Educational Paradigms Essay

Paradigms are ways of thinking or getting things done. As time passes and new concepts evolve, the way things are being done or implemented begin to undergo significant changes. Paradigms are continually shifting and this is unavoidable. For example, prior to the beginning of the information age, education could only be achieved by physically seeking admission and going through manual registration processes before one could be considered a student. The situation has changed today. Most of these processes may now be achieved online, as is the case with American Intercontinental University (AIU). A new educational paradigm has been ushered in as a result of technological advancements (Riegle, n. d. ). Which paradigm best describes your current learning organizational environment? Why? Provide an example. The ideal paradigm is the one that favours the emergence of standard practices, improved methodologies, and a range of resources that help to establish benchmarks and develop instructional strategies that give students the opportunity to learn properly and reap the benefits of education optimally. American Intercontinental University (AIU) provides an online educational system that offers increased accessibility to students from the convenience of their homes. This is accomplished through the use of up-to-date technological devices, software programs, internet connection, and computers. Since technology has turned the world into a global village, the educational paradigm is gradually shifting from the use of traditional classrooms to an online learning system. This learning platform has necessitated the need for an interactive method of learning to supplement the lecture materials, sample essays and the numerous resources that are made available to students to facilitate their learning process. For example, Instructional strategies that involve the use of chat rooms, discussion groups, emails, forums or message boards are employed to achieve learning. How does your organizational paradigm affect your assessments and measurement of student learning? AIU strives to balance learning strategies by adopting principles of various learning theories and applying them to instructional design and students’ assessment. The University presents materials to students in formats that they can easily understand, usually in the form of video, audio, presentations, and other related methods. Measurement of student learning is achieved through the evaluation of students’ participation in group activities, discussion groups, learning teams, chat rooms, and ability to use concept maps, mnemonics or organizers to reflect their knowledge of concepts. This is in support of the Cognitivism theory which states that it is important to understand how the human mind works so that we can understand how students learn (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2008). Assessment of learning is also done by giving students home work, assignments or group projects so that they can learn through their own activities and personal experiences. This is a very important paradigm at AIU since most of the learning activities take place online. Students are encouraged to learn through simulation, exploration and active participation in message boards and various projects assigned to them. This method of assessment is in agreement with the constructivism theory which states that knowledge is imbibed through active participation and engagement of the learner. The theory asserts that for knowledge to be retained, it is important to link new concepts with familiar concepts (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2008). On a personal level, which paradigm do you feel most represents your own views of education and assessment? Even though technology has its numerous benefits and offers students various opportunities of convenience and ease of use, traditional learning methods should also be sustained because each style of learning has its own benefits. It’s important to maximize the advantages of each learning style so that optimal results may be achieved. In consonance with the theory of behaviorism, good performance should always be rewarded with praise, awards or any other form of recognition to encourage the students, while the undesired behavior (bad performance) may be rewarded by holding back such rewards (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2008). This ensures that individual performances in learning are immediately observed and weak points are focused on for possible improvement. By balancing the learning theories and employing the use of best practices in administering lectures to students, learning can indeed become an enhanced and exciting experience. References Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2008). Index of Learning Theories and Models. Retrieved September 25, 2008 from http://www. learning-theories. com Riegle, R. P. (n. d. ). Educational Paradigms. Visionary Leadership for the Information Age. Retrieved September 26 from http://people. coe. ilstu. edu/rpriegle/wwwdocs/paradigm/welcome. htm