Week 3: Learning Background

Ecological Psychology of Instructional Design

As Michael Young said in his article that according to ecological psychology “learning is defined as the education of intention and attention.” He describes that these can be induced through experience in the environment and interacting with other people. This made me think that how much prior knowledge and cognitive structures impact the education of “Intention and Attention.” What is the role of schemata in the education of intention and attention?”

“Information processing assertion is that based on the assumption that perceptions are bare and meaningless until interpreted and analyzed by stored schemas. In contrast, an ecological presumption is that a sensitive exploring agent can pick up the affordance of an environment directly through exploration, discovery, and differentiation.” p. 172
Q: Do we need prior knowledge and schemas in order to use affordances and meaningful exploration, discovery, and differentiation of an environment?

Learning in school and out

Lauren B. Resnick mentioned in the article that “there is an inadequate engagement with the tools and materials of work, and more time is given to the theoretical explanation than to building truly expert performance skills.” p. 17
Q: Do we need to create a balance between “theoretical learning” and “actual practice of the work environment” in order to become an expert? Does this balance depend on the individual learners, context, and content to be learned?