George Churchill PGCE Year 2

EPF 304 (2)

Analyse and evaluate your subject specialist programme of

learning with reference to the various theories of learning
which underpin your approaches to teaching, learning and
assessment. How do you ensure the quality of learning
experience while responding to government priorities?

Word Count: 2151

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George Churchill PGCE Year 2
Summary

The society I work for has learners who have autism, Aspergers and disabilities that can

be complex with a wide variety of needs and learning styles. The centre I teach at is Adult

Day Services that provides social and vocational services for adults post 18 years. The

area of teaching I cover is Physical Education, this covers a wide range of areas that help

promote self independence for a healthier lifestyle. The lessons I teach include meal prep,

personal training, coaching and health and fitness testing. The scheme of work consists of

10 lessons to cover a full term and promotes independence for a healthier lifestyle, ICT,

literacy and language, anatomical theory and health and safety. All of these areas allow

the learners to gain new understanding of personal care autonomy and allows me to

embed functional skills and develop differentiation. Autism is a neurodevelopmental

condition which affects people in four key areas:

• Communication Differences

• Processing Differences

• Social Understanding

• Sensory Differences

Autism is referred to as a ‘spectrum condition’ which means that the core features of

autism will impact differently on each individual. For example two learners may both have

‘differences in communication’, one of them may speak articulately and fluently, but

understand very little, whereas the other may only speak in single words and understand

much more. My role is to assess each individual and adapt how I teach to meet the

varying learning styles and complexities each learner has. It is important to refer to

learning theories to avoid doing the same things over and over again unsuccessfully. The

more organised I am in my role the more effective my sessions can be in response to the

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complex and diverse needs of my learners, which also enables me to manage any difficult

or disruptive behaviour.

The theories of learning enable me to empower myself, developing routine and structure

into my sessions and organise my ideas and resources more clearly when putting them

into practice. This allows for me to build on the important concept of scaffolding for the

support of my SEN sessions (Slavin, 2006), from the notion of Vygotsky's theoretical

framework that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition

in learners (constructivism and cognitivism). Examples of scaffolding techniques I use at

Emsworth include questioning, labels, feedback, prompting and modelling with each being

differentiated to each individual using Maslow's Hierarchy of Cues and allows my learners

to form concepts of what they are learning. When looking at the five learning theories, it

becomes quite apparent that some of them are very relevant to the teaching and learning

development of many of my learners who have ASC.

Behaviourism Theory

The Behaviourist theory assumes that learning is a passive experience; the learner simply

responds to stimuli and learning is shown as a change in behaviour. The theory is

concerned with observable behaviour and not what is happening internally. Behaviourism

was first investigated during the 1890's when Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov published

the results of an experiment on conditioning with dogs, the salivation that occurred when

food was present was an unconditioned reflex, the salivating when they were expecting

food upon seeing the lab assistants was a conditioned reflex. He took the experiment

further and played a sound before presenting the dogs with food. They soon learned to

associate the sound with the food and therefore a change in behaviour had taken place.

Shaped by positive and negative reinforcement to increase behaviourism, in my role it is

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important to balance positive and negative conditions to control the environment my

learners are in to minimise distractions and anxieties.

In my sessions I regularly support my learners with a resource name The Picture

Exchange Communication System (PECS). PECS is a teaching aid that enables learners

to communicate their basic wants and needs through the exchange of symbols. PECS

has six phases and requires a “communicative partner” to exchange a symbol of the

desired item with the learner who will then be honoured with that item. The phases

become more advanced and encourage the learner to discriminate between symbols and

build sentences of their wants and needs and to reply to questions with answers. The

PECS teaching protocol uses reinforcement strategies, avoiding verbal prompting, in the

hope it will lead to independent communication. Each phase of the PECS can relate to a

different learning theory but the learners I currently support go no further then phase 3,

likening it more to behaviourism. By honouring the exchange of each symbol for the

desired item it creates a pattern where the consequences may reinforce or inhibit

recurrence of that behaviour. This also resonates with the famous Pavlov's Dogs research

mentioned previously. The PECS teaching protocol is based on B.F. Skinner’s book,

Verbal Behaviour, such that functional verbal operants are systematically taught using

prompting and reinforcement strategies that will lead to independent communication.

Gestaltism

The gestalt learning theory was developed in Germany between 1910 - 1914 by Max

Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka. These theorists followed the basic principle

that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The theory is concerned with the way in

which the mind finds patterns in things, and how this contributes to learning and the

development of ‘insight’, developing my learners problem solving skills. In contrast to

Behaviourism it involves much more of the individuals thoughts and experiences, it is not

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passive, it is about understanding material and finding meaning. This learning theory

applies to my gym group, who recruit new motor skills each session, learning basics to

body movements and instructions that engage each learners imagination and progresses

their understanding of independence in health. Fittingly, Einstein once quoted;

‘Imagination is more important then knowledge, for knowledge is limited, whereas

imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution’

Gestaltism is a mainstay of my teaching and my learners styles to develop their abilities,

enabling them to process their perceptions into relationships that make up the problem to

come to a conclusion.

Humanism

The fundamental belief of humanism is that age is no barrier to human rights (Porter, 2000,

pg. 113). At Emsworth, we support social and vocational services for adults of all abilities

and levels, with each individual given tailored provisions to meet their expectations and

enable them to flourish. Humanism is a holistic approach to learning that includes creating

the right environment for learning to take place. In my place of work a humanist approach

is promoted to make sure that the students have certain conditions in place in order to

work to the best of their abilities and fulfil their potential. When working with students with

ASC it is important to take a person centred approach, as stated by Kohn (1996),

everyone is capable of considerate behaviour given the right environment, restricting treats

and incentives and being tactile with positive and negative feedback, empowering my

learners to make constructive choices of their own allowing for higher levels of motivation

in their learning.

I reinforce positive behaviour using humanism by working on social worksheets with my

learners, creating social scenarios with lists of both inappropriate and appropriate

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behaviour, such as greeting people, using plausible gestures and how to self regulate

when feeling anxious or agitated. In my sessions I also promote learners emotional

awareness, eliminating any risks of failure or embarrassment and getting the learners to

work together and support each other to build respect and empathy between each other.

Constructivism

Constructivism relates to cognitivism in that it is a theory concerned with how new

knowledge is constructed within a person when new information is related to existing

knowledge. A key constructivism contributor, Jean Piaget was the first psychologist to carry

out an in depth study of cognitive development.  He carried out tests looking at how

children think in very different ways to adults. In my role it is important to support this

learning style with good structure and a sound background of each learners baseline

assessments, when one of my learners encounters a new experience that does not relate

with their existing scheme, adaptation is necessary (Snowman & Biehler, 2006). By

providing full physical and verbal demonstrations and being very hands on practically in

my lessons, I cover two key concepts, accommodation and assimilation. My learners learn

by doing, in this case by searching for ingredients online to create a recipe, following

instructions to perform exercise or using PECS to make choices and decisions based on

past experiences of results and expectations of their actions. My role in supporting

constructivism is to act as a facilitator to my learners with varying levels of support to meet

individual needs, encouraging questioning and discussions to improve perceptions of

understanding.

Cognitivism

Piaget's theory of cognitive development in essence deals with the view that all species

inherit two basic tendencies. The first is organisation, organising behaviours and thoughts

into logical systems. The second is adaptation, adjusting to your environment (Woolfolk,
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Hughes & Walkup, 2008). The theory focuses on how students actively arrange their

knowledge rather than just receiving information. Theorists began to investigate the inner

workings of the mind when computers were being developed. They saw the learner, like a

computer, as an information processor because it involves examining learning, memory

and problem solving, relating new information to existing knowledge. In my sessions it is

important to make connections between new information and existing knowledge, this

means it is important learners are regularly assessed so staff can be consistent in their

approach to individuals environments and development (Evan, 2011). I do this by

regularly updating my learners Individual Development Plans and referring to most recent

baseline assessments by collaborating with management and peers. In the gym, I have

made accommodations for behavioural triggers such as excessive waiting, noise and

routine to make sure there is a brisk pace to sessions to control anxieties the learners on

my group encounter in social settings. In meal prep ICT is encouraged and promoted, as

this is also an interest for each of my learners, they are self motivated to research online

and develop on their existing skills, using real life employment skills that would also be

seen in an office (typing, researching, printing, organising).

Government Priorities

In May 2014 The Education and Training Foundation released the document ‘Professional

Standards for Teachers and Trainers in Education and Training – England’. This document

was a result of a government commissioned review to replace the standards set in 2007

by Lifelong Learning UK, summarising the professional standards to provide a framework

for teachers and trainers. These are separated into three headings;

1. Professional Skills

2. Professional Values and Attributes

3. Professional Knowledge and Understanding

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The document encourages teachers to develop their own judgement of what works and

does not work and to have more critically informed knowledge and understanding in theory

and practice. The main area this document encourages is joint productive development,

working alongside our peers to form an action research. For us to follow the equality and

diversity act (2010) and to safeguard our learners in a positive environment it is solely the

responsibility of the teacher to draw on their own practice, assess their learners and

implement a plan of action to enforce their ideas of what works best and benefits their

learners as individuals. This also links in with the Further Education Learning Technology

Action Group (FELTAG) report, published in October 2013 that encourages more use of

technology in the classroom. In a digital age of technology, employer demands mean that

learning, teaching and assessment should actively take place with the use of technology

so no one gets left behind in an era where communication and information is shared and

updated every second of the day online and through the use of technology. It is also

important to remember this follows the equality and diversity act (2010), preventing

discrimination so everyone can be involved and be a driver of development in this area.

Conclusion

Each theory bears resemblance to each learner I support, but the learning styles mostly

observed in my sessions are behaviourism and constructivism. Routine and structure of

the environment is very much key to my learners, who can easily be confused and worried

by small changes to their day. Behaviourism is prominent in each session I lead and

support, my learners observe and over time learn to put the pieces together with

constructive learning and build up a routine. I support these learning theories with

scaffolding, making sure new information is related to existing knowledge to build small

successes for confidence and motivation, ensuring differentiation and diversity are met to

empower each individual to recognise and achieve with their abilities. By using personal

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centred plans (PCPs), worksheets, feedback forms and discussions I am able to support

my learners with a log of progress, a journey of where they started, where they are now,

where they want to be and how we can work together to achieve this.

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References

Bigge, Morris L. Learning Theories For Teachers. New York: Harper & Row, 1982. Print.

Kohn, Alfie. Beyond Discipline. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development, 2006. Print.

Ortlieb, Evan. "Improving Teacher Education Through Inquiry-Based Learning".

International Education Studies 4.3 (2011): n. pag. Web.

Piaget, Jean, Noam Chomsky, and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini. Language And Learning.

Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1980. Print.

Porter, Louise. Behaviour In Schools. Buckingham [England]: Open University Press,

2000. Print.

Slavin, Robert E. Educational Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997. Print.

Zhou, Mai. "Learning Styles And Teaching Styles In College English Teaching".

International Education Studies 4.1 (2011): n. pag. Web.

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