After having read the virtual session on Learning Theories and Principles of Learning I would like to provide my readers with some information about the basic ideas and theories of the three mentioned approaches, behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.
Behaviorism is the oldest of the three approaches and was common in school programmes in the past. Especially in foreign language acquisition the preferred method for vocabulary learning was and still is drill and practice. Here the teacher gives input and the pupils have to repeat it until they memorize it correctly. In my school time I experienced this approach frequently. I did not mind it because it was a good way for efficient vocabulary learning for me. However some of my friends had their problems with this approach. Today this approach is regarded as old and out-of-date and is rarely used in schools.
Modern teaching approaches are mostly based on cognitivism. Here the learner himself is responsible for his learning process. He has to search for information to solve problems on his own. Through explorative learning the learner exposes himself to information which he is curious about and interested in. I like this approach, because the learner is active and can learn by doing. He finds out information on his own and thus is capable of not only memorizing facts but also of applying strategies. Explorative learning takes real problems from everyday life, which arise the learner’s interest much more than some abstract topics.
The last approach, constructivism, focuses on primary concepts not on isolated facts. Here learning is the quest for meaning, in which the learners construct their own meaning of the world. Therefore knowledge is constructed by the learner and not instructed by the teacher. I like the approach because it makes the teacher a coach cooperating with the students. But I see a problem here. It is the time that this approach demands being put into practice in everyday classrooms. I think the German curriculum does not leave enough time to use this interesting approach thoroughly.
All three approaches offer different definitions of learning and knowledge. In my opinion most successful learning can be provided by the combination of all three.
Valentina,
your blog entry shows that you thouroughly worked through the virtual session and that you understood the main three approaches that were mentioned there. You summarize each of them in one paragraph and comment on them a little bit. This is very good to read because it is structured and easy to follow. You also point out the problematic aspects of each approach, for example the german school curriculum that does not provide enough time.
Yet, I would have liked to learn a little bit more about what you would like to use as a teacher later on and why. You give your reader a good summary but you do not provide your reader with an impression on what you have learned from it.
Dear Valentina,
you shortly summarize each learning theorie as well as pointing out there main goals and learning strategies. For someone who has not read the virtual session this gives a very good overview, but I somehow miss your own opinion about what you experienced from the session.Have you heard about the theories before and do you think they might be useful in some way for you as being a prospective teacher?
Hi there,
I think you mentioned all important facts about the three terms and it was quite easy to understand what they are aiming on.