Kathy, I know you already have the following knowledge but thought it would be helpful to complete the journal. Thank you for your continued help!
Chapter 3
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
- Analyze some of the various learning theories
- Understand what learning-centered education is
- Be aware of the importance of lesson planning
- Recognize the relationship between classroom management and lesson planning
3.1 Learning Theory for Teaching
Learning Theories
Over the past two centuries, three dominant and sometimes conflicting learning theories have shaped content pedagogy—the design of lessons that support students' acquisition and application of knowledge. These three theories are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.
Behaviorism
Behaviorism asserts that learning requires an external change in a student's behavior that can be observed. Behaviorist theory dates back to the mid-19th century and draws its influences from both science and philosophy. The behaviorist educator believes that learning occurs through interactions with the environment. The classroom environment shapes a student's behavior. Taking a student's thoughts, feelings, and emotions into consideration is useless in explaining a student's learning behavior.
One of the most famous behaviorists, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936), used experiments with dogs to develop his theory of classical conditioning. His experiments focused on creating very specific circumstances in a dog's environment that resulted in specific responses from the animal. With classical conditioning, the educator focuses on creating the exact environment necessary to "evoke" the desired learning from students.
Bettmann/Corbis
Like Pavlov, American psychologist John B. Watson (1878–1958) saw controlled laboratory studies as the most effective way to promote learning. According to Watson, systematic manipulation of the student's environment can and should result in new learning.
Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and, yes, even beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.—Watson (1924)
B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) developed the law of conditioning and the law of extinction. Skinner believed that a response followed by a reinforcing stimulus is strengthened and therefore more likely to occur again (conditioning), and a response that is not followed by a reinforcing stimulus is weakened and therefore less likely to occur again (extinction).
Behaviorist teachers focus primarily on students' actions and reward desired behaviors. Students learn these desired behaviors in a three-step process:
1.With modeling—observational learning—students learn the desired behavior/response by watching the teacher model it.
2.With shaping—breaking down the desired behavior into achievable units—only when one desired behavior is demonstrated can a student progress to the next behavior.
3.With cueing, using verbal or nonverbal cues lets a student know if his or her behavior is appropriate (Stanridge, 2002).
Cognitivism
Cognitivism asserts that the focus needs to be on the thought process behind the behavior. Although its roots stretch back to ancient Greece, the cognitive movement grew in popularity in the second half of the 20th century, when some educators found the theory of behaviorism incapable of explaining certain social behaviors. The cognitivists' quarrel with the behaviorists was that their focus on observable behavior did not account for what was going on in the mind. Cognitivism emphasizes a system of effects, including:
•Meaningful effects—meaningful information is easier to learn and remember.
•Transfer effects—prior learning impacts the learning of new materials or tasks.
Well-known linguist Noam Chomsky (born 1928) has followed the cognitive approach while studying how children learn to talk. Chomsky maintains that each of us is born with a "universal grammar" ready to absorb the details of whatever language is presented to us at an early age. Chomsky applied his theories of language acquisition to learning as a whole, underscoring the importance of relevant, culturally based instruction (Boeree, 2000).
Constructivism
Constructivism maintains that learning requires a change in a student's thought process (linking previous learning to new learning)—an internal change that cannot be observed. Constructivism is linked to the progressive movement, founded by American educator John Dewey (1859–1952). Progressive educators believed that a "top-down" system, where some of the populace is educated and others are not, would ultimately undermine American democracy (
Jean Piaget (1896–1980) expanded the progressive movement's sociopolitical emphasis to a broader understanding of how children learn. According to Piaget, learning, whether it takes place inside or outside the classroom, involves the two-pronged process of assimilation (the ways by which a person takes material into the mind from the environment) and accommodation (the difference made to one's mind or concepts by the process of assimilation). Assimilation and accommodation exist together in every learning situation and form Piaget's theory of adaptation (HummellHuitt, 2003).
With the U.S. publication in 1962 of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky's (1896–1934) Social Development Theory, constructivist theory expanded yet again to a new level of specificity around how, when, and from whom a student learns. Vygotsky maintained that learning constantly takes place in all kinds of social settings. Social Development Theory introduced educators to the idea that students naturally seek out people who know more about a situation, problem, or concept than they do. This person, whom Vygotsky dubbed the most knowledgeable other (MKO) can be a teacher, a coach, a librarian, a tutor, or another student in the classroom. Vygotsky expanded this idea to when and how a student can complete a learning task without the assistance or scaffolding of the MKO. The distance between completing that task with assistance and completing the same task alone is known as the zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Figure 3.1).
Application: Constructivist Teacher
Simply put, the constructivist teacher helps students construct knowledge instead of memorizing and/or reproducing facts. In the constructivist classroom, how something is learned is equal to—and in some cases, more important than—what is learned.
Constructivism in the classroom is all about collaboration and negotiation with your students around four major topics.
1.What are we going to learn?
2.Why are we going to learn it?
3.How and when will I assess what you have learned?
4.How will we decide what types of assessments are complete, fair, and timely?
As you learned in Chapter Two, classroom success is predicated on knowing as much as possible about your students: their interests, their learning styles, their prior knowledge. The constructivist teacher understands that when students encounter something new, they have to reconcile it with their previous ideas and experiences (Seigel, 2004). This reconciliation process is unique to each student because each student brings different content knowledge and different learning experiences to the new learningsituation.
If you were to travel to London and use the subway system, the "Tube," you would hear an automated voice warning you to mind the "gap," which is the distance between the edge of the platform and the train. Similarly, the constructivist teacher envisions his or her students as learning travelers, poised and ready to acquire new knowledge and skills. The teacher is constantly aware that a student can fall off the learning platform at any time. It is the mission of the constructivist teacher, then, to find the gap, mind the gap, and fill the gap so that each student can continue his or her learning journey.
The constructivist teacher is also constantly aware that a student's prior knowledge can help or hinder the learning and application of new knowledge. Good teaching can be as much about unlearning as it is about learning—getting students to recognize and correct their misconceptions. These misconceptions can be socioeconomic, cultural, familial, or religious. They must be handled with skill and respect. Loving, respectful correction and guidance are at the core of constructivist teaching.
3.2 Learning-Centered Education
Envision yourself in the following scenario: You are a stage actor who has landed the dramatic role of a lifetime in a play that has stood the test of time. It is a role you have hoped for and prepared for since you stepped out in front of the footlights in your fifth-grade talent show. High school theater classes, an undergraduate degree in Performing Arts, years of playing minor roles and understudying major parts, and now, this!
You have spent weeks researching your character's background, days pondering your character's motivation. You have memorized dialogue, run through lines, rehearsed. You have incorporated the director's suggestions, bonded with your fellow actors, and completed the dress rehearsal. You know the importance of this play, the responsibility of this particular character to impart the play's message and bring to life its enduring themes. You are ready.
Just before you step onto the stage, your director stops you. There is something you need to know about tonight's audience. Several of the theater goers speak a foreign language; at least half of them have never attended a live performance before. Others are experienced theater goers, who have watched the theater's greatest actors perform. Some have come to tonight's performance willingly, excitedly. Several have been dragged along by partners or parents.
And in the front row? Theater critics, who will be evaluating your performance and publishing their findings in several local and national newspapers.
Your director steps back and smiles encouragingly. "Break a leg."
Like this actor, a teacher spends years acquiring a wide range of content knowledge, classroom-management strategies, and instructional techniques. And like this actor, the classroom teacher must perform in front of an ever-changing audience, including not only students in the classroom but the critics in the front row: parents, school administrators, and local, state, and national evaluators.
Differentiated Instruction
As school populations grow more diverse, teachers must consider how they will address this diversity and how they will reach as many students as possible. They can
1.Instruct homogeneously: teach all students in the same way; this is a "one-size-fits-all" approach that relies on students adapting their learning needs and styles to the presentation style and assessment techniques of the teacher.
2.Create ability groups: separate students into ability groups and teach each group differently, which also produces varied results.
3.Differentiate: address each student's abilities, interests, and learning style; this is the learning-centered approach we will focus on in this section.
Differentiated instruction creates a classroom environment where learning goals, instruction, and assessment are consistently individualized. Students are expected to be active participants in their learning, assisting their teacher in evaluating their mastery of content and their progress toward meeting learning outcomes.
To be a teacher who consistently and effectively differentiates instruction and assessment is challenging work! As you learned earlier in this chapter, good teaching requires constantly minding the gap—determining where your students are in their individual journeys toward mastering a specific learning target. But minding the gap is not simply about diagnosing learning or performance deficits; it requires you, the teacher, to constantly modify and individualize instruction to address these deficits.
Effective teaching in the differentiated classroom involves the formation of trusting relationships between teacher and students. Teachers question and listen to their students. They customize the instruction and assessment for critical learning targets based on what they have learned about each student through these ongoing conversations. This questioning, listening, and customizing engender mutual respect among teachers and students and result in the creation of a true learning community.
Differentiated instruction, like many other instructional theories or systems, has its passionate believers and equally passionate detractors. Proponents emphasize the positive impact on student learning and the increased sense of community within the classroom. Opponents emphasize the negative impact on teachers who, they believe, cannot possibly customize learning in classrooms of 20 or more students.
Differentiated instruction can effectively serve students without sapping a teacher's focus and energy. The key? Grouping students according to ability but constantly moving and changing ability groups based on individual student's performance, interests, and background knowledge.
Traditional ability grouping often forms permanent, unchanging groups within the classroom, between grade levels, and even between content areas. Ability grouping can lead to tracking that prevents high-performing elementary students from working in groups with identified "gifted and talented" students. This same type of tracking may prohibit high school students from taking a Chemistry course until they have passed Algebra 1-2 with a grade of "B" or better.
Compare that inflexibility with the following description from the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials:
In the differentiated classroom ... learners are expected to interact and work together as they develop knowledge of new content. Teachers may conduct whole-class introductory discussions of content-big ideas followed by small group or paired work. Student groups may be coached from within or by the teacher to complete assigned tasks. Grouping of students is not fixed. As one of the foundations of differentiated instruction, grouping and regrouping must be a dynamic process, changing with the content, project, and on-going evaluations.—Hall, Strangman, and Meyer (2009)
Application: Differentiated Instruction
Differentiation emphasizes the acquisition and application of knowledge and problem-solving skills. Relevance drives this acquisition/application process, with students in the differentiated classroom encouraged to ask:
•Why does this information matter?
•How does it relate to information I already know?
•When, where, and how can I use this information?
Once students determine the relevance of information presented to them, they should be assigned performance tasks that measure their unique and changing abilities to apply that knowledge. There are three key elements in planning differentiated instruction: content, process, and product (Tomlinson, 2001), as seen in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1: Key Elements for Planning Differentiated Instruction
Content Process Product
•Several elements and materials are used to support instructional content.
•Align tasks and objectives to learning goals.
•Instruction is concept focused and principle driven.
•Flexible grouping is consistently used.
•Classroom management benefits students and teachers.
•Initial and ongoing assessment of student readiness and growth is essential.
•Students are active and responsible explorers.
•Vary expectations and requirements for student responses.
Source: Tomlinson, 2001.
Differentiation involves designing a road map to a particular destination that every student can and will reach. Successful differentiation requires that you pay careful attention to the following:
•Get all of your students "on the same page." Be sure you understand, and make clear to your students, the learning objectives for your lesson. Students deserve to know your expectations for learning. They can be as simple as, "By the end of today's lesson, you will know how to identify a proper noun," or as complex as, "By the end of this unit, you will understand the social, political, and economic causes of the Vietnam War and will be able to explain how those causes transformed into long-term effects that changed the face of American society." Posting lesson objectives is not sufficient. Always build in time for students to ask questions. Explain, expand, restate, and check of understanding. It is time well spent!
•Make assessment your students' "new best friend." Begin your lesson with informal, observational assessments. "Has anyone learned about proper nouns before?" "Is there anyone in the room who knows someone who fought in the Vietnam War?" Use individual student responses to build all students' knowledge. Have students capture their existing knowledge through a quick-write, an "information-only" quiz, a small-group idea exchange.
Throughout the lesson or the unit, continue with formative assessments that allow students to measure how far they have progressed toward meeting the learning objectives. Use "pop" or scheduled quizzes, quick-writes, journals, classroom debates, 2- to 5-minute individual or group presentations. All of these formative assessments give you and your students the opportunity to see how far they have come toward meeting your instructional objectives and what knowledge and skills they still need to acquire and master.