Theories of intercultural education - Joseba Arregi, Asier Barandiaran, Dmitrii Enygin, Venera Midova (free ebook reader for ipad txt) 📗

social theories that explain the functioning of human being and human groups and institutions. For example, the classical conditioning or learning by association theory of learning is based on behaviourism, a psychological theory which states that behaviour is always a response to a stimuli coming from the environment.

Models are general hypothetical organisations or structures, often based on an analogy, used in analysing or explaining a phenomena and generally conducive to prediction or applied action. For example, teaching models are formal representations of the different teaching techniques based on a particular vision of the learner and aiming to develop specific aspects. One such model of teaching is “instructional design”, which is the systematic process of translating general principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional materials and learning, and which relates specified events of instruction to learning processes and learning outcomes that have been set by the instructor.

What are the underlying teaching models and learning theories that form the basis of the strategies deployed to integrate ICT? As states Loveless (1995), “It is not possible to consider the use of IT in classrooms without reflecting upon one’s beliefs about learning and teaching. IT capability can be seen as having much more to do with an approach to ways of learning and working than as the development of a set of skills”. In that sense any IT training of teachers needs to be a truly professional development, that involves, beyond skills training, changes in teachers’ approaches to learning, in their attitudes, representations, values, beliefs and meta- cognitive understanding. Thus, for example, it is only when teachers have understood the

eLearning Papers • www.elearningpapers.eu • 5 No 7 • February 2008 • ISSN 1887-1542

 

importance of lifelong empowering learning strategies that they will engage students in self directed and lifelong elearning, and in self appraisal and self management.

Why is it important to become aware of the different teaching models and learning theories that are ingrained in pedagogical practices?

Because educational systems are extremely difficult to change. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of the premises on which are built the teaching and learning activities, if one does not want to become trapped in repetitive behaviours.

Because it is important to understand how learning occurs if one wants to improve or change learning. There are several prominent theories that have been the basis for the development of different approaches to important aspects of the pedagogical practices. Coherence and successful outcomes can only be achieved through awareness of the strategic choices involved.

Because each theory of learning leads to specific classroom practices, and because each educational actor, situated in a pedagogical field, needs especially in periods of uncertainty, innovation and change such as implied by multiculturalism and digital technology, to have a wider perspective, to see the “big picture”, in order to make the relevant and appropriate decisions.

Because a knowledge society cannot function adequately without a clear understanding of the different learning models that are constantly activated by the different contexts or the demands for competence.

Main learning theories or how does learning happen?

While there is agreement on a broad definition of what is learning, generally understood as the acquisition of knowledge, competences, skills and attitudes that lead to long-term change in behavioural patterns, cognitive structures, or personal identity, how learning happens is a controversial matter. When integrating ICT, some learning models may seem more appropriate than others and there is usually an explicit reference to some theory. But it is only when looking at the big picture, at what is happening over a long period, that the implicit theories and models organising the concrete activity can be identified. Learning theories are embedded both within learning systems and processes and within teaching practices.

How does learning come about? Many schools of thought have developed theories of learning. As already explained, a learning theory is a coherent and systematic explanation of how learning happens, based on interrelated concepts, definitions and propositions, offering a well- substantiated explanation of some aspect of the learning process. A theory of learning will therefore need to address the following questions:

−  What are the role and activities of the learner in the learning process?

−  What corresponding teaching emphasis and activities does it require?

−  How are the learning outcomes described?

Several classificatory schemes of learning theories have been made, that range from wide ranging outlooks, such as Greg Kearsley’s Theory Into Practice (TIP) database which includes descriptions of over fifty theories relevant to human learning and instruction, to KOPER’s distinction, based on corresponding approaches of Greeno, Collins & Resnick (1996), between three major streams of instructional theories,« empiricist (behaviorist), rationalist (cognitivist and constructivist) and pragmatist-socio-historic (situationalist) ».

In their review of elearning theories, frameworks and models, Mayes & Freitas (2004) develop similar viewpoints with their “three clusters or broad perspectives, which make fundamentally different assumptions about what is crucial for understanding learning”. They consequently distinguish between the “associationist/empiricist perspective”, where learning is conceived as “an activity”, the “cognitive perspective”, where learning is “achieving understanding” and the “situative perspective, where learning is seen as a “social practice”. These “theoretical accounts of learning” are then mapped onto “pedagogical frameworks for design”, that is current

eLearning Papers • www.elearningpapers.eu • 6 No 7 • February 2008 • ISSN 1887-1542

 

elearning models such as IMS learning design, or intelligent tutoring, or CSALT networked learning models.

Our purpose is different here. The aim in uncovering the learning theories that organize the pedagogical practices is to deepen and enrich the pedagogical culture of teachers. When identifying the basic learning theories, one finds that each theory is trying to answer several requirements and therefore that different theories do not cover the same territory. Teachers need to become aware in order not only to be in a more informed position to set up learning environments but also to be able to reflect on their own beliefs and values, as they will be facing more and more learners with different pedagogical cultures, with varied understandings of what is learning, what is understanding, what are good results, etc.

Four approaches of how learning comes about are considered here. Teachers’ practices usually refer to one or more of these four main understandings.

Learning as a conditioned response or the behaviourist theory of learning is also the theory that abides by scientific criteria to knowledge production about learning. It is based on the psychological S-R stimulus-response paradigm (behaviourism: Watson and Skinner). To learn is to integrate lasting changes in one’s behaviour, in response to environmental and contextual stimuli. Learning happens when student behaviour is shaped by reacting to situations that encourage actions that gradually conform to a fixed goal. Learning outcomes are measurable changes in the overt behaviour of the individual, understood as lasting associations between a stimuli and a reaction. The instruction process is broken down into steps, with drill and practice, with exams to measure results, with the use of rewards and punishments. ICT is appreciated because it easily manages drill and practice, and allows a greater individuation of the whole process.

Learning as a processing of information, or the computational theory of learning, is often understood as similar to the rationalist approach or the cognitive approach (cognitivism: Ausubel, Gagné). This is the theory that is concerned with how truth or true knowledge can be acquired. Important differences in this approach depend on whether the human reason is seen as a logical engine, or super computer, or in a much broader understanding, as an enlightened capacity. To learn is to acquire information and new representations. Here the focus is on the mental processes of the learner during the learning process, either based on the information processing theory (narrow perspective) or on different philosophical or sociological perspectives (Cf. Weber’s four different types of rationality). The learner processes information, linking new knowledge to old knowledge, schema and scripts. Learning is organized by a systematic analysis of the sequence of learning events, in order to make optimal use of encoding processes taking into account the limitations and specificities of the human memory.

Learning as the construction of new understanding and knowledge or the constructivist theory of learning (cognitive development paradigm: Piaget & Bruner) To learn is to integrate new cognitive schemas through assimilation and accommodation in order to construct new knowledge, that is meaningful entities. Through active problem solving and connecting facts, students construct their personal understanding. Constructivism calls for the elimination of grades and standardized testing. Instead, assessment becomes part of the learning process so that students play the larger role in appreciating and judging their own progress. For example, the “tacit” and “implicit knowledge” approach in the Tunis Preparatory Report, “Understanding Knowledge Societies” (UN, 2005), is based on a renewed version of this perspective.

Learning as a social and experiential process or the socio-cultural theory of learning. Humanistic theories of learning, very much value-driven, focussed on personal development, are the basis for a development of the learner as the actor and author of his own becoming through social interaction. Learners need to be empowered and to have control over the learning process which takes place within a group, the teacher being more a facilitator (Rogers, 1970) of critical reflection (Schön, 1987), of conscientisation (Freire, 1976) and of

eLearning Papers • www.elearningpapers.eu • 7 No 7 • February 2008 • ISSN 1887-1542

 

transformative learning (Mezirow, 1990). It is a similar approach to learning that explores the use of collaborative software in the light of Wenger’s community of practice approach.

Teaching, or an activation of learning

Teaching is a communication process aimed at activating learning. There are no specific teaching theories referred to in the pedagogical literature, as compared to learning theories, but there are many teaching models. However, underlying these models are different philosophical, sociological and psychological theories that teachers adhere to and that constitute their basic knowledge and beliefs about their professional activity.

The different theories that teachers rely on come from their personal and social background, their individual experiences, and also, as professional teacher training develops, more and more from academic sources. There are three main types of theories that can both explain and organise teachers’ pedagogical practices:

−  Theories concerning the nature of knowledge: disciplinary theories (for example, theories that account for what understanding and knowing mean in terms of each discipline) and epistemological theories of “what is knowledge” (for example, Berger & Luckmann, 1967; Popper, 1963)

−  Theories concerning the organisation of educational actions: didactical theories (for example, Tochon, 1999; Chevillard, 2007), theories that account for how one brings about learning in geography (Audigier, 1999) or mathematics (see the work of the European Society for mathematics education) and pedagogical theories which account for how one brings about understanding in a classroom, for how one organises group work, for how one uses IC technology to bring about learning (see for example, Johnson & Johnson,1989 for collaborative learning, or Wenger, 1998, for communities of practice.

−  Theories concerning the nature of human interests and motivations: psychological and sociological theories (for example, theories that explain the impact on learning of interpersonal relationships, authority, organisation, human desire and human suffering, relationship to knowledge and emotions, etc). (Engvig, 2002)

Main teaching models

Teachers often have the impression that they work intuitively taking into account the immediate context – school, classroom, social, political and economic – but close study of these practices have shown that there is a definite underlying set of beliefs that explain the overall pattern of a teacher’s practice. (Joyce et al., 2003) Teaching models can be grouped into four main types, each referring to one or more of the preceding theories, whether explicitly or implicitly.

−  the lecture model, or the transmission model, involves general communication strategies, an organised or structured syllabus, varied formats (expository lecture, case based presentation, demonstrations and stories, short format, interactive lecture, question and answer) perhaps validation exercises; this model links with the cognitive theory of learning. (see, for example, Gross Davis, 1993)

−  the prescriptive or instructional design model, is based on instructional methods and specified outcomes, principles of good course design, a structured sequence of different learning activities, and reliable and objective assessments; (see, for example, Mergel, 1998, or Koper, 2001).

−  the transactional