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GreatMindsA TES Essential Guideto education’s most infl uential philosophers

guide

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Educational philosophies are complex and wide-ranging.

In this TES Essential Guide, James Williams, a lecturer in education at the University of Sussex, makes sense of it all.

Theory and practice 4 What it’s all about.

Bloom’s taxonomy of learning 8 Bloom’s theory links the knowledge we have to how to we think, explains how attitude affects motivation and how our ability to do practical things changes the way we learn.

Behaviourist approaches 12 Behaviourist theories say that our learning is linked to our responses to our surroundings and the stimulus we receive from them.

Humanistic approaches 16 Humanistic theories are based on the idea that everyone wants to learn and teachers should facilitate that learning rather than prescribe what should take place.

Cognitive theories 20 How we think and learn are summed up by cognitive theories such as constructivism and multiple intelligences.

Motivational approaches 26 Motivational theories say that learning should be relevant to learners who need to feel safe in their surroundings and that their achievements are recognised.

Thinkers who have shaped modern education 30 Four thinkers who have challenged the government’s top-down approach to education.

Quote, unquote 34

3ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds

WHERE THEORY MEETS PRACTICEA TES Essential Guide

GREAT MINDS If you’re interested in philosophy and want to know how it can help you in the classroom, read on...

4 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds

If you have been teaching

for a while, those boring

theory lectures may now

be a distant memory. If you

have just started training,

perhaps you are wondering

if that theory lecture is really

necessary. Isn’t it just better

to get into the classroom,

see how it’s done and learn

on the job? This is where we

need to differentiate between

training and education. It is

the difference between the

how and the why.

It is possible to take

somebody off the street and

train them to look, behave

and talk like a teacher. Some

TV programmes have done

this with celebrities, but they

soon come unstuck when

they realise that they don’t

know why they are doing

certain things in a classroom.

Initial teacher education

is about integrating the

how and the why. Simply

learning on the job with no

theoretical input may teach

you how, but it often fails to

address the why.

There’s an old saying: “If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and behaves like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” But is looking, sounding and behaving like a teacher enough? Actors can make convincing doctors on screen, but you wouldn’t want a Casualty actor treating you for a life threatening illness. Being a professional is not just knowing what to do and how to do it. It’s also about knowing why you do it. Teaching is no different and that’s where the theories of learning and teaching come in.

GREAT MINDS


This doesn’t mean that a

job-based training route

cannot and does not produce

good teachers, it does.

It was summed up for me by

a head of physics from an

independent school who I

interviewed for a PGCE some

years ago. He knew he was

a good teacher, he got good

results. Doing the PGCE, he

said, would reveal to him

why he was a good teacher.

Contrary to popular belief,

the theories of education are

not irrelevant.

There are a number of

alternative viewpoints and

competing theories about

teaching and learning.

Over the years they have

been contested, revised,

updated and even rejected.

Education in this respect is

no different from any other

academic subject.

So, what useful things should

teachers know? Three core

areas are theories of child

development, theories of

learning and theories about

learning styles.

An oft-quoted name

in lectures on child

development is Jean Piaget,

but he is just one theorist.

Essentially, we can divide

child development into

three camps:

n The maturationists (for

example, Arnold Gesell) who

believe development is a

biological process that occurs

automatically in predictable,

sequential stages. This

can lead to assumptions

that children will acquire

knowledge naturally.

n The environmentalists

(such as Albert Bandura) who

believe a child’s environment

shapes learning and behaviour.

n The constructivists (such

as Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky

and Jerome Bruner) who

see young children as active

participants in learning.

“Start from where the child is at”

often sums up their thinking.

Simply learning on the job with no theoretical input may teach you how, but it often fails to address the why.


There are also a number of ideas about how children learn, such as Benjamin Bloom’s theories on learning. Theories about children’s learning can be divided into behavioural, cognitive, humanistic and motivational groups. The most contentious area of educational theory is that associated

with learning styles and multiple intelligences where some swear by

the theories and others dismiss them out of hand.

This TES Essential Guide will link the most common theories on

teaching and learning to your practice in the classroom, showing you

how the theory can make your job easier. It looks at who’s behind the

theory, what the main points are and how this translates into useful

teaching strategies that you can build on in the classroom. It goes back

to the basics and looks at the original theories, many of which have

been changed and adapted over the years.

It is always possible for you to develop your own theories of teaching

and learning after many years of experience, but learning about and

understanding some of the common educational theories can make

your life easier as a teacher. Why find out the hard way about what

works and what doesn’t work?

Planning for teaching on sound theoretical principles means that

you are not constantly reinventing the wheel. By the end, you won’t

just look, behave and sound like a good teacher, you’ll also know why

you’re a good teacher.

The thinking behind the theories


Develop more sophisticated questions and answers with this expert’s help.

BLOOM’STAXONOMY OF LEARNINGDevelop more sophisticated questions and answers with this expert’s help.

Evaluation

Synthesis

Analysis

Application

Comprehension

Knowledge

Internalise values system

Organise ideas

Value ideas

Respond to ideas

Receive ideas

Naturalisation

Articulation

Develop precision

Manipulate

Imitate

Above: Cognitive domain

Left: Affective domain

Right: Psychomotor domain


If there’s one thing teachers

should be good at, it’s asking

questions. The problem

is, what type of question

should you be asking? The

answer was provided by

Benjamin Bloom 50 years

ago in Bloom’s taxonomy.

Think about a pub quiz

versus University Challenge

and throw in a dash of

Mastermind. You either

know the answer to the pub

quiz question or you don’t,

it’s about factual recall;

University Challenge needs

synthesis and evaluation

to get the right answer, but

even its “starter for 10” is

about recall.

Bloom’s ideas help teachers

develop more sophisticated

questions and answers. He

put forward ideas about a

hierarchy of learning and

devised a way of categorising

knowledge and learning. His

taxonomy of learning covers

a range of activities that

teachers do every day.

Bloom saw it as more than

a tool for measuring pupils’

achievement. He said

that the domains provide

a common language for

teachers, linking the level of

difficulty of subject matter

and information about pupil

achievement.

It is also useful for

generating learning

objectives and outcomes, for

short, medium and long-

term planning. Pupils need

to master each level before

they can effectively move to

a higher level. Each new level

subsumes the level or levels

below it.

Bloom’s taxonomy provides

an excellent structure

for planning, designing,

assessing and evaluating

teaching and learning

effectiveness. The domains

also serve as a checklist

for you to ensure that your

planned teaching delivers

the necessary development

for pupils. It can also serve

as a template for you to

assess the validity and

coverage of any existing

schemes of work.

How can you put the theory into practice?

When you plan or review

lessons, think about which

levels you have addressed in

your teaching.

If your lesson is

predominately skills based,

use the psychomotor

domain, if you have pupils

working in groups, for

example, then the affective

domain is useful.

What’s the theory about? Bloom’s taxonomy comes in

three overlapping domains:

1. Cognitive domain (intellectual capability, for

example, knowledge or the

ability to think).

2. Affective domain (feelings,

emotions and behaviour,

for example attitude and

motivation).

3. Psychomotor domain

(manual and physical skills).

Some short-hand ways of

referring to his work are

Skills-Knowledge-Attitude;

SKA; Do-Think-Feel.


In a lesson where pupils have

to use specialist equipment,

for example, science, food

technology or PE, they may

begin with imitation, copying

the teacher. Later, you will

want the pupils to use tools

and equipment by following

worksheet instructions and

to practise so that they can

use the equipment with

more precision, for example,

knives in food technology or

pipettes in science.

Later, you will want to

provide opportunities for

them to combine uses

of different pieces of

equipment and eventually

the aim is for the pupils

to use the equipment

correctly consistently and

with precision, so that they

need no input from you or

instruction sheets.

Much of the work we set our

children resides in the lowest

levels of the three domains.

If the pupils have mastered

work at these levels then

they should be challenged

and pushed towards the

higher levels. Bloom’s work

provides guidance on how to

stretch the more able pupils

by providing opportunities

for them to access the

higher levels. It’s also a way

of differentiating work so

pupils can feel secure but

still stretched.

OUR EASY-TO-FOLLOW GUIDE TO THE TABLE OF VERBS

KNOWLEDGElistnameidentifyshowdefinerecogniserecallstate

COMPREHENSIONsummariseexplainput into your own wordsinterpretdescribecompareparaphrasedifferentiatedemonstratevisualisefind more informationaboutrestate

APPLICATIONsolveillustratecalculateuseinterpretrelatemanipulateapplyclassifymodifyput into practice

ANALYSISanalyseorganisededucechoosecontrastcomparedistinguish

SYNTHESISdesignhypothesizesupportwritereportdiscussplandevisecomparecreateconstruct

Bloom’s work provides guidance on how to stretch the more able pupils by providing opportunities for them to access the higher levels.


Further information

www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/bloomtax.html

www.fctel.uncc.du/pedagogy/basicscoursedevelop/Bloom

WritingObjectives.html

www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

How to use Bloom to improve your questioning in lessons

The cognitive domain can

help you structure your

questions to pupils, either

on worksheets and tasks

or during your teaching.

Good questions get the best

out of your pupils and help

them develop. When you

are planning lessons and

thinking about the questions

to ask individuals in class,

it is worth referring to the

table of verbs (see below).

If all your questions reside

in the knowledge and

comprehension levels you

may not be stretching your

pupils enough. To make

them feel comfortable and

feel they are able to achieve

something, it is fine to ask

some low-level questions,

but you need to make sure

that some higher order

questions are asked of pupils

according to their ability.

Benjamin S. Bloom 1913–1999Benjamin Bloom was born in Lansford, Pennsylvania, the son of a Russian Jewish tailor. His ambition was to be a teacher. After gaining a bachelor and masters degree at Pennsylvania State University, he became a research assistant, joined the Department of Education at the University of Chicago in 1940 and was awarded a PhD in Education in 1942.

Bloom developed his ideas on learning after running workshops in India. He observed a student learning by rote from a textbook and realised that such low-level learning – the simple acquisition of knowledge – only lasted as long as was necessary to pass a test or exam.

He convinced his Indian hosts that applying knowledge and learning higher order thinking skills was more effective for lifelong learning. During the Fifties and Sixties, on his return to Chicago, he developed his taxonomy of learning, publishing his book on the cognitive domain in 1956.

In the late Sixties, he concentrated on improving the effectiveness of developing mastery in learning instead of simply learning facts to pass tests. Bloom completed his work in the area of cognition or knowledge and feelings/behaviour, but never completed his work on skills. Over the years his work has been revised and expanded. Bloom’s ideas about education, teaching and learning have had a major impact on educational thought. The purpose of education, according to Bloom, is “to change the thoughts, feelings and actions of students.”

SYNTHESISdesignhypothesizesupportwritereportdiscussplandevisecomparecreateconstruct

EVALUATIONevaluatechooseestimatejudgedefendcriticisejustify


BEHAVIOURISTAPPROACHESThe carrot method can help pupils learn by rewarding them for their efforts.


BEHAVIOURISTAPPROACHES

Pavlov studied reflexes in

animals and noticed that

dogs salivated even if there

was no food. The dogs were

reacting to lab coats. The

people who fed them wore

lab coats, so they reacted as

if food was coming whenever

they saw a lab coat.

Pavlov tested his idea by

striking a bell when the

dogs were fed, so the dogs

associated the sound of the

bell with food. A similar

thing happens in school.

When the bell sounds pupils

instinctively get up to go,

leading to the classic teacher

comment: “The bell is for

me and not for you.” Pavlov

got involuntary responses,

but it’s possible to condition

animals and people to

respond with voluntary or

operant actions.

B.F Skinner, the American

psychologist, made a

number of contributions to

understanding how learning

and behaviour are linked,

in particular his operant

conditioning theory.

If you like Derren Brown, the TV illusionist, and wonder how he gets normal, well-adjusted people to do crazy things, such as rob an armoured van or press a button that will apparently electrocute a kitten, then you’ll be interested in a behaviourist approach to teaching and learning. A simple example is the work of Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist, sometimes referred to as classical conditioning.


What’s the theory about? Skinner’s theory is based

upon the idea that learning

happens when there’s a

change in a pupil’s behaviour.

The changes result from

responses to events (stimuli).

Each response produces

a consequence, such as

defining a word, hitting a

ball, solving a maths problem

or not misbehaving.

When a particular stimulus

response pattern is

reinforced (rewarded),

the pupil is conditioned to

respond positively.

Reinforcement is the key part

of his theory. A reinforcer,

positive or negative, is

anything that strengthens

a desired response. It could

be verbal praise, a good

grade in a test or a feeling

of accomplishment or

satisfaction. Adverse stimuli

or punishment can result in

reduced responses.

How can you put the theory into practice? Operant conditioning

is similar to classical

conditioning in that both are

concerned with how we can

teach others how to behave.

When pupils display

behaviours that we want,

it should be followed by

something pleasurable

(a reward) so that the

behaviour will be reinforced

and repeated. Observe a class

carefully at the beginning of

the school year to identify

its baseline behaviour. This

will be different for each

pupil. For example, when you

ask pupils to line up, some

do so quickly and quietly,

others will mess about. If

you want them all to line up

quickly and quietly, you need

to change their behaviour

in small steps. Begin by

reinforcing how pupils

should behave then focus on

reducing the time it takes.

Positive reinforcement

gives the reward

immediately

following the

desired behaviour,

for example

awarding stars or

commendations

for good work.

Negative reinforcement is

the removal of a negative

stimulus or punishment,

following a desired

behaviour, for example

allowing a pupil to read

quietly if they complete all

their class work properly

ahead of the rest of the class,

rather than giving them

more work to do.

Each pupil will have different

ideas of what constitutes a

reward, so different types of

reinforcers will be more or

less effective at modifying

behaviour. If rewards are

not leading to modified

behaviour, it may be that the

reinforcers being used are

not valuable to the pupils

and you will have to find new

rewards.

When pupils display behaviours that we want, it should be followed by something pleasurable (a reward) so that the behaviour will be reinforced and repeated.


How to use behaviourism to improve your lessons

In a noisy environment,

such as a music class, it’s

often difficult to get pupils’

attention. Try using a specific

piece of music that builds to

a crescendo as a signal for

silence to follow.

Some teachers use pieces

of music to signal certain

events. The Countdown

theme could mean you have

30 seconds before you have

to be quiet. The Mission

Impossible theme tune could

be a cue to tidy the room,

with everyone in place and

the room tidied by the time

the music ends. This uses

classical conditioning.

Perhaps you are impressed

with the overall behaviour

of your class, but still the

pupils make mistakes such

as forgetting homework or

not raising a hand before

answering questions.

Rather than punishing

the pupils, try devising a

system of points where

they can redeem their

mistakes by earning points

for a better than average

effort on homework or for

remembering to put a hand

up to answer questions.

Acknowledge them

when they earn points

with positive verbal

reinforcement.

B.F. Skinner 1904–1990

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born in 1904 in the small Pennsylvania town of Susquehanna. He did a BA in English at Hamilton College, New York, and wanted to be a writer. He went travelling before going to Harvard University, where he was awarded a masters and doctorate in psychology. After brief stints at other universities he returned to Harvard in 1948 where he remained for the rest of his career.

He had two daughters, who became famous as the first infants to be raised in one of his inventions, the air crib. This was a combination of a crib and playpen with glass sides and climate control. It reduced the need to wear lots of baby clothes and nappies, cutting down on the number of soiled nappies and nappy rash, while encouraging the baby to move around more, be more comfortable, healthy and so less prone to crying. It looked too much like keeping a baby in a fish tank and didn’t catch on. Contrary to popular myths, Skinner’s daughters did not become psychotic, sue their father or commit suicide as a result of time spent in the air crib.

Further information

www.bfskinner.org/home.html

www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/publications/ThinkersPdf/skinnere.PDF


Who’s at the centre of your lessons, you or your pupils? It could be time to open the lines of communication and empower the individuals in your class.

HUMANIST APPROACHES


John Holt in How Children

Fail, a groundbreaking

book published in 1964, put

forward the idea that schools

can be disconnected from

reality and kill children’s

innate desire to learn.

Schools, he said, promote

an atmosphere of fear –

fear of failure, humiliation

or disapproval – and that

severely affects a child’s

capacity for intellectual

growth.

Even external motivation

– rewards such as praise

and gold stars – may only

reinforce some children’s

fear of failing.

Carl Rogers, the American

psychologist and promoter

of humanistic approaches

to learning, believed that all

living organisms, including

children, instinctively know

what’s good for them.

In direct contrast to the

behaviourist approaches of

Skinner and Pavlov, Rogers

was the advocate of pupil-

centred learning.

What’s pupil-centred learning about?

Rogers saw the facilitation

of learning as the main aim

of education. He believed

that teachers should

create supportive learning

environments where they

could work with pupils to

achieve mutually agreed

goals. In these supportive

classrooms, he argued,

children would grow to

love learning.

Are you a teacher or a learning facilitator? Is it your job to impart knowledge or help pupils become independent learners? The humanistic approach to teaching and learning is based on the idea that we are all eager to learn. What prevents us from learning is a negative classroom atmosphere. If pupils feel uncomfortable making mistakes or are afraid that their failure to grasp a new idea will result in ridicule or humiliation, then learning is hampered.

HUMANIST APPROACHES


He was against traditional

transmission teaching where

teachers are the fonts of

all knowledge and pupils

receivers.

Rogers’s research showed

that pupils preferred

classrooms where they

collaborated, carried out

their own investigations and

taught each other. Rogers

saw teachers as learning

facilitators who would

limit what children

wanted to do. His

approach can be seen

in current initiatives,

such as Social and

Emotional Aspects of

Learning (SEAL).


Pupil-centred learning does

not necessarily mean turning

over the school to the pupils.

Think about how welcoming

your classroom is. Try to

create a sense of ownership

for the room – much easier

in primary than in secondary

– as this will create a

physically safe working

environment.

Ideally you should work with

pupils to select learning

objectives related to their

personal experiences.

Whenever possible, pupils

should have access to

a range of sources of

information, from books,

to the internet, as well as

teachers and each other.

Assessment should use self

and peer assessment,

as well as formal testing.

The goal is for pupils to take

responsibility for their own

learning, becoming active

knowledge seekers. Pupils

should work individually at

times, but they also need to

collaborate with others in

small groups.

How to use humanistic approaches to improve your lessons

Teachers who show

enthusiasm for pupils’ ideas

and do not dismiss them

out of hand create trust and

reduce the fear of ridicule.

If a pupil gives a strange

answer to a question try and

find out how they arrived at it.

Rogers believed that teachers should create supportive learning environments where they could work with pupils to achieve mutually agreed goals.


Develop a more conversational

style when responding to

pupil ideas as this creates a

less formal, safer classroom

environment. Getting to

know pupils and chatting

about things they find

important makes them feel

that you are interested in

them.

Rushing them to provide

answers creates tension

and stress. For example,

in a maths lesson give

groups time to respond to a

question by saying that you

will come back for an answer

in three or four minutes.

Setting the group the task

of helping one of them

understand how to solve

the problem also creates

purposeful group work.

In a modern languages

lesson, try encouraging peer-

to-peer responses. If you

ask a pupil to respond to a

question in another language

ask other pupils to say if the

answer is correct or what the

correct response should be in

the target language.

Allow time in your lesson

plans for pupil responses

and ideas to shape lessons,

for example in a geography

lesson canvassing the

pupils’ opinions on a natural

disaster or related news

item uses a pupil-centred

approach. Also remember to

use open-ended questions to

encourage talk and debate.

Carl Rogers 1902–1987

Carl Rogers was born in 1902 at Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He initially studied theology but turned to clinical and educational psychology, studying at the Teachers’ College of Columbia University.

His research focused on demonstrating the psychological conditions needed for open communication and empowering individuals to achieve their full potential. He pioneered a move away from traditional psychoanalysis developing client-centred psychotherapy.

In his later years he travelled the world as he tried to apply his theories to national social conflict.

Further information

www.gtce.org.uk/research/romtopics/rom_cpd/Carl_Rogers_and_classroom_oct08

www.infed.org/thinkers/etrogers.htm

www.summerhillschool.co.uk/pages/index.html


COGNITIVE THEORIES Get your pupils involved in lessons by trying out ideas, communicating and collaborating.


Constructivist teaching

doesn’t start by saying that

this original intuitive idea is

wrong; it constructs a path

for the learner from the

incorrect idea to the correct

answer. Adults and children

are not empty vessels,

they will have ideas and

knowledge about all sorts

of things, often gathered

from their own personal

experiences. The essence of

constructivist teaching is to

“start from where the person

is at”.

Three names that often come

up within constructivist

teaching are Jerome Bruner,

Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget

– who is often credited as the

father of constructivism.

What’s the theory about? Constructivism says

that children learn best

when they construct a

personal understanding

of a concept or idea based

on experiencing things

and reflecting on those

experiences. Learning should

build on the knowledge

that pupils already have,

sometimes called a schema.

Constructivism suggests that

learning is more effective

when a pupil is actively

engaged in building their

own knowledge rather than

passively receiving it from a

teacher.

We often have common sense ideas that turn out to be wrong. Many people think that heavier things fall faster than lighter things, simply because intuitively it seems right. In fact, gravity pulls on heavy and light things by the same amount and, if nothing interferes with the objects, they will hit the ground at the same time. How we think and learn are summed up in cognitive theories such as constructivism and multiple intelligences.

COGNITIVE THEORIES



One of the goals of using

constructivist teaching is

that pupils learn how to

learn. To do this, teachers

need to train pupils how to

do basic tasks, for example

how to make notes, or

how to analyse a passage

of writing, even how to

revise for tests. Too often

we assume that others are

responsible for teaching

pupils how to learn, without

checking that they are able to

do so in the first place.

Once we know that pupils

can take the initiative for

their own learning then our

lessons and schemes of work

can provide opportunities for

pupils to learn constructively.

Constructivist teaching has a

number of characteristics:

n Activities are interactive

and pupil-centred.

n Learners are actively

involved in lessons.

n There is a democratic

environment in the

classroom.

n Teachers act as facilitators

of learning.

n Pupils are encouraged to be

responsible and autonomous

learners.

How to use cognitive theories to improve your lessons

A constructivist lesson

involves a lot of group work.

Interactive teaching and

learning are key features

of the lessons. Challenging

children’s common sense

ideas is a good way of

getting them to construct

new ideas from their

existing ones. Getting

children to try out ideas

makes the lesson much

more dynamic and

interactive.

There needs to be a focus on

social and communication

skills, as well as collaboration

and the exchange of ideas.

Aristotle said that teaching

is the highest form of

understanding. Getting

pupils to explain ideas and

concepts to each other

means that they must

have internalised the ideas

and constructed their own

meaning. Checks are needed,

of course, to ensure that their

understanding is correct.

When planning lessons you

need to introduce activities

and ideas that challenge

their current thinking. In

other words, provide the

pupils with a cognitive

challenge, for example if

children think that heavier

things fall faster than lighter

things, show them a video

clip of an astronaut on the

moon dropping a hammer

and a feather together.

Challenging children’s common sense ideas is a good way of getting them to construct new ideas from their existing ones.


They will see that they both

hit the surface at the same

time. Ask them, in groups,

to discuss how this differs

from their own ideas. What

makes the earth different

from the moon and how

could that difference affect

how the feather falls? Then

get the pupils to devise their

own experiments where

they could test whether or

not heavier things fall faster

than lighter ones.

If their experiments are

practical, let them try them

out and get their own

answers to the problems.

In this way they will have

constructed their own, more

scientifically correct, ideas of

the effect that gravity has on

objects.

Learning styles

One of the most contentious

theoretical approaches to

teaching and learning is

the application of learning

styles to pupils. Two theorists

dominate this area, David

Kolb and Howard Gardner.

David Kolb published his

learning styles ideas in 1984,

sometimes referred to as

Experiential Learning Theory

(ELT), and the Learning

Styles Inventory (LSI). Kolb’s

learning theory is often

expressed as a four-stage

cycle of learning, where

concrete experiences (CE)

provide a basis for reflections

and observations (RO).

These are then distilled

into abstract concepts (AC),

producing new ideas that

can be subjected to active

experimentation (AE), in turn

creating new experiences.

Jean Piaget 1896–1980

Jean Piaget was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. His research centred on how knowledge grows. His answer was that it is progressive. Children’s logic and thinking, he said, are initially entirely different from those of adults. Piaget concluded a lot about children’s thinking from studying the growth and development of his own children. He described four stages of mental growth:

n Sensory-motor stage (birth–two) Children concentrate on concrete (or real) objects.

n Pre-operational stage (two–seven) Children learn symbols in language, fantasy, play and dreams.

n Concrete operational stage (seven–11) Children master classification, relationships, numbers and ways of reasoning (arguing to a conclusion) about them.

n Formal operational stage (11+) Children begin to master independent thought and other people’s thinking.

In reality the stages are not strictly age related. Many children do not move from the concrete stage to the formal stage until much later. Some intervention strategies, for example CASE (Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education) and CAME for mathematics, have a great deal of success in helping children move from the concrete to the formal stage in Year 7 and 8.


The learning style preference

itself is actually the product

of two pairs of variables, or

two separate choices that

pupils make, which Kolb

presented as lines of axis,

each with confl icting modes

at either end:

Diverging learners are able to

look at things from different

perspectives, preferring

to watch rather than do,

gathering information and

use imagination to solve

problems.

Assimilating learners prefer

a more concise, logical

approach, where ideas and

concepts are more important

than people.

Converging learners solve

problems and use their

learning to fi nd solutions to

practical issues.

Accommodating learners

have a hands-on style and

rely on intuition rather than

logic. Accommodators act on

instinct rather than logical

analysis.

In his Theory of Multiple

Intelligences, Howard

Gardner states that people

are not simply smart or dull.

Rather, they have different

intelligences. Gardner initially

identifi ed seven:

n Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence

n Visual/Spatial Intelligence

n Musical Intelligence

n Logical/Mathematical

Intelligence

n Bodily/Kinaesthetic

Intelligence

n Interpersonal intelligence

n Intrapersonal Intelligence

Jerome Bruner,born 1915

Jerome Bruner believes that information or knowledge is gained most effectivelyby personal discovery.He advocates that pupils should be allowed to pursue concepts individually in order to gain a better understanding.

Teachers should guide pupils when necessary to progressively build their own knowledge base, rather than be taught.

While Piaget puts each developmental stage in a specifi c age range, Bruner says that children have all the stages available to them all the time, but that one stage tends to dominate. With appropriate teaching, other stages can be brought out.

Doing

Thinking

Watching

Feeling

Converging

learners

Accommodating

learners

Diverging

learners

Assimilating

learners


Aristotle said that teaching is the highest form of understanding.

Gardner argues that the most

effective teaching would

incorporate all intelligences.

The multiple intelligences

are not limited to the original

seven, and he has since

considered the existence of

other possible intelligences,

for example naturalist,

spiritual and moral. People

continually debate and

interpret potential additions

to the model.

Some dismiss the notion

of multiple intelligences,

claiming they are irrelevant

in teaching and learning.

A simple learning styles

theory that is often applied

in schools is separating

children according to one

of three preferred styles,

either visual, auditory or

kinaesthetic.

Readily available tests

offer simple methods to

understand and explain

people’s preferred ways to

learn. The use of such models

and tests can be a problem.

This is true if the results of

tests are treated as absolute

and exclusive of other styles

and considerations in the

overall mix of a person’s

personality and needs. As

with any tool, learning styles

concepts should be used with

care. The concepts are an aid,

not a dogma to be followed

and applied rigidly.

Further information

www.piaget.org www.webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm

www.kolar.org/vygotsky www.dkolb.org www.howardgardner.com

www.bham.wednet.edu/studentgal/onlineresearch/oldonline/mod9.htm

www.acceleratedlearning.com/method/test_flash.html www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Lev Semenovich Vygotsky 1896–1934 Vygotsky’s theory suggests that development depends on interaction

with people and the tools that culture provides. There are three ways a

cultural tool can be passed from one individual to another.

n Imitative learning, where one person tries to imitate or copy another.

n Instructed learning, which involves remembering the instructions

of the teacher.

n Collaborative learning, which involves a group of peers who strive to understand each other

and work together to learn a specific skill. The four basic principles that Vygotsky outlined for

development are:

1. Children construct their knowledge.

2. Development cannot be separated from its social context.

3. Learning can lead development.

4. Language plays a central role in mental development.

Vygotsky stated that there is a difference between what a child can do without help and with adult

help. He called this difference the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD defines those

functions that have not yet matured, but are in the process of maturation. They are functions that

will mature but are currently not developed unless guided by an adult.


MOTIVATIONAL APPROACHESWhat makes pupils learn? Gaining their interest is the key, and the rest will follow.


You might think that some

subjects have an advantage;

boys can’t wait for PE, so

they can play football, or

science attracts them with

promises of explosions and

Bunsen burners. Motivation

is a complex process. In

the Eighties, John Keller

produced the ARCS model for

the motivational design of

learning.

n Attention – this can be

gained by a stimulating

question, a thought-provoking

reading or a video clip.

n Relevance – establishing

relevance increases pupil

motivation. For example, use

language and examples with

which the learners are familiar.

Tell pupils how the new

learning will be useful to them.

n Confidence – make sure

that the content is not too

challenging. Pupils need to feel

confident that they can achieve

some degree of success in

activities.

n Satisfaction – at the end

of the learning experience,

pupils need to be rewarded,

with a sense of achievement,

or recognizing that a skill

is beneficial, for example.

Keller based his ideas partly

on Abraham Maslow’s work

in the Forties and Fifties.

Maslow defined a hierarchy

of needs, which basically says

that a person’s behaviour

will be dominated by those

needs which have the greatest

influence.

MOTIVATIONAL APPROACHES

What would it take to get you to do the worst job imaginable? Maybe you are not motivated by money, perhaps helping people is more important to you, or recognition of your skills. But what motivates your pupils?


What’s Maslow’s hierarchy of needs about?

Maslow’s hierarchy is often

represented as a pyramid

with basic biological needs

(food, drink, warmth etc)

at its base. Next level up is

safety and security, moving

on to belonging, such as

friendship, being part of

a group, affection etc. The

fourth level is the need for

self-esteem, competence,

adequacy, attention and

recognition. At the top of

the pyramid is the need

for self-fulfi lment or self-

actualisation.

Maslow’s hierarchy of

needs theorises that each

of these levels must be

adequately satisfi ed starting

with physiological needs

and working toward self-

actualisation. You cannot

successfully move up to the

next level without fulfi lling

the level below.

Maslow’s original hierarchy has been revised to seven levels:

1. Physiological

2. Safety

3. Belonging

4. Esteem

5. Cognitive

6. Aesthetic

7. Self-actualisation


If your pupils’ basic

physiological needs are not

being met (for example, for

food, warmth, shelter, sleep)

they are not going to be able

to learn or participate in

lessons.

Pupils who do not feel a

sense of belonging in school

or lessons, or do not feel they

are capable of achieving or

having a reasonable degree

of self-esteem, are unlikely

to have a strong motivation

to learn or to be creative and

open to new ideas.

While home life will impact

on all pupils, the climates

fostered by and within

schools can overcome some

of these diffi culties. Breakfast

clubs and the provision

of good healthy menus in

school canteens will meet

a range of basic needs.

A welcoming classroom, and

pupils’ work on the walls in

corridors and classrooms,

improves self-esteem and

self-worth.

The fi rst impression of your

classroom, how it looks and

is arranged, can also promote

belonging and self-esteem,

putting pupils at ease and

making them feel valued and

respected as individuals.

Aesthetic

Cognitive

Esteem

Belonging

Physiological

Self-actualisation

Safety


How motivational approaches can improve your lessons

What motivates children

is a sense of achievement,

recognition of the things

that they do, interest in the

task they have been set,

being given responsibility

and moving up to more

demanding tasks. These are

all things that you can strive

to routinely incorporate

into your lessons, but

certain motivators are more

difficult to achieve, such as

responsibility.

To stimulate interest in a

task, try taking children

to a new location to do

something routine. When

studying a history topic,

provide the pupils with

props and artefacts from that

period. Encourage them to

role-play the key characters

and provide them with

dressing up opportunities.

Use the school hall rather

than the classroom to act

out the role-play. If local

historical venues have

education facilities, you may

be able to teach the history

immersed in the buildings of

that period.

Outside speakers who have

first-hand experiences

of things that pupils are

studying will also help to

motivate them, so think

about inviting specialists

in to talk about how they

do their job, or experiences

they had of living through

historical events – this also

gives the activity under

study a “real” context.

In food technology, pupils

could construct a menu

designed for an old people’s

home after talking to some

of the people who live there.

They could then provide a

special lunch or tea party.

This responsibility could

be rewarded with a local

newspaper article celebrating

their achievement. In art,

pupils could produce a show

to raise money for a charity

of their choice, with the

more artistically challenged

pupils getting involved in

the planning and staging of

the event, acting as publicity

officers and designers

deciding where and how the

artworks can be displayed.

Abraham Maslow 1908–1970Abraham Maslow, the son of Jewish Russian immigrants, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the first son of seven children. He attended the City College and began by studying law. Maslow graduated in psychology from the University of Wisconsin. He married Bertha Goodman, his first cousin, and they had two children.

Early in his career, he studied human motivation and personality. His work upset strict behaviourists, whose explanations of motivation and personality failed to account for what Maslow called the whole person. His theory of the hierarchy of needs, which leads to the “self-actualised” individual, was a strong vehicle for the founding of humanistic psychology.

Further information

www.arcsmodel.com

www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art3_5.htm

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/ FacDe vCom/guidebk/teachtip/maslow.htm

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/Maslow.html


?There are many theories about how we can best educate today’s youth. Judith Judd looks at the most thought-provoking ideas.

THINKERS WHO HAVE SHAPED MODERN EDUCATION


They doubt whether a regime

of external teaching and

testing will produce citizens

who can cope with modern

life and they argue that

education is as much about

building confidence and

character as about learning

facts and skills.

They are not just theorists.

They aim to change the way

teachers and pupils behave

and their writing has already

helped to improve hundreds

of schools.

Professor Guy Claxton,

co-director of the new Centre

for Real-World Learning at

the University of Winchester,

has 600 schools signed up to

his building learning power

programme. He says that

schools should be about

teaching people how to learn

and apply their learning

rather than instruction in a

body of content.

He says: “Shakespeare and

simultaneous equations have

to defend their place in the

curriculum not as cultural

treasures but in terms of

the occasions they afford for

mental activity.”

He says that teachers can

pave the way towards

these characteristics by

teaching skills such as how

to ask questions, how to

concentrate and how to

think, but to foster them

they need to change pupils’

attitudes and values.

Today’s thinkers about education are rebels with a cause. Against a background of unprecedented political interest and intervention in education, they pursue similar themes. They question the government’s top-down approach to changing schools and call instead for pupils and teachers to take the lead.

THINKERS WHO HAVE SHAPED MODERN EDUCATION


It is no use being a skilful

questioner if you lack the

courage to ask questions.

He talks about planning

split-screen lessons: on one

side the content (magnets,

equations) and on the other

the development of, for

example, questioning. Above

all, he says that you can do

all this and still get good

exam results.

Professor David Hargreaves, a

former Cambridge University

professor, also works with

schools on a radical agenda.

He suggests that secondary

schools should be more like

businesses. Instead of trying

to persuade customers they

want a pre-determined

standardised product, they

should discover customers’

needs and then design the

products to meet them.

That would mean rethinking

almost everything: the

school day, tests, year

groups, subjects and lessons.

He draws ideas from

educational thinkers such

as Ivan Ilich (who supported

self-directed learning) and

Howard Gardner whose

work and theory of multiple

intelligences are covered

elsewhere in this TES

Essential Guide.

In his ideal school, pupils

set their own standards and

learning objectives, work

in teams, assess their own

and each other’s work, solve

real-world problems. They

also give their views about

what makes a good lesson.

Teachers are mentors or

coaches, commenting on

pupils’ work but not giving

marks or grades. This is not

a return to child-centred

learning, he says, because

teachers challenge and put

pressure on their pupils.

Pupils’ views are central

to Professor Hargreaves’s

theories.

Character building is important if you want to improve pupils’ ability to learn: they need, for example, to be curious, independent and reflective.


The importance of

Professor Jean Rudduck,

the Cambridge academic

who died last year, lies in

her vigorous explanation

of the importance of “pupil

voice”. She was not the first

to suggest that teachers

should engage with pupils

but probably the first to

put children’s perspective

at the centre of curriculum

change. She wrote that “what

pupils say about teaching,

learning and schooling is

not only worth listening to

but provides an important,

perhaps the most important,

foundation for thinking

about ways of improving

schools.” Most teachers now

accept this view. She believed

that young people were

much more capable than

many schools recognised and

that education should aim to

make them more confident

and motivated. Her views are

reflected in the government’s

Every Child Matters strategy,

which emphasises the need

to involve pupils in decisions.

Professor Rudduck wanted

pupil voice to focus only

on teaching and learning,

not general school issues.

The aim was for teachers to

understand from pupils the

relevance of what they were

learning and how far they

were engaged.

Learning to learn and

pupils’ experience also form

part of the philosophy of

Professor John MacBeath,

chair of educational

leadership at Cambridge

University since 2000. His

distinctive contribution to

contemporary education

debate is the movement

away from top-down

inspection to self evaluation.

His 1995 report Schools

Speak for Themselves,

commissioned by the

National Union of Teachers,

helped push ministers

towards the present light

touch inspection system.

Professor MacBeath believes

that this is still too top-

down. He wants schools to

reach a point when they

ask themselves constantly:

“How good is our learning?”

He says that he has seen

the power of self evaluation

to transform schools in 30

countries.

Teachers and pupils

respond to trust “almost

always surpassing

expectation, relishing the

freedom to craft their own

approaches to what they

see as worth evaluating

and worth improving.” So

he firmly opposes much

of government policy with

“too much prescription, too

much pressure, stunting

the capacity for growth and

creativity.”


‘Living is learning and when kids are living fully and energetically and happily they are learning a lot, even if we don’t always know what it is.’ John Holt

‘The purpose of education is to change the thoughts, feeling and actions of students.’ Benjamin Bloom

‘The teacher must orient his work not on yesterday’s development in the child but on tomorrow’s.’ Lev Vygotsky

‘The teacher must orient his work

not on yesterday’s

but on

QUOTE, UNQUOTE


‘Education is an important function of a culture – possibly in the long run its most important or only function.’ BF Skinner

‘Thinking about thinking has to be a principal ingredient of any empowering practice of education.’ Jerome Bruner

Thinking about thinking about thinking about has to be a principal ingredient

of any empoweringprincipal ingredient

empoweringprincipal ingredient

practice of education. Jerome Bruner

BF Skinner

‘Thinking

‘The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done – men who are creative, inventive and discoverers.’ Jean Piaget


‘All of life is education and everybody is a teacher and everybody is forever a pupil.’Abraham Maslow

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