Here, the proposed conceptual framework is brought together as a whole. It begins with the way we communicate with and know the external world by way of our five senses. The roles of the emotions in the memory are examined as memory is foundational to learning. Theories of learning play an important role in the conceptual framework. From the multitude of those available, we must select one or parts of several to apply to the task. One must also consider the various instructional design models and theories and select the one that best fits our instructional objectives. The nine instructional events as identified by Dr. Robert Gagné serves as a pattern for delivering instruction. Learner characteristics provide insight on how to deliver the instruction to a group of students. Evolving instructional technology can help by providing the means of effective and efficient delivery of instruction.
TopTying It Together
Thus far, the concern has been with the discrete elements that make up the conceptual framework. The attempt in this chapter is to bring it together into a connected whole. It begins with the information explosion and the need to transform this overwhelming amount of information into knowledge. There is the danger of being swamped by all this data, this information (See figure 2 in chapter 1). Lives are so sped up that in the span of one person’s life he or she may expect to have experienced several careers instead of one. It is far different from what one remembers from a childhood lived in the rural South: no electricity for rural homes, no indoor plumbing, plowing fields with a mule pulling the plow, hitching a ride on a mule-drawn wagon, though in the 1940s, the way of life was that of at least a century earlier. Information is expected to double every 12 hours, while minds are relatively static. How can one keep up with it? How can one manage this? A new view of the nature and purpose of education must be formed, and advantage of instructional technology must be taken, and this technology must be applied in ways that exploit the growing knowledge of how the brain operates.
The process for building this conceptual framework is depicted in figure 2. One must consider the subject, the objectives, the learner, the time allotted for instruction, and the resources needed to deliver the instruction. All these elements interact such that if a change is made in one box all other boxes can be affected. Based on these elements, attention can be directed to deciding on an instructional design model and a learning theory. Once done, the process of preparing the instruction for delivery must begin.
Figure 2. The process for creating an instructional event
TopCommunication With The External World
The brain is a marvelous organ. What is known of the world is derived from sensory input, which includes smell, taste, touch, sound, and sight, all of which are transformed into electrical impulses. Transduction is the process by which this transformation from mechanical or chemical energy to electrical energy is achieved. These signals are routed to various areas of the brain where they are cataloged and processed via action potentials flowing along axons over synaptic space to dendrites and on to their destination. It must be recognized that what the senses perceive is limited.
For example, human visual capacity is limited to that which falls between the ultraviolent at the upper end and the infrared at the lower end of the visual spectrum. On the electromagnetic frequency spectrum, those things that one cannot see on the upper end goes on to gamma rays and on the lower end to extremely low frequency. These unseen elements far exceed what one can see in the visible spectrum. It must also be considered that fast-moving objects are not registered visually, such as bullets for example. The conclusion is that there is much more that we do not see than what we do see. Some animals, however, have a greater visual range than do humans. Our hearing capacity is also limited to between 16 Hz and 20,000 Hz (Despopoulos & Silbernagle, 1983). Dogs, bats, dolphins, and many other creatures can hear far above the human range of perception of sound. It could also be ventured to suggest that the other senses are likely as equally limited in what they can perceive. This opens the door to speculation and science fiction and the world of fantasy. There could be entire universes present around us that the senses cannot perceive. Some progress has been made with telescopes, television, telephone, microscopes and such like to expand the ability to see and hear; nevertheless, human senses are severely limited in what can be perceived, which is likely very fortunate because one might be driven mad by so much sensory input.