Connectivism and Learning

Over the last fifty years we have begun to see a shift in learning from the idea of teaching as instruction about facts and principles to teaching as the facilitation of practice and engagement. New teaching styles and methods are shifting away from lectures and presentations, and toward projects and activities. In this course we want to not only examine how this new form of learning can be developed and supported, but also why it produces improved outcomes and better learning. We will do this by understanding the nature of learning itself, as described by a theory called ‘connectivism’, and by understanding how new instructional methods align with this new theory of learning.