Name
Curated design: Writing about theory
Topic
Learning Theories
Learning time
3 hours
Designed time
3 hours and 30 minutes
Size of class
34
Description
This is part of the preparation for writing an essay, in an online Masters module, to help students who have not written essays at this level before. It was motivated by reading too many essays that give very inaccurate accounts of some of the main learning theories
Aims
To prepare students for writing about theory in their essays
Outcomes
Write
Editor
diana
Derived from
Writing about learning theories by EileenKennedy
Edit
Write and discuss individual accounts of learning theories
120 minutes)
  • Investigate
    60
    1
    1
    Working on your own, using at least Selwyn (2011) Education and Technology: Key Issues and Debates, Chapter 4, draft a ~50 word description for each of two of the following learning theories: behaviourist, cognitivist, constructivist. By the end of Wednesday (UK time), post your draft descriptions to your Group Forum.
  • Discuss
    30
    6
    0
    Use the following criteria to assess and comment on what your group members have written: Are the descriptions accurate? Do they clarify the contrasts between the theories without overstating them?
  • Practice
    30
    0
Notes:
Resources linked: 0
Collaborate on group accounts of learning theories
60 minutes)
  • Collaborate
    30
    5
    2
    Work together in your Group Forum to combine the descriptions into a ~200 word description of the three theories. Decide who in your Group will be responsible for posting the agreed description to the whole class forum. By Saturday evening (UK time), post your agreed description to the Class Forum.
  • Produce
    30
    1
    1
    Read and evaluate the descriptions by rating the contributions in the forum and giving a score on a scale of 1 to 10 for each group, including your own. By the end of Sunday (UK time), Use the Questionnaire activity to rate your Group's description, as well as those of the other Groups.
Notes:
Resources linked: 0
Compare your analysis with the tutor's comments and revise your own description.
30 minutes)
  • Read Watch Listen
    20
    1
    1
    Read the teacher's comments on the Class Forum, posted on Monday, and reflect on which descriptions you will make use of for your essay.
  • Produce
    10
    1
    0
    Revise your own description of the theories in the light of the all the forum discussions
Notes:
Resources linked: 0

Learning Experience

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Social learning graph will not display correctly, because one or more learning types do not have group size set.