Learning Theories

Cognitivism is "the psychology of learning which emphasizes human cognition or intelligence as a

special

endowment

enabling

man

to

form

hypotheses

and develop

intellectually"

(Cognitivism) and is also known as cognitive development. The underlying concepts of cognitivism
involve how we think and gain knowledge. Cognitivism involves examining learning, memory, problem
solving skills, and intelligence. Cognitive theorists may want to understand how problem solving
changes throughout childhood, how cultural differences affect the way we view our own academic
achievements, language development, and much more. (Feldman, Cognitivism).
http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/31012664/Cognitivism

The term behaviourism refers to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on the
belief that behaviours can be measured, trained, and changed. Behaviourism was established with
the publication of Watson's classic paper "Psychology as the Behaviourist Views It" (1913).
http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/f/behaviorism.htm

Constructivism is basically a theory -- based on observation and scientific study -- about how people
learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through
experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we
have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe, or
maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own
knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know.
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index.html

For our collection of lessons, we mostly focused on the theory of constructivism. We demonstrated
ideologies of this theory in the classroom by allowing students to construct their own understanding of
the play and its contextual relevance to society, and to reflect upon experiences which may appear to
be encompassed in their daily lives. In our ability to do so, we chose activities in which the students
could engage creatively in accordance to absorbing new information and meaning to their area of
study. Through questioning and exploration we are able to draw upon student interpretation of the
content and applying their processed information to assessment and activity tasks.