LEARNING THEORIES

Constructivism, Behaviorism, and

Cognitivism

By Jean Hamrick
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Constructivism is a teaching theory that
is more about active learning than
passive learning.
 MORE ABOUT IT
“The learner is an information constructor.”
The main contributors were: Jean Piaget, Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky, John Dewey,
and Jerome Seymour Bruner.
Key concepts: learning is an active process, knowledge is constructed based on
personal experiences, and learners continuously test these hypotheses through
social negotiation.
Example: in a traditional classroom, students typically work alone, whereas in a
constructivist classroom, students typically work in groups.
 BEHAVIORISM
The Behaviorism theory, as one can
easily deduce, is based around the
behavior of a student and conditioning.
It tends to focus on the consequences,
both positive and negative.
 MORE ABOUT IT
“Experiments by behaviorists identify conditioning as a universal learning
process.”
The main contributors: Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, B.F. Skinner, Albert Bandura, and
Joseph Wolpe.
Key concepts: people learn from watching behaviors and the outcomes of those
behaviors and most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling.
Example: negative and positive reinforcement.
COGNITIVISM
Cognitivism, unlike behaviorism, focuses
more on the internal learning process
rather than simply just the observable
behaviors.
 MORE ABOUT IT
“The learner is viewed as an information processor.”
Main contributors: Marriner David Merill, Charles Reigeluth, Robert Mills Gagne,
Jerome Bruner, and Roger Schank.
Key concepts: focuses on the inner mental activities and knowledge can be seen
as a schema or symbolic mental construction.
Example: teacher shows how to do activities and has students follow.
 WHICH THEORY ALIGN BEST WITH MY
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
It is safe to say that all of the three theories just discussed align with my
teaching philosophy. However, the theory that I will most likely apply the most in
my classroom is Constructivism. As an aspiring art teacher, I believe the best
way for a student to learn is to do it themselves and figure out what works best
for them. There are some things in art that you cannot just teach directly.
Constructivism happens to be my favorite of the three theories anyway.
 WHICH THEORY ALIGNS THE LEAST
None of these theories align the least with my teaching philosophy. I believe it is
important for a teacher to utilize all of these theories so their students get the best
possible outcome. So while one theory might have a slight edge for how I wish to
teach as an art teacher, the other two are held at an equal importance. Now, my
personal least favorite theory might be behaviorism, because I believe there to be so
much more to learn outside of observable behavior.
 CONCLUSION
All three of the theories discussed are important for a teacher to utilize to make
sure students get the best possible outcome.
My favorite theory is constructivism and I will most likely apply that the most to my
teaching.
My least favorite theory is behaviorism, though I will make sure to still apply it to
my teaching.
 REFERENCES
 Duffy T. M, Cunning D. J. (1992) Constructivism: implications for the
design and delivery of instruction. Indiana University. Retrieved from:
http://homepages.gac.edu/~mkoomen/edu241/constructivism.pdf
 Peggy A. Ertmer & Timothy J. Newby, Purdue University (1993).
Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: comparing critical features
from an instructional design perspective Performance Improvement
Quarterly, (vol.6) Retrieved from:
http://www.csiss.org/SPACE/workshops/2007/UCSB/docs/ertmer_newby
1993.pdf
 Vygotsky, L.S. (1980). Mind in society: The development of higher
psychological processes. Harvard university press. Retrieved from
https://www.learning-theories.com/constructivism.html