Psychology

Instructional designers, or anyone else in the business of educating and training others, should understand the science and psychology behind learning and memory. Trudy Kowallis Christensen said, “When I design instruction, I usually don’t start with a particular theory. My main focus is the problem and the problem situation.” (Christensen, 1). As Instructional Designers, we […]

When I was a college undergrad in design school, one of my professors had a policy of deducting points from students who “ask too many questions.” She says this teaches students independence and prepares them for the real world, where “life’s not fair.” Ironically, I don’t remember this professor’s name. I don’t remember which class […]

Nearly every instructional design project involves developing learning objectives for various learning scenarios. Typically, instructional designers collaborate with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), asking open-ended questions to analyze and clarify what the learners will be doing. The answers we receive from our SMEs will help shape our learning objectives. When it comes to developing learning objectives, […]

Throughout the course of my career I have learned, in great detail, about the following learning theories: Behaviorism Constructivism Connectivism Cognitivism Andragogy (Adult Learning Theory) Since I create course curriculum and facilitate classes for both children and adults, I definitely see these theories and approaches fitting into the courses I design. I also have a […]

Being a digital native, Connectivism has always played a large role not just in how I develop and facilitate curriculum – but also in my own personal learning experiences. For example, when I was a 14-year-old middle school student, I wanted to build my own website so I used Connectivism to teach myself how to read […]