1. CHAPTER 2 : UNDERSTANDING 21st CENTURY LEARNERS
1. What are three characteristics of the 21st century learner?
i) The learners of the 21st century expect to be engaged in active, hands-on learning
experience. They wish to be empowered to explore their ideas in their own ways,
expecting the teacher to serve as a coach or facilitator, not as the person
delivering the information.
ii) The learners of the 21st century do not learn content in isolation. These students
engaged in multitasking and view information in broad and networked format.
These learners expect to work on interdisciplinary projects that challenge their
reading and inquiry skills as they work on problems requiring knowledge and
skills in overlapping content areas such as mathematics, social studies and health.
Each student enters this type of learning experience with the understanding that
there are specific outcomes and expectation, but the avenue to reach those
outcomes and maybe different for each individual.
iii) The learners of the 21st century also demonstrate a strong desire to learn from
multiple formats beyond books, using multiple sources gathered via technology
resources such as video, audio, and online sources. And they share that
information with others through nonstructured means such as blogs or online
journals. They also rely on their social network for ways to enhance their learning
experience. Technology is already a seamless part of their personal lives with
their connection to mobile technologies such as the cell phone. Integrating social
media tools such as texting or Facebook into learning experience moves the
teacher and learners closer together in a 21st century learning community.
2. Describe the similarities and differences in the learning theories discussed in this
chapter?
As time goes by, different learning theories such as behaviorism, cognitivist, and
constructivism have been used to improve learning and performance in Instructional
Technology areas. Each of theories has unique features based on distinct perspectives of
the learning process. In this essay, I will mainly discuss 5 things: (1) The basic principles
of behaviorism, cognitivist, and constructivism, the main differences and similarities
between behaviorism, cognitivist, and constructivism(2) The main differences and
similarities between behaviorism, cognitivist, and constructivism, (3) Instruction process

2. influenced by behaviorism, cognitivist, and constructivism (4) Role of the teacher
according to behaviorism, cognitivist, and constructivism, and (5)Role of the student
according to behaviorism, cognitivist, and constructivism.
Before I begin to explain the main concept of each theory, let me provide the definition
of learning and theory. Researchers and educational practitioners identify learning in
numerous ways. According to Shuell (as interpreted by Schunk, 1991), “Learning is an
enduring change in behavior, or in the capacity to behave in a given fashion which results
from practice or other forms of experience” (p.2). A theory is a general explanation for
observations made over time. (Dorin, Demmin& Gabel, 1990) Schunk (1991) defines
five questions to distinguish learning theories: (1) How does learning occurs?, (2) Which
factor influence learning?, (3) What is the role of memory?, (4) How does transfer
occur?, and (5) What types of learning are bet explaned by the theory? Also,
Ertmer&Newby (Ertmer& Newby, 1993) added two more questions : (1) What basic
assumptions/ principles of this theory are relevant to instructional design? and (2) How
should instruction be structured to facilitate learning? With all questions above, I will
describe the basic concepts of each theory.
Behaviorism
Behaviorism is based on observable changes in behavior. Behaviorism was used as the
basis for designing many of the early audio-visual materials and Pavlov, Watson,
Thorndike and Skinner played an important role in developing behaviorism. Behaviorism
focuses on a new behavioral pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic including
the use of instructional cues, practice, and reinforcement. In learning process, the key
elements are the stimulus, the response, and the association between the two. The learner
is characterized as being reactive to conditions in the learning environments. Behaviorists
place great emphasis on environmental conditions. They identify which reinforces are
most effective for learners. Therefore, the most important factor in behaviorism is the
arrangement of stimuli and consequences within the environment. Behaviorists do not
address memory and transfer is a result of generalization in behavioral learning theories.
Learning involves discriminations (recalling facts), generalizations (defining and
illustrating concepts), associations (applying explanations), and chaining (automatically
performing a specified procedure). Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and mastery
learning is recent examples of behaviorism.
Instructions in behaviorism have some characteristics:
i. an emphasis on producing observable and measurable outcomes in students
including behavioral objectives, task analysis, criterion-referenced assessment,
pre-assessment of students to determine where instruction should begin, emphasis
on mastering early steps before progressing to more complex levels of
performance,

3. ii. use of reinforcement to impact performance, use of cues, shaping and practice to
ensure a strong stimulus-response association (Ertmer& Newby, 1993).
The role of teacher is to
i. Determine which cues can elicit the desired responses,
ii. Arrange practice situations in which prompts are paired with the target stimuli
that initially have no eliciting power but which will be expected to elicit the
responses in the natural setting, and
iii. Arrange environmental conditions(Gropper, 1987).
Cognitivist
Cognitivist is based on the thought process behind the behavior. Cognitivist stresses the
acquisition of knowledge and internal mental structures. In other words, it focuses on
how information is received, organized, stored, and retrieved by the mind. Cognitivists
also place great emphasis on environmental conditions to facilitate learning. However,
contrary to behaviorism, the learner is characterized as being very active in the learning
process. Therefore, environmental conditions are not enough to explain whole
instructional situation. The way that learners attend to, code, transform, rehearse, store
and retrieve information and learners’ thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and values are also key
elements of learning process. Memory in cognitivist is prominent because cognitivists
regard memory as the result of learning. It classifies sensory register, short-term memory,
and long-term memory by how information is stored. The actual goal of instruction for
behaviorism and cognitivist is often to communicate or transfer knowledge to students.
However, behaviorists focus on environmental condition while cognitivists stress
efficient processing strategies.
Instructions in cognitivist have some characteristics:
i. Emphasis on the active involvement of the learner in the learning process,
ii. Use of hierarchicalanalyses to identify and illustrate prerequisite relationships,
iii. Emphasis on structuring,organizing, and sequencing information to facilitate
optimal processing, and
iv. Creation oflearning environments that allow and encourage students to make
connections with previouslylearned material (Ertmer& Newby, 1993).
The role of teacher is to
i. Understand thatindividuals bring various learning experiences to the learning
situation which can impactexperiences to the learning situation which can impact
learning outcomes,
ii. Determine themost effective manner in which to organize and structure new
information to tap the learners’previously acquired knowledge, abilities, and
experiences, and (3) Arrange practice with feedbackso that the new information is
effectively and efficiently assimilated within the learner’scognitive structure
(Stepich& Newby, 1988).

4. Constructivism
Constructivism is based on the premise that we all construct our own perspective of them
world, through individual experiences and schema. Behavioral and cognitive theories are
primarily objectivistic: however, constructivist approach is more learner-centered.
Although both cognitivists and constructivists view the learner as being actively involved
in the learning process, the constructivists look at the learner as more than just an active
processor of information. Learners create their own meaning of knowledge. Therefore,
the goal of instruction is not to know particular facts but to elaborate and interpret
information. In other words, the flexible use of preexisting knowledge is more valuable
than the recall of prepackaged schemas (Spiro, Feltovich, Jacobson, & Coulson, 1991).
Both learner and environmental factors are important. In learning process, the key
elements are activity (practice), concept (knowledge), and culture (context) (Brown,
Collins, &Duguid, 1989). Transfer can be facilitated by involvement in authentic tasks
anchored in meaningful contexts.
The role of teacher is
i. To instruct learners on how to construct meaning and
ii. To align and design experiences for the learner so that authentic relevant contexts
can be experienced.
Instructions in constructivism have some characteristics:
i. Anemphasis on the identification of the context in which the skills will be learned
and subsequentlyapplied,
ii. An emphasis on learner control and the capability of the learner to manipulate
information,
iii. The need for information to be presented in a variety of different ways,
iv. Supporting the use of problem solving skills that allow learners to go “beyond the
informationgiven”,
v. Assessment focused on transfer of knowledge and skills (Ertmer& Newby,1993).
3. What are the eight principles of effective instruction?
a) Assess prior knowledge. Before you can provide instruction, you should gather
relevant information about teach student’s knowledge and skill level. You need to
know what knowledge your students already have learned. To learn from most
materials and activities, students must possess prerequisite knowledge and
skills(Newby, Stepich, Lehman @ Russell, 2010)
b) Consider individual differences. Learners vary in terms of personality, general
aptitude, knowledge of a subject and many other factors. Be ware of the multiple

5. learning needs of your students for example, whether a language other than
English is spoken in a child’s home. You need to consider the technology and
media experiences your students have had and what resources are essential to help
your students learn. Effective instruction allows individuals to progress at
different rated, cover different materials, and even participate in different
activities (Cooper @ Varma,1997)
c) State Objectives. For you and your students to know where instruction is going
what is to be accomplished, the goals must be specified. Learning objectives must
match expected outcomes or standards (Mager, 1997)
d) Develop metacognitive skills. The skills of selective monitoring, evaluating and
adjusting their approaches enhance students’ learning and help to make them
lifelong learners. Learners need assistance in understanding how they learn and
what resources help in that process(Nelson, 1992)
e) Provide social interaction. Teachers and peers serving as tutors or group
members can provide a number of pedagogical as well as social support. Learners
gain experience and expertise when collaborating with others in and beyond the
classroom(Jonassen, Howland, Marra&Crismond, 2008)
f) Incorporate realistic contexts. Learners are most likely to remember and to apply
authentic knowledge presented in a real-world context. Rote learning leads to
inert knowledge that is learners know something but cannot apply it to real life.
Students benefit from understanding how their knowledge and skills fit into the
world around them(Brandsford, Brown & Cocking, 2000)
g) Engage students in relevant practice. The most effective learning experiences are
those requiring learners to practice skills that build toward and the desired
outcome. Learners participation increases the probability of learning. Practice
especially in varying contexts, improves retention rate and the ability to apply the
new knowledge skill or attitude. Practice promotes deeper, longer lasting learning
(Morrison &Lowther, 2010)
h) Offer frequent, timely and constructive feedback. Student learning requires
accurate information on misconception, misunderstanding, and weaknesses.
Learners need to know if their thinking is on track. Feedback may come from a
teacher, a tutor, electronic messages from a computer, the scoring system of a
game or oneself. In addition to knowing that responses are incorrect, students
need to know why they have been unsuccessful and how they can improve their
performance. Further, knowingdetails about their correct responses in terms of
how and why they are accurate helps students understand more about what they
have learned (Black @ William, 1998)