Teaching and Learning Principles

By Lisa Ridgway

Always Learning

As an advocate for learning and teaching I am continuing my quest of knowledge through pursuit of a masters degree.

The goal of all teaching and education is the acquisition of student knowledge.

Foundational Theories

Teaching and Learning Styles

Foundational Theories

3 key teaching theories:

• Behaviorism

• Cognitivism

• Social Constructivism

These theories can be applied to Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Student Learning

(Reeves, 2011)

Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised)

Behaviorism

Key educational theorist: Skinner

Goal is for learners to correctly respond to stimuli (Ertmer & Newby, 1993)

Operational conditioning furthers effectiveness (Skinner, 1993)

Positive reinforcement

Negative consequences

Simple recall of information

Does not require higher thinking skills

Cognitivism

Key educational theorist: Piaget

Increases rigor, higher-order thinking skills required

Requires problem solving and reasoning (Ertmer & Newby, 1993)

Prior knowledge is important to form new connections

Social Constructivism

Key educational theorist: Vygotsky

Focuses on the needs of society (Shiro, 2013)

Learners become involved (Ertmer & Newby, 1993)

Students seek greater social purpose

Manifestation of Theories in Education

Learning Theories Elementary education – students remember

and understand often through a behaviorism approach

Secondary education – students apply and analyze knowledge through cognitivism

Tertiary education - addresses social purpose through constructivism

Levels of Education

Tertiary

Secondary

Elementary

Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching

Merges disciplines

Increases problem-solving approaches

Improves educational outcomes

Initiatives, such as STEM and STEAM, are evidence of an interdisciplinary trend emerging

Meeting the Needs of All Learners

Our nation’s diversity continues grows

Diverse Learners

Meeting the Needs of All Learners

• Bilingual English language learners

• Students with Disabilities

• Transgendered individuals

Bilingualism

1906: Nationality

Act (Texas)

1923: Meyer v.

Nebraska

1954: Brown v.

Board of

Education

1964: Civil Rights

Act

1965: Elementary

& Secondary

Education Act

1968: Bilingual

Education Act

The Nationality Act required students to speak English

Meyer v. Nebraska decided that foreign language education cannot be restricted

Brown v. Board of Ed desegregated schools

The Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination, requires schools to improve language deficiencies

Elementary & Secondary Education Act was part of the “War on Poverty” to fund schools

The Bilingual Education Act was the first federal legislation to recognize needs of ELLs

Students with Disabilities

1973: 504 1975: IDEA 1990: ADA 2002: NCLB 2004: RTI

Section 504 was part of the Rehabilitation Act to accommodate students

IDEA made public education for students with disabilities possible

ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability

NCLB increased accountability to include students with special needs for adequate yearly progress

RTI aims to increase interventions and decrease special education referrals

Transgenderism

Bathroom laws continue discriminative practices

San Antonio is one of over 200 cities to protect gender identity discrimination (sanantonio.gov)

Sexual orientation discrimination laws do not currently protect most citizens (ACLU)

Curriculum should challenge heteronormative practices to expand insight (Sumara & Davis, 1999)

Segregation

Segregation was outlawed over 50 years ago

Efforts of desegregation have improved education for many minority groups

Unfortunately, segregation can still be found within most large school districts

Self-contained special education classrooms exists in most schools

ESL classrooms are a form of segregation

Reference: SJEPmoviemiento. (2010, February 18). Questions for Answers part 1.mov [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woFuUPKUfII

I encourage you to watch this video about a school district in Arizona. It is a mirror example of what I have seen in San Antonio.

The Education Enterprise in the U.S.

A Work in Progress

• Public schooling has existed in the U.S. since the 1600s

• Secondary and tertiary education became more prevalent in the 1900s

• The Progressive Movement increased awareness of relevancy and student experiences

• Education standards vary by state with similarities across the country

• Despite efforts to end inequalities, discrimination and segregation continue to exist

Plan of Action

Teachers must be advocates for students

Students should be advocates for communities

Therefore, a teacher’s role should be to teach students how to advocate for themselves and their communities

ReferencesACLU (n.d.). Know your rights: Transgender people and the law. Retrieved August 5, 2016 from https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/transgender-people-

and-law.

Arias, M. B. (2007). The educational implications of linguistic isolation and segregation of Latino English Language Learners.https://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/legal-developments/court-decisions/the-educational-implications-of-linguistic-isolation-and-segregation-of-latino-english-language-learners-ells.

Bloom, B. S., & Sosniak, L. A. (1981). Talent Development vs. Schooling. Educational Leadership, 39(2), 86-94. Retrieved July 31, 2016 from www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198111_bloom.pdf

Blumenfeld, S.L. (2008). Pavlov’s dog and American education. The New American, 24(20), 33.

Reeves, A.R. (2011). Where Great Teaching Begins: Planning for Student Thinking and Learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-72.

Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Goldin, C. (1999). A brief history of education in the United States.

Greeno, J., Collins, A., & Resnick, L. B. (1992). Cognition and learning. In B. Berliner & R. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (pp 15-46), New York, NY: Simon & Schuster MacMillan.

Hoffman, L., & Sable, J. (2006). Public elementary and secondary students, staff, schools, and school districts: School year 2003-2004. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics.

Nieto, D. (2000). A brief history of bilingual education in the United States. Urban Ed Journal, 61, 61-65.

San Antonio (n.d.). City of San Antonio Non-Discrimination Ordinance facts. Retrieved August 5, 2016 from http://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/NDO/ndo-fact-sheet.pdf.

Schiro, M. (2013). Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Skinner, B. F. (1990). Can psychology be a science of mind? American Psychologist, 45(11), 1206-1210.

Steinmetz, K. (2015). Everything You Need to Know About the Debate Over Transgender People and Bathrooms. Retrieved July 3, 2016 from http://time.com/3974186/transgender-bathroom-debate.

Sumara, D. & Davis, B. (1999). Interupting heteronormativity: Toward a queer curriculum theory. Curriculum Inquiry, 29 (2), 191-208.