I just finished the reading about Behaviourism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism and my brain in overwhelmed with complex information! I have been introduced to these learning theories in the Elementary Education program at UVic specifically in EDCI 303. My understanding of behaviourism is that there is a focus on appropriate response (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). In other words behaviourists want students to respond in a certain way when asked to do something and will use positive reinforcement methods to increase the frequency of this ideal response. Cognitivism differs slightly with an interest of how the student understood and retrieved the information in order to respond in the anticipated manner (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Contructivism differs from both these previously mentioned theories in the sense that “Humans create meaning as opposed to acquiring it” (Ertmer & Newby, 2013).

I am not sure that I agree with one theory more than another because I can see some truth behind each of them. However, if I reflect on my recent teaching experience in my final practicum, I think that I have used the learning theory behaviourism the most because my supervisor wanted me to have a strong focus on classroom management and specifically asked me to look into positive reinforcement ideas for my students. This became a focus for me in my teaching approaches, however I also would use the other learning theories. I believe that I would use a more cognitive approach during math lessons as I would always ask students to explain to me how they saw a number in our subitizing exercises or how they got to their answers in the addition problems. I also used some constructive approaches when I gave students room to inquire and come up with their own meaning or answers during free play, journals, or during story workshop.

I enjoyed that this article remained neutral on the topic as well and stated that the best theory in order to teach a specific group of people is dependent on each situation.

References

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.

This week I took a look at Ariana’s blog post which focused on behaviourism. I enjoyed how she brought up personal examples of when she has used behaviourism while teaching swimming lessons. Scarlet sounds like a challenge but I am glad Ariana persevered as the instructor and found a way to get her into the pool. When I read Ariana’s explanation of using rewards and punishments it clicked for me that this can sometimes be a simple and quick solution. I want to highlight that Ariana mentioned that she could have found a better way to get Scarlet into the pool but this worked and in the time frame that she needed it to.

I also enjoyed reading Leslie’s blog post about how their teacher taught biology in elementary school. Leslie’s post caught my attention as I am always looking for ways to motivate elementary students to take interest in what they are learning. Leslie’s teacher sent the students out on a scavenger hunt to first find the insects that they will later be learning about. I can picture the excitement the students had when they found the insects and then could have a connection to the information that was presented about those insects.