Learning theories and their applications

Behave, Construct, Cog

Educators are obligated to find the best way for students to learn. The use of specific learning theories can assist teachers in understanding how students learn and in developing a course of study that is the most appropriate for the students in his/her classroom. The learning theories of behaviorism, constructivism and cognitivism can be useful tools for the public school educator.

Behaviorism can be used as a very positive influence in the classroom. The theory of Behaviorism suggests that people learn behaviors that have been reinforced by positive consequences and associations (Ertmer and Newby, 1993). If a student receives positive feedback about schoolwork or, perhaps, attitude and motivation, the student is more likely to continue to work and be positive due to the expectation of a reward. Educators could use obvious rewards such as good grades or additional privileges in the classroom. Recognition of academic successes could also extend to broader areas such as student of the month or positive notes home. Behaviorism as a theory also allows for students to modify inappropriate behaviors through the use of observing others. Modeling is an important part of this learning theory. Students can learn to imitate the positive habits and behaviors of others to improve their own situation. Once that is accomplished, the student's new and better behavior will be consistently reinforced in positive ways. It is important for educators to set positive examples in their attitude and work ethic to give students an example to emulate.

A cognitive approach to education goes well beyond a system of imitation and rewards and is, in a way, the antithesis of the behavioral approach to learning. Cognitive learning or knowledge-based learning explores how people gather, process, and organize information in their brains (Ertmer and Newby, 1993).

In essence, cognitive theory would support the idea that people are active learners and people acquire and process information in different ways based on their own associations with the information. In this theory, students are really in charge of their own learning and their learning can become more sophisticated as their ability to process and organize information increases. The educator's job in the cognitive approach is to encourage students to pursue tasks that are higher on Bloom's Taxonomy as a way of increasing individual knowledge and the individual's ability to cope with knowledge. 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.