Learning Theories

Hello everyone,

Reading the articles about the different learning theories gave me a better understanding of how learning takes place and the different methods that can be utilized when teaching the students.

Both Bloom and Maslow agree that learning begins from a point at the very bottom where the individual may have limited knowledge of any situation. As the person develops and acquires more knowledge through the learning process, they will grow to the point of attaining full knowledge at the top.   

Maslow’s Hierarchy states that each person has needs and in order to develop, these needs must be satisfied in  a specific order. The needs at the lowest level, which are the physiological needs, where the person realizes what is needed for human survival must be satisfied first. Moving up  the hierarchy to safety, the person seeks elements of security and protection. Next is love, where the person senses a feeling of belonging and acceptance.  Esteem is developed as the person learns what it entails to have self-respect and then self actualization comes with the sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.

Bloom’s Taxonomy states that there are six levels in the taxonomy,  but the focus is on the three domains which are cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. The cognitive domain is the knowledge, understanding  and ability to remember any given information on a particular topic. The affective domain explains the social interactions which the students will have with each other and the way they express and react to each other,s emotions. The psychomotor domain explains the process which the student will go through as he or she gains knowledge and develops in a certain skill or behavior.

The theory of the Backward Design was especially important to me as I could see the relevance of telling students about the goal I would like them to achieve before we actually begin the lesson. Once we have discussed the desired goal, we can plan a course of action which will be used to get to the goal. As an educator I can assess the student’s understanding and level of learning through observations, informal interviews, quizzes and class projects.