1. A COMPARISON OF THEORIES OF LEARNING Cognitivism and Constructivism
Alva M. Hartry
Theories of Learning - EDD 8124
December 10, 2009

2. What is Constructivism?
Constructivism is a theory of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we build our own understanding of the world we live in.
Learners come with knowledge from prior circumstances. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences.

3. What is Congnitivism
Cognitive theory is concerned with the development of a person's thought processes. It also looks at how these thought processes influence how we understand and interact with the world.
According to Piaget cognitive theory involves key concepts: schema, assimilation , accommodation, and equilibration.

4. Is one theory better than the other?
It is often suggested that no one theory is superior and that a combination of theories may result is superior learning.
I believe in constructivism because it allows children to learn based on their own experiences.
I believe in cognitivism because people control their own learning because of their thought processes

5. References
Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction, (3rd Ed.). New York, USA. Pearson Education.
Hannafin, M. J., Hannafin, K. M., Land, S. M., & Oliver, K. (1997). Grounded practice and the design constructivist learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 45 (3),
Hoover, W. A. (1996). Constructivism. Published in SEDL Letter Volume 9(3), Retrieved December 1, 2009, from sedletter/v09n03/practice.html.
Huag, H. (2002). Toward constructivism for adult learner in online learning environment.British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(1),
Jay, L. (2003). Cognitive theory to guide curriculum design for learning from examples and by doing. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from curriculum.html.