In this post, I will discuss two resources that provide information about this week's topics of the brain and learning, information processing theory, and problem-solving methods during learning.
The first resource, http://www.emtech.net/ , is an Internet website I discovered through a Google search of 'learning theories'. The site is sponsored by a group called emTech Consulting which, according to the homepage, provides "over 15,000 resources organized by topics for teachers, students, and parents." The site offers information on various topics relevant to our coursework in Learning Theories and Instruction including constructivism, learning theories, and learning styles. Additionally, many other resources on the site may be useful in Instructional Design study, such as journals, online communities, teaching resources, and reference sites. The site's learning theories page provides links to journal articles, papers, web sites, and other scholarly resources. The resources are divided into subtopics such as behaviorism, dual-coding theory, and information processing. There are also sections devoted to theorists such as Piaget and Vygotsky.
What I like most about emTech's site is that it is easy to navigate. It allows me to find information quickly by clicking a few links. There is no complicated searching involved. On the downside, some of the resource links are not working. Of the seven articles listed under information processing theory, I could open only four.
While the site provides easy access to resources on information processing theory, it is far from an extensive library. I think the real value of emTech's site is that it offers information on a wide variety of learning topics. It is not a one-stop shop for information on learning theory, but it is a good place to start. I think it will be very useful in locating outside sources to supplement course materials.
The second resource is the American Educational Research Journal. I found this journal in the Walden Library database. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with using the Walden library, I will quickly explain that I located this journal by clicking on Research Databases > Education > Education: a SAGE full text database. I then used the Browse tab to view journals available by discipline. You may also find this resource at http://aer.sagepub.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ .
American Educational Research Journal is a quarterly journal first published in 1964. The journal "publishes original empirical and theoretical studies and analyses in education that constitute significant contributions to the understanding and/or improvement of educational processes and outcomes."
The online version allows you to view full text articles by issue or search for articles using keywords. With the amount of articles available it is important to be very specific when searching for studies on specific topics. Entering broad search terms returns an overwhelming amount of results. For example, when I searched for "reading" and "comprehension", I received 380 results. When I added the term "adults" the list was narrowed to 157.
I think this journal will be a very good resource because it contains numerous studies on information processing, metacognition, and attention. Although it may be a little more difficult to locate the pertinent studies, I feel more comfortable obtaining information from a scholarly journal than from the Internet. Scholarly journal articles reassure me that the material has been heavily scrutinized and held to the highest standards.
Thanks,
Brandey
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