Learning Theory

EDUC 275

Winthrop University

How do you like to learn …

• How to use a new piece of software?

• How to play a new card game?

• New vocabulary in a foreign language?

WHY?

Why do we study learning theory in a class about

technology?

WHY?

• Helps explain… – how learning occurs.– factors that influence learning.– the role of memory.– how students transfer

information to other contexts.– how instruction should be

structured to facilitate learning.

HOW?

• Provides a foundation for planning, application, and assessment.

• Explains relationships among instructional strategies and instructional contexts.

• Allow teachers to select strategies that are the most likely to work.

• PRINCIPLE PRACTICE

Three Major Branches

• Behaviorism/ Direct Instruction

• Cognitivism

• Constructivism

Three Ways of Knowing

Learning must include a change in behavior. Behavior occurs due to experiences in the environment. Learning must include an association between a stimulus and a response. (Bohlin, Durwin, Reese-Weber,2009, p. 161)

Meaningful learning is the active creation of knowledge structures (i.e. concepts, associations, rules) from personal experience. Each learner builds a personal view of the world by using existing knowledge, interests, attitudes, and goals, to select and interpret information. One person’s knowledge can never be totally transferred to another person. (Snowman & Biehler, 200, p. 294)

Learning results from an interaction between the information being learned and the learner. The learner processes and transforms the information using existing knowledge schemes. (Snowman & Biehler, 200, p. 251)

Also known as information processing.

Three Ways of Learning

Learning must include a change in behavior. Behavior occurs due to experiences in the environment. Learning must include an association between a stimulus and a response. (Bohlin, Durwin, Reese-Weber,2009, p. 161)

Meaningful learning is the active creation of knowledge structures (i.e. concepts, associations, rules) from personal experience. Each learner builds a personal view of the world by using existing knowledge, interests, attitudes, and goals, to select and interpret information. One person’s knowledge can never be totally transferred to another person. (Snowman & Biehler, 200, p. 294)

Learning results from an interaction between the information being learned and the learner. The learner processes and transforms the information using existing knowledge schemes. (Snowman & Biehler, 200, p. 251)

Also known as information processing.

BEHAVIORIST

COGNITIVIST

CONSTRUCTIVIST

Behaviorism• Teacher role: Transmitter of knowledge/expert source

• Student role: Receive information; demonstrate competence

• Curriculum: Skills are taught in a set sequence, use of instructional cues, reinforcement and practice.

• Types of activities: Lecture, demonstration, seatwork, practice, testing

• Assessment strategies: Written tests, demonstration of skills

Examples of Content Taught using Behaviorism• Multiplication Tables

• Branches of Government

• Procedural tasks– Driving a stick

shift

• Listing State Capitals

Constructivist Instruction Cont. • Teacher role: Acts as a guide and facilitator;

collaborative resource as students explore topics

• Student role: Collaborate; develop competence; may learn different material

• Curriculum: Based on projects that foster higher level and lower level skills at the same time

• Types of Activities: Group projects, hand-on exploration; product development, problem solving

• Assessment: Performance tests and products (ex. Portfolios)

Examples of Constructivist Content• Causes of WWII

• The strengths and weaknesses of Democracy

• How technology fosters collaboration

• The effects of global warming

Cognitivism Continued• Teacher role: Construct appropriate learning environments

and materials, scaffold the learning process

• Student role: Actively involved in the learning process through self-planning, monitoring, revising, constructing relationships

• Curriculum: Relationships among information is stressed

• Types of activities: using graphic organizers, demonstration/ think aloud, matrices, advanced organizers

• Assessment strategies: performance assessment, essay questions (i. e. summarize, compare and contrast)

Examples of Cognitivist Content

• Compare and contrast two characters in a novel.

• Draw the stages of the water cycle.

• The writing process (drafts and revision).

• Graphic organizers:

Which theory is better?

• Let’s revisit the questions at the beginning of class …

How do you like to learn …

• How to use a new piece of software?

• How to play a new card game?

• New vocabulary in a foreign language?

Which theory is better?

• One isn’t inherently better than the others.

• Depends on your needs• Depends on your content• Depends on your environment• Depends on your

students

So …

• When making decisions about teaching and learning in terms of driving theoretical foundation(e.g., “Do I want to do this in a behaviorist, cognitivist, or constructivist way?”) what should you, as a teacher, keep in mind?

Why are these theories important?

• Gets to the notion of HOW you learn

• How you LIKE to learn

• How to manage favorite and least favorite environments

• Provides us variety in pedagogy

Summary

• Good teaching is all about examples and options for learning

• Don’t forget the rationale for using technology in education like UDL, motivation, unique instructional capabilities

Summary

• Learning Theory Continuum

BEHAVIORIST COGNITIVIST CONSTRUCTIVIST

How do these theories illustrate a “continuum of learning” in terms of learner control and engagement?

Inspiration Activity: If They Were Teachers Today 1. Imagine three teachers: A Behaviorist, A

Cognitivist, A Constructivist.

2. Make up a name for each teacher and label their theoretical position.

3. Find a graphic representation of the teacher that is representative of their theoretical position.

4. Insert two words/phrases that describe the teacher’s philosophy based upon their theoretical position.

5. Give two examples of how the teacher would integrate technology.

6. Save on the tshare/ Cecil 275/ Learning Theory