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EDU-505 LEARNING THEORIES

INFOGRAPHIC BY
MOLLY MARTINDALE

Professor Latourelle Fall 2016

Education is a social
process; education is growth;
education is not preparation for
life but is life itself.
-John Dewey -
The goal of education is not to
increase the amount of
knowledge but to create the
possibilities for a child to invent
and discover, to create men
who are capable of doing new
things.
-Jean Piaget-
What is learning?
Learn-ing (v.) lrniNG/: Learning is an
accumulation of thinking that involves an
individuals senses, feelings, intuition,
beliefs, values, and will. Not only is learning
a mental or physical grasp of a subject, but
it is the application of knowledge in
conjunction with skills and future learning.
What is teaching?
Teach-ing (v.)tCHiNG/: Teaching is the
transfer of information through a personali-
zation of intervention to help a student learn
based on their needs, emotions and
learning style. Teaching can also involve a
personal pedagogy style that is utilized to
maximize transfer and support optimal
student growth.

In This Issue
How Skills are Learned and Which
Method is Best, page 2

Motivation, page 3

My Influences, page 4

My Personal Evolution, page 5 1

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The Most Efficient Way to

Learn New Skills:
People can learn skills in a variety
of ways and can often find one way
to be more successful than others.
Though many methods to skill
learning can be constructive, one is
consistently more efficient:

Constructivism.
Due to the fact that learners who use
Constructivist tactics construct
knowledge for themselves, the infor-
mation is much more meaningful and
intrinsically motivated. Skills are
How are skills learned? learned through an active process of
sensory input, context, social interac-
Skills can be learned in a variety of ways. tion, and discovery. Essentially learners
Here are a few quick examples of ways in which we learn a who learn in Constructivist ways learn
new skill, or new information to apply to future actions. how to learn.

Constructivism: Hands-on/Active learning: Active and discovery learning is learning by becoming

emerged in the world or environment of a new skill.

Chunking of material: To avoid becoming overwhelmed when learning a new skill, its beneficial to
chunk the material, and learn in small increments. Setting small, attainable goals can make a project or
skill seem less intimidating.

Bruners Spiral Curriculum: Constantly revisiting new material within new contexts and apply to a va-
riety of topics and subjects to increase both relevance and application.

Piagets Accommodation & Assimilation: Skills are learned through a process of Disequilibrium
and a return to Equilibrium through an accommodation and assimilation of new material into previous
schemas.

Vygotskys Scaffolding: A teacher or more advanced peer should guide a student through difficult ma-
terial and provide assistance when it is needed, but gradually take that assistance away when the student
becomes confident and successful.

Banduras Observation & Modeling: Skills can be learned through observing a competent model
and are best learned from models that are similar in age, gender, and relevance.

Blooms Cognitive Domain: Skills are gradually learned through a cognitive process of simple
knowledge all the way to a complex process of evaluation.
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So, what
exactly is
motivation?

Motivation (n.)
mo.ti.va.tion/
m-t-v-shn\ :

1.) The act or

process of giving
someone a reason
for doing something :
the act or process of
motivating someone

2.) The condition of

being eager to act or
work : the condition Motivation is key
of being motivated
Motivation is essential to learning. Students have to care about what
3.) A force or theyre learning about and be motivated to accomplish personal and
curriculum goals.
influence that causes
someone to do Motivation directs behavior.
something
Attainable goals are essential for motivation. If one wishes to accomplish a
(Source: Merriam- specific goal, they first set the goal and then work to accomplish this goal
Webster Dictionary) through increased effort, energy, concentration, and attention.

From a Behavioral standpoint, motivation determines which behaviors oc-

cur, due to either positive or negative consequences or reinforces.

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is based on goals, actions, or behaviors based on

whether the subject finds the subject interesting and enjoyable. Example:
Peter is intrinsically motivated to learn piano because he enjoys partaking in
that extracurricular activity.

Extrinsic motivation is based more on external rewards or negative

consequences of not reaching goals, completing actions, or behaving appro-
priately. Example: Kim is extrinsically motivated to finish her project because
she wants a good grade.
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My Educational Theorist Influences
Jean Piaget
(1896-1980)
Piaget believed that knowledge is individually con-
structed and occurs in developmental stages. Piaget
strongly believed that play was important for chil-
drens development and that social experiences can
also play a factor in development. Piaget encour-
ages teachers to introduce disequilibrium to stu-
dents so that they can assimilate and accommodate
information to fit into new schemas. Piaget has
vastly changed my ideas about how and when to
introduce new material to students. Im also a fan
of Piaget because of his theory of the importance
of interactive play, which can be valuable for
learners of all ages.
Jerome Bruner
(1915-2016)
Bruner suggests that teachers should present their
curriculum in a spiral fashion where material is
revisited within new contexts and applied to new
material. Bruner believed that knowledge is a
process, rather than a product, and that children
can learn about any topic as long as its tailored
to their developmental ability. I love Bruners
idea that learning should be a life-long process,
and should facilitate exploration beyond the in-
formation given.
Howard Gardner is best known for his theory of
multiple intelligences, in which there are nine
types of intelligence including Naturalist intelli-
gence, Musical intelligence, Logical-
Mathematical intelligence, Existential intelli-
gence, Interpersonal intelligence, Bodily-
Kinesthetic intelligence, Intra-personal intelli-
gence, Linguistic intelligence, and Spatial intelli-
gence. The idea that there are multiple definitions
of intelligence really interests me as a future
teacher. I strongly believe in Gardners theory and
hope to implement a variety of assessments to
make sure that all students are able to show their
knowledge in the most beneficial, and meaningful
way.
Howard
Gardner
(1943-)
Ladson-Billings encourages teachers to take
advantage of the cultural capital and funds
of knowledge of our students, and utilize their
cultural insight to enhance our curriculum and
diversity in the classroom. Ladson-Billings the-
ory of culturally responsive curriculum creates
a bridge between students home and school
lives, and encourages teachers to have high ex-
pectations to all students success, regardless of
their cultural, racial, or ethnic background. I
love the idea of empowering students on all
fronts, including culturally, and having a varie-
ty of cultural perspectives present in the class-
room.
Gloria Ladson-
Billings
(1947-)
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My Personal Evolution What was my

By: Molly Martindale knowledge
BEFORE this
The Strong Foundation
Ive learned a lot my first semester of this program, and this class class?
was instrumental in creating the foundation of educational theory for
my future teaching career. Before this semester, I knew for
little about educational theorists
The theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, Gardner, Montessori, and and the applications of these
Ladson-Billings come to mind when I consider which theories I theories. I had never heard of
the terms Scaffolding or
incorporate into my personal teaching philosophy. Today, I can
Disequilibrium.
easily recite the names, theories, research, and applications of
theorists that weve learned about throughout the course of To say I was uninformed is an
the semester. I can also state concrete ways in which they can be understatement. My
applied in a real-life classroom in a way that is meaningful and undergraduate education,
although in my discipline, had
exciting for students. I strongly attribute these theories and theorists
no instruction from an
to my personal growth this semester. The idea that is most educational standpoint.
important to me is understanding the reasoning behind why I will be
making decisions in my future classrooms. I now know that teachers Today, I have lots of ideas about
dont simply do things randomly, but instead choose assignments, how to incorporate theories into
my curriculum of English. The
projects, and curriculum for specific purposes and outcomes based
most significant thing that Ive
on evidence of theories that work. Understanding these educational learned this semester is consid-
theorists, and their research, has helped me shape my philosophy, ering the application of these
as well as understand the logic and rationalization behind teaching theories through the lens of an
choices. English curriculum.

So...Now What?
These theorists, and many more, are much more accessible, and applicable for me now. Learning about
these theorists, their reasoning, and the scientific evidence behind their concepts, has helped me to start to
lay the foundation needed for the personal teaching philosophy that I will continue to create throughout my
time in this program. I feel that Ive woven through the sea of theorists, and found which ones are most
meaningful, and relevant to me as a future educator.

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References for images:
Page 1:

Bottom photo: http://teds.com/software-solutions/learning-management/

Header photo: https://wordpress.com/classrooms/

Dewey quotes: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/395317-education-is-a-social-process-education-is-growth-
education-is

Piaget quote: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jeanpiaget751077.html

Page 2:

Gears photo: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/21st-century-skills-every-student-needs

Page 3:

Motivation sign photo: https://mayrsom.com/2015/03/11/motivation-a-key-component-to-success-part-2/

Key to success photo: https://mickiallen.com/2015/01/01/you-are-the-key-to-your-success-with-avon/

Page 4:

Piaget photo: http://www.biography.com/people/jean-piaget-9439915

Bruner photo: http://insidetheacademy.asu.edu/jerome-jerry-bruner

Gardner photo: http://bigthink.com/experts/howardgardner

Ladson-Billings photo: https://ci.education.wisc.edu/ci/people/faculty/gloria-ladson-billings

Page 5:

Teacher evolution photo: http://themostimportantnews.com/archives/teaching-creationism-as-scientifically-valid-

now-banned-in-all-uk-public-schools

Sources utilized throughout as reference:

Bohlin, L., Durwin, C. & Reese-Weber, M. (2012, 2009) EdPsych Modules: Second edition. New York, NY:
McGraw Hill.

Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. (2016) Dictionary and Thesaurus. Retrieved on December 13, 2016 from https://
www.merriam-webster.com/. 6