5 Educational Theories
There are 5 overarching paradigms of educational learning theories; behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, design/brain-based, humanism and 21st Century skills. Below, you will find a brief outline of each educational learning theory, along with links to resources that may be helpful.
5 Principles and 5 Theories for Effective Training Design I once asked the director of a company with more than 10,000 employees what he saw as the end goal of his organization’s corporate training. There are 5 overarching paradigms of educational learning theories; behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, design/brain-based, humanism and 21st Century skills. Below, you will find a brief outline of each educational learning theory, along with links to resources that may be helpful. Social constructivism—as well as lists of learning theories: multiple intelligences, right- and left-brain learning, activ-ity theory, learning styles, Piaget, and communities of learners.Here we do not propose a comprehensive list of all contemporary ideas about learning. Instead, we focus on three big ideas that underlie most of current.
5 Principles and 5 Theories for Effective Training Design
I once asked the director of a company with more than 10,000 employees what he saw as the end goal of his organization’s corporate training. His first answer related to money. More of it, through higher efficiency and better sales. But when I asked him what he thought his employees should know or be able to do after the training in order to generate more money, he had to think. He was eventually able to come up with specific things his employees would know, and behaviors they’d adopt after the training, but it took some time.
Where it all fell down is in knowledge carry-over between classroom and daily work.
Educational Theories Used In Nursing
It didn’t take me long to figure out why. When I looked into the organization’s corporate training programs, I saw that the learning focus was knowledge transfer, from trainer to learner. The trainers would share their knowledge; the employees would remember. In fact, the employees were really good at remembering phrases and concepts, and most scored high in tests. Where it all fell down is in knowledge carry-over between classroom and daily work. The training didn’t lead to new behaviors and the knowledge gain demonstrated in the written tests didn’t follow the learners back to their desks.
The company’s corporate training team recognized the gap and asked me how to design training that would engage learners, lead to a higher knowledge transfer value, and result in employees using their new knowledge in their day-to-day job behavior.
5 Principles
To ensure a high learning outcome when I design training programs that lead to actual change, I’m guided by five principles that help ensure I’m taking the learners’ experience into consideration.
The five principles I use are as follows (Merrill, 2013):
1. Problem-centered. Learning is promoted when learners acquire skill in the context of real-world problems.
2. Activation. Learning is promoted when learners activate existing knowledge and skills as a foundation for new skill.
3. Demonstration. Learning is promoted when learners observe a demonstration of the skill they are working to acquire.
4. Application. Learning is promoted when learners apply their newly acquired skill to solve problems.
5. Integration. Learning is promoted when learners reflect on and discuss their newly acquired skill.
These five principles integrate some of the most important learning theory and research from the time of Aristotle until now. They reflect the development in learning theory over time, adding new perspectives to previous theories rather than substituting the new theories and throwing out the old.
5 Learning Theories
In addition to the five principles, I also leverage the following five theories into my learning design:
1. Cognitivism
2. Constructivism
3. Social constructivism
4. Experiential learning, and
5. Transformative learning.
The Role of Instructor Passion
Passion for the topic being taught is a wonderful thing. However, it doesn’t actually play a role in effective learning outcomes. In fact, I’ve seen examples of trainers and instructors who are so passionate about the material that they forget all about learning design. Without proper knowledge of and consideration for how the human brain works, and how to design an effective learning experience, passion alone with not lead to high learning outcomes.
Integrating the 5 X 5
To illustrate how I integrate the five principles and theories when I design a training program, I’ll provide an example from an online training program I developed for a company selling physical products. The learning objective was to enhance the employees’ knowledge of the product so that they could use the knowledge to sell.
Getting their Attention
The first step in the training session design is to create an introduction that aims to grab the learner’s attention and let them know why their participation is important. This is where, in my physical product example, I make the learners aware of a problem: that consumers want to face a knowledgeable sales person. I introduce facts and numbers, share interview with consumers talking about the importance of speaking to a knowledgeable salesperson. I also let the learners know (Gagne, 1985):
- What they are going to do in the training
- Why they should participate the training
- What they will be able to do after participating the training (learning goals)
- How they will know they have achieved the learning goals
- How they can apply the knowledge and tools from the course in real life, and
- How they are going to be assessed and how real life experience will be a part of the assessment.
Creating the Content
The second step in the training session design is to create the actual content. The content is divided into five parts, and I’ll show you how I applied each part to this particular training example:
- Information about the product: in this case a video that explains the product.
- Observation: a sales expert showing how to sell the product to a consumer, using the knowledge from the video above.
- Recap: the sales expert discussing a recap of numbers 1 and 2 above, highlighting the most important actions the learners can apply.
- Exercises: real-life practice selling the product to a consumer. And,
- Assessment: multiple-choice assessments, including peer instruction (Mondrup, 2016), that facilitates reflection and discussion. The questions are developed so that they require the learner to have watched all the videos and completed the real life practice.
Contemporary research in assessment indicates that continuous assessment leads to significantly better learning results
You’ll notice that I do not advocate integration of a large, final assessment in my training design. I believe in the value of continuous assessment instead. Contemporary research in assessment indicates that continuous assessment leads to significantly better learning results (Tuunila & Pulkkinen, 2015).
“When students learn through student-centric online technology, testing doesn’t have to be postponed until the end of an instructional module and then administered in a batch mode… Misunderstandings do not have to persist for weeks.” - Clayton Christensen (Christensen, 2016), Harvard Business School.
Resources:
Christensen, C. (2016). Localized at: https://www.knewton.com/resources/blog/adaptive-learning/final-exams-benefits-continuous-assessment/
Gagne, R. (1985). The Conditions of Learning, Fourth Edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Merrill, M. D. (2013). First principles of instruction: Identifying and designing effective, efficient and engaging instruction. Hoboken, NJ: Pfeiffer/John Wiley & Sons
Mondrup, H. J. (2016). The Evolution of Multiple Choice E-learning. Localized at:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolution-multiple-choice-e-learning-henrik-j-mondrup?trk=prof-post
Tuunila, R., & Pulkkinen, M. (2015). Effect of continuous assessment on learning outcomes on two chemical engineering courses: case study. European Journal of Engineering Education, 40(6), 671-682
1. Behaviorism
Behaviorism assumes the learner is passive, and only responds to external stimuli, such as reward and punishment. This means that behavior only changes through interaction with the environment. Learners are 'conditioned' through exposure to a series of positive or negative stimuli.
2. Cognitivism
Cognitivism believes that the mind's 'black box' needs to be opened and understood. It suggests that people process information in much the same way as computers do. As such, cognitivism is often related to studies in artificial intelligence (AI). During the 1960s, cognitivism, which focuses on exploring mental processes such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem solving, became the dominant learning theory over behaviorism. It argues that the way people learn depends on internal processes, rather than external stimuli.
3. Constructivism
Constructivism-based learning suggests that learning is an active process in which people create their own subjective representation of reality. These representations are subjective because new information is always linked to people's prior knowledge. For instance, their social or cultural backgrounds. Constructivism rejects rigid learning theories like behaviorism. Instead, it argues that learning is an active, contextualized process, focused on building - not acquiring - knowledge. Personal experience, along with the learner's environment, help to build knowledge. Learners constantly test ideas through social negotiation. And, since everyone's an individual, each person approaches it differently.
4. Humanism
Humanistic learning theories see learning as a personal act that contributes to fulfilling a person's potential. Championed by such learning theorists as Abraham Maslow, humanism has given us the term 'self-actualization,' as well as the concept of the teacher as facilitator. Like cognitivism, humanism emerged in the 1960s. It focuses on human dignity, freedom and potential. One of its central pillars is the assumption that people act with 'intentionality' and values. This contrasts with learning theories like behaviorism, which say that all behavior is the result of applying external stimuli. The humanist view also opposes cognitive psychology's belief that discovering knowledge and constructing meaning is central to learning. A key humanist view is that it's vital to see the learner as a whole person, especially as he or she grows and develops.
5. Maslow's hierarchy of needs
This framework was created by psychologist, Abraham Maslow. He wanted to understand what motivates people. So, in 1943, he put forward a theory which suggested that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. Having fulfilled one need, they seek to fulfill the next one, and so on. Maslow presents these needs as a hierarchy, as follows:
1. Physiological/bodily needs
2. Safety needs
3. Love/belonging needs
4. Self-esteem
5. Self-actualization
6. Experiential learning
David Kolb published his learning model in 1984. From this, he developed his learning styles inventory. It can be applied in two ways: as a four-stage cycle of learning or as four separate learning styles.
The four-stage cycle, in which learners need to touch all points, includes:
1. Concrete experience (having an experience)
2. Reflective observation (reflecting on the experience)
3. Abstract conceptualization (learning from the experience)
4. Active experimentation (applying what you've learned)
The four separate learning styles that Kolb set out are:
1. Diverging (feeling and watching)
2. Assimilating (watching and thinking)
3. Converging (doing and thinking)
4. Accommodating (doing and feeling)
7. ARCS
The ARCS learning theory (also known as the ARCS Model of Motivational Design) was first developed by Dr John Keller. It's a mnemonic that stands for:
- Attention
- Relevance
- Confidence
- Satisfaction
ARCS is a problem-solving approach to designing learning environments that stimulate and sustain students' motivation to learn. The ARCS model is a set of categories representing the components of motivation. It can also be used as a systematic design process to create appropriate motivational enhancements for learners. ARCS is claimed - and acclaimed - by humanists, so it could also be seen as part of humanism (see above).
8. ADDIE
Another learning theory built around a mnemonic is ADDIE. It stands for the following five stages of instructional design:
1. Analyze
2. Design
3. Develop
4. Implement
5. Evaluate
Educational Theories And Philosophies
Educational Psychology Theories Of Learning
ADDIE is a high-level framework that helps provide context for what an instructional designer does. For further details of ADDIE, see our blog post on it here.9. Elaboration theory
Charles Reigleuth's elaboration theory (published in 1979) tries to bridge theory and practice in education. It aims to reveal the relationships between educational theory, designed learning programs, and practice. Reigleuth's view is that content that must be learned should be put in order from simple to complex. It must also provide a meaningful context within which other ideas can be integrated. Elaboration theory comprises seven major strategy components:
1. An elaborative sequence
2. Learning prerequisite sequences
3. Summary
4. Synthesis
5. Analogies
6. Cognitive strategies
7. Learner control
10. Bloom's taxonomy
Bloom's Taxonomy was first created in 1956 by Dr Benjamin Bloom in order to promote higher forms of thinking. This includes analyzing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures and principles - not just remembering facts or 'rote' learning. The theory identifies three domains of learning: cognitive (mental skills), affective (feelings or emotions), and psychomotor (manual or physical skills). According to Bloom it is the cognitive domain that helps people to develop intellectual skills. It is divided into six levels according to complexity:
1. Knowledge/remembering
2. Comprehension/understanding
3. Application
4. Analysis
5. Synthesis/creating
6. Evaluation