JOT2 LEARNING

THEORIES
Julie Pitlock
Student ID: 000587615

Task A: Learning
Theories &
Learners
Constructivism, Cognitivism, Behaviorism

When Constructivism is
Beneficial for Learners
Who are able to learn independently or with a
group, but not directed by a teacher
Who work better with group projects or hands-on

projects than a lecture

Who are able to gain knowledge through experience
Who builds upon knowledge that they already have
(Ertmer and Newby, 1993)

When Cognitivism is
Beneficial for Learners
Who have existing knowledge
Who take an active role in learning
Who are able to change their mental processes
and, as a result, their behaviors
Who act upon their environment (Ertmer and
Newby, 1993)

When Behaviorism is
Beneficial for Learners
Who take a passive role in learning
Who need to process smaller bites of information at
a time
Who are motivated by rewards
Who do not necessarily have pre-existing
knowledge (Ertmer and Newby, 1993)

Task B: Learning
Theory Used in
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan: But Is It Scholarly? (S.O.S For Information
Literacy. A Virtual Idea Factory For Teaching Information
Literacy Skills.
http://www.informationliteracy.org/plans/view/724)

Why the Lesson Plan But Is It

Scholarly? Demonstrates
Cognitivism
The teacher explains the peer-review process to the
students
The teacher displays an electronic, non-scholarly
article on the projector
Students build upon prior knowledge
Librarian or a student volunteer demonstrates search
techniques
Students follow along with the teacher on the
evaluation web site

Task C: Adaptation
of Lesson Plan
But Is It Scholarly? Lesson Plan Adapted to a Constructivist
Theory

Cognitivist Lesson Plan Modified

to Constructivist
Ask students to find what they believe is a scholarly
article based on a topic they choose
Have students list reasons why they believe the
article is scholarly
Have students work in small groups to compare
their findings and discuss why their articles are
scholarly
Provide students with evaluation criteria
Ask students to provide a list of search terms they
used to search for their articles

Task D: Lesson
Plan Discussion
Cognitivism Chosen for Lesson Plan

Cognitivism Chosen for Lesson

Plan
Students need more than just evaluation criteria
need explanation of peer-review process
Students build upon prior knowledge knowing what
a non-scholarly article is ahead of time
Students need the demonstration of search
techniques
Chunking and organizing the information on how to
use library databases for students

Instruction
Through the Use of
Design Theories
Wiggins Backwards Design
Gagnes Nine Events of Instruction
Teaching for Understanding (The Harvard model)

Benefits of Using Design

Theories
Training is only designed if it actually needed
Training is based on the needs of learners so it will
relevant
Content can be adjusted as needed as a result of
student assessments
Designers can take into account the diversity of the
learners and make adjustments as necessary
Designers are able to assess the optimum design
approach to keep students engaged

Task F: Design
Theories
Strengths and Limitations:
Wiggins
Gagne
Teaching for Understand (The Harvard model)

Strengths of Wiggins
Theory
Focuses on what the learner should know and

understand at the end of instruction

Especially functional with curriculum standards
Prioritizes what learners need to know
Defines how understanding is different than just
knowing or doing something
Provides designers criteria for determining deep
understanding of an idea (Wiggins & Mctighe, 2005)

Limitations of Wiggins
May be time-consuming to learn this theory
Too aligned with curriculum standards and

assessments
Educators may lack the experience to create the
type of assessments required
Does not allow for individual learning styles
(Wiggins & Mctighe, 2005)

Strengths of Gagnes
Events
Useful theory for self-motivated learners
Builds upon what learners already know
Instructional events act as a checklist for designers
Provides enhancement for the transfer and retention
of knowledge
Provides for communication of the lesson objective
Allows for flexibility in lesson planning
When instruction is structurally similar, objective
may not need to be communicated (Gagne, 1988)

Limitations of Gagnes
Events
Some educators may inform instead of actually

communicate
May not work as well for learners who are not selfmotivated
Educators may assume learners know the objective
of the lesson
May be difficult for educators to keep learners
engaged through all nine events (Gagne, 1988)

Strengths of Teaching for

Understanding

Allows for flexibility of teaching styles and teaching

priorities
Provides guide as to what makes a topic worth
teaching and generative
Provides for explicit unit-sized goals
Not as cumbersome as Wiggins and Gagne could
be
Allows for ongoing assessment and feedback
(Fusaro, 2008)

Weaknesses of Teaching for

Understanding

Educators may not feel comfortable with this less-

structured approach
Ongoing assessment and feedback may be time
consuming for educators
Educators may not be able to complete courses
because of how this theory is broken down into unitsized chunks (Fusaro, 2008)

Task G: Most
Suitable Design
Process
Wiggins Teaching for Understanding

Most Suitable Design Theory:

Wiggins
Provides learners with goal and objective for what is
to be taught
Learners are given performances of understanding
Traces the source of the article
Whats the difference between scholarly and nonscholarly sources?
Identification of sources
Search techniques
Learners are assessed and provided feedback as
the lesson takes place
Continue to show examples and quiz students until
they have understanding

References
Ertmer, P. and T. Newby (1993). Behaviorism,
cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical
features from an instructional design perspective.
Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-72.
Fusaro, E. (2008). What is teaching for
understanding? Usable Knowledge: Connecting
Research to Practice. Retrieved from
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/08/05/whatteaching-understanding.
Gagne, R. (1988) The events of instruction. In
Principles of instructional design (185-204). San
Diego: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Wiggins, G. & Mctighe, J. (2005). Understanding by
design (2nd ed., expanded). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

References
Wiggins, G. & Mctighe, J. (2005). Understanding by
design (2nd ed., expanded). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.