Option 1: What's YOUR Theory?

You have read about the process for theory building as originating with curiosity - a question or problem usually provoked by personal experience or life events. Each person's experiences lead him or her to ask different questions and to go about answering these questions (building theory) in a variety of different ways.

In this discussion I would like you to begin to articulate your own personal theory of learning and instruction as it relates to your own context (teacher, trainer, instructional designer, parent, student, etc.) by sharing with us the frame of reference from which you will likely be thinking about and applying the theories discussed throughout this course. While your frame of reference may change if you change jobs or change projects I think it will be useful (and more manageable) for you to try to focus on one to begin applying these theories. In your post include the following:
 

• Who are your learners?

• What are they like? (Your learners may be your students if you are a teacher, your trainees if you are a trainer, your children if you are a parent, or yourself)

• What is the learning environment like? (classroom, home, training center, via technology, etc.)

• What types of things (content, knowledge, skills, etc.) do you generally expect them to learn? How do you (and others, if applicable) expect them to show you they have learned?

• What curiosities do you have about this group and how they learn? What questions or problems do you have with your learners?

• What observations and conclusions (intuitive theories about learning and instruction) have you made (or research have you read) so far about their learning that have enabled you to begin to construct a personal theory of learning and instruction?

• Are there any particular theories you know about (from the TIP database, chapter 1, or other sources) that you think are particularly applicable with your learners?

Depending on your experiences you may have only brief comments to make in your post or you may have a million and one questions to which you wish you had the answers. At this point in the course, I am only looking for a few short paragraphs that will assist me and others in getting to know you better and identifying what theories we may focus more or less on.

Read your peers' posts and find at least one that has similar learners, curiosities, observations, or theories, and comment on his or her post. Then find at least one that is dissimilar to you and comment on his or her post. Your third reply can be to anyone.