What would be the next big theory of learning and education?

Aren’t we all going back to basic – with the xMOOCs based on the instructivism as a basic learning pedagogy?

I suppose lots of educators and researchers are still interested in the behavioral and objectivism approaches to education, through the xMOOCs.

On one hand, we seem to be celebrating the huge success of xMOOCs as millions of students are registered with the courses, on the other hand we still have not fully resolved the Higher Education crisis, as it unfolded.  One of the critical elements in education is pedagogy, which needs to be addressed when technology is used in education and learning.

Having browsed through this learning theory, I won’t be surprised by the missing out of some of the latest learning theories – Connectivism, or even the Learning as a Network Theory (LaaN).


Here are the assumptions and myths:

1. A lack of understanding and recognition of Connectivism as a new emergent learning theory.

Knowledge is co-constructed by humans under constructivism, and this theory suggests that humans construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences.

I quite enjoyed this interview recordings with George Siemens, where George shared his experience with MOOC and the application of Connectivism.

George mentioned about differences between Connectivism and Constructivism (and the various versions of Constructivism – Social Constructivism, and Connectionism) in the interview.

Relating to the difference between Constructivism and Connectivism, George states in his paper on Connectivism:

Chaos is the breakdown of predictability, evidenced in complicated arrangements the initially defy order.  Unlike constructivism, which states that learners attempt to foster understanding by meaning making tasks, chaos states that the meaning exists – the learner’s challenge is to recognize the patterns which appear to be hidden.  Meaning-making and forming connections between specialized communities are important activities.

I see the differences between Constuctivism and Connectivism as shared here, here and here.

Constructivism has been well promoted and educated in various education courses, especially in Higher Education Institutions.  There are significantly less discourse and education on Connectivism, likely because most academics, educators and scholars have been educated in the pre-digital era.  Even then, there has been some dissenting voices and strong critiques of Connectivism as a New Learning Theory as cited here and here.

There seems to be a lack of awareness of Connectivism as Jenny says here:

For me an omission from Liz’s slide and therefore from the interviewees’ thinking and experience of technology enhanced learning in Higher Ed is ‘Connectivism’ or anything to do with networked learning – although communities of practice can be thought of in terms of networked learning.

I could understand that Connectivism sounds too foreign for Higher Education educators, leading to its omission in the minds of educators.  Would this relate to the notion that Connectivism is seldom promoted in Higher Education due to some complex reasons?  These could include EDUPUNK and the Do it yourself (DIY) which are still viewed as too challenging or disruptive to the formal education system.

I have responded to some of the issues and challenges here, and here.

2. A lack of application of the theory of Connectivism in various contexts.

This is especially the case as illustrated in the Learning as a Network Learning (LaaN) Theory where PLE and Connectivism are applied in informal or non-formal learning scenarios outside the formal institutional environment, but not easily assimilated into the formal courses, due to the lack of support or direct encouragement to leverage fully on PLE.

I have shared some of the reasons behind such lack of application here.











The issue






3. Most students prefer to learn in a more simpler ways, even in a complex learning environment.

As shared in my previous post:

What the learners are normally expected to do would be to consume the knowledge transmitted or broadcasted to them, and to confirm their understanding of the concepts through repeated quizzes or assignments.  This requires certain perseverance from the learners, though it is possible to achieve a high or perfect score in test, assignments and examinations through drills, repeated practice, as is common in a rote learning scenario.   The use of standard answers in the case of multiple choices, true/false, or short case scenarios, could all be checked with automated grading or assessment software.  For peer assessment, these are done in a closed manner, with the merits of “protecting” the learners from being “criticised” in public, but the demerits of being critiqued by only a few participants (5 other peers) in the whole evaluation.  Nevertheless, this seems to be well accepted as a way to assessment in the xMOOCs, as that might be the only feasible and reliable way to assess students in an institutional environment, without overly involving the professors in the assessment.

What would be the next big theory of learning and education?  I think we would likely end up with a Theory of Learning based on a combination of Learning Theories, like a hybrid form of Social Constructivism and Connectivism together with LaaN in a few years time, though it is unlikely that educators would agree on a common education and learning theory which addresses all learning scenarios or situations.

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