Month: September 2022

How would the learning be designed differently by a behaviorist, a cognitivist, and a constructivist? Scenario: A high school social study teacher is planning a class on climate change.

Behaviorist:

For a behaviorist, through practices, the stimulus, the reaction, and the relationship between the two are the crucial components. A behaviorist’s learning design may be like:

• To pre-assess students how much they know about the climate change in order to help instructor determine the starting point of instruction.
• To provide syllabus as behavioral objectives, like to understand the key points of the climate change. And to provide relative assessments, like quizzes, to test their extent of grasping the knowledge as intended reaction.
• To provide informative feedback on assessments, and provide rewards, like the bonus mark on their grade, to stimulate students do their intended reaction.
• Students must pass the assessments before learning new knowledge.

Cognitivist:

For a cognitivist, learning is not only dependent on external stimuli, but also requires learners to actively code, reorganize, memorize knowledge, and connect existing and new knowledge together. A cognitivist’s learning design may be like:

• To pre-assess students how much they know about the climate change in order to help instructor consider the way of connecting students’ existing knowledge and new content and guide students to actively participate in learning.
• To use concept mapping to help students visually dig into a new knowledge with existing knowledge. To use mnemonics to help students better memorize the knowledge of climate change.
• To arrange quizzes and assignments and provide informative feedback on the knowledge gap to make the connections happen.

Constructivist:

For a constructivist, the focus is more on the learning of the learner than on the teaching. Learners are encouraged to actively engage in the ability to construct knowledge, rather than just accepting objective knowledge. A constructivist’s learning design may be like:

• To provide students with contexts in which the information they can learn from and could be applied, like some activities or organizations on improving climate change issues. 
• To arrange group study or office hour for students to argue questions with peers or discuss with instructors to seek answers and construct knowledge, and students can improve their ability to explain how they understand the needs assessment process.

References:

Ertmer, P. A. & Newby, T. (2018). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features From an Instructional Design Perspective. In R. E. West, Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology: The Past, Present, and Future of Learning and Instructional Design Technology. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/behaviorism_cognitivism_constructivism