Group Members: Yu Chun (Jim) Tsen, Jenn Mitchell, Meghan Friberg

Application Project: Professional Development Training

Project Outline

Topic: Apply behavioral, cognitive, and social learning theory to create better lesson
plans in middle school.

Theories:
Behavioral Learning Cognitive Learning Social Learning Theory
Theory Theory • Social cognitive
• Classical • Gestalt theory theory
conditioning • Information • Learning factors
• Operant processing theory • Four components of
conditioning • Schema theory learning
• Type of memory

Target Audience:
The target audience for this project is middle school teachers who teach the main
courses including math, English Science, and history. Also, the target audience are
those teachers who are willing to improve their lessons plans by integrating and
applying behavioral, cognitive, and social learning theory.

Learner Background:
Age: 22+years old
Educational Level: Bachelor’s degree or above in education
Learning Preference: Visual and verbal
Entry Skills: Fundamental computer literacy
Technical Skills Attitude: most feel confident in using PowerPoint and basic
computer-based training programs
Cultural Diversity: Multicultural
Language: English (read, speak, listen, and write)
Multimedia Training: Little or no experience

Course Background:
Teachers already create lesson plans for their students. This training
will utilize behavioral, cognitive, and social learning theories to help create better lesson
plans. This training will teach the teachers how to apply these theories to the core
curriculums of Math, Science, English, and History for middle school students lesson
plans. With appropriate training, the teachers will be able to create better lesson
plans utilizing behavioral, cognitive, and social learning theories. The training

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Group Members: Yu Chun (Jim) Tsen, Jenn Mitchell, Meghan Friberg

will provide lectures, reflections, and activities to help train the teachers to utilize the
learning theories to prepare better lesson plans.

Course Description:
Once the teachers have completed the training, they will be able to utilize behavioral,
cognitive, and social learning theories to create a better lesson plan for students.

Learning Goal:
Teachers are currently creating lesson plans; this training will allow them to evaluate the
way they currently create their lesson plans and give them the tools they need to
improve their lesson plans. Utilizing behavioral, cognitive, and social learning theories
will allow for this improvement. The teachers should see an improvement in the way
their students learn with the improvement of the lesson plans.

Course Outline:
Time Instructional Activities

5 minutes Prior Knowledge Survey (Independent)—Activity 1/ Material 1

10-15 minutes Ice Breaker Activities

5 minutes Goals & Objectives

10 minutes What Is Behavioral Learning Theory?

• PowerPoint Presentation—Material 2
o Part I: Background
o Part II: Behaviorism
o Part III: Connectionism
o Part IV: Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

10-15 minutes Think- Pair- Share—Activity 2

(Take 2-3 minutes to think about the questions, spend 4-6
minutes pairing with the person next to you to explain your
responses, spend 4-6 minutes sharing responses to the
group.)
• How do you apply this method in your classroom
currently?
• How can you elevate your current methods?

10 minutes What Is Cognitive Learning Theory?

• PowerPoint Presentation—Material 2
o Part I: Background
o Part II: Gestalt Theory
o Part III: Information Processing Theory
o Part IV: Schema Theory

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Group Members: Yu Chun (Jim) Tsen, Jenn Mitchell, Meghan Friberg

10-15 minutes Group Prompt—Activity 3

• Get together in groups of 3-4 people in your
department. Pick a standard from your department and
discuss how you would implement cognitive learning
theory while teaching that standard.
• Share ideas as a group

10 minutes What Is Social Learning Theory?

• PowerPoint Presentation—Material 2
o Part I: Foundations & Background
o Part II: Modeling & Values

20-30 minutes Lesson Plan Creation—Activity 4

Create an outline for a lesson based on the standard your
group choose. Be sure to apply components from each of the
three learning theories.

10 minutes Conclusion