After reading through the conversations with Bill Kerr, Stephen Downs and Karl Kapp, I tend to agree with Kerr about all the –isms. There seems to be potential for all the different learning theories in education. No one theory can uniquely explain how we learn, if so then we would definitely not have as many beliefs as we do.
I personally believe that we learn through cognitivism but can see the aspects of behaviorism in the respect to stimulus and response and constructivism in respect to problem solving and creativity. We have to be susceptible to change and understand that all theories cannot whole-heartedly explain every aspect of the way we learn. As stated by Kerr (2007) in reference to –isms, “They evolve, they listen to criticism and move on.”
http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html
http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational.html
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Carol this is well stated! I think it is very important that we as educators understand that no one person learns the same way. All of the theories we've read about and the ones we've not are evidence that we live in a society in which the style of learning is diverse.
ReplyDeleteCarol,
ReplyDeleteI agree that no one theory can explain how we learn. We are all different and no two individuals learn the same way. This is why differentiated instruction is so useful and popular in education. A melting pot of learning theories are needed to reach out to students today.
Sherry Breeden
When this classroom discussion began, I was convinced that behaviorism was the ONLY way everyone learned. Throughout the discussion though, I have been enlightened as it seems you have been also to become more inclined to feel that a combination of sorts is necessary in classroom learning. This only makes me pose the question, does it apply to ALL learning though???? Hmmm.....
ReplyDeleteCarol,
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree also about your thoughts on cognitivism. However, like Kerr and Kapp, I have come to realize that including aspects from both theories would deem beneficial for both the teacher and student. We need to use cognitivism in order to determine how students learn best, and behaviorism to help manage our classrooms, etc.
Holly