EDUC 5313: Blog Week #3 (Intro Learning Technologies)

Part 1:  Select one of the chapters listed and linked below from How People Learn II. 

Chapter 4 - Processes That Support Learning

Use one of the following tools to create an infographic or a single slide/poster with graphics that summarizes the chapter and addresses the following questions:

1. Briefly describe 3 major points discussed in the chapter that impact curriculum design?  

The three major points that are discussed in chapter 4 from "How People Learn II" were metacognition, executive function, and self-regulation. These three areas describe "How do people orchestrate their own learning" (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). Metacognition is the self awareness one has for their mental and thinking process. Executive Function is being able to self regulate the thinking and behaviors that lets one process, adjust, and make changes to their pathway. Self-regulation is able to properly adjust ones actions and goals by how they know they will best learn. When it comes to how these three main points impact curriculum design:

    "The integration and interrelation of these dimensions of processing is also critical

    for deeper or higher-order learning, and for the development of complex

    skills and knowledge such as reasoning, problem solving, and critical thinking." 

     (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). 

There is also a portion that discusses memory (reconstruction, working, and long term) that also discusses how being able to tap into ones memories can impact curriculum design. If we are able to understand how the brain works and retains memory, then running exercises and teaching in ways that will access and store the information more concretely, then students will retain it more and be able to recall it mentally and orally: 

    "People’s learning and memory systems give them the ability to use past experiences

    to adapt and solve problems in the present. This ability to use the past by

    retrieving memories when they are needed is reconstructive in nature. It

    is not a process of searching for stored copies of mental representations of

    information and experiences but a set of processes triggered by cues in the

    learner’s environment through which he reconstructs these experiences and

    forges new connections for them."

     (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). 

2. Discuss at least one connection to Gura’s ideas in Part 2 of his book about the creative learning environment. What tools and practices can support creativity and are aligned with the chapter you read?

The connection I noticed in Gura's ideas from part 2 about the creative learning environment were is that there are a variety of ways to learn content and materials. By educators knowing the psychological and mental ways to deliver instructions, students can then have autonomy to decide in the creative tools given to them, the creative ways they can learn the material (Gura, 2016). One size does not fit all and just as there are learners who lean to a more visual, audio, or kinesthetic learning preference, does not indicate that one is superior to the other. The three ways to take ownership of students learning (metacognition, executive function, and self-regulation) overlaps in the variety of ways that educators can teach and students and learn. As long as there is an openness and willingness to learn and create, then education can truly thrive. Both areas give a positive insight into education as a whole but reframing items as "challenges" and normalizing making mistakes as part of the process. Students today are apprehensive to participate for the fear of ignorance or embarrassment. But when viewing/teaching through the lens spoken in these areas here, students will find more success as a foundation of security, openness, and curiosity is welcomed. A tool you can use to support creativity is the google suite applications as they can save multiple drafts and every edit of the changes are time stamped, marked, and singed by who made them so accountability and creativity can be tracked. 

3. Select one ISTE Standard for Students and discuss connections to the content of the Gura text and the chapter you read.

I believe that 1.1 Empowered Learner under the ISTE Standard for Students is the best connection to the Gura text and chapter read content. The reason I say this is that 1.1 Empowered Learner encompasses the ideas of students taking ownership via their comprehension, understanding of tech, and setting proper goals and adjusting accordingly. All of these things sound rooted in the dissection just mentioned of the on the creative learning environment and the orchestrated learning ownership of students. 

Part 2:  Add or insert the infographic  within the blog page with a paragraph introduction for the graphic. 

Below is the infographic showcasing a condensed version of the elaborated responses from part one of blog week three. I used the infogram website to create this infographic. It was the first time I used this site, and I have to say it was quite simple and streamlined to do so. I did have a little troubleshooting I needed to do to figure out the user interface, but overall, it was a simply and enjoyable experience. I usually lean towards a more minimalistic design style so I believe I show that a bit through here with my organized text/boxes and supportive usage of graphics when needed. 

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24783.

Gura, M. (2016). Make, Learn, Succeed. International Society for Technology in Education.