Introduction to Learning Theories

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Title (as applicable): Principles of Teaching

  Course Title: Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction

  Course Number: 8909030

  Career Cluster: Education and Training

  CIP Number: 0713129900

  Course Type: Career Preparatory

  Standard(s) or benchmarks

  • 20.01 Compare and contrast the various theories of learning.
  • ELA.9.R.3.2 Paraphrase content from grade-level texts.
  • ELA.10.R.3.2 Paraphrase content from grade-level texts.
  • ELA.11.R.3.2 Paraphrase content from grade-level texts.
  • ELA.12.R.3.2 Paraphrase content from grade-level texts.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson could be taught in a unit focused on personal and widely accepted researched belief systems as they relate to education. This would be the first lesson in the unit used to introduce learning theories. Subsequent lessons could focus on various perspectives and applying that knowledge to real-world classroom scenarios to gain a better understanding of how to create inclusive and effective learning environments.

• Career Connection

  
  

  For students interested in careers in education, this lesson provides a foundational understanding of learning theories that can be directly applied in an educational setting. Students will begin to understand learners' motivation to learn and explore how this may affect pedagogy.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Differentiate between distinct learning theories
  • Discuss how learning theories influence teaching and learning

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should:

  • have a basic awareness of different learning styles
  • have basic knowledge of different learning environments
  • have familiarity with common educational terms such as instruction, curriculum, and assessment

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • Why are learning theories important?
  • How can learning theories be used in educational settings?

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson, project the Learning Styles presentation. Ask students to examine each image or description and think about how each relates to education. Allow students to share their thoughts and use their responses to facilitate a discussion. If needed, the following questions can be used:

  • Which learning styles are represented?
  • Do you prefer one over the others? Why or why not?
  • Could you learn everything you wanted to know using only one of these learning styles? Why or why not?
  • How do you think this applies to education?

  2. Explain that there are various theories of learning in education that attempt to explain how people learn and retain information best. Further explain that today they will explore five prominent learning theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, humanism, and connectivism.

  • Write the name of each learning theory on the board and invite students to make predictions about each theory. Predictions can be pure guesses and/or educated guesses based on the name of the theory. Allow students to share their thoughts with a partner before sharing with the class.

  3. Pass out a Learning Theories handout to each student. Put students into groups so that there are five groups; one for each learning theory. Explain that groups will participate in a “station rotation” activity to learn about each of the learning theories. Groups will start at a specific learning theory and rotate through the other learning theories before ending where they started.

  • The learning theories can be numbered to make it easier to assign groups and rotate to each learning theory.
  • Students should spend enough time with each learning theory to read through the description of the learning theory and fill in their handout.

  4. Once students complete their handouts, facilitate a whole group discussion to summarize learning. If needed, the following questions could be asked:

  • Which learning theory are you most familiar with?
  • How do you think each learning theory shapes one’s learning experience?
  • Which learning theory is most appealing to you? Why?
  • Which learning theory is least appealing to you? Why?
  • If you could create your own school, which learning theory would be the basis of your school’s curriculum? Why?

  5. To bring the lesson to a close, students will write a short reflection on why they believe an understanding of learning theories is important as a future educator.

  • Alternatively, students can write a short reflection on which theory resonates with their personal experiences and beliefs about learning and why.

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • The Learning Styles presentation slide includes talking points in the notes section to use, if necessary.
  • Instead of the station rotation activity, each group could be assigned one learning theory to read about and then present their findings to the class. If time allows, students could also conduct additional research on their assigned learning theory.
  • If implementing this lesson as a station activity, enough copies of each learning theory summary should be printed out so that each group has access to one copy per member while completing the station. Additionally, there will need to be five distinct group areas set up.
  • From a nature of science perspective, people often misunderstand the role of a theory and dismiss it as “just an idea” or merely a “possible explanation”. In the sciences, however, a theory is quite a big deal and carries a lot of weight. Theories are heavily tested and well-supported explanations for a phenomenon. Be sure to pay close attention to how students refer to “theory” in their discussions and correct any misconceptions that arise.

• Optional

  
  

  Formative Assessment Ideas:

  • Students’ written reflections can be used as a formative assessment.

  Accommodation Suggestions:

  • If needed, the learning theories summaries can be shortened or rewritten as a bulleted list of characteristics.

  Extension Ideas:

  • Students can create visual representations (charts, diagrams, and/or drawings) that highlight the differences and similarities among the learning theories.