I always thought my students came from a different planet and it turns out they do…according to cognitivism.

Everything we learn is based on our understanding of the information we are trying to learn, the information that we already have stored in our brains, and our attention on and motivation to take in new materials (Novak & Cañas, 2008). Even if we are motivated to learn the information we can only attend to a small number of items at one time and therefore it is important that a teacher does not overwhelm a learner with too much information according to Dr. Orey (Laureate, 2008a). So where does that leave us? Well, it leaves us with a starting place to discuss cognitivism in the classroom, and with the realization that our students are literally living on a different planet than we are because they understand their world differently.

If teachers know that students go through a specific process when they are constructing their understanding of information being presented, and if teachers know that part of that process is dependent on making connections to previously learned information, then teachers should be able to create learning experiences that prep students for success. It is also important for teachers to recognize that there are limits to the amount of attention even the most motivated students can provide to tasks in a classroom and, therefore, teachers need to be aware of how much information is being thrown at the students. It also means that there are certain activities that will lend themselves to deep student thinking if the questions and information sought from the student is clearly defined and of a deep and inviting construction.

Teachers need to think about the kinds of assignments they are asking their students to complete and the level of questions that are being asked of those students. Without explicitly teaching students about using good note taking strategies, many students fall into the habits, be they good or bad, that teachers have explicitly taught them in the past. Unfortunately, many of those explicit teachings of note taking were based on outdated research that does make use of the current technological tools such as wikis, blogs, organizing software, and word processor templates as Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) suggest. As technology changes, and our understanding of the way that students take in, process, and synthesize changes, teachers must make changes to their instruction in order to help students make connections and intricate understandings of the relationships between the information presented to them in a variety of settings. Teachers also need to understand that students will have a better grasp of the information presented if it is presented through different modalities because it gives the students more ways to connect information which is important for retention according to Dr. Wolfe (Laureate, 2008b).

Students also need to know what it is that they are trying to learn as well. Without a clear purpose, it would be easy for students to attend to the wrong information being presented to them. Since their attention is the first step in them understanding the information it is imperative that they fully understand and attend to the goal for the learning experience if meaning is to become engrained in their minds. This can be accomplished by providing the students with cues, organizers, and intentional questions. All of these are strategies that help the students identify their purpose and attend to specific information that is deemed of value (Pitler, et al., 2007). Through specific technology programs like Inspiration, spreadsheets, and word processors, students can be provided with a structure within which to explore ideas (Pitler, et al., 2007).

That structure is important because it allows a teacher to control the forum in which the learning is taking place so the learning can be modified for the instructional purpose at hand. This is also true in the case of providing background knowledge through virtual field trips and concept maps. By providing students an opportunity to explore a location inaccessible because of distance, time, or money, the students can still experience, in a limited form, a location or set of information without having to physically attend the site. A class studying Beowulf might be able to take a virtual tour of the British library in a single class period instead of having to board a plane, fly to England, and physically walk into the library. In this way, students who might never have the opportunity to see the original manuscript would not be denied, in totality, the experience of interacting with the text.

In the same way, a teacher could then have the students build a concept map about the story which could include images, the information from the virtual field trip, the Hollywood interpretations of the text, the teacher’s interpretation of the text, and any other information that the student might already have about the text into a single document. This would illustrate the student’s ability to synthesize information from a variety of sources and formats, provide an insight into the connections that they have made between those sources, and the level of knowledge that they have about the text. When combined with other students’ concept maps, this would provide an impressive tool that a teacher could expand on in future lessons and provide students with access to a wealth of information from their peers (Novak & Cañas, 2008).

At the end of the day, the teacher has a multitude of ways to try to engage students in their lessons. The first step is to get the students to clearly understand and then attend to the lesson though. Assuming that the teacher can fulfill these requirements, using strategies like those listed above will lead to a deeper understanding of information from students. Teachers need to understand how the brain works and what learning strategies are effective for the specific instructional goal that they have. Once they are clear on what they are trying to accomplish and understand how the brain functions, the more likely it is that they will pick the appropriate instructional strategy to accomplish that learning objective and the clearer they will be able to identify that objective for their students.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008a). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Program two. Brain Research and Learning [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Novak, J. D. & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wrench + Mechanic = A vehicle that purrsss ...... Wrench + Me = Disaster ..................... Behaviorism works the same way

Some people say that behaviorism has no place in schools. In fact, Dr. Orey goes so far as to say that psychiatrists and psychologists would say this (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). Of course, that would be to ignore the power of the theory in the day in and day out operation of schools. Many schools rely on this school of thought to manage their discipline programs and prepare for state tests. In addition, operant conditioning is a hallmark of the Positive Behavioral Support model that so many schools have adopted.

But it is easy to see how behaviorism would be effective in managing student behavior. So what then is all the hullabaloo about when it comes to behaviorism in schools? Well, behaviorism doesn't translate well into higher level learning. Does that mean that it doesn't have a place in the classroom? The answer, in m

y mind, is a resounding yes and no.

Like anything, behaviorism when used intentionally and for specific purposes can be very effective at providing students with a way to understand some foundational concepts. When used as a way to reinforce a skill such as identification, this strategy can be effective. Take, for instance, the use of programs like Study Island for test preparation. When focusing on identification of sentence parts, a relatively low level skill, the model of immediate reinforcement can increase test scores and help students to work on memorization of factual information. This is also true for tracking effort on assignments as is presented by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007). The concept of behaviorism can also be easily applied to mathematical problems where consistent practice of a skill is beneficial when there is immediate feedback on the work of the student (Pitler et al., 2007).

In fact, the whole concept of grades as reinforcements of behavior is a tradition in education. Even when grades are substituted for proficiency levels, the idea is the same. When students spreadsheets of scores so that they can see their progress over time, they are really engaging in the concepts presented in behaviorism. The student's behavior is affected by outside factors. This is also true for the breakdown of specific skills and behavioral objectives that show up in classrooms as preparation for standardized testing. Standardized testing relies on this kind of model because authentic, product based assessments are individualized and not easily molded into a behaviorism model in the way that simple identification, knowledge level questions, and descriptions do. Smith (2000) describes this process in terms of looking at curriculum as a product.

One of the biggest pitfalls of behaviorism is that it can be used as the end all be all approach to education. When this happens, as it is happening in many schools who focus simply on standardized test preparation, students are not engaged in the kinds of meaningful interactions with content or technology that could make their learning experiences truly life changing (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). There is a place for behaviorism in the classroom and it can be used with effectiveness especially in online learning

environments with tutorials, but it must be used intentionally and with a clear purpose in order to provide a high quality learning experience for the students and the teachers. To say that behaviorism should be removed from the toolbox of educators is like saying that a metric wrench is useless for cars; what would be more appropriate would be to specify the cars that a metric wrench could be used on effectively. Just because the wrench is old it does not mean that it shouldn't be used. In some circumstances this strategy can be effective in the same way that a wrench could; it just depends on the knowledge and skill of the user.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program four. Behaviorist Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Smith, M. K. (1996, 2000) 'Curriculum theory and practice'the encyclopaedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.