Teaching Theories Of Learning Theories

In this essay I will discuss the comparisons and differences of the three models of theory and learning as identified by MacNaughton, Conforming, Reforming and Transforming (MacNaughton, 2003). This essay will look at how these theories are explained and can be applied individually or together within the learning pedagogy. My discussion will be of a reflective nature and include how I have understood these three models in relation to the early childhood learning environment and how I may relate them to my own developing education philosophy. Each theory will be discussed with a focus on one or two particular theorist. For Conforming I will look at theorists from both the nature and nurture perspective, Gesell and Skinner. The Reforming

By giving a reward, such as dessert or pocket money to the child when completing homework, it was more likely that this behaviour would be repeated and strengthened. Another thing is the reward system in schools nowadays for good behaviour, where you would receive a star or something similar for behaving the desired way in the classroom. What Skinner showed was that all kinds of behaviours can be shaped and built step by step.

Behaviourist approaches – children learn as a result of what they see and what happens to them.

Prompt 1: Learning Theories: Using the learning theorists we have discussed--Piaget, Vygotsky, Kohlberg, and/or Erikson--Explain the behaviors, actions, learning, etc. that you see in your classroom. For example: A la Vygotsky, you might observe the classroom interactions for evidence of how you or a peer or the teacher provided enough scaffolding to improve a child’s performance. Or, you might describe a child according to Piaget’s stages of intellectual development or Erikson’s Psychosocial development. Be specific and provide examples.

The behaviourist school of thought sought to prove that behaviour could be predicted and controlled. Often using animals in their experiments, they studied how changes in environment can affect behaviour. It was their belief that learning begins with a clean slate and that behaviour is acquired by conditioning. They suggest that the learner’s response to stimuli can be reinforced and directed using positive or negative feedback.

This assignment is going to discuss why England has a National Curriculum for primary education and to what extent does the National Curriculum 2014 for English reflect current theories of teaching and learning. In the first part of this assignment I will consider: why England has a National Curriculum for primary education, the history that led to the production of the National Curriculum, why a new National Curriculum was introduced in 2014, and the advantages and disadvantages of having a National Curriculum. In the second part of this assignment, I will focus on the new curriculum framework for English, more specifically, the framework for reading and speaking and listening. I will explore the three main current theories of teaching and learning that the frameworks for reading/speaking and listening reflect: Behaviourism, Cognitive Constructivism and Social Constructivism. I will look closely at the principles of the three theories, analyse their impact in the class room and evaluate their overall importance on teaching and learning. Overall, this assignment will give an overview of the progression of the National Curriculum and the current theories of teaching and learning that are impacting classrooms today.

B.F. Skinner’s theory of behaviorism claims that behavior is directed by environmental reinforcements, some natural and some intentionally applied. Skinner proposed three possible consequences of any behavior: reinforcements which are consequences which increase the likelihood of behavior (such as praise or food), punishments which tend to decrease behavior (such as a frown or a traffic ticket), and the lack of reinforcement or punishment which also tends to decrease behavior (such as no response to the punch line of a joke). He also holds that reinforcers can be learned (money becomes valuable because of it 's

According to these conceptual models, The behaviour affects the children’s characteristics in the classrooms in which they learn, in addition to their experiences within these contexts (Creemers & Reezigt, 1996). Consecutively, children’s learning environments produce proximal processes and interactions that drive learning as well as the behavioural characteristics of other children within them, (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). absolutely the behavioural characteristics of their classmates may affect an individual

Skinner believed this was important in learning as adults teach children on a positive negative reinforcement basis, e.g if a child is good they receive a treat (positive reinforcement) and the child is likely to repeat the behaviour, but if the child is bad they receive a punishment (negative reinforcement) and the behaviour is likely to stop. Although both Pavlov’s and skinners research was performed on animals so how much can we contrast from the behaviour of an animal to the behaviour of a human. In my placement when a child is naughty there are methods used to discourage this behaviour, when a child is naughty there name gets put on the ‘thinking lily pad’ this indicates a child has been bad. The reinforcement is negative as no child wants to be there, whereas if a child is good there name gets put on the ‘fantastic flower’ this positive reinforcement encourages the children to behave and contribute to the lesson, if all children in the class are on the fantastic flower then a dragon fly gets moved to the top of the display board, when this has happened 6 times all children get a treat. This encourages the whole class to work together to behave, it works as when

The idea behind reinforcement is that and action can be influenced by either a punishment or a reward. In the case of the Skinner box, the rat would do and action (press a lever) and would receive a reward (food) for performing the action. He got bolder with the idea. Skinner began to bring his findings into a classroom setting. He demonstrated that children would have more incentive to progress when they had a positive note when they got a question correct. It started with easier problems that they could already answer and moved to more difficult ones. The children started to show more growth in learning then they ever had before. Reinforcement is commonly used in schools today as a way to benefit

In their explanation Ertmer and Newby (2013) point out the essentials of learning theories and how they assists individuals or group of people to learn. Further, Ertmer and Newby (2013) endorses learning theories as foundation and prerequisite for strategies that instructional designers need when developing those techniques that facilitate learning. Many experts has singled out the three learning theories namely; cognitivism, behaviorism, and constructivism which have provided explicit understanding of the learning process. Among the first theories which according to Driscoll (2005) was curved from the field of psychology was behaviorism. Behaviorism right from the 20th century has concentrated on how stimulus together with reinforcement affect

Behaviour is believed to be the way a student may act or behave, not only in our classrooms but also the environment that surrounds them. Such as at home or with peers(Zimmerman,1994) States that behaviour is learned. Therefore, it can be unlearned with other behaviours in its place. Many influences may play a factor in behaviours that may be challenging to deal with for the teacher or parent. They may include biophysical factors such as a medical condition or disability. Behavioural and social factors such as a problem behaviour that have been taught through reinforcement. Psychological factors such as trauma or a lack of those essential social skills. As well as environmental factors such as class noise or seating. This will later be related to the humanistic learning theory of knowledge. (Zimmerman,1994)

This essay will compare and contrast three key theories of learning; Behaviourism, Cognitive Learning Theory and Constructivism.

Skinner’s reinforcement experiments conducted on rats showed the principles of operant conditioning. While working with rats, Skinner would place them in a Skinner box with a lever attached to a feeding tube. After multiple trials, rats learned the connection between the lever and food, and started to spend more time in the box procuring food than performing any other action. He used positive reinforcement, and negative reinforcement to produce or inhibit specific target behaviors. Therefore, if a specific behavior is reinforced then the probability of that behavior occurring again is increased. Based on Skinner’s view, this theory can be applied to learning because learning is nothing more than a change in behavior. Operant conditioning encourages positive reinforcement, which can be applied in the classroom environment to get the good behavior you want and need from students. One of the ways of reinforcing a student’s behavior is through praise. Also teachers can build operant conditioning techniques into their lesson plans to teach children possible skills as well as good behaviors. For example: to give a smiley face, or motivational stamps to encourage children to perform correctly and encourage them to repeat such action again.

In this class educators read, researched, and possibly changed their thinking on the following three theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Throughout these theories educators must include the social cognitive theory. This paper will discuss each theory as to an educator’s thoughts and how they are applied throughout daily teaching in the classroom.