Theory Review: Christi

Environmental Learning Theory

Christi Martzall

Ball State University

EDAC 635 Strategies for Teaching Adults

February 21, 2021

Name	Commented On
Christi Martzall	TBD

Introduction

Environmental learning theory is the understanding that the environment shapes learning and behavior. It is also thought that behavior and learning are reactions to the environment. The combination of the environment, the individual, and the reaction encourages or discourages behavior and learning.

Effective learning environments require the facilitator to know a lot, to be able to explain in a simple and interesting way, and to have personal charisma. He or she should facilitate and direct learning by stimulating learners to ask questions, reacting to their answers, helping them accept challenges and disagreements, discuss contradictions, think critically and offer creative solutions. It is very important for the learners to overcome their dependence on the facilitator by developing their own styles of successful learning and skills for objective and realistic self-evaluation. That will help them to undertake the responsibility for their education and personal development and to avoid putting the blame for their failures on somebody else (Kostova and Atasoy, 2008).

This paper will examine the design of learning environments from four perspectives that are particularly relevant to adult learning: learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, and community centered. Understanding these learning approaches to instruction are critical to designing effective learning environments.

Main Theoretical Points

 

While the four environmental learning perspectives listed below are described separately, they should be theorized as a system of interrelated mechanisms that equally support one another in any successful learning environment:

Learner Centered learning environment focuses on the participants' concerns and involves them in making decisions and solving problems. We use the term “learner centered” to refer to environments that pay careful attention to the knowledge, skills, and beliefs that learners bring to the educational setting. This term includes teaching practices that have been called “culturally responsive”, “culturally appropriate”, and “culturally relevant” (Consensus, 2000). The term also fits the concept of “diagnostic teaching”: attempting to discover that students think in relation to the problems on hand, discussing their misconceptions sensitively, and giving them situation to go on thinking about which will enable them to readjust their ideas (Consensus, 2000).

Knowledge Centered learning environment introduces knowledge (facts, ideas, concepts, and principles) in a timely manner when the need to do so naturally arises, or when learners see a need. Knowledge centered environments take seriously the need to help students become knowledgeable by learning in ways that lead to understanding and subsequent transfer. Standards in areas such as mathematics and science help define the knowledge and competencies that students need to acquire. (Consensus, 2000).

Assessment Centered learning environment involves requiring high standards and frequent opportunity for feedback. The key principles of assessment are that they should provide opportunities for dieback and revision and that what is assessed must be congruent with one’s learning goals. It is important to distinguish between two major uses of assessment. The first, formative assessment, involves the use of assessments (usually administered in the context of a classroom) as sources of feedback to improve teaching and learning. The second, summative assessment, measures what students have learned at the end of some set of learning activities (Consensus, 2000).

Community Centered learning environment explicitly promote norms and expectations that encourage inquiry and collaboration. New developments in the science of learning suggest that the degree to which environments are community centered is also important for learning. Especially important are norms for people learning from one another and continually attempting to improve. We use the term community centered to refer to several aspects of community, including the classroom as a community, the school as a community, and the degree to which students, teachers, and administrators feel connected to the larger community of homes, business, states, the nation, and even the world (Consensus, 2000).

Applications

 

Implementing an open learner-centered environment produces many classroom benefits. Learner centered environments require the facilitator to create an atmosphere of comfort, invite open expression, invite meaningful class discussions, allow for the development of peer learning, and nurture student-teacher and student-student connections. The student learning experience can also benefit by the essential component of group work. Many times, working within a group is reflective of the working world environment where employees are often required to collaborate with others and communicate on a daily basis. For example, learners may practice roles and expectations that one might experience as a committee member in a professional organization. Based on the focus group results, we conclude that the best approach a teacher can have in presenting new material in order to facilitate learning is to address a variety of presentation methods in their instruction plan such as visual presentations, memorization exercises, discussion, lectures, and experiential applications (Bishop, et. al., 2014).

An example of a knowledge learning environment is one where a facilitator directly teaches a concept, such as how to find area and perimeter. The facilitator would then take this concept one step further, connecting this new knowledge to a real-life scenario. Maybe the organization needs new tile floors. The learner would actually measure the area and perimeter of the office space and the hallway, using the measurements to calculate how much tile would need to be ordered. This would give them the understanding that these new math skills are used in real jobs, such as installing tile (Bishop, et al, 2014). Facilitators who believe in knowledge-centered classrooms believe memorization does not lead to true understanding and only helps students learn at the surface. Deep learning involves learning through problem-solving that a knowledge-based learning environment provides.

There are several research trends for assessment-based learning environments. One popular illustration of assessment-based learning is digital game-based learning. For example, it is expected that more and more educational computer games with good learning strategies and well-designed learning content will be presented by researchers. In addition, emphasizing on personal factors, such as preferences or learning styles, should be taken into account by researchers for developing more adaptive and effective educational computer games in the future (Chen and Hwang, 2014).

            A community-based learning environment engages students for success and citizenship because it underscores the need for a concerted effort to engage all students in learning. Numerous approaches to community-based learning include: academically based community service, civic education, environment-based education, place-based learning, service learning, and work-based learning. If all students are to succeed, we must pay much more attention to community-based learning as a strategy for engaging and motivating students and for strengthening the relationship between schools and communities (Melaville, et al, 2014).

Reflection

Highlights

The goals and expectations for education have changed dramatically during the past century, and new goals suggest the need to rethink such questions as what is taught, how it is taught, and how learners are assessed. Research on learning does not provide a recipe for designing effective learning environments, but it does support the value of asking certain kinds of questions about the design of learning environments. Four perspectives of the design of learning environments in this paper (learner center, knowledge centered, assessment centered, and community centered) are important considerations in designing effective learning environments (Consensus, 2000).

Process

I reviewed my notes from the chapter in the MacKeracher text about environment and context in learning and reviewed my notes. Then I did internet research on the topic of environmental learning theory and pinpointed what area I would focus on. Because I knew another group member had covered the physical aspects of environmental learning theory, it was important to me that I looked at other aspects of this theory in order to get a broader understanding of this topic. I used the internet and Google Scholar to research the topics. I read articles, blogs, and newsletters. Then I made an outline for each of the main points and their practical applications.

Table 1   Environmental Learning Theory
Main Points	Summary of How to Apply in Practice
Learner Centered Environment	Takes into account: ·       Learner’ background knowledge ·       Interests ·       Social and cultural values (Vanderbilt University, 2021)
Knowledge Centered Environment	Involves: ·       Providing rigorous content ·       Helping students understand rather than simply memorize (Vanderbilt University, 2021
Assessment Centered Environment	Involves: ·       Requiring high standards and frequent opportunities for feedback, reflection, and revision in order to enhance the quality of learning (Vanderbilt University, 2021
Community Centered Environment	Involves: ·       Fostering norms where “learning of the highest order” is encouraged ·       People are respected and connected to a variety of resources (Vanderbilt University, 2021

References 

Bishop, C. F., Caston, M. I., & King, C. A. (2014, August). Learner-centered environments:                Creating effective strategies based on student attitudes and faculty reflection. ERIC –

               Education Resources Information

Center. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1035082.pdf

Chen, N. S., & Hwang, G. J. (2014, February 12). Transforming the classrooms: innovative

               digital game-based learning designs and applications. ResearchGate | Find and share

research. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gwo-Jen-Hwang/publication/263340113_Transforming_the_classrooms_Innovative_digital_game-based_learning_designs_and_applications/links/548461bf0cf2e5f7ceaccd8c/Transforming-the-classrooms-Innovative-digital-game-based-learning-designs-and-applications.pdf

Consensus Study Report. (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, and School: Expanded

               Edition. The National Academies Press. https://www.nap.edu/read/9853/

Kostova, Z., & Atasoy, E. (2008). METHODS OF SUCCESSFUL LEARNING IN

               ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION. ERIC - Education Resources Information

Center. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED502021.pdf

Melaville, A., Berg, A. C., & Blank, M. J. (2006). Community-Based Learning: Engaging

               Students for Success and Citizenship. DigitalCommons@UNO - The Institutional

               Repository of the University of Nebraska Omaha. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1034&context=slcepartnerships

Vanderbilt University. (2021). Page 5: Community-centered learning environments.

IRIS. https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/hpl/cresource/q1/p05/