FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OTOUKE

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

CHEMISTRY EDUCATION

NAME: OBOT BERNICE FRANCIS

MAT NO: FUO/21/CHE/15219

COURSE TITLE: EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

COURSE CODE: EDU 205

QUESTION: Briefly illustrate on the application of learning

theories to teaching and learning.

Learning theories provide frameworks to design instructional strategies that meet diverse
learner needs. Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors, using reinforcement like
rewards and punishments to condition students. Careful sequencing, prompts and feedback
shape mastery. Drill and practice boosts fluency. The following are applications on each
learning theory used in proper facilitation of teaching and learning;

Behaviorism
- Positive and negative reinforcement, rewards and consequences shape desired behaviors
and learning outcomes. Teachers can use contingent rewards like praise, points, prizes to
reinforce target skills and behaviors. Giving tokens or stickers on work completion taps into
operant conditioning.
- Carefully sequencing instruction into small logical steps and giving immediate feedback
after each step enables students to build conceptual understanding via successive
approximation without getting frustrated.
- Drill and practice boosts fluency in foundational skills like math facts, vocabulary,
grammar rules through repetitive reinforcement. Technology can provide engaging ways to
drill.
- Providing rubrics detailing grading criteria and expectations helps shape quality student
work. Showing strong and weak sample work models target behaviors.
- Shaping student behavior through consistent cues and rules, scaffolded supports and timely
feedback allows for progressively increasing independence.

Cognitivism
- Advance organizers given before lessons orient students to key concepts and help
assimilate new information into existing schema. Graphic organizers serve a similar
anchoring purpose.
- Outlining key points from readings enables focused note taking. Notes help encode facts
and concepts into memory by translating information into student's own words/shorthand.
- Higher order thinking skills are developed by teaching metacognitive strategies like
summarizing, inferring, comparing-contrasting, evaluating evidence.
- Using multi-media content like videos, simulations, graphics cater to different learning
modalities and cognitive processing preferences.
- Concept and knowledge maps help identify connections between ideas. Linking abstract
concepts to concrete examples through analogies and models improves comprehension.
- Scaffolding complex problem solving through worked examples then gradually removing
supports helps students internalize strategies.

Constructivism
- Hands-on discovery learning through lab experiments, design projects and digital creation
tools enables learners to actively construct knowledge from experience.
- Inquiry-based activities driven by open-ended guiding questions build critical thinking as
students research and integrate information to draw conclusions.
- Collaborative group projects leverage peer interactions to co-create knowledge, teach each
other and refine conceptual understanding through discussion.
- Assigning research papers, thesis writing and capstone projects requires synthesizing
multiple sources to build new understandings. Revising work deepens learning.
- Experiential learning activities like field trips, role plays and simulations situate learning in
a realistic context helping students bridge theory and real-world application.
- Reflection journaling and discussions about experiences, thought processes, and problem
solving enable students to identify gaps, raise questions and develop metacognition.

Humanism
- Providing choice in assignments taps into students' intrinsic motivation and interests
allowing self-directed exploration.
- Nurturing creativity through open-ended tasks like artistic expression, creative writing and
unstructured design projects.
- Focusing on developing the whole person beyond just academics to build self-actualization,
resilience and relationships.
- Adapting instruction to support individual differences, abilities, talents and learning styles.
- Fostering a warm, supportive classroom community where students feel safe to take risks
and learn from mistakes.
- Conveying unconditional positive regard through respectful communication, compassion
and developing teacher-student relationships.
- Facilitating students to become autonomous, lifelong learners able to recognize and fulfill
their potential.
- Student-centered instruction tailored to learning styles, strengths and interests to nurture
self-actualization. Offering choices promotes agency.
- Warm classroom climate focused on whole child: creativity, emotional needs, self-esteem,
in addition to academics.
- Teachers act as facilitators promoting student autonomy, self-directed learning aligned to
passions and purpose.
- Formative assessment provides supportive feedback for growth. Students feel safe to take
risks, make mistakes in a non-judgmental environment.

Social Learning Theory:

- Modeling desired behaviors and thought processes to demonstrate observational
learning. Explaining thinking aloud while problem solving is an example.
- Structured collaborations like think-pair-share and peer tutoring for peer modeling and
scaffolding. Group projects promote cooperative learning.
- Role playing activities and simulations offer students low risk opportunities to practice
applying behaviors modeled.
- Online learning communities and discussion forums expose students to diverse
perspectives for increased social learning.

Cognitive Load Theory:

- Segmenting complex material into manageable chunks helps avoid overloading
working memory. Interleaving topics helps schema development.
- Alternating high-cognitive activities with periods of low-load activities prevents
fatigue. Games, physical tasks are examples.
- Integrating concrete examples, hands-on exploration and multi-media to tap into dual
coding and multiple modalities for processing.
- Scaffolding difficult tasks by providing steps, templates or guided examples reduces
extraneous load while building skills. Fading out supports over time.
Andragogy – Knowles’ theory of adult learning emphasizes:
- Letting adult learners be self-directed in their learning process, providing resources
rather than lectures
- Designing lessons relevant to learners’ roles, problems and interests
- Leveraging their extensive life experiences as a rich resource via discussions
- Focusing on real-world application of skills rather than content memorization
- Adults have a deep need to be self-directing. Teachers act as guides on the side,
providing resources for autonomous exploration.
- Instruction should be problem-centered rather than content-oriented. Real-life case
studies and project-based learning promote relevance.
- Extensive life experiences are leveraged as a rich resource for collaborative learning.
Discussions enable sharing.
- Internships, work placements and simulations anchor learning in practical application
rather than abstract theorization.

Behaviorism – Key strategies include:

- Providing immediate, corrective feedback on student responses during instruction
- Breaking down complex behaviors/material into discreet, measurable units to shape
mastery through successive approximation
- Using prompts, cues and reinforcement to establish habitual learned behaviors

Cognitivism – Recommended instructional design strategies:

- Helping students organize and connect new information with existing mental models
and prior knowledge
- Promoting deep processing through elaborative interrogation, reciprocal teaching and
concept mapping
- Teaching metacognitive strategies so students can independently apply them across
contexts.
- Advance organizers orient students and facilitate assimilating new information into
existing mental models. Graphic organizers serve a similar purpose.
- Supporting deep processing through elaboration, summarizing, relating concepts,
taking notes in one’s own words. Multimedia caters to dual coding.
- Scaffolding and modeling metacognitive strategies like self-questioning, think alouds,
planning. Promotes transfer of strategies.
- Concept and knowledge maps reveal connections and relationships between concepts.
Linking abstract ideas to concrete examples improves meaning making.

Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory:

- Collaborative learning activities leverage peer interaction to promote development of
skills within the zone of proximal development
- Scaffolding challenging tasks by providing supports like reminders, outlines or
templates enables students to accomplish more advanced work
- The instructor serves as an experienced collaborator, modeling processes before
gradually releasing responsibility to the learner
 - Cooperative learning groups promote the co-construction of knowledge through
discussion and teaching one another

Bruner’s Discovery Learning:

- Inquiry-based approaches allow students to actively discover knowledge themselves
rather than passively receiving information
- Inductive learning through exploration, experimentation and interpretation encourages
students to construct mental models
- Instruction is structured around big concepts, principles and frameworks that facilitate
extrapolation
- Teachers sequence learning to progress from concrete to symbolic to abstract
representations of concepts

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Stages:

- Lessons align with the correct developmental stage, building on preoperational,
concrete or formal reasoning capabilities
- Hands-on learning with manipulatives and play appeal to the sensorimotor and
preoperational stages
- Concrete examples make abstract concepts accessible to students in the concrete
operational stage

Bloom's Taxonomy - Provides a hierarchy of learning objectives to promote higher order

thinking:
- Remembering - Quizzes, flashcards to recall facts, rules, sequences
- Understanding - Summarizing, explaining and interpreting meaning of concepts
- Applying - Using information in concrete situations, problem solving
- Analyzing - Comparing/contrasting, organizing parts, deconstructing meaning
- Evaluating - Justifying positions using evidence, critiquing effectiveness of ideas
- Creating - Designing, constructing new understanding, products or knowledge
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences - Appeals to different cognitive strengths and preferences:
- Verbal-Linguistic - Debates, oral reports, journaling
- Logical-Mathematical - Calculations, science experiments, inquiry
- Visual-Spatial - Graphs, models, mind maps, puzzles
- Bodily-Kinesthetic - Role playing, simulations, hands-on labs
- Musical-Rhythmic - Songs, rhymes, rhythmic exercises
- Interpersonal - Group projects, peer tutoring, discussions
- Intrapersonal - Independent study, self-paced learning, reflection

SUMMARY
Cognitivism sees learners as active processors of information. Advance organizers anchor
new information. Elaboration strategies like relating concepts, summarizing and dual coding
promote deep processing. Scaffolding and modeling metacognitive strategies enables
transfer.
Constructivism views learning as actively building knowledge from experience. Hands-on
discovery learning, inquiry-based instruction and collaborative projects enable co-creation of
knowledge. Reflection reveals gaps in understanding to address. Humanism focuses on the
whole person, nurturing self-actualization and creativity in a supportive classroom climate.
Learners are motivated by interests and agency is promoted through choice. Social learning
occurs through observation, imitation and modeling. Teachers demonstrate target behaviors
and collaborative peer learning enables practice and scaffolding.
Andragogy applies to adult learning, emphasizing self-directedness and leveraging
experience. Instruction should be problem-centered with real-life application. Piaget’s stages
guide learning activities to match developmental levels. Scaffolding, manipulatives and
discovery learning align with preoperational and concrete stages. Vygotsky highlighted the
zone of proximal development, using collaboration, teacher guidance and private speech to
advance skills. Bruner advocated inductive learning through exploration, moving from
concrete to symbolic representation. Bloom’s taxonomy informs sequencing objectives from
remembering to creating. Gardner’s multiple intelligences provide a framework to appeal to
different cognitive strengths and preferences.
Overall, major theories offer principles to intentionally design learner-centered instruction,
environment and adaptations to optimize engagement and development for all students. An
integrated application of theories allows teachers to be responsive and flexible based on
contextual needs.

REFERENCES
BEHAVIORISM;
Skinner, B.F. (1938). The behavior of organisms. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Pavlov, I.P. (1897). The work of the digestive glands. London: Griffin.
Watson, J.B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158-
177.
Thorndike, E. L. (1911). Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative
processes in animals. Psychological Review, Monograph Supplements, 2(4), i-109.
COGNITIVISM;
Ausubel, D.P. (1968). Educational psychology: A cognitive view. New York: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston.
Bruner, J.S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press
Gagne, R.M. (1985). The conditions of learning and theory of instruction (4th ed.). New
York: CBS College Publishing.
CONSTRUCTIVISM;
Piaget, J. (1936). Origins of intelligence in the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society. London: Harvard University Press.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier Macmillan.
Bruner, J.S. (1961). The act of discovery. Harvard Educational Review, 31, 21–32.
HUMANISM;
Rogers, C. (1969). Freedom to learn. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.
Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–96.
Knowles, M.S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to
andragogy. Wilton, CT: Association Press.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY;
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.