The learning process is a highly complex one - no two children will learn in the exact same way. It is, therefore, important to understand how young people learn in order to use effective teaching strategies in the classroom which, in turn, will result in effective learning (Hallam & Ireson, 1999). There are a variety of different ways to learn and different theories underpinning it, this essay will consider three different learning approaches - behaviourism, constructivism and social constructivism, the change in teaching style from a traditional, didactic manner to an active approach and look at two different pedagogies – cooperative learning and outdoor learning, mainly fieldwork, that can be used to aid and support learning in Geography. Following this, the essay will argue how effective pedagogy can aid the teaching of one key aspect within the Geography curriculum, in this case Weather, and how this can be taught through the two pedagogies discussed in this essay.
Teaching and learning traditionally followed a behaviourist approach. This theory considers the learner to be tabula rosa (a blank slate), thus, people learn through experience whereby a positive or negative experience will create a certain response or behaviour, therefore, learning from reward or punishment. It is the change in behaviour that enhances learning. This theory places the learner in a passive role and the teacher decides on all aspects of the lesson, subsequently, giving the learner little choice
For years, there have been many theorists who have shared their views on how individuals learn. Such research has determined that individuals have different learning styles. It is important for teacher to understand the learning styles of both themselves and their students because it helps them to relay the subject knowledge to the students. The teacher is in a position where they must be able to assess the learning styles of their students. This means that the students and teachers are both in a process of learning.
Behaviorism and humanism are two theories of learning. Both theories are very important, and have many good qualities, which makes it difficult to say that one is better than the other. When it comes to learning, behaviorism does not consider mental processes, rather it looks at our response to stimuli in our environment. Whereas, humanism sees learning as personal, and is dependent on each individual self. Even though the two theories seem completely opposite of each other, there are some similarities between them pertaining to learning.
In Psychology learning is seen as a change in behaviour caused by an experience. Behaviorism, is seen as a learning theory; an attempt to explain how people or animals learn by studying their behaviour. The Behaviourists Approach has two theories to help explain how we learn, Classical conditioning and operant conditioning. In this task I will attempt to describe and evaluate this approach.
Behaviourist theory of learning can believe that learning occurs when the environmental stimuli produce a relatively permanent and observable change in a learner’s response (Barblett, 2015). For example when someone is taught a new behaviour it is changed by the environmental stimuli, which occurs a response. In behaviourism instructors or educators drive a specific behavioural outcome from learners through a set of learning objectives. In the 20th century B.F Skinner (1938) did major work on behaviour and its consequences. Skinner’s work was on behaviourism, namely operant conditioning; it means changing behaviour by the use of reinforcement, which is given by a desired response. Behaviourist strongly believe behaviour is learnt either by
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.
Allison is a freshman at a college in Delaware. She plans to be certified and teach in Delaware. What course of action must she take? Be specific. (3 pts)
This theory combines elements of behavioral theory and information processing theory. Within Social Learning Theory, there are a few components that are believed to show how learning occurs when they interact. These components are a person's behaviors, their physical characteristics, along with environmental contingencies (Boyle/Scanlon Pg. 93). One of the key concepts of this theory that relates to behavioral theory is the idea of observational learning, (Boyle/Scanlon Pg.93) this is when a changes in student's behavior that happen after they see someone else who was either punished or rewarded for this behavior were looked into. What connects this theory with behavioral theory are the elements of observation of behavioral changes along with reinforcement or punishment.
Teaching and Learning consists of various different theories that educators may or may not feel applicable to their individual philosophy. There are bits and pieces of a variety of theories that many educators feel are important in the classroom. The purpose of this paper is to explain the personal learning theory and how it is applied in a classroom. After an educator takes the time to research and do further learning by reading a variety of written books, the educator may or maynot change things in the classroom or focus on a different topic that they had not previously focused on in the past.
Behavioural views of learning involves three separate steps which is applied within behaviour analysis of individuals. The first step is to be able to clearly identify the behaviour in present in order to be able to change and note the current level. The second involves in planning through using precise intervention by consuming antecedents, consequences or either both at the same time. The last step evolves to keep track of the results and adapt the plan (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013).
Behaviourism is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviours are attained through conditioning. Behaviourists believe conditioning occurs when we interact with the environment and that the environment we are in determines the way we respond to a stimulus. The behaviourist approach believes we learn behaviours through association between response and consequence. For instance, by touching a hot iron you will feel pain. Therefore, we learn from this, and know not to touch a hot iron as we associate feeling pain as a consequence of this action. There are two forms of conditioning within the behaviourist approach; classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Behaviourists believe that individuals are born without built-in mental content, known as a ‘blank slate’ and that all behaviours arise from experience or perception.
The Behavioural approach (also called the learning theory) focuses on the belief that our environment, e.g. people, experiences and learning, influences the development and behaviour of an individual whilst thinking the internal functions, such as thoughts and cognition, are impossible to observe, so they are not apart of the scientific approach to psychology. This theory is also based on the concept of ‘explaining behaviour through observation. Behaviourists assume individuals are born as a blank state (tabula rasa), meaning they do not think biology and cognitive functions influence our behaviour, only our environment does. A large idea that the theory hold is that behaviour can be broken down into stimulus-response units. Stimuli are anything environmental that triggers an individuals’ senses, for example, a student being asked to complete an assignment (stimulus) would respond by completing the assignment. Stimulus-response theories form the basis of classical or operant conditioning, which suggests animals and humans can learn through the relation of a response to any certain stimuli.
Behaviorism is the point of view where learning and behavior are described and explained in terms
In the theory of behaviourism the learner is passive and reacts to external stimuli with a response which then creates a new behaviour. Behaviour is then shaped and conditioned by reinforcement. According to behaviourists the learner always starts off with a
The term behaviorism referred to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on the proposition that all things which organisms do — including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors (Staddon, 2001) . And this behavior could be researched scientifically . According to Pavlov, "Respondent Conditioning” resulted from the association of two stimuli, such as causing dogs to salivate at the sound a tuning fork. Consequently, Skinner developed “Operant Conditioning” where the “Stimulus-Response” association was elicited through selective reinforcement (rewards or punishments) to shape behavior. In this regard, behaviorism assumed that a learner was a passive recipient and responding to environmental stimuli. When applying the tenets of Behaviorism to teaching, Skinner asserted that the learner started off as a blank slate, and then his behavior was shaped via positive or negative reinforcement. Behaviorist
The ways in which children learn is variable, learning practices and singular theories cannot explain by themselves the very process of learning but gives some idea when these theories are viewed simultaneously; working through the limitations and expressing the benefits held across the theoretical principles. This assignment will analyse and critically evaluate behaviourist and cognitivist theories in terms of learning and education; reflecting back on application to a classroom environment. This assignment delves into areas of behaviourism developed by Skinner, Bandura, and Pavlov to name a few; which mainly works on the principle expedited by Pavlov, taking the name ‘Classical Conditioning’ of learning; which can be linked back into classroom practice; for children need to feel that they are in a positive, inductive centre of learning where they associate the positive environment with the educational situation they are placed within (Alan Pritchard, (2009)). The other side of the coin however delves into the constructivist or cognitivist theories developed by such theorists as Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner. Cognitivist theory mainly focuses on learning as a social principle, in which the learning is the responsibility of the students, who receive and organise their information, with the teacher acting as a facilitator who scaffolds the learning process. This can be linked to classroom practice in terms of ‘Active learning’ and ‘Social transmission’, in which the children