Homework answers / question archive / Learning Guide Unit 4 Overview Unit 4: Domains of Learning   Topics:   Affective, cognitive, and psychomotor learning domains Mythology of learning styles Learning Objectives: By the end of this Unit, you will be able to: Differentiate between the three major domains of learning: affective, cognitive, and psychomotor Analyze which classroom conditions make a learning domain more appropriate for specific learning objectives Evaluate the effectiveness of each learning domain for a particular content area Assess the validity of learning styles in educational settings Tasks: Peer-assess Unit # 3 Assignment  Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum Begin the Group Assignment Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity Introduction This course has emphasized that learning is best understood as a continual growth process that considers the ways in which students construct and manage knowledge

Learning Guide Unit 4 Overview Unit 4: Domains of Learning   Topics:   Affective, cognitive, and psychomotor learning domains Mythology of learning styles Learning Objectives: By the end of this Unit, you will be able to: Differentiate between the three major domains of learning: affective, cognitive, and psychomotor Analyze which classroom conditions make a learning domain more appropriate for specific learning objectives Evaluate the effectiveness of each learning domain for a particular content area Assess the validity of learning styles in educational settings Tasks: Peer-assess Unit # 3 Assignment  Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum Begin the Group Assignment Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity Introduction This course has emphasized that learning is best understood as a continual growth process that considers the ways in which students construct and manage knowledge

Writing

Share With

---

Learning Guide Unit 4

Overview

Unit 4: Domains of Learning
 

Topics:
 

• Affective, cognitive, and psychomotor learning domains
• Mythology of learning styles

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this Unit, you will be able to:

1. Differentiate between the three major domains of learning: affective, cognitive, and psychomotor
2. Analyze which classroom conditions make a learning domain more appropriate for specific learning objectives
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of each learning domain for a particular content area
4. Assess the validity of learning styles in educational settings

Tasks:

• Peer-assess Unit # 3 Assignment 
• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Begin the Group Assignment
• Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity
• Introduction

• ---

• This course has emphasized that learning is best understood as a continual growth process that considers the ways in which students construct and manage knowledge. The ways students learn can be generally categorized into three domains: affective, cognitive, and psychomotor. Each domain can be further specified into multiple levels that progress from basic learning benchmarks to more complex expressions.
•  As teachers construct learning objectives for their classes, it becomes increasingly important to have a mastery of the different domains and their respective levels of complexity. Depending on teacher goals and student needs, lesson plans typically consider the nature of the learning experience, the developmental states of the students, and performance assessments. Knowing which domain to use and at what level can vary by course content, teacher expectations, and student abilities.
•  The affective domain emphasizes the values and attitudes in which students engage while building their knowledge. Generally, this domain is referred to as the ‘values’ domain. The cognitive domain focuses on how students acquire, process, and evaluate knowledge. It is considered the ‘thinking’ domain. Finally, the psychomotor domain is concerned with manual or physical skills. This domain is thought of as the ‘doing’ domain.  In some instances, you might observe similarities in the verbs used across the three domains. ‘Creating’ as a psychomotor skill has a different intention than ‘creating’ as a cognitive ability. To minimize confusion, try to understand the taxonomy’s verb within the context of each respective domain. This should help clarify the intention of the verb. 
•  The unit will also ask you to consider the validity of learning styles. Many educators continue to believe that students have a dominant learning modality: auditory, visual, or kinesthetic. There is actually little evidence to support such a belief and yet it persists in many instructional practices. Perhaps the continued attraction to the learning styles is a grounded attempt at incorporating different learning domains and their respective taxonomies. Consider your teaching practices as you review this long-held belief.
•  Finally, please be patient with the readings for this unit. You will notice some areas of repetition. Consider the slightly different ways that each of the taxonomy domains have been represented. You’ll see how some authors have organized verbs in different ways so that you might feel a better connection with a particular explanation over another. 

Reading Assignment

1. Kasilingam, G., Ramalingam, M. & Chinnavan, E. (2014). Assessment of learning domains to improve student’s learning in higher education. Retrieved from https://www.jyoungpharm.org/sites/default/files/10.5530-jyp.2014.1.5.pdf

•  Complete the reading: pp 27- 33. The text will provide you with an explanation of the three learning domains. The narrative focuses on the practical concern of constructing learning objectives for classroom performance. Although the text uses engineering as the sample content, you’ll be able to apply the suggestions to your own content areas.

2. Seifert, K. & Sutton, R. (2009). Educational psychology. Retrieved from  https://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Educational-Psychology.pdf 

• Complete the reading: pp 219-223. Seifert provides useful tables which examine each of the domains and their respective levels of complexity by providing classroom examples. These realistic examples should better illuminate how the domains might manifest in your classroom.

3. Wilson, O. L.  (n.d). The second principle. Retrieved from http://thesecondprinciple.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/The-Three-domains-of-learning-10-2016.pdf 

• Complete the reading: pp 1-7. In addition to the helpful tables that summarize the domains, the author provides a brief historical context to explain the different revisions of the domains that some teachers use today.

4. UNESCO (2004). Changing teaching practices: Using curriculum differentiation to respond to students’ diversity. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001365/136583e.pdf

•  Complete the reading Units 1-3 (pp 5-70). This text will incorporate some of the earlier learning theory you have explored in the course while drawing your attention to differentiation practices. Utilizing the learning domains, teachers can modify lesson plans to better reach students who may require multiple modes of learning.

5. Riener, C. & Willingham, D. (2010). The Myth of Learning Styles. Change, the Magazine of Higher Education.  Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249039450_The_Myth_of_Learning_Styles

•  Complete the entire article (pp 1-5). There persists among several educators that students have different learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) and yet, there is very little empirical evidence to support this belief. The article summarizes the situation and explains why the myth may persist.

6. Pearson Education, Inc. (2016). Learning styles [Whitepaper]. Retrieved from https://www.pearsoned.com/wp-content/uploads/INSTR6230_LearningStyles_WP-2.pdf

•  Complete the entire article (pp 1-8). This article explains how the disagreement about the validity of learning styles is positioned on two claims: learners have preferences and learning is more effective when teaching is directed towards those preferences. The article introduces a hybrid theory called the style-matching hypothesis.

7. Blogger, I. G. (2019, October 1). Four Ways Teachers Can Differentiate in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://inservice.ascd.org/four-ways-teachers-can-differentiate-in-the-classroom/

• The article provides examples of how to differentiate teaching in order to appeal to different learners.

8. EnkiVillage. (n.d.) How can you write a perfect rationale? Retrieved from https://www.enkivillage.org/how-to-write-a-rationale.htm

•  This site will provide guidance on the necessary elements for a ‘rationale paper’.

Optional Video

 

1. Lokesh, M. (Published may 12, 2010). Domains of learning.mpg. Retrieved from  (6:40)

•  The video provides an excellent summary of the domains. The narrator provides visual representations of the domains and their hierarchies.

 

2. TEDx (2015, Apr 2). Tesia Marshik: Learning styles & the importance of self-reflection. Retrieved from (18:14)

• The narrator discusses the problem of perpetuating a belief in learning styles and suggests reasons for how this misunderstanding might better accommodate actual research in teaching and learning. 

 

• Discussion Assignment

• ---

• In the discussion forum, you are expected to participate often and engage in deep levels of discourse.  Please post your initial response as early in the unit as possible and continue to participate throughout the unit. You are required to post an initial response to the question/issue presented in the Forum and then respond to at least 3 of your classmates’ initial posts.  You should also respond to anyone who has responded to you. 
• Think about your current or previous teaching positions; perhaps consider a previous job not-related to teaching. Drawing from your own content area or previous work experiences, focus on the (1) lowest level and the (2) highest level of one domain taxonomy. Select either affective, cognitive, or psychomotor; do not include all three. In your post, share with peers how you implement both the lowest and highest levels of domain taxonomy in your classroom or workplace for one part of a lesson or task.
•  For example, if you select the cognitive domain,  how do you have students ‘recall’ information (low level) and how do you have students ‘evaluate’ information (high level)?
•  To inspire your post, think about what enrichment activities you include (or would include) in your class, what formative strategies you use, and what products or presentations you allow students to submit. These are only suggestions and you do not need to necessarily address each of these considerations.
•  When you reply to peers, please comment on the appropriateness of the activity. Does the teacher task accurately reflect the low level and high level of the chosen domain taxonomy? Can you offer any suggestions?
• Discussion Forums will be peer-assessed using this rubric.

 

 

Group Activity

 

Working with your group imagine that you and your team members have been hired as education consultants for Sunnydale School, a troubled institution concerned for their students’ success. You have limited information about the specifics of the student body and the surrounding community. Each of you will observe a classroom individually and collect data to analyze as a group. Working as a team, you will produce a final recommendation for the school’s administration team. Your report will draw from the resources covered in Units 1-4, as well as the forthcoming Unit 5. Your team’s final report will be due at the end of Unit 6.

 The major concern for the school is that teachers are reporting that students seem disengaged from class content, often acting out. In addition, performance on exams has been problematic; testing results are consistently low. Students have difficulty demonstrating knowledge gains and teachers are open to your suggestions about improving lesson plans, adjusting classroom management practices, or reconsidering content delivery options.

 You and your team members have conducted classroom observations inside the classrooms of individual teachers. Your team has made observations across various content areas and grade levels. Create a (fictitious) list or summary of observational data you have collected about how the teacher you observed are delivering their lessons and the student behaviors that occurred during your observation. Collaborate with your members about the issues and behaviors you have noticed at the school and during the classroom observation. The fictitious data and observations will be included in your report and drive your recommendations.

 Share with your partners what (fictitious) class you observed, the grade level, and what observations you documented in your visit. This content will also need to be analyzed in your report to the school’s administration team. Share with your team what recommendations you would suggest to the teacher you observed and justify your reasoning with appropriate citations from any of the readings. Your portion of the report should include:

• What did you see in the class, such as teacher practices and student behaviors or performance?
• What is the teacher’s theoretical approach? Is the teacher employing more than one? How do you know? What is your evidence?
• Is the current theoretical approach successful? What improvements would you suggest? Justify your improvements with citations from the reading.
• Are the learning domains demonstrated by the teacher appropriate for the class learning goals? Is there a variety of complex hierarchies included? What is your evidence? What suggestions do you have for the teacher? Justify your improvements with citations from the reading.
• Given the neuro-maturational state of the students and their biological ages, how you would assess the appropriateness of the teacher’s practices? Are the teacher’s strategies aligned with brain-based research about adolescent learners? Draw from course materials to defend your position.

 Each team member will submit a copy of the cohesive report to the administration team. Include a one-page rationale before the report explaining your recommendations. If you are unfamiliar with the format and intention of a rationale, please review the site, How Can You Write a Perfect Rationale, which provides a four-step process to writing a rationale.

Explain how your team approached the problem and addressed the school needs. Share how the collaboration process was important to your final product. Each team member should expect to contribute 4-5 pages (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font). In addition to course learning resources, please include a minimum of 2 outside sources to justify your recommendations. Check all content for grammar, spelling. Be sure that you have properly cited all resources (in APA format) used.

In Unit 6, all members of the group will be required to turn in a copy of the final paper. 

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a free website that provides excellent information and resources for understanding and using the APA format and style. The OWL website can be accessed here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01

The paper will be assessed by your instructor using this rubric. 

Portfolio Activity

Reflect on your own teaching practices or beliefs as they relate to the three learning domains included in this unit.

Do you see evidence of all three domains in your pedagogy? Do some domains seems more prevalent given your classroom demands? Comment on where in your curriculum you see opportunities to include or revise your teaching strategies or lesson plans. Do you feel that a variety of domains is even necessary?

 To inspire your reflection, consider these suggestions:

• Think about the conditions that shape your lesson plan construction (calendar year, length of class period, assessments, community factors, etc.). How might these forces influence your choice of affective, cognitive, or psychomotor domains?
• In the Seifert, K. & Sutton, R reading, the authors write, “Taxonomies related to abilities and skills that are physical, or psychomotor, have also been used less widely than affective taxonomies, with the notable exception of one area of teaching where they are obviously relevant: physical education” (p. 223). Do you feel this to be an accurate sentiment of your class or (if you’re not currently teaching) your teaching philosophy? Do you include any level of psychomotor complexity in your lessons?
• Do you utilize a framework of learning styles to differentiate teaching? Might these actually reflect a learning domain rather than a learning style?

This activity is assessed by your instructor using the Portfolio Activity Rubric.