students attention and providing a sense of relevance of new learning to what they know helps student engagement. Showing the student their progress and providing timely feedback can provide the confidence they need to keep going. Providing the student praise or rewards and showing how the learning applies to the real world and immediate future helps provide a sense of satisfaction from learning.
​
These technique for motivating students further underscores the social nature of learning and the importance of connecting it to the outside world beyond the university to ground learning to the real world. It reminds students of the purpose of higher education in a bigger picture sense.
​
Though these ideas present sound like strengths of constructivism, many professors don't know about learning theories. Professors are hired for their content knowledge and may not have had any training in education theories. They are not required to know about alternative strategies for effective teaching. I was an instructor at a university and I didn't know about the ARCS model, so I'm grateful that I now do.
​
Connectivism
While Connectivism considers the exponential growth of knowledge, higher education is about tapping into institutional knowledge and learning what the established canons are first. Undergraduate education traditionally has been an important time to establish peer relationships in person. Real world, group oriented projects espoused by connectivism can be supported by shared apps and tools that provide all members access and promote collaboration.
Connectivism's
Strengths
Connectivism considers how technology has altered the way we communicate and share knowledge. It updates previous learning theories in today's digitally interconnected world of networks.
​
This further enables educational access for students once limited by geography, time, finances, and disabilities.
​
Connectivism fosters solving real world problems which gives college students pre-professional opportunities and pools their talents toward a common goal and solution.
​
Connectivism also promotes digital literacy, and college is another opportunity to ensure students decipher valuable sources from the endless content stream the Internet supplies. Practices that need renewed vigilance is:
-
Plagiarism prevention
-
Abiding by copyright laws
-
Sourcing from reliable sources
​
When it comes to preparing for the workplace, fluency in digital tools and applications for productivity and collaboration is fundamental. ​
​
What's important to note is that they are just tools and that higher education provides the content knowledge and critical thinking skills essential to decipher content and apply the optimal tools depending on the project.
​
Further, for higher education, instructional designers can provide (OER)) open educational resources for instructors and students to tap into and help students navigate online knowledge repositories.
Connectivism's
Weaknesses
As a former online course writer and online and in person instructor, I find that in person learning is still critical in higher education. For students coming out of high school, peer to peer interpersonal connection is vital for development and mental health.
​
I had a lot of students, who couldn't time manage and dropped out or failed my class.
​
However, in a classroom, students got to present their work in person. There was a set time and place to form connections and discuss peer work as a group. Learning critiquing skills happend in real time. Pitch and tone of voice in direct response to another student was important to help communicate intent.
​
The instructor in the connectivist environment also merely provides the initial learning environment. Other students might need more scaffolding and often it's more difficult to detect unless the instructor combs through all discussion topics. In person, these issues are alleviated by the focused framework of a set time and place.
​
Often, it's harder to detect in online classrooms, particularly as the student population increases. It also takes the instructor a lot more time to find and assess if postings are limited to discussion topics. The format for detection may be limited to a multiple choice quiz format. This could work for some types learning but harder for
more complex topics.
​
Andragogy
Andragogy considers the unique needs of adult learners. Considered opposite pedagogy, Knowles learning theory makes assumptions with distinct learning approaches that place these assumed preferences front and center. Higher education marks the transition from pedagogy and andragogy with traits of both that need consideration.
Andragogy
Strengths
College students are adults
At the level of higher education, faculty do not have training in age-specific developmental needs. They are hired for their content knowledge and research rather than knowledge of learning theories. So the underlying assumption is that by higher education, students are adults at age 18 and over.
This is great if you are accelerated
There are benefits to being treated like adults. Particularly in institutions with competitive admissions, faculty tend to apply Bloom's higher taxonomies and challenge students with rigorous content. Particularly in above 100 and 200 level courses and graduate school, it is pertinent to bring in real world case studies and prepare students for professional level inquiry. Professors at trade schools lend their professional experience to create simulations of collaborative work environments.
​
Andragogy should be universal to engage students and show that their experiences matter
Many universities get their reputation from their research and graduate schools. Undergraduates gets taught by graduate students, who aren't trained educators. The business of the school is not about educating its undergraduates. However, this may be problematic as the pedagogical approach doesn't count for the cultural and social diversity of experiences amongst its students.
​
Further, students who are first generation and are paying a lot of tuition should also be owed "what's in it for me." I've also had privileged students who knew they didn't need a professional income and weren't motivated. As long as I told them what opportunities my class provided them, I felt like I had played my roles. I also try ti engage their imagination with successful examples that I thought they'd find inspiring.
​
I do think going to college is about learning how to learn and encouraging self-direction and eventual autonomy. So including what's in the news and real life case studies provide relevance. Practicing ARCS Model of Motivation acknowledges the universality of this need across ages.
Andragogy
Weaknesses
College students may still be developing into adulthood
College can be for some a rite of passage into adulthood. Though nowadays with the expense of a college education, particularly in the U.S., it is seen as an investment towards higher earnings. Extrinsic motivation is still a factor in education. And though it may not lead to an immediate social/professional role, finding a major is its inevitable conclusion. Some students are quite self-directed knowing what they want while others are just figuring it out.
​
Some students may have had more pre-professional opportunities to provide context.
​
Higher education can be a place where some students are figuring out whether they're interested in or have an aptitude for certain subjects that may have been encouraged for study.
​
And can one say that pedagogy and andragogy are mutually exclusive?
Colleges in some ways can be a continuation of high school. There are core requirements, required classes for majors that everyone takes. And the class may not be of inherent interest but what one takes to fulfill institutional expectations toward a bachelor's degree.
I had a lot of students, who couldn't time manage and dropped out or failed my class. Some acknowledgement of developmental needs around executive function could further be addressed.
​
As critics would say, andragogy is foremost a series of assumptions and lacks empirical evidence and thus has no epistemological foundation. In other words, there is no underlying methodology.​ This assumption of mutual exclusivity seems to privilege adults where its solutions could help engage younger students as well. This could further help them become more autonomous.