Theories and Application

Angela Walker

Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism

[THEORIES AND APPLICATION]

Theory is merely a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, ones prospective or different viewpoints. It is a universal explanation of observations made over a period of time. In the education field there are many different theories that are being used, but there are three that are most popular, which are Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism. Behaviorism Theory is a learning theory that is due to an observable change in behavior, which operates on the principle of stimulus response The learner is essentially passive and is shaped through repetition enforcement. The idea of this theory is that the learner forms a new behavior pattern rather it be positive or negative. This new behavioral pattern is repeated until it becomes automatic to the learner. A Russian Physiologist named Pavlov (1849 1936) was one of the contributors to the theory of Behaviorism. He is best known for his work of classical conditioning and stimulus substitution. Cognitivism Theory is a learning theory that describes how information is processed and stored in the mind. The goal is to grab the attention of the learner, help them make sense of the information and store it for recall. A Swiss Psychologist and Philosopher name Jean Piaget (1896 1980) was is one of the contributors to the theory of Cognitivism. He is best known for his theory that children progress through stages. Constructivism Theory is a learning theory that learners build their knowledge by integrating prior knowledge, beliefs, and experiences to form new information. Learning is based upon taking existing mental pictures constructing and applying it to new information. In my research of the three learning theories, I believe that Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism can all be applied to online learning. Online learning is anytime and anywhere. The content has to be captivating and engaging to keep the student stimulated and I think that applying all three theories will contribute to a successful online environment. For instance, Behaviorism can be used by encourage social interaction. Cognitivism can be used to encourage student reflection, address individual differences and provide hands-on activities. Constructivism can be used by creating real life context and examples; also it can be used to motivate the student. (See chart below)

Behavorism

Cognitivism
Encourage Student Reflection

Constructivism
Create Real Life Context and Examples Motivate the Student

Encourage Social Interaction

Address Individual Differences Provide Hands-On Activities

In using these three learning theories there are many activities that can be introduced to the learner such as 1.Providing the content in multiple forms such as YouTube, PowerPoints, podcasts, audio, etc. 2. Encourage active and collaborative interaction such as group teams, discussion boards, etc. 3. Incorporate games 4. Peer review and feedback 5. Require and facilitate interaction 6. Stimulate reality by using case studies With todays technology all of the activities above can be done successfully, but there are challenges that can occur. One of those challenges is avoiding the tendency to provide too much information to the learner. Providing too much information in a short period of time contributes to memory overload, which makes learning difficult and leads to confusion and poor retention. Psychological studies show that most people can manage about seven pieces of information at one time without too much difficulty (Miller, 1956). Another challenge can be devising ways to promote high levels of interactivity among students and instructors. That is why its important that the design of your content be very well thought out so that online courses can address variability in student learning styles and provide external forms of motivation for the isolated student.i
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An Instructional Strategy Framework for Online Learning Environments

Scott D. Johnson Steven R. Aragon University of Illinois