Outcome 1.

Explain some learning theories that can be applied in Mathematics teaching; by

using examples, demonstrate the application of these learning theories and show how you
would adapt your teaching to suit the level of development of the learners.

Introduction • How do learners learn Mathematics? • How can learners be assisted to gain an
insight in the structure of Mathematics?

Behaviourism

• between 1920s to 1950

• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

• John B. Watson (1878-1958) • concerned with observable behaviour

• Observable (i.e. external) behaviour can be objectively and scientifically measured. •

Behaviour is the result of stimulus – response

• Later learning depends on earlier concepts being grasped

• Sometimes learners need to drop back a level to reinforce what they have learnt before. •
Behaviourism emphasises the effect of punishments and rewards in learning.

• Positive rewards for correct answers and disapproval for wrong answers result in learners
practising until they can perform the steps automatically.

• The emphasis is on developing Mathematics skills (drill and practice) and less on concepts
and strategies.

• A weakness is that learners are often unable to transfer their skills to alternative contexts.
Constructivism

• Emphasizes the building or construction that occurs in people's‟ minds when they learn.

• Prior learning is a key component: build on what the learner knows.

LEARNING THEORIES (a) Hilgard:

• Learners‟ capacity varies with age

• Motivation to learning makes the fixing of the learning material easier

• Intensive motivation (anxiety, tension) distracts the attention from the task

• Success and reward – more beneficial outcomes than failure and punishment

• Intrinsic motivation is better than extrinsic motivation

• Success experiences lead to an ability to tolerate failures

• Setting own goals – realistic formulation of aims

• Personal history – influence on reaction towards educator

• Active participation rather than passive acceptance

• Meaningful assignments and responsibilities are easier to learn than meaningless contents

• Exercise leads to automatic response

• Learning is supported by knowledge of success and failure

• Transfer is supported by discovery and experience • Spaced-out reviewing helps to fix contents

Cognitive constructivism Piaget (1896-1980)

• three fundamental processes, which contributed to the child's cognitive development., namely
assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium.

• Assimilation involved the incorporation of new events into pre-existing cognitive structures.

• Accommodation is the adjustment involved in the formation of new mental structures needed to
accommodate new information.

• When a child experienced a new event, disequilibrium set in until he was able to assimilate and
accommodate the new information and thus attain equilibrium.

Phases of development

(1) Sensor-motoric phase (0-24 months) • Use of reflexes • First habits and primary circular reactions •
Coordination of vision and understanding • Coordination of secondary schemes and application to new
situations • Differentiation of action schemes and solving of some problems by deduction

(2) Pre-conceptual phase (2-7 years) • Appearance of symbolic function and the beginning of
internalised actions accompanied by imaging • Learns to use language and to represent objects by
images and words • Thinking is still egocentric: has difficulty taking the viewpoint of others • Classifies
objects by a single feature: e.g. groups together all the red blocks regardless of shape or all the square
blocks regardless of colour

(3) Concrete operational phase (7-11 years) • Imaging organisations based on either static
configuration or on assimilation • Imaging regulations are stressed • Can think logically about objects
and events • Achieves conservation of number (age 6), mass (age 7), and weight (age 9) • Classifies
objects according to several features and can order them in series along a single dimension such as
size.

(4)Formal operational phase (11 years and up) • Can think logically about abstract propositions and
test hypotheses systematically. • Becomes concerned with the hypothetical, the future, and ideological
problems • Hypothetico-deductive logics and combined calculations (11-14 years) • Structuring and
grouping of 4 transformations (14 years - …)

(c) Van Hiele 3 levels (niveaux) of how a child learns Mathematics:

(1) Base niveau • Concretely – there is a visual, tangible differentiation of concepts

(2) First niveau • Verbal description of concepts (intuitive descriptive definitions). Qualities are
tabulated. Generalisation takes place.

(3) Second niveau • Exploration of logical relations between qualities, e.g. 6 = 2 x 3 because 6 = 3 + 3

● Achievement of niveaus by means of the learning process – not by biological ripening

Following phases during learning progression from one niveau to the next:

(a) Information: The child becomes familiar with the context of the specific field of study.

(b) Bound orientation: The learner comes into contact with the most important combinations of
the relations net to be formed, for example, two rows of three should be read as “three together
with three more”, or as “twice three”, or seen from a different viewpoint, as “three times two”,
etc.

(c) Explicitising: Here the language of the field of study is learnt, and the learner can pronounce
it.
 (d) Free orientation: The learner learns to find his/her way in the relations net using the
available combinations, for example, he/she learns what he/she can do with multiplication and
division and when he/she should use it.

(e) Integration: A synopsis of the various ways of thinking. General rules are drawn up and own
actions are reconsidered.

Social constructivism

• Vygotsky (1896-1934) • Emphasizes the importance of social interactions in the learning process. •

Vygotsky and Activity Theory

• Emphasizes the collaborative nature of learning.

• Learners must be actively involved in the learning process.

Zone of proximal development (ZPD) which is defined as the “distance between the actual
development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential
development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with
more capable peers.

• This zone is seen as the gap between the actual development level and the potential level a learner
can reach.

• The way this zone can be crossed is through mediation by a more competent peer. • “more
knowledgeable other,” (MKO). The MKO in a community of practice might be a teacher who represents
a „keystone‟ species (master teacher). The role of a keystone species as mediator is that of providing
collaborative dialogue and scaffolding to assist others in their development.
• Motivation according to this theory is seen as both extrinsic and intrinsic and teachers learn through
teamwork and gain knowledge as they develop by way of social interactions with peers.

Reuven Feuerstein

• born 21 August 1921 in Botoşani, Romania • Disagreed with Piaget who considered cognitive
development as a result of maturation and experience with objects. • Human interaction is essential
and calls it mediated learning experience (MLE). • Renowned for his theory of intelligence which states
“it is not ,fixed‟, but rather modifiable”. • “Intelligence is not a static structure, but an open, dynamic
system that can continue to develop throughout life”. • Intelligence can be modified through mediated
interventions. • These interlocked practices provide educators with the skills and tools to systematically
develop students‟ cognitive functions and operations to build meta-cognition. • The theories of
Structural Cognitive Modifiability and Mediated Learning Experience and a definition of intelligence as
"the capacity of the individual to use previous experience in his adaptation to new situations."

• A belief that all learners can learn, irrespective of age or stage of development • Mediated learning
experience • Dynamic assessment • A cognitive development programme, known as instrumental
enrichment. • He believes that human cognitive structures can be modified and that all individuals can
change the way they think and learn at any age or stage of development. • He stressed a social and
cultural origin of cognitive development or intelligent behaviour. • Cultural beliefs, customs and habits
are passed on, or mediated, by the older to the younger generation. • He suggested two ways of
acquiring cognitive processes: 1. By direct learning through interaction with the stimuli from the
environment 2. By mediated learning experience (MLE) via interaction with a human mediator.

Howard Gardner • (1943- )

What is a learning style?

Learning styles • Sensory pathways through which learners prefer to receive information. • It is a
biologically and developmentally imposed set of characteristics that explain why the same lesson,
readings, interactions, classroom settings and teachers affect individuals differently.

three categories

1. Perceptual modalities that define biologically based reactions to our physical environment and
represent the way we most efficiently adopt data.

2. Information processing distinguishes between the way an individual senses, thinks, solves problems
and remembers information. (Refer to De Bono‟s hats).

3. Personality patterns focus on attention, emotion and values. These reflect the way an individual will
react, feel about and value different situations.

perceptual modalities: learning styles are the visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile.

(a) Visual learners prefer seeing what they are learning. As teachers we must bring a wide variety of
visuals and colour to our classrooms: posters, charts, models, pictures, slides, etc.

(b) Auditory learners prefer spoken messages and learn by listening and verbalizing. Some individuals
may even need to hear their own voices as they construct mental dialogues. In these cases we should
provide opportunities for oral presentations, debates, discussions, radios, videos, films, question-and-
answer sessions, and so on.

(c) Kinaesthetic learners want to sense the position and movement of what they are working on. We
can accommodate these learners best in field trips, simulation games, role playing sessions, and other
activities encouraging movements.
(d) Tactile learners want to touch and feel learning materials. By including laboratory activities, field
trips and other forms of practical work, allow this group to handle and manipulate equipment, materials,
and objects we accommodate these learners best.

Constructivism and Learning Math

Situated Learning and Learning Math

Other Learning Theories and Learning Math

Overview of This Topic

How do students learn math? Are there learning theories that are especially relevant to the
teaching and learning of math?

Progress is occurring in providing answers to these sorts of questions. However, the prevailing
teaching situation is summarized by the following quote:

For example, I've been in enough high school math classes over the last five years
to know that there is no developmental theory of how students learn algebra. The
kids who don't make it and don't respond to the kind of instruction they're receiving
are simply not included in the instructional model. And teachers in the classrooms
I've observed take no responsibility for the lowest-performing students. That's
because the prevailing theory of learning suggests that teaching mathematics is not
a developmental problem but a problem of aptitude. Some people get it, some
don't.
Elmore, Richard F. (2002). The Limits of Change [Online]. Accessed
2/18/02: http://www.edletter.org/current/
limitsofchange.shtml

This quotation captures the essence of a need for understanding of mathematics developmental
theory and a need for understanding of learning theories appropriate to the teaching and
learning of math. Both are missing in many math education environments.

There are many different learning theories. For many years, the behaviorist theory of B. F.
Skinner was dominant. In more recent years, a number of new theories have been developed.

Some are called cognitive learning theories, because they take into consideration the conscious
thinking abilities of a human being. These theories posit that human learners are much more
than pigeons and rats where a stimulus/response approach can be used to condition certain
behaviors.
Much of this workshop is built on constructivism. This is a learning theory that says that people
build (construct) new knowledge upon their previous knowledge. In recent years, there has been
considerable research that supports constructivism. It is a theory that can help guide curriculum,
instruction, and assessment across all disciplines covered in our formal educational system. It is
particularly applicable in mathematics education.

Humans and many other animals have a modest amount of innate ability to deal with numbers.
Many different species can perceive the difference between two small numbers -- such as three
offspring are present versus only one is present. But, the human innate capacity to count -- 1, 2,
3, 4, many -- is certainly limited relative to needs in our contemporary society. Thus, throughout
recorded human history we find evidence of humans developing aids to the innate mathematical
abilities of their brains. A baboon bone with 29 incised notches has been dated at 37,000 years
old. A 20,000 year old bone has been discovered that has 11 groups of five marks incised on it.
More recent examples include the counting board, abacus, math tables, mechanical calculators,
logarithms, electrical and electronic calculators, and electronic digital computers.

Mathematics is much more than counting and simple arithmetic. It is a cumulative science in
which new results are built upon and depend on earlier results. We have a 5,000 year history of
formal mathematical development. Humans have accumulated (discovered, developed) a huge
amount of mathematical knowledge -- far far more than a person can learn in a lifetime, even if
the person spent all of their time studying mathematics.

During these 5,000 years we have developed many aids to learning and "doing" (using,
applying) mathematics. Thus, our educational system is faced by:

1. The need to decide what mathematical knowledge and skills should be included in the
curriculum
2. How to effectively and efficiently help students to gain the mathematical knowledge and
skills that are incorporated into the curriculum.
3. How to teach (learn) for transfer and retention -- so that the mathematical knowledge
and skills that students gain in school are available for use throughout the curriculum,
work, and play of their lifetime.

Constructivism and Learning Mathematics

Howard Gardner has identified Logical/mathematical as one of the eight (or more) intelligences
that people have. As with the other intelligences in Gardner's classification system, people vary
considerably in the innate levels of mathematical intelligence that they are born with.

People like to argue nature versus nurture in terms of both general intelligence and intelligence
within specific domains such as those that Gardner lists. We know that the brain has great
plasticity, that there is a lot of brain growth after a person is born, that the brain continues to
grow new neurons and new connections among neurons throughout life, that certain drugs can
damage brain cells, that proper nutrition is needed for proper brain growth, and so on.
A certain amount of math knowledge and skill is innate--genetic in origin. The great majority of a
person's math knowledge and skills comes from learning--learning to use parts of the brain that
can learn to do math, but were not genetically designed specifically for this purpose.

Math is a cumulative, vertically structured discipline. One learns math by building on the math
that one has previously learned. That, of course, sounds like Constructivism.

In brief summary, here is a constructivist approach to thinking about mathematics education.

1. People are born with an innate ability to deal with small integers (such as 1, 2, 3, 4) and
to make comparative estimates of larger numbers (the herd of buffalo that we saw this
morning is much smaller than the herd that we are looking at now.)
2. The human brain has components that can adapt to learning and using mathematics.
3. Humans vary considerably in their innate mathematical abilities or intelligence.
4. The mathematical environments that children grow up in vary tremendously.
5. Thus, when we combine nature and nature, by the time children enter kindergarten, they
have tremendously varying levels of mathematical knowledge, skills, and interests.
6. Even though we offer a somewhat standardized curriculum to young students, that
actual curriculum, instruction, assessment, engagement of intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation, and so on varies considerably.
7. Thus, the are huge differences among the mathematical knowledge and skill levels of
students at any particular grade level or in any particular math course. In addition, there
are considerable differences in their ability to learn mathematics.
8. Thus, mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment needs to appropriately take
into consideration these differences. One way to do this is through appropriate use of
constructivist teaching and learning principles.

It is interesting to note that many researchers and practitioners in ICT have come to the same
conclusion about teaching and learning ICT. They recommend a constructivist approach.

Journaling, Project-based Learning, and Problem-based Learning are all standard components
of a constructivist teaching/learning environment. (Note that both project-based and problem-
based learning are abbreviated PBL.) One of the strands of this workshop is devoted to ICT-
Assisted PBL

Situated Learning and Learning Mathematics

Situated Learning is emerging as a learning theory that is particularly relevant to teaching. Thus,
this topic needs to be presented in some detail here. My current bibliography on the topic is
given at:

http://otec.uoregon.edu/learning_theory.htm#Situated Learning
Situated learning tends to have characteristics of Project-Based Learning and Problem-Based
Learning. It also appears to tie in closely with general ideas of Problem Solving. Thus, in
Problem Solving we talk about domain specificity and domain independence. The argument is
that one needs a lot of domain specific knowledge to solve problems within a domain. Situated
Learning tends to be within a domain (a situation). Thus one might call it a Domain Specific
Learning Theory.

Other Learning Theories

See: http://otec.uoregon.edu/learning_theory.htm

...

What are Learning Theories?

So what are educational learning theories and how can we use them in our teaching practice?
There are so many out there, how do we know which are still relevant and which will work for
our classes?

There are 3 main schemas of learning theories; Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism.
In this article you will find a breakdown of each one and an explanation of the 15 most influential
learning theories; from Vygotsky to Piaget and Bloom to Maslow and Bruner.

Way back in ancient Greece, the philosopher, Plato, first pondered the question “How does an
individual learn something new if the subject itself is new to them” (ok, so I’m paraphrasing, my
ancient Greek isn’t very good!).

Learning theories are a set of principles that explain how best a student can acquire, retain and
recall new information.
In this complete summary, we will look at the work of the following learning theorists.

Despite the fact there are so many educational theorists, there are three labels that they all fall
under. Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism.

Behaviourism.
Behaviourism is based on the idea that knowledge is independent and on the exterior of the
learner. In a behaviourist’s mind, the learner is a blank slate that should be provided with the
information to be learnt.

Through this interaction, new associations are made and thus learning occurs. Learning is
achieved when the provided stimulus changes behaviour. A non-educational example of this is
the work done by Pavlov.

Through his famous “salivating dog” experiment, Pavlov showed that a stimulus (in this case
ringing a bell every time he fed the dog) caused the dog to eventually start salivating when he
heard a bell ring.

The dog associated the bell ring with being provided with food so any time a bell was rung the
dog started salivating, it had learnt that the noise was a precursor to being fed.

I use a similar approach to classroom management.

I adapt my body language.

I have taught my students that if I stand in a specific place in the classroom with my arms
folded, they know that I’m getting frustrated with the level of noise and they start to quieten
down or if I sit cross-legged on my desk, I’m about to say something important, supportive and
they should listen because it affects them directly.

Behaviourism involves repeated actions, verbal reinforcement and incentives to take part. It is
great for establishing rules, especially for behaviour management.

Cognitivism.
In contrast to behaviourism, cognitivism focuses on the idea that students process information
they receive rather than just responding to a stimulus, as with behaviourism.

There is still a behaviour change evident, but this is in response to thinking and processing
information.

Cognitive theories were developed in the early 1900s in Germany from Gestalt psychology by
Wolfgang Kohler. In English, Gestalt roughly translates to the organisation of something as a
whole, that is viewed as more than the sum of its individual parts.
Cognitivism has given rise to many evidence based education theories, including cognitive load
theory, schema theory and dual coding theory as well as being the basis for retrieval practice.

What are Learning Theories?

So what are educational learning theories and how can we use them in our teaching practice?
There are so many out there, how do we know which are still relevant and which will work for
our classes?

There are 3 main schema’s of learning theories; Behaviourism, Cognitivism and

Constructivism. In this article you will find a breakdown of each one and an explanation of
the 15 most influential learning theories; from Vygotsky to Piaget and Bloom to Maslow and
Bruner.

By Paul Stevens-Fulbrook.

Swimming through treacle!

That’s what it feels like when you are trying to sort through and make sense of the vast amount
of learning theories we have at our disposal.

Way back in ancient Greece, the philosopher, Plato, first pondered the question “How does an
individual learn something new if the subject itself is new to them” (ok, so I’m paraphrasing, my
ancient Greek isn’t very good!).

Since Plato, many theorists have emerged, all with their different take on how students learn.
Learning theories are a set of principles that explain how best a student can acquire, retain
and recall new information.

Go to the Learning Theories FAQ (at the bottom of this page)

 Not Got Time to Read This Right Now?

CLICK HERE to Get this Guide to learning theories as a PDF

The Definitive Guide to Bloom's Taxonomy.

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In this complete summary, we will look at the work of the following learning theorists.

Despite the fact there are so many educational theorists, there are three labels that they all fall
under. Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism.

Feel free to share

this infographic by clicking on it.

Behaviourism.

Behaviourism is based on the idea that knowledge is independent and on the exterior of the
learner. In a behaviourist’s mind, the learner is a blank slate that should be provided with the
information to be learnt.
Through this interaction, new associations are made and thus learning occurs. Learning is
achieved when the provided stimulus changes behaviour. A non-educational example of this is
the work done by Pavlov.

Through his famous “salivating dog” experiment, Pavlov showed that a stimulus (in this case
ringing a bell every time he fed the dog) caused the dog to eventually start salivating when he
heard a bell ring.

The dog associated the bell ring with being provided with food so any time a bell was rung the
dog started salivating, it had learnt that the noise was a precursor to being fed.

I use a similar approach to classroom management.

I adapt my body language.

I have taught my students that if I stand in a specific place in the classroom with my arms
folded, they know that I’m getting frustrated with the level of noise and they start to quieten
down or if I sit cross-legged on my desk, I’m about to say something important, supportive and
they should listen because it affects them directly.

Behaviourism involves repeated actions, verbal reinforcement and incentives to take part. It is
great for establishing rules, especially for behaviour management.

Cognitivism.

In contrast to behaviourism, cognitivism focuses on the idea that students process information
they receive rather than just responding to a stimulus, as with behaviourism.

There is still a behaviour change evident, but this is in response to thinking and processing
information.

Cognitive theories were developed in the early 1900s in Germany from Gestalt psychology by
Wolfgang Kohler. In English, Gestalt roughly translates to the organisation of something as a
whole, that is viewed as more than the sum of its individual parts.

Cognitivism has given rise to many evidence based education theories, including cognitive load
theory, schema theory and dual coding theory as well as being the basis for retrieval practice.
In cognitivism theory, learning occurs when the student reorganises information, either by
finding new explanations or adapting old ones.

This is viewed as a change in knowledge and is stored in the memory rather than just being
viewed as a change in behaviour. Cognitive learning theories are mainly attributed to Jean
Piaget.

Examples of how teachers can include cognitivism in their classroom include linking concepts

together, linking concepts to real-world examples, discussions and problem-solving.

Constructivism.
Constructivism is based on the premise that we construct learning new ideas based on our own
prior knowledge and experiences. Learning, therefore, is unique to the individual learner.
Students adapt their models of understanding either by reflecting on prior theories or resolving
misconceptions.

Students need to have a prior base of knowledge for constructivist approaches to be

effective. Bruner’s spiral curriculum (see below) is a great example of constructivism in action.

As students are constructing their own knowledge base, outcomes cannot always be
anticipated, therefore, the teacher should check and challenge misconceptions that may have
arisen. When consistent outcomes are required, a constructivist approach may not be the ideal
theory to use.

Examples of constructivism in the classroom include problem-based learning, research

and creative projects and group collaborations.
1. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development.

Jean Piaget
Piaget is an interesting character in Psychology. His theory of learning differs from many others
in some important ways:

First, he focuses exclusively on children; Second, he talks about development (not learning per

se) and Third, it’s a stage theory, not a linear progression theory. OK, so what’s he on about?

Well, there are some basic ideas to get your head around and some stages to understand too.
The basic ideas are:

 Schemas: The building blocks of knowledge.

 Adaptation processes: These allow the transition from one stage to another. He called
these: Equilibrium, Assimilation and Accommodation.

 Stages of Cognitive development: Sensorimotor; Preoperational; Concrete Operational;

Formal Operational.
So here’s how it goes. Children develop Schemas of knowledge about the world. These are
clusters of connected ideas about things in the real world that allow the child to respond
accordingly.

When the child has developed a working Schema that can explain what they perceive in the
world, that Schema is in a state of Equilibrium.

When the child uses the schema to deal with a new thing or situation, that Schema is
in Assimilation and Accommodation happens when the existing Schema isn’t up to the job of
explaining what’s going on and needs to be changed.
Once it’s changed, it returns to Equilibrium and life goes on. Learning is, therefore, a constant
cycle of Assimilation; Accommodation; Equilibrium; Assimilation and so on…

All that goes through the 4 Stages of Cognitive Development, which are defined by age:

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development.

The Sensorimotor Stage runs from birth to 2 years and the child spends their time learning
basic Schemas and Object Permanence (the idea that something still exists when you can’t see
it).

The Preoperational Stage runs from 2 years to 7 years and the child develops more Schemas
and the ability to think Symbolically (the idea that one thing can stand for another; words for
example, or objects). At this point, children still struggle with Theory of Mind (Empathy) and
can’t really get their head around the viewpoints of others.

The Concrete Operational Stage runs from 7 years to 11 years and this is the Stage when
children start to work things out in their head rather than physically in the real world. They also
develop the ability to Conserve (understand that something stays the same quantity even if it
looks different).  

The Formal Operational Stage runs from 11 years into adulthood and this is where abstract
thought develops, as does logic and cool stuff like hypothesis testing.

According to Piaget, the whole process is active and requires the rediscovery and reconstructing
of knowledge across the entire process of Stages.

Understanding the Stage a child is in informs what they should be presented with based on
what they can and cannot do at the Stage they’re in.

Piaget’s work on cognitivism has given rise to some brilliant work from people like John Sweller
who developed the fantastic Cognitive Load Theory and John Flavell’s work on metacognition
2. Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning.

Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky takes a different approach to Piaget’s idea that development precedes learning.

Instead, he reckons that social learning is an integral part of cognitive development and it is
culture, not developmental Stage that underlies cognitive development. Because of that, he
argues that learning varies across cultures rather than being a universal process driven by the
kind of structures and processes put forward by Piaget.

Zone of Proximal Development.

He makes a big deal of the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development in which children and
those they are learning from co-construct knowledge. Therefore, the social environment in
which children learn has a massive impact on how they think and what they think about.

They also differ in how they view language. For Piaget, thought drives language but for
Vygotsky, language and thought become intertwined at about 3 years and become a sort of
internal dialogue for understanding the world.

And where do they get that from? Their social environment of course, which contains all the
cognitive/linguistic skills and tools to understand the world.

Vygotsky talks about Elementary Mental Functions, by which he means the basic cognitive

processes of Attention, Sensation, Perception and Memory.

By using those basic tools in interactions with their sociocultural environment, children sort of
improve them using whatever their culture provides to do so. In the case of Memory, for
example, Western cultures tend towards note-taking, mind-maps or mnemonics whereas other
cultures may use different Memory tools like storytelling.
In this way, a cultural variation of learning can be described quite nicely.

What are crucial in this learning theory are the ideas of Scaffolding, the Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD) and the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). Here’s how all that works:

More Knowledgeable Other.

The MKO can be (but doesn’t have to be) a person who literally knows more than the child.
Working collaboratively, the child and the MKO operate in the ZPD, which is the bit of learning
that the child can’t do on their own.

As the child develops, the ZPD gets bigger because they can do more on their own and the
process of enlarging the ZPD is called Scaffolding.

Vygotsky Scaffolding.

Knowing where that scaffold should be set is massively important and it’s the MKO’s job to do
that so that the child can work independently AND learn collaboratively.

For Vygotsky, language is at the heart of all this because a) it’s the primary means by which the
MKO and the child communicate ideas and b) internalising it is enormously powerful in
cementing understanding about the world.

That internalisation of speech becomes Private Speech (the child’s “inner voice”) and is distinct
from Social Speech, which occurs between people.

Over time, Social Speech becomes Private Speech and Hey Presto! That’s Learning because the
child is now collaborating with themselves!

The bottom line here is that the richer the sociocultural environment, the more tools will be
available to the child in the ZPD and the more Social Speech they will internalise as Private
Speech. It doesn’t take a genius to work out, therefore, that the learning environment and
interactions are everything.

Scaffolding is also an integral part of Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction.

3. Bloom’s Domains of Learning.

Benjamin Bloom

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In 1956, American educational psychologist, Benjamin Bloom, first proposed three domains of
learning; cognitive, affective and psycho-motor. Bloom worked in collaboration with David
Krathwohl and Anne Harrow throughout the 1950s-70s on the three domains.

The Cognitive Domain (Bloom’s Taxonomy).

This was the first domain to be proposed in 1956 and it focuses on the idea that objectives that
are related to cognition could be divided into subdivisions and ranked in order of cognitive
difficulty.

These ranked subdivisions are what we commonly refer to as Bloom’s taxonomy. The original
subdivisions are as follows (knowledge is the lowest with evaluation being the most cognitively
difficult):

1. Knowledge

2. Understanding

3. Application

4. Analysis

5. Synthesis

6. Evaluation
However, there was a major revision of the subdivisions in 2000-01 by Bloom’s original partner,
David Krathwohl and his colleague, Lorin Anderson (Anderson was a former student of
Bloom’s).

The highlights of this revision were switching names of the subdivisions from nouns to verbs,
thus making them easier to use when curriculum and lesson planning.

The other main change was the order of the top two subdivisions was reversed. The updated
taxonomy is as follows:
The Affective Domain.

The affective domain (sometimes referred to as the feeling domain) is concerned with feelings
and emotions and also divides objectives into hierarchical subcategories. It was proposed by
Krathwohl and Bloom in 1964.

The affective domain is not usually used when planning for maths and sciences as feelings and
emotion are not relevant for those subjects. However, for educators of arts and language, the
inclusion of the affective domain is imperative wherever possible.

The ranked domain subcategories range from “receiving” at the lower end up to
“characterisation” at the top. The full ranked list is as follows:

1. Receiving. Being aware of an external stimulus (feel, sense, experience).

2. Responding. Responding to the external stimulus (satisfaction, enjoyment, contribute)

3. Valuing. Referring to the student’s belief or appropriation of worth (showing preference

or respect).

4. Organisation. The conceptualising and organising of values (examine, clarify, integrate.)

5. Characterisation. The ability to practice and act on their values. (Review, conclude,

judge).

The Psychomotor Domain.

The psychomotor domain refers to those objectives that are specific to reflex actions
interpretive movements and discreet physical functions.

A common misconception is that physical objectives that support cognitive learning fit the
psycho-motor label, for example; dissecting a heart and then drawing it.

While these are physical (kinesthetic) actions, they are a vector for cognitive learning, not
psycho-motor learning.

Psychomotor learning refers to how we use our bodies and senses to interact with the world
around us, such as learning how to move our bodies in dance or gymnastics.
Anita Harrow classified different types of learning in the psycho-motor domain from those that
are reflex to those that are more complex and require precise control.

1. Reflex movements. These movements are those that we possess from birth or appear
as we go through puberty. They are automatic, that is they do not require us to actively
think about them e.g. breathing, opening and closing our pupils or shivering when cold.

2. Fundamental movements. These are those actions that are the basic movements,
running, jumping, walking etc and commonly form part of more complex actions such as
playing a sport.

3. Perceptual abilities. This set of abilities features those that allow us to sense the world
around us and coordinate our movements in order to interact with our environment. They
include visual, audio and tactile actions.

4. Physical abilities. These abilities refer to those involved with strength, endurance,

dexterity and flexibility etc.

5. Skilled movements. Objectives set in this area are those that include movements
learned for sport (twisting the body in high diving or trampolining), dance or playing a
musical instrument (placing fingers on guitar strings to produce the correct note). It is these
movements that we sometimes use the layman’s term “muscle memory”.

6. Non-discursive communication. Meaning communication without writing, non-

discursive communication refers to physical actions such as facial expressions, posture and
gestures.
4. Gagné’s Conditions of Learning.

Robert Mills Gagné

Robert Mills Gagné was an American educational psychologist who, in 1965 published his book
“The Conditions of Learning”. In it, he discusses the analysis of learning objectives and how the
different classes of objective require specific teaching methods.

He called these his 5 conditions of learning, all of which fall under the cognitive, affective
and psycho-motor domains discussed earlier.

Gagné’s 5 Conditions of Learning.

 Verbal information (Cognitive domain)

 Intellectual skills (Cognitive domain)

 Cognitive strategies (Cognitive domain)

 Motor skills (Psycho-Motor domain)

 Attitudes (Affective domain)

Gagné’s 9 Levels of Learning.

To achieve his five conditions of learning, Gagné believed that learning would take place when
students progress through nine levels of learning and that any teaching session should include a
sequence of events through all nine levels. The idea was that the nine levels of learning activate
the five conditions of learning and thus, learning will be achieved.

1. Gain attention.

2. Inform students of the objective.

3. Stimulate recall of prior learning.

4. Present the content.

5. Provide learning guidance.

6. Elicit performance (practice).

7. Provide feedback.

8. Assess performance.

9. Enhance retention and transfer to the job.

Benefits of Gagné’s Theory.

Used in conjunction with Bloom’s taxonomy, Gagné’s nine levels of learning provide a
framework that teachers can use to plan lessons and topics. Bloom provides the ability to set
objectives that are differentiated and Gagné gives a scaffold to build your lesson on.

5. Jerome Bruner.

Jerome Bruner

Bruner’s Spiral Curriculum (1960).

Cognitive learning theorist, Jerome Bruner based the spiral curriculum on his idea that “We
begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught in some intellectually honest form
to any child at any stage of development”.

In other words, he meant that even very complex topics can be taught to young children if
structured and presented in the right way. The spiral curriculum is based on three key ideas.
1. Students revisit the same topic multiple times throughout their school career. This
reinforces the learning each time they return to the subject.

2. The complexity of the topic increases each time a student revisits it. This allows
progression through the subject matter as the child’s cognitive ability develops with age.

3. When a student returns to a topic, new ideas are linked with ones they have previously
learned. The student’s familiarity with the keywords and ideas enables them to grasp the
more difficult elements of the topic in a stronger way.

Bruner’s 3 Modes of Representation (1966).

Following the idea of the spiral curriculum, Bruner presented the idea of three modes of
representation. These modes of representation refer to the way knowledge is stored in
memory. Unlike Piaget’s age-related stages, Bruner’s modes are loosely sequential.

1. Enactive (age 0-1 years). Representation of knowledge through physical actions.

2. Iconic (age 1-6 years). Visual representation of knowledge stored via visual images.

3. Symbolic (age 7+ years). The use of words and symbols to describe experiences.

Read (and watch the 10 videos) The New Teacher Mega Guide. for brilliant guides for new and
trainee teachers.

6. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The basic premise for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is that students progress through a set of
sequential needs from physiological to self-actualisation. As they move up through the levels,
they feel more comfortable in their learning environment and have the confidence to push
further.

It’s important to note that any group of students will have learners at different levels, some
may not have the lower levels met at home so making sure these students feel safe and secure
is of the utmost importance as they will find it very hard to move to the upper levels.

Maslow’s theory lends itself more to building student/teacher relationships rather than lesson
or curriculum structure. You can have the best resources and most tightly planned lessons in
the world but if you don’t show enthusiasm, passion and empathy it will be very difficult for
your students to feel their needs have been met.

7. Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.

Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner is an American developmental psychologist and professor of cognition and
education at the Harvard graduate school at Harvard University. He studied under Erik Ericson
(Below) and Jerome Bruner (above).

He published “Frames of Mind” in 1983, in it, he laid out his theory of “multiple intelligences”.
Gardner perceived intelligence as the ability to solve problems or make products that are useful
in one or more cultural settings.

He developed a list of criteria he would use to judge possible contenders for the title
“intelligence”. Candidates had to satisfy a range of the conditions on his list and also be able to
solve genuine problems of difficulties. Initially, Gardner named seven intelligences.

Gardner’s 7 Intelligences.

1. Linguistic intelligence. The ability to learn and use language in written and spoken forms
to express oneself.

2. Mathematical intelligence. The ability to solve problems logically, to solve

mathematical problems and to perform scientific investigations.

3. Musical intelligence. Having skill in appreciation, composition and performance of

musical patterns, including the ability to recognise tone, pitch and rhythm.

4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Using mental abilities to coordinate body movements to

solve problems.

5. Spatial intelligence. Being able to recognise and use patterns in a wide or confined

space.

6. Interpersonal intelligence. The capacity to understand the desires, motivations and

intentions of other people.

7. Intrapersonal intelligence. The capacity to understand your own fears, feelings and

motivations.

The importance of multiple intelligence in the classroom.

Gardner suggested that the intelligences rarely operate independently and compliment each

other as students learn new skills and solve problems. He also commented that
the intelligences are amoral, meaning they can be used for constructive or destructive
purposes.

Whilst Gardner’s theory hasn’t been hugely accepted in the field of Psychology, it has had
a strong positive response in education, especially in the US.
In the face of criticism that it is hard to teach things in the frame of a certain intelligence,
Gardner replied by stating that the seven intelligences give 7 ways to teach a subject, allowing
multiple strategies to be used, thus allowing all students to make progress.

Gardner believes that all seven intelligences are required to live life well and education
systems should include all seven not just the more academic first two.

Naturalist Intelligence.

Since its original publication, Gardner has since added an eighth intelligence; Naturalist
intelligence. This deals with an individual’s ability to perceive, recognise and order features
from the environment.

8. Erikson’s 8 Stages of Psychological Development.

Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson was a stage theorist who developed Freud’s “Psychosexual Theory” and adapted it
into a psychosocial (having both psychological and social aspects) theory encompassing eight
stages.

According to Erikson, we experience eight stages of development during our life span. Within

each stage, there is a dilemma that we must resolve in order to feel a sense of competence and
will allow us to develop as a well-adjusted adult.

Erikson’s 8 Stages.

1. Trust Vs. Mistrust (Age 0 – 1.5). In this first stage, infants must learn that adults can be
trusted. If treated poorly children may grow up feeling mistrust towards people.

2. Autonomy Vs. Shame (Age 1.5 – 3). The “me do it’ stage, children start to make
decisions and show preferences of elements in their environment such as what clothes to
wear or what toy they prefer. If children are not allowed to explore these preferences they
may develop low self-esteem and shame.
3. Initiative Vs. Guilt (Age 3 – 5). This stage involves children learning to plan and achieve
goals involving others. If parents or teachers allow children to explore this and support their
choices they will develop a sense of purpose and strong self-confidence.

4. Industry Vs. Inferiority (Age 5 – 12). In this stage, children start comparing themselves
with their peers. Success at this will result in a sense of accomplishment in their school
work, social and family activities and sports.

5. Identity Vs. Role Confusion (Age 12 – 18). Students in this stage are asking themselves
“Who am I” and “What do I want to do in my life”. They will try out multiple roles during this
time to find what one “fits” best. A strong sense of identity and an ability to defend their
core beliefs in the face of other opinions would be considered success at this stage.

6. Intimacy Vs. Isolation (Age 18 – 40). As students progress into early adulthood their
focus shifts to making and maintaining strong, intimate relationships with others.

7. Generativity Vs. Stagnation (Age 40 – 65). In middle adulthood, people are concerned
with contributing to society either through their work or parenthood. Continued self-
improvement for the benefit of other people figures strongly here.

8. Ego Integrity Vs. Despair (Age 65+). Those in late adulthood reflect on their lives, feeling
a sense of satisfaction or failure. Those who feel failure will often obsess with ideas of what
they “should have” or “could have” done.

Educational Implications of Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development.

Within an educational frame, Erikson’s work gives us as teachers a framework to base our
teaching on. Knowing what questions our students are asking of themselves and the world
around them allows us to plan effectively.

Problems arise when our class has children at different stages in it, in this case, we must
carefully differentiate our pedagogy to allow supportive learning for all students.
9. Kolb’s Experiential Theory.

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle.

David Kolb
David Kolb, an American education theorist proposed his four-stage experiential learning
theory in 1984. It is built on the premise that learning is the acquisition of abstract concepts
which can then be applied to a range of scenarios.

“LEARNING IS THE PROCESS WHEREBY KNOWLEDGE IS CREATED THROUGH THE

TRANSFORMATION OF EXPERIENCE”

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and

development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Each stage in the cycle both supports and leads into the next stage. Learning is achieved only if
all four stages have been completed, however, a learner may travel around the cycle multiple
times, further refining their understanding of the topic.

No one stage is an effective learning strategy on its own, for example, if the reflective
observation stage is skipped, the learner could continue to make the same mistakes.

10. The Peter Principle.

Laurence Peter
The Peter Principle was developed by American educational theorist Laurence Peter and was
explained in the book “The Peter Principle” that Peter wrote with his colleague, Raymond Hull.

Originally the book was supposed to be a satirical view on how people are promoted in
organisations but it became popular as it actually made a valid point.

Whilst not strictly a learning theory, it does have some crossover to the classroom. The Peter
Principal deals with four levels of competence. They could give a teacher planning a long term
teaching strategy a framework to use when thinking about how students progress.

1. Unconscious Incompetence. Not knowing how to do a task without knowing you don’t

know.

2. Conscious Incompetence. You still don’t know how to do the task but now you know
you don’t know. You are aware of a gap in your knowledge.

3. Conscious Competence. You can now do the task but it requires a lot of concentration.

4. Unconscious Competence. You can perform the task with ease. This is achieved by
repeated practice.
I’m sure you can see how this would translate to a student’s learning journey.

11. Laird’s Sensory Theory.

In 1985 Dugan Laird stated in his book “Approaches to Training and Development” that learning
occurs when the senses are stimulated.

He quoted research that found that 75% of an adult’s knowledge was obtained by seeing. 13%
was through hearing, the remaining 12% was learned through touch, smell and taste combined.

Based on this research, providing visual prompts for students will enhance their learning.
However, making your lessons a multi-sensual experience will enhance learning even further.
It’s worth considering this when planning your lessons.
12. Skinner’s Behaviourist Theory.

B. F. Skinner

Operant Conditioning.

Operant conditioning is based on Thorndike’s “Law of Effect” (1898), in which it is proposed

that behaviours that are followed by positive responses are likely to be repeated and those that
are followed by negative responses, not repeated.

Skinner refined the Law of Effect by introducing “reinforcement” into the descriptions. Using
Skinner’s new description we end up with; those behaviours that are reinforced are repeated
(strengthened) and those not reinforced tend to dissipate (are weakened).

Positive Reinforcement.

From a classroom management perspective, positive reinforcement is an essential strategy for

teaching students how to act and conduct themselves.

Positive reinforcement (e.g. praise) should be given for behaviours that are desirable, for
example, verbally answering questions in class. Initially, this should be done for all answers
given, regardless of whether they are correct. This will build a culture of answering questions.

As the behaviour in question becomes commonplace, the teacher should then both reduce the
frequency of the reinforcement and, as in our above example, only give it for correct answers.

Ultimately the teacher will reduce the frequency of the positive reinforcement to only those
responses of the highest calibre. This will create a culture of desired excellence in the students.
13. Rogers’ Humanist Theory.

Carl Rogers
Developed by the American psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1980s, facilitative learning is a
humanistic approach to learning.

Humanism.

Humanism was developed to contrast cognitivism and behaviourism. Both Rogers and Maslow
(see above) based their work in humanism. The key perspectives of humanism are as follows:

 People have a natural desire to learn in order to achieve self-actualisation (see Maslow’s
theory above).

 It is not the outcome that is the most important part of education, it is the process of
learning itself.

 The students themselves should be in control of their learning and it should be achieved
through observing and exploring.

 The teacher should be an encouraging role model, motivating, guiding and supporting
students on their own personal journey.

Facilitative Learning.

Rogers’ views the teacher as a facilitator to learning rather than just a conveyor of knowledge.
The success of the teacher is in their ability to build positive relationships with students.

Roger’s proposed three attitudinal core characteristics that a teacher should possess for
facilitative learning to be successful:

 Realness. The teacher should be themselves and use their own personality when
teaching. Being “real” with students breeds an ethos of trust between students and a
 teacher. The teacher should be able to convey their feelings rather than just being a
monotonal, monochromatic robot.

 Prizing, Accepting and Trusting. A teacher should care about their students and accept
their feelings, regardless of whether they assist or detract from learning. Through these
characteristics, deeper trust and respect is built.

 Empathy. Understanding the student’s perception of learning and their feelings.

The effectiveness of facilitative learning also requires certain traits to be present in the
student. They should be motivated, aware of the facilitative conditions they have been
provided with and aware that the task they have been given is useful, realistic and relevant.

If all these characteristics are present then, in the words of Rogers himself:

“LEARNING BECOMES LIFE, AND A VERY VITAL LIFE AT THAT. THE STUDENT IS ON HIS WAY,
SOMETIMES EXCITEDLY, SOMETIMES RELUCTANTLY, TO BECOMING A LEARNING, CHANGING
BEING”.

14. Canter’s Theory of Assertive Discipline.

Lee Canter
Assertive discipline is a structured system to enable teachers to manage their classrooms. It
focuses on the teacher developing a positive behaviour management strategy rather than being
dictatorial.

Canter’s proposition is that the teacher has the right to decide what is best for their students
and that no student should prevent any other from learning.

The teacher should very clear boundaries as to how they expect their students to behave and
work, the students should know what these boundaries are and any deviation should be met
with an assertive action from the teacher.
This all sounds quite draconian, right?

However, if the teacher gives a firm, clear instruction and those instructions are met, they
should be followed by positive reinforcement (see Skinner above). Any deviation from the
instruction should be met with negative consequences that the students have prior knowledge
of.

The behaviour management guru, Bill Rogers, bases his strategies on the assertive teacher

model, which I know from personal use, works incredibly well.

15. Dreikur’s Classroom Management Theory.

Rudolph Dreikur
Rudolf Dreikur proposed the theory that mutual respect should be the basis for discipline and
that this mutual respect motivates learners to display positive behaviours.
He believed students have an innate desire to feel like an accepted member of a group and to
feel like they have value and confidence to contribute to that group. Dreikur called this desire
to belong, the “genuine goal of social behaviour”.

If students are unable to achieve this goal, they start a series of “goals of misbehaviour”. The
resulting misbehaviour is a misguided attempt at gaining the sense of belonging they are
missing.

Dreikur’s 4 Goals of Misbehaviour.

1. Gain attention.

2. Gain power and control.

3. Gain revenge.

4. Display feelings of inadequacy.

If a student fails to gain social status by gaining attention, they move on to trying to gain power
and control, failure at each successive level ultimately ends with feelings of inadequacy.

How to Combat the 4 Goals of Misbehaviour.

Gain Attention. Ignore the attention-seeking and use positive reinforcement when positive
behaviour is shown. Distract the student by offering alternate actions or choices e.g. “Please
could you hand out the books”.

Gain Power and Control. Focus on all the good behaviour in the class, while ignoring the
attempt to gain power, on no account should you engage in a battle for power. Bill Rogers, the
behaviour expert, calls this the black dot, white square approach.

Gain Revenge. Remember that the student is trying to gain a sense of belonging and this
revenge-seeking is a masked attempt to gain it. Away from other students, let the student know
that you care about them and their education, that despite their actions you want the best for
them.

Display Feelings of Inadequacy. At this stage, the student has given up on themselves. This
stage will manifest in the form of “not doing” (not doing homework, not participating etc.).
Students at this stage should be shown how to recognise small successes and achievements.
Showing an interest in them and their work will always help slowly bring a student out of this
stage.

Learning Theories Summary.

I know what you’re thinking. “How the hell am I supposed to do all of these” or “which ones
should I use” or “I’m more confused than ever!”.

That’s how I felt when I was doing my teacher training. The truth is, great teaching involves a
cocktail of most of these at some point (and a few actual cocktails at the weekend to recover!).

If you are just starting out on your journey as a teacher and you are worried that you’ll do it
wrong, just remember these basic principles:

1. Building positive relationships with students is the bedrock of EVERYTHING.

2. Setting clear boundaries that students are aware of.

3. Consequences of breaking those boundaries are also known in advance.

4. Focus on and reward the positive things that happen in your classroom (positive
reinforcement).

5. Treat your students as people with thoughts and feelings of their own that, while may
seem irrelevant to you, they are not to them.

6. It is easier and more effective to change your perspective to theirs than make them
change to yours.

7. Remember, their world is not the one you grew up in.

I hope you found this article useful, I know it reminded me of a good few things that I may have
been slacking with. Feel free to share it with your teacher friends, I’m sure they will appreciate
it.

Learning Theories FAQ

What are Learning Theories?

Since Plato, many theorists have emerged, all with their different take on how students
learn. Learning theories are a set of principles that explain how best a student can acquire,
retain and recall new information.
What is Behaviourism?

Behaviourism involves repeated actions, verbal reinforcement and incentives to take part. It is

great for establishing rules, especially for behaviour management. Behaviourism is based on the
idea that knowledge is independent and on the exterior of the learner. In a behaviourist’s mind,
the learner is a blank slate that should be provided with the information to be learnt. Through
this interaction, new associations are made and thus leaning occurs. Learning is achieved when
the provided stimulus changes behaviour.

What is Cognitivism?

In contrast to behaviourism, cognitivism focuses on the idea that students process information

they receive rather than just responding to a stimulus, as with behaviourism. There is still a
behaviour change evident, but this is in response to thinking and processing information.
In cognitive load theory, learning occurs when the student reorganises information, either by
finding new explanations or adapting old ones.

What is Constructivism?

Constructivism is based on the premise that we construct learning new ideas based on our own
prior knowledge and experiences. Learning, therefore, is unique to the individual learner.
Students adapt their models of understanding either by reflecting on prior theories or resolving
misconceptions. Students need to have a prior base of knowledge for constructivist approaches
to be effective. Bruner’s spiral curriculum is a great example of constructivism in action.