1. Educational Technology
Paradigms, Theories and Models
by Sarah Devereaux

2. Constructivism Theory
Behaviorism Theory
Constructivism Theory
Cognitivism Theory
Paradigms
A comprehensive belief system that guides research and practice in the field.

3. Postpositivist/Objectivist Paradigm
The Behaviorist Learning Theory
Makes teachers directly accountable for student results.
Teaching = Learning
Postpositivism
Teacher – Directed Methods
Focuses on observable events that precede and follow certain behaviors.
- Stimulus & Response
Postpositivist/Objectivist Paradigm
Education is Knowledge Transmission

4. Behaviorism
Operant Learning – contingent relationships among antecedents, operant, and consequences.
Programmed instruction – the pedagogical organization of stimuli, responses, and reinforcers.
Direct Instruction – scripted method that provides fast-paced, constant interaction between students and teachers.
As hard technology advanced these frameworks were incorporated in digital formats like CAI (computer-assisted instruction) and online distance education.
Behaviorism-based technologies show that it is possible to achieve dramatic test gains through careful control.

5. Interpretivism Paradigm
The Cognitivist Theory
Focuses on inferred mental conditions.
Teachers & Students = Collaborators
Interpretivism
Teachers allow students to construct knowledge
Learning is under the control of learners.
Student Motivation leads to achievements.
Interpretivism Paradigm
Education is about participation

6. Cognitivism
Learners use their memory and thought processes to generate strategies or manipulate mental ideas.
Cognitive perspective gained legitimacy and dominance in 1970 when the journal Cognitive Psychology began.
Piaget’s Theory – children try to fit events of experiences into existing framework. Modified mental structure when things didn’t fit.
Information processing theory – learning is a series of transformations of information. Information processes – sensory memory to short term memory to long term memory.
Schema theory – material stored in long term memory is arranged in organized structures that change.
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7. Cognitivism – cont.
Learner use of multiple sensory modalities like computer multimedia resembles the natural human cognitive system. Can transform from one symbol system to another.
It is meant to apply to learning in the cognitive domain – knowledge, understanding, application, evaluation, and metacognition.
Emphasis on the arrangement of content to make it meaningful, comprehensible, memorable, and appealing draws attention to design issues.
A useful example of a lesson framework that arranges the steps of a learning event is Gagne’s Events of Instruction – a specific sequence of events.
Or Foshay and Stelnicki’s framework that is the form of “a cognitive training model” – 17 specific tactics organized around 5 strategic phases (shown on next slide).
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8. 1 2 3 4 5 Five Strategic Phases Gaining and focusing attention
Linking to prior knowledge 3
Organizing content 4
Assimilating the new knowledge 5
Strengthening retention and transfer of the new knowledge

9. Constructivism Paradigm
The Constructivism Theory
Involves construction, authenticity and reflection.
Sociocultural approach
Constructivism
Infused anchored instruction, problem-based learning, and collaborative learning with a sense of mission.
An umbrella term for a wide range of ideas drawn primarily from recent developments in cognitive psychology.
A number of authors were known to hold widely divergent and sometimes conflicting views associated with constructivism.
Constructivism Paradigm
Learning is a social process

10. 1 2 3 4 5 Constructivist Prescriptions
Embed learning in complex, realistic, and relevant environments. 2
Provide for social negotiation as an integral part of learning. 3
Support multiple perspectives and the use of multiple modes of representation. 4
Encourage ownership in learning. 5
Nurture self-awareness of the knowledge construction process.

11. Constructivism
Terhart concluded the difficulty to distinguish moderate constructivist principals of instruction from cognitivist principals
He stated that “the ‘new’ constructivist didactics in the end is merely an assembly of long-known teaching methods.”
The assumption “that knowledge is constructed by learners as they attempt to make sense of their experiences” (Driscoll, 2005, p.387) overlaps with cognitivists assumptions.
Where constructivism differs is in that the constructions may not correspond to the external reality.
Teachers are learning to plan activities that engage students in learning, are authentic and worthwhile, and involve constructivist principals while using educational technology as a tool for learning.

12. A Simple Formula The combination of theoretical perspectives
Employ behaviorist perspective when learners have lower levels of task knowledge
Use cognitivist perspective for middle levels of task knowledge
Consider constructivist perspective when learners have a higher level of prior knowledge – complex problem solving
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13. Media vs Methods
Some enthusiasts for using media to improve learning assume that embedding content in the newest media will automatically improve the effectiveness of it. “The best current evidence is that media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction […] like a truck that delivers our groceries” (Clark, 1983, p.445). The use of media more and more comes to mean digital media.
Clark (1983) concludes that “it seems not to be media but variables such as instructional methods that foster learning” (p.449). Different media formats only make a difference in time, not learning effectiveness. Different results could be expected if a different instructional paradigm might be used. Not learning from media, but instead with media.
Copyright 2010