Skip to main content

Prescriptive Theories Cannot Be Automatically Derived from Descriptive Theories

Landa (1983) states that "prescriptive instructional theories cannot be automatically derived from descriptive instructional theories." He gives an example to illustrate why this isn't so:

"Suppose we have a descriptive proposition: 'If a student repeats a statement many times, he or she memorizes it better." This is a 100 percent true proposition. Let us convert it into a prescriptive proposition: 'In order to memorize a statement better, one has to repeat it many times.' This proposition is not as true as the first one because the state of 'memorized' is determined by many factors, not just repetition. For example, for a particular student to memorize a statement, it may be more important to understand it rather than just mechanically repeat it. Some students, due to the specific characteristics of their memory, the personal significance of the proposition for them, and some other factors, may not need to repeat it at all." [p. 60]

He notes that the same is true for learning theories.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trait vs state

"A useful distinction in the discussion of student characteristics is trait versus state. Traits are student characteristics that are relatively constant over time...whereas states are student characteristics that tend to vary during individual learning experiences, such as level of content-specific knowledge." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 32) Reigeluth also states that "many strategy components have been shown to help students with all kinds of traits to learn" [p. 32]. My position is that we do not know a priori which aspects of our instructional strategies, learning environment, motivator, etc... will generalize across many or all students. However, with a localized learning theory we can learn over time which do and which do not. At the same time, we will likely find ways of grouping students that we never would have before imagined.
Post a Comment
Read more

James Paul Gee's 36 principls of learning from What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy

In his book, What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy , James Paul Gee identifies 36 principles of learning: Active, Critical Learning principle All aspects of the learning environment (including the ways in which the semiotic domain is designed and presented) are set up to encourage active and critical, not passive, learning. Design Principle Learning about and coming to appreciate design and design principles is core to the learning experience. Semiotic Principle Learning about and coming to appreciate interrelations within and across multiple sign systems (images, words, actions, symbols, artifacts, etc) as a complex system is core to the learning experience. Semiotic Domains Principle Learning involves mastering, at some level, semiotic domains, and being able to participate, at some level, in the affinity group or groups connected to them. Metalevel Thinking about Semiotic Domains Principle Learning involves active and cr
Post a Comment
Read more

Structure of Lessons for Repetition

Way back in 1813, John Freeman described a method of teaching adult persons to read in which printed cards were used. The first card contained 7 lessons. The first six lessons, together, contained 100 words (like an, can, man, than, as, has, on, up-on, ...). The seventh lesson was made up of words selected from the previous 6. (Freeman, 1813, p. 12) Additional repetition was built in as follows (from pg. 14): The first line of the first lesson, should be repeatedly gone over, till it be perfectly known; and then be dismissed, and the second learned in the same manner. Afterwards, the remaining lines in this lesson, should be learned, one at a time. When this is accomplished, the whole of the first lesson is to be repeated, the words being spelled before they are pronounced. The second lesson should then be learned in the same manner as the first. When that is done, proceed to the third, and then to the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh; taking one at a time, in the order in which they
Post a Comment
Read more