Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by

reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world

we live in. Each of us generates our own "rules" and "mental models," which we
use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process
of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences.
The guiding principles of Constructivism:
Learning is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning must start with the
issues around which students are actively trying to construct meaning.
Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts. And parts must be
understood in the context of wholes. Therefore, the learning process focuses
on primary concepts, not isolated facts.
In order to teach well, we must understand the mental models that students
use to perceive the world and the assumptions they make to support those
models.

 The purpose of learning is for an individual to construct his or her own

meaning, not just memorize the "right" answers and regurgitate someone
else's meaning. Since education is inherently interdisciplinary, the only
valuable way to measure learning is to make assessment part of the learning
process, ensuring it provides students with information on the quality of their
learning.
How Constructivism impacts learning:
Curriculum - Constructivism calls for the elimination of a standardized
curriculum. Instead, it promotes using curricula customized to the students'
prior knowledge. Also, it emphasizes hands-on problem solving.
Instruction - Under the theory of constructivism, educators focus on making
connections between facts and fostering new understanding in students.
Instructors tailor their teaching strategies to student responses and
encourage students to analyze, interpret, and predict information. Teachers
also rely heavily on open-ended questions and promote extensive dialogue
among students.

 Assessment - Constructivism calls for the elimination of grades and

standardized testing. Instead, assessment becomes part of the learning
process so that students play a larger role in judging their own progress.

Behaviorism is a philosophy of learning that only focuses on objectively

observable behaviors and discounts mental activities. Behavior theorists define
learning as nothing more than the acquisition of new behavior.
Experiments by behaviorists identify conditioning as a universal learning process.
There are two different types of conditioning, each yielding a different behavioral
pattern:
Classic conditioning occurs when a natural reflex responds to a stimulus.
The most popular example is Pavlov's observation that dogs salivate when
they eat or even see food. Essentially, animals and people are biologically
"wired" so that a certain stimulus will produce a specific response.
Behavioral or operant conditioning occurs when a response to a stimulus is
reinforced.

Basically, operant conditioning is a simple feedback system: If a reward or

reinforcement follows the response to a stimulus, then the response
becomes more probable in the future. For example, leading behaviorist B.F.
Skinner used reinforcement techniques to teach pigeons to dance and bowl
a ball in a mini-alley.
How Behaviorism impacts learning:
Positive and negative reinforcement techniques of Behaviorism can be very
effective.
Teachers use Behaviorism when they reward or punish student behaviors.

Jean Piaget authored a theory based on the idea that a developing child builds
cognitive structures, mental "maps", for understanding and responding to
physical experiences within their environment. Piaget proposed that a child's
cognitive structure increases in sophistication with development, moving from a
few innate reflexes such as crying and sucking to highly complex mental
activities.

The four developmental stages of Piaget's model and the processes by which
children progress through them are:
The child is not yet able to conceptualize abstractly and needs concrete physical
situations. As physical experience accumulates, the child starts to conceptualize,
creating logical structures that explain their physical experiences.
Abstract problem solving is possible at this stage. For example, arithmetic equations can be solved with numbers, not just with objects.
By this point, the child's cognitive structures are like those of an adult and include conceptual reasoning.
Developmental Stage

Sensorimotor stage
(birth - 2 years old)

Preoperational stage
(ages 2 - 7)
Concrete operations
(ages 7 - 11)
Formal operations
(beginning at ages 11 - 15)

Cognitive Process
The child, through physical interaction with the environment, builds
a set of concepts about reality and how it works. This is the stage
where a child does not know that physical objects remain in
existence even when out of sight.

Piaget proposed that during all development stages, the child experiences their
environment using whatever mental maps they have constructed. If the
experience is a repeated one, it fits easily - or is assimilated - into the child's
cognitive structure so that they maintain mental "equilibrium". If the experience is
different or new, the child loses equilibrium, and alters their cognitive structure to
accommodate the new conditions. In this way, the child constructs increasingly
complex cognitive structures.
How Piaget's theory impacts learning:
Curriculum - Educators must plan a developmentally appropriate curriculum
that enhances their students' logical and conceptual growth.
Instruction - Teachers must emphasize the critical role that experiences, or
interactions with the surrounding environment, play in student learning. For
example, instructors have to take into account the role that fundamental
concepts, such as the permanence of objects, play in establishing cognitive
structures.

The Brain-based Learning Theory is based on the structure and function of

the brain. As long as the brain is not prohibited from fulfilling its normal
processes, learning will occur.
Every person is born with a brain that functions as an information processor.
Traditional schooling, however, often inhibits learning by discouraging, ignoring,
or punishing the brain's natural learning processes.
The core principles of Brain-based Learning state that:
The brain is a parallel processor, meaning it can perform several activities at
once.
Learning engages the whole physiology.
The search for meaning is innate.
The search for meaning comes through patterning.
Emotions are critical to patterning.
The brain processes wholes and parts simultaneously.
Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception.

 Learning involves both conscious and unconscious processes.

We have two types of memory: spatial and rote.
We understand best when facts are embedded in natural, spatial memory.
Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat.
Each brain is unique.
The three instructional techniques associated with Brain-based Learning are:
Creating learning environments that fully immerse students in an educational
experience. Trying to eliminate fear in learners, while maintaining a highly
challenging environment. Allowing the learner to consolidate and internalize
information by actively processing it.
Orchestrated immersion
Relaxed alertness
Active processing

How Brain-based Learning impacts education:

 Curriculum - Teachers must design learning around student interests and

make learning contextual.
Instruction - Educators let students learn in teams and use peripheral
learning. Teachers structure learning around real problems, encouraging
students to also learn in settings outside the classroom and the school
building.
Assessment - Since all students are learning, their assessment should allow
them to understand their own learning styles and preferences. This way,
students monitor and enhance their own learning process.

The Control Theory of Motivation, proposed by William Glasser, contends

that behavior is never caused by a response to an outside stimulus. Instead, the
behavior is inspired by what a person wants most at any given time.
Responding to complaints that today's students are "unmotivated," Glasser
attests that all living creatures "control" their behavior to maximize their need
satisfaction. According to Glasser, if students are not motivated to do their

schoolwork, it's because they view schoolwork as irrelevant to their basic human
needs.
Glasser identifies two types of teachers:
Boss teachers use rewards and punishment to coerce students to comply
with rules and complete required assignments. Glasser calls this "leaning on
your shovel" work. He shows how high percentages of students recognize
that the work they do, even when their teachers praise them, is low-level
work.
Lead teachers, on the other hand, avoid coercion completely. They make the
intrinsic rewards of doing the work clear to their students, correlating any
proposed assignments to the students' basic needs. These teachers use
grades as indicators of what has and hasn't been learned, rather than a
reward. They will "fight to protect" highly engaged, deeply motivated
students who are doing quality work from having to fulfill meaningless
requirements.
How the Control Theory impacts learning:

 Curriculum - Teachers negotiate both content and method with students.

tudents' basic needs literally help shape how and what they are taught.
Instruction - Teachers rely on cooperative, active learning techniques that
enhance the power of the learners. Lead teachers make sure that all
assignments meet some degree of their students' need satisfaction. This
secures student loyalty, which carries the class through whatever relatively
meaningless tasks might be necessary to satisfy official requirements.
Assessment - Instructors only give "good grades" to certify quality work.
Student assessment uses an absolute standard, rather than a relative
"curve."

Observational Learning, also called The Social Learning Theory, occurs

when an observer's behavior changes after viewing a behavioral model. An
observer's behavior can be affected by the positive or negative consequences called vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment - of a model's behavior.
The guiding principles behind Observational Learning, or Social Learning Theory:

 The observer will imitate the model's behavior if the model possesses
characteristics - things such as talent, intelligence, power, good looks, or
popularity - that the observer finds attractive or desirable.
The observer will react to the way the model is treated and mimic the
model's behavior. When the model's behavior is rewarded, the observer is
more likely to reproduce the rewarded behavior. When the model is
punished, an example of vicarious punishment, the observer is less likely to
reproduce the same behavior.
A distinction exists between an observer's "acquiring" a behavior and
"performing" a behavior. Through observation, the observer can acquire the
behavior without performing it. The observer may then later, in situations
where there is an incentive to do so, display the behavior.
Learning by observation involves four separate processes:
Attention: Observers cannot learn unless they pay attention to what's
happening around them. This process is influenced by characteristics of

the model, such as how much one likes or identifies with the model, and
by characteristics of the observer, such as the observer's expectations
or level of emotional arousal.
Retention: Observers must not only recognize the observed behavior
but also remember it at some later time. This process depends on the
observer's ability to code or structure the information in an easily
remembered form or to mentally or physically rehearse the model's
actions.
Production: Observers must be physically and intellectually capable of
producing the act. In many cases the observer possesses the
necessary responses. But sometimes, reproducing the model's actions
may involve skills the observer has not yet acquired. It is one thing to
carefully watch a circus juggler, but it is quite another to go home and
repeat those acts.
Motivation: In general, observers will perform the act only if they have
some motivation or reason to do so. The presence of reinforcement or

punishment, either to the model or directly to the observer, becomes

most important in this process.
Attention and retention account for acquisition or learning of a model's behavior;
production and motivation control the performance.
How Observational Learning impacts learning:
Curriculum - Students must get a chance to observe and model the behavior
that leads to a positive reinforcement.
Instruction - Educators must encourage collaborative learning, since much of
learning happens within important social and environmental contexts.
Assessment - A learned behavior often cannot be performed unless there is
the right environment for it. Educators must provide the incentive and the
supportive environment for the behavior to happen. Otherwise, assessment
may not be accurate.

The Social Cognition Learning Model asserts that culture is the prime
determinant of individual development. Humans are the only species to have
created culture, and every human child develops in the context of a culture.
Therefore, a child's learning development is affected in ways large and small by
the culture - including the culture of family environment - in which he or she is
enmeshed.
The core principles of The Social Cognition Learning Model are:
Culture makes two types of contributions to a child's intellectual
development:
Children acquire much of the content of their knowledge through their
culture.
The surrounding culture provides a child with the processes or means of
their thinking.
In short, according to the Social Cognition Learning Model, culture
teaches children both what to think and how to think.

 Cognitive development results from a dialectical process whereby a child

learns through problem-solving experiences shared with someone else,
usually a parent or teacher but sometimes a sibling or peer.
Initially, the person interacting with the child assumes most of the
responsibility for guiding the problem solving, but gradually this responsibility
transfers to the child.
Language is a primary form of interaction through which adults transmit to
the child the rich body of knowledge that exists in the culture.
As learning progresses, the child's own language comes to serve as his or
her primary tool of intellectual adaptation. Eventually, children can use
internal language to direct their own behavior.
Internalization refers to the process of learning - and thereby internalizing - a
rich body of knowledge and tools of thought that first exist outside the child.
This happens primarily through language.

 A difference exists between what the child can do on their own and what the
child can do with help.
Since much of what a child learns comes form the culture around them and
much of the child's problem solving is mediated through an adult's help, it is
wrong to focus on a child in isolation. Such focus does not reveal the
processes by which children acquire new skills.
Interactions with surrounding culture and social agents, such as parents and
more competent peers, contribute significantly to a child's intellectual
development.
How The Social Cognition Learning Model impacts learning:
Curriculum - Since children learn much through interaction, curricula should
be designed to emphasize interaction between learners and learning tasks.
Instruction - With appropriate adult help, children can often perform tasks
that they are incapable of completing on their own. With this in mind,
scaffolding - where the adult continually adjusts the level of his or her help in

response to the child's level of performance - is an effective form of teaching.

Scaffolding not only produces immediate results, but also instills the skills
necessary for independent problem solving in the future.
Assessment - Assessment methods must target both the level of actual
development and the level of potential development. What children can do
on their own is their level of actual development and what they can do with
help is their level of potential development. Two children might have the
same level of actual development, but given the appropriate help from an
adult, one might be able to solve many more problems than the other.
More Learning Theories:
Learning-Theories.com
Funderstanding.com

Early Childhood Theory

Early childhood theories are somewhat different. However, what happens in a
lower grade always has some impact on the grades above it. This website author

has neither the training nor experience to be conversant in early childhood

theories.
http://crescentok.com/staff/jaskew/isr/education/theories.htm#control

Learning Theories
Page historylast edited by Gayla S. Keesee 4 years ago

Learning theories provide a pedagogical/andragogical basis for understanding how our students learn. As McLeod notes, "Each
theoretical perspective offers benefits to designers but the perspectives must be taken into context depending upon the
situation, performance goal(s), and learners. And since the context in which the learning takes place can be dynamic and multidimensional, some combination of the three learning theories and perhaps others should be considered and incorporated into
the instructional design process to provide optimal learning."
Learning Theory and Instructional Design/Technology
Created by: Gayla S. Keesee

Comparisons
Among

Behaviorism

Cognitivism

Constructivism

Learning
Theories
List of Key

B.F. Skinner

Jean Piaget

John Dewey

Theorists

Ivan Pavlov

Robert Gagne

Jerome Bruner

Edward Thorndike

Lev Vygotsky

Merrill

John B. Watson

Lev Vygotsky
Seymour Papert

Role of
Learners

Learners are basically passive, just

responding to stimuli

Learners process, store, and retrieve

Learning is an active process in

information for later usecreating

which learners construct new ideas

associations and creating a knowledge

or concepts based upon their

set useful for living. The learner uses

current/past knowledge, social

the information processing approach

interactions, and motivation affect

to transfer and assimilate new

the construction.

information.
Role of
Teachers

Instructor designs the learning

environment.
Instructor shapes childs behavior by
positive/ negative reinforcement
Teacher presents the information and

Instructor manages problem solving

Educators focus on making

and structured search activities,

connections between facts and

especially with group learning

fostering new understanding in

strategies.

students. Instructors tailor their

Instructor provides opportunities for

teaching strategies to student

then students demonstrate that they

students to connect new information to

responses and encourage students

understand the material. Students are

schema.

to analyze, interpret, and predict

assessed primarily through tests.

information. Teachers also rely

heavily on open-ended questions
and promote extensive dialogue
among students.
Constructivism calls for the
elimination of a standardized
curriculum. Instead, it promotes
using curricula customized to the
students' prior knowledge. Also, it

emphasizes hands-on problem

solving.
Key Concepts

Behaviorism is a theory of animal and

Cognitivism focuses on the brain. How

Constructivism focuses on how

human learning that only focuses on

humans process and store information

learners construct their own

objectively observable behaviors and

was very important in the process of

meaning. They ask questions,

discounts mental activities. Behavior

learning.

develop answers and interact and

theorists define learning as nothing more

Schema - An internal knowledge

interpret the environment. By doing

than the acquisition of new behavior.

structure. New information is

these things, they incorporate new

compared to existing cognitive

knowledge with prior knowledge to

Experiments by behaviorists

structures called "schema". Schema

create new meanings.

identifyconditioning as a universal

may be combined, extended or altered

learning process. There are two different

to accommodate new information.

types of conditioning, each yielding a

different behavioral pattern:
1.Classic conditioning occurs when

Three-Stage Information Processing

1. Multiple perspectives and

representations of concepts and

Model - input first enters a sensory

content are presented and

register, then is processed in short-

encouraged.

a natural reflex responds to a

term memory, and then is transferred

2. Goals and objectives are derived

stimulus. The most popular example

to long-term memory for storage and

by the student or in negotiation

is Pavlov's observation that dogs

retrieval.

with the teacher or system.

salivate when they eat or even see

o Sensory Register - receives input

3. Teachers serve in the role of

food. Essentially, animals and people

from senses which lasts from less

guides, monitors, coaches, tutors

are biologically "wired" so that a

than a second to four seconds and

and facilitators.

certain stimulus will produce a

then disappears through decay or

specific response.

replacement. Much of the

environments are provided to

information never reaches short

encourage metacognition, self-

conditioningoccurs when a

term memory but all information is

analysis -regulation, -reflection &

response to a stimulus is reinforced.

monitored at some level and acted

-awareness.

2.Behavioral or operant

4. Activities, opportunities, tools and

Basically, operant conditioning is a

simple feedback system: If a reward

upon if necessary.
o Short-Term Memory (STM) -

5. The student plays a central role

in mediating and controlling

or reinforcement follows the

sensory input that is important or

learning.

response to a stimulus, then the

interesting is transferred from the

response becomes more probable in

sensory register to the STM. Memory

environments, skills, content and

the future. For example, leading

can be retained here for up to 20

tasks are relevant, realistic,

behaviorist B.F. Skinner used

seconds or more if rehearsed

authentic and represent the

reinforcement techniques to teach

repeatedly. Short-term memory can

natural complexities of the 'real

pigeons to dance and bowl a ball in a

hold up to 7 plus or minus 2 items.

world'.

mini-alley.

STM capacity can be increased if

6. Learning situations,

7. Primary sources of data are used

material is chunked into meaningful

in order to ensure authenticity and

parts.

real-world complexity.

o Long-Term Memory and Storage

(LTM) - stores information from STM
for long term use. Long-term

8. Knowledge construction and not

reproduction is emphasized.
9. This construction takes place in

memory has unlimited capacity.

individual contexts and through

Some materials are "forced" into

social negotiation, collaboration

LTM by rote memorization and over

and experience.

learning. Deeper levels of

10.

The learner's previous

processing such as generating

knowledge constructions, beliefs

linkages between old and new

and attitudes are considered in

information are much better for

the knowledge construction

successful retention of material.

process.

Meaningful Effects - Meaningful

11.

Problem-solving, higher-order

information is easier to learn and

thinking skills and deep

remember. If a learner links relatively

understanding are emphasized.

meaningless information with prior

12.

schema it will be easier to retain.

for insight into students'

Serial Position Effects - It is easier

previous knowledge

to remember items from the beginning

or end of a list rather than those in the

Errors provide the opportunity

constructions.
13.

Exploration is a favored

middle of the list, unless that item is

approach in order to encourage

distinctly different.

students to seek knowledge

Practice Effects - Practicing or

independently and to manage

rehearsing improves retention

especially when it is distributed

the pursuit of their goals.

14.

Learners are provided with the

practice. By distributing practices the

opportunity for apprenticeship

learner associates the material with

learning in which there is an

many different contexts rather than

increasing complexity of tasks,

the one context afforded by mass

skills and knowledge acquisition.

practice.

15.

Transfer Effects - The effects of prior

Knowledge complexity is
reflected in an emphasis on

learning on learning new tasks or

conceptual interrelatedness and

material.

interdisciplinary learning.

Interference Effects - Occurs when

16.

Collaborative and cooperative

prior learning interferes with the

learning are favored in order to

learning of new material.

expose the learner to alternative

Organization Effects - When a

learner categorizes input such as a

viewpoints.
17.

grocery list, it is easier to remember.

students perform just beyond the

Levels of Processing Effects Words may be processed at a low-level

Scaffolding is facilitated to help

limits of their ability.

18.

Assessment is authentic and

sensory analysis of their physical

interwoven with teaching.

characteristics to high-level semantic

analysis of their meaning. The more
deeply a word is process the easier it
will be to remember.
State Dependent Effects - If
learning takes place within a certain
context it will be easier to remember
within that context rather than in a
new context.

How Does

Skinner

Piaget

Constructivism promotes a more

Learning Take

Known for operant conditioning

Human intelligence and biological

open-ended learning experience

Place

A stimulus is provided

organisms function in similar ways.

where the methods and results of

A response is generated.

They are both organized systems that

learning are not easily measured and

Consequence to the response is

constantly interact with the

may not be the same for each

present.
Type of consequence is present.
Reinforcement is provided which could
be positive or negative.

environment.
Knowledge is the interaction between
the individual and the environment.
Cognitive development is the growth
of logical thinking from infancy to
adulthood.

Pavlov
Vygotsky

A spontaneous reaction that occurs

Vygotskys components of Cognitive

To alter the natural relationship

Development:
Mastering symbols of the culture and

between a stimulus and a reaction was

developing the cultural forms of

viewed as a major breakthrough in the

reasoning.

study of behavior.

Piaget
All knowledge is a human
construction.
The learner starts with a blank
slate.

Known for classical conditioning.

automatically to a particular stimulus.

learner.

Not logical thinking.

1. Learning is an internal process
that occurs in the mind of the
individual.

2. Cognitive conflict is essential to

the learning process.

Complex functions begin as social

interactions between individuals;

Dewey

Thorndike

gradually acquire meaning and are

Educations connection with

Thorndike concluded that animals

internalized by the learner.

learn, solely, by trial and error, or

Speech and other symbols are first

reward and punishment. All learning

mastered as a form of

involves the formation of connections,

communication and eventually

and connections are strengthened

structure and manage a childs

according to the law of effect.

thinking.

Intelligence is the ability to form

Zone of Proximal Development

connections and humans are the most

focuses on interactive problem

evolved animal because they form

solving.

more connections then any other

society, outside world, life.

What we learn should have
meaningful relevancy.
Instruction should center around
the childs experience
Bruner
Learner constructs new ideas or
concepts based upon their
current/past knowledge

being.

Learning by discovery through

The "law of effect" stated that when

a connection between a stimulus and

developmental stages.
Benchmarks reveal each stage of

response is positively rewarded it will

childs development, interaction &

be strengthened and when it is

discovery is learning.

negatively rewarded it will be

Education relevant to students

weakened. Thorndike later revised this

need, stages in cognitive

"law" when he found that negative

development

reward, (punishment) did not

necessarily weaken bonds, and that

Merrill

some seemingly pleasurable

consequences do not necessarily

motivate performance.

experience

The "law of exercise" held that the

more an S-R (stimulus response) bond

knowledge is constructed from

learning is a personal
interpretation of the world

learning is an active process in

is practiced the stronger it will

which meaning is developed on

become. As with the law of effect, the

the basis of experience

law of exercise also had to be updated

conceptual growth comes from

when Thorndike found that practice

the negotiation of meaning, the

without feedback does not necessarily

sharing of multiple perspectives

enhance performance.

and the changing of our internal

representations through

Looking more specifically at academic

learning, i.e. the content of a lesson,

collaborative learning

learning should be situated in

rather than managing the behavior

realistic settings; testing should

within it, Thorndike's "Theory of Transfer

be integrated with the task and

of Identical Elements" represents the

not a separate activity

central behaviorist stance, that the

amount of learning that can be

Vygotsky's theory presents three

generalized between a familiar situation

principles:

and an unfamiliar one is determined by

1. Making meaning - the community

the number of elements that the two

places a central role, and the

situations have in common. He

people around the student greatly

concluded that education does not

affect the way he or she sees the

generalize easily and that if it is to be

world.

preparation for life beyond school, then

2. Tools for cognitive development -

it should be as life-like as possible

the type and quality of these tools

(footnote 6).

(culture, language, important

adults to the student) determine

Also Thorndike maintained that a skill

the pattern and rate of

should be introduced when a learner is

development.

conscious of their need for it as a means

of satisfying some useful purpose.

3. The Zone of Proximal Developmen

Regarding material, Skinner specified

- problem solving skills of tasks

that to teach well, a teacher must decide

can be placed into three

exactly what it is they want to teach -

categories: Those performed

only then can they present the right

independently by the learner.

material, know what responses to look

Those that cannot be performed

for and hence when to give

even with help. Those that fall

reinforcement that usefully shapes

between the two extremes, the

behavior.

tasks that can be performed with

help from others.

He suggested 3 principles which

teachers should use to promote effective

Seymour Papert

learning:

Matheticsthe art of learning.

1) present the information to be learned

Guidelines for the art of learning.

in small behaviorally defined steps.

First principle-Give yourself time.

2) give rapid feedback to pupils

Second principle-discussion. Third

regarding the accuracy of their learning

principle-look for connections.

(learning being indicated by overt pupil

The building of knowledge is the

responses)

goal. Decrease amount of

3) allow pupils to learn at their own

teaching and increase student

pace.

projects.

Building on these he proposed an

alternative teaching technique called
programmed learning/instruction and
also a teaching machine that could
present programmed material.
Watson
Watson believed that humans are born
with a few reflexes and the emotional
reactions of love and rage. All other
behavior is established through stimulusresponse associations through
conditioning.
Relevance to

Identify possible reinforcers by

Cognitivists believe learners develop

As opposed to an objective approach

Educational
Technology

observing behaviors of learners

learning through receiving, storing and

Select Stimulus

retrieving information. With this idea, it

Identify and describe the terminal

is important for instructional designers

objective - observable behavior

to thoroughly analyze and consider the

By a process of shaping and smaller

steps achieve goals
Mastery learning is an example of
behavioral approach
Behaviorism still continues to play a

to learning, constructivism is more

open-ended in expectation where the
results and even the methods of
learning themselves are not easily
measured and may not be consistent
with each learner.

appropriate tasks needed in order for

learners to effectively and

Case-Based Learning

efficiently process the information

Authentic situations

received. Likewise, designers must

Multiple cases to build cognitive

flexibility

consider the relevant learner

large role in motivation, classroom

characteristics that will promote or

Social interactions, collaborations

management, and special education

impede the cognitive processing of

Assessment of activity

needs

information.

Shift teachers role to scaffolding,

modeling, coaching of learners

Do task analysis and learner analysis

Experiences are critical

Create tests

Shift from behavioral objectives to

Create learning materials according

to any one of the Instructional Design

activity goals

Advance organizers

Models
Possible
Learning
Activities

Instructional cues to elicit correct

Explanations

Modeling

Demonstrations

Collaborative Learning

Practice paired with target stimuli

Illustrative examples

Coaching

Reinforcement for correct responses

Gestalt Theory

Scaffolding

Building fluency (get responses closer

Matched non-examples

Problem-Based Learning

Corrective feedback

Authentic Learning

Outlining

Anchored Instruction

Mnemonics

Cognitive Flexibility Hypertexts

response

and closer to correct response)

Multiple opportunities/trials (Drill and
practice)

 Discrimination (recalling facts)

Dual-Coding Theory

Generalization (defining and

Chunking Information

illustrating concepts)

Repetition

Associations (applying explanations)

Concept Mapping

Chaining (automatically performing a

Advanced Organizers

specified procedure)

Object-based Learning

Analogies
Summaries
Keller's ARCS Model of Motivation
Interactivity
Synthesis
Schema Theory
Metaphor
Generative Learning
Organizational strategies
Elaboration Theory

Learning and

One of the key areas where behaviorism

Computers process information in a

Instructional design considerations

Instructional

impacts instructional design is in the

similar fashion to how cognitive

within a framework of constructivism

Design

development of instructional objectives.

scientists believe humans process

begin with taking into account the

information: receive, store and retrieve.

learners prior knowledge,

Computer-assisted instruction was

This analogy makes the possibility of

understandings, and interests.

very much drill-and-practice - controlled

programming a computer to "think" like

by the program developer rather than

a person conceivable, i.e. artificial

Constructivism is not compatible with

the learner. Little branching of

intelligence. Artificial intelligence

the present systems approach to

instruction was implemented.

involves the computer working to supply

instructional design.

appropriate responses to student input

The systems approach developed out

from the computer's data base. A

Jonassen points out that the

of the 1950s and 1960s focus on

trouble-shooting programs are examples

difference between constructivist and

language laboratories, teaching

of these programs.

objectivist, (behavioral and

machines, programmed instruction,

cognitive), instructional design is tha

multimedia presentations and the use of

Implications

objective design has a predetermined

the computer in instruction. Most

When designing from a

outcome and intervenes in the

systems approaches are similar to

behaviorist/cognitivist stance, the

learning process to map a

computer flow charts with steps that the

designer analyzes the situation and sets

predetermined concept of reality into

designer moves through during the

a goal. Individual tasks are broken down

the learner's mind, while

development of instruction.

and learning objectives are developed.

constructivism maintains that

Evaluation consists of determining

because learning outcomes are not

Implications

whether the criterion for the objectives

always predictable, instruction

When designing from a

has been met. In this approach the

should foster, not control, learning.

behaviorist/cognitivist stance, the

designer decides what is important for

With this in mind, Jonassen looks at

designer analyzes the situation and sets

the learner to know and attempts to

the commonalties among

a goal. Individual tasks are broken down

transfer that knowledge to the learner.

constructivist approaches to learning

and learning objectives are developed.

The learning package is somewhat of a

to suggest a "model" for designing

Evaluation consists of determining

closed system, since although it may

constructivist learning environments.

whether the criterion for the objectives

allow for some branching and

has been met. In this approach the

remediation, the learner is still confined

One of the most useful tools for the

designer decides what is important for

to the designer's "world".

constructivist designer is hypertext

the learner to know and attempts to

and hypermedia because it allows for

transfer that knowledge to the learner.

a branched design rather than a

The learning package is somewhat of a

linear format of instruction. Most

closed system, since although it may

literature on constructivist design

allow for some branching and

suggests that learners should not

remediation, the learner is still confined

simply be let loose in a hypermedia

to the designer's "world".

or hypertext environment, but that a

mix of old and new (objective and
constructive) instruction/learning
design be implemented. Reigeluth
and Chung suggest a prescriptive
system which advocates increased
learner control. In this method,
students have some background
knowledge and have been given
some instruction in developing their
own metacognitive strategies and
have some way to return along the
path they have taken, should they
become "lost".
To design from a constructivist
approach requires that the designer
produces a product that is much
more facilitative in nature than
prescriptive. The content is not
prespecified, direction is determined
by the learner, and assessment is
much more subjective because it
does not depend on specific
quantitative criteria, but rather the

process and self-evaluation of the

learner. The standard pencil-andpaper tests of mastery learning are
not used in constructive design;
instead, evaluation is based on
notes, early drafts, final products,
and journals.
Strengths

The strength of instructional design

Unlike behaviorism, which is

Content can be presented from

related to ID

grounded in behaviorism is that

environment-focused, cognitivism directs

multiple perspectives using case

when there are specific goals to be met,

instructional designers to consider the

studies, learners can develop and

the learner is focused clearly

learner as the focus of the design

articulate new and individual

upon achieving those goals whenever

process.

representations of information, and

there are cues to prompt the learners

behavior.

active knowledge construction is

- The goal is to train learners to do a task

promoted over passive transmission

the same way to enable consistency.

of information.

-Clearly stated objectives allow the

Because learners are trained to perform

learner to focus on one goal.

a function the same way based on

Because the learner is able to

-Cueing responses to behavior allows

specific cues, their behavior will be

interpret multiple realities, the

the learner to react in a predictable way

consistent with others who are trained in

learner is better able to deal with rea

under certain conditions. In a stressful

the same manner.

life situations. If learners can problem

situation like combat or flying a plane,

- The context of a learner - their

solve, they may better apply their

cued responses can be a very valuable

thoughts, beliefs and values are

existing knowledge to a novel

tool.

influential in the learning process.

situation.

Weaknesses

Since behaviorism is stimulus response

A major weakness of cognitivism lies in

related to ID

based, instructional

its strength. Whereas schemas

design is dependent on the workplace or

help to make learning more meaningful,

classroom having and maintaining

a learner is markedly at a disadvantage

the appropriate stimuli to continue the

whenever relevant schemas or

intended behavior. Thus, if a certain

prerequisite knowledge do not exist. To

incentive is not present or does not

account for this, an instructional

occur, then the expected and desired

designer will need to ensure that the

performance may not take place.

instruction is appropriate for all skill

Additionally, learning is a reactionary

levels and experiences. Designing such

process to an environmental condition

instruction could be costly and time-

and knowledge is considered finite.

consuming.

Skinner realized there is a burden on the

One additional weakness of cognitivism

instructor to

is similar to behaviorism in the belief

maintain reinforcement. Behavior that

that there are only finite, predetermined

is not reinforced is likely to

goals. Having predetermined goals may

become less frequent and may even

be in fact desirable for an organization

disappear (Merriam and Caffarella,

since it offers clear direction and

1999, p. 252).

purpose but such a fixed set of

expectations can limit the potential of

The learner might find himself in a

the learning. Learners and instructors

situation where he needs to respond, but

may become

the mental "cues" he has learned to

satisfied with obtaining minimum

respond to might not exist.

competencies or carry the attitude

that if its not broke, then dont fix it!

Behaviorism does not explain some

when the learning experience

learning--such as the recognition of new

could actually be designed better

language patterns by young children--for

(McLeod, n.d.)

which there is no reinforcement

mechanism.

As with behaviorism, the learner knows a

certain way to do things based upon
specific cues, but that way may not
always be the best, most efficient, or
safest way to do something in the
advent of different environmental
stresses or scenarios.

http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/19919565/Learning%20Theories

How does this theory differ from traditional ideas about teaching and learning?
As with many of the methods addressed in this series of workshops, in the constructivist classroom, the focus tends to shift from the teacher
to the students. The classroom is no longer a place where the teacher ("expert") pours knowledge into passive students, who wait like empty
vessels to be filled. In the constructivist model, the students are urged to be actively involved in their own process of learning. The teacher
functions more as a facilitator who coaches, mediates, prompts, and helps students develop and assess their understanding, and thereby their
learning. One of the teacher's biggest jobs becomes ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS.
And, in the constructivist classroom, both teacher and students think of knowledge not as inert factoids to be memorized, but as a dynamic,
ever-changing view of the world we live in and the ability to successfully stretch and explore that view.
The chart below compares the traditional classroom to the constructivist one. You can see significant differences in basic assumptions about
knowledge, students, and learning. (It's important, however, to bear in mind that constructivists acknowledge that students are constructing
knowledge in traditional classrooms, too. It's really a matter of the emphasis being on the student, not on the instructor.)

Curriculum begins with the parts of

the whole. Emphasizes basic skills.

Curriculum emphasizes big concepts,

beginning with the whole and
expanding to include the parts.

Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is

highly valued.

Pursuit of student questions and

interests is valued.

Materials are primarily textbooks and

workbooks.

Materials include primary sources of

material and manipulative materials.

Learning is based on repetition.

Learning is interactive, building on

what the student already knows.

Teachers disseminate information to

students; students are recipients of
knowledge.

Teachers have a dialogue with

students, helping students construct
their own knowledge.

Teacher's role is directive, rooted in

authority.

Teacher's role is interactive, rooted in

negotiation.

Assessment is through testing,

correct answers.

Assessment includes student works,

observations, and points of view, as
well as tests. Process is as important
as product.

Knowledge is seen as inert.

Knowledge is seen as dynamic, ever

changing with our experiences.

Students work primarily alone.

Students work primarily in groups.

What does constructivism have to do with my classroom?

As is the case with many of the current/popular paradigms, you're probably already using the constructivist approach to some degree.
Constructivist teachers pose questions and problems, then guide students to help them find their own answers. They use many techniques in
the teaching process. For example, they may:

prompt students to formulate their own questions (inquiry)

allow multiple interpretations and expressions of learning (multiple intelligences)

encourage group work and the use of peers as resources (collaborative learning)

More information on the above processes is covered in other workshops in this series. For now, it's important to realize that the constructivist
approach borrows from many other practices in the pursuit of its primary goal: helping students learn HOW TO LEARN.

In a constructivist classroom, learning is . . .

Students are not blank slates upon which knowledge is etched. They come to learning situations with already formulated knowledge, ideas,
and understandings. This previous knowledge is the raw material for the new knowledge they will create.
Example: An elementary school teacher presents a class problem to measure the length of the "Mayflower." Rather than starting the problem
by introducing the ruler, the teacher allows students to reflect and to construct their own methods of measurement. One student offers the
knowledge that a doctor said he is four feet tall. Another says she knows horses are measured in "hands." The students discuss these and
other methods they have heard about, and decide on one to apply to the problem.

The student is the person who creates new understanding for him/herself. The teacher coaches, moderates, suggests, but allows the students
room to experiment, ask questions, try things that don't work. Learning activities require the students' full participation (like hands-on
experiments). An important part of the learning process is that students reflect on, and talk about, their activities. Students also help set their
own goals and means of assessment.
Examples: A middle-school language arts teacher sets aside time each week for a writing lab. The emphasis is on content and getting ideas
down rather than memorizing grammatical rules, though one of the teacher's concerns is the ability of his students to express themselves well
through written language. The teacher provides opportunities for students to examine the finished and earlier drafts of various authors. He
allows students to select and create projects within the general requirement of building a portfolio 1. Students serve as peer editors who
value originality and uniqueness rather than the best way to fulfill an assignment.
1.
In a history class, asking students to read and think about different versions of and perspectives on "history" can lead to interesting

discussions. Is history as taught in textbooks accurate? Are there different versions of the same history? Whose version of history is most
accurate? How do we know? From there, students can make their own judgments.

Students control their own learning process, and they lead the way by reflecting on their experiences. This process makes them experts of
their own learning. The teacher helps create situations where the students feel safe questioning and reflecting on their own processes, either
privately or in group discussions. The teacher should also create activities that lead the student to reflect on his or her prior knowledge and
experiences. Talking about what was learned and how it was learned is really important.
Example: Students keep journals in a writing class where they record how they felt about the class projects, the visual and verbal reactions of
others to the project, and how they felt their own writing had changed. Periodically the teacher reads these journals and holds a conference
with the student where the two assess (1) what new knowledge the student has created, (2) how the student learns best, and (3) the
learning environment and the teacher's role in it.

The constructivist classroom relies heavily on collaboration among students. There are many reasons why collaboration contributes to
learning. The main reason it is used so much in constructivism is that students learn about learning not only from themselves, but also from
their peers. When students review and reflect on their learning processes together, they can pick up strategies and methods from one
another.

Example: In the course of studying ancient civilizations, students undertake an archaeological dig. This may be something constructed in a
large sandbox, or, as in the Dalton School's "Archaeotype" software simulation, on a computer. As the students find different objects, the
teacher introduces classifying techniques. The students are encouraged to (1) set up a group museum by developing criteria and choosing
which objects should belong, and (2) collaborate with other students who worked in different quadrants of the dig. Each group is then asked
to develop theories about the civilizations that inhabited the area.

The main activity in a constructivist classroom is solving problems. Students use inquiry methods to ask questions, investigate a topic, and
use a variety of resources to find solutions and answers. As students explore the topic, they draw conclusions, and, as exploration continues,
they revisit those conclusions. Exploration of questions leads to more questions. (See the CONCEPT TO CLASSROOM workshop Inquiry-based
Learning)
Example: Sixth graders figuring out how to purify water investigate solutions ranging from coffee-filter paper, to a stove-top distillation
apparatus, to piles of charcoal, to an abstract mathematical solution based on the size of a water molecule. Depending upon students'
responses, the teacher encourages abstract as well as concrete, poetic as well as practical, creations of new knowledge.

Students have ideas that they may later see were invalid, incorrect, or insufficient to explain new experiences. These ideas are temporary
steps in the integration of knowledge. For instance, a child may believe that all trees lose their leaves in the fall, until she visits an evergreen
forest. Constructivist teaching takes into account students' current conceptions and builds from there.
What happens when a student gets a new piece of information? The constructivist model says that the student compares the information to
the knowledge and understanding he/she already has, and one of three things can occur:

The new information matches up with his previous knowledge pretty well (it'sconsonant with the previous knowledge), so the
student adds it to his understanding. It may take some work, but it's just a matter of finding the right fit, as with a puzzle piece.

The information doesn't match previous knowledge (it's dissonant). The student has to change her previous understanding to find a
fit for the information. This can be harder work.

The information doesn't match previous knowledge, and it is ignored. Rejected bits of information may just not be absorbed by the
student. Or they may float around, waiting for the day when the student's understanding has developed and permits a fit.

Example: An elementary teacher believes her students are ready to study gravity. She creates an environment of
discovery with objects of varying kinds. Students explore the differences in weight among similarly sized blocks of
Styrofoam, wood, and lead. Some students hold the notion that heavier objects fall faster than light ones. The teacher
provides materials (stories, posters, and videos) about Galileo, Newton, etc. She leads a discussion on theories about
falling. The students then replicate Galileo's experiment by dropping objects of different weights and measuring how
fast they fall. They see that objects of different weights actually usually fall at the same speed, although surface area
and aerodynamic properties can affect the rate of fall.

What are some critical perspectives?

Constructivism has been criticized on various grounds. Some of the charges that critics level against it are:
. It's elitist. Critics say that constructivism and other "progressive" educational theories have been most successful with children from
privileged backgrounds who are fortunate in having outstanding teachers, committed parents, and rich home environments. They argue that
disadvantaged children, lacking such resources, benefit more from more explicit instruction.

. Social constructivism leads to "group think." Critics say the collaborative aspects of constructivist classrooms tend to produce a "tyranny of
the majority," in which a few students' voices or interpretations dominate the group's conclusions, and dissenting students are forced to
conform to the emerging consensus.
. There is little hard evidence that constructivist methods work. Critics say that constructivists, by rejecting evaluation through testing and
other external criteria, have made themselves unaccountable for their students' progress. Critics also say that studies of various kinds of
instruction -- in particular Project Follow Through 1, a long-term government initiative -- have found that students in constructivist
classrooms lag behind those in more traditional classrooms in basic skills.

What are the benefits of constructivism?

. Benefit
Children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners.
. Benefit
Education works best when it concentrates on thinking and understanding, rather than on rote memorization. Constructivism
concentrates on learning how to think and understand.
. Benefit
Constructivist learning is transferable. In constructivist classrooms, students create organizing principles that they can take with them to
other learning settings.
. Benefit
Constructivism gives students ownership of what they learn, since learning is based on students' questions and explorations,
and often the students have a hand in designing the assessments as well. Constructivist assessment engages the students'
initiatives and personal investments in their journals, research reports, physical models, and artistic representations.
Engaging the creative instincts develops students' abilities to express knowledge through a variety of ways. The students are also more likely
to retain and transfer the new knowledge to real life.
. Benefit
By grounding learning activities in an authentic, real-world context, constructivism stimulates and engages students. Students in
constructivist classrooms learn to question things and to apply their natural curiousity to the world.
. Benefit
Constructivism promotes social and communication skills by creating a classroom environment that emphasizes collaboration and exchange of
ideas. Students must learn how to articulate their ideas clearly as well as to collaborate on tasks effectively by sharing in group projects.
Students must therefore exchange ideas and so must learn to "negotiate" with others and to evaluate their contributions in a socially
acceptable manner. This is essential to success in the real world, since they will always be exposed to a variety of experiences in which they
will have to cooperate and navigate among the ideas of others.

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub6.html

Beyond Behavioral Objectives

Leslie Owen Wilson (1990, 1997, 2003, 2014, ** see PDF and PPS Files Below)
If we get too comfortable, we stop growing. Herb Thelen

Going beyond behavioral objectives Explore ways to take your instructional planning into the realm of
artful teaching and authentic learning:

Two other ways:

There are two alternate forms of writing objectives beyond behavioral ones they are problems solving objectives,
andexpressive activities that lead to expressive outcomes. Teachers should know how to use these because they extend
the artistry of the profession. More importantly they can be crafted to provide students with powerful types of learning
activities that encourage higher level thinking skills and more readily mimic learning experiences in the real world.
Additionally, in using either of these instructional designs both the ownership of learning and the incentives for learning can be
taken out of total domination by the teacher and placed into the hands of the learners, or planning can become a partnership
between teachers and learners. In constructing and annotating these types of non-behavioral objectives, teachers are not
compelled to the restriction of using only observable language. Here teachers may use more general, amorphous words to note
the desired learning outcomes such as to know, to understand, to explore, or to appreciate.
Advantages: Problem solving objectives and expressive activities have the following advantages:

They can be more artistic not as rigid.

They can be more reflective of real life problems.

Several domains may be combined within one objective.

The teacher can easily solicit input from students.

Often evaluation mirrors that in real life as these objectives can be more subjectively evaluated, or authentic.

When you are integrating material, the non-behavioral formats facilitate integration more easily. Therefore, several
subject areas or different content may be easily incorporated into one objective.

These types of objectives are more open-ended and allow teachers to create related experiences based on students
interests and motivational levels.

Problem Solving Many Benefits: Link to teacher created samples at the end of this discussion.
Problem solving objectives are a powerful way to teach and have several distinct advantages, plus, they can be used in a
number of ways.

They are more artistic.

They may be long term covering a number of lessons or an entire unit.

They can be designed to be integrative they may combine or cut across subject areas, or they may involve a number
of different processes.

They can be used to combine a number of intelligences or cognitive functions.

Students may become involved in the criteria statement and the development of parameters, thus giving them
ownership in the process and pushing toward more intrinsic levels of learning and evaluation.

They may allow ownership in that students can help devise parts of problems or their own problems. If students are
allowed to create and construct their own problems, again, this would allow them ownership in the process and may
help them go beyond problem-solving to problem finding.

Please note that while grading in problem solving is more subjective, this can be done in an objective manner. Remember the
stated conditions of a problem and/or the problem parameters provide the framework for judging both the problem solution
and/or the end product. These parameters and/or conditions become the contract between the teacher and the students.
Students may even be required to judge their own work through some sort of self-evaluation process, and/or peers may
evaluate peers. Members of the community may also become involved in the evaluation processes. These may be combined
with teacher evaluations, thus creating multidimensional forms of student or product assessment.
Using this form of teaching, students and/or teachers become learning partners and should decide if they are going to use
problem solving objectives as culminating experiences, or as a catalyst for and method of learning new skills. One of the great
strengths of this mode of teaching is that problems may be used in either way or by combining both ways. They are
versatile. After reading about writing about problem solving objectives you may wish to view some former students
submissions see link at the bottom of this section.

An Example: The Harrison Ford Elementary School received a $100,000 grant to create a nature trail on school grounds. The
money is to be used for a trail that is both aesthetic and also one that can be used for environmental study. Create a design for
the trail. (Problem based on L. Wilson (1994) Every child, whole child. Tucson: Zephyr Press)

Problem conditions: Conditions often refer to the actual appearance of finished products or are ways in which products are
standardized.

Products must be neat

Presented on graph or grid paper

Drawn to scale

Students will include a key and color code drawings so that they are easily understandable.

Problem parameters: Parameters usually deal with restrictions placed on solving the problem.

All costs cannot exceed $100,000.

Total area of trail and the areas surrounding the trail cannot go outside of the current property boundaries of the schools
grounds.

The trail cannot interfere with existing facilities.

The total area of the trail must not exceed 1 acre.

The trail must be both aesthetically pleasing and must have areas for environmental study.

The trail must comply with general safety standards governing parks and playgrounds and be generally accessible to
person with disabilities.

The problem above requires a myriad of skills and knowledge in varied content areas. Skills needed to solve this problem
successfully might be

research skills;

artistic skills;

interpersonal skills;

knowledge of ratio;

botany;

budgeting;

mathematical calculations;

graphics; and

knowledge of state and federal regulations governing handicap accessibility.

A comprehensive problem solving objective may be used as an entry into a unit of study, thus providing students with a
rationale for having to learn certain material and skills. Or, a problem solving objective may be used as a culminating event. In
this case it provides a comprehensive way to evaluate students skills in a number of areas.

** Please note, problems may have either conditions or parameters, or both. Once conditions and/or parameters have been set
and/or agreed upon, they may not be changed without a general consensus or without negotiating changes with the
students. It is unethical to change conditions and/or parameters without some discussion and a firm rationale. Once these
have been agreed upon, products must be judged in accordance with the stated or agreed upon parameters or problem
conditions. Assessment may be based on combinations of teacher assessment, self-assessment and peer assessment.
Students may be involved in designing a grading rubric for product evaluation.
Here is the grading conundrum: Mary is one of 5 children from a single parent home. Her mother works very hard to keep her
children fed, clothed, and clean. She can only afford the bare necessities of school supplies. Using limited colored pencils,
crayons, and graph paper, Mary turns in a design that satisfies all of the conditions and parameters of the Harrison Ford
Elementary nature trail problem. Classmate Peter is the son of a successful landscape architect. He has access to an
expensive array of art supplies, specialized pencils and marker, printers, and drafting paper. For his project Peter chooses to
utilize all of these materials and through his own choosing his final project goes well beyond the stated parameters and
conditions.
How do you grade the projects of these two children? Both students met the criteria successfully, therefore both should
receive optimal grades. This can only change if there is an agreement that is pre-stated or published with an allowance for
exceptional work or extra credit. Humans are naturally competitive and will often go beyond standards or minimums just
because they can. For some going beyond stated criteria is not the matter of the grade, but rather of some greater need for
self-satisfaction, perhaps for public praise and accolades, or for the gratification that comes from excelling for the sake of
personal excellence. In the instance between Mary and Peter, the advantages one child has due to parental economic station
cannot outweigh the fact that other children without those advantages can also successfully solved the problem adhering to the
stated criteria. Remember the conditions and parameters become the grading criteria.

Designing lesson plans to include problem-solving objectives. Problem solving lesson plans may be designed in any
number of ways, but they should include components from the starred items below as a minimum. Remember that even
though these are designed as lesson plans, the course of each problem may vary greatly depending on the components,
solutions and skills needed in solving it. Some problems are simple and can be solved in one class period, a day, or over
several periods. Other problems are complex and will need days or weeks, or the problem solution and product may comprise
an entire unit of study. Remember to plan accordingly, allocating enough time for students to complete the problem
successfully. In writing a problem, steps should be arranged clearly and sequentially so that anyone reading the problem could
easily follow its progression.
Problem-solving writing tips Problems must contain:
* Statement of the problem.
* Conditions include product specifications. These usually refer to how the problem looks or desired standardized
components within a final product. Conditions can be used as portions of the assessment procedure. Some problems
may be so open that they dont require conditions.
* Parameters are detailed restrictions on solving the problem. These may be either very general or very specific and,
again, can be used to help determine assessment.
* A partial or complete list of process skills and/or subject areas needed to solve problems.
* A listing of district aims and goals met by completing the problem. This may be done before the statement of the
problem or after the problem statement, or in a the context of a grading rubric or checklist.

* Methods of evaluation and/or evaluation forms.

Additionally problems may also contain the following:
A rationale statement this should include a brief statement as to why you are having students do the problem. This may
include a restatement or be part of the aims and goals statement.
Materials list.
A listing of teachers responsibilities within the problem.
A listing of students responsibilities within the problem.
Any extraneous support needed to solve the problem as in community cooperation.
Expanded lessons related to the problem or possible follow-up activities.
Remember the rules of thumb the more conditions and parameters you include, the more conforming, restrictive, and
narrow students products will be. The fewer conditions or parameters, the more diversity and creativity in the products. Some
students may require more structure and help in solving problems, others may need less help. Make allowances for both types
of students.
Samples: My former students samples of problem solving objectives

Expressive Activities Which Lead to Expressive Outcomes

Expressive activities are the most difficult and artistic form of teaching teachers literally orchestrate lessons by preparing a
field for students to explore, or by developing an immersion experience or investigation, and then allowing students to actively
explore and discover ideas and connections within that learning landscape. When I say preparing a field, I use
field metaphorically as it is a landscape of learning. Education takes place within the context of students investigations, as they
engage in activities and conversations, or within the context of their own active experimentation. It is a cause and effect
relationship and a totally constructivist learning experience. Although initial or immersion experiences may be planned or
structured, these merely serve as learning triggers, or contextual entry points. It is students curiosity and intrinsic motivation
that are the forces which carry learners toward undetermined or unplanned ends. (See Thirteen EdOnline for more details in
how to plan using constructivist principles a great resource.)
Flexibility, adaptability and preparedness are keys to the success of this type of teaching. When teachers take advantage of
a teachable moment, this is the most common form of this type of teaching. Yet, very few teachers add credibility to these types
of learning experiences by reflectively or actively evaluating them as formal learning. Due to the open-ended nature of this form
of teaching, learning and actual achievement must be evaluated for achieved objectives after the activity is completed or
portions of the activity are completed. The teacher has the obligation to the students to inform them of their accomplishments
and achievements at the end of each activity or session. This can be done through discussion or through openly charting

progress. Formal assessment may be achieved through annotated records, checklists, observations, projects, portfolios, or
presentations. The logistics are simple:

The teacher plans an introductory or exploratory lesson knowing and projecting what types of skills may be needed, or
which skills might arise during the course of the lesson.

The teacher then watches the childrens reactions, and waits for questions or related interests to appear. At this point
he/she may expand the original lesson based on childrens questions and evidence of their curiosity. (this type of
planning is highlighted in constructivist teaching, and is closely akin to what teachers do in taking advantage of a
teachable moment.)

The actual formal writing process notes in detail the initial exploratory or investigative experiences, and includes a
projection of possible skills which might be needed, and a projection as to where the lesson might diverge.

In the event that students dont respond as predicted, the teacher might note and be ready with possible prompts.

The teacher also should include sample types of assessments that might prove helpful in evaluating the lesson. These
samples may be included in the initial plan.

There are many exceptional examples of this types of learning in the Reggio Emilia schooling experiences. You can seek this
out on the web.

An Example: Drawing in a sand tray knowing students and their developmental stages. In this exercise the primary
teacher plans a simple letter recognition exercise as a trigger activity. Students are given their names printed on a piece of

cardboard and asked to duplicate them in the sand tray. In the context of justifiable instructional objectives, the purposes of this
exercise are to have students:

recognize and replicate individual letters,

recognize and replicate their names,

exercise left to right visual progressions needed for beginning reading, and

to exercise eye-hand coordination and both small and large muscle coordination.

Being a veteran in observing children, this primary teacher knows that many of her students are highly inquisitive. Off the sand
tray she hangs magnifying glasses so that the children can look at the sand in more detail when they have finished writing their
names. If they do not do this on their own, she will ask them to do it. She also has a microscope set up and has collected a
number of books about the sea, beaches, tides, oceans and marine life, and glass, and so forth. The trick here is for the
teacher to either provide an educational environment that is so rich in stimuli that students are propelled by their own senses of
inquisitiveness to ask many questions, or to offer gentle prompts so that the students respond with questions.
One child goes to the table and gets sand on his hands. Being curious he picks up a magnifier and begins to examine the sand
particles more closely. His friends begin to do the same and they start to notice that the particles are different shapes, sizes and
colors. These observations initiate a series of questions about the source and nature of sand. The teacher charts the childrens
questions and these form the basis for a two week long investigation into sand formation, beaches, types of ocean life, tides,
weather conditions, vacations and even the formation of glass. The culmination of the unit is a trip to a glass blower. The unit
has been extremely interesting for the students because it was initiated by their own curiosity and questions. Unfortunately, like
many such spontaneous experiences, the teacher fails to communicate to the students what exactly they have learned.

Closure: Although this lesson was a great success, and anyone observing these students could not fail to notice their
educational growth, this teacher devalued the credibility of this experience by never providing her students with some sort of
closure or summation. In this instance, the children leave the classroom thinking that they had fun playing in the sand tray and
observing the glass blower. This form of teaching is highly artistic and very valuable in maintaining childrens levels of intrinsic
motivation, but as seen in the example, the fault of the teacher was that she failed to appropriately evaluate the experience.
Indeed, many teachers using this form of teaching fail to communicate to students exactly what they have learned. Sometimes
they also fail to annotate students specific achievements, thus causing this form of teaching to be greatly devalued. Teachers
committed to this very student-centered, constructivist form of teaching should always create evaluative experiences as part of
the expressive activity. Students have a right to know what they have achieved and what they have gained from the experience.

What is involved in creating expressive activities? The expertise and jobs of the teacher in planning expressive activities
that will lead to expressive outcomes are multi-leveled. In this form of teaching the teacher acts as a master orchestrator,
devising and planning trigger activities that have the potential to lead in many directions and to many different or unique
learning processes and experiences. This method of teaching and curriculum development is the most artistic and complex
form of teaching.
1. Knowledge of Developmental Stages: First, the teacher must have knowledge and expertise in students developmental
stages and with the process expectations that govern the general curriculum.
In the example of the sand tray, the teacher knows that letter recognition and reproduction are baseline essential skills for her
students. She also knows that in order to achieve the cognitive and physical functions related to her trigger exercise students
must be physically and developmental ready. Her knowledge of their readiness extends to the fact that in order to be successful
in this emersion activity students must have some eye-hand control and some fine and gross muscle coordination. They must
be able and willing to see something and then to attempt to reproduce it. Also, students must have the cognitive maturity to

realize that the basis for understanding written language requires knowing that text travels from left to right and that letters are
merely abstract representations of concrete spoken sounds.
2. Knowledge of Curricular Expectations: In planning this activity the teachers general knowledge of the curriculum includes
knowing that in addition to letter and name recognition and rudimentary writing skills, there is a general district expectation that
students will be able to ask and answer their own questions. In the context of her knowledge about students at her grade level,
she knows that the pathway of questioning can lead to the emergence of general research interests and skills.
3. Knowledge of Students Skills and Talents: From these perspectives the teacher has noted that several of her students
are naturally very inquisitive about things in their environment. In devising possible extensions of the baseline activity of letter
tracing, she uses all of this knowledge to create an environment that supports students questions about the nature and sources
of sand, thus encouraging students naturally occurring questions and innate inquisitiveness. In preparation and anticipation,
this teacher has collected both literary and reference materials that relate to sand or to its formation. And she had positioned
magnifying glasses near the sand tray, as well as a microscope in order to invite questions and chart paper for scribing
students possible questions. If students dont literally take the bait, the teacher is prepared to ask leading questions in order
to get students interested in researching the formation of sand.
4. Ability to Relinquish Control to Students Intrinsic Learning: Thus, the fourth skill needed to be successful at teaching
through expressive activities is that of actively encouraging students to take command of their own learning. Teachers adept at
this form of teaching must be able, not only to organize general immersion activities that are age-level appropriate, but they
must be willing to relinquish control to students educational agendas and natural senses of curiosity.
5. Predictive Talent: The next talent needed by teachers adept at expressive forms of teaching are those of being able to
envision, imagine, anticipate and predict possibilities and possible outcomes. They must be prepared that students questions
and initiatives might take them in many different directions.

6. Ability to Evaluate in Different Ways: The last component that makes this form of teaching legitimate is that the teacher
must be prepared to annotate and evaluate the results of the emergent activities. Results must also be communicated to
participating students so that they can begin to make the connections between their questions and their abilities to complete
and be engaged in research.

The Flipped Classroom

In a nutshell What is the flipped classroom design?

Leslie Owen Wilson
While there are emerging a number of definitions and designs referred to as the flipped classroom model, the main intentions
of the this teaching model are to reverse the traditional presentation methods of classic teaching away from what teachers are
saying to concentrating on how students are learning and retaining knowledge and information. In doing this teachers are
encouraged to utilize a myriad of educational tools, to include technologies and e-formats, as well as tried and true educational
models and techniques teaching. The flipped model has also been referred to as blended learning or hybrid learning
implying the integral inclusion of online learning technologies as combined with face-to-face learning.
What was In the traditional classroom model students are usually passive mostly they listen and watch. During class time
students are given background and new information, often they observe demonstrations of procedures, problem solutions, or
subject related processes. Information is offered through activities like reading texts or guided reading assignments,
informational lectures or demonstrations, or by PowerPoint presentations, etc. Most often these are delivered by a single

teacher in a teacher-directed learning environment. Homework is then based on information covered in class, usually with the
expressed purpose of practicing a skill or rehearsing or expanding on the initial knowledge as presented or guided by the
teacher during class time.
What could be It is perhaps too simple to just say in the flipped model of teaching the processes are reversed as the major
intention of the inverted model is to provide students with more active roles through interactive, more concentrated learning
experiences during class time. Ideally the model is executed so that during class teachers can better personalize students
learning though individual help or small group interactions. The pattern of the flipped model usually involves an at home or
independent preparatory assignment whereby students are required to acquire background information. This is achieved
through some form of digital presentation or format, or using a hard copy source videos, podcasts, e-instruction, edemonstrations, explorations of designated websites, or through books or course manuals, etc. Additionally, in some
interpretations of the model, the at home component may also include opportunities for review or learning extensions. Class
time is then reserved for more active learning experiences exploring, rehearsing, practicing, and discussing what they have
learned independently, or during this contact time students will be called upon to extend preliminary knowledge into deeper
learning experiences. In the flipped model, class time is meant to be allocated time where teachers can offer multiple
opportunities and different types of learning experiences. Students during class time are not just rehearsing targeted
information; ideally they are also having types of quality educational experiences so that they might develop some level of
content mastery. The concentration during class time in the flipped model is on promoting student understanding and
competency rather than on information dissemination.

Design 1 2 Part flipped design Tables: L.O. Wilson/2015

The central premise of the flipped model hinges on the fact that in todays information rich age, course content can be easily
accessed electronically and previewed, read or reviewed outside of the classroom. As indicated, either preliminary examination
of information, or information review and extension, can be done independently by each learner. Students can read, view, or

hear information at their own speed in preparation for a forthcoming class. Lectures and demonstrations introduced and
absorbed from an e-source also have the decided advantage where learners can replay segments any number of times, or
even pause or reverse content while they examine it more closely and/or take notes. Class time can then be devoted to
exercises and activities where learners explore, practice, examine, and discuss assigned concepts more thoroughly and in
more depth.
The rationale of the model reports to help students explore more difficult or complex concepts while in class, with the benefit of
receiving individual or small group help, or where students are engaged in instructional activities that involve higher levels of
thinking, learning, and problem solving. The in class portion is where the teacher not only checks for understanding, but
allows students to rehearse new information as well as seek clarification on any of the fuzzy points or misunderstood portions.
Too there are all kinds of video and audio capture formats, as well as new learning technologies, programs, and informational
websites that are designed to help initiate, implement, support and enhance the concept of the flipped classroom. Additionally,
a number of prestigious institutions, and sponsored online resources are offering free information to students and teachers.
These resources are often outstanding, and far beyond what might be accessible through traditional teacher-led lectures and
presentations.

Design 2 3 Part flipped design Clipart MS Word 7/2010

Background New technologies and new attitudes about information sharing:

In the recent past information was often considered to be proprietary, but the internet has certainly changed that. There have
been several pivotal events leading to what generally passes as the popularization of the flipped classroom through easy
information access. In 2001 MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) released a program called OpenCourseWare (OCW)
whereby previously exclusive notes and course information were released so that anyone could have access. Continuing this
general access trend, in 2006 an MIT alumni, Salman Khan developed the Khan Academy. This learning library houses a huge
collection of several thousand lectures and related practice exercises. Several professors at Stanford University mirrored the
Khan example making information from their courses available for general access online. Other prestigious universities like
Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and Coursera have followed suit joining these efforts to expand

access to quality courseware for free. Both MIT and Harvard have joined forces in a 60 million dollar project entitled edX
where they are providing an array of classes gratis. Additionally, world-famous organizations like TED (Technology,
Entertainment, and Design) have cached TED Talks online from their worldwide conferences for easy access by anyone.
Much of the rationale for the flipped classroom draws on two components:
1. The general accessibility and proliferation of quality online information, lectures, and related activities as in the examples
offered previously, and
2. Time management issues whereby taped e-lectures and demonstrations appear to be as effective in disseminating new
and basic information as those classes and presentations that happen in real time. If the seat time issue is true, then devoted
class time can be used more effectively interacting with students and focusing or directing their learning efforts toward active
learning experiences, content rehearsal and mastery, and encouraging them to think at critical or creative levels as well as
problem solve.

Leslies Bakers Dozen Thirteen important things to consider both before and while implementing the
flipped classroom model

At this juncture I think it is important to note that successful attempts to initiate a quality flipped classroom model often depend
on the teachers philosophical orientation. This model properly executed falls under the classification of constructivist
learning where learners are actively engaged in activities that allow them to explore and interact with chosen content at
personalized levels. In considering, initiating, or refining the use of the flipped model, it isextremely important to consider
and answer the following questions.
1. Are your students sufficiently intrinsically motivated to be able to self-initiate the at home portion of this model,
and how can you best determine this?
2. Beyond the books or teacher-created manual choices, do your students have ready access to the many e-format(s)
that can be used to deliver information assigned for the out-of-class explorations? Specifically which technologies are
best suited and accessible to your particular students?
3. Often we make unilateral assumptions that todays students are all tech-savvy, but are your particular students
adept in using the technology you want them to use? If not, are you willing to offer tutorials so that they can more
easily access and master the desired technologies?
4. How do the materials chosen for the independent portion of the model relate to your institutions curriculum? Will
the relationships be clear to students, their parents, and to your peers or administrators?
5. Are you willing to develop easily understandable information on the intentions and processes of the flipped
classroom model so that students, and their parents might understand the concept, procedures, and expectations?

6. Are the chosen at home materials at the appropriate grade and/or reading levels, as well as developmentally
appropriate for your students? Have you carefully created or chosen materials that can be easily understood at
independent levels for the self-directed at home portion of the model?
7. If you are using materials from others, are those from credible sources? And can these sources be easily accessed
by students?
8. How will the materials you are requiring students to access independently be displayed and linked? How will you
assure that any e-materials being used are always successfully linked for easy student access?
9. How will you tie the materials accessed independently to the in class portion of the model?
10. Specifically which models, activities, formats, groupings are you considering using for the in class portion of the
model? And how will these techniques lead to further understanding, deeper learning, and content mastery?
11. How will you best assess the success of using this type of instructional model? Will you assess the independent
and classroom portions of the model together or separately? Which types of assessments will you use to know if
your learning objectives have been met?
12. As teachers, often in grave error, we make the assumptions that our students naturally develop study skills to
include note-taking abilities. The truth is many students (even ones at the college level) struggle in this area with hit or
miss techniques. How will you assure that your students are prepared to succeed in the independent portion of the
model? What skills will they need?

13. Lastly, in my mind, all good instruction begins with a well-developed and considered vision of learners at the end
of their contact with the teacher. How does the flipped model fit into your vision of your students at the end of their
contact with you? How might using this model have changed them? What will they know and understand as a result of
being engaged in the flipped classroom model?

Leslies Comments:
The wrong way to flip! I was at a social event recently when a mother of a high school junior was complaining about a
teachers use of the flipped classroom model. She seemed incensed that her son constantly complained that he wasnt
learning a darn thing! Being interested in how teachers are using and organizing this model, I asked the mother several gently
probing questions about how her sons class was structured. Personally I think the model has great potential for those teachers
who actively embrace constructivist learning principles, and also for learners who are sufficiently intrinsically motivated to
complete the critical at home preparation portion of the model. Through a series of casual questions I was able to ascertain
pretty quickly that this model was not right for her son, nor was it being presented in a way that optimized student learning.
Essentially the teacher in question seemed to send students to class related YouTube videos where other instructors
demonstrated science concepts. He would then have students read related materials in class and discuss them. The process
seemed a bit haphazard. There appeared to be no preparatory discussions or introductions provided for the at home portion,

nor where there companion worksheets, study guides, or questions offered by the teacher to guide the students through the
videoed demonstrations. Students were directed only to take notes on what they watched so they could discuss concepts in
class in small groups or as a class. Multiple choice and short answer quizzes and tests were based mostly on the viewed
videos. After a few more questions about her son, I also had the impression that he didnt really like science with and had
trouble forcing himself to watch the assigned videos, much less take comprehensive notes about what he was viewing.
The potential of the model There are hundreds of different teaching models and techniques. Part of good teaching is
picking the ones that match the learning task at hand. Also part of good teaching is selecting models and techniques which
reflect ones teaching style and professional beliefs about how students learn best, and choosing those class activities which
best fit the subject and content being taught. Exceptional teachers are ones who know their students and what motivates and
engages them.
One of the strong pros of the flipped classroom model is that it is highly adaptable to many different subject and content
areas. While students are acquiring baseline information and knowledge or reviewing information at self-paced, independent
levels, what goes on in class can utilize many different separate teaching models and different teaching techniques. A
committed and gifted teacher can actively engage students and accommodate different types of learners and their individual
learning styles by actively investigating and using different types of learning models for the in class portion of the flipped
design. However, one cannot do the flipped classroom model justice by just slapping a list of some random videos together and
then allocating time to discuss them in class.
A course utilizing the flipped classroom model fully has to be carefully researched, designed, sequenced, orchestrated, and
assessed. It needs to be constructed and paced with appropriate content that not only reflects the approved or targeted
curriculum, but also strongly relates to the age and achievement levels of the students involved. It is imperative that the teacher
designing the course asks and answers the questions I have posed above, and has thought carefully about how e-components
or independently investigated elements are chosen and delivered. In class time is doubly important, not merely for information

rehearsal, but for promoting deeper learning and critical or creative thinking. The flipped classroom, when done correctly and
thoughtfully, can be an excellent instructional model, but like all models it is not one for every student, nor for every teacher.

Simulations
What is a simulation?
Simulations are instructional scenarios where the learner is placed in a "world" defined by the teacher. They represent a reality within which
students interact. The teacher controls the parameters of this "world" and uses it to achieve the desired instructional results. Students experience
the reality of the scenario and gather meaning from it.
A simulation is a form of experiential learning. It is a strategy that fits well with the principles of Student-Centred and constructivist learning and
teaching.
Simulations take a number of forms. They may contain elements of:

a game
a role-play, or
an activity that acts as a metaphor.
Simulations are characterised by their non-linear nature and by then controlled ambiguity within which students must make decisions. The
inventiveness and commitment of the participants usually determines the success of a simulation.

Why use simulations?

Simulations promote the use of critical and evaluative thinking. Because they are ambiguous or open-ended, they encourage students to
contemplate the implications of a scenario. The situation feels real and thus leads to more engaging interaction by learners.
Simulations promote concept attainment through experiential practice. They help students understand the nuances of a concept. Students often
find them more deeply engaging than other activities, as they experience the activity first-hand, rather than hearing about it or seeing it.

Simulations help students appreciate more deeply the management of the environment, politics, community and culture. For example, by
participating in a resource distribution activity, students might gain an understanding of inequity in society. Simulations can reinforce other skills
indirectly, such asDebating, a method associated with some large-scale simulations, and research skills.

Common issues using simulations

Resources and time are required to develop a quality learning experience with simulations. Assessment of student learning through simulation is
often more complex than with other methods.
Simulated experiences are more realistic than some other techniques and they can be so engaging and absorbing that students forget the
educational purpose of the exercise.
If your simulation has an element of competition, it is important to remind the students that the goal is not to win, but to acquire knowledge and
understanding.

How to achieve effective teaching with case studies

In a simulation, guided by a set of parameters, students undertake to solve problems, adapt to issues arising from their scenario and gain an
awareness of the unique circumstances that exist within the confines of the simulation.
Some simulations require one hour, while others may extend over weeks. Scope and content varies greatly. However, similar principles apply to all
simulations.

1) Prepare in advance as much as possible

Ensure that students understand the procedures before beginning. Frustration can arise when too many uncertainties exist. Develop a
student guide and put the rules in writing.
Try to anticipate questions before they are asked. Some simulations are fast-paced, and the sense of reality is best maintained with ready
responses.
Know what you want to accomplish. Many simulations have more than one instructional goal. Developing evaluation criteria, and ensure
that students are aware of the specific outcomes expected of them in advance.

2) Monitor the process closely

Teachers must monitor the simulation process to ensure that students both understand the process and benefit from it. Ask yourself:

Does this simulation offer an appropriate measure of realism for my group of students?
Are the desired instructional outcomes well defined?
Is the level of ambiguity manageable for this group?
Does the student demonstrate an understanding of his/her role?
Are problem-solving techniques in evidence?
Does the research being generated match the nature of the problem?
Is cooperation between participants in evidence?
Has the student been able to resolve the issue satisfactorily?
Does the student provide meaningful answers to probing questions?
Will follow-up activities be necessary?

3) Consider what to assess

You might find it best to use simulations as part of the process of learning rather than as a summative measure of it. Use follow-up activities to
establish a measure of comprehension and as a de-briefing mechanism when students return to reality (e.g. use reflection on the process as the
assessable component of the activity, rather than participation in the simulation itself).

Madeline Hunter Lesson Plan Model

Or Drill That Skill A model of repetition and direct instruction
Leslie Owen Wilson

Contact Leslie

PDF of this page, The Madeline Hunter Lesson Plan Model, and there are links to plans below. Please see usage page

Background:
These are highly structured plans devised using the classic, repetitive lesson model developed by the late school principal and
long-time educator Dr. Madeline Hunter. The traditional steps of the Hunter Model were designed for the explicit purpose of
having students get it right the first time through. Erroneously some school administrators have used the model to analyze

teaching performances. Please note that during her lifetime, Dr. Hunter was emphatic that it was never the intention that her
model should be used as a teacher evaluation tool. Indeed, as a seasoned educator I am sure Hunter was aware that there
are many great models of teaching other than her own, and that teaching is both an art and a science and therefore cannot be
relegated to a simple formulaic 7 step checklist.
Principal Hunter developed her model using the science and knowledge of her time. I would classify this model as a standard
behavioral technique of direct instruction, and modified operant conditioning, plus it has just the beginnings of information
processing for recall. Hunter knew that the human brain lays down pathways as it learns. She wanted to assure that teachers
gave learners little or no opportunity to get it wrong or lay down a neural pathways that were incorrect. Madeline Hunter did
this because the research at the time indicated that relearning materials or skills took much more time than learning it right the
first time.
Learning is increased by repetition, and as indicated earlier, learning new things lays down neural pathways so every time a
skill is practiced the pathway is strengthened. Thus, if something is learned incorrectly or mislearned, the learner must first
eradicate that which was wrong or wrongly done by relearning the material or skill correctly. Hunters model is designed to

minimize mislearning events in the first place. A good example

of the process of the tedium of unlearning would

be a golf swing or stance that is incorrect, or a tennis swing that is ineffective. It takes twice as long to substitute good form for
bad as ingrained physical responses tend to be deeply embedded due to frequent practice. Another common example might be
when the position of frequently used objects in our environments are changed. How often do we go back to the original spot in

the drawer or cabinet where something used to be stored before we remember the objects new position? Often it takes a long
time for us to remember the new locations of common objects in their new places.

The Pros and Cons:

The Hunter Model has a number of advantages, and an equal number of disadvantages. For instance, it is a great drill and
practice model. The model is an excellent one for content or processes that benefit from lots of repetition. In that regard it is
more readily suited for lessons which emphasize the lower tier of Blooms revised taxonomy remembering (knowledge),
understanding (comprehension), and applying (application).
However, without considerable thought, revision, and artful manipulation, the models repetitive structure it is not
appropriate for open-ended learning experiences, discovery learning sessions, or exploratory educational experiences,
especially ones requiring divergent thinking skills, creative problem solving, or higher level thinking skills. Too, this model is
not particularly well suited for use with gifted students. This population becomes easily bored with repetitious applications
and steps, especially if they are not very challenging. Gifted students may also resent tightly, teacher-controlled learning
settings where learning patterns are readily apparent from the very beginning. Instructors attempting to met the learning needs
of gifted/creative learners may wish to explore one of the many models better suited to this population see Models of
teaching for additional suggestions.

The 7 Classic Steps:

Within the main portions of the model getting students ready to learn, instruction and checking for understanding, and
independent practice there are basically 7 steps and these are listed below. The steps in the beginning and ending portions
can be varied and changed in sequence, the portion in the middle should not be changed.

Ordering the beginning portions really depends on what you are doing as an anticipatory set as to whether you state your
objectives and standards first, or if you start out with the anticipatory set and then make a statement of objectives and
standards. Some variations include a review as the first step or as something incorporated into the anticipatory set. But users
can also review, state objectives, and then have an anticipatory set as separate portions in the getting students ready
portion.
The ending segment of the lesson also can be altered and depending on how controlling the instructor wants to be. Some folks
believe that independent practice portion should be carefully monitored and then followed up with a closure activity or summary.
Other educators like to offer closure for the formal lesson with an activity or ending discussion and then give independent
practice as seat work or as homework.

Here are the different steps:

Getting students set to learn The first two elements are interchangeable. As stated earlier a distinctive review is optional.
However, typically at the beginning of the lesson the teacher may briefly review previous material if it is related to the current
lesson.
1) Stated Objectives Letting students know where they are going. Giving them a sense of where they are headed belays the
feeling of being a hostage in a learning experience. This step gives students direction and lets know what they are supposed to
accomplish by the end of the lesson.
2) Anticipatory Set Getting students ready and/or excited to accept instruction. (Please note that giving directions may
be part of the procedural dialog of a lesson, but in and of themselves directions are NOT an Anticipatory Set !!!!! The
key word here is anticipatory and that means doing something that creates a sense of anticipation and expectancy in the
students an activity, a game, a focused discussion, viewing a film or video clip, a field trip, or reflective exercise, etc.). This
step prepares the learner to receive instruction much like operant conditioning.

Direct instruction and checking for understanding This part involves quickly assessing whether students understand what
has just been demonstrated or presented.
3) Input Modeling/Modeled Practice Making sure students get it right the first time depends on the knowledge, or processes
to be shown or demonstrated by an expert, or by someone who has mastered what is to be demonstrated or shown. In
addition to the instructor, prepared students can certainly model the focused skill, process or concept for peers. Instructors
could also use a video for this portion.
4) Checking Understanding Teachers watch students body language, ask questions, observe responses and interactions in
order to determining whether or not students are making sense of the material as it is being presented. This portion takes place
as instruction is being given. This is a whole class exercise, one in which the instructor carefully monitors the actions of the
learners to make sure they are duplicating the skill, process, procedure, or exercise correctly.
5) Guided Practice Takes place after instruction has been modeled and then checked for understanding to make sure
students have it right! The question here is can they replicate what you want them to do correctly? Students are given
the opportunity to apply or practice what they have just learned and receive immediate feedback at individual levels.
Independent practice These last two components can be interchanged.
6) Independent Practice After students appear to understand the new material they are given the opportunity to further apply
or practice using the new information. This may occur in class or as homework, but there should be a short period of time
between instruction and practice and between practice and feedback. Essentially they are doing a learning task by themselves.

7) Closure Bringing it all to a close one more time. What did they accomplish? What did they learn? Go over it again. As
you can see this model is highly repetitive it is really a drill model and as I indicated earlier not conducive to support a
number of high level thinking or feeling functions without some serious alteration or modifications.

What are cooperative and collaborative learning?

Collaborative learning is a method of teaching and learning in which students team together to explore a significant question or create a
meaningful project. A group of students discussing a lecture or students from different schools working together over the Internet on a shared
assignment are both examples of collaborative learning.
Cooperative learning, which will be the primary focus of this workshop, is a specific kind of collaborative learning. In cooperative learning,
students work together in small groups on a structured activity. They are individually accountable for their work, and the work of the group as
a whole is also assessed. Cooperative groups work face-to-face and learn to work as a team.
In small groups, students can share strengths and also develop their weaker skills. They develop their interpersonal skills.
They learn to deal with conflict. When cooperative groups are guided by clear objectives, students engage in numerous
activities that improve their understanding of subjects explored.
In order to create an environment in which cooperative learning can take place, three things are necessary. First, students
need to feel safe, but also challenged. Second, groups need to be small enough that everyone can contribute. Third, the task students work
together on must be clearly defined. The cooperative and collaborative learning techniques presented here should help make this possible for
teachers.
Also, in cooperative learning small groups provide a place where:

learners actively participate;

teachers become learners at times, and learners sometimes teach;

respect is given to every member;

projects and questions interest and challenge students;

diversity is celebrated, and all contributions are valued;

students learn skills for resolving conflicts when they arise;

members draw upon their past experience and knowledge;

goals are clearly identified and used as a guide;

research tools such as Internet access are made available;

students are invested in their own learning.

multiple intelligences theory

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory was first published in Howard Gardner's book, Frames Of Mind (1983), and quickly became
established as a classical model by which to understand and teach many aspects of human intelligence, learning style, personality and
behaviour - in education and industry. Howard Gardner initially developed his ideas and theory on multiple intelligences as a contribution to
psychology, however Gardner's theory was soon embraced by education, teaching and training communities, for whom the appeal was
immediate and irresistible - a sure sign that Gardner had created a classic reference work and learning model.
Howard Gardner was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania USA in 1943 to German Jewish immigrant parents, and entered Harvard in 1961,
where, after Gardner's shift from history into social relations (which included psychology, sociology, and anthropology) he met his early
mentor Erik Erikson. Later Gardner was also influenced by psychologists Jeane Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and philosopher Nelson Goodman,
with whom Gardner co-founded 'Project Zero' in 1967 (focusing on studies of artistic thought and creativity). Project Zero's 1970's 'Project
on Human Potential', whose heady aim was to address 'the state of scientific knowledge concerning human potential and its realization',
seems to have been the platform from which Gardner's multiple intelligences ideas grew, and were subsequently published in Gardner's
Frames Of Mind 1983 book. A wonderful example of 'thinking big' if ever there was one.
At the time I write/revise this summary (2005-2012) Howard Gardner is the (John H and Elisabeth A) Hobbs Professor of Cognition and
Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; he serves as adjunct Professor at Harvard University, Boston University School of
Medicine, and remains senior director of Harvard Project Zero. Gardner has received honorary degrees from at least twenty foreign
institutions, and has written over twenty highly regarded books on the human mind, learning and behaviour. How ironic then that Gardner,
who has contributed so much to the understanding of people and behaviour, was born (according to his brief auto-biographical paper 'One
Way To Make Social Scientist', 2003), cross-eyed, myopic, colour-blind and unable to recognise faces. There's hope for us all.

Since establishing his original multiple intelligences model, Howard Gardner has continued to develop his thinking and theory, so you will
see references to more than the seven intelligences nowadays. Gardner most recently refers to their being eight or nine intelligences.
This article chiefly focuses on the original seven intelligences model.

howard gardner's multiple intelligences theory

This simple grid diagram illustrates Howard Gardner's model of the seven Multiple Intelligences at a glance.
intelligence type

capability and perception

Linguistic

words and language

Logical-Mathematical

logic and numbers

Musical

music, sound, rhythm

Bodily-Kinesthetic

body movement control

Spatial-Visual

images and space

Interpersonal

other people's feelings

Intrapersonal

self-awareness

Free multiple intelligences tests based on Howard Gardner's seven-intelligences model are available below in MSExcel self-calculating
format, manual versions in MSExcel and pdf, and manual test versions for young people.

Gardner said that multiple intelligences were not limited to the original seven, and he has since considered the existence and definitions of
other possible intelligences in his later work. Despite this, Gardner seems to have stopped short of adding to the seven (some might argue,
with the exception of Naturalist Intelligence) with any clearly and fully detailed additional intelligence definitions. This is not because there
are no more intelligences - it is because of the difficulty of adequately and satisfactorily defining them, since the additional intelligences are
rather more complex than those already evidenced and defined.
Not surprisingly, commentators and theorists continually debate and interpret potential additions to the model, and this is why you might see
more than seven intelligences listed in recent interpretations of Gardner's model. As mentioned above, Naturalist Intelligence seems most
popularly considered worthy of inclusion of the potential additional 'Gardner' intelligences.

gardner's suggested possible additional intelligences

intelligence type

capability and perception

Naturalist

natural environment

Spiritual/Existential

religion and 'ultimate issues'

Moral

ethics, humanity, value of life

If you think about the items above it's easy to see why Gardner and his followers have found it quite difficult to augment the original seven
intelligences. The original seven are relatively cut and dried; the seven intelligences are measurable, we know what they are, what they
mean, and we can evidence or illustrate them. However the potential additional human capabilities, perceptions and attunements, are highly
subjective and complex, and arguably contain many overlapping aspects. Also, the fact that these additional intelligences could be deemed
a measure of good or bad poses extra questions as to their inclusion in what is otherwise a model which has hitherto made no such
judgement (good or bad, that is - it's a long sentence...).

gardner's multiple intelligences - detail

The more detailed diagram below expands the detail for the original seven intelligences shown above, and also suggests ideas for applying
the model and underpinning theories, so as to optimise learning and training, design accelerated learning methods, and to assess training
and learning suitability and effectiveness.

intelligenc
e type

1 Linguistic

description

typical roles

related tasks, activities

or tests

preferred
learning style
clues

words and language,

written and spoken;

writers, lawyers, journalists,

speakers, trainers, copy-writers,

write a set of instructions;

speak on a subject; edit a

words and

retention, interpretation
and explanation of ideas
and information via
language, understands
relationship between
communication and
meaning

english teachers, poets, editors,

linguists, translators, PR
consultants, media consultants, TV
and radio presenters, voice-over
artistes

written piece or work; write

a speech; commentate on
an event; apply positive or
negative 'spin' to a story

language

2 LogicalMathemat
ical

logical thinking,
detecting patterns,
scientific reasoning and
deduction; analyse
problems, perform
mathematical
calculations, understands
relationship between
cause and effect towards
a tangible outcome or
result

scientists, engineers, computer

experts, accountants, statisticians,
researchers, analysts, traders,
bankers bookmakers, insurance
brokers, negotiators, deal-makers,
trouble-shooters, directors

perform a mental
arithmetic calculation;
create a process to
measure something
difficult; analyse how a
machine works; create a
process; devise a strategy
to achieve an aim; assess
the value of a business or a
proposition

numbers and
logic

3 Musical

musical ability,
awareness, appreciation
and use of sound;
recognition of tonal and
rhythmic patterns,
understands relationship
between sound and
feeling

musicians, singers, composers,

DJ's, music producers, piano tuners,
acoustic engineers, entertainers,
party-planners, environment and
noise advisors, voice coaches

perform a musical piece;

sing a song; review a
musical work; coach
someone to play a musical
instrument; specify mood
music for telephone
systems and receptions

music, sounds,
rhythm

4 BodilyKinestheti
c

body movement
control, manual
dexterity, physical agility
and balance; eye and
body coordination

dancers, demonstrators, actors,

athletes, divers, sports-people,
soldiers, fire-fighters, PTI's,
performance artistes; ergonomists,
osteopaths, fishermen, drivers,
crafts-people; gardeners, chefs,
acupuncturists, healers,
adventurers

juggle; demonstrate a
sports technique; flip a
beer-mat; create a mime to
explain something; toss a
pancake; fly a kite; coach
workplace posture, assess
work-station ergonomics

physical
experience and
movement,
touch and feel

5 SpatialVisual

visual and spatial

perception;
interpretation and
creation of visual images;
pictorial imagination and
expression; understands
relationship between
images and meanings,
and between space and
effect

artists, designers, cartoonists,

story-boarders, architects,
photographers, sculptors, townplanners, visionaries, inventors,
engineers, cosmetics and beauty
consultants

design a costume; interpret

a painting; create a room
layout; create a corporate
logo; design a building;
pack a suitcase or the boot
of a car

pictures,
shapes, images
3D space

6 Interperso
nal

perception of other
people's feelings;
ability to relate to others;
interpretation of
behaviour and
communications;
understands the
relationships between
people and their

therapists, HR professionals,
mediators, leaders, counsellors,
politicians, eductors, sales-people,
clergy, psychologists, teachers,
doctors, healers, organisers, carers,
advertising professionals, coaches
and mentors; (there is clear
association between this type of
intelligence and what is now

interpret moods from facial

expressions; demonstrate
feelings through body
language; affect the
feelings of others in a
planned way; coach or
counsel another person

human contact
communication
, cooperation,
teamwork

7 Intraperso
nal

situations, including other

people

termed'Emotional Intelligence' or
EQ)

self-awareness,
personal cognisance,
personal objectivity, the
capability to understand
oneself, one's relationship
to others and the world,
and one's own need for,
and reaction to change

arguably anyone (see note below)

who is self-aware and involved in
the process of changing personal
thoughts, beliefs and behaviour in
relation to their situation, other
people, their purpose and aims - in
this respect there is a similarity
toMaslow's Self-Actualisationlevel,
and again there is clear association
between this type of intelligence
and what is now termed 'Emotional
Intelligence' or EQ

consider and decide one's

own aims and personal
changes required to
achieve them (not
necessarily reveal this to
others); consider one's
own'Johari Window', and
decide options for
development; consider and
decide one's own position
in relation to theEmotional
Intelligence model

self-reflection,
self-discovery

Roles and intrapersonal intelligence: Given that a 'role' tends to imply external style/skills, engagement, etc., the intrapersonal ability is
less liable to define or suggest a certain role or range of roles than any of the other characteristics. That said, there is a clear correlation
between intrapersonal ability/potential and introverted non-judgemental roles/working styles. Intrapersonal capability might also be seen as
the opposite of ego and self-projection. Self-awareness is a prerequisite for self-discipline and self-improvement. Intrapersonal capacity
enables an emotionally mature ('grown-up') response to external and internal stimuli. The intrapersonal characteristic might therefore be
found among (but most definitely not extending to all) counsellors, helpers, translators, teachers, actors, poets, writers, musicians,
artists, and also any other role to which people can bring emotional maturity, which commonly manifests as adaptability, flexibility,
facilitation, reflection, and other 'grown-up' behaviours. There are also associations between intrapersonal capacity
and Erikson's 'generative' perspective, and to an extent Maslow's self-actualization, that is to say: both of these 'life-stages' surely
demand a reasonably strong level of self-awareness, without which adapting one's personal life, outlook and responses to one's
environment is not easy at all.

multiple intelligences tests

free Multiple Intelligences test (based on Howard Gardner's model) - in MSExcel self-calculating format, and other versions:
free Multiple Intelligences test - manual test in MSExcel
free Multiple Intelligences test - manual test in pdf format
free Multiple Intelligences test - manual test for young people in MSExcel
free Multiple Intelligences test - manual test for young people in pdf format
Multiple Intelligences descriptions - pdf format

(If you are using a test to help people identify and develop unique personal potential, especially for young people, try using the test in
conjunction with the Fantasticat idea, or similar ways to focus on individual potential, rather than the more narrow imposed measures found
typically in young people's education systems. Many young people (and older people too..) mistakenly form a dim view of their capabilities
and potential according to typical academic measures in schools, which remain largely oriented towards university and higher education
expectations. The spectrum of human capability, and the potential to be valued and productive in life, are much broader than this, which are
central aspects of multiple intelligence theory. Encouraging people to think beyond traditional academic measures of value and talent is a
vital early step to enabling better self-esteem and bigger personal belief, confidence and aspiration.)

is this test scientifically validated or normed?..

This free Multiple Intelligences testing instrument has not been scientifically validated or normed.

If your research or study requires the use of a scientifically validated instrument then this instrument may not be suitable for your work.
However, where you have reason/flexibility to justify the use of a free 'non-scientifically-validated' instrument, the following details about this
test (and its various versions) might be of help to you in deciding whether to use it:
This instrument is a simple directly reflective assessment tool which works in a single dimension. That is, the results are produced directly
from the inputs (the scored answers to the statement questions). There are no complex computations or correlations or scaling. As such it
less prone to distortion or confusion than a more complicated testing methodology might be, especially one involving convoluted formulae
or scales on several dimensions. The instrument in its various versions has been downloaded and used tens of thousands of times by
teachers, trainers, managers, academics, and researchers all around the world since 2005, and (to my knowledge) has not generated any
complaint or criticism about its reliability and suitability for purpose. Additionally, this webpage featuring the instrument download links has
been highly ranked (top five or so in Google's listings for keywords such as 'multiple intelligence tests') for several years and remains so,
with zero advertising and promotion, which is perhaps a virtual validation of sorts.
That said, I repeat, the instrument has not been scientifically validated, and where you are definitely required to use an instrument that has
been scientifically validated or normed, then this free tool is probably not the right one for you.

gardner's multiple intelligences - principles and interpretation

Howard Gardner asserts certain principles relating to his multiple intelligence theory, which are explained and interpreted here, along with
implications and examples:
The multiple intelligences theory represented/represents a definition of human nature, from a cognitive perspective, ie., how we perceive;
how we are aware of things.
This provides absolutely pivotal and inescapable indication as to people's preferred learning styles, as well as theirbehavioural and
working styles, and their natural strengths. The types of intelligence that a person possesses (Gardner suggests most of us are strong in
three types) indicates not only a persons capabilities, but also the manner or method in which they prefer to learn and develop their
strengths - and also to develop their weaknesses.

So for example:

A person who is strong musically and weak numerically will be more likely to develop numerical and logical skills through music, and
not by being bombarded by numbers alone.

A person who is weak spatially and strong numerically, will be more likely to develop spatial ability if it is explained and developed by
using numbers and logic, and not by asking them to pack a suitcase in front of an audience.

A person who is weak bodily and physically and strong numerically might best be encouraged to increase their physical activity by
encouraging them to learn about the mathematical and scientific relationships between exercise, diet and health, rather than forcing
them to box or play rugby.

The pressure of possible failure and being forced to act and think unnaturally, have a significant negative influence on learning
effectiveness. Happy relaxed people learn more readily than unhappy stressful people.
A person's strength is also a learning channel. A person's weakness is not a great learning channel. Simple huh?
When you add in what we know about personal belief and confidence it all begins to make even more sense. Develop people through their
strengths and we not only stimulate their development - we also make them happy (because everyone enjoys working in their strength
areas) - and we also grow their confidence and lift their belief (because they see they are doing well, and they get told they are doing well
too).
Developing a person's strengths will increase their response to the learning experience, which helps them to develop their weaknesses as
well as their strengths.
Having illustrated that sensible use of a person's natural strengths and types of intelligence is a good thing it's important to point out that
intelligence in itself is not a measure of good or bad, nor of happy or sad.
The different intelligences - in Gardner's context (and normally in most other interpretations and definitions of the term) - are not a measure
or reflection of emotion type. Intelligences are emotionally neutral. No type of intelligence is in itself an expression of happiness or sadness;
nor an expression of feeling good or good or bad.

In the same way, the multiple intelligences are morally neutral too. No type of intelligence is intrinsically right or wrong. In other words
intelligences are amoral, that is, neither moral nor immoral - irrespective of a person's blend of intelligences.
Intelligences are separate to the good or bad purposes to which people apply whatever intelligences they possess and use. Intelligences
are not in themselves good or bad.
The types of intelligences that a person possesses are in themselves no indication or reflection - whatsoever - of whether the person is
good or bad; happy or sad, right or wrong.
People possess a set of intelligences - not just one type and level of intelligence. This was a primary driver of Gardner's thinking; the fact, or
assertion, that intelligence is not a single scalable aspect of a person's style and capability. Historically, and amazingly a perception that still
persists among many people and institutions and systems today, intelligence was/is thought to be measurable on a single scale: a person
could be judged - supposedly - to have a high or low or average intelligence; or a person would be considered 'intelligent or 'unintelligent'.
Gardener has demonstrated that this notion is ridiculous.
Intelligence is a mixture of several abilities (Gardner explains seven intelligences, and alludes to others) that are all of great value in life. But
nobody's good at them all. In life we need people who collectively are good at different things. A well-balanced world, and well-balanced
organisations and teams, are necessarily comprised of people who possess different mixtures of intelligences. This gives the group a fuller
collective capability than a group of identically able specialists.
Incredibly many schools, teachers, and entire education systems, persist in the view that a child is either intelligent or not, and moreover
that the 'intelligent' kids are 'good' and the 'unintelligent' kids are 'bad'. Worse still many children grow up being told that they are not
intelligent and are therefore not of great worth; (the "you'll never amount to anything" syndrome is everywhere).
Schools aren't the only organisations which, despite all that Gardner has taught us, commonly still apply their own criteria (for example IQ 'Intelligence Quotient' - tests) to judge 'intelligence', and then label the candidate either worthy or not. Adult people in work in organisations
and business are routinely judged by inappropriate criteria, and then written off as being worthless by the employer. This type of faulty
assessment is common during recruitment, ongoing management, and matters of career development and performance review.
The fact is that we are all intelligent in different ways.

The most brilliant scientific professor may well have exceptional intelligence in a number of areas (probably Logical-Mathematical, and one
or two others) but will also be less able in other intelligences, and could well be inept in some.
By the same token a person who struggles with language and numbers might easily be an excellent sportsman, or musician, or artist.
A hopeless academic, who is tone-deaf and can't add up, could easily possess remarkable interpersonal skills.
Many very successful business-people were judged to be failures at school. They were of course judged according to a very narrow
definition of what constitutes intelligence.
Many very successful and fulfilled people in life were also judged to be failures at school - brilliant scientists, leaders, writers, entertainers,
sports-people, soldiers, humanitarians, healers, religious and political leaders - all sorts of happy, fulfilled remarkable people - they too were
judged according to a very narrow definition of what constitutes intelligence.
Each one of us has a unique and different mix of intelligence types, and commonly the people with the least 'conventional' intelligence (as
measured using old-fashioned narrow criteria), actually possess enormous talent - often under-valued, unknown and under-developed.
Gardner, and others of course, pointed out that managing people and organising a unique mixture of intelligence types is a hugely
challenging affair.
It starts however with the recognition that people have abilities and potential that extend far beyond traditional methods of assessment, and
actually far beyond Gardner's seven intelligences, which after all are only a starting point.
Gardner was one of the first to teach us that we should not judge and develop people (especially children, young people, and people at the
beginnings of their careers) according to an arbitrary and narrow definition of intelligence. We must instead rediscover and promote the vast
range of capabilities that have a value in life and organisations, and then set about valuing people for who they are, what they can be, and
helping them to grow and fulfil their potential.

other intelligences and models

Gardner said from the beginning that there could be additional intelligences worthy of inclusion within the model, and I certainly agree.
Notably Gardner discussed Naturalist Intelligence (perception of and relationship with the natural environment); Spiritual or Existential
Intelligence (as would concern one's relationship with the universe or God, depending on one's personal philosophy); and Moral Intelligence
(one's relationship with other living things and their well-being).
Thus the model is extendable to modern ideas beyond those listed in the seven basic intelligences. As already discussed, defining
additional intelligences is not easy. But they do exist, and people do possess capabilities, potential and values far beyond the seven original
'multiple intelligences'.
Gardner knew - as we can now see - that his multiple intelligences theory left some room to grow, however, while so many are still stuck on
IQ and the 'Three R's' (the hackneyed 'Reading Writing and Arithmetic' - I ask you - how can so many buy into a framework that has so
effortlessly assumed such a ridiculous description?...), the seven intelligences are a bloody good first step towards valuing and developing
people in a more compassionate and constructive way.
If first we concentrate on encouraging schools and industry to think beyond IQ and the bleeding three R's - then perhaps soon we'll be
ready for morality and spiritualism.

VAK - visual, auditory, kinesthetic learning styles model

The VAK (or VARK or VACT) learning styles model and related VAK/VARK/VACT tests (and for that matter the Multiple Intelligences
concepts) offer reasonably simple and accessible methods to understand and explain people's preferred ways to learn. Occasionally wellintentioned people will write that the use of such models and tests can be problematical. This is true of course of any tool if undue reliance
is placed on the methodology, or if the results of tests are treated as absolute and exclusive of other styles and considerations in the overall
mix of a person's personality and needs.
As with any methodology or tool, use VAK and other learning styles concepts with care. The concepts are an aid, not a dogma to be
followed and applied rigidly. See the notes for using Learning Styles with young people on the Kolb Learning Stylespage.
In addition to the VAK guide below, further VAK detail and VAK tests are available on the VAK tests page.

The explanation and understanding of Gardner's Seven Intelligences can be further illuminated and illustrated by looking at another
classical intelligence and learning styles model, known as the Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic (or Kinaesthetic - either is correct) learning
styles model or 'inventory', usually abbreviated to VAK. Alternatively the model is referred to as Visual-Auditory-Physical, or Visual-AuditoryTactile/Kinesthetic. The VAK concept, theories and methods (initially also referred to as VAKT, for Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile) were
first developed by psychologists and teaching specialists such as Fernald, Keller, Orton, Gillingham, Stillman and Montessori, beginning in
the 1920's. The VAK multi-sensory approach to learning and teaching was originally concerned with the teaching of dyslexic children and
other learners for whom conventional teaching methods were not effective. The early VAK specialists recognised that people learn in
different ways: as a very simple example, a child who could not easily learn words and letters by reading (visually) might for instance learn
more easily by tracing letter shapes with their finger (kinesthetic). The VAK theory is a favourite of the accelerated learning community, and
continues to feature - although not nearly as strongly as it should do - in the teaching and education of young people. The Visual-AuditoryKinesthetic learning styles model does not overlay Gardner's multiple intelligences; rather the VAK model provides a different perspective
for understanding and explaining a person's preferred or dominant thinking and learning style, and strengths. Gardner's theory is one way of
looking at thinking styles; VAK is another.
learning style

description

Visual

seeing and reading

Auditory

listening and speaking

Kinesthetic

touching and doing

According to the VAK model, most people possess a dominant or preferred learning style, however some people have a mixed and evenly
balanced blend of the three styles.

A person's learning style is a reflection of their mix of intelligences. It is also a reflection of their brain type and dominance, for which a
wonderful perspective is provided by Katherine Benziger's brain dominance model.
It is also helpful to look at Kolb's learning styles model.

vak visual-auditory-kinesthetic learning styles

The VAK learning styles model provides a very easy and quick reference inventory by which to assess people's preferred learning styles,
and then most importantly, to design learning methods and experiences that match people's preferences:
Visual learning style involves the use of seen or observed things, including pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, displays, handouts, films,
flip-chart, etc.
Auditory learning style involves the transfer of information through listening: to the spoken word, of self or others, of sounds and noises.
Kinesthetic learning involves physical experience - touching, feeling, holding, doing, practical hands-on experiences.
The word 'kinesthetic' describes the sense of using muscular movement - physical sense in other words. Kinesthesia and kinesthesis are
root words, derived from the Greek kineo, meaning move, and aisthesis, meaning sensation. Kinesthetic therefore describes a learning style
which involves the stimulation of nerves in the body's muscles, joints and tendons. This relates to the colloquial expression 'touchy-feely'.
It is easy to begin to assess your own or another person's learning style within the Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic model.

vak visual-auditory-kinesthetic learning styles indicators and quick free test

Here are some common indicators, which can be converted into a questionnaire very easily. Ask the person to score each statement and
then total each column to indicate learning style dominance. There are no right and wrong answers. See also the longer version free VAK
learning styles test.

visual

auditory

kinesthetic/physical/tactile

operate new equipment

read instructions

listen to explanation

have a go

travel directions

look at a map

ask for spoken directions

follow your nose and maybe use a compass

cook a new dish

follow a recipe

call a friend for explanation

follow your instinct, tasting as you cook

teach someone something

write instructions

explain verbally

demonstrate and let them have a go

you'd say..

I see what you mean

I hear what you are saying

I know how you feel

you'd say..

show me

tell me

let me try

you'd say..

watch how I do it

listen to me explain

you have a go

faulty goods

write a letter

phone

send or take it back to the store

leisure

museums and galleries

music and conversation

playing sport or DIY

buying gifts

books

music

tools and gadgets

shopping

look and imagine

discuss with shop staff

try on and test

choose a holiday

read the brochures

listen to recommendations

imagine the experience

choose a new car

read the reviews

discuss with friends

test-drive what you fancy

You can use this grid as a simple learning style indicator questionnaire - for example score each box out of five or ten and then put the total
for each column in the boxes below. The totals will indicate your relative learning style preference and mix. There are no right or wrong
answers.
totals indicate preferred learning style(s)

See also the longer version free VAK learning styles test questionnaire, including assessment and scoring instructions.

vark and vact learning styles models

Consistent with many other classical models and theories (for example Tuckman's Forming Norming etc., Conscious Competence learning
stages model, and others), certain people have chosen to augment the VAK model.
This has been done by the addition of R for 'Reading'.
Or by the addition of T for 'Tactile'.

Accordingly you may see the VAK model represented in this elongated VARK or VACT forms. You might even see it expressed as VARKT,
combining the two variations.
I leave it to you to decide whether it's worth introducing these fourth and/or fifth elements to what is otherwise an adequate and nicely
balanced model, in which the Visual style arguably (and many would suggest, certainly) covers a person's preference towards absorbing via
the written or printed word, which is obviously a visual sensory activity, and in which the Kinesthethic style arguably encompasses a
preference for tactile experiences (touching and holding things), because this is obviously a sensory activity related to muscular
movement and sensation (see the definition of Kinesthetic above).
It's up to you. As ever, use these models and theories in ways that suit your purposes.
Apply your own judgement and interpretation so that you get the best out of them, and where possible even improve and adapt them for
your own situation. As the quote says, "A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than the giant himself" (Didacus Stella,
circa AD60).
Also relevant to the subject of intelligence, particularly the fact that 'intelligence', however it is defined, is never as important as the way we
use our brains, and make the best of ourselves:
"Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate
from the way a car is driven." (Edward de Bono, b.1933, British psychologist, writer and expert on thinking.)
(More inspirational quotes.)

http://www.businessballs.com/personalitystylesmodels.htm

Models of Teaching
An Overview: Exactly what are teaching models and why are they so important to the quality of instruction?

Leslie Owen Wilson

Contact Leslie

Simply put models of teaching deal with the ways in which learning environments and instructional experiences can
be constructed, sequenced, or delivered.

If you are a practicing educator at any level, you may not yet realize this, but you need not reinvent the wheel when you are
looking for effective ways teach. There are literally hundreds of models of teaching and learning. To reiterate, simply put
models deal with the ways in which learning environments and instructional experiences can be constructed,
sequenced, or delivered. They may provide theoretical or instructional frameworks, patterns, or examples for any number of
educational components curricula, teaching techniques, instructional groupings, classroom management plans, content
development, sequencing, delivery, the development of support materials, presentation methods, etc. Teaching models may
even be discipline or student-population specific.
Models of teaching and learning are critical pieces to instructional planning and delivery because they help educators:

1) develop highly tuned and more varied professional repertoires;

2) allow them to reach larger numbers for students more effectively;
3) create either more uniform, or varied, or effective instructional events, guided by targeted subjects, content, or processes;
4) understand curricular foci better, especially as different models can be matched specifically to both learning outcomes and/or
targeted learning populations;
5) gain needed insights into why some methods work with some learners, while others do not;
6) radically modify or redesign existing methods of teaching and instructional delivery so that emerging or altered instructional
techniques may better meet the needs of todays students.
If you have ever used elements from Gardners Multiple Intelligences, or Madeline Hunters lock-step lesson formula for
Mastery Learning, or Bernice McCarthys Learning Styles 4-mat Model, or KWL (know, want to know, learned), or the Graffiti
Model, or perhaps Six Traits Writing, or the Fishbowl Discussion model to formulate and deliver a lesson, then you have
already used a teaching model. You may have even created your own models of teaching but didnt know it.
________________________________________________________________

Aligned to teaching beliefs

Traditionally, models of teaching are represented by a broad array of teaching systems, each system containing a distinctive
philosophical foundation, or theory of learning basis, with related pedagogical methodologies. Most models can be loosely fitted
into one of four or five distinct families of educational psychology social; information-processing; personal;

behavioral systems are the traditional ones, with constructivist added lately. Models falling into the first four categories have
strong histories of research, development, and usage as most have been both refined and tested in the field. Plus, each of
these divisions, to includeconstructivism, has a distinctive theory of learning orientation. (A test of four family preferences see
which one you believe in most. Four Families Philosophy Survey and the four family test key )
Often what happens in schools is that school administrators buy into a certain philosophical orientation. Based on those beliefs
administrators may choose favorite models to want to see implemented in their schools. They may also offer mandatory
professional development training in related models with the strong expectations of seeing all teachers using the selected
methods.
But what happens when teachers dont have the same belief system that guides the chosen model? When there is no
alignment between ones personal beliefs and suggested or imposed practices, teachers tend to bulk at using these methods,
often simply shutting the door and hoping to teach in their preferred way.
An example of a model vs belief conflict: While intellectually I realized the potential power of behavioral management
models to actively change students actions, at least in the short term, throughout my public teaching career at a deeply
personal level I had a strong aversion to using these techniques as my first course of action. Many of the methods labeled as
behavioral modification use operant conditioning as a basis. At a deeply rooted level I dont appreciate treating children like
trained seals for me it chafed at my professional and personal beliefs. This aversion does not mean that I was incapable of
using behavioral techniques. Indeed, schools by the very nature of the organization of the institution are very rooted in
behavioral models. If I noticed that students were only motivated by external rewards or punishments, I could certainly
implement behavioral models, but emotionally I never felt fully committed to these methodologies. Indeed, if I started out having
to use extrinsic behavioral rewards, often I would gradually phase these techniques out in favor of more intrinsic methods.

My end point is that each family of models has strengths and weaknesses, and there is a great deal of diversity in the available
array of models. A preference for one set of models over another does not necessarily imply superiority or heightened
usefulness. It may simply be the compatible alignment of ones underlying beliefs to those that direct the model. There are no
one-size-fits all models of teaching, and all models are not appropriate for all instructional scenarios. In point of fact,
there are models that are a better match for certain tasks. Increasing the diversity of ones teaching techniques is the primary
power of learning about models. The more models teachers investigate and practice, the more techniques they will have at
their disposal and the better their chances at optimizing efforts to successfully reach and teach their students.
________________________________________________________________

Details Families of models:

Basically there are two types of models of teaching ones that can be cleanly categorized and placed into one of the classic
philosophical orientation groupings social; information-processing; personal; or behavioral systems; or ones that are
hybrid/mixed models that have combined elements from different families of learning like those that can be labeled
as constructivist.
Descriptions of each of the traditional families:
Personal source (aka Personalist): This group of approaches acknowledges the uniqueness of each learner. Methods in this
category foster the importance of individuals in creating, directing, and structuring personal meaning. Also models in this area
are often targeted to foster things like self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotional and personal understanding and acceptance. Carl
RogersNon-directive Teaching Model would be a good example for this group.
Social interaction: This group of methods aims at building learning communities and purports to develop productive ways of
interacting in a democratic setting. These models also emphasize that human learning occurs in social settings and through

modeled behaviors and social exchanges. The Schaftels Role Playing Model is one of the more popular models in this group.
Donald Olivers The Jurisprudence Model also exemplifies a form of social learning.
Information processing: This is the largest grouping of approaches aimed at emphasizing ways of learning specific
information and of acquiring and organizing data, solving problems, and developing concepts and language. As the categorical
title obviously implies, models confined to this category deal with intellectual development, powers of reasoning and logic,
aiding students in organizing and retaining information, and in enhancing their metacognitive functions. Primary examples
designate in this area of might be David Ausubels Advanced Organizers, or Jerome Bruners Concept Attainment models.
Behavioral: Behavioral techniques are amenable to highly structured outcomes that concentrate on observable objectives
such as learning to read, physical skills, behavioral and emotional adaptations and restructuring. These models are highly
structured with finite goals toward specific pre-determined ends. B. F. Skinner is one of the more well know developers of
behavioral techniques like his Operant Conditioning.
________________________________________________________________
Common features: Models usually contain common features and these may include:

An identified purpose or area of concentration (For instance the Six Traits Writing Model is designed for writing,
while Synecticswas formulated to stimulate creative thought and solutions);

Underlying explicit and implicit assumptions about the characteristics of learners and about the teaching-learning
process (These are directly tied to guiding tenets of the different divisions of educational psychology and theories of
learning. For instance in Behavioral Models students are seen as being generally passive but able to respond and to be
motivated through different forms of directed stimulation.)

Guidelines for developing specific educational experiences;

Definite patterns and requirements for each instructional event; plus

A body of research surrounding their development and implementation, and/or an evaluation of their effectiveness.

________________________________________________________________

Traditional Parts of a Model:

In Joyce, Weil, and Calhouns Models of Teaching (2008) they note that in order to be designated a bona fide model, it should

qualify in6 of the following areas.

Focus is the central intent of the model. Focal components revolve around the main objective of the model. Is it the focus of the
learning event to encourage learning by manipulating thought or types of thinking; growth in learning through external stimuli or
rewards; social learning, or social and emotional growth through interaction; or increased levels of self-achievement and
personal growth through personally directed choices? Models are usually developed with a focus, an end-game, or specific
intention in mind. For instance, Madeline Hunters very popular Mastery Teaching concept focuses on presenting materials in a
tightly controlled, very repetitive way so that learners have optimal opportunities to get content, concepts, or processes right the
first time. Another example in cooperative learning models the focus is on the importance of social interchange and peer
support in learning new things. Therefore models differ one from the other in terms of their primary objective or focal point of
their intended outcomes.

Syntax describes the models structure and includes the sequence of steps involved in the organization of the model. It
includes the major components and the phases of unfolding, or the sequencing of steps, and describes how the model
progresses. Obviously the syntax can be quite different for each model.
Principles of Reaction tell the teacher how to regard the learner and how to respond to what the learner does during the use
of the model. Often responses in using a designated model should be appropriate and selectively specific. This element is
concerned with the teachers reactions to the students responses. This portion of the model alerts the teacher on how to react
to the responses of the students. It is here that the teacher learns whether the learners have been actively involved in the
models processes and steps.
The Social System describes the interactions between students and teacher as each model is viewed as if it were a mini
society. Since every teaching model is different, each model will have its own social system and rules of engagement. This
portion concerns the interactive roles and relationships between the teacher and the student, expected norms, and which
student behaviors should be rewarded. These may be overtly described or simply inferred. Depending on the philosophical
orientation of the model, in some models the role of the teachers is dominant, while in others his or her role is passive. In some
models the roles center on the teacher, and in others the concentration is on the students. There are still other models that
require shared roles whereby teachers and students share roles equally. In this segment both motivational strategies and
tactics for engaging students could be discussed too.
Support system defines the supporting conditions required to implement the model successfully. Support refers to any
additional requirements, beyond the usual general human skills and capabilities, that are needed to implement the model. This
component relates to any additional requirements beyond those generally possessed by teachers or found in schools. What
requirements are needed to make this model work? Are special skills or knowledge needed; or is there special equipment,
media, or learning environment requirements that need to be accessed in using this model? This support would also include
special books, films, laboratory kits, reference materials, permissions, facilities, etc.

Application and effects are rather apparent how can the students use what the model teaches? Application is the utility of
the model as it can be transferred to other situations. Each model attempts to implement some change in learners and
influence their thinking, feelings, social interactions, or physical movements in some way so that those changes can be
transferred to other situations and experiences.
Leslies Note: Many models of teaching were created long before Joyce, Weil and Calhoun developed their 6 elements of a
model list above. In the models these authors selected for their book they examine the individual components for each chosen
model thus making it easy for readers to see how each category works. But for the many teaching models not showcased in the
Joyce, Weil, and Calhoun Models of Teaching text you may have to dig into the literature surrounding the model to discern if all,
or any, of the 6 elements are there.
________________________________________________________________

Samples of Models and Links to more information: *Underlined model titles indicate links in the description.
Leslies Note: Sometimes the supposed official classification of selected models changes as classifications can be somewhat
subjective depending on the philosophical orientation and educational intentions of the model and the viewer/user. This should
not diminish their effectiveness or value, but rather it is a condition of time and personal analysis. Different classifying authors
see different elements. As I indicated earlier, many models are hybrids combining elements from varied theories of learning and
this makes them more difficult to pigeon hole correctly.
Examples of Existing Models with Their Common Family Classifications:
The listing below is not fully conclusive but places to start your searches. Readers are encouraged to seek out additional
models on their own using the titles of the models as search descriptors.

I have linked some examples of materials from the WWW but you too can find them using the title of the model.
Additionally, for use with their classic text on models, Pearson Publishing has sponsored a website that is designed to
be a companion to their Joyce, Weil, and Calhoun text at modelsofteaching.org and this may be a good place to
augment your online investigations. It is exceptionally helpful in that they have gathered links from YouTube
whereby viewers can actually see examples of teachers using or demonstrating the models, or parts of models.

There are also general teaching strategies sites that include links to both models and individual strategies. A good
example of an excellent resource is Kelly Jo Rowans site.

In the listings below, there are hypertexted beginning links, and those selections with an * asterisk are ones where there
are links within the definitions. Please explore those examples for more ideas.

Please, if you find exceptional examples, write to me so I too can add this information and we can spread the word! If a link is
down please contact me so that I can remove or correct the link.
Personal or Personalist Models:

*Nondirective teaching: Focuses on self-awareness, understanding, autonomy, and self-concept (There are a number
of Prezis (Notasha Folarin), PPTs, and articles (ASCD) on this concept online)

Developing Positive Self-Concepts

Relaxation and stress reduction: Exploring personal goals for relaxation, or using self-initiated relaxation techniques
to calm anxieties in social settings. There are many models that use this theme as a basis.

Selection, Detection, Connection Model A self-directed teaching model for highly intrinsically motivated high school
students.

Social Learning Models:

Classroom Meeting: Strengthens responsibility towards self and others. This model has rules and structure and
specified intentions.

Cooperative or Collaborative Learning: Collective arrangement and division of tasks, sharing results and ideas. There
are a number of authors claiming this model significantly Johnson and Johnson, and also Robert Slavin. There are
also cooperative models that have more specific purposes like the Jigsaw Model.

Graffiti Model: Graffiti is a cooperative learning structure in which students are asked to give written responses to
questions posed by a teacher

Group Investigation: Focuses on interpersonal group skills as students engage in acquiring information

Jigsaw Model: Originally, the jigsaw concept was developed in the 1960s to facilitate racial integration. As an
educational model it falls into the Social Family of methods. There are several variations of this model. Here isanother
page on creating jigsaw lessons, a sample lesson plan using the model.

Jurisprudential: Uses the jurisprudential frame of reference to solve social issues (see 2nd example)

Laboratory Method: Group/interpersonal skills, personal awareness, and flexibility skills are stressed in this model

Role Playing: Role play as a teaching strategy PDF by Jarvis, Odell, and Torioano In role play students assume roles
and become the source of their inquiry.

Sociodrama Students assume roles, acting out issues in order to facilitate awareness and understanding about
concepts or important issues

Social Inquiry: Problem solving using social issues

Information Processing Models: (this is the fastest growing family of models)

*Advance Organizer Model: Increases the efficiency of information-processing capacities. There are several kinds so
there is a lot of possibilities and varieties expository, narrative, skimming, or graphic. This piece from John Hendron
is an excellent overview of the process and usage of this model, plus he has included samples and resource links.

Cognitive Growth Development: Mainly focuses on general intellectual development

Cognitive Views of Learning: Focuses on the processes within the learners. Strategies are developed to encode and
retrieve information (Kauchak & Eggen, 1998)

Critical Thinking: Deals with a series of dialogs and exercises designed to get students to think at higher levels and at
levels that engage critical appraisal or critical thinking. (see the works of Richard Paul for primary methods and
examples.[Paul, 2005])

*Inductive Thinking Model/Inquiry Training Model: Focuses on the development of inductive mental processes and
academic reasoning. This model includes the work of Hilda Taba who is linked below. Here is fun and informative
overview of teaching the inductive process and a comparison of how it differs from the direct teaching fromByrdseed.

Concept Attainment: Focuses on developing inductive reasoning & conceptual knowledge

Inquiry Training: Engages students in causal reasoning, and aids then in developing hypotheses

Learning Styles Model: These plans are devised and written reflecting concepts developed by one of the learning style
theorists or followers (such as Kathleen Butler or Bernice McCarthy, Dunn and Dunn, etc.)

*Memorization: Improves memory capabilities through a variety of methods and tricks. There are a number of inventive
and helpful sites like Wiliamettes on ideal conditions for memorizing, or commercial sites likeMemorize.com with all
kinds of cool functions to help students create memory devices. Study guides and strategies also has a great page
about create mnemonic devices to aid recall.

*Multiple Intelligences: MI plans utilize, or are based on, those 8 intelligences described in the work of Howard
Gardner. Samples of related plans here. There are many, many excellent sites based solely on MI Theory.

*Multi-modal Learning Model: These plans reflect varied modalities used to encode and retrieve learning. There are
generally two basic variations VAK (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and VARK (visual, aural, reading, kinesthetic). Neil
Fleming (VARK) seems to have gone commercial, his site and test are an excellent overview on modal differences for
beginners exploring this concept.

Picture Word Inductive or PWIM Developed by Models of teaching author Emily Calhoun this model is geared to
help children in developing sight and written vocabulary drawing on commonly familiar words. There is also and
excellent YouTube demonstrations of this model.

Scientific Inquiry Model: Instructor teaches students the research system of a subject or discipline. Problem solving
may be utilized in this model

Synectics: Creative problem solving (Gordon, W. J. J. [1961] and also George M. Prince) In earlier versions of this
model it was placed in the Personalist category, later versions place in in the Information Processing format. Personally I
think this is where it belongs

*Tabas Inductive Reasoning Model: Advanced thinking can be taught through a series of steps designed to be an
active transition between an individual and data. This is a very powerful model and there are a number of good links

explaining this concept. Here are two one simple and one more detailed example from a short research paper
from Dr. Mujibul Hasan Siddiqui
Behavioral Models:

Desensitization: Replacing anxieties with relaxation

*Direct Teaching: Expert or intermediary offers information this method in probably the oldest method among the
teacher-centered models. Also it is more than likely the most universally experienced form of teaching for most of
us.This link provides a brief overview but also offers a comparison with other student-centered methods, while this
link offers a comprehensive definition of direct instruction with citations.

Direct Training: Develops distinctive predetermined patterns of behavior. Like direct teaching an expert shows a novice
how to do something. This is readily used in trade schools and in situations where there are gradations of apprenticeship
toward a desired skill or goal.

Behaviorism: Emphasized the importance of observable, external events on learning and the role of reinforces in
influencing those events (Kauchak & Eggen, 1998)

Hunter Model, also Mastery Learning: highly structured approach to teaching whereby plans are devised using the
classic, repetitive lesson model developed by the late Madeline Hunter

Self-control: Uses a series of rewards and internal dialogs to correct or improve social behavior

Simulation: Students deal with hypothetical or social situations and various processes to help their decision-making
skills. Progression to an end goal or specified understanding or outcome is plotted.

________________________________________________________________
Examples of hybrid or mixed models:

Awareness Training: Emphasizes self-awareness and interpersonal awareness

*Constructivism: An eclectic view of learning that emphasizes: This site does an excellent job of explaining
constructivist planning Thirteen EdOnline.

o Learners construct their own understanding rather than having it delivered or transmitted to them.
o New learning depends on prior understanding.
o Learning is enhanced by social interaction.
o Authentic learning tasks promote meaningful learning. (Kauchak & Eggen, 1998)
Constructivist models can be
o Problem based learning
o Project based learning

Contingency Management: Deals with facts, concepts, and skills

The Flipped Classroom Model A succinct, comprehensive overview of the model

Holistic-learning: The focus of holistic education is on relationships the relationship between linear thinking and
intuition, the relationships between various domains of knowledge, the relationship between the individual and
community and the relationship between self and Self. In the holistic-curriculum the student examines these

relationships so that he/she gains both an awareness of them and the skills necessary to transform the relationships
where it is appropriate (Miller, 1988)

*Paideia: A model that attempts of instill egalitarian education to all children through the study of enduring classics in an
educational system based on the great, unchanging themes and works of human kind. These are topics and works that
are timeless, endless, classic they are the big ideas contained in great works of art, literature and science. Paideia
focuses on helping all students to acquire, remember, and understand basic ideas, skills, and facts. The model uses
three main methods of teaching the lecture, coaching, and seminar and is linked through Socratic dialogues between
students and teachers. There are numerous website showing schools that use this method.

Positive interdependence: Focuses on achieving personal goals by finding and networking with individuals with like
concerns or goals. (Realistically this model melds both personal interests with social needs to establish connections with
others with the same goals or concerns. I have also seen it categorized as both a personal model and as a social
model.)

Problem Solving Model: These plans reflect general rules for developing skills used in solving problems. In this
process the teacher develops a problem; carefully accesses skills needed to solve the problem; and creates conditions
and/or parameters that act as guidelines for products or solutions; these same conditions and parameters also serve as
evaluation criteria integrated approach to education.

Renzullis Triad Enrichment Model: Planned inquiry is accelerated through personally chosen research interests

Socratic Method: Using specialized instructor dialogues as a means of direct teaching and to encourage critical
thinking and appraisal (Hyman, 1970)

________________________________________________________________

A Personal Testimony: In all of my 310+ credits in higher education, Models of Teaching and Learning was one my most
important graduate classes EVER! I have two very strong regrets about this course. The first is that I wish it had been part
of my undergraduate teacher preparation training. My other regret is that this course is not more universal in teacher training
programs, or mandatory in advanced educational graduate sequences.
Based on these thoughts, as a professor in teacher education I tried to bring some of the simpler models into my
undergraduate classes in educational psychology. Content in educational psychology traditionally covers the distinctive
families of learning and the theories that drive them. Adding models of teaching that exemplified these theories seemed like a
natural addition to the course so that students could see how theory bridged into practice.
Although many of my students artfully incorporated this training into their lesson planning, I am still not wholly certain they
grasped fully the importance of knowing about teaching models. Later in my university career I also developed an online
graduate class focused on the models topic. At least at the graduate level I was glad to observe that most of my students did
get the importance of knowing about teaching and learning models. Many also had the same initial reaction I did why didnt
I have this course as an undergraduate?
That noted, learning about models may be one of those topics that increases in importance and ease of acceptance and
applicability as folks age in their professional wisdom and experience. I still feel very compelled to try to spread the word to a
broader cyber audience hoping to convince those readers interested in being excellent teachers that learning about teaching
models is a very important topic in ones professional array of teaching tools. This posting is an alert that many models are out
there and an encouragement that as an educator you should try to find out more about them beyond this simple introduction.

________________________________________________________________
Recommended Texts:

There are several excellent books on models of teaching. For an overall introduction into the world of models I am partial to the
one by Joyce, Weil, and Calhoun. For years, Bruce Joyce and Marsha Weil have been perceived by educational leaders as
paramount experts in the area of teaching and learning models. Recently they have joined with Emily Calhoun. In all my years
of teaching this content as a graduate level course, I have had no student who was willing to let go of his/her text for resale.
They all agreed this is one of those books that was a must have in their collections of professional references. In my mind that
is quite an endorsement.

Joyce, B. & Weil, M., w/Calhoun, E. (2014) Models of teaching, 9th edition, Allyn and Bacon. (Pearson Publishing) This
is an expensive text but a jewel of a professional reference. If you dont want to buy it for yourself, see if you can get
your media specialist or administrator to purchase a copy for your institutions professional development library. Unlike
many other reference books, one of the premiere elements in this volume is the Appendix. It is full of very useful forms,
and not only ones that will help readers implement the models, but ones designed to improve teaching practices and
professional self-evaluation. Again, as noted above, this newer edition encourages readers to use the companion
website @ modelsofteaching.org, where there are linked videoed examples of demonstrations of many of the
models. This video cache from Pearson is an extremely valuable resource!

http://thesecondprinciple.com/teaching-essentials/models-teaching/

Bandura - Social Learning Theory

by Saul McLeod
published 2011, updated 2016
In social learning theory Albert Bandura (1977) agrees with the behaviourist learning theories of classical
conditioningand operant conditioning. However, he adds two important ideas:
1.
Mediating processes occur between stimuli & responses.
2.
Behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning.

Observational Learning
Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways. This is illustrated during the famous Bobo doll
experiment (Bandura, 1961).
Individuals that are observed are called models. In society, children are surrounded by many influential models, such as parents
within the family, characters on childrens TV, friends within their peer group and teachers at school. Theses models provide
examples of behavior to observe and imitate, e.g. masculine and feminine, pro and anti-social etc.
Children pay attention to some of these people (models) and encodetheir behavior. At a later time they may imitate (i.e. copy)
the behavior they have observed. They may do this regardless of whether the behavior is gender appropriate or not, but there
are a number of processes that make it more likely that a child will reproduce the behavior that its society deems appropriate for
its sex.
First, the child is more likely to attend to and imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself. Consequently, it is more likely to
imitate behavior modeled by people of the same sex.
Second, the people around the child will respond to the behavior it imitates with either reinforcement or punishment. If a child
imitates a models behavior and the consequences are rewarding, the child is likely to continue performing the behavior. If
parent sees a little girl consoling her teddy bear and says what a kind girl you are, this is rewarding for the child and makes it
more likely that she will repeat the behavior. Her behavior has been reinforced (i.e. strengthened).
Reinforcement can be external or internal and can be positive or negative. If a child wants approval from parents or peers, this
approval is an external reinforcement, but feeling happy about being approved of is an internal reinforcement. A child will
behave in a way which it believes will earn approval because it desires approval.
Positive (or negative) reinforcement will have little impact if the reinforcement offered externally does not match with an
individual's needs. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, but the important factor is that it will usually lead to a change in
a person's behavior.
Third, the child will also take into account of what happens to other people when deciding whether or not to copy someones
actions. A person learns by observing the consequences of another persons (i.e. models) behaviour e.g. a younger sister

observing an older sister being rewarded for a particular behaviour is more likely to repeat that behaviour herself. This is
known as vicarious reinforcement.
This relates to attachment to specific models that possess qualities seen as rewarding. Children will have a number of models
with whom they identify. These may be people in their immediate world, such as parents or older siblings, or could be fantasy
characters or people in the media. The motivation to identify with a particular model is that they have a quality which the
individual would like to possess.
Identification occurs with another person (the model) and involves taking on (or adopting) observed behaviors, values, beliefs
and attitudes of the person with whom you are identifying.
The term identification as used by Social Learning Theory is similar to the Freudian term related to the Oedipus complex. For
example, they both involve internalizing or adopting another persons behavior. However, during the Oedipus complex the child
can only identify with the same sex parent, whereas with Social Learning Theory the person (child or adult) can potentially
identify with any other person.
Identification is different to imitation as it may involve a number of behaviors being adopted, whereas imitation usually involves
copying a single behavior.

Mediational Processes
SLT is often described as the bridge between traditional learning theory (ie. behaviourism) and the cognitive approach. This is
because it focuses on how mental (cognitive) factors are involved in learning.
Unlike Skinner, Bandura (1977) believes that humans are active information processors and think about the relationship
between their behavior and its consequences. Observational learning could not occur unless cognitive processes were at work.
These mental factors mediate (i.e. intervene) in the learning process to determine whether a new response is acquired.
Therefore, individuals do not automatically observe the behaviour of a model and imitate it. There is some thought prior to
imitation and this consideration is called mediational processes. This occurs between observing the behaviour (stimulus) and
imitating it or not (response)

There are four mediational processes proposed by Bandura:

1.

Attention: The extent to which we are exposed/notice the behaviour. For a behaviour to be imitated it has to grab our
attention. We observe many behaviours on a daily basis and many of these are not noteworthy. Attention is therefore
extremely important in whether a behaviour has an influence in others imitating it.

2.

Retention: How well the behaviour is remembered. The behaviour may be noticed, but is it not always remembered
which obviously prevents imitation. It is important therefore that a memory of the behaviour is formed to be performed later
by the observer. Much of social learning is not immediate so this process is especially vital in those cases. Even if the
behaviour is reproduced shortly after seeing it, there needs to be a memory to refer to.

3.

Reproduction: This is the ability to perform the behavior that the model has just demonstrated. We see much behaviour
on a daily basis that we would like to be able to imitate but that this not always possible. We are limited by our physical
ability and for that reason, even if we wish to reproduce the behaviour, we cannot. This influences our decisions whether to
try and imitate it or not. Imagine the scenario of a 90-year-old-lady who struggles to walk watching Dancing on Ice. She may
appreciate that the skill is a desirable one, but she will not attempt to imitate it because she physically cannot do it.

4.

Motivation: The will to perform the behaviour. The rewards and punishment that follow a behaviour will be considered
by the observer. If the perceived rewards outweighs the perceived costs (if there are any) then the behaviour will be more
likely to be imitated by the observer. If the vicarious reinforcement is not seen to be important enough to the observer then
they will not imitate the behaviour.

Critical Evaluation
The social learning approach takes thought processes into account and acknowledges the role that they play in deciding if a
behaviour is to be imitated or not. As such, SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising
the role of mediational processes.
However, although it can explain some quite complex behavior it cannot adequately account for how we develop a whole range
of behavior including thoughts and feelings. We have a lot of cognitive control over our behavior and just because we have had
experiences of violence does not mean we have to reproduce such behavior. It is for this reason that Bandura modified his
theory and in I986 renamed his Social Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), as a better description of how we learn
from our social experiences.
Some criticisms of social learning theory arise from their commitment to the environment as the chief influence on behaviour. It
is limiting to describe behavior solely in terms of either nature or nurture, and attempts to do this underestimate the complexity
of human behavior. It is more likely that behavior is due to an interaction between nature (biology) and nurture (environment).
Social learning theory is not a full explanation for all behaviour. This is particularly the case when there is no apparent role
model in the persons life to imitate for a given behaviour.

The discovery of mirror neurons has lent biological support to the theory of social learning. Although research is in its infancy
the recent discovery of "mirror neurons" in primates may constitute a neurological basis for imitation. These are neurons which
fire both if the animal does something itself, and if it observes the action being done by another.
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html

Autonomous Learner Model

An Autonomous Learner; by definition is "one who solves problems or develops new ideas through a combination of divergent and convergent thinking
and functions with minimal external guidance in selected areas of endeavour." (Betts and Knapp, 1981)
Professor George Betts and Jolene Kercher devised The Autonomous Learner Model (ALM) to promote self-directed learning in gifted and talented
students. The major goal of the model is to facilitate the growth of students as independent, self-directed learners, with the development of skills,
concepts and positive attitudes within the cognitive, emotional and social domains.
The model is designed to move students toward the role of learners, controlling the learning process, with teachers adopting the role of facilitator.
With a flexible approach the model can be used in the regular classroom (with all learners and across all phases of development), in small group
settings, as an individual course, or in specific or cross curricula learning areas.
The ALM advocates the development of student's 'passion' learning - where the child engages in in-depth learning rather than merely covering breadth
of a topic. A key focus of the program is lifelong learning, with emphasis placed on meeting the individualised needs of learners through the use of
activities in the 5 major dimensions of the model.
The model consists of five major dimensions:
1. Orientation - understanding giftedness, group building activities, self/personal development
2. Individual Development - inter/intra personal understanding, learning skills, use of technology, university/career awareness, organisational and
productivity skills
3. Enrichment - courses, explorations, investigations, cultural activities, community service, excursions, camps
4. Seminars - small group presentations of futuristic, problematic, controversial, general interest or advanced knowledge topics.
5. In-Depth Study - individual projects, group projects, mentorship's, presentations, assessment of self and othe

Osborn-Parne's Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Process

The Creative Problem Solving process is a flexible tool that can be used to examine real problems and issues. Developed by 'brainstorming' creator Alex
Osborn and Dr Sidney Parnes, the six stages to the model, provide a structured procedure for identifying challenges, generating ideas and

implementing innovative solutions. Through continued practice and use of the process students can strengthen their creative techniques and learn to
generalise in new situations.
The process flows logically through the six steps of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Objective (Mess) Finding - identifying the goal, challenge and future direction.
Fact Finding - collecting data about the problem, observing the problem as objectively as possible.
Problem Solving - examining the various parts of the problem to isolate the major part, stating the problem in an open-ended way.
Idea Finding - generating as many ideas as possible regarding the problem, brainstorming.
Solution Finding - choosing the solution that would be most appropriate, developing and selecting criteria to evaluate the alternative solutions.
Acceptance Finding - creating a plan of action.

Unlike many other problem-solving methods, the process emphasises the need to defer judgement on possible ideas and solutions until a final decision
is made. In this way, the flow of ideas in the third step is not interrupted, and possible solutions, however, bizarre, are accepted. The teacher's role at
this step is very important, creating an environment in which students can feel comfortable in making suggestions. Quantity of ideas is required in
brainstorming, not quality.

Renzulli's Enrichment Triad

One of the more influential theorists on program delivery today is Joseph Renzulli. Renzulli's early work focused on a triad of attributes, above average
ability, task commitment and creativity.
His later model, the school wide enrichment model, became popular because it is inclusive, affecting many students in the school, while being highly
effective with gifted students. It provides gifted students with an enhanced educational model.
Renzulli describes an organisational and service delivery model, which has three components: Type I enrichment (general exploratory
experiences), Type II enrichment (group training activities), and Type III enrichment (individual and small-group investigations of real problems).
Organisational elements include enrichment-planning teams, needs assessments, staff development, materials selection, and program evaluation.
Some of the service delivery components are lessons to promote development of thinking processes, procedures to modify the regular curriculum, and
curriculum compacting.
Joseph Renzulli (Renzulli, Sand and Reis, 1986) created this model specifically for the education of gifted students so that teachers could provide
programs that are qualitatively different.
The Enrichment Triad Model consists of three types of enrichment:

TYPE I - General Interest / Exploratory Activities

These activities are designed to provide students with as wide a range of experiences as possible, and include excursions, club, interest centres,
visiting speakers and brainstorming sessions.

TYPE II - Group Training Activities / Skills Development

These activities are designed to develop thinking and feeling skills and students are involved in designing, experimenting, comparing, analysing,
recording and classifying. Skills to be developed include creative and critical thinking, learning how to learn, using advanced level reference materials
and communicating effectively.

TYPE III - Individual and Small Group Investigation of Real Problems

Students apply the knowledge and skills they have developed while working through Type I and Type II activities. They become investigators of real
problems, working on specific areas of study towards presentation to a real audience. Activities include researching, debating, surveying, making a
presentation, writing a journal article or producing a book or play.
A significant feature of Renzulli's Enrichment Triad model is that all students can work at the first two levels, and the activities generated within
these levels support the third level. Type III activities are more appropriate for gifted students, as they allow for the generation of creativity.

Edward de Bono
"The difference between brilliant and mediocre thinking lies not so much in our mental equipment as in how well we use it." Dr Edward De Bono
Dr Edward de Bono is regarded by many to be the leading authority in the world in the field of creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking as
a skill. He has written 62 books with translations into 37 languages and has been invited to lecture in 54 countries.
He is the originator of lateral thinking which treats creativity as the behaviour of information in a self-organising information system - such as the
neural networks in the brain. From such a consideration arise the deliberate and formal tools of lateral thinking, parallel thinking including The Six
Thinking Hats and CoRT Thinking.
Dr de Bono designed and runs the CoRT Thinking Programme, which is internationally the most widely used method for the teaching of thinking in
schools and is in use in many countries around the world.

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

The question is not 'how smart is this student' but 'how is this student smart?'.

Gardner's work around multiple intelligences has provided teachers with an educational model to answer this question. The model of multiple
intelligences provides teachers, students and parents with the confirmation that different students have different strengths and they learn in different
ways. Students' strengths and preferences affect not only the ease with which they learn but also how they can best represent what they know and
understand.
'The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It suggests that the
traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a
broader range of human potential in children and adults.'
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Linguistic intelligence ("word smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Taylor's Multiple-Talent Model

Unlike many other researchers, Calvin Taylor interpreted gifted students as those at the very top of any talent area, and talented students as those
who are above average. As a result of this interpretation, he has suggested that nearly all students are talented in at least one way and that if a
program was developed to cater for a wide range of talent areas, greater numbers of students would benefit. Taylor argued for a complete
reformation of the education system to allow for the development of this diversity of talents displayed by students.
Although Taylor's model aimed to identify strengths in all children, the model does adapt well to a curriculum for the gifted.
Taylor listed multiple abilities in which students could display talent, and suggested that these abilities spilt over into the "real world":
Taylor's Multiple-Talent Model
SKILL

WHAT THIS MEANS

EXAMPLES

Academic

Being able to develop a knowledge/skills base about a topic

Acquire information about...

Research the concept of...

Creativity

Being able to create original meanings, see new relationships

and ideas

Create another day of the week.

Generate ideas.
Add details .

Decide what you think are the characteristics of an ideal

pet.
Examine all possibilities.
Make a choice and justify your selection.

Decision Making

Being able to look at alternatives, evaluate and justify

decisions

Planning

Plan a friend's birthday party.

Being able to organise ways of arriving at specific objectives or
Develop a plan for...
answers
Prepare a budget for...

Forecasting

Being able to predict and examine cause and effect

Predict what would happen if it snowed in Perth.

Tell what you think.
What would happen if...

Communication

Being able to communicate both verbally and non-verbally

Demonstrate how you would feel if you were stranded on

the moon.
Tell about sports days from the viewpoint of the teacher.
Paint a picture to express joy.
Show how.
Describe your feelings about.

Implementing

Being able to implement a plan

Implement the plan for...

Human Relations

Being able to obtain and keep a job

Apply for a position on...

Discerning
Opportunities

Being able to identify new opportunities and make progress

Identify a need and initiate a program for...

According to Taylor, IQ tests alone are insufficient to identify giftedness as they are related to academic talent only and assess this one talent to the
exclusion of the others. Through Taylor's model a teacher would be able to expose students to a much wider range of talent areas.
Taylor's model encourages the following:

development of open-ended activities that will allow the development of talents

focus on talent development rather than only the acquisition of knowledge

knowledge being seen more as a by-product or a means to an end

different and varied approaches to learning

a greater emphasis on contact work within the classroom

a smooth transition to the "real world" through decision-making and planning

improvements in students' self-confidence and self-esteem

 Dabrowski's Over-Excitablities

Stephanie S. Tolan provides a concise overview of Dabrowski's OE's in her article written for Hoagies' Gifted Education Page, February, 1999:

Dabrowski's Over-excitabilities A Layman's Explanation

Dabrowski talked about OE's - over-excitabilities ("superstimulatabilities"), and how the gifted were extremely sensitive in a variety of areas.
It's a stimulus-response difference from the norms. It means that in these 5 areas a person reacts more strongly than normal for a longer
period than normal to a stimulus that may be very small. It involves not just psychological factors but central nervous system sensitivity.

The five areas are:

Psychomotor
This is often thought to mean that the person needs lots of movement and athletic activity, but can also refer to the issue of having trouble
smoothing out the mind's activities for sleeping. Lots of physical energy and movement, fast talking, lots of gestures, sometimes nervous tics.

Sensual
Here's the "cut the label out of the shirt" demand, the child who limps as if with a broken leg when a sock seam is twisted. Also a love for
sensory things -- textures, smells, tastes etc. or a powerful reaction to negative sensory input (bad smells, loud sounds, etc.) The kids tend to
be sensitive to bright lights (squinting in all the family photographs, etc.), harsh sounds. A baby who cries when the wind blows in his face, for
instance; a toddler who cries at the feel of grass on bare legs and feet. Another important aspect of this is aesthetic awareness -- the child
who is awed to breathlessness at the sight of a beautiful sunset or cries hearing Mozart, etc.

Imaginational
These are the dreamers, poets, "space cadets" who are strong visual thinkers, use lots of metaphorical speech. They day dream, remember
their dreams at night and often react strongly to them, believe in magic (take a long time to "grow out of" Santa, the tooth fairy, elves and
fairies, etc.).

Intellectual
Here's the usual definition of "giftedness." Kids with a strong "logical imperative," who love brain teasers and puzzles, enjoy following a line of
complex reasoning, figuring things out. A love of things academic, new information, cognitive games, etc.

Emotional
This includes being "happier when happy, sadder when sad, angrier when angry," etc. Intensity of emotion. But also a very broad range of

emotions. Also a need for deep connections with other people or animals. Unable to find close and deep friends (Damon and Pythias variety)
they invent imaginary friends, make do with pets or stuffed animals, etc. Empathy and compassion. A child who needs a committed
relationship will think herself "betrayed" by a child who plays with one child today and another tomorrow and refers to both as "friends." This
is also the OE that makes the kids susceptible to depression.

Dabrowski believed emotional OE to be central -- the energy center from which the whole constellation of OE's is generated.

Highly gifted people tend to have all 5 of these, but different people lead with different OE's. The engineer types lead with Intellectual, the
poets with Emotional and Imaginational, etc. But variations in the levels of the individual OE's explain a great deal about the temperamental
differences we see!

These five describe the unusual intensity of the gifted as well as the many ways in which they look and behave "oddly" when compared to
norms.

Krathwohl's Taxonomy of the Affective Domain

Krathwohl's Taxonomy provides a set of criteria for classifying educational outcomes related to the complexity of thinking in the affective domain.
This taxonomy, although related to the affective, forms an excellent tool to use in conjunction with Bloom's Cognitive Taxonomy.
Krathwohl's Taxonomy can be applied to all learning areas and levels. It provides a structure from which teachers can devise a sequential series of
activities in order to develop students' personal relationships and value systems.
The five levels of Krathwohl's Taxonmy are:
1.

Receiving
Students at this level are aware of what is presented and are willing to take notice of it. At this level the teacher is the stimuli provider and presenter.

2.

Responding
Students respond when they are committed to discovery. At this level they seek activities in the learning process, receiving satisfaction from their
level of participation.

3.

Valuing

Students make decisions about the value and their commitment to and involvement with it. They make choices and, upon acceptance of a value, may
attempt at this level to sway others to their chosen value.
4.

Organising
This step requires the organisation of values and the construction of a system in which a set of attitudes, beliefs and values is ordered by the
relationship of each to the others.

5.

Characterising by a Value or set

Students at this level have internalised and organised values into a system and can now apply these values as a philosophy of life to a broader range of
situations.

Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Processes

Benjamin Bloom (1956) devised a taxonomy that discriminated between levels of cognitive thinking. Although the original intention of the taxonomy
was to facilitate communication between educators and psychologists in the area of test construction, research and curriculum development, it has
been found that areas of study and classroom activities can be based on the taxonomy.
Bloom's Taxonomy consists of six levels:
1.

Knowledge
Recall or recognition of specific information

2.

Comprehension
Understanding of information given

3.

Application
Using methods, concepts, principles and theories in new situations

4.

Analysis
Breaking information down into its constituent elements

5.

Synthesis
Putting together constituent elements or parts to form a whole requiring original, creative thinking.

6.

Evaluation
Judging the value of ideas, materials, and methods by developing and applying standards and criteria
Students should be encouraged to move from lower-to-higher level thinking through the use of teacher questioning, discussion and appropriate tasks.
Although students need to be exposed to experiences at all levels of the Taxonomy, opportunities to work at more advanced levels are vital for gifted
students. Often their advanced knowledge and comprehension skills enable them to progress more rapidly to higher levels of thinking, such as analysis,
synthesis and evaluation.

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/giftedandtalented/detcms/navigation/identification-provision-inclusivitymonitoring-and-assessment/provision/teaching---learning-models/

Teaching and Learning Models

Autonomous Learner Model

George Betts

Creative Problem Solving Process

Osborn-Parnes

Enrichment Triad

Joseph Renzulli

Lateral and Creative Thinking

Edward de Bono

Multiple Intelligence Model

Howard Gardner

Multiple-Talent Model

Calvin Taylor

Over-Excitablities

Dabrowski

Taxonomy of Affective Domain

Taxonomy of Cognitive domain

David Krathwohl

Benjamin Bloom