Three Perspectives on Instructional Technology
Given the ambitions of education, it's not surprising that several distinct
learning theories have emerged to explain the nature of learning and the best
approaches to instruction.
The Behavioral Perspective focuses on learners'
external experience. The fundamental belief is that the learning process is a
set of reactions to the environment.
The Information Processing Perspective looks inwards,
at the human mind and memory, to explain how people learn. Specifically, the computer
is used as a model for the way that humans process and learn new information.
Finally, the Constructivist Perspective looks at building
an interactive experience to teach people new ideas. It emphasizes that education
comes through problem-solving complex and relevant problems while collaborating
with other students.
The overlap of theories