Students As Learners: Development and Learning · 6 min read
Learning Theory and Processes
Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors and the environmental factors that shape them. Classical conditioning, demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov, involves learning through association. A neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally produces a response, eventually eliciting that response on its own. In classrooms, this explains how students may develop positive or negative emotional associations with subjects, teachers, or school itself based on
Operant conditioning, developed by B.F. Skinner, explains learning through consequences. Behaviors followed by reinforcement increase in frequency, while behaviors followed by punishment decrease. Positive reinforcement adds something desirable following a behavior. Negative reinforcement removes something aversive. Positive punishment adds something aversive. Negative punishment removes something desirable. Effective classroom management relies heavily on reinforcement principles, with emphasis on positive reinforcement for desired behaviors rather than punishment for
Schedules of reinforcement affect behavior patterns. Continuous reinforcement, reinforcing every instance of a behavior, produces rapid learning but quick extinction when reinforcement stops. Intermittent reinforcement, reinforcing some instances, produces more persistent behavior. Variable schedules, where reinforcement is unpredictable, create the most resistant behaviors. Teachers can use this knowledge to establish new behaviors through continuous reinforcement, then maintain them through intermittent reinforcement.
Behavior Positive reinforcement: a sticker or specific INCREASES praise after a quiet line transition
Negative reinforcement: a student who finishes the checklist no longer has to redo the page, so he completes checklists
Behavior Positive punishment: a verbal reprimand DECREASES after calling out
Negative punishment (response cost): loss of two minutes of recess after throwing materials
Negative reinforcement is not punishment. Reinforcement of either kind always increases a behavior; "negative" only means something unpleasant is taken away.
Continuous After every correct response
Fast learning, fast extinction; best for teaching a new behavior
Fixed ratio / fixed After a set number of responses / a set amount interval of time
Predictable; effort often drops right after reinforcement
Variable ratio / variable After an unpredictable number of interval responses / time
Steady behavior that resists extinction; best for maintaining a behavior
Cognitive theories focus on mental processes including attention, memory, and thinking. Information processing theory conceptualizes the mind as a system that encodes, stores, and retrieves information. Sensory memory briefly holds all incoming stimuli. Attention determines what information moves to working memory, which has limited capacity and duration. Through rehearsal, elaboration, and organization, information transfers to long-term memory for permanent
Teachers apply information processing principles by gaining and maintaining attention through varied stimuli and engaging content, chunking information to accommodate working memory limitations, providing opportunities for rehearsal and practice, connecting new information to prior knowledge, and teaching organizational strategies that
Schema theory explains how knowledge is organized in interconnected networks. Schemas are mental frameworks that help people organize and interpret information. Learning involves assimilation, fitting new information into existing schemas, and accommodation, modifying schemas to incorporate new information. Teachers activate prior knowledge before introducing new content, help students build connections between concepts, and address misconceptions that may interfere with accurate schema development.
Metacognition refers to awareness and control of one's own thinking processes. Metacognitive knowledge includes understanding of one's own learning strengths and weaknesses, knowledge of strategies, and awareness of task demands. Metacognitive regulation involves planning, monitoring, and evaluating one's learning. Teachers develop metacognition by modeling thinking processes, teaching specific strategies, prompting self-reflection, and providing opportunities for students to plan and evaluate their learning.
INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL
Sensory register: brief input from the senses; attention decides what moves on
Working (short-term) memory: a few items for seconds; rehearsal and chunking keep it active
Encoding: elaboration, organization and connection to prior knowledge
Long-term memory: lasting storage in schemas; retrieval brings it back to working memory
TEACHING FOR MEMORY IN K–6
Young children have a smaller working memory, so give directions in short steps, show them visually, chunk new content, connect it to what children already know, and revisit it through spaced, low-stakes retrieval practice.
Constructivism posits that learners actively construct knowledge rather than passively receiving it. Building on Piaget's work, constructivism emphasizes the learner's role in making meaning through experience and reflection. Knowledge is not transmitted directly from teacher to student but constructed through the learner's interaction with content,
Social constructivism, grounded in Vygotsky's work, emphasizes the social nature of knowledge construction. Learning occurs through interaction with more knowledgeable others and participation in communities of practice. Dialogue, collaboration, and shared problem-solving are central to learning. Teachers serve as facilitators, structuring experiences and guiding discussion rather than simply transmitting information.
Constructivist classrooms feature authentic, meaningful tasks, student-centered activities, opportunities for exploration and discovery, collaborative learning, and multiple perspectives on content. Assessment focuses on understanding and application rather than recall alone.
Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences proposes that intelligence is not a single general ability but encompasses multiple distinct capacities. The original seven intelligences include linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Gardner later added naturalistic intelligence and considered existential intelligence. This theory encourages teachers to present content through varied modalities and recognize diverse forms of student ability.
Learning styles theories suggest individuals have preferred modes of learning, such as visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. While research does not support matching instruction to learning style preferences, awareness of different modalities encourages varied presentation methods that benefit all learners. Effective teachers use multiple representations of content, engage various senses, and provide options for how students demonstrate understanding.
Jean Piaget Cognitive stages; schema, assimilation, accommodation, equilibration
Tasks matched to stage; puzzling results that make students rethink
Lev Vygotsky Learning is social; zone of proximal development; scaffolding; private speech
Guided reading at instructional level, peer support, self-talk while solving
Jerome Bruner Discovery learning; spiral curriculum; enactive → iconic → symbolic
Blocks, then drawings, then numerals; topics revisited each year in more depth
John Dewey Learning by doing; school as a democratic community
Projects, class meetings, real problems such as planning a school garden
Albert Bandura Observational learning, modeling, vicarious reinforcement, self-efficacy
Teacher and peer models, think-alouds, early successes that build confidence
Operant conditioning: consequences shape behavior
Specific praise, token systems, reinforcement schedules
Ivan Pavlov / John B. Classical conditioning; conditioned emotional Watson responses
A chime that signals quiet; reducing anxiety by pairing math with success
What it looks like in a K–6 classroom
Immediate positive feedback; frequent practice strengthens skills
Edward Law of effect; law of exercise
Breakfast, safety and belonging come before high-level learning
Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of needs
Several entry points to the same content (music, movement, drawing,
Questions and tasks at several cognitive levels; reteaching before moving
Benjamin Bloom Taxonomy of objectives; mastery
Schema Organized mental framework of knowledge
A kindergartner's "bird" schema expands to include penguins
Assimilation / Fitting new information into a schema / accommodation changing the schema
Calling a whale a fish / creating a new category for mammals that live in water
Metacognition Thinking about and regulating one's own thinking
A third grader notices a sentence made no sense and rereads it
Self-efficacy Belief in one's ability to succeed at a specific task
After solving three similar problems, a student expects to solve the fourth
Transfer Applying learning in a new situation
Using measurement skills from math in a science investigation
Scaffolding Temporary support that is gradually removed
Sentence frames used early in a unit and then faded
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