psycological trheory of learning

CHAPTER 2

Constructivism: A Psychological Theory of Learning
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Catherine Twomey Fosnot and Randall Stewart Perry
Psychology—the way learning is defined, studied, and understood—underlies much of the curricular and instructional decision-making that occurs in education.
Constructivism, perhaps the most current psychology of learning, is no exception.
Initially based on the work of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, and then supported and extended by contemporary biologists and cognitive scientists, it is having major ramifications on the goals teachers set for the learners with whom they work, the instructional strategies teachers employ in working towards these goals, and the methods of assessment utilized by school personnel to document genuine learning.
What is this theory of learning and development that is the basis of the current reform movement and how is it different from other models of psychology?
INTRODUCTION: THEORIES OF LEARNING
Behaviorism
Behaviorism is the doctrine that regards psychology as a scientific study of behavior and explains learning as a system of behavioral responses to physical stimuli.
Psychologists working within this theory of learning are interested in the effect of reinforcement, practice, and external motivation on a network of associations and learned behaviors.
Educators using such a behaviorist framework preplan a curriculum by breaking a content area (usually seen as a finite body of predetermined knowledge) into assumed component parts—“skills"—and then sequencing these parts into a hierarchy ranging from simple to more complex. Assumptions are made that observation, listening to explanations from teachers who communicate clearly, or engaging in experiences, activities, or practice sessions with feedback will result in learning; and, that proficient skills will quantify to produce the whole, or more encompassing concept (Gagne, 1965;
Bloom,

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