JOT2 – Learning Theories

Julie Hill

Task A: Learning Theories&Learners

Constructivism

Cognitivism

Behaviorism

Constructivism

• Students learn by doing rather than passively listening

• information is scaffold to build new knowledge upon old knowledge

• Concentrates on learning HOW to think and understand

• Gives students ownership of their learning

When Constructivism is Beneficial for

Learners

• When learning is difficult; ex. special education students

• For students needing a multi-sensory approach to learning

• When deep understanding is necessary

• When exploring new concepts through experimentation

Congitivism

• Schema- opens the “black box” of the human mind to understand how people learn

• Symbol manipulation for mental mapping

• Exploration of mental processes such as memory and problem solving skills

When Cognitivism is Beneficial for

Learners

• When processing information for memory recall

• When creating analogies and cues for information

• When problem solving

• To build mental maps for understanding, and responding to learning and the environment

• For students who lack preliminary knowledge and struggle to learn new concepts

Behaviorism

• Behavior conditioning; consequences and rewards for learned behavior

• “stimulus-response” - association of specific reinforcement for correct responses/incorrect responses

• Teacher centered instruction via lecturing and demonstration

• Chunks information into smaller units for learning and memorization

• Provides regular feedback and is easily assessed

When Behaviorism is Beneficial for

Learners

• When setting learning standards for expected response

• When used as a teaching tool to shape expected behavior

• When combined with constructivism and cognitivism

• To change operant learning behaviors

Task B: Learning Theory Used in Lesson Plan

Constructivism

~learning by doing

Learning Theory – Lesson Plan

Goal: Students will recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters in the alphabet.

Objective: Given a variety of tools, students will name, write,and match lowercase letters to uppercase letters.

Materials: Alphabet strips, A-Z/a-z flashcards, white boards/erasers/markers, sand trays, Oh No! game with letters

Standard: Common Core Language Arts Standard K.RF.1d

Assessment: District assessment and progress monitoring tools

Task C: Adaptation of Lesson Plan

Constuctivist Plan to Cognitivist Plan

Learning by doing

to

Memorization

Adapted Lesson Plan

• Goal remains the same

• Objective becomes “memorize” letters through repetitive practice using flashcards instead of playing games or using manipulating tools to match letters

• Standard and assessment tools remain the same

Task D: Lesson Plan Discussion

Instructional Setting:

Special Education – Kindergarten

Preferred Plan:

Constructivism

Why Constructivism?

• Students learn better by doing

• Different learning styles are used

• Differentiation is easily achieved

• Instruction is scaffold

• Students use learning tools that suit their style

Task E: Effective Instruction Through the Use of Design TheoriesInstructional Design Theory

~The study of how to best design instruction so that learning will take place

Instructional Design Theory

1. Target Audience and Prerequisites

2. Identify Instructional Goal 3. Identify Enabling Objectives

4. Plan Instructional Activities 5. Choose Instructional Media

6. Develop Assessment Tools 7. Implement Instruction

8. Revise Plan

1. Target Audience and Prerequisites

(Smith, 2012)

Task F: DesignTheories

Strengths and Limitations

Wiggins – The Backward Design

Gagne – Nine Events of Instruction

Teaching for Understanding (The Harvard Model)

Strengths of Wiggins Theory

• Assessment is central to curriculum design

• Frequent feedback is given and received

• “Backward Design” • identifies desired results • determines validity of assessments• Plans learning experiences and

instruction based on that information• Aligns with the Common Core

Limitations of Wiggins Theory

• Assessing becomes a big part of instruction since data drives the instruction

• Takes extra time to dissect standards and create goals for instruction based on data results

Strengths of Gagne’s Events

• Systematic approach to teaching and learning

• Recipe-like for new teachers to follow

• Builds on prior knowledge - scaffolding

• Provides modeling for observational learning

• Organized and structured learning objectives

Limitations of Gagne’s Events

• Little creativity - rigid

• Need to organize and break down goals to fit within Gagne’s categories

• Time consuming process

• Learning objectives don’t always fit within Gagne’s categories

Strengths of Teaching for

Understanding

• Integrates pre-existing knowledge with new information

• Builds cognitive strategies

• Socially mediated learning

• Engagement in constructive conversation

(Bremer, Morocco)

Weaknesses of Teaching for

Understanding

• Requires acute knowledge of content area – suitable for middle and high school levels

• Requires nontraditional teaching styles

• Can be time consuming to prepare

• Not accessible to a wide variety of learners

Task G: Most Suitable Design ProcessThe most suitable design process for my

special education kindergarten classroom:

Constructivism

Why Constructivism?

• Hands-on approach to learning can fit all special education learning styles; multi-sensory

• Students learn at their own pace and build new knowledge upon old knowledge; scaffold

• Students demonstrate ability to recognize and name letters in different ways; individual goals and objectives

• Students take ownership of their learning

• Easily measured and assessed via observation and varied progress monitoring tools

References Smith, Kenneth J. 2012. Instructional Design Theory. www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/edp511/isd1.html

Wiggins, Grant. 2004. Understanding By Design. www.grantwiggins.org/documents/mtuniontalk.pdf

Cunningham, Donald, Corry, Michael. 1996. Gagne’s Theory of Instruction. home.gwu.edu/~mcorry/corry1.htm

Bremer, Christine D., Morocco, Catherine Cobb. 2003. Teaching for Understanding. www.ncset.org/publications/viewsc.asp?id=1309