Upskill from Within- Social Constructivism & Learning Experience Platforms

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are well known within the education sector, however, there is a relatively new learning system that has been emerging known as Learning Experience Platforms (LXP). A LPX commonly includes everything an LMS has (chronological courses, data collection ect,) with the addition of more social features. This aligns with the social constructive theory, “The basic principle of social constructivism is that all learning is socially mediated and knowledge is constructed out of a social interaction by sharing and involving in a conversation with others.”(Chuang, 2021.) One of the more popular (or at the very least, one of the  very well marketed) platforms is 360Learning. 360Learning incorporates social constructivism, along with several other learning motivation principles mentioned in their creative marketing campaign.

Perceived Knowledge Gaps

Learners are typically more motivated to learn when they have perceived knowledge gaps. With 360Learning, learning developers have the ability to create chronological courses similar to the traditional LMS. These courses according to their marketing skit, can help break down the “big ideas” to less complicated ideas. The social structure also allows and promotes learners to collaborate and share and learn from their past experiences. This learning experience platform can be wonderful for new hire training where the learner is already aware that there are knowledge gaps, but the learning is given chronologically and while consistently making connections with their previous lived experiences. Once the new hires are acclimated to the role, the service can continue to be useful as processes may change. Or, even more exciting, as individuals are more intrinsically motivated to continue to learn and grow, they have the ability to share their knowledge in their own courses, and partake in other’s courses.

Meaningful Content

When learners find content meaningfully related to their own goals, they are more likely to participate. According to Dempsey and Reiser, goals can be many of types, even so far as to “enjoy friendly interactions with other people.” (Dempsey & Reiser, 2018.) 360Learning’s platform allows users to share their progress with their cohorts, like other’s progress, and share feedback- all enticing to the social constructivism theory, and anyone who has the goal of friendly interactions in mind. Since the platform allows the administrator to assign courses similar to the traditional LMS, the content is directly related and meaningful to the role. Even better, with the capability for users to create their own courses within the platform on what is truly important to them, the meaningful content is even further enhanced. According to Judi Moreillon of Texas Woman’s University, “Developing “hands-on” experiences in the online learning environment may help more learners enjoy learning, learn more, and remain committed to engaging in course content and completing their degrees.” (Moreillon, 2015.) In new hire training, employees are usually tasked with pretty set in stone materials, but with a diverse learning platform, they can at least take charge of their learning and possibly even be inspired to create their own learning experiences. I have always believed that to truly master a subject, you should be able to teach it.

Belief in Success

Learners are more motivated when they believe in their own success. Dempsey & Reiser outline the fact that in some occasions, learners who have unable to avoid failures, will fall into what is called learned helplessness where they do not believe they have control in a situation, and thus do not think they can succeed. Luckily, this can be overcome through the use of positive reinforcement (Dempsey & Reiser, 2018). 360Learning not only gives learners the sense of control they need to experience autonomy in their own learning experiences, but also gives them relevant feedback on their work. The social aspect that 360Learning provides, allows the employees to share positive feedback with each other for even further recognition. This aligns perfectly with Dempsey and Reiser’s suggestion, “use of feedback that reinforces a student for successfully completing an optimally challenging task by including a congratulatory comment together with an internal attribution for success helps sustain intrinsic satisfaction” (Dempsey & Reiser, 2018.) Often while I conduct training, I can see when distracting sidebar conversations are happening- and it is to be expected considering the social creatures that we are. With learning platforms such as 360Learning, the social interactions that we all crave, can be guided into more work related conversations with positive outcomes.

References

Chuang, S. (2021). The Applications of Constructivist Learning Theory and Social Learning Theory on Adult Continuous Development. Performance Improvement, 60(3), 6–14. https://doi-org.oclc.fullsail.edu/10.1002/pfi.21963

Dempsey, R.A.R.J. V. (2018). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134237039/

Moreillon, J. (2015). Increasing Interactivity in the Online Learning Environment: Using Digital Tools to Support Students in Socially Constructed Meaning-Making. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 59(3), 41–47. https://doi-org.oclc.fullsail.edu/10.1007/s11528-015-0851-0