1. Learning Theories and Their
Implications to Teaching
Viola
October 25, 2014

2. About this Presentation
Define learning & teaching
What is a learning theory
Some categories of learning theories
Highlight some implications of learning theories to
teaching
Provide example(s)

3. What is Learning

4. What is Teaching

5. About Learning Theories in Education
What is a Learning Theory
Origin - answering why and how learning occurs
Philosophies about how learning occurs
Many ways of ‘grouping/categorizing’ learning
theories

6. Some Learning Theories in Education

7. Some Learning Theory Categories

8. Historical Evolution of Learning Theories
(e.g. Wilson & Peterson, 2006)
From Towards
Learning Process Sponge, Passive, individual
activity, diversity as
problematic
Active, collaborative,
diversity as resource
Funds of Knowledge Disciplinary facts – what to
be learned
Consider what, why and
how learning takes place,
inquiry processes
Teaching Practice Teacher centered,
transmission of
information from teacher
to students
Complex process, student
centered, teachers
continually improve on
TPCK

9. Implications to Teaching
 Teaching philosophies – what one believes as best practice
 Potential gap between learning and teaching research communities (Wilson
& Peterson, 2006)
 Teacher as a coach or facilitator of learning
 Enable Knowledge integration – build on what they already know
 Shared responsibilities- communities of practice, collaboration etc (Lave &
Wenger, 1991)
 Intellectual process- teachers as experts and with adequate TPCK (Mishra,
& Koehler, 2006; Shulman, 1983; Wilson & Peterson, 2006)

10. Example of Students’ prior Knowledge
Some students’ prior
knowledge
Some students’ reasoning What we expect them to
understand
Children look their
parents
They see resemblance in their
own families
Offspring inherit genetic
material from parents
Can roll tongue like dad
Have dimples like mom
Some students’ beliefs that
• genetic material for a trait only
from a parent they resemble
• What is expressed is dominant
• Only dominant trains are
inherited
• Boy inherit more genetic from
father than mother & vice versa
Gene exist in more than
one form
One allele from each
parent
Expression depends on
dominance, recessive,
codominance etc

11. Implications to Practice

12. References
 Hollis, K. (2014). TPCK Model and Learning Technology by Design.
http://kristinahollis.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/tpck-model-and-learning-technology-by-design/
 Illeris, K. (2004). The three dimensions of learning. Malabar, Fla: Krieger Pub. Co.
 Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
 Lewis, J., Wood-Robinson, C. (2000). Genes, chromosomes, cell division and inheritance-do students
see any relationship? Int. J. Sci. Educ., 22(2): 177-195.
 Manokore, V., Williams, M. (2012). Middle School Students’ Reasoning about Biological Inheritance:
Students’ Resemblance Theory. Int. J. Biol. Educ., 2(1): 1-31.
 Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A new framework
for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record. 108(6), 1017-1054.

13. References cont’
 Stewart, J.H. (1982). Difficulties experienced by high school students when learning basic
Mendelian genetics. Am. Biol. Teacher, 44: 80–84, 89.
 Shulman, L.S. (1986). Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching. Educational
Researcher, 15(2), 4-14.
 Turney, J. (1995). The Public Understanding Of Genetics - where next? Euro. J. Genet. Soc. 1 (2): 5 -
20
 Wood-Robinson, C. (1994) Young People’s Ideas About Inheritance And Evolution. Stud. Sci.
Educ. 24: 29-47
 Wilson, S. M., & Peterson, P. L. (2006). Theories of Learning and Teaching What Do They Mean
for Educators? Washington DC: National Education Association