Reflections for 6/9/09

I felt that the chapters from the book do a good job of demonstrating why, in light of contemporary developments in cognitive theory, many of the old learning models and instructional design principles are inappropriate. The chapter questions the traditional efficiency model of technology instruction by contrasting the main tenets of behavioral theory with recent advances in human cognition. An important distinction is developed between the nature of learning in and outside of school, and the work of Resnick (1987) highlights the limitations of traditional classrooms.

Surprisingly, the authors don't seem to make much use of Vygotsky (1978) other than to mention the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Hopefully, his theory will be discussed more in detail in the chapters to follow considering much of the authors' thesis is built upon new models of intelligence, the power of today's electronic technologies, and Vygotsky's social cognition learning theory.