Learning Theories

Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner

Piaget

Age Stage Major Developments

Birth to 2 years Sensorimotor Infants use sensory and motor capabilities to explore and gain understanding of their environments.

2-7 years old Preoperational Children begin to use symbols. They respond to objects and events according to how they appear to be.

Piaget cont.

7 to 11 years Concrete

operations Children begin to think logically.

11 years and

beyond Formal operations

They begin to think about thinking. Thought is systematic and abstract.

Three Mechanisms to Advance

A child will develop through each of these stages until he or she can reason logically. The learner is advanced through three mechanisms.

Assimilation - fitting a new experience into an existing mental structure (schema)

Accommodation - revising an existing schema because of a new experience

Equilibrium - seeking cognitive stability through assimilation and accommodation

Vygotsky

Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition

The potential for cognitive development depends upon the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD): a level of development attained when children engage in social behavior

Vygotsky cont.

Principles: 1. Cognitive development is limited to a

certain range at any given age. 2. Full cognitive development requires social

interaction.

Bruner

Learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge

The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so

Bruner cont.

Principles: 1. Instruction must be concerned with the

experiences and contexts that make the student willing and able to learn (readiness).

2. Instruction must be structured so that it can be easily grasped by the student (spiral organization).

3. Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the gaps (going beyond the information given).

4, Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the information given".

Constructivist Teachers…

1. Encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative.

2. Use raw data and primary sources, along with manipulative, interactive, and physical materials.

3. Use cognitive terminology such "classify," "analyze," "predict," and "create" when framing tasks.

4. Allow student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies, and alter content.

5. Inquire about students' understandings of concepts before sharing their own understanding of those concepts.

6. Encourage students to engage in dialogue, both with the teacher and with one another.

7. Encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions and encouraging students to ask questions of each other.

8. Seek elaboration of students' initial responses.

9. Engage students in experiences that might engender contradictions to their initial hypotheses and then encourage discussion.

10. Allow significant wait time after posing questions.

11. Provide time for students to construct relationships and create metaphors.

12. Nurture students' natural curiosity through frequent use of the learning cycle model.