45
mins
Session 4 part 1: Overview of
pedagogical learning theories
Slide 1
An overview of pedagogical
learning theories
Session 4: Pedagogical Skills
Workshop
1.4.1_Handout_BloomsTaxonomy.docx
Note, slides for facilitator to complete in advance
based on pre-workshop assessment
Slide 1-2 (1 mins)
• The purpose of this session is to
introduce you to the learning theory we will
be using on this course.
• Introduce the session and the lesson objectives
Slide 2
Learning Objectives
1. Understand how learning styles feed into
learning theory
2. Introduction to training theories:
– Behaviourism
– Constructivism
– Cognitivism
Slide 3
Learning style & theory
How people
learn (learning
styles)
How trainers
deliver training
(learning theory &
strategies)
(2 mins)
• Let’s take a few moments to think about
the distinction between learning style (or
preference) and learning theory. Learning
styles looks at how people learn. Learning
theory is concerned with the art of
training, it focuses on how trainers deliver
training to achieve a learning outcome.
The segment in the middle is the ideal
balance between learning theory and
learning preference. Every trainer should
aim for this perfect balance!
Slide 4
Terminology
• Andragogy
“learning strategies focused on adults”, adult
education practices, process of engaging adult
learners…
• Pedagogy
“Art or profession of teaching especially an
academic subject or theoretical concept”
(2 mins)
• The art of teaching (or training) is known
as ‘pedagogy’. When learning is focused on
adults it is called ‘andragogy’. The term
most regularly used to refer to teaching
(and training) is ‘pedagogy’.
Wikipedia
Slide 5
Behaviourism, 1927
History of Andragogy & Pedagogy,
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-andragogy-and-pedagogy
Slide 6
Constructivism, 1930
History of Andragogy & Pedagogy,
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-andragogy-and-pedagogy
(3 mins)
• The first pedagogical theory we will look
at is ‘behaviourism’. It was introduced in
1927 by Ivan Pavlov through his work with
‘salivating dogs’.
He proved that dogs could be conditioned
to expect food when they heard a bell ring
(we will talk about this in more detail on
Day 2).
Pavlov’s stimulus / response theory showed
that given the right stimulus we can
manipulate a desired response.
In training, this theory is applied to
incentivising behaviours in the classroom
through incentives and rewards.
(3 mins)
• The constructivist theory emerged during
the 1930s and 1940s.
This theory places a strong emphasis on
the learner rather than the trainer.
The trainer becomes a facilitator and helps
the learner to construct their own
solutions to problems.
There are two schools of thought in the
constructivist theory: social constructivism
and cognitive constructivism. The social
constructivist’s emphasised that learning
should take place in social settings and in
groups.
Slide 7
Cognitivism, 1956
History of Andragogy & Pedagogy,
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-andragogy-and-pedagogy
(3 mins)
• Bloom is one of the main proponents of
the cognitivist theory – and is known for
defining how to promote higher order
thinking skills through his ‘Taxonomy of
educational objectives’. This diagram is
extremely useful in helping trainers design
their training sessions using ‘action words’
to stimulate learning at different levels.
Ideally, trainers should design activities
that stimulate learning at the higher end
of the spectrum: analysis, synthesis and
evaluation. Note: some diagrams express
these higher-order thinking skills as:
analysis evaluation and creation
• Highlight the resource on Bloom’s action words
(handout)
Slide 8
Experiential learning, 1984
History of Andragogy & Pedagogy,
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-andragogy-and-pedagogy
(3 mins)
• The final theory we will look at is Kolb’s
learning cycle – expressed here as
experiential learning.
In 1984, David Kolb wrote a book about
experiential learning, where he claimed
that experience was central to learning and
development.
He defined four stages in the process:
concrete experience, reflective
observation, abstract conceptualisation and
active experimentation. We will focus on
this theory in more detail shortly.
Slide 9
Slide 9-10 (15 mins)
Pedagogy survey – [insert %
result from survey]!
• Knowing a little about pedagogical theory
will help you become a more effective
trainer. In the pre-assessment
questionnaire before the workshop we
tested your ability to recognise two
different training delivery styles. Trainer
A uses a lecture style – which is more
trainer centred. Trainer B bases their
training delivery on two learning theories:
constructivism and experiential theory
(because they use a mixture of methods
and allows students to work independently).
We could also argue that the students in
this class are more motivated to learn as
they are encouraged to put forward their
own ideas – this is a behaviourist learning
theory.
•
Slide
10
Results Pedagogy Survey
• Teacher centred versus Learner centred:
– [insert % result e.g. 4/20] prefer
Teacher centred
– [insert % result e.g. 4/20] prefer
Learner centred
– [insert % result e.g. 4/20] prefer a
combination of both
Invite participants to pick out examples of
teacher-centred approaches (e.g.
demonstrating how to use sources, i.e
Trainer A) and learner-centred approaches
(e.g. Trainer B feels comfortable with
students proposing their own ideas or
suggestions).
(10 mins)
• Prepare the slide in advance by including the
number of participants who prefer: teachercentred, learner centred and a combination of
both methods.
• We were also able to gauge your
attitudes towards the learner-centred
training approaches from the preassessment questionnaire. We used this
question to inform our design of the
workshop.
•
Discuss the findings with the group, are they
surprised by the responses? What do the
figures tell you?
Slide
11
(1 mins)
• Show the slide and highlight the learning
outcomes for this session
Learning Outcomes
• Appreciate how learning styles feed into
learning theory
• Some familiarity with learning theories:
– Behaviourism
– Constructivism
– Cognitivism
– Experiential learning
Slide
12
Course materials developed by Siobhan
Duvigneau
Information Literacy manager, IDS
S.Duvigneau@ids.ac.uk
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15/11/2013
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