in Georgia

Since we are talking about learning theories you all might find it interesting that I am in Georgia to work on a grant proposal with collaborators at the University of Georgia. What we plan to do is to embed motivational strategies into computer-based scaffolds, which you will be learning about later this semester. Well, you will be learning about scaffolds. But remember, just because I research about scaffolds does not mean that I think that social constructivism is the only learning theory worth knowing about. You can draw strategies from all sorts of learning theories. Learning theories are not like theories in some fields, for example physics, where you have a theory that hold sway for several years and then gets supplanted by something that describes reality better. Different people learn different content differently. Behaviorism, which we will be covering next week, is still relevant, especially in the context of physical and special education (and pet training) and in providing extrinsic motivation (which some people do not like but still is a common form of motivational support). It really provided the foundation for disciplined inquiry into learning and for the field of instructional technology.
To understand learning theories you have to keep an open mind when reading about them. You may not fully agree with all their assumptions about learning and about learners, and that's okay, just think that it could contain an element of truth and continue to read. Even though my research is all social constructivist I still admire and use learning theories like behaviorism and the people who formulated such theories.