Three Schools of Thought about Learning and Teaching Chapter 4

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Three Schools of Thought about Learning and
Teaching Chapter 4
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Three Schools of Thought
Three Schools of Thought

• The Cognitive School of Thought
• The Humanistic School of Thought
• The Behavioral School of Thought

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The Cognitive School of Thought

• Information Processing
• The study of how we mentally take in and store
  information and then retrieve it when needed
• Beliefs about attention
• Meaningful learning
• Reception learning
• Reciprocal teaching
• Problem solving

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How Learners Gain or Lose Information
Senses are stimulated.
If we do not pay sufficient attention to the
stimuli, they go unnoticed.
If we pay attention, info moves into short-term
memory.
If the info reaching short-term memory is not
well organized and connected to what we already
know, it is lost.
If info is well organized and connected to prior
knowledge, info moves into long-tem memory.
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Beliefs about Attention

• Learning experiences should be as pleasant and
  satisfying as possible.
• Lessons should take into account the interests
  and needs of students.
• A variety of stimuli gains and holds attention.
• Learners can only hold attention so long and
  differ in ability to attend.
• Time of day can affect attention.
• Distractions interfere with attention.
• Learners can only attend to so much information
  at one time, so they should not be overwhelmed.

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Beliefs about Short-term Memory

• Capacity is very limited (only about 4-9
• bits of new information at a time).
• New info can be organized (chunking).
• New info should be connected to what we
• know.
• To forestall forgetting new info, we must
• rehearse.

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Beliefs about Long-term Memory

• Capacity seems limitless.
• We are best able to retrieve info from long-term
  memory if the info relates to something
  previously known.
• We are able to call up, or recollect, related
  information from long-term memory when processing
  new info in short-term memory.

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Beliefs about the Memory Process

• Info in short-term memory is lost either when
  that memory is overloaded or through time.
• When info in short-term memory is lost, it cannot
  be recovered.
• Retrieval of info in long-term memory is enhanced
  if connected to prior knowledge

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Meaningful Learning

• Reception learning
• Reciprocal teaching
• Discovery learning
• Constructivism
• Problem solving

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Reception Learning

• Refers to learning that takes place when teachers
  offer students new information that is carefully
  organized and structured

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Reception Learning

• Give objectives
• Present information clearly
• Use advance organizers
• Involve learners during a presentation
• Present examples and nonexamples
• Review what learners should understand during
  closure
• Have learners summarize what they learned
• Have learners reflect on the use and value of the
  lesson

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Reciprocal Teaching

• A form of teaching wherein the teacher gradually
  shifts teaching responsibility to learners
• Modeling, explaining
• Students as teachers
• Scaffolding
• Interchanges of understanding
• Questioning, probing

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Problem Solving

• Requires a situation wherein a goal is to be
  achieved
• Requires learners to be asked to consider how
  they would attain the goal
• Two types of problems
• Well-structured
• Unstructured (ill-structured)

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Humanistic School of Thought

• Having good feelings about oneself and
• others is essential to positive personal
• development.
• School should be made to fit the child.
• The educational environment should satisfy basic
  human needs.

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Humanistic School of Thought

• Accept learners for themselves.
• Understand learners by looking at the
• situation from the students perspective.
• Use techniques that help learners better
• understand their feelings and values.

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Humanistic Approaches to Teaching

• Inviting School Success
• Values Clarification
• Moral Education
• Multiethnic Education

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Behavioral School of Thought

• Contiguity
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• Social Learning

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Behavioral Approaches to Teaching

• Make the classroom enjoyable
• Be specific about what needs to be learned
• Be certain that learners have basic skills and
  knowledge
• Connect new learning to prior learning
• Introduce new learning gradually
• Associate what is to be learned with things
  learners like

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Behavioral Approaches to Teaching cont.

• Recognize and praise improvement
• Use reinforcers that are valuable
• Provide regular reinforcement for new learning,
  less reinforcement when mastered
• Encourage shy learners
• Create opportunities for success
• Model behaviors you want learner to imitate
• Draw attention to those exhibiting learning
• Ask parents to reinforce at home

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Behavioral Approaches to Learning

• Programmed instruction
• Computer-assisted instruction
• Mastery learning
• Precision teaching
• Applied behavioral analysis