New and Interesting Terminology I’ve Learned

I’ve created this page so that I can start to track the terminology that I have learned and found to be interesting.  Comments are welcome.

Constructivists: “Knowledge is essentially subjective, constructed from our perceptions and mutually agreed on conventions….we continue to assimilate new information that leads to the reconstruction of our understanding” ( Bates & Sangra, 2011, pg. 44). Climate Change and Intelligent Design are two such theories.

Teaching “management of information” such as finding, analyzing, or organizing and applying information appropriately (Bates & Sangra, 2011, pg. 46).

Epistemology: “The philosophical analysis of the nature of knowledge, and in particular the basis, beliefs, or sources that enable us to consider something to be true” (Bates & Sangra, 2011, pg. 44). Episteme from the Greek meaning knowledge or understanding. Epistemology then means the study of knowledge.

The Objectivist and Constructivist teaching methods can each be seen as a different “epistemological dimension” (Akyol, Ice, Garrison, & Mitchell, 2010, p.67).

Experiential Mode:  A particular mode of learning such as when a student sits in a class and listens to a teacher, or when a student uses the World Wide Web to learn. An experiential mode is an instance of a Learning Environment (Appelman, 2005).

Learning Environment:  Learning environments are said to influence the instructional design of a course because they are comprised of multiple experiential modes, for example, discussion boards, 3D virtual realities, the World Wide Web, and classroom instruction (Appelman, 2005). Learning environments not only influence the instructional design of the course based on the various experiential modes utilized; but also address the specific epistemological goals the course strives to achieve (Appelman, 2005).

Objectivism: “Facts, principles, concepts and theories remain true” whether you believe them or not (Bates & Sangra, 2011, pg. 44).

Human Capital: “The human capital reflects, on the one hand, the physical and intellectual aptitudes characterising the labour and creation capacity of man, and on the other hand, the expenditure made for the improvement and acquisition of these skills” (Minica, 2011, p. 308). In other words, human capital can be seen as an investment.

Human Capital Theory (HCT): The belief that an individual’s knowledge and capacity to learn is as valuable as other types of capital resources, such as technology (Nafukho, Hairston, & Brooks, 2004).

Rates of Returns to Education Investment (RORE): The analysis of the profitability of education. Human capital then becomes an investment that must be considered along with all other investments made to better a person, company, or country, for example.

References

Akyol, Z., Ice, P., Garrison, R., & Mitchell, R. (2010). The relationship between course socio-epistemological orientations and student perceptions of community of inquiry. Internet And Higher Education, 13(1-2), 66-68.

Appelman, R. (2005). Designing experiential modes: A key focus for immersive learning environments. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 49(3), 64-74. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/journal/11528

Bates, A.W. & Sangra, A. (2011). Managing technology in higher education: Strategies for transforming teaching and learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint.

Hülsmann, T. (2011). Distance education: From access to accumulation, The Fourteenth Cambridge International Conference on Open: Distance and e-Learning Internationalisation and Social Justice: the role of Open, Distance and E-learning. Cambridge, UK.

Minica, M. (2011). Theories regarding human capital. Annals Of Eftimie Murgu University Resita, Fascicle II, Economic Studies, 308-315. Retrieved from http://www.anale-ing.uem.ro/

Nafukho, F., Hairston, N., & Brooks, K. (2004). Human capital theory: implications for human resource development. Human Resource Development International, 7(4), 545-551. doi:10.1080/1367886042000299843

Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in Human Capital. American Economic Review, 51, 1-17. Retrieved from http://www.aeaweb.org/aer

Wolf, A. (2002). Elixir or snake oil? Can education really deliver growth? In A. Wolf (Ed.), Does education matter? Myths about education and economic growth (pp. 13- 55). London : Penguin books.