Learning Theory (education) - Overview

Overview

Behaviourism has held sway for most of the last century. It focused on observable behaviours and defines learning as the acquisition of a new behaviour. Behaviourists see learning as a relatively permanent, observable change as a result of experience. Learning Style Theory proposes that individuals learn in different ways. It is based on the work of David Kolb, which states that there are four distinct learning styles (feeling, watching, thinking, doing) and that self-knowledge of one’s preferred learning style improves learning. Multiple intelligences is an educational theory developed by psychologist Howard Gardner which suggests that different kinds of intelligence exists in human beings. It’s a theory that has been fashionable in continuous professional development (CPD) training courses for teachers. Bruner’s constructivist theory states that learning is an active process and that learners construct new ideas through their own knowledge. The learner selects information, constructs hypothesis and makes decisions. The role of the teacher in this is to translate lesson resources into a form that the learner can understand and to encourage and engage the learner in dialogue. The curriculum should be designed in a way that builds on what the pupil already knows and develops with them. Bruner’s constructivist theory has been further developed into social and communal constructivism. Influenced by the constructivist theories of Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner, Seymour Papert developed his constructionist theory (Sefton-Green 2004). The role of the teacher is not to teach ‘at’ pupils, instead the teacher becomes a mediator of learning, working with pupils. Pupils construct understanding and draw their own conclusion through creative experimentation. Right-brain-left-brain thinking is a theory of the functions of the mind suggesting that the two different sides of the brain control two different modes of thinking. It also suggests that each of us prefers one mode over the other (OECD 2007).