Learning Theories for Teachers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Learning Theories for Teachers - Essay Example The science of psychology focuses its study area on the mind of the individual, often drawing on cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses to measure and determine the mind's structures and functions. It is generally conceded that many human behaviors are learnt, and so psychologists have sought to identify a learning theory that explains learning processes. Education professionals, in turn, draw on this knowledge base to inform and provide ideal learning conditions for students. The text presents contemporary learning theories as emphasizing cognitive, socio-emotional and physical aspects of learning across the lifespan. This paper aims to present a review of the major learning theories used for teaching in the 21st century, especially noting the advantages of a cognitive-construcitonist approach. Firstly, the two major families of learning theory as conceived by Bigge and Shermis shall be presented. The specific theories of Skinner, Vygotsky, and Brunner shall be detailed. Secondly, a conclusion shall synthesize the main points of this paper, and provide support for education professionals to incorporate cognitive-interactionist theories into their classrooms. Bigge and Shermis identify the two major learning theories of relevance to current education as being the behaviorist and the cognitivist schools of thought. The behaviorists focus on observable behavior and reduced the learning experience to a process of stimulus and response. This psychology approach to learning was adopted in the USA during the early 1900s, when science and technology were experiencing a time of accelerated growth. Hence, the concept of studying measurable, objective, human behaviors aligned with current values of a modernized society embracing standardized production methods. For the extreme behaviorist, all human behavior can be understood through the processes of conditioning, these being classical and operant in form.An example of classical conditioning is Pavlov's dog that 'learns' to salivate when it hears a bell. B. F. Skinner is famous for his development of the principles of operant conditioning, that is, that any behavior is shaped by the consequences t hat follow it. Skinner pointed out that a positive, negative or neutral consequence following a behavior influenced whether a particular behavior was repeated in the future, or if it was not. So, a person learns new behaviors, or is able to modify existing behaviors, as a function of environmental events that either reward or punish that behavior. In this way, Skinner's learning theory is a move away from the traditional behaviorist approach of stimulus and response, as he differentiated between types of responses. When a response was elicited by a known stimulus is considered to be associated with the known stimulus. Alternatively, responses that do not require a specific stimulus, which he termed operants, are independent of the stimulus. Skinner emphasized that it was the operant response that could be strengthened or weakened by use of personal, social or environmental rewards or punishments respectively.Skinner's principles advocated the idea that learning could be 'programmed, ' which fit