Learning Theories And You!

7 Questions | By Freychris424 | Last updated: Mar 21, 2022 | Total Attempts: 2660

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See which learning theory best matches your views on learning.

You May Get

Behaviorism

"The theory of behaviorism concentrates on the study of overt behaviors that can be observed and measured (Good & Brophy, 1990). It views the mind as a "black box" in the sense that response to stimulus can be observed quantitatively, totally ignoring the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind. Some key players in the development of the behaviorist theory were Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner."

Cognitivism

"The Cognitivism learning theory takes a different path from the behaviorism learning theory. Cognitivism is a learning theory which deals with the internal mental processes of the mind and how these processes could be used to endorse effective learning. While in behaviorism a task is broken down into small steps and then used to shape the learner's behavior, in Cognitivism the tasks are first analyzed and then broken down into steps. These bits of information are then used to enlarge learning in instructional design curriculum. This information is then taught from the most simple to the most complex depending on the learner's prior schema."

Constructivism

"Behaviorism and Constructivism are both objective in nature. Both these learning theories promote defining objectives, breaking information into small tasks and finally measuring the learner's performance based on these objectives. The Constructivism learning theory on the other hand promotes a learning experience, where the learning approach for each learner would be different and where the methods and end results cannot be easily measured."

Questions and Answers

1.

Positive reinforcement is the best way to alter and control a student's actions.
- A.
  
  Absolutely; there is ample research to support this claim.
- B.
  
  As long the learner has enough time to process the event.
- C.
  
  Depends on who is giving the reward and the value the student places on the reward.
2.

When designing curriculum, acquiring and demonstrating skills are the most important outcome.
- A.
  
  Not necessarily; learning needs to be authentic to be meaningful. The learning environment will have a stronger influence than any focus on acquiring or demonstrating skills.
- B.
  
  Unless there is a focus on strategies to acquire skills and concepts, the learner will forget the information.
- C.
  
  Yes; it's observable, measurable, and goal-oriented.
3.

Teachers should serve as facilitators of learning rather than try and control learning, because learning outcomes are not always predictable.
- A.
  
  YES! Preaching to the choir!
- B.
  
  Sounds nice on paper, but students need more structure to really learn.
4.

Designing experiences and giving students flexibility are best practices to ensuring student success.
- A.
  
  Of course; how else are students going to construct meaning and build information?
- B.
  
  Feedback has a greater impact on learning than designed experiences.
5.

Paying special attention to the learners' self-confidence, attention, and memory strategies is an instructor's primary focus.
- A.
  
  Yes, learning cannot take place without focusing on important internal factors in the student.
- B.
  
  While those factors are important, they are difficult to objectively observe and should only be a secondary focus.
6.

Focusing on the underlying concept and using metaphors/graphic organizers to help students process content should be the most important focus of a teacher.
- A.
  
  Absolutely; it helps students process and transfer information to other situations.
- B.
  
  The focus should be on the authentic learning environment first.
- C.
  
  Only if the underlying concepts can be measured as quantifiable tasks.
7.

Which classroom strategy will have the biggest impact on students?
- A.
  
  Learning contracts
- B.
  
  Discussions
- C.
  
  Learning strategies (taking notes, breaking information into smaller chunks, etc.)