Graduate Education Assistance

Methods and Strategies for Middle and High School Teachers

Directions: Please answer each discussion question using 150 words, in-text citation must be used in APA style. Please answer each response in 100 words each.

Discussion Question 1: ( please respond in 150 words)

1. Briefly summarize one of the learning theories and justify why you believe it is the most relevant for today’s classrooms. Support your viewpoint. (Theories are attached)

First Response to Question 1: (please respond in 100 words)

Jacqueline wrote: Though there are many approaches to learning, but they can be summed up in three main categories. They are behaviorist, cognitive constructivist, and social constructivist. When initially glancing at the three, I thought that I would be drawn toward behaviorist theories. This is because I’m a firm believer in the fact that children respond to things based on their personal experiences. They behave the way they do for a reason. Also, if you know what drives them you can use that to help them achieve their goals. I see myself as the teacher who tries to know my students and learn about who they truly are. It’s an idealist thought, but I want to be that person for them. However, I don’t love this method because I’m not a fan of negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is great when warranted, but negative reinforcement doesn’t do what’s it’s supposed to in my opinion. First, it brings all the teacher’s attention to the kid misbehaving. Does that tell other kids that this is the way to act if they need us? It also distracts both teachers and other students. If I correct a student all day or class period, none of the other kids will receive my full attention, I won’t teach as well as I can, and they won’t learn as much as they should. I don’t think anyone has time to make corrects all day. I don’t parent that way and I won’t teach that way either. This is when discipline comes in to play. Regardless, the theory also states that, “Passive absorption of a predefined body of knowledge by the learner. Promoted by repetition and positive reinforcement.” (Berkeley University, 2021). Repetition is a great tool and is still relevant. I think that doing the same quiz over and over will bore anyone, but repeating the same skills in different ways is still useful in today’s classrooms. I don’t think anyone can argue with the fact that repetition helps commit things to one’s memory. I do still think that this theory is the most appropriate for today’s world regardless of my critique. This is because it will force educators to build rapport with their student’s and find out what motivates them. It promotes individualized and differentiated learning, which is what most classrooms are moving toward.

Second Response to Question 1:

Jill Wrote: The learning theory of cognitive constructivism states that learning is a process of active discovery. The educator’s role in the learning process is to provide resources and experiences to create connections between the newly presented information to prior knowledge or experiences. New learning either solidifies prior discoveries or requires the restructuring or modifying of previous learning to accommodate new knowledge (“Cognitive Constructivism”, n.d.). I believe that cognitive constructivism is the most relevant learning theory of today’s classroom. This basis of this theory mirrors the findings of psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, and his theory of the zone of proximal development. In both theories, an individual with skills and knowledge beyond that of the learner (the educator), provides resources and opportunities to learn new information or perform new skills/tasks with guidance or assistance. New information must be attained with a connection to prior understanding or learning. It is the duty of the educator to have a firm understanding of a student’s prior knowledge and to create opportunities to add to or modify prior knowledge (Mcleod, n.d.). In today’s academic environment, knowledge is actively constructed by the learner rather than absorbed in a passive process or due to social interactions as emphasized by other learning theories. Overall, new understanding is dependent on the opportunities presented by the instructor to assist the student in attaining, restructuring or modifying knowledge.

Discussion Question 2: ( Please respond in 150 words)

2. Based on the learning theory selected for Discussion Question 1, justify why this learning theory is best for the assessment needs for diverse students while considering GCU’s Christian worldview that promoting human flourishing can be supported through compassion, justice, and concern.

First Response to Question 2: (Please respond in 100 words)

Allecia Wrote: The Cognitive Constructivist theory of learning states that knowledge is something that is actively constructed and discovered by learners based on their existing cognitive structures. Learning can only build on, solidify, or adjust, what one already knows. A big reason that this is important for me is that this theory places high importance on getting to know your students in order to form engaging, effective, relevant, and rigorous lessons and assessment. (“Cognitive Constructivism”, n.d.). It provides opportunities of formative assessment through multiple avenues: including verbal conversation, written tests and checks for understanding, and more. Such flexibility ensures all learners learning and assessment styles can be catered to. It is important to get to know where our students are at academically, as well as get to know our students on a personal level. Doing so not only helps create more engaging and interesting lessons, but also helps build meaningful relationships with our students. Supporting and caring for our students goes along with the Christian worldview and GCUs mission of showing care and compassion for everyone we encounter.