Belief+Statement

Belief Statement based on Theorist Web Quest

As a grade 11 Social Science teacher, I have had many opportunities to explore several of the learning theories discussed in this module. I have often used examples from my own children and the school setting to teach theories of learning to high school students.

In my course we focus mostly on conditioning and observational learning which the students easily understand: the bell rings and they change classes - classical conditioning; they complete a task and they earn a good grade and my praise - operant conditioning. (One of my students shared with me one of his own examples. He told me that he would say cookie and poke his friend in the belly. He did this many times and then one day he just said cookie and the friend cringed as though he was about to be poked. I do not share this example with other classes for obvious reasons.) I see behaviourism as a traditional form of teaching. However, it is an essential part of the learning process as we need students to learn the skills, through behaviourist methods. For example, students need to show that they can construct a proper sentence (demonstrate a behaviour) so that the teacher can make sense of their ideas (their constructed meaning).

Although behaviourism is essential for learning basic skills, I see the constructivist ideals as the goal which teachers should aim for. It is also the most challenging as the teacher must “translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner's current state of understanding.” (tip.psychology.org/bruner.html) In any given classroom, there will be learners with various states of understanding. In a busy classroom, how can the teacher know their students' state of learning or adjust their lessons accordingly?

Another challenge for teachers who embrace the constructivist approach is assessment and evaluation as it “calls for the elimination of grades and standardized testing.” (www. funderstanding.com/content/constructivism) I often fantasize about a world without tests or essays to mark, but it is unlikely that dream will ever come true. Perhaps the best that we can do is to make our formal assessment methods as flexible and meaningful as possible.

Secondary school reform in recent years, has aimed for a greater balance between constructivist and behaviourist philosophy. This can be seen in policy which requires assessment in various categories such as knowledge and critical thinking. There is also a greater emphasis, in ministry documents, on metacognition. In my experience, mandated objectives requiring students to reflect on their own learning can cause much eye-rolling and heavy sighs by my colleagues. However, reflection is an important way to creating meaning and allows for the final principal, “Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the gaps (going beyond the information given.”(tip.psychology.org/bruner.html)

I chose these to discuss behaviourism and constructivism because they represent my constant struggle, as a teacher, to negotiate my ideals and reality.