Does Media Affect Learning? Clark vs. Kozma

"Today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want." -Ken Poirot

The world of education in the 21st century has been one that has brought about much change. The 21st century has been filled with constant technological improvement.  Teachers, principals, school boards, and parents are now left with navigating how to properly implement technology within the classroom. But as we implement technology, we all should address this very important question: does media affect learning? Richard Clark and Robert Kozma are two experts who address this question. 

Clark makes the following argument: "only the use of adequate learning methods will influence learning." He admits that media will affect the cost and speed of learning, but stresses throughout his argument that learning methods are the true impact on learning and not the media. He stresses that any proper form of media can be used in the classroom and that the teacher can even use a very wide variety of media, but no matter the form, the learning result will be similar. The most important focus in what affects learning ought to be on the teaching methods. 

Kozma takes a different approach in dealing with this important question of media affecting learning. Kozma's view is that the capabilities of technology can make a different instruction. In order words, Kozma is saing that media can affect learning. Kozma states the following: "The future possibilities in Media is that it is a casual agent in learning. With careful consideration of cognitive processes, we will find a critical connection between media attributes and learning." 

The interesting thing about Kozma and Clark is that they do agree on one thing, "There is no compelling evidence in the past 70 years in published and unpublished research that media cause learning increase under any circumstance." This idea should be addressed as we toil to answer this important question about media. And so as we address important topics, we must be careful not to let "triumph of enthusiasm" (Clark) control our thoughts "over substantive examination" (Clark). 

                                                                                     

With that being said, the goal of this blog is to give my perspective/opinion on media's impact on learning. In my years of teaching 5th grade, Richard Clark's perspective on media has reigned supreme. Instructional method has had the most impact on the learning of the students. I have used a wide variety of media within the classroom, all of which tend to have similar learning outcomes. But when the instructional methods are adapted, learning outcomes will either improve or decline depending on how impactful the instruction method is! I do agree with Kozma that learning is an active, constructive, cognitive and social process, I have noticed that for most students if there is not good instruction, direction, and guidance from the teacher, learning can be very stagnant. The results of assessments following the use of media reflected this idea. With all of that being said, I like Kozma's optimism for the future of technology within the classroom. If we are going to implement technology and grasp it fullest potential within the classroom, we must grasp concepts from both men. Although we shouldn't overlook quality research on media's affect, it is good to have enthusiasm for what technology can potentially do within the classroom. Instead of having Clark's perspective of using the least expensive media with good instructional methods in the classroom, we should have this perspective: Schools should use quality forms of media and trained teachers who provide expert teaching methods to prepare/equip students for the 21st century. If we work every day to apply this mindset within our schools, there will be an affect on learning. And so my perspective is this: media and teachers will affect learning.