EDU 655 Week 2 – Assignment 2 Critical Thinking Questions
Ashford 3: – Week 2 – Assignment 2
Critical Thinking Questions: Week 2
Read Chapters 4, 5, and 6 from Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. You will then complete two Critical Thinking Questions from each chapter. Your answers must include at least two references in addition to the course text. Each question should be addressed with a minimum of 50 words.
Chapter 4 – Psychological Foundations in Instructional Design
Skinner believed that learning could be understood, explained, and predicted entirely on the basis of observable events. Do you agree or disagree with this theory? Explain. Gallwey’s Inner Game of Tennis was a sports psychology book published in 1972, focused on the fact that, as Gallwey wrote, “Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game.” The former is played against opponents; the latter is played not against, but within the mind of the player, and its principal obstacles are self-doubt and anxiety. Explain this basic premise in terms of information processing theory. What are some techniques to assist learners in processing information? Compare and contrast the way you’re learning in this course from an “Information Processing Theory” perspective with a “Constructivism” perspective. Explain which theory seems to more accurately describe your experience.
Chapter 5 – Constructivism in Practical and Historical Context
How is the theory of Constructivism like the process of constructing a building? Who are the different members of the community that must collaborate and negotiate? How do the planner and architects act as “meaning makers”? How are the end results similar/different in each scenario? What does the author mean by “authentic” activities? Why is that important? Considering the potential risks and benefits of employing Constructivist educational theory in the development of a course, what are some of the key ways you would mitigate the down-side and maximize the up-side?
Chapter 6 – The Learning Sciences: Where They Came From and What it Means for Instructional Designers
Explain how the technological revolution impacted the cognitive revolution. Which do you think has had a larger impact on education? Why? The advances in learning theory outlined in this chapter are relatively recent in human history, and yet one premise that needed to be developed before these ideas could emerge was that learning is not one-way, but rather it is an interactive process. As intuitive as that idea might sound, why do you think it is fairly recent of a revelation? What sort of cultural characteristics may have held this idea back? Do you think that research on thinking, processes or environment has had the most impact on the evolution of instructional design? Explain.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
