Padlet Infographic: Learning Theories by Phillips Buskirk https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw en-us 2022-09-07 17:52:39 UTC 2025-11-23 22:00:23 UTC hello@padlet.com BEHAVIORISM phillipbuskirk https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw/wish/2286913085 Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning which states all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment through a process called conditioning. Behaviorism was formally established with the 1913 publication of John B Watson’s paper, "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It." According to strict behaviorists any person, regardless of their background, can be trained to act in a particular manner given the right conditioning.
 
Behaviorism involves repeated actions, verbal reinforcement and incentives. In a classroom this might look like rewarding students for working well with praise or prizes, the repetition of daily tasks and quizzes to establish expectations and rules, or students learning that the more they practice, the more praise or rewards they will receive for doing well and achieving higher grades. 
]]> 2022-09-07 17:57:46 UTC https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw/wish/2286913085 CONSTRUCTIVISM phillipbuskirk https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw/wish/2286916339 Constructivism is a learning theory that is very student-centered teaching methods with techniques. It is based on the idea created our own knowledge through direct experiences. In order to learn there, the student needs to be able to have hands on experiences with different skills and objects. It relies heavy on group work and discussion and applying ideas to the real world. The role of the teacher is to create an environment where students can be active in learning problem-solving skills. In this theory the teacher is the facilitator of learning rather than the instructor of it.


When it comes to constructivism being applied in a classroom, it can be applied in many different ways. One way would be to do how a teacher would explain to their students how gravity works and demonstrate an example. The teacher would as the students "what is your hypothesis on how gravity works?" After they have come up with their hypothesis, they would then engage in a classroom discussion sharing how they think it works. The teacher would let the students take the lead but steering them in the right direction.]]> 2022-09-07 17:59:30 UTC https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw/wish/2286916339 SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM phillipbuskirk https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw/wish/2286916544 Social Constructivism is a learning theory closely related to the learning theory of Constructivism. It takes the same concepts from Constructivism with the idea that learning is best done by constructing knowledge through doing, which is a hands-on approach with problem-based learning activities. For Social Constructivism, it also emphasizes the importance of these problem based learning activities with social collaborations. Approaches learning through the lens of is a shared and social experience with lots of active learning.   

An example of what this could look like is by having students work together to create their own framework for what they consider to be the ideal form of government. Letting them look over the central beliefs of multiple different countries to pick out what they consider to be the most beneficial and by working together (discussion, finding the sources, drafting the the beliefs of their own government system, etc). ]]> 2022-09-07 17:59:38 UTC https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw/wish/2286916544 COGNITIVISM phillipbuskirk https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw/wish/2288771390 According to Nelson Cowan (2022), "Cognitivism is the most helpful understanding of working memory and its development should come from a description in terms of internal mental processes like activation, storage, attention, mnemonic rehearsal strategies, and the use of self-knowledge to adjust strategies."  The author goes on to describe Cognitivism as a learning theory the explores how information is stored, retrieved, received and organized.  It looks beyond observable behavior.  Knowledge, memory, problem solving and thinking are the primary focus.    


The Cognitivism Theory can be applied to multiple lesson or activities.  My favorite method would be journaling.  The students can perform a quick-write response to questions that encourage them to think through their ideas.                                           
After the class reads a story or article, the teacher will ask them open ended questions that engage their memory, understanding, and evaluating ability.  Some great examples of these questions would be:                          
“What would you have done in you were in the main character?”                                         
“How would the story have been different if the gender roles were reversed?”                
“Do you think the main character acted correctly and why?”                                                                              
Cowan, N. (2022). Working memory development: A 50-year assessment of research and underlying theories. Cognition, 224. https://doiorg.libproxy.txstate.edu/10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105075       ]]> 2022-09-08 19:25:53 UTC https://padlet.com/phillipbuskirk/a8ofic2oxhmf3whw/wish/2288771390