Blog Post # 1

Prompt: How would the learning be designed differently by a behaviorist, a cognitivist, and a constructivist? Scenario: A high school social study teacher is planning a class on climate change.

Behaviorist: 

Before the class began a behaviorist would have given a pretest in order to assess the student’s knowledge. They would analyze the results and adjust their teaching material accordingly as to not repeat any material that the majority of students already know. A behaviorist might have the students create flashcards of vocabulary relevant to the upcoming unit and practice with a partner. Before students began they would show the students examples of previous successful student’s flashcards and provide a template. As the students are practicing the behaviorist might walk around and reward students who are defining words correctly with candy or some other kind of tangible reward. 

Cognitivist:

A cognitivist might begin a lesson about climate change by asking the students what each one knows about climate change and then providing the class with a series of examples and non-examples and have the class sort them into categories. For an introductory task, they might introduce the learner to come concepts related to climate change and have learners come up with an acronym to help them remember the concept. They might have students illustrate these and post them around the room for reference throughout the unit. 

Constructivism: 

 A constructivist would begin their lesson on climate change by defining exactly the time period, part of the world, and the affected party being discussed. They would then propose a very open-ended project that allowed the learner to pick their own direction with regards to the subject. In order to research the project, a constructivist might provide books, videos, computers, podcasts, and physical models for students to glean information from. Throughout the unit, the constructivist would bring in guest speakers and provide field trip opportunities in order to allow students to have real-life experiences with the material.