The lesson was about learning theories. Before learning about the integration of technology in Science lesson, it is important to have a strong basis on the knowledge of learning theories that support teaching and learning. The two theories are behaviorist and constructivist theories.
Behaviourist Theory
It involves direct instruction that assigns a central role to the teacher in explaining, modeling, and providing opportunities for practice with feedback. The goals are understanding, logic behind skills; automaticity, skills are over learned to the point that they are used with little mental effort; and transfer, something learned at one time is applied later in another setting.
This approach proposes a teacher-centered classroom. A teacher should be an efficient planner of the whole lesson. Lesson can be very structured as they have to follow teacher's instructions and steps in order to learn a subject. I think this is a very rigid condition of learning. Still, it is also useful when it comes to theoretical based-learning and the lesson taught should achieve intended learning outcomes. Thus, procedures are needed to monitor the progress of the lesson.
Constructivist Theory
This approach argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and their ideas. Piaget called these systems of knowledge schemata. Learners construct their own understanding rather than having it delivered or transmitted to them. Learners use their own experiences to construct understandings that make sense to them. New learning depends on prior understanding and is interpreted in the context of current understanding, not first as isolated information that is later related to existing knowledge.
The focus of the lesson was ‘Behaviourism vs. Constructivism’ and how learning about these theories serves as a guide for me to understand more about human nature of learning.
