Learning theories grid

Activity : Learning theories

The grid relates to my experience in producing CD-based EFL material for Asian learners.

	For work	At work	Through work
Behaviour	TEFL course from long ago: pass or fail	Training course at our IT unit on using certain application software	Supported practice in using organisational hardware, such as how to access shared storage drives
Understanding	Looking at educational CDs, websites to analyse the pedagogy behind them	Examining the language that is expected of those who work in our organisation	Learning html and just sufficient Dreamweaver in order to make editing changes quickly in the course
Knowledge construction	Reflecting on how the functionalities of existing educational software can be adapted to our EFL CD-based course	Discussions with colleagues and outsourced developer on course	Making editorial changes in the course by myself, using the templates and modules that were programmed by the developer
Social practice	Speaking to a neighbour who is also an EFL specialist	Discussions of a Creative Commons Licence for the course with a colleague from another unit who leads the organisation in software licensing issues	Being engaged in a team of software developers, programmers, those involved in formulating our organisation's training policies, ...

I see learning as a progression from surface to deeper learning, from learning as behaviour to understanding to knowledge construction. While I agree that social practice is an essential part of learning (learning from like-minded people), I find it in peripheral activities. They shaped my learning and improved my work performance indirectly (I might be missing the point!)