This presents a challenge to educators who may have a classroom full of students who are cognitively at different levels. Educational programs that allow students to advance at their own pace, such as accelerated reader, or explore knowledge independently might be ways to encourage cognitive development in students. Constructivism is closely tied to the cognitive approach in that constructive learning requires that the students are the primary agents in their own learning. In this theory, students must construct new knowledge on the framework of existing knowledge (Ertmer and Newby, 1993). It is literally a building of a larger knowledge base that students achieve individually. If a student does not have the prior knowledge for a particular skill or concept, then he or she will be unable to construct something new. According to Jean Piaget, the most well-known constructivist, learning has to be achieved by discovery. This requires students to be independent learners and requires teachers to find ways that students can discover knowledge through their own active participation.

Behaviorism is a way to encourage students through the use of positive reinforcement; however, it is sometimes criticized because it does not encourage students to think on a higher level. Nevertheless, it can have a positive effect on a student's self-esteem and willingness to learn. It is in the cognitive and constructive approaches where students can really learn to think at a higher level. This is where students can go beyond the memorization of facts and begin to utilize their brains as a complex organizational system that will assist them in acquiring information and processing it to improve their ability to learn as children and for the rest of their lives.
Reference

Ertmer, P.A. And Newby, T.J. (1993). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing critical features from an Instructional Design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-72. Retrieved October 20, 2006 at http://www.personal.psu.edu/txl166/kb/theory/compar.html