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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Educational Learning Theories and theorists: The Man behind the words

Wednesday, August 10, 2011
So many educational learning styles are out there, and the theorists behind them conclude to one thing: each individual has distinct learning styles and respond differently to various types of stimuli. Here, we review some of the important educational learning theories ever constructed, the rationalities of each, and the theorists behind the words.

Ausubel Subsumption Theory
Mechanism by which new material presented in academic settings (lectures) can be integrated into existing mental structures. For subsumption to occur, the presentation of new knowledge should be preceded by "advance organizers."

Bruner Constructivist Theory
Individuals actively construct knowledge by comparing new ideas or concepts with their current knowledge (schema or mental models).

Comenius Pansophism (universal knowledge)
The idea that learning, emotional, and spiritual growth are interwoven. This theory proposes that teaching be made through stimulation of the senses, not merely through memorisation. Comenius Pansophism happens to be considered the "Father of Modern Education."

Gagne Conditions of Learning
The different kinds of learning (motor skills, verbal skills) require different conditions; therefore, different strategies should be used.

Gardner Multiple Intelligences
Each individual possesses seven distinct and measurable forms of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, body-kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, and interpersonal.

Locke Tabula Rasa
The idea that individuals are "blank slates" on which teachers could "write" knowledge. John Locke was a renowned forerunner of behaviourism.

Maslow Hierarchy of Needs
Humans naturally strive to satisfy needs. The five levels of needs, from lowest to highest, are:
physiological, safety, love, esteem, self-actualization.
Lower level needs must be satisfied before the individual can move on to satisfy higher level needs. Miller Information Processing Theory Short term memory can only hold 5-9 "chunks" of information at a time. A chunk can be any meaningful idea like a word, an identifiable image, or a digit.

Rogers Experiential Learning
This theory explains there are two types of knowledge: academic and experiential. In comparison to academic knowledge, experiential knowledge is acquired to meet the needs of the learner, usually to complete an important, real-life task. Example: Learning to drive a car.

Thorndike Connectionism
Learners form associations or connections between a stimulus and a response. Through trial and error, rewarded responses would be strengthened.

Vygotsky Social Development Theory and ZPD
Social interaction is critical for cognitive development. Related to this is the idea of a "Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)." Some skills, an individual can perform independently. Other skills can be performed if the individual has assistance. Skills that can be performed with assistance are said to be within an individual's ZPD.

Wertheimer Gestalt Theory
Some ideas can only be understood as part of a "bigger picture" Important in problem-solving.

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