Reflection Paper

BriAnn Seagraves
ETEC 424
11/11/2018
As we know all students learn in different ways. Here are some of the ways.

Behaviorism; this theory was based off the findings of B.F. Skinner. It is the belief of this

theory that changes in behavior and conditioning is how people learn. For instance

repeating the behavior over and over again eventually the students will begin to

naturally do the behavior without having to be told, thus a new learned behavior. The

theory believes that babies are like blank slates who must be provided experience to

learn. Examples of this theory are as follows; positive reinforcement, incentives,

repetitive practice, establishing rules. Cognitivism; was derived from the findings from

Jean Piaget. Cognitivism refers to processing a behavior. Seeking ways to understand

and relate what is received to information that is already known. Rather than just a

change in behavior, cognitivism learning takes the new information and applies it to

previous experience thus changing the knowledge that has been stored in the learners

memory. Examples of Cognitivism are as follows; classifying information, open

classroom discussions, problem solving, real life references or examples, structure.

Constructivism This theory is based on the individual thinking of each person. It is

believed that an individual constructs their own concepts and knowledge based on

previous experiences. This theory gives freedom for the students to problem solve and

show their creativity. In order to be successful the person must have a broad knowledge

and past experiences in which to refer to and interpret from to create ideas. Versus

being told what to do and not to question what is told they are asked the question and
they build their own answer based off their personal experiences and personality. Some

examples of constructivism are as follows; research, group work, problem based

learning, discovery learning.

These three learning theories can seriously impact education, because every

student learns so differently and every teacher has a different preference and teaching

method. For me I want to follow more of a Cognitivism and Behaviorism type of learning

and teaching. However I find that for the sake of science Constructivism would find

extremely useful. Discovery learning is what science is all about and for the students to

discover and learn is fun and important. There is plenty of need for all three theories in

every classroom. The more diverse we as teachers are the better are students will

learn.

I feel like after this class and all of the articles, videos, the books that I have

found, watched and read through the duration of the class have greatly impacted me

and have opened my eyes to different techniques and tips to help aide me in my

classroom. I want my classroom to be successful and I want my students to get as

much as they can from my class. I know as a teacher you must conform a bit to your

students as your students have to do the same, and these theories make that so much

easier to accomplish. Open classroom discussions or cognitivism is just genius for a

science classroom. Study groups are the very thing that helped me through my science

classes in college.

With me learning these new techniques and learning theories this will greatly

help my students to become more successful in my class. Instead of everyday showing

a 30 minute slide show power point and boring my students to sleep I now have a ton of
ideas to keep them interested and learning! I am so very excited to try these new (new

to me) techniques out in my very own classroom. I can’t wait to see them in action and

see how well my students succeed. Because when my students succeed I to succeed.

Successful classroom is a successful teacher.

Resources

Douglas, M. (2018). Behaviorism and Social Learning. [online] Available at:

https://malindadouglas.weebly.com/behaviorism-and-social-learning.html
[Accessed 14 Sep. 2018].
Hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca. (2018). [online] Available at:
http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/images/b/b2/Cognitivism.png [Accessed 14 Sep. 2018].
(my picture in slide 5)
Kelly, J. (2018). Learning theories Behaviorism, Cognitive and Constructivist. [online]
Thepeakperformancecenter.com. Available at:
http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/learning/theories/
[Accessed 14 Sep. 2018].
Pandey, A. (2018). 3 Traditional Learning Theories and How They Can Be Used in
eLearning - EIDesign. [online] EIDesign. Available at:
https://www.eidesign.net/three-traditional-learning-theories/ [Accessed 14 Sep.
2018].