Learning Theories Part 1 Mind Map

Learning Theories

Part 1

Cognitivism

LearningTheory

Behaviorism

Constructivism

How Learning Occurs:

• People learn best when there is an unexpected event or reward involved; Rewards make people do things outside their consciousness (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Students' positive experiences should be connected to new topics or activities when they are introduced to maximize learning (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Step-by-step, structured learning methods are utilized until desired learning is obtained (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).

How Learning Occurs:

• Learning happens with sensory inputs: visual and auditory (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Children develop at different rates, with certain cognitive and social abilities developing before others (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Learning happens mostly in an emotionally secure atmosphere (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes play an influential role in behavior (Ginja, 2018).
• Learners are passive, with knowledge just sinking in (Clark, 2018).
• Learners acquire meaning (Clark, 2018).
• Effective learners move information from working memory to long term memory quickly (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).

Types of Learning:

• Montessori method (focuses on fostering a sense of independence and personal development)
• Collaborative learning (learning that takes place in groups)
• Discovery learning (learning that involves exploring and experimenting)
• Experiential learning (learning that involves direct experience)

Types of Learning:

• Direct instruction (lesson directed by teacher using a sequence of steps)
• Guided instruction (teacher provides more direct support and guidance to students)
• Individualized instruction (focuses on the needs of the individual student)
• Basic-skills training (targeted training to gain knowledge and abilities)
• Behavior modification (the process of changing human behavior by using learning techniques)
• Coaching techniques (supports a learner in achieving a specific goal by providing training and guidance)
• Programmed learning (information is broken into parts on which students are able to test themselves)
• Observational learning (process of learning by observing or copying others)
• Modeling (the teacher demonstrates a new concept and the students learning by observing)

Major Theorist:

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who came up with the stages of cognitive development (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017). He described cognitive development in stages from birth to maturity: sensorimotor stage; preoperational stage; concrete operations stage; and formal operations stage (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).

Major Characteristics of Cognitivism:

• Rational, scientific approach (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
• Piaget's stages of cognitive development--development comes before learning (Clark, 2018)
• Use of developmentally appropriate learning experiences in a structured classroom environment (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)

Types of Learning:

• Inquiry-discovery based learning (active learning that involves students asking questions, conducting research, exploring new ideas, and experimenting)
• Real world problem-based learning (students use content knowledge to solve real world problems)
• Collaborative learning (learning that takes place in groups)
• Flipped classrooms (students are introduced to content at home and practice working through it at school)
• Peer tutoring (students helping other students)
• Scaffolding (breaking up the learning into smaller chunks and providing a tool/structure for each chunk)
• Coaching (supports a learner to achieve a specific goal by providing training and guidance)
• Research projects (planned investigation into a specific area of interest or problem with the goal of gaining new knowledge or solutions)
• Experiments (a procedure carried out to make a discovery or test a hypothesis)

The Role of Memory:

• Rote learning, practice, and memorization does not help improve memory or transfer the learning (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Instead, students can organize and classify information into their existing schemata so they can use it in different situations (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Dewey: information is learned and remembered when it relates to one's experiences and can be directly applied immediately (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).

The Role of Memory:

Humans became accustomed to habit and routine, eventually losing their individual consciousness (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017). In other words, if a behavior is done enough times, humans will remember how to do it without having to think about it.

The Role of Memory:

• Two types of memory: short term and long term (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
• Short term memory is broken down into two categories called immediate memory (lasts for about 30 seconds) and working memory (only a limited amount can be stored) (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Long term memory (infinite amount can be stored and retrieved) deals with semantic and procedural information (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).

Major Theorist: Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

Lev Vgotsky developed a theory of sociocultural development (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017). He states that learning involves both human and cultural development (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).

Major Characteristics:

• Learner-centered approach (Clark, 2018)
• Vygotsky: learning/social interactions happens before development (Clark, 2018)
• Learning is based on generalizations and schema (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).

Major Theorist: Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)

Thorndike, who is considered the founder of behavioral psychology, is one of the first Americans to test the learning process experimentally (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017). He defined learning as habit formation, in which knowledge forms from the accumulation of these habits (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017). He came up with the three major laws of learning: the Law of Readiness, the Law of Exercise, and the Law of Effect (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017). Thorndike maintained that behavior was influenced by favorable learning conditions and that connections to previous learning needed to be made for new learning to happen.

Major Characteristics of Behaviorism:

• Environment-centered approach
• Conditioning behavior and changing the environment to get a desired response from the learner (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
• The behaviorial causes are found within the individual's interaction with the environment, which leads to learning or behavior change (Ginja, 2018).
• Principles of testing, monitoring, drilling, and feedback are common (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).

How Learning Occurs:

• Learning can be transferred and applied to other situations (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Learning involving meaningful organization of experiences can be easily transferred: the more abstract the concepts and generalizations the better (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017).
• Learners are actively engaged and participating in their own learning process (Clark, 2018).
• Learners create meaning (Clark, 2018).
• Learners process new information by relating to their experiences, attitudes, and beliefs; in other words, they make connections between their previous knowledge and the new content being learned (Clark, 2018).
• Vygotsky: effective learning occurs when social interactions happen with more knowledgeable others (Clark, 2018).