Final Reflection

This is the final week of my graduate class called Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology I am taking at Walden University.  During the first week of this course I was asked what my personal theory of learning is and this is what I said; I believe that students learn best when they are taught through which ever intelligence they learn best from and then use that information to work collaboratively on an inquiry-based, hands-on activity or project that they choose to do.  From what I have learned in this course my personal learning theory resembles the constructionist/constructivist and social learning theories.  Now that I know more about learning theories I would like to add components to my personal theory of learning that include behaviorist and cognitive learning theories.  I would include some sort of reinforcement of desirable behaviors for the behavioral component and I would include more images and less text and more opportunities for concept maps for the cognitive component.  This course has made me realize that there are many different theories of learning that need to me incorporated into all lessons to reach all of the diverse learners that there are in every class. 

An immediate adjustment that I will make to my instructional practice regarding technology is I will incorporate technology into every lesson.  Right now I do have some lessons I teach that do not require any technology.  Two technology tools that I will use with my students are concept mapping websites and voicethreads.  Both are very easy to use and they will enhance my students learning because they will have to think critically to make connections with the information they receive and they will have to work cooperatively with each other which are both skills they will need to be successful in the future.  I now have many technological “tools” in my “toolbox” that I can pull from to incorporate into all of my lessons.  I have come to realize that I need to let the students be more in control of their learning which will make them more accountable and I need to just be their to coach and guide their learning. 

One of the long-term goals I would like to make to my instructional practice is that I would like to be as possible to paperless in the classroom as I possibly can within the next few years.  This will be hard and it will depend on the availability of technology that my students have outside of school.  Another goal I have is to create an on-line course for students to take.  This would be a course such as honors environmental science that I could incorporate all of the technologies I have learned thus far in my graduate program of integrating technology into the classroom.  I will achieve these two goals by slowly replacing all parts of my lessons into technological activities.