Brain Mindmap

Learning Theories

Major theorist

Major theorist

Major Characteristics

Major Characteristics

Role of Memory

Role of Memory

Behaviorism

Cognitivism

How learning occurs

How learning occurs

types of learning

types of learning

Role of Memory

Major theorist

How learning occurs

Constructivism

Major Characteristics

References

types of learning

How Learning Occurs - Constructivism

"Throughout the learning process, the learner is expected to consider the information being taught and construct an interpretation.The interpretation is constructed based on past experiences, personal views, and cultural background. Following the interpretation, the learner is expected to reflect on the new knowledge..... Due to the nature of constructivism, the instructor must adapt a more hands-on approach instead of the traditional lecture style. The environment of the classroom should be supportive of each individual learner’s thinking and encourage a constant challenge" (Brau, n.d.)

Types of learning - cognitivism

Applying visualizations to enhance students' recall and basic understanding of the concepts taught in the classroom; Asking learners to show active participation in explaining and justifying their thinking; Helping students understand and explore connections between different ideas. Having discussions about the depth of knowledge or topic being taught. Asking learners to reflect on knowledge in memory of students; Offers opportunities for Learners and students to find new answers to problems. (Main, n.d.)

Major theorists

Edward Thorndike Ivan Pavlov John Watson (Founder) Edwin Ray Guthrie Clark Hull Edward Tolman B. F. Skinner (Later Developed) (Gould, 2021)

major characteristics - constructivism

Constructivism can be broken down into 5 stages. Each of the following stages build on top of one another. As a result, this helps the continous proecss of building upon a student's learning. 5 Stages of Constructivism: 1) Inviting ideas: this stage involves an educator posing a question or situation for the student to consider, asking them to tap into their own knowledge reserves. The student then begins to formulate an opinion or idea on new information presented to them. 2. Exploration: In the exploration stage, students build new knowledge actively, participating in an interactive experience with the concept presented to them. This can involve students and teachers discussing the question or scenario posed in the engagement stage. Reference: (Tprestianni, 2023a)

3. Proposition: Students discuss what they’ve learned or any observations made based on their initial engagement and new ideas that cropped up during discussions. The teacher plays a supportive role, helping them articulate their thoughts if needed. However, this stage is critical to the student demonstrating their understanding of the concept. 4. Explanation and solution: Students can talk through their thought processes and have a dialog with their teacher. In turn, the teacher can address any misconceptions or misunderstandings, tailoring the lesson in a way that helps a student better grasp a concept based on their prior learnings. 5. Taking action: Teachers asking students to sum up their cognitive process throughout and how their thoughts may have changed since the initial inviting ideas phase. This allows students to apply new learnings while examining how their initial perceptions evolved throughout the five stages based on new interactions, discussions, and problem-solving.

Role of Memory

Memory is crucial in cognitivism because it allows individuals to encode, store, retain, and retrieve information. These are essential for learning, problem-solving, decision-making, and overall cognitive functioning. Key roles of memory in cognitivism include:

• Encoding
• Storage
• Retreival
• Information Processing
• Learning and Problem-Solving

major characteristics of cognitivism

"Cognitive learning theories are based on the idea that knowledge acquisition occurs when learners actively engage in problem-solving activities" (Main, n.d.) Cognitivism is a psychological theory that focuses on the mental processes involved in learning and understanding. Major characteristics include:

• Information Processing
• Metacognition
• Schema
• Transfer of Learning

"CLT assumes that students learn better when they use their own thinking skills rather than being taught facts and procedures" (Main, n.d.)

How learning happens - Cognitivism

Learning must be purposeful and focused. Learning must be self-directed;Learning must come from Analysis to Discovery. Organising information into Schemas helps students build conceptual models. Curriculum content must be well-sequenced and understood in the context of the bigger picture. (Main, n.d.)

How does learning occur?

Behaviorists proposed that environmental stimuli and consequences shape behavior and that learning occurs through a process of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning involves reinforcing or punishing behaviors based on their outcomes" (Tprestianni, 2023). Repetition and positive reinforcement are closely related in the theory of behavioral learning. Educators frequently aim to find a healthy balance between repeating a situation and providing positive reinforcement to illustrate to students the reasons for perpetuating that behavior.

Behaviorism - role of memory

In behaviorism, memory plays a large factor in the operant conditioning that takes place. Students are to associate their good/bad behaviors with a reward/punishment, and recall these at a later time to help determine how they should act. Memory then allows students to retain these learned behaviors and through repeated exposure to reinforcement or punishment, these behaviors are even more firmly cemented in memory. Without memory, students will not be able to recall their previous behaviors and if they are appropriate or not.

Role of Memory - constructivism

Role of Memory in constructivism:

• Activation of prior knowledge
• Organization of knowledge
• Construction of meaning
• Retrieval and reconstruction
• Reflection and metacognition
• Transfer of learning

Memory is critical in contructivism, just like in the other learning theories. Although constructivism focuses on constructing an understanding based on experience, memory serves as a foundation for the process and without it, we would struggle to engage in constructivism.

References

Brau, B., Kimmons, R., & Caskurlu, S. (n.d.). Constructivism. https://edtechbooks.org/studentguide/constructivism Gould, M. (2021). Learning Process. Salem Press Encyclopedia. https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=d81032bf-a35d-47ef-8cb6-0cbbb21c0639%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=89164302&db=ers Main, P. (n.d.). Cognitivism Learning Theories: A teachers guide. RSS. https://www.structural-learning.com/post/cognitivism-learning-theories Tprestianni. (2023a, August 14). Constructivism in education: What is constructivism?. National University. https://www.nu.edu/blog/what-is-constructivism-in-education/ Tprestianni. (2023b, August 17). Behaviorism in education: What is behavioral learning theory?. National University. https://www.nu.edu/blog/behaviorism-in-education/#:~:text=Behaviorists%20proposed%20that%20environmental%20stimuli,behaviors%20based%20on%20their%20outcomes. WGU. (2022, October 24). What is the behavioral learning theory?. Western Governors University. https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-behavioral-learning-theory2005.html

Types of Learning

Drills. Teachers may practice skills using drill patterns to help students see the repetition and reinforcement that behavioral learning theory uses. Question and answer. Teachers can use a question as a stimulus and answer as a response, gradually getting harder with questions to help students. Guided practice. Teachers can be directly involved in helping students go through problems to give them the reinforcement and behavior demonstration you want them to follow. Regular review. Reviews are important to behavioral learning theory. Going back over material and giving positive reinforcement will help students retain information much better. Positive reinforcement. Behaviorist classrooms utilize positive reinforcement regularly. This can be in the form of verbal reinforcement and praise, reward systems, added privileges, and more. (WGU, 2022)

Major theorists - constructivism

Jean Piaget - One of the first theorists; Cognitive aspect Lev Vygotsky - focused on the social aspects of acquiring knowledge John Dewey - Combined the two aspects from above

Types of Learning - Constructivism

Many learning activities fall under the umbrella of constructivism. In constructivism, students are required to build upon existing knowledge to help them understand and apply new concepts. (Tprestianni, 2023a). Tprestianni continues by sharing 3 examples of constructivist classroom activities (but is not limited to), which are: Cooperative learning: Students can work in small groups or one-on-one with another student to converse about a concept presented to them. This activity differs from more traditional group work in that students work together to share their ideas and knowledge to complete a task instead of assigning specific tasks to a different group member or placing an undue burden on one or two students in a group. Instead, students pool their knowledge and experiences to arrive at a solution.

Inquiry-based learning: Students ask questions and arrive at answers based on independent research and observation. They share evidence to support the theories they gleaned, then observe how their new findings connect to their previous knowledge and how it may be similar or different. At the end of an inquiry-based learning activity, students state their conclusions and areas where they may want to delve deeper to understand a concept better. Problem-based learning: Problem-based learning differs from inquiry-based learning in that students are presented with an actual problem that requires them to work together to arrive at a solution. This fosters students’ social and communication skills, requiring them to work with others instead of working independently to arrive at a solution or conclusion. Reference (Tprestianni, 2023a)

Major characteristics of behaviorism

"Behaviorism or the behavioral learning theory is a popular concept that focuses on how students learn. Behaviorism focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment. This learning theory states that behaviors are learned from the environment, and says that innate or inherited factors have very little influence on behavior" (WGU, 2022). Major Characteristics include:

• Observable Behavior
• Conditioning
• Reinforcement and/or Punishment
• External Environmental Impact
• Objective Measurement

Major Theorists of Cognitivism

Wolfgang KohlerKurt Lewin Jean Piaget David Ausubel Jerome Bruner Gagné Kurt Koffka (Gould, 2021)