Cornelius 1
Abby Cornelius
Mrs. Snethen
ELA 4
4 October 2011
Summary of Readings
Most teachers will contend that education is a field of trends. From teaming to looping,
curriculum mapping to professional learning communities, the field of education changes rapidly
as educators strive to find better ways of meeting the needs of learners. One of the first
educational trends was the Visual Instruction Movement. Molenda writes that this movement
began when visual materials became available to a large number of educational agencies (6).
With the introduction of these materials came the use of “technology” in the classroom. While
Spector defines educational technology as the use of scientific principles and theory to improve
student learning and performance (21), many teachers refer to “technology” as devices from film
strips in the Post-War era to podcasts in the digital age. Many long-time educators complain of
the multitude of educational trends that have surfaced and retreated through the years, however
one “trend” that has not retreated like many others is the integration of “technology” in the
classroom. Despite this growth of technology in education, the value of the media still depends
on how the teacher implements it (Molenda 5). Also, teachers are more likely to effectively use
media they have received proper training on, and are easily accessible for use in the classroom
(Molenda, 9). This need to use technology to assist in learning is a direct result of decades of
exhaustive research.
Spector states that research tries to explain why things happen the way they happen (22).
This is difficult in education because there are so many variables to account for when conducting
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educational research. Educational technologists try to improve learning and performance by
creating educational strategies and then testing their effectiveness while battling a myriad of
variables (Spector 22). To account for these variables, specific instructional design models have
been created to fit particular learning outcomes (Spector 25). Learning outcomes or “learning
targets” are established as curriculum writers attempt to intersect the needs of instructors to teach
the material, with the needs of learners to experience the targets in a meaningful way. The needs
of learners play a much larger role theoretically than many educators spend time thinking about.
Two pillars of learners needs are psychology and communication or more simply, “what people
do and what people say” (Spector 23). Educational technologists combine these two pillars
with a third pillar that contains “humility and openness” (Spector 23) to create innovative
instructional models for learners.
Instructional models are designed with instructional theory as a foundation. Instructional
theory is based on learning theory which provides a link between how learning happens and how
to aid the learning process (Schuh and Barab 76). From a wider scope, learning theory is
founded on ontology and epistemology. These ideas allow educational technologists to define
what is real and how that knowledge is gained (Schuh and Barab 70). With this focus, Burton,
Moore, and Magliaro claim that behaviorism accounts for most learning (10).
The idea that individual’s actions and decisions are the basis for the individual's learning
is an accepted tenet among educators. Teachers everywhere work together to create databases of
lesson plans and instructional strategies to improve student achievement. ERIC, the U. S.
Department of Education, and the Educational Research Service all work to promote learning
through researched and proven methods. While many trends have passed through the history of
education, two ideas stand out as focal points: “technology” will continually be integrated
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throughout curricula, and instructional models will continue to promote the use of educational
technology in furthering student performance.
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Works Cited
Burton, John, David Moore, and Susan Magliaro. “Behaviorism and Instructional Technology.”
Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology. Eds. Michael
Spector et. al. New York: Springer, 2013. Association for Educational Communications
and Technology. Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 9 Sept.
2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
Molenda, Michael. “Historical Foundations.” Handbook of Research for Educational
Communications and Technology. Eds. Michael Spector et. al. New York: Springer,
2013. Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Association for
Educational Communications and Technology, 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
Schuh, Kathy, and Sasha Barab. “Philosophical Perspectives.” Handbook of Research for
Educational Communications and Technology. Eds. Michael Spector et. al. New York:
Springer, 2013. Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 22
Sept. 2014.
Spector, Michael. “Theoretical Foundations.” Handbook of Research for Educational
Communications and Technology. Eds. Michael Spector et. al. New York: Springer,
2013. Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Association for
Educational Communications and Technology, 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.