Musings: Educational Theories and there place: Impact and design

In current academic practice we are able to adapt and utilise a vast array of theory and practical expertise to enable us to engage with the learner. An almost knowingly eclectic theoretical methodology is taken to achieve a practical solution with regard to teaching and learning. Choosing elements of Behaviourism, Instructional Design, Constructivism (and its variants ), Cognitivism, to purpose a module or programme. This does even begin to touch upon actual instances of practical methodologies in use; problem-based or inquiry led learning, co-operative learning, discussion based scenarios, case study work, simple ‘active’ engagement etc. It is a relative rarity to find a particular programme embracing and proclaiming a certain theoretical ethos as its mandate, however one would acknowledge that constructivism is the current vogue, and is perceptible in many a programme design, whether this was an explicit rationale may be another matter altogether. Though many academics espouse a certain way of practice, not all would be fully cogniscent of the intricacies of any given theoretical slant. With the advent of educational technologies many individuals have surreptiously signed up to a variety of theoretical leanings and practices unwittingly. The use of the virtual learning environment Moodle being one case in particular, this application is firmly set in a socio-constructivist frameset that allows for individuals to work within such parameters. Facilitators provide content and resources in a structure that engenders the social development and interaction of individuals, in so doing initial navigability of the system (finding the resources within) may take some time to familiarise one self with. Other VLE vendors have applied key instructional design principals to aid in the design and implementation of their packages, often assuming that a particular ‘route’ of learning will be taken on behalf of the end-user, these sometimes end up as effective ‘training tools’ but lacking some what in providing a sense of knowledge exploration and collaborative endeavour.