Understanding and Using Educational Theories

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Cognitive scientists recommend retrieval practice, including spaced practice and interleaving, over drilling. Lucas, C. J. (1996). Humanism. In J. J. Chambliss (Ed.), Philosophy of education: An encyclopedia. Routledge.

Stimulate recall of prior learning. Encourage students to remember previously learned relevant skills and knowledge before introducing new information. Keeping this idea of learning across theories in mind, we can sum up the key takeaways from this chapter: Guide self-assessment. When learners accurately assess their current level of knowledge and skill, they can make reasonable predictions of the likelihood of their success with the current material. Learning is the change in knowledge, behavior, or understanding that occurs when people make connections between new information and their existing knowledge. Various theories attempt to describe the factors that enable the learning process. Humanism centers the individual person as the subject and recognizes learners as whole beings with emotional and affective states that accompany their cognitive development. Recognizing the role of students’ emotions means understanding how those emotions impact learning. Student anxiety, say around a test or a research paper, can interfere with the cognitive processes necessary to be successful. Empathetic teachers recognize and try to understand students’ emotional states, taking steps to alleviate negative emotions that might detract from learning by creating a supportive learning environment.

Behaviorism

Figure 3.1: Graphic Organizer for Major Learning Theories This graphic organizer presents a table with columns for students to take note of the theories presented in this chapter, along with major theorists, key concepts, and examples in practice. Behaviorism

As noted above, andragogy overlaps with other theories such as humanism and constructivism, and some of the principles of andragogy, like transparency, would benefit all learners. Still, this framework is useful in reminding instructors that adult learners likely have different priorities and motivations, and thus some differences in classroom approach might be warranted. Motivation Elicit performance. Allow time for students to practice skills and demonstrate their abilities. Ideally, students would be given low-stakes opportunities for practice, so they feel comfortable if they do not succeed immediately.This book takes a student-centered approach to describing learning theory. Chapter 7 provides an excellent overview of motivation and self-efficacy, including implications for practice. References Knowles proposed andragogy as “the art and science of helping adults learn” (1988, p. 43). Andragogy is based on a set of assumptions about the ways in which adult learners’ experience, motivations, and needs differ from those of younger students, and suggests that traditional classroom approaches developed with younger students in mind will not necessarily be successful with adult learners. Perhaps one of the biggest differences between child and adult learners, according to Knowles (1988), is that adults are interested in the immediate applicability of what they are learning and are often motivated by their social roles as employees, parents, and so on. As Knowles notes, in traditional classrooms, children are usually taught discrete subjects like math, reading, and history, and their learning is focused on building up knowledge for the future. Young students might not use geometry in their everyday lives, but it forms a foundation for more complex math and for future job or life tasks like measuring materials for home repairs. Piaget and Perry offer developmental models that outline stages broadly aligned with a person’s age. Both models assume a relatively linear chronological development, with children and young adults passing through different stages at roughly the same time. Vygotsky, on the other hand, describes a model that focuses more on the content being mastered rather than the age of the student. According to Vygotsky’s theory, known as Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), as learners acquire new knowledge or develop new skills, they pass through three stages, often illustrated as concentric circles, as in Figure 3.2. The center circle, or first zone, represents tasks that the learner can do on their own. The second zone, or the Zone of Proximal Development, represents an area of knowledge or set of tasks that the learner can accomplish with assistance. The tasks and knowledge in this zone require students to stretch their abilities somewhat beyond their current skill level but are not so challenging as to be completely frustrating. The outermost circle, or third zone, represents tasks that the learner cannot yet do. Vygotsky posits that by working within the ZPD, learners can continue to grow their skills and abilities and increase their knowledge (Flair, 2019).

Humanism recognizes the basic dignity and worth of each individual and believes people should be able to exercise some control over their environment. Although humanism as an educational philosophy has its roots in the Italian Renaissance, the more modern theorists associated with this approach include John Dewey, Carl Rogers, Maria Montessori, Paolo Freire, and Abraham Maslow. Humanist learning theory is a whole-person approach to education that centers on the individual learners and their needs, and that considers affective as well as cognitive aspects of learning. At its essence, “humanism in education traditionally has referred to a broad, diffuse outlook emphasizing human freedom, dignity, autonomy, and individualism” (Lucas, 1996). Within this broader context, humanism is also characterized by the following tenets (Madsen & Wilson, 2012; Sharp, 2012): Because humanists see people as autonomous beings, they believe that learning should be self-directed, meaning students should have some choice in what and how they learn. Humanistic education is often connected with student-centered pedagogical approaches such as differentiated curricula, self-paced learning, and discovery learning (Lucas, 1996). Self-directed learning can take many forms, but it generally means that the instructor acts as a guide, and learners are given the freedom to take responsibility for their own learning. Teachers will provide the materials and opportunities for learning, but students will engage with the learning on their own terms. In a library classroom, we can give students choices about the topics they will research or offer learners different types of activities to practice skills and demonstrate what they have learned. Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd edition). Wiley. Their time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and, accordingly, their orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of performance-centeredness.

My Book Notes

Gain attention. Engage students’ attention by tying learning to relevant events in their lives and asking stimulating questions. Kuhlthau, C. C. (1990). The information search process: From theory to practice. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 31(1), 72-75. https://doi.org/10.2307/40323730