Blog #4

My understanding of the three learning theories

• There are three learning theories that are best used when used in a combination, no one approach works all the time by itself. Behaviourism is the idea that behavioural responses are associated with specific stimuli. People are trained on how to respond and what to do in particular situations based on the stimuli or incentives they receive. One way this is shown in schools is sending children into the hallway when they misbehave, it shows the student that their behaviour is not acceptable and by punishing them the hope is that they begin to show this behaviour less. Or in a more positive way, when a child does well on an assignment they are given a sticker. This is a reward that they will want to achieve more frequent and will try to increase the behaviour of doing their work well. Cognitivism is the focus on thinking. This is done in school by KWL charts, reflections, and 5W charts. It forces the child to look back on what they have done or learned and uses previous knowledge to help them learn more information. Constructivism is reliant on the social aspect of learning. It explains that children can learn by watching other children or working together instead of just doing it alone. This is often used in schools when we do reading buddies or just big buddies in general because the younger kids are learning from the older kids.

How can you connect these learning theories with the models of the curriculum?

• Each theory connects more to one model of curriculum than another. For example, behaviourism connects to the product model of curriculum because it focuses on the end behaviour of the child. It focuses on what we want to see happen by the end the product of the learning. Cognitivism is more connected to the process model of curriculum because it is the process of the child learning, how they learned, when they learned and what they learned. Finally, constructivism is connected to the praxis model of curriculum because it is the action of evaluating others and learning from them.

What learning theories did I see reflected in my own school experiences?

• I honestly believe I saw parts of all three theories while in school. Behaviourism was used to encourage good behaviour. My one class had a point system where we would receive points for being ready for class after recess in a timely manner or all doing a task we were supposed to for a certain amount of time and then at the end of the week we could use our points to get a class reward. I saw cognitivism through our reflections or different charts we did in class. And lastly, I saw constructivism when we did big buddies, as the younger buddy learning from my older buddy and as the older buddy watching and teaching my little buddy.