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
5ESSENTIAL GUIDE 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.
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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
7ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
8 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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.
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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.
10 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
11ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
BEHAVIOURISTAPPROACHESThe carrot method can help pupils learn by rewarding them for their efforts.
12 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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.
13ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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.
14 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
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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
16 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
17ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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).
How can you put the theory into practice?
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.
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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
19ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
COGNITIVE THEORIES Get your pupils involved in lessons by trying out ideas, communicating and collaborating.
20 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
21ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
How can you put the theory into practice?
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.
22 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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.
23ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
24 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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.
25ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
MOTIVATIONAL APPROACHESWhat makes pupils learn? Gaining their interest is the key, and the rest will follow.
26 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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?
27ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
How can you put the theory into practice?
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
28 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
29ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
?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
30 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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
31ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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.
32 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
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.”
33ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
‘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
34 ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
‘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
35ESSENTIAL GUIDE Great Minds
‘All of life is education and everybody is a teacher and everybody is forever a pupil.’Abraham Maslow
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