Learning Theory and Implications For Instruction

No Prerequisites

This course is a study of human learning and cognitive organization and process. The content will provide an overview of the development of learning theory and cognitive models since the beginning of the scientific study of human learning and mental processes. Major theories concerning the learning process and their implications for the instructional process are investigated.
The focus of the course will be the linkage between theory and educational practice.

Attention will be given to the cognitive, affective, and sensory/psychomotor domains and implications for learning through different modalities. Contributions of neuroscience to understanding adolescent research are explored, and structural barriers to learning such as stereotype threat are discussed.
Students will gain insights into the interplay of learner characteristics, prior experiences, the medium of instruction, and cultural influences and understand that learning is contextual, with no single theory universally applying to every student in every situation.

This course will cover the following topics.

UNIT 1: Introduction; Learning and Teaching in the Classroom; Course Overview & Perspectives on Learning, theories of learning and their instructional applications in educational settings.

UNIT 2: Behavioral Analysis; Behaviorism and the Information Processing Model in Classroom Practices; Theoretical Overview, Modeling, Self-Efficacy, & Self-Regulation; Pavlovian Conditioning, Watson, Guthrie, Skinner, Thornkike, and Bandura.

UNIT 3: Cognitive Analysis; Complex Cognitive Processes, Concept Learning & Conceptual Change, viewpoints, and applications regarding the teaching/learning process including Bruner and Ausubel.

UNIT 4: Social Analysis; Observational, Social Learning; Identify humanistic viewpoints and applications regarding the teaching/learning process including Rogers; Recognize the significance of social learning theory and its implication for teaching.

UNIT 5: Constructivist; Piaget’s, Bruner’s, & Vygotsky’s Theory.

UNIT 6: Who’s Who in Human Learning.

UNIT 7: The Adolescent Brain and Neuroscience; Identify concepts and procedures that enable students to process and store information.

UNIT 8: Understanding Learner Characteristics; Understand human growth and development issues and concepts for childhood and early adolescence.

UNIT 9: Multiple Approaches to Curriculum Design.

By the end of the course, the candidate will:

• Become conversant with basic assumptions, concepts, and principles of each theory.
• Grasp possible implications of each theory for different instructional settings.
• Compare and contrast a range of theories in a variety of settings and age groups.
• Create, revise, and begin to use your theory of learning.
• Reflect on how learning theories impact every aspect of your life.
• Explain the interactions of students, teachers, and materials in classrooms and the implications of these interactions for classroom environments.
• Describe contemporary learners along a continuum of characteristics, i.e., socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, ability, among others, and discuss the implications of these characteristics for instruction in the contemporary classroom and in the future.
• Compare and contrast major theoretical positions on learning.
• Recognize and articulate how their philosophies and preferences for learning influence their educational practices.
• Examine motivation and its implications for learning and classroom practices environments.
• Utilize self-assessment for self-improvement and self-enhancement as educational professionals.

The online delivery blends synchronous and asynchronous components. Students complete self-directed assignments hosted on the course platform. Weekly Forums support a required active, rubric-based student contributions that foster collaboration.

Exams may include essays, short answers, or MCQs. Formats include open/closed book. Time zones are considered. Assessments are formative and summative. Students have 2 weeks to review grades and must follow the appeal process in the Student Handbook.

Certificate

Please note that there are three semesters as admission periods as noted on the academic calendar.
Scholarship Awarded (Total Fee: €100)

Registration is done online.