Activity 5.5 Group discussion and post on memory and cognitive load

Our group discussion about the video focused on Jennifer’s video on synesthesia.  In the video Daniel Tammet says “Our personal perceptions are at the heart of learning.”  Why and how we pay attention to stimulus in our environment are at the root of our personal perceptions.  I agreed with his premise that there are some characteristics of words in particular that seem intuitively pleasing or correct. Although they approach learning in very different ways, the cross-talk between the senses that Daniel mentions is related to the techniques advocated in my video; for instance when they suggest embedding text in images to increase the likelihood it will be remembered.

Our group feels that no single method of instruction is the answer.  A skillful combination of guided instruction and opportunity for self-directed learning seems to best meet the needs of learners.  Although we agreed that guided instruction can be useful, particularly for targeted skills, we also felt that Kirschner, Sweller and Clark presented an extreme view of constructivist instruction.  I think the authors were better balanced when they acknowledged that practical application of inquiry and problem-solving skills seemed positive and cautioned against considering this the only useful methodology.