Assignment Instructions
Part 1
In the Week 1 discussion, you explored what you would learn if you could have unlimited time, energy and effort. In this assignment, you explore how you would do this in more detail. (I am a Kinesthetic Learner)
Apply learning theory terminology and concepts to describe the learning situation.
Identify what it is you will be learning. – I will be learning How to cut hair/Barber
Using a learning theory of your choice from any presented in the course, explain your understanding of this topic, concept, or skill so far.
Describe how you will go about learning your new topic, concept, or skill.
Predict what you should be able to do or understand after your learning experience, using terms from this theory.
Justify which learning theory best supports the personal learning situation.
Explain why this plan works best for you. Is it your personality, experience, knowledge, or something else that makes this the best plan?
Critique this theory. What could it explain well about you and your learning plan, and what could it simply not explain?
Part 2
Select a case from Learning Theories: Case Studies.
Analyze the ability of a theory to explain and predict a case
Identify what the person in the case was hoping to learn.
Explore if your approach to learning your topic, concept, or skill from Part 1 would work effectively for the person in the selected case to learn their topic, concept, or skill.
Explain any challenges that would be involved for the person from the case study learning this way.
Critique the learning theory you chose in Part 1 for its ability to explain and predict learning for the person.
Case Study
Ari describes himself as being an “awkward geeky sort”. His very favorite thing to do is play video games, particularly creative and multiplayer games, and he is quite famous in his online communities and has developed a popular YouTube channel mostly with his Minecraft server.
At 10 years old, Ari is 5’ 7” tall. His physical development is “off the chart” and physical education teachers have tried to coax him into athletic activities for years as they see his height as a true advantage. Ari’s parents say “his body hasn’t caught up with itself yet. He stumbles on stairs and bumps into walls… he just doesn’t have much coordination. Everyone in our family is tall (both of us are over 6’2”), and we all took this same path. Sports don’t tend to work well until about 13 or 14 years old, sadly.”
At school, Ari has begun to notice that all the popular boys are athletes, and has now shared with his parents “I just want to be able to run fast and throw a ball… I’m tired of being picked last all the time in gym class, and I just want to fit in”. They have noticed that Ari’s performance at school seems to be suffering lately; he claims it is a result of being a social outcast. The parents said “well, he’s learning something at this school, but maybe not what we would hope he is learning. Maybe we should look at a different kind of school.”
