1. Chris Anklam Columbus State University EDMS 6474 Summer 2016
Learning theories
Chris Anklam
Columbus State University
EDMS 6474
Summer 2016

2. Two Classifications of Theories
I. Directed Instruction
II. Inquiry Based Instruction
Reference: (Roblyer, 2016).

3. I. Directed Instruction
Directed instruction involves the transmitting of a predefined set of information from a teacher to a student (Roblyer, 2016).
This view is based on objectivism, which is the belief that is rooted in the behaviorist learning theory and the information-processing branches of the cognitive learning theories (Roblyer, 2016).

4. I. Directed Instruction Theories
I.A Behavioral Learning Theories
I.A.1 Classical Conditioning
I.A.2 Operant Conditioning
I.B Information-Processing Theories
I.C Gagné’s Cognitive-Behaviorist Theory

5. I.A.I Classical Conditioning
The premise behind classical conditioning is that behavior is largely controlled by involuntary physical responses to outside stimuli (Roblyer, 2016).
Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that naturally evokes a specific response (Roblyer, 2016).
Unconditioned response: a behavior that is prompted automatically by a stimulus (Roblyer, 2016).
Neutral stimuli: stimuli that have no effect on a particular response. (Roblyer, 2016).
Conditioned stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus that evokes a particular response after having been grouped with an unconditioned stimulus (Roblyer, 2016).

6. I.A.2 Operant conditioning
The premise behind operant conditioning is that people can have voluntary mental control over their responses (Roblyer, 2016).
Skinner believed that learning was controlled by the consequences of actions, rather than the events preceding the action (Roblyer, 2016).
Skinner thought that the internal processes involved in learning could not directly be seen (Roblyer, 2016).
He concentrated on the cause and effect relationships that could be established by observation (Roblyer, 2016).

7. I.B Information-processing theorists
Many people found Skinner’s explanation on human learning insufficient for the guiding of instruction (Roblyer, 2016).
A group of researchers in the 1950s and 1960s began to hypothesize a model of learning that would help people to conceptualize processes that could not be directly observed. These researchers became known as cognitive-behaviorist theorists (Roblyer, 2016).
The information-processing theorists were among the first and most influential of the cognitive-learning theorists (Roblyer, 2016).

8. I.C Gagné’s Cognitive-Behaviorist Theory
Gagné added onto the work of behavioral and information-processing theorists (Roblyer, 2016).
He translated principles from their learning theories into practical instructional strategies for teachers to use with directed instruction (Roblyer, 2016).
He is well known for three of his contributions in this area: the Events of Instruction, the types of learning, and learning hierarchies(Roblyer, 2016).

9. II. Inquiry Based Learning
Inquiry-based learning requires the student to generate knowledge on a subject through experiences and the teacher serves as a facilitator in this process (Roblyer, 2016).
This view is based on constructivism, which evolves from the other branches of the cognitive learning theories (Roblyer, 2016).

10. II. Inquiry Based Theories
II.A Social Activism
II.B Social Cognitive
II.C Scaffolding
II.D Child Development
II.E Discovery Learning
II. F Multiple Intelligences

11. II.A Social activism theory
John Dewey is the father of the social activism theory (Roblyer, 2016).
Dewey was an early proponent of racial equality and women’s suffrage (Roblyer, 2016).
His beliefs were shaped by his direct involvement in the social and cultural issues of his time (Roblyer, 2016).
Dewey believed that: curriculum should arise from students’ interests; curriculum topics should be integrated rather than isolated from each other; education is growth, rather than an end; education occurs through its connection with life, rather than participation in curriculum; and learning should be hands-on and experienced based, rather than abstract (Roblyer, 2016).

12. II.B Social-cognitive theory
Albert Bandura is the father of the social-cognitive theory (Roblyer, 2016).
His theory builds off of Dewey’s views of learning as a social process (Roblyer, 2016).
Bandura was a pioneer in the research on how learning as a social process occurred (Roblyer, 2016).
He focused on modeling and self-efficacy (Roblyer, 2016).
Bandura thought that students learned more through observation, rather than through their own actions (Roblyer, 2016).

13. II.C Scaffolding theory
Lev Semenovich Vygotsky’s views were much like Dewey’s and Bandura’s (Roblyer, 2016).
He thought that how children learn and think is derived directly from the culture that surrounds them and that children perceive things differently than an adult does (Roblyer, 2016).
He proposed that children learn by scaffolding (Roblyer, 2016).
Scaffolding is the building on what a student knows to learn what they need to know (Roblyer, 2016).

14. II.D Child Development theory
Jean Piaget explored the early stages of development in children and the factor that their environment plays in these stages (Roblyer, 2016).
Piaget believed that all children go through 4 stages of cognitive development: the sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal operations stage (Roblyer, 2016).
He believed that a child moved from one stage to the next through a gradual process of interacting with their environment (Roblyer, 2016).

15. II.E Discovery Learning Theory
The idea of discovery learning can largely be attributed to Jerome Bruner (Roblyer, 2016).
Discovery learning is an approach to instruction which allows students to construct their own knowledge about a topic through simulations, problem-solving environments, and exploration (Roblyer, 2016).
He felt that students would be more likely to remember and to understand concepts through their own first hand discovery (Roblyer, 2016).
Discovery learning is the most successful when students have a prerequisite knowledge before completing simulations or problem-solving activities (Roblyer, 2016).

16. II.F Multiple Intelligences theory
Howard Gardner is the father of the multiple intelligences theory (Roblyer, 2016).
This theory is the only theory that attempts to define the role of intelligence in learning (Roblyer, 2016).
According to Gardner, there are eight different types of intelligences (Roblyer, 2016).
This theory supports group work, and assigning group roles based on a student’s type of intelligence.

17. II.F Gardner’s Multiple intelligences
Linguistic
Musical
Logical-mathematical
Spatial
Bodily-kinesthetic
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Naturalist

18. Which type of learning is best?
There are meaningful roles for both directed instruction and constructivist strategies (Roblyer, 2016).
Teacher’s need to use whatever works best for their class as a whole.
The teacher in the classroom is the only one who can determine which approach is going to work the best in their current situation.
I think that higher performing students will deal better with the problem-solving of construcivist, student-based tasks than lower performing students

19. References
Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.