Desiree López
LEARNING PHILOSOPHY
Students learn by connecting new knowledge with knowledge and concepts that they already know, most effectively in active social classrooms where they negotiate understanding through interaction and varied approaches. But there is no single definition of learning. Learning theories discuss how students learn, and each one has its own characteristics for creating the best learning environment.
Peggy A. Ertmer and Timothy J. Newby define three of the most accurate learning theories to conceptualize learning and its characteristics: "Behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism from a critical perspective of educational design."
I am attempting to familiarize myself with the three relevant positions on learning (behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist) that provide structured bases for planning and carrying out instructional design activities. I analyze each learning perspective in terms of specific interpretation within the learning process and develop professional instructional outcomes for the education of my students.
Who am I as a Learner?
I have always had a passion for learning new things and the ability to grasp concepts quickly, but returning to formal education after a nine-year gap has been a unique challenge. Adjusting to a different language, new assessment methods, and an entirely new environment has tested my adaptability. Despite these hurdles, I’ve been able to integrate quickly, even when it felt overwhelming.
In my learning journey, I take responsibility for attending classes, completing assignments, and staying engaged. While my initial role may require me to be a passive listener, this is a critical step in broadening my understanding. By actively processing what I learn, I can navigate challenges and stay focused on achieving my goals.
Behaviorist
Behaviorism equates learning with change in the form or frequency of observable performance.
Peggy A. Ertmer and Timothy J. Newby (1993)
Behaviorism emphasizes that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment, suggesting that external factors shape behavior far more than innate or inherited traits.
In my classroom, I apply behaviorist principles to manage student focus. For example, when students become distracted, I begin counting to three, and before I reach the final count, they have typically refocused and adjusted their behavior. This response mirrors Pavlov's classical conditioning, as many young children have been conditioned by their parents to respond to counting to avoid negative consequences. I’ve observed that this strategy continues to be effective with former students.
Behaviorism is especially useful for helping students memorize facts (Bates, 2014). While my ultimate goal is to foster excellent communication and meaningful learning experiences, behaviorism is an effective tool for helping students absorb new concepts when first introduced.
Cognitivist.
Learning is possible if you base the more complex structure on more superficial structures when there is a natural relationship and development of structures and not simply an external reinforcement.
Jean Piaget (1964)
Cognition is the brain's ability to absorb and retain information through experience, sensory input, and thought. It helps link new information with existing knowledge, enhancing memory and retention.
In my classroom, I take a cognitivist approach. I begin by introducing and explaining the material, laying a foundation for the lesson, and I conclude with practical examples that help students apply what they’ve learned (Ertmer and Newby, 1993). My students practice the content and receive feedback. I simplify learning tools to make concepts more digestible and ensure faster comprehension (Ertmer and Newby, 1993; Piaget, 1964).
Each year, I revisit the challenge of improving how I encourage students to reflect on their learning process. I aim to help them see learning as a personal need and to develop strategies that suit their learning styles. Encouraging this self-awareness is a crucial element of cognitivism, fostering more profound and more personalized learning experiences.
Constructivist.
Constructivist learning encourages the learner to engage in the active process of meaning–construction in real-authentic problems and situations, where learners can socially construct knowledge with others.
Seng Chee Tan and David Hung (2003)
Based on the idea that each person has to build our knowledge actively and through experiences as learners. Directing it, the students of the form use their previous knowledge as a base and build on it the new things to learn.
Knowledge is built. This is the basic principle, meaning knowledge is built on top of other knowledge. My students take pieces and put them together in a unique way, creating something different from what another student will build. We base the knowledge on our experiences around the classroom, the construction, and our previous perceptions of each one, making it an essential basis for their continuous learning.
People learn to learn as they learn. Learning involves the construction of meanings and systems of meanings. For example, my students learn the chronology of the dates of a series of historical events, and at the same time, they learn the meaning of the chronology. If one of my students is writing about a story, they are also teaching the principles of grammar and writing. Each thing we learn in our class gives us a better understanding of other things in the future.
As part of my INNOVATION PLAN for my classroom blended learning environment, I will focus less on emphasizing traditional assessments that are more behavioral in favor of performance assessments where students can engage in authentic, real-world situations.
Social Constructivist
.…One learns first through a social setting of person-to-person interactions and then personally through an internalization process that leads to a deep understanding
Interpretation of Lev Vygotsky by Robin Fogarty (1999)
As Ertmer and Newby (1993) state, "if learning is decontextualized, there is little hope of transfer."
Learning is inherently a social activity deeply tied to our interactions with others. Our teachers, family, peers, and acquaintances all significantly shape our learning experiences. Educators are more effective when recognizing that peer involvement is crucial to student success. Isolating learners limits their growth, as collaborative learning fosters more profound understanding and retention.
Progressive education acknowledges the importance of social interaction in learning. It uses conversation, collaboration, and group work to help students solidify their knowledge and apply it meaningfully.
Conclusion.
The way we define learning and what we believe about how learning occurs has important implications for situations in which we want to facilitate changes in what people know and do. Learning theories provide verified instructional strategies and techniques for facilitating learning and a foundation for intelligent strategy selection. Yet many designers operate under the constraints of a limited theoretical background.
Action learning principles may be applied to many content areas; however, the highly complementary nature of this specific methodology to the teaching and practice of instructional design may have the potential to significantly improve our preparation of professionals in the complex work environments characteristic of this and related disciplines. As a valuable component of performance technology skills, training in instructional design methods based on an action learning approach may have broad implications for both the preparation of instructional designers and performance technologists.
The relationship between behaviorism, constructivism, and Socratic pedagogy. Specifically, the question is whether a Socratic educator can be a constructivist or a behaviorist. In principle, each learning theory is explained in relation to the Socratic project. The last one addresses whether or not a Socratic teacher can subscribe to a constructivist or behavioral learning theory. It concludes by stating that while Socratic pedagogy shares some similarities with each learning theory, it is ultimately fundamentally incompatible with both.
References.
Ertmer, P.A. & Newby, T.J. (1993). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparison of Critical Features from an Instructional Design Perspective. https://northweststate.edu/wp-content/uploads/files/21143_ftp.pdf
Harapnuik, D. (November 2021). Learning Philosophy, It is About Learning, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=95.
Learning Project Team. (2018). What teachers need to know about learning theories. Retrieved June 15, 2019, from https://kb.edu.hku.hk/learning_theory_history/
Piaget, J. (1964). Part I: Cognitive development in children: Piaget. Journal of Research in Science Education, 2, 176-186.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-The 72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1937-8327.1993.tb00605
Although this article dates from the 1990s, it provides a firm foundation on behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism tenets. The authors do not advocate one particular learning theory. Instead, they favor a combination of various learning theories based on what is to be learned and the learners themselves.
Harapnuik, D. (November 2021). Learning Philosophy, It is About Learning, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=95.
Dr. Harapnuik's website is an excellent resource if you're interested in student-centered learning. It offers a wealth of information on 21st-century education, including insightful articles and videos. It’s worth exploring if you seek modern, engaging resources to enhance your understanding of student-centered approaches.
Learning Project Team of HKU. (2018). What teachers should know about learning theories. Retrieved June 15, 2019, from https://kb.edu.hku.hk/learning_theory_history/
With the website, the authors provide an overview of some of the significant learning theories prevalent today. It is a good starting point to obtain relevant background knowledge before delving into more detailed research.
Piaget, J. (1964). Part I: Cognitive development in children: Piaget. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2, 176-186. https://psychscenehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Piaget-Cognitive-Development-in-Children.pdf
Reading this primary source article allowed me to see how Piaget framed his research. While most of the article cannot be used in my learning theory project per se, some of the critical ideas Piaget discussed helped clarify his theory's role in my learning philosophy.