Learning Theories Part 1
Michael Lam
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
GCU-522: Curriculum Design Theories
Dr. Lorry Redditt
August 14, 2024
Behavorism
Definition
Reference
Behaviorism is a learning theory that treats individual learning as non-existent. It instead focuses on “the observation of the environment and responding to it” as the basis of education. Behaviorist theory focuses on how people learn and form habits. The general idea is that ‘all the behavior learned by an individual is through interactions with the environment.’ (Tritsch, 2021)
Tritch, E. (2021). The three learning schimas: behavorism, cognitivism and constructivism. Fairborn Digital Academy. https://fairborndigital.us/2021/09/23/the-three-learning- schemas-behaviorism-cognitivism-constructivism/
Major Theorist
Behaviorism
John B. Watson
On the American scene, John B. Watson used Pavlov’s research as a foundation for building a new science of psychology based on behaviorism. The new science emphasized that learning was based on the science of behaviorism—what was observable or measurable—not on cognitive processes. The laws of behavior were derived from animal and then human studies and were expected to have the objectivity of scientific laws.11 For Watson, learning was conditioning, and conditioning was adequate to explain all manifestations of higher mutual learning processes. All such activity was nothing more that the reactions from simple, unconditional responses joined to form more sophisticated conditional responses. (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
B. Frederick Skinner
Perhaps more than any other recent behaviorist, B. Frederick Skinner attempted to apply his theories to the classroom. Basing much of his theory on experiments with mice and pigeons, Skinner distinguished between two kinds of responses: elicited, a response identified with a definite stimulus, and emitted, a response apparently unrelated to an identifiable stimulus. When a response is elicited, the behavior is respondent. When it is emitted, the behavior is operant—no observable or measurable stimuli explain the response’s appearance.14 In operant conditioning, the role of stimuli is less definite; often, the emitted behavior cannot be connected to a specific stimulus. (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
Edward Thorndike Edward Thorndike (1874–1949), one of the first Americans to test the learning process experimentally, is considered the founder of behavioral psychology. At Harvard, Thorndike began his work with animals, a course of experimentation other behaviorists also adopted.3 Thorndike focused on testing the relationship between a stimulus and a response (classical conditioning). He defined learning as habit formation, that is, as connecting more and more habits into a complex structure. Knowledge resulted from the accumulation of these stimulus-response associations within this complex structure. Elementary knowledge is composed of groupings of simple components of a skill or knowledge. As one acquired more complicated units of association, one attained a more sophisticated understanding.4 Thorndike defined teaching as arranging the classroom to enhance desirable connections and associations. (Ornstein & Hunskins, 2017)
Reference
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2017). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues. (7th ed.). Pearson Education. https://bibliu.com/app/#/view/books/9780134058801/epub/OPS/xhtml/fileP7000499583000000000000000000DC7.html#page_96
Major Characteristics
Characteristics of Each Learning Theory
• Stimulus-Response • Classical Conditioning
• Reinforcement & Punishment
• Objective Measurement
• Reductionism
• Nomothetic
• Law of Effect (McLeod, 2024)
Reference
McLeod, S. (2024). Behaviorism in psychology. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html
Role of Memory
Behaviorism
As indicated above, memory is given a prominent role in the learning process. Learning results when information is stored in memory in an organized, meaningful manner. Teachers/designers are responsible for assisting learners in organizing that information in some optimal way. Designers use techniques such as advance organizers, analogies, hierarchical relationships, and matrices to help learners relate new information to prior knowledge. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information from memory because of interference, memory loss, or missing or inadequate cues needed to access information. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
How Learning Occurs
Behavorism
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. An emphasis on producing observable and measurable outcomes in students [behavioral objectives, task analysis, criterion-referenced assessment]
2. Pre-assessment of students to determine where instruction should begin [learner analysis]
3. Emphasis on mastering early steps before progressing to more complex levels of performance [sequencing of instructional presentation, mastery learning]
4. Use of reinforcement to impact performance [tangible rewards, informative feedback]
5. Use of cues, shaping and practice to ensure a strong stimulus-response association [simple to complex sequencing of practice, use of prompts]
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Types of Learning
Behavorism
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. An emphasis on producing observable and measurable outcomes in students [behavioral objectives, task analysis, criterion-referenced assessment]
2. Pre-assessment of students to determine where instruction should begin [learner analysis]
3. Emphasis on mastering early steps before progressing to more complex levels of performance [sequencing of instructional presentation, mastery learning]
4. Use of reinforcement to impact performance [tangible rewards, informative feedback]
5. Use of cues, shaping and practice to ensure a strong stimulus-response association [simple to complex sequencing of practice, use of prompts] (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Cognitivism
Definition
Constructivism relies on the idea that individuals create an Cognitivism, on the other hand, treats individuals as mental beings that analyze and evaluate the information. Thus, it directly counters the beliefs of behaviorism. Developed as a response to behaviorism, cognitivism asserts that learning by an individual happens when they process the information and stimulus they receive. Rather than simply responding to stimuli and responding through conditioning, learners think about and analyze their responses. Cognitivism goes beyond the confines of simple observation of an individual and pries into their internal psyche to understand their learning behavior. Cognitivists term these mechanisms as cognitive domains. (Tritsch, 2021)
Reference
Tritch, E. (2021). Fairborn Digital Academy. The Three Learning Schimas: Behavorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism. https://fairborndigital.us/2021/09/23/the- three-learning-schemas-behaviorism-cognitivism-constructivism/
Major Theorist
Cognitivism
Lev Vygotsky Lev Vygotsky developed his theories in the early 20th century. However, the West discovered his work only in the latter part of that century. In 1987, Jerome Bruner stated, “When I remarked a quarter century ago that Vygotsky’s view of development was also a theory of education, I did not realize the half of it. In fact, his educational theory is a theory of cultural transmission as well as a theory of development, for education implies for Vygotsky not only the development of the individual’s potential, but the historical expression and growth of the human culture from which Man springs.”45 Vygotsky developed not only a cognitive theory, but also a general theory of sociocultural development.He primarily addressed the social origins and cultural bases of individual development. In his view, children developed their potential via enculturation into society’s mores and norms. Whereas Piaget believed that children had to enter certain stages to accomplish particular cognitive tasks, Vygotsky believed that children could begin to gain command of language prior to arriving at a particular stage of development. (Ornstein & Hunskins, 2017)
Maria Montessori Maria Montessori (1870–1952), a great pedagogist of the early 20th century, directed the Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Rome. There she encountered children with mental and physical disabilities who had been placed in insane asylums. She soon concluded that the root of the problem in many cases was not medical (the prevailing opinion), but educational and psychological. (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) presented the most comprehensive theory of cognitive development stages. After 25 years of research in European settings, Piaget’s work came to the attention of American educators during the 1950s and 1960s as cognitive developmental psychology, environmentalist theories, and the compensatory education movement increased in influence.Like many of today’s investigators, Piaget described cognitive development in terms of stages from birth to maturity. (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
Reference
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2017). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (7th ed.). Pearson Education. https://bibliu.com/app/#/view/books/9780134058801/epub/OPS/xhtml/fileP7000499583000000000000000000DC7.html#page_96
Major Characteristics
Cognitivism
Psychologists and educators began to de-emphasize a concern with overt, observable behavior and stressed instead more complex cognitive processes such as thinking, problem solving, language, concept formation and information processing (Snelbecker, 1989). This shift from a behavioral orientation (where the emphasis is on promoting a student’s overt performance by the manipulation of stimulus material) to a cognitive orientation (where the emphasis is on promoting mental processing) has created a similar shift from procedures for manipulating the materials to be presented by an instructional system to procedures for directing student processing and interaction with the instructional design system (Merrill, Kowalis, & Wilson, 1981).
Reference
Merrill, M. D., Kowalis, T., & Wilson, B. G. (1981). Instructional design in transition. In F. H. Farley, & N. J. Gordon (Eds.), Psychology and education: The state of the union (pp. 298-348). Berkeley: McCutchan.
Snelbecker, G. E. (1989). Contrasting and complementary approaches to instructional design. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional theories in action (pp, 321-337). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Role of Memory
Cognitivism
Learning results when information is stored in memory in an organized, meaningful manner. Teachers/designers are responsible for assisting learners in organizing that information in some optimal way. Designers use techniques such as advance organizers, analogies, hierarchical relationships, and matrices to help learners relate new information to prior knowledge. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information from memory because of interference, memory loss, or missing or inadequate cues needed to access information. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
How Learning Occurs
Cognitivism
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. Emphasis on the active involvement of the learner in the learning process [learner control, metacognitive training (e.g., self-planning, monitoring, and revising techniques)]
2. Use of hierarchical analyses to identify and illustrate prerequisite relationships [cognitive task analysis procedures]
3. Emphasis on structuring, organizing, and sequencing information to facilitate optimal processing [use of cognitive strategies such as outlining, summaries, synthesizers, advance organizers, etc.]
4. Creation of learning environments that allow and encourage students to make connections with previously learned material [recall of prerequisite skills; use of relevant examples, analogies] (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Types of Learning
Cognitivism
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. Emphasis on the active involvement of the learner in the learning process [learner control, metacognitive training (e.g., self-planning, monitoring, and revising techniques)]
2. Use of hierarchical analyses to identify and illustrate prerequisite relationships [cognitive task analysis procedures]
3. Emphasis on structuring, organizing, and sequencing information to facilitate optimal processing [use of cognitive strategies such as outlining, summaries, synthesizers, advance organizers, etc.]
4. Creation of learning environments that allow and encourage students to make connections with previously learned material [recall of prerequisite skills; use of relevant examples, analogies] (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Constructivism
Definition
Constructivism relies on the idea that individuals create an understanding and interpretation of lessons based on their prior experience and knowledge. The theory also asserts that all knowledge and learning exists solely inside the mind.Closely related to cognitivism, constructivism states that all knowledge builds upon prior knowledge. According to this theory, people “actively make their own knowledge.” This knowledge creation shapes their perspective of reality.Constructivism treats learning as an active and social process. The students bring their own unique experiences and perspective to the classroom, shaping their understanding of concepts taught to them. (Tritsch, 2021)
Reference
Tritch, E. (2021). Fairborn Digital Academy. The Three Learning Schimas: Behavorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism. https://fairborndigital.us/2021/09/23/the- three-learning-schemas-behaviorism-cognitivism-constructivism/
Major Theorist
Constructivism
John Dewey John Dewey’s perspective melds Piaget’s focus on the cognitive aspect of constructivism with Vygotsky’s focus on social learning. Susan J. Mayer (2008) contains a synopsis of Dewey’s place in constructivism: Contrary to the assumptions of those who pair Dewey and Piaget based on progressivism’s recent history, Dewey shared broader concerns with Vygotsky (whose work he never read). Both Dewey and Vygotsky emphasized the role of cultural forms and meanings in perpetuating higher forms of human thought, whereas Piaget focused on the role played by logical and mathematical reasoning. ideas straddle the line between Piaget's radical constructivism and Vygotsky's social constructivism, and he spent his life elaborating a constructivist theory of knowledge. (Brau, n.d.) Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget is known as one of the first theorists in constructivism. His theories indicate that humans create knowledge through the interaction between their experiences and ideas. His view of constructivism is the inspiration for radical constructivism due to his idea that the individual is at the center of the knowledge creation and acquisition process. (Brau, n.d.)
Lev Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky’s work contains a central scope focused on the social aspects of acquiring knowledge. He suggests that one learns best through interacting with others. Through the process of working with others, learners create an environment of shared meanings with peers. By being immersed in the new environment, the learner is able to adapt subjective interpretations to become socially accepted. (Brau, n.d.)
Reference
Brau, B. (n.d.). Constructivism. The Student's Guide to Learning Design and Research. https://open.byu.edu/studentguide/constructivism
Major Characteristics
Constructivism
Both learner and environmental factors are critical to the constructivist, as it is the specific interaction between these two variables that creates knowledge. Constructivists argue that behavior is situationally determined (Jonassen, 1991a). Just as the learning of new vocabulary words is enhanced by exposure and subsequent interaction with those words in context (as opposed to learning their meanings from a dictionary), likewise it is essential that content knowledge be embedded in the situation in which it is used. (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989) suggest that situations actually co-produce knowledge (along with cognition) through activity. Every action is viewed as “an interpretation of the current situation based on an entire history of previous interactions” (Clancey, 1986). Just as shades of meanings of given words are constantly changing a learner’s “current” understanding of a word, so too will concepts continually evolve with each new use. For this reason, it is critical that learning occur in realistic settings and that the selected learning tasks be relevant to the students’ lived experience. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.
Clancey, W. J. (1986). Review of Winograd and Flores’ understanding computers and cognition: A favorable interpretation. (STAN-CS-87-1173) Palo Alto, CA: Department of Computer Science, Stanford University.
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Jonassen, D. H. (1991a). Evaluating constructivistic learning. Educational Technology, 31(9), 28-33.
Role of Memory
The goal of instruction is not to ensure that individuals know particular facts but rather that they elaborate on and interpret information. “Understanding is developed through continued, situated use … and does not crystallize into a categorical definition” that can be called up from memory (Brown et al., 1989, p. 33). Therefore, “memory” is always under construction as a cumulative history of interactions. Representations of experiences are not formalized or structured into a single piece of declarative knowledge and then stored in the head. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Constructivism
Reference
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
How Learning Occurs
Constructivism
The following are several specific assumptions or principles from the constructivist position that have direct relevance for the instructional designer (possible ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. An emphasis on the identification of the context in which the skills will be learned and subsequently applied [anchoring learning in meaningful contexts].
2. An emphasis on learner control and the capability of the learner to manipulate information [actively using what is learned].
3. The need for information to be presented in a variety of different ways [revisiting content at different times, in rearranged contexts, for different purposes, and from different conceptual perspectives].
4. Supporting the use of problem-solving skills that allow learners to go “beyond the information given.” [developing pattern-recognition skills, presenting alternative ways of representing problems].
5. Assessment focused on transfer of knowledge and skills [presenting new problems and situations that differ from the conditions of the initial instruction].(Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Types of Learning
Constructivism
The following are several specific assumptions or principles from the constructivist position that have direct relevance for the instructional designer (possible ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. An emphasis on the identification of the context in which the skills will be learned and subsequently applied [anchoring learning in meaningful contexts].
2. An emphasis on learner control and the capability of the learner to manipulate information [actively using what is learned].
3. The need for information to be presented in a variety of different ways [revisiting content at different times, in rearranged contexts, for different purposes, and from different conceptual perspectives].
4. Supporting the use of problem-solving skills that allow learners to go “beyond the information given.” [developing pattern-recognition skills, presenting alternative ways of representing problems].
5. Assessment focused on transfer of knowledge and skills [presenting new problems and situations that differ from the conditions of the initial instruction]. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
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Learning Theories Part 1
Michael Lam
Created on August 15, 2024
GCU-522
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Transcript
Learning Theories Part 1
Michael Lam
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
GCU-522: Curriculum Design Theories
Dr. Lorry Redditt
August 14, 2024
Behavorism
Definition
Reference
Behaviorism is a learning theory that treats individual learning as non-existent. It instead focuses on “the observation of the environment and responding to it” as the basis of education. Behaviorist theory focuses on how people learn and form habits. The general idea is that ‘all the behavior learned by an individual is through interactions with the environment.’ (Tritsch, 2021)
Tritch, E. (2021). The three learning schimas: behavorism, cognitivism and constructivism. Fairborn Digital Academy. https://fairborndigital.us/2021/09/23/the-three-learning- schemas-behaviorism-cognitivism-constructivism/
Major Theorist
Behaviorism
John B. Watson On the American scene, John B. Watson used Pavlov’s research as a foundation for building a new science of psychology based on behaviorism. The new science emphasized that learning was based on the science of behaviorism—what was observable or measurable—not on cognitive processes. The laws of behavior were derived from animal and then human studies and were expected to have the objectivity of scientific laws.11 For Watson, learning was conditioning, and conditioning was adequate to explain all manifestations of higher mutual learning processes. All such activity was nothing more that the reactions from simple, unconditional responses joined to form more sophisticated conditional responses. (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017) B. Frederick Skinner Perhaps more than any other recent behaviorist, B. Frederick Skinner attempted to apply his theories to the classroom. Basing much of his theory on experiments with mice and pigeons, Skinner distinguished between two kinds of responses: elicited, a response identified with a definite stimulus, and emitted, a response apparently unrelated to an identifiable stimulus. When a response is elicited, the behavior is respondent. When it is emitted, the behavior is operant—no observable or measurable stimuli explain the response’s appearance.14 In operant conditioning, the role of stimuli is less definite; often, the emitted behavior cannot be connected to a specific stimulus. (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
Edward Thorndike Edward Thorndike (1874–1949), one of the first Americans to test the learning process experimentally, is considered the founder of behavioral psychology. At Harvard, Thorndike began his work with animals, a course of experimentation other behaviorists also adopted.3 Thorndike focused on testing the relationship between a stimulus and a response (classical conditioning). He defined learning as habit formation, that is, as connecting more and more habits into a complex structure. Knowledge resulted from the accumulation of these stimulus-response associations within this complex structure. Elementary knowledge is composed of groupings of simple components of a skill or knowledge. As one acquired more complicated units of association, one attained a more sophisticated understanding.4 Thorndike defined teaching as arranging the classroom to enhance desirable connections and associations. (Ornstein & Hunskins, 2017)
Reference
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2017). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues. (7th ed.). Pearson Education. https://bibliu.com/app/#/view/books/9780134058801/epub/OPS/xhtml/fileP7000499583000000000000000000DC7.html#page_96
Major Characteristics
Characteristics of Each Learning Theory • Stimulus-Response • Classical Conditioning • Reinforcement & Punishment • Objective Measurement • Reductionism • Nomothetic • Law of Effect (McLeod, 2024)
Reference
McLeod, S. (2024). Behaviorism in psychology. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html
Role of Memory
Behaviorism
As indicated above, memory is given a prominent role in the learning process. Learning results when information is stored in memory in an organized, meaningful manner. Teachers/designers are responsible for assisting learners in organizing that information in some optimal way. Designers use techniques such as advance organizers, analogies, hierarchical relationships, and matrices to help learners relate new information to prior knowledge. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information from memory because of interference, memory loss, or missing or inadequate cues needed to access information. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
How Learning Occurs
Behavorism
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle): 1. An emphasis on producing observable and measurable outcomes in students [behavioral objectives, task analysis, criterion-referenced assessment] 2. Pre-assessment of students to determine where instruction should begin [learner analysis] 3. Emphasis on mastering early steps before progressing to more complex levels of performance [sequencing of instructional presentation, mastery learning] 4. Use of reinforcement to impact performance [tangible rewards, informative feedback] 5. Use of cues, shaping and practice to ensure a strong stimulus-response association [simple to complex sequencing of practice, use of prompts]
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Types of Learning
Behavorism
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle): 1. An emphasis on producing observable and measurable outcomes in students [behavioral objectives, task analysis, criterion-referenced assessment] 2. Pre-assessment of students to determine where instruction should begin [learner analysis] 3. Emphasis on mastering early steps before progressing to more complex levels of performance [sequencing of instructional presentation, mastery learning] 4. Use of reinforcement to impact performance [tangible rewards, informative feedback] 5. Use of cues, shaping and practice to ensure a strong stimulus-response association [simple to complex sequencing of practice, use of prompts] (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Cognitivism
Definition
Constructivism relies on the idea that individuals create an Cognitivism, on the other hand, treats individuals as mental beings that analyze and evaluate the information. Thus, it directly counters the beliefs of behaviorism. Developed as a response to behaviorism, cognitivism asserts that learning by an individual happens when they process the information and stimulus they receive. Rather than simply responding to stimuli and responding through conditioning, learners think about and analyze their responses. Cognitivism goes beyond the confines of simple observation of an individual and pries into their internal psyche to understand their learning behavior. Cognitivists term these mechanisms as cognitive domains. (Tritsch, 2021)
Reference
Tritch, E. (2021). Fairborn Digital Academy. The Three Learning Schimas: Behavorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism. https://fairborndigital.us/2021/09/23/the- three-learning-schemas-behaviorism-cognitivism-constructivism/
Major Theorist
Cognitivism
Lev Vygotsky Lev Vygotsky developed his theories in the early 20th century. However, the West discovered his work only in the latter part of that century. In 1987, Jerome Bruner stated, “When I remarked a quarter century ago that Vygotsky’s view of development was also a theory of education, I did not realize the half of it. In fact, his educational theory is a theory of cultural transmission as well as a theory of development, for education implies for Vygotsky not only the development of the individual’s potential, but the historical expression and growth of the human culture from which Man springs.”45 Vygotsky developed not only a cognitive theory, but also a general theory of sociocultural development.He primarily addressed the social origins and cultural bases of individual development. In his view, children developed their potential via enculturation into society’s mores and norms. Whereas Piaget believed that children had to enter certain stages to accomplish particular cognitive tasks, Vygotsky believed that children could begin to gain command of language prior to arriving at a particular stage of development. (Ornstein & Hunskins, 2017)
Maria Montessori Maria Montessori (1870–1952), a great pedagogist of the early 20th century, directed the Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Rome. There she encountered children with mental and physical disabilities who had been placed in insane asylums. She soon concluded that the root of the problem in many cases was not medical (the prevailing opinion), but educational and psychological. (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017) Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) presented the most comprehensive theory of cognitive development stages. After 25 years of research in European settings, Piaget’s work came to the attention of American educators during the 1950s and 1960s as cognitive developmental psychology, environmentalist theories, and the compensatory education movement increased in influence.Like many of today’s investigators, Piaget described cognitive development in terms of stages from birth to maturity. (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017)
Reference
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2017). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (7th ed.). Pearson Education. https://bibliu.com/app/#/view/books/9780134058801/epub/OPS/xhtml/fileP7000499583000000000000000000DC7.html#page_96
Major Characteristics
Cognitivism
Psychologists and educators began to de-emphasize a concern with overt, observable behavior and stressed instead more complex cognitive processes such as thinking, problem solving, language, concept formation and information processing (Snelbecker, 1989). This shift from a behavioral orientation (where the emphasis is on promoting a student’s overt performance by the manipulation of stimulus material) to a cognitive orientation (where the emphasis is on promoting mental processing) has created a similar shift from procedures for manipulating the materials to be presented by an instructional system to procedures for directing student processing and interaction with the instructional design system (Merrill, Kowalis, & Wilson, 1981).
Reference
Merrill, M. D., Kowalis, T., & Wilson, B. G. (1981). Instructional design in transition. In F. H. Farley, & N. J. Gordon (Eds.), Psychology and education: The state of the union (pp. 298-348). Berkeley: McCutchan.
Snelbecker, G. E. (1989). Contrasting and complementary approaches to instructional design. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional theories in action (pp, 321-337). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Role of Memory
Cognitivism
Learning results when information is stored in memory in an organized, meaningful manner. Teachers/designers are responsible for assisting learners in organizing that information in some optimal way. Designers use techniques such as advance organizers, analogies, hierarchical relationships, and matrices to help learners relate new information to prior knowledge. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information from memory because of interference, memory loss, or missing or inadequate cues needed to access information. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
How Learning Occurs
Cognitivism
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle): 1. Emphasis on the active involvement of the learner in the learning process [learner control, metacognitive training (e.g., self-planning, monitoring, and revising techniques)] 2. Use of hierarchical analyses to identify and illustrate prerequisite relationships [cognitive task analysis procedures] 3. Emphasis on structuring, organizing, and sequencing information to facilitate optimal processing [use of cognitive strategies such as outlining, summaries, synthesizers, advance organizers, etc.] 4. Creation of learning environments that allow and encourage students to make connections with previously learned material [recall of prerequisite skills; use of relevant examples, analogies] (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Types of Learning
Cognitivism
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle): 1. Emphasis on the active involvement of the learner in the learning process [learner control, metacognitive training (e.g., self-planning, monitoring, and revising techniques)] 2. Use of hierarchical analyses to identify and illustrate prerequisite relationships [cognitive task analysis procedures] 3. Emphasis on structuring, organizing, and sequencing information to facilitate optimal processing [use of cognitive strategies such as outlining, summaries, synthesizers, advance organizers, etc.] 4. Creation of learning environments that allow and encourage students to make connections with previously learned material [recall of prerequisite skills; use of relevant examples, analogies] (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Constructivism
Definition
Constructivism relies on the idea that individuals create an understanding and interpretation of lessons based on their prior experience and knowledge. The theory also asserts that all knowledge and learning exists solely inside the mind.Closely related to cognitivism, constructivism states that all knowledge builds upon prior knowledge. According to this theory, people “actively make their own knowledge.” This knowledge creation shapes their perspective of reality.Constructivism treats learning as an active and social process. The students bring their own unique experiences and perspective to the classroom, shaping their understanding of concepts taught to them. (Tritsch, 2021)
Reference
Tritch, E. (2021). Fairborn Digital Academy. The Three Learning Schimas: Behavorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism. https://fairborndigital.us/2021/09/23/the- three-learning-schemas-behaviorism-cognitivism-constructivism/
Major Theorist
Constructivism
John Dewey John Dewey’s perspective melds Piaget’s focus on the cognitive aspect of constructivism with Vygotsky’s focus on social learning. Susan J. Mayer (2008) contains a synopsis of Dewey’s place in constructivism: Contrary to the assumptions of those who pair Dewey and Piaget based on progressivism’s recent history, Dewey shared broader concerns with Vygotsky (whose work he never read). Both Dewey and Vygotsky emphasized the role of cultural forms and meanings in perpetuating higher forms of human thought, whereas Piaget focused on the role played by logical and mathematical reasoning. ideas straddle the line between Piaget's radical constructivism and Vygotsky's social constructivism, and he spent his life elaborating a constructivist theory of knowledge. (Brau, n.d.) Jean Piaget Jean Piaget is known as one of the first theorists in constructivism. His theories indicate that humans create knowledge through the interaction between their experiences and ideas. His view of constructivism is the inspiration for radical constructivism due to his idea that the individual is at the center of the knowledge creation and acquisition process. (Brau, n.d.) Lev Vygotsky Lev Vygotsky’s work contains a central scope focused on the social aspects of acquiring knowledge. He suggests that one learns best through interacting with others. Through the process of working with others, learners create an environment of shared meanings with peers. By being immersed in the new environment, the learner is able to adapt subjective interpretations to become socially accepted. (Brau, n.d.)
Reference
Brau, B. (n.d.). Constructivism. The Student's Guide to Learning Design and Research. https://open.byu.edu/studentguide/constructivism
Major Characteristics
Constructivism
Both learner and environmental factors are critical to the constructivist, as it is the specific interaction between these two variables that creates knowledge. Constructivists argue that behavior is situationally determined (Jonassen, 1991a). Just as the learning of new vocabulary words is enhanced by exposure and subsequent interaction with those words in context (as opposed to learning their meanings from a dictionary), likewise it is essential that content knowledge be embedded in the situation in which it is used. (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989) suggest that situations actually co-produce knowledge (along with cognition) through activity. Every action is viewed as “an interpretation of the current situation based on an entire history of previous interactions” (Clancey, 1986). Just as shades of meanings of given words are constantly changing a learner’s “current” understanding of a word, so too will concepts continually evolve with each new use. For this reason, it is critical that learning occur in realistic settings and that the selected learning tasks be relevant to the students’ lived experience. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.
Clancey, W. J. (1986). Review of Winograd and Flores’ understanding computers and cognition: A favorable interpretation. (STAN-CS-87-1173) Palo Alto, CA: Department of Computer Science, Stanford University.
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Jonassen, D. H. (1991a). Evaluating constructivistic learning. Educational Technology, 31(9), 28-33.
Role of Memory
The goal of instruction is not to ensure that individuals know particular facts but rather that they elaborate on and interpret information. “Understanding is developed through continued, situated use … and does not crystallize into a categorical definition” that can be called up from memory (Brown et al., 1989, p. 33). Therefore, “memory” is always under construction as a cumulative history of interactions. Representations of experiences are not formalized or structured into a single piece of declarative knowledge and then stored in the head. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Constructivism
Reference
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
How Learning Occurs
Constructivism
The following are several specific assumptions or principles from the constructivist position that have direct relevance for the instructional designer (possible ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle): 1. An emphasis on the identification of the context in which the skills will be learned and subsequently applied [anchoring learning in meaningful contexts]. 2. An emphasis on learner control and the capability of the learner to manipulate information [actively using what is learned]. 3. The need for information to be presented in a variety of different ways [revisiting content at different times, in rearranged contexts, for different purposes, and from different conceptual perspectives]. 4. Supporting the use of problem-solving skills that allow learners to go “beyond the information given.” [developing pattern-recognition skills, presenting alternative ways of representing problems]. 5. Assessment focused on transfer of knowledge and skills [presenting new problems and situations that differ from the conditions of the initial instruction].(Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Types of Learning
Constructivism
The following are several specific assumptions or principles from the constructivist position that have direct relevance for the instructional designer (possible ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle): 1. An emphasis on the identification of the context in which the skills will be learned and subsequently applied [anchoring learning in meaningful contexts]. 2. An emphasis on learner control and the capability of the learner to manipulate information [actively using what is learned]. 3. The need for information to be presented in a variety of different ways [revisiting content at different times, in rearranged contexts, for different purposes, and from different conceptual perspectives]. 4. Supporting the use of problem-solving skills that allow learners to go “beyond the information given.” [developing pattern-recognition skills, presenting alternative ways of representing problems]. 5. Assessment focused on transfer of knowledge and skills [presenting new problems and situations that differ from the conditions of the initial instruction]. (Ertmer & Newby, 2013)
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
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