Educational Theory: Why we do what we do.
                                Why do teachers do what they do in the classroom?
                                Upon whose ideas/research do they base thier teaching/learning strategies?

        Premise: The most effective teachers know WHY they do WHAT they do.
        Those who understand the theory behind their actions generally outperform those who do not.

Leading Educational Theorists

We are going briefly explore the thoughts of several theorists in Education.
As we go, look for COMMOM THREADS that occur among these theorists.

Jerome Bruner
                          MACOS: Man; A Course of Study
                          In SS education, Bruner is possibly the most recognizable name.
                          In the 1960's, he authored a set of curriculum materials entitled “Man; A Course of Study.”
                          His philosophy might be summed up on the following quote:

 “We teach a subject not to produce little living libraries on that subject, but rather, to get a student to think... for himself... to consider matters as an historian does, to take part in the process of knowledge-getting.  Knowledge is a PROCESS; not a PRODUCT."

Bruner’s Model for Effective Learning:  Four Principles

1.  STRUCTURE: Simply how the course, unit, or lesson is organized.  The overall scope and sequence of the material to be learned.  Teachers provide this “structure” in a number of ways including the use of:

 A.  Course syllabus
 B.  Advanced Organizers
 C.  Outlines
 D.  Verbal Introductions and Summaries

 2.  READINESS:  “Students must be at an appropriate level of readiness if they are to learn certain kinds of tasks or information.”  Research indicates that we attain certain cognitive skills in rather predictable patterns that are related to age level.

Bruner’s Stages of Learning (Compare to Piaget)

Enactive: Activity-based, hands-on, tactile-kinesthetic in nature.  Learning through action; learning by doing.
Iconic: Learning through the use of visual images; pictures, graphics, video, art, etc...
Symbolic: Use of symbols (letters and numbers) to learn such as in reading, and mathematics.

 A quote from Bruner:  “The key to readiness is a rich and meaningful learning environment coupled with an exciting teacher who involves children in learning as a process that creates its own excitement.”

 3.  MOTIVATION: (two forms)

Intrinsic: Motivation from within the learner.  Learning or doing because you want to; not because you have to.

Extrinsic: Motivation from an outside stimulus.  Activity engaged in under threat of punishment of in anticipation of a reward.

John Dewey’s Teachable Moment:  “The teachable moment occurs when motivation and information come together.”

Motivation may be the teacher’s most challenging task.
              It can be reasonably assumed that without student motivation, little real learning will take place.
              Remember, teaching and learning are not the same thing.  Teaching can easily occur without student motivation.
              Learning can not.  Large amounts of teaching occur in the absence of real learning.
              (Check this out at any university!)

4.  INTUITIVE THINKING: A way of knowing or thinking NOT based on carefully designed steps, formulas, or logic.  Guesses, hunches, etc... and other unconscious maneuvers are included.

Bruner suggests that we can facilitate this ability by modeling for our students a willingness to guess, predict, explore, and take mental risks.
                       Good News/Bad News re. Intuitive Thinking

                       Bad: We are not all created equal.  Some of us are more “intuitve” than others.

                       Good: All of us can improve.  We can learn to be more intuitive through practice.

Bruner (in summary)
Knowledge is an active process of knowledge-getting.
Real knowledge is a PROCESS not a product.
Mental/cognitive growth occurs is STAGES that are age-level related (enactive, iconic, symbolic)
4 components of effective instruction: Structure, Readiness, Motivation, Intuitive Thinking.

Jerome Kagen
Major Concepts
                           In teaching and learning, RECENT EXPERIENCES are more important than earlier ones.

                           Students should not be bound or tied to past experiences (especially negative ones).

                          Children appear to prefer certain kinds of learning environments over others.  They particularly prefer
                           and thrive in environments of MODERATE DISCREPANCY.

This type of learning environment involves students in problem-solving and experimentation.  (Activity-based)

 A.Kagen’s Keys to Effective Instruction:

 1.  Positve recent experiences.
 2.  Rich learning environment (variety).
 3.  Stable/consistant classroom teacher.

 A.Nature vs.  Nurture ???

Kagen suggests that learning and intellectual development depend more on the child’s learning environment than on his/her particular learning traits.  While both factors affect learning, “nurture” has precedent over “nature.”

Kagen (in a nutshell)
Children learn most effectively through involvement with the learning process (doing) in which they strive to resolve uncertainty.

Jean Piaget
Wake up!  No snoring!  This guy’s important!
 In the field of cognitive development, especially of children, Piaget is perhaps the best-known of all theorists.
 Strangely enough, his original professional studies were NOT with children or even in the field of education.

 That’s right; originally Piaget was a Zoologist!
 His studies began with an attempt to answer the following question:
 Does ontgeny recapitulate philogeny?
 The most common answer to that is “huh?”

 Here’s what it means.  Do the stages through which living organisms pass from conception through full development (ontogeny), reenact or replay the development of that particular species over time?  (Philogeny)

 Piaget noted the physical stages through which living things pass on their way to full development.
 Did these stages reenact the evolution of the species over time?
 Piaget began noticing significant differences in the cognitive abilities of his own children of different ages.
 He wondered, do these apparent cognitive stages replay the mental development of the human species over time?

Whether they do or not is still debated but the study of this issue was the beginning of 60 years of research into the cognitive development of human beings.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognition  (How we learn)

1.  Sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2): Learning is based primarily on immediate experiences through the senses.  Trial-and-error behavior is the dominant learning strategy.  Learning is limited to what we can see, hear, feel, smell, and taste.

2.  Pre-Operational Stage (Ages 2-7): At this stage, language develops, judgements are formed (often inconsistsnt and incomplete), skills involving classifying/categorizing take shape.  Children in this stage are mostly egocentric, not able to perform functions with letters and numbers, have little sense of time-space, and are prone to misconceptions.

3.  Concrete Operational (Ages 7-12): At this stage thinking becomes more logical and systematic.  The child is still basically now-centered and egocentric.  During this stage students develop the ability to count, measure, weigh, calculate and test problems.  In this stage, learning is best accomplished through interacting the materials they are learning about.  Hands-on, discovery-based learning is essential.

4.  Formal Operational Stage: (12 and up): Students develop the ability to think abstractly or hypothetically.  Students are able to learn from hearing or reading about ideas and concepts.  Learning is not bound by having actual concrete experiences.

Piagetian Summary
 “Students, through interaction with their environment, must create their own intellect.”

 “Knowledge is not something to be sponged up, but instead, is constructed in the mind through the actions of the individual.”

 “Children are NOT passive receptors but active agents in the development of their own minds.”

Howard Gardner
Gardner presents a radically different view of intelligence - “Multiple Intelligence.”
“Intelligence takes many forms with each of us possessing these forms to a certain degree.”

 Previously, intelligence has been measured principally along 2 dimensions:
                 Linguistic (use of the language)
                 Mathematics (operations with numbers)

 Most, if not all, of the commonly used measures of intelligence rely heavily on one’s abilities in these two areas.
 Gardner suggests that indeed, these ARE two forms of intelligence or ways of knowing but; there are MORE.
 In other words, there are other ways of “being smart.”

 Gardner suggests that, at a minimum, there are at least 8 different forms of intelligence.

 1.  Logical/Mathematical: Problem-solving abilities using letters and numbers.  Scientists, mathematicians, program analysts, engineers, are generally strongly “mathematical.”

 2.  Linguistic: Use of language including skills in reading, writing, listening,
 and speaking.  Authors, songwriters, playwrites, poets, editors, politicians, teachers, all possess this ability in large measure.

 3.  Musical: The ability to read, write, and/or perform music.  Composers, music teachers, vocalists, and musicians of all kinds share strengths in this area of intelligence.

 4.  Spatial: This involves the ability navigate within new environments.  It also involves one’s ability to design and coordinate functions within environmental settings.  Designers, architects, interior decorators, cartographers, all share in these abilities.

 5.  Bodily Kinesthetic: The ability to control one’s physical body.  Speed, agility, coordination, grace, etc... are all included.   Dancers, athletes, performers of all kinds call upon this form of intelligence.

 6.  Interpersonal: The ability to notice distinctions among people and deal with them effectively.  Teachers, salesmen, doctors, psychologists, and anyone who works with people call upon this form of intelligence.

 7.  Intrapersonal: Knowledge of the internal aspects of our being; self-knowledge, self-control.  Effectively dealing with our own feelings, emotions, habits, and desires.

 8.  Naturalist: The ability to deal effectively with things in nature.  Our ability to effectively use things found naturally in our environment such as plants, animals, soils, water, etc...

Summary: Gardner suggests that each of us have a certain degree of ability in each of the previously mentioned forms of intelligence.  Our individual strengths and weaknesses is what makes us unique.

 Gardner proposes that we look at intelligence in new ways, ways that include an expanded definition of intelligence.

 As a result, we need to think about the way we design schools and curriculum.  A “one size fits all” universal model does not fit a student body with diverse strengths and weaknesses within the forms of intelligence mentioned earlier.

 Gardner suggests implementing schools and curriculum that are designed to “fit” the student, his/her strengths, desires, and hope for the future.
 

David Ausubel
 Ausubel describes most classroom experiences as taking one of two forms:  Reception or Discovery Learning

 Reception learning takes place when the student is given “content/concepts” and asked to memorize it.  Reception learning most often involves an ACTIVE teacher and PASSIVE student.

Discovery learning is designed to take advantage of students’ abilities to develop knowledge on their own.  This is done through inquiry, exploration, experimentation, and observation.

 So, which form should teachers use?  Both!

 Both reception and discovery can (and should be) used effectively in the classroom.
 Variety is essential!  For you (the teacher) and your students.

A. H. Maslow:  Maslow’s Need Heirarchy
 1.  Physiological Needs
 2.  Safety and Security Needs
 3.  Love and Belongingness Needs
 4.  Esteem Needs
 5.  Need to Know and Understand ***
 6.  Aesthetic Needs
 7.  Self-Actualization

 A.Maslow describes the ideal teacher as “a helpful let be.”  In other words, one who facilitates the child as he/she discovers new ideas and concepts.

 Further, Maslow suggests that “Education at its best, deal with real-world problems.”  Students need to see and understand how classroom knowledge applies to their world (teaching for transfer).

 Finally, Maslow suggests students be given ample opportunities to develop creative thinking abilities as well as form values and opinions about the materials being learned.  (Affective domain stuff is important too!)

Philosophical/Theoretical Summary:  Finding the Common Threads

I.  Active Learning
 Bruner suggests “inquiry learning.”  (Active learning)
 Piaget suggests allowing student the opportunity to develop their own knowledge.  (Active learning)
 Kagen suggests placing students in environments of “moderate discrepancy” and allowing them time to resolve the discrepancy (Active learning)
Ausubel suggests a combination of direct and indirect instruction.  (Active learning)

Activity-based learning is a powerful educational vehicle.  Using it allows students to see, hear, and become tactile/kinesthetically involved.  It serves to enable the visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic learner.

II.  Ages and Stages
 Bruner, Piaget, and Maslow suggest that students pass through age-related stages that relate directly to their ability to learn and deal with their emotions.  Asking students to perform academically and/or physically for tasks they are not developmentally ready for is fruitless and frustrating for teacher and student alike.

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