Comparing Learning Theories

The challenge throughout the lifespan of education has been to come up with ways that teachers can share information in such a way as to provide the learner with an opportunity to add to their existing knowledge base so that the new information becomes a part of the existing information. There are a variety of learning theories that each suggest methods that can improve results depending on the instructional design and the natural inclinations of the learner. In order to gain a better understanding of how each of the three learning theories listed below can work, click on the link for each one. You will be taken to an example of how that learning theory is used.

Cognitive
Constructivism
Behaviorism

To see a lesson plan and how it can be modified to use different learning theories, click the link below.
Constructivism vs. Behaviorism

Theories in Design
When it comes to using theories of design in education, there are more than a few to choose from. Since teachers are under more pressure than ever to not only develop knowledge in their students, but to also be able to prove that this knowledge was developed, it is critical to use these theories as tools to help develop and adapt material so that is is useful to the student. By combining theories in design and having the ability to modify each step of the process, you can come up with lessons that not only offer new information that can be attached to existing information, but do it in such a way as to allow the student to use their own experiences and personal database of knowledge to come to their own conclusions in such as way as to further their understanding of the new information and allow for progressive attachments to that information in the future.

Keep in mind that the perception of the student is based on their own experience, therefore the personal experience of the student is vital to their understanding of new information and your understanding of the student is vital to your ability to help them process new information. Theories of design allow us to have some level of guidance that allows us to adapt and modify lesson plans to suit the needs of the student. Click on each of the links below to see the strengths and limitations of the theories listed as well as how they might be combined for better understanding for the student.

• Wiggin's theory of backwards design
• Gagne's nine events of instruction
• Teaching for understanding

My Own Instructional Design Methods
When it comes to designing the lesson plan presented in this collection, or any other lesson plans I use a combination of theories while also including my own focus, which is that of motivation. Though my personal method is nameless as of yet, for the purposes of understanding, it will be currently labeled as Foust's Design by Motivation, which can be seen by clicking the link in the name.

This perfectly suits the needs of my learners because it allows me to use their own motivation to help them reach an end goal. I can use their skills and personal knowledge to fine tune the lesson plan in order to serve them better.

No outside resources were used for the construction of this information.

From Constructivism to Behaviorism

The image you see here is a printable lesson plan. This lesson plan is an example of constructivism. The students are building on their own knowledge and using insight they already have in order to create writing that fits within the given parameters. They complete a task and share it with a fellow student in order to get the perspective of not just a fellow student, but a reader as well.

If I were to try to adapt this lesson plan to fit another learning theory, I would use behaviorism because that is how reality will teach them these same lessons.

As this lesson is aimed at writers who look to write online as a means to make a living, it is vital that they understand how their mistakes can result in the consequence of little to no income.

I would reward the students for accurately completing the assignment and I would reduce the workload. I would also increase the workload for students who did not complete this accurately because that is exactly what would happen to them in the real world. Specifically, students who did not write the first paragraph correctly would need to rewrite it again until it was done correctly.

Because I want to encourage the students to keep trying to meet the goal of writing online, I would use the original lesson plan rather than using behaviorism. Behaviorism can discourage the student because of the consequences, as realistic as they may be. Constructivism allows them to practice their skills and see the response of readers without feeling the pressure of more work. This helps cultivate writers who write for the sake of writing rather than for the sake of rewards. A writer who cares for what the reader thinks will naturally end up cultivating rewards as a by-product of their effort.

If you have trouble viewing the image, it is pasted below.

Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is created to help traditional writers relearn some of the basic typing and writing skills that they learned as youths. Because these writers wish to make a living by publishing written work online, they have to adapt to meet the needs of the online audience. Part of adapting to meet those needs requires the use of specific tools. In this lesson plan, students will learn how to use those tools and how to not rely completely on those tools.

Pre-Assessment to Identify Skills

Students will receive the following paragraph through email and will follow the instructions to adjust it.

“You did not no that we was going to the smith County faire. When the thyme was write, we called ewe to join us. You did knot answer your foam because ewe was following us. We new your cell phone service was bad, so wee wasn’t worried about it.”

Instructions: Copy and paste this paragraph into a new document. Review the paragraph. Use current American English grammar and punctuation rules to correct the mistakes. You are free to use Spell Check. Embed a link to any cell phone carrier in the three word phrase that most aptly describes the link.

Students who score 80% will be considered to be well-versed in the topic.

Presentation of New Information

Review papers with students via email correspondence. Discuss areas that were incorrect and present a printable sheet for students to use in order to follow step by step instructions. Include the instructions in the email. Ask students to meet in an online group at a specific time. During the online group, discuss the spacing issue of putting a double space after a period. Using the original paragraph, demonstrate that “faire” would be acceptable using the UK English feature, but not the American English feature. Direct students as to how to change this setting. Demonstrate how to right click on a word to get Spell Check to offer you different spellings, and then discuss the importance of reviewing the writing for errors that Spell Check did not flag. Demonstrate how to find and embed a link in the appropriate key word phrase using the original paragraph as well as the cut and paste feature. Demonstrate how to type in a site to embed if you do not have one copied.

Guided Practice

Offer the students the original paragraph. Ask students to first review the paragraph for spelling. In order to become familiar with Spell Check and its flaws, students should write down one instance in which Spell Check gave them the wrong option, and one instance in which Spell Check did not flag something that should have been flagged. Students will then correct the spelling in the document to fix misspelled words as well as replacing antonyms with the correct word. Students will then read the paragraph again and correct any errors including spacing, and sentence structure. Students will then embed a link to any county fair in the appropriate place.

Independent Practice

Students will each correctly write a five sentence paragraph using “generic key phrase” as the key phrase. The paragraph can be about anything, as long as the key phrase is used once and it makes sense in the paragraph. Students will embed a link to a relevant site in the key phrase. For example, a student might discuss sewing and embed a link to a fabric site. However, a student may not discuss sewing and embed a link to a dog food site. Once students have completed their papers, they will share with another student for editing and feedback.

Closing Event

Students have traded papers. Each student will read another student’s paragraph. Students will then discuss whether the grammar was correct and the link was relevant. They will also offer insight as to whether the paragraph offered new and usable information. The task of the writer may be to entertain the writer, but it is also to provide information. Students will offer a 5 sentence written review of the paragraph they read and name 2 pieces of information they got from the paragraph. They will include the original embedded link as an embedded link in their review of the paragraph. Students who complete the task with 80% accuracy will be considered proficient. Scores are as follows.

·        Each sentence is worth 3 points. 1 is for correct grammar. 1 is for correct punctuation, including spacing after punctuation. 1 is for correct spelling. A total of 15 points comes from correctly written sentences.

·        A correctly working, embedded link is worth 5 points.

·        The paper is worth 20 points, with 80% being the minimum score objective.

 

Behaviorism in Education

Behaviorism is the idea that a behavior can be changed based on how it is responded to. Every parent has some limited experience with the method of teaching, though they may not be aware that this is what they are doing. Those who use behaviorism as an approach to teaching will reward behaviors that are desired while punishing behaviors that are not desired. Below is an example of how behaviorism might be used in the classroom.

Mrs. Jones is giving the students a test before recess. The test is timed. Anyone who finishes the test within the given amount of time gets to go immediately to recess. Those who do not complete the test in the given amount of time will use their recess time to complete it. Every student who gets 100% on the test gets a gold star. Students who score less than 80% are given an extra sheet of homework.