Appendix I: Learning theories
Tāpiritanga I: Ngā ariā ako
Before reading this appendix, you may like to take a moment to note down the established learning theories that inform your own learning and the ways in which you try to support others to learn.
How do these theories influence what you do?
Why have you selected one theory and not another?
How are different learning theories integrated in your schema?
If you are reading this in collaboration with others, you may like to share and compare your theories.
Pages 104–109 of the chapter Knowledge and Theory discuss the various types of theory that educators use to explain how and why people learn and that help them make decisions about how best to support their own and others’ learning. It emphasises the fact that theories are dynamic, constantly evolving in the light of new information, and that we do not have a single comprehensive theory of learning. Some theories, however, have become generally accepted by a large number of people over time, and some of those are briefly introduced in this appendix.
Essentially, learning theories fall into two main areas of thought: behaviourism and constructivism. However, because theories grow and evolve, it can be difficult to decide whether a particular theorist is a constructivist or a behaviourist, as is exemplified in the case of Albert Bandura (see below). In practice, different theories have value and relevance in different situations and with different learners.
A PDF of this section is available here.
