Week 7 - Reflection of my Learning Styles

I was once asked what I thought my learning style was.  My response was that I preferred a constructivist style of learning.  Of course, I also remarked that it was hard to limit one's self to a single learning style, as Ertmer and Newby (1993) pointed out in one of their articles.  Now that my education in various learning styles is coming to a close, I was asked to revisit the questions of: what is my personal learning style, how has it changed, what can further explain my learning preferences, and what role does technology play in my quest for information.

The Six Sigma Master Blackbelt and Lean Sensei typical response is:  "It depends".  My answers depend on a variety of contexts:  what is it I am learning, why am I learning it, where am I learning, etc., etc.  Because I feel learning is unique and personal to each individual and the environment occurring in, my answers regarding personal learning styles may change slightly.  

I believe it is still hard to limit one's self to a single style of learning.  Upon learning more about various styles of learning, I still believe that my preferred style is constructivist but there is also a lot of connectivism in there.  Of course, connectivism as a learning theory versus learning method is highly debatable.  If you also throw in adult learning, which is broad and vast, I fit that definition as well.  For starters, like most adults, I have to be motivated and have a need or desire to learn.  From there, my preference is to apply or construct my current knowledge to fit the application.  Many times I look to my learning networks (aka connectivism) to provide clarification or advanced examples of principles.  I don't believe my initial response was incorrect or changed over time, but is supplemented with other methods such as connectivism.

Technology plays a large role in my quest for knowledge.  The internet, and all of it's glorious connections via blogs, wikis, learning groups, newsletters, and more, helps me learn more about concepts and how to apply them.  It seems like I am always "googling" something I want more information on at least once a day.  Some of the information is work related, some school, and other is purely personal.  This network helps me acquire information as well as share information with others.  More and more companies are moving towards internal wikis and SharePoint sites to help share information.  I use both of them frequently to further my learning at work.

As I come to a close in this entry, I feel I have gained a better understanding of my learning preferences, even though my thought has not drastically changed.  Technology plays a large part in how I obtain knowledge.  Without technology, I doubt I would have been able to learn as much as quickly as I have over the years.

References

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50–71.  
 

Davis, C, Edmunds, E, & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved February 2, 2010 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/  

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D. & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate  custom  edition). New York: Pearson.