QM: Connecting Learning Theories to Your Teaching Strategies

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's Teaching Online Certificate. This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I plan to reflect on each workshop as I complete them as a way to model metacognition. This post is 4 of 8.

This week the focus shifted to learning theories. Often, learning theories are covered in preservice education and then not touched on regularly once 'in the field.' It was nice to revisit and reflect on these.

In a Behaviorism-based classroom information is transferred from the teacher to the student. Students learn through positive reinforcement if a desired response elicits a reward or a punishment and tend to act accordingly. This occurs through observations and the motivation is extrinsic, relying on verbal praise and rewards.

In a Cognitive Constructivism classroom (also referred to as Cognitivism) teachers help students assimilate new information to existing knowledge which is focused on the mental process and is not observable. In this classroom the role of teacher is to facilitate discovery by providing necessary resources and guiding learners. Here, the motivation is intrinsic.

In a Social Constructivism classroom collaboration is the leading strategy that shapes this theory. In this theory, knowledge is co-constructed with peers. This type of learning yields both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

We also explored the concepts of pedagogy and andragogy.

Pedagogy commonly refers to strategies we use to teach students, based on what we know about how children construct knowledge. Andragogy is known as "adult learning theory" in which we take what we know about adult learners and use these strategies to teach them.

My biggest takeaway from this workshop is that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to learning theories. In my graduate courses I tend to mix and match different theories within the same course! For example, when I determined the resources, assignments, and feedback I am using behaviorist strategies. In the same course, I allow students to "choose their own adventure" and determine how they will demonstrate understanding which aligns with the cognitive constructivism approach. I also regularly have students interact, reinforcing social constructivism. All while considering adult learning theory which leads me to my second biggest takeaway: teaching is an art. It is not something that can be successful without training and knowledge of how people learn.