Understanding and Using Educational Theories

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Sometimes people are skeptical of having to learn theory, believing those theories will not be relevant in the real world, but learning theories are widely applicable. The models and processes that they describe tend to apply across different populations and settings, and provide us with guidelines to develop exercises, assignments, and lesson plans that align with how our students learn best. Learning theories can also be engaging. People who enjoy teaching often find the theories interesting and will be excited when they start to see connections between the theory and the learning they see happening in their own classrooms. General Learning Theories Certain understandings follow from Knowles’ assumptions that we can use to guide our practice with adult learners. To begin with, we should recognize and respect adults’ tendency to be self-motivated and self-directed learners. After all, in most states, school attendance is compulsory up to a certain age, and relatively strict curriculum standards are set by each state, meaning that children have little choice about attending school in some form or about what content they learn. At least in theory, adults have a choice about whether to attend college or engage in other kinds of learning opportunities such as workshops and professional development and continuing education courses. Presumably, adults are motivated to pursue these opportunities for a specific reason, whether out of personal curiosity, to advance in their careers, or to gain a new skill. These adult learners will likely have opinions and ideas about what they want to learn and perhaps even how they want to engage with the content, so Knowles suggests we provide adult learners with choices and opportunities for input to help shape the curriculum. While learning theories can be interesting on their own, our goal as instructors is to apply them to classroom practice. Imagine that you are a high school librarian working with a class that has just been assigned a research paper. Your goal for this session is for students to brainstorm keywords and synonyms for their topics, and to learn how to string those words together using the Boolean operators and, or, and not. You want to be sure the students understand the function of the Boolean operators and can remember how to use them for future searches. Sharp, A. (2012). Humanistic approaches to learning. In N.M. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer. Karl Aubrey is a Senior Lecturer on the Applied Studies in Education programmes, as well as a tutor with post graduate students, at Bishop Grosseteste University. Prior to this Karl was the Programme Leader for a range of initial teacher education and professional development programmes at a large city Further Education college. Between 2003 and 2005 he was seconded to the DfES Standards Unit as a learning and teaching practitioner in the East Midlands. Karl has contributed to the Oxford Dictionary of Education and has collaborated with colleagues to publish a number of journal articles. His doctoral thesis explored the reforms in Further Education teacher education from 2000 to 2010, from the viewpoint of teacher educators. Karl s research interests include inclusion, education policy, pedagogy and work-based learning.

Perry’s (1970) Scheme of Intellectual and Moral Development offers another useful framework for understanding the developmental stages of learning. Perry proposed four stages of learning. In the first stage, dualism, children generally believe that all problems can be solved, and that there are right and wrong answers to each question. At this stage, children generally look to instructors to provide them with correct answers. The second stage is multiplicity, where learners realize that there are conflicting views and controversies on topics. Learners in the multiplicity stage often have trouble assessing the authority and credibility of arguments. They tend to believe that all perspectives are equally valid and rely on their own experiences to form opinions and decide what information to trust. In the next stage, referred to as relativism, learners begin to understand that there are different lenses for understanding and evaluating information. They learn that different disciplines have their own methods of research and analysis, and they can begin to apply these perspectives as they evaluate sources and evidence. At this point, learners can understand that not all answers or perspectives are equal, but that some answers or arguments might be more valid than others. In the final stage, commitment, students integrate selected information into their knowledge base. You might notice connections between Perry and the cognitivists and constructivists described above in the way they each describe people making sense of information by comparing new information to existing knowledge. However, Perry organizes the processes into developmental stages that outline a progression of learning. Present the stimulus. Share new information. This step depends on the content of the lesson. For instance, a lesson on Boolean operators might begin with a Venn diagram and examples of the uses of and, or, and not. Figure 3.2: The Zone of Proximal Development The Zone of Proximal Development is illustrated as three concentric circles. The innermost circle represents things learners can do on their own, and the outermost circle represents things the learner cannot yet do. The middle circle is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which represents things learners can do with assistance.

While testing has fallen out of favor with many educators and education theorists, cognitivists find tests can be beneficial as both a retrieval practice and a diagnostic tool. They view tests not only as a way to measure what has been learned but as a way to practice retrieval of important concepts, and as a way to identify gaps or weaknesses in knowledge so that learners know where to concentrate their efforts (Brown et al., 2014). Cognitivists encourage “spaced practice,” or recalling previously learned information at regular intervals, and “interleaving,” or learning related concepts together to establish connections among them. Their research has found that retrieval is more effective when the brain is forced to recall information after some time has passed, and when the recall involves two or more related subjects or concepts. Finally, cognitivists also promote problem-based learning, maintaining that “trying to solve a problem before being taught the solution leads to better learning, even when errors are made in the attempt” (Brown et al., 2014, p.4). Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel present an engaging and accessible overview of current research in cognitive psychology. In addition to the science, the authors offer clear examples of how recommended recall and retrieval practices can be integrated into teaching.

In this foundational work, Freire presents the concept of the banking model of education. This book provides a social justice foundation for a humanistic approach to education.I expect that this book will equip and inspire students to engage first-hand with the texts of these creative and influential educational writers."-David Aldridge, Programme Lead: Professional Education, Oxford Brookes University If you can think of examples of behaviorism from several different learning experiences, were they more appropriate in some situations than others? How so? Karl Aubrey is a Senior Lecturer on the Applied Studies in Education programmes, as well as a tutor with post graduate students, at Bishop Grosseteste University. Prior to this Karl was the Programme Leader for a range of initial teacher education and professional development programmes at a large city Further Education college. Between 2003 and 2005 he was seconded to the DfES Standards Unit as a learning and teaching practitioner in the East Midlands. Karl has contributed to the Oxford Dictionary of Education and has collaborated with colleagues to publish a number of journal articles. His doctoral thesis explored the reforms in Further Education teacher education from 2000 to 2010, from the viewpoint of teacher educators. Karl’s research interests include inclusion, education policy, pedagogy and work-based learning.

Make the material appropriately challenging. Reminiscent of the Zone of Proximal Development, material that is too easy will be boring for learners, while material that is too challenging will be overwhelming and frustrating. This article offers a thorough overview of andragogy and the characteristics and motivators of adult learners and offers library-specific advice for teaching adult students. Bourdieu examined the way in which social structures influence people’s values, knowledge, and beliefs, and how these structures often become so ingrained as to be invisible. People within a society become so enculturated into the systems and beliefs of that society that they often accept them as “normal” and do not see them as imposed structures (Roth, 2018). As a result, individuals might not question or challenge those structures, even when they are unfair or oppressive. In addition to examining how community and culture help shape knowledge, Bourdieu was interested in how issues of class impact learning. He observed that over time, schools developed to reflect the cultures of wealthier families, which enabled their children to succeed because they inherently understood the culture of the classroom and the system of education. We continue to see such issues today, and as discussed more in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, part of our critical practice is to ensure that our classrooms and instructional strategies are inclusive of and responsive to all students. Emphasize the relevance of the material. As outlined in the section on andragogy, learners are motivated when they see the benefits of learning and understand why the material is important. Instructors should explain how the effort individuals put into learning can help them achieve personal goals, such as getting a good grade on a paper or finding a job. Assess performance. Employ measures such as assignments, activities, and projects to gauge whether learning has occurred.

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Mellon, C. A. (1986). Library anxiety: A grounded theory and its development. College & Research Libraries, 47(2), 160-165. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.76.3.276 Knowles, M. S. (1988). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Revised and updated. Cambridge, The Adult Education Company. Madsen, S. R., & Wilson, I. K. (2012). Humanistic theory of learning: Maslow. In N. M. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer.

Points three, four, and six in Knowles’ list of assumptions underscore the importance of relevance and transparency for adult learners. Knowles suggests that adults have different priorities in learning, perhaps in part because they are learning by choice and are in a better position to direct their own learning. Adult learners also tend to have more demands on their time than younger students; they may have families and jobs that impact the time they have to devote to their studies. Thus, adult learners want to see the applicability of what they are learning and might be resistant to work or information that seems incidental. We should be transparent with our adult students, both about what they will learn and how that learning is important and relevant. Sharing learning goals is an important step toward transparency, as it can help set expectations so that students understand the purpose of the lesson and activities. To illustrate relevance, we can provide concrete examples of how the learning can be applied in practice. One could argue that all students, not just adults, deserve transparency and to see the relevance of lesson goals and learning. Knowles’ point is that adults are more likely to expect, and perhaps appreciate, such transparency.Perry, W. G., Jr. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years; A scheme. Holt. The authors provide an overview of some of the major learning theories, followed by specific ideas and advice for applying the theory to reference and library instruction. Their self-concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward a self-directed human being. Because cognitivists view memory and recall as the key to learning, they are interested in the processes and conditions that enhance memory and recall. According to cognitive psychology research, traditional methods of study, including rereading texts and drilling practice, or the repetition of terms and concepts, are not effective for committing information to memory (Brown et al., 2014). Rather, cognitivists assert that activities that require learners to recall information from memory, sometimes referred to as “retrieval practice,” lead to better memory and ultimately better learning. For example, they suggest that language learners use flash cards to practice vocabulary words, rather than writing the words out over and over or reading and rereading a list of words, because the flash cards force the learner to recall information from memory. Each chapter includes practical examples showing how theories can be used to inform classroom teaching, and critiques of each theorist exploring opposing viewpoints and the strengths and weaknesses of different ideas.