Learning Theories Wiki

The activity for the first week was to collaboratively investigate a learning theory, conduct a PMI (positive minus interesting) scaffold and share the result on a wiki. I was to reflect upon the learning and post it in my blog. I was confronted with six new concepts in my first week's work: learning collaboratively;  learning theories; PMI; wiki; blog; and, reflective writing. I felt overwhelmed by the task and it's not until now, three weeks later, that I have the courage to write this post.

I am an independent single minded individual so the notion of working with a partner on this task did not appeal to me. I met a classmate, Stephanie, in the library who was also overwhelmed by the task. Stephanie had just moved to Bundaberg from NSW. A move I made seven years ago. It was through these two common experiences that we decided to work together. Stephanie had some knowledge of learning theories. Suddenly I felt a bit more at ease with the task. I have gone from no knowledge of learning theory to know having a collective knowledge of learning theory. We decided to consider and conduct a PMI on constructivism.

The class had to consider twelve different learning theories and share the PMI with the group. This now extended the level of collaboration to encompass the whole class not just Stephanie. Our PMI on constructivism would contribute to the learning for the class. The constructivist paradigm for learning is underpinned by collaboration. Students work in groups challenging and building off each other. In this task each was to gain knowledge of one theory and sharing that knowledge, that experience, with the group. Armed with this collective knowledge a student could be construct a greater understanding of learning theory to make use of in their pedagogy. The design of this task was constructivist in nature. The content, learning theories, was not imparted by the teacher. Rather, the teacher acted as a facilitator by giving direction and guidance on what should be explored. The use of a wiki enabled students to act collaboratively with ease and allowed the teacher to manage the facilitation of a large network of learners. The PMI was a concise way of sharing the knowledge.    

I had never conducted a PMI in a formal sense. Although over the years I've listed the pros and cons before making a decision. In making that list I have reflected on my understanding of past experiences and knowledge. That by nature is constructivist which further defines this task as being constructivist by design. The PMI scaffold worked well as a collaborative tool as Stephanie and I were drawing on different experiences in making our points. The elements of the PMI could be delegated. We decided Stephanie would look at the positives, I would explore the negatives and we would compile our interesting points. This reduced the workload of the individual and the task was slightly more manageable. The use of the wiki contributed greatly to the management of this task. Click here to view our Constructivism PMI.

I wasn't really sure what a wiki was. I had heard of wikipedia and my understanding of it as an online encyclopedia where the information is posted by individuals and it is not entirely factual. The content is continually evolving as more individuals post to a subject. Then I recalled that in the late nineties my Everquest online gaming guild had a wiki. I had to create pages for my character which included such things as their skills and abilities, equipment and any items they required. This information sharing allowed the guild to think collectively whilst playing rather than just as individuals. I recall I had to use software called Dreamweaver 2 to make the pages so when I saw I had to make a wiki I thought there would be another expense. It proved not to be that difficult. A basic ability to use a web browser and word processing program was all that was needed to access and edit a wiki page. I followed the links to the learning theories wiki. When I opened the constructivism wiki page and saw it was blank I realised I hadn't discussed the format with Stephanie. I didn't have contact details for her and noticed the discussion tab on the wiki page.  This meant no other ICT was needed, thus minimising the risk of miscommunicating. This also allowed other students who wanted to contribute to see what conventions, if any, we placed on the wiki page. In our case, Stephanie's contributions would be in orange and mine in blue. The wiki was accessible at all hours allowing us to work and manage our time independently. Accessing the wiki pages of the other learning theories for ideas and affirmations we were on the right track was also beneficial. The use wikispace lent itself to adopt a collaborative constructivist approach to the activity.

Writing a reflection and posting it on a blog is not something I am comfortable with. I am a reflective learner and prefer to keep my thoughts as thoughts. I am also new to reflective writing. A process and style I need to learn quickly if I am to succeed in this degree. What has been evident in completing this activity, through both the theoretical and practical aspects, is my thoughts may help others make connections. Likewise, reading other people's reflections may help me build a better understanding of something. Constructivism at work, building knowledge. As I sit and write this blog I find that my attitude toward it has changed. At first my idea of a blog was simply some text that someone would read about something I had experienced. Who were these anonymous readers and why are they deserving of my time and experience? Why should I open myself to criticism and put myself at risk? A blog is not that. It allows me to connect to like minded people. They are the ones who will read and follow my blog. I blog because I want to build on my experiences by sharing them with others and gaining their collective knowledge through their commentary. It is a means by which I can build up my belief or discard it. So the blog is not just a diary tool. It can be used to share any information and allow the reader to interact and is a good tool for collaborative learning.

The learning theory activity certainly demonstrated the advantage of collective knowledge when a task seems overwhelming. The constructivist paradigm makes most use of today's ICTs. The right ICT can deliver time efficiencies when working collaboratively. Both the wiki and the blog are great ICTs to work collaboratively and in co operation. Although they seem similar their use in pedagogy will vary differently. At this stage I think I have a preference for a wiki ... it seems bigger.