Copy Right BG
BTE 2601 NOTES
Learning unit 1 (Chapter 3) WHAT SHOULD I KNOW?
Discuss pedagogical knowledge as an integral part of the field of education.
Apply the key terms, concepts and principles applicable to the field of education.
compare relevant theories
describe the link between theory and practice
Evaluate the importance of practical skills in the field of education
Identify the knowledge needed to teach in a classroom
Educational theories are, in essence, frameworks that:
The teacher uses to understand how teaching and learning happen, it influences the teaching styles
and methods. It also influences the relationship between how the teacher teaches and how the
learners learn.
What is an educational theory?
methods of and styles of teaching that the teacher uses to understand how he/she must teach in
order for the learners to learn.
In the 1850’s and 60’s the IQ and IQ testing became major tool of testing and predictor of learning
outcomes. Describe the arguments that oppose and support this way of thinking about learning;
Oppose: It cannot predict adaptability to real life contexts. Ignores the underlying cognitive
processes of individuals and their potential to grow and change.
Support: Learners with high IQ is clever and likely to achieve success.
Theoretical frameworks for learning: Behaviourism and cognitivism
What is BEHAVIORISM?
This theory states that all behavior is learned. That any observed behavior is caused by external
factors. Outward behavior is the focus of learning while psychological or internal processes are not
considered important in learning. Their view of learning was based on stimulus to which the
individual makes a response. Behaviorism has a great influence on classroom teaching- for ex,
reinforcement has long been used in classrooms to modify the behaviors of learners.
The outcome of the initial response influences further responses. if behavior is rewarded
this reinforce the chance of similar behavior in the future. If it is punished it prevents similar
behavior in the future.
reward/positive reinforcement
1
,Copy Right BG
negative reinforcement occurs when a person’s avoidance of doing something is reinforced,
such as when a learner gets a headache before a test and is rewarded by being allowed to
stay home and not write the test. Punishment can also take two forms for ex, detention
after school removal of privileges.
Reinforcement can also be withheld as when the teacher ignores disruptive behavior until it
disappears (extinction)
The skillful teacher learns to reward for good behavior rather than punish for bad behavior.
for ex, a token system for children who put up their hands in class instead of calling out.
How did theorists Vygotsky and Skinner interpret the principle of reinforcement?
Skinner: Behavior is being learned , emphasized learning. View was based on a stimulus which
the individual makes a response.
Vygotsky: The method was not adequate for the study of complex psychological processes. Thus
different stimilu can either encourage or suppress behavior.
The cognitive education revolution and child-centered teaching (contrast/oppose behaviorism)
What did cognitive psychology influence?
the development of new learning theories.
On what does the approach of child-centered teaching focus on?
a teacher providing a stimulating environment where learners can find challenging experiences
to learn form.
PIAGET (1896-1980):
Studied the cognitive processes of children
biologist who began his research with sea creatures
he believed that the organism is actively involved in determining its own development
young children tend to order their actions/thinking into systems/structures called
schemes
the scheme then becomes internalized as a mental representation of objects and events
from experiences in the external world.
The mental representation of a scheme is termed a mental operation, which is now a
more complex structure that obeys certain logical laws/rules. an example for a child’s
scheme for animals could be a mental picture of a furry four-legged creature that is not
yet clearly defined. When a child reaches the stage of being able to classify animals into
groups according to a certain rules he or she is performing the mental operation of
classification.
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The 2 basic adaptation processes: assimilation and accommodation
assimilation: involves trying to understand something new by fitting it into our existing
schemes. children who see a cat for the first time will try to match it to what they
already know and may call it a doggie.
Accommodation: occurs when they change their existing schemes because something
doesn’t fit. for ex, when a child learns to distinguish a cat form a dog.
Changes takes place through a process of equilibrium which is the act of searching for
balance between assimilation and accommodation.
Each new learning experience causes an imbalance or disequilibrium.
This is corrected by forming new and more complex schemes through assimilation and
accommodation in a dynamic process of adaptation to attain equilibrium.
supreme characteristics of intelligence: development of thinking operations such as the
ability to compare and categorize.
piaget identified 4 developmental stages of cognitive growth:
- Sensori-monitor stage (0-2): actions and language development, intelligence takes
the form of motor actions and children experience schemata trough movement and
activity. object permanence develops when they realize the object exists without
seeing it.
- Pre-operational stage (2-7): intuitive stage. they cannot think logically and
experience conflict between perception and mental processes. Thinking is still self-
centered, and children can only see things from their own point of view. for ex,
when driving in a car they may ask why the moon is following them.
- concrete operational stage (7-12): at the age of 7 children arrives at their threshold
of logical thinking and become able to compare, categorise and reverse their
thinking. They can for ex, understand that 3 +5 is the same as 5+3. Thinking is tsill
linked to direct experience. Intelligence become logical but depend on concrete
activities , they still cannot think in abstracts or hypothesis.
- Formal operational stage (12-15): This period thinking becomes abstract. Children
can organize information in many different ways and engage in hypothetical ‘if-then’
thinking.
VYGOTSKY (1896-1934):
Emphasized the social context of learning. Attributed to the social environment a
special role in cognitive development.
the interactions of with people in one’s own culture are specifically important to a
child’s development.
3
BTE 2601 NOTES
Learning unit 1 (Chapter 3) WHAT SHOULD I KNOW?
Discuss pedagogical knowledge as an integral part of the field of education.
Apply the key terms, concepts and principles applicable to the field of education.
compare relevant theories
describe the link between theory and practice
Evaluate the importance of practical skills in the field of education
Identify the knowledge needed to teach in a classroom
Educational theories are, in essence, frameworks that:
The teacher uses to understand how teaching and learning happen, it influences the teaching styles
and methods. It also influences the relationship between how the teacher teaches and how the
learners learn.
What is an educational theory?
methods of and styles of teaching that the teacher uses to understand how he/she must teach in
order for the learners to learn.
In the 1850’s and 60’s the IQ and IQ testing became major tool of testing and predictor of learning
outcomes. Describe the arguments that oppose and support this way of thinking about learning;
Oppose: It cannot predict adaptability to real life contexts. Ignores the underlying cognitive
processes of individuals and their potential to grow and change.
Support: Learners with high IQ is clever and likely to achieve success.
Theoretical frameworks for learning: Behaviourism and cognitivism
What is BEHAVIORISM?
This theory states that all behavior is learned. That any observed behavior is caused by external
factors. Outward behavior is the focus of learning while psychological or internal processes are not
considered important in learning. Their view of learning was based on stimulus to which the
individual makes a response. Behaviorism has a great influence on classroom teaching- for ex,
reinforcement has long been used in classrooms to modify the behaviors of learners.
The outcome of the initial response influences further responses. if behavior is rewarded
this reinforce the chance of similar behavior in the future. If it is punished it prevents similar
behavior in the future.
reward/positive reinforcement
1
,Copy Right BG
negative reinforcement occurs when a person’s avoidance of doing something is reinforced,
such as when a learner gets a headache before a test and is rewarded by being allowed to
stay home and not write the test. Punishment can also take two forms for ex, detention
after school removal of privileges.
Reinforcement can also be withheld as when the teacher ignores disruptive behavior until it
disappears (extinction)
The skillful teacher learns to reward for good behavior rather than punish for bad behavior.
for ex, a token system for children who put up their hands in class instead of calling out.
How did theorists Vygotsky and Skinner interpret the principle of reinforcement?
Skinner: Behavior is being learned , emphasized learning. View was based on a stimulus which
the individual makes a response.
Vygotsky: The method was not adequate for the study of complex psychological processes. Thus
different stimilu can either encourage or suppress behavior.
The cognitive education revolution and child-centered teaching (contrast/oppose behaviorism)
What did cognitive psychology influence?
the development of new learning theories.
On what does the approach of child-centered teaching focus on?
a teacher providing a stimulating environment where learners can find challenging experiences
to learn form.
PIAGET (1896-1980):
Studied the cognitive processes of children
biologist who began his research with sea creatures
he believed that the organism is actively involved in determining its own development
young children tend to order their actions/thinking into systems/structures called
schemes
the scheme then becomes internalized as a mental representation of objects and events
from experiences in the external world.
The mental representation of a scheme is termed a mental operation, which is now a
more complex structure that obeys certain logical laws/rules. an example for a child’s
scheme for animals could be a mental picture of a furry four-legged creature that is not
yet clearly defined. When a child reaches the stage of being able to classify animals into
groups according to a certain rules he or she is performing the mental operation of
classification.
2
, Copy Right BG
The 2 basic adaptation processes: assimilation and accommodation
assimilation: involves trying to understand something new by fitting it into our existing
schemes. children who see a cat for the first time will try to match it to what they
already know and may call it a doggie.
Accommodation: occurs when they change their existing schemes because something
doesn’t fit. for ex, when a child learns to distinguish a cat form a dog.
Changes takes place through a process of equilibrium which is the act of searching for
balance between assimilation and accommodation.
Each new learning experience causes an imbalance or disequilibrium.
This is corrected by forming new and more complex schemes through assimilation and
accommodation in a dynamic process of adaptation to attain equilibrium.
supreme characteristics of intelligence: development of thinking operations such as the
ability to compare and categorize.
piaget identified 4 developmental stages of cognitive growth:
- Sensori-monitor stage (0-2): actions and language development, intelligence takes
the form of motor actions and children experience schemata trough movement and
activity. object permanence develops when they realize the object exists without
seeing it.
- Pre-operational stage (2-7): intuitive stage. they cannot think logically and
experience conflict between perception and mental processes. Thinking is still self-
centered, and children can only see things from their own point of view. for ex,
when driving in a car they may ask why the moon is following them.
- concrete operational stage (7-12): at the age of 7 children arrives at their threshold
of logical thinking and become able to compare, categorise and reverse their
thinking. They can for ex, understand that 3 +5 is the same as 5+3. Thinking is tsill
linked to direct experience. Intelligence become logical but depend on concrete
activities , they still cannot think in abstracts or hypothesis.
- Formal operational stage (12-15): This period thinking becomes abstract. Children
can organize information in many different ways and engage in hypothetical ‘if-then’
thinking.
VYGOTSKY (1896-1934):
Emphasized the social context of learning. Attributed to the social environment a
special role in cognitive development.
the interactions of with people in one’s own culture are specifically important to a
child’s development.
3
