Educational Theory Today
This paper is required to be written in APA and when talking about your own knowledge use: Scholarly Writing-First Person reserved. There is a link for first person reserved in these directions
Assignment:
Now that you have read, discussed, and reflected on the work of five theorists focused on students’ cognitive and moral development, it is time to begin to think about how this influences learning in the classroom in context.
Write a 2- to 3-page paper exploring how the critical ideas of a chosen theorist are impacted by or impacting (positively or negatively) a current contextual issue in learning and schooling.
Choose one of the five theorists you studied this week and a key concept of his/her work that you want to consider.
Identify a topical issue that is relevant to learning today (e.g., one-to-one technology, poverty, standards such as the Common Core, anti-bullying programs). Explore how the theorist’s work does or does not align with current trends and directions in your chosen area. Be sure to think critically about whether or not the theory “holds up” to the work being done today. Perhaps the theory is out of date or perhaps educators are headed in a direction that does not make sense given what we know about learning and development. Be sure to consider how the diversity of the modern classroom may impact your thinking about your chosen topic.
The focus of the paper is your analysis of the issue. It should include your insights and your critique of the topic. Make a persuasive case for your exploration and be sure to use research to support your arguments.
You may use first person reserved writing for this assignment as you are speaking about your own practice/knowledge, but you need to do so in a formal manner. For information on the first person reserved writing style, see Scholarly Writing – First Person Reserved .
Support your ideas with appropriate citations from the Required Studies and your research. Cite and reference your sources in APA style and include a reference list.
Information:The Great Theorists an advanced course that will shed light on the mysteries of how people learn. This course will address many aspects of learning from the classic theorists to the latest updates of cognitive science. You will look closely at how this is (or is not!) influencing recent innovations in pedagogy, and you will explore how this informs, updates, and otherwise alters your philosophy of learning. During this first week, you will focus on the theorists who have provided many of the founding insights about learning and refresh your knowledge of learning theory.
Mortimer Adler and John Hutchins, in designing the Great Books compendium, said reading a great author’s words was like having a conversation with him or her. This week we will be conducting great conversations with great thinkers: specifically Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson and Kohlberg, and Gilligan.
Many questions arise when we review early theorists. Why would we study them when we have so much information about the brain and how it works? We know some of the theorists’ assertions cannot be supported (presently) with scientific studies. You may be wondering, How will learning these theories help me, a teacher? How can they help me in my workplace, daily interactions, or in my family?
It is important, in our view, to compare them, critically analyze them, and take from them what is meaningful and useful to us in order to create our own understanding. No one theory is comprehensive and various theories give us several perspectives; some more useful than others in specific situations.
Consider the old with the new when evaluating educational theories and regard theories with a critical eye, noting the pieces that theorists may have missed (due to lack of technology, for example) as well as the way the theories complement and contradict one another.
This exposure to a wide variety of observations from over a century of trying to understand the learner provides valuable insights and perspectives. This will ensure that we have a common foundation for exploring and understanding current beliefs about learning as well as current classroom practice.
Required Studies:
The following materials are Required Studies for this week. Complete these studies at the beginning of the week, and save these materials for future use.
How We Learn (Carey, 2014)
There is no required reading in the text this week.
Review
Piaget (for Tuesday)
Personality Theories: Jean Piaget (Boeree, 2006)
https://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development (Huitt & Hummel, 2003) https://edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/piaget.html
Piaget’s Developmental Theory: An Overview (Davidson Films, 2010) https://search.alexanderstreet.com.ezproxy.cu-portland.edu/view/work/1641219
Vygotsky (for Tuesday)
Social Development Theory (Culatta, 2013)
https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development.html
Comments on Vygotsky’s Critical Remarks Concerning The Language and Thought of the Child, and Judgment and Reasoning in the Child (Piaget, 1962) [PDF]
Lev Vygotsky (McLeod, 2014)
https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
Lev Vygotsky and Social Learning Theories (Neff, n.d.) https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/lsn/educator/edtech/learningtheorieswebsite/vygotsky.htm
Vygotskian Approach: Lev Vygotsky (Tools of the Mind, n.d.) https://www.toolsofthemind.org/philosophy/vygotskian-approach/
Erikson (for Tuesday)
Erik Erikson (McLeod, 2013)
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html
Erik Erikson (Wikipedia, 2013)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson
Personality Theories: Erik Erikson (Boeree, 2006)
https://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/erikson.html
Moral Development (for Thursday)
Stages of Moral Reasoning (WikEd, 2007)
https://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/articles/m/o/r/Moral_Reasoning_b927.html
The Cognitive-Developmental Stages of Moral Education (Kohlberg, 1988) [PDF]
Note: Read section 88, pages 597-614.
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development (Crain, 1985) [PDF]
Carol Gilligan on Women and Moral Development (Big Think, 2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W_9MozRoKE
Gilligan-Kohlberg Controversy and Preliminary Conclusion (Kakkori & Huttunen, n.d.) https://eepat.net/doku.php?id=gilligan_kohlberg_controversy_and_preliminary_conclusion
Moral Development: Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan (Maxwell, 2014) https://www.academia.edu/7829090/Moral_Development_Lawrence_Kohlberg_and_Carol_Gilligan