Hirsch, E. D. (2016). Why knowledge matters: Rescuing our children from failed educational theories. www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/why-knowledge-matters Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Cognitive load theory. Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4419-8126-4

Bates, T. (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age: Second Edition (2019) | teachonline.ca. Retrieved 30 September 2020, from https://teachonline.ca/teaching-in-a-digital-age/teaching-in-a-digital-age-second-edition It is for this reason that teacher colleges or educator preparation programs spend so much time having teacher candidates study human development and multiple learning theories. Foundational knowledge of how humans learn, and specifically how a child learns and develops cognitively, is essential for all educators to be their most effective instructors in the classroom. Different theories of learning reflect diverse views and beliefs on the origin, nature and limits of knowledge. Bates (2014) states that “every teacher starts from some epistemological or theoretical position, even if it is not explicit, or even if the teacher is not fully aware of their beliefs”. Harasim (2017) also thinks that all teachers hold “some perspective on how to teach (and concomitantly, even if unconsciously, a perspective on how people learn)”. Therefore teachers may have different views as to how best to teach. For example, Pugsley (2011) sees the roles of educators “more as facilitators of learning, rather than imparters of knowledge”. In contrast, Hirsch (2016) and proponents of direct instruction argue that knowledge and curricula are fundamental to education. Students are whole people, and learning must attend to their emotional as well as their cognitive state. When the child has developed a working Schema that can explain what they perceive in the world, that Schema is in a state of Equilibrium.So what are educational learning theories and how can we use them in our teaching practice? There are so many out there, how do we know which are still relevant and which will work for our classes? Bates (2014) notes that some form of empirical evidence supports some theories such as Behaviourism whereas other theories such as Connectivism do not have a strong basis in evidence. He also notes that why people base their teaching on a given theoretical approach “is as much about values and beliefs about knowledge as it is about the effectiveness of each theory” (Bates, 2014). Bourdieu examined the way in which social structures influence people’s values, knowledge, and beliefs, and how these structures often become so ingrained as to be invisible. People within a society become so enculturated into the systems and beliefs of that society that they often accept them as “normal” and do not see them as imposed structures (Roth, 2018). As a result, individuals might not question or challenge those structures, even when they are unfair or oppressive. In addition to examining how community and culture help shape knowledge, Bourdieu was interested in how issues of class impact learning. He observed that over time, schools developed to reflect the cultures of wealthier families, which enabled their children to succeed because they inherently understood the culture of the classroom and the system of education. We continue to see such issues today, and as discussed more in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, part of our critical practice is to ensure that our classrooms and instructional strategies are inclusive of and responsive to all students. Vygotsky talks about Elementary Mental Functions, by which he means the basic cognitive processes of Attention, Sensation, Perception and Memory.

Knowles proposed andragogy as “the art and science of helping adults learn” (1988, p. 43). Andragogy is based on a set of assumptions about the ways in which adult learners’ experience, motivations, and needs differ from those of younger students, and suggests that traditional classroom approaches developed with younger students in mind will not necessarily be successful with adult learners. Perhaps one of the biggest differences between child and adult learners, according to Knowles (1988), is that adults are interested in the immediate applicability of what they are learning and are often motivated by their social roles as employees, parents, and so on. As Knowles notes, in traditional classrooms, children are usually taught discrete subjects like math, reading, and history, and their learning is focused on building up knowledge for the future. Young students might not use geometry in their everyday lives, but it forms a foundation for more complex math and for future job or life tasks like measuring materials for home repairs.

Informed by the digital age, connectivism departs from constructivism by identifying and remediating gaps in knowledge. Like students themselves, learning theories in education are varied and diverse. In addition to the five theories outlined above, there are still more options, including: In the experiences in which you felt motivated, what steps did the instructor take that helped you feel motivated?