Learning Theory and Lesson Planning

So now that we know all about the learning theories and what implications they have for teaching, it is important to note how we can put these theories to use when creating lesson plans and activities for the classroom. There are so many different factors to consider when creating lesson plans, but most importantly, teachers have to take a look at how their students learn in order for the lesson plan to be successful. Sometimes, it may even take sacrificing some content in order to teach students how to learn. In the long run, this will fall naturally into a lesson and the content that may have been skimmed over because of it will be made up for when students learn the content more deeply in their future learning.

Something that I think is essential to lesson planning is engaging students in the content. By posing an interesting question, challenging students to investigate a problem, or by giving them some sort of puzzle to solve, they will be actively mentally engaged in the learning right off the bat. This comes from constructivist learning theory (CLT). Through formative assessment, the teacher must figure out what students already know about a particular topic so that they will be challenged in further investigations. Active mental engagement contributes to a student's zone of proximal development (ZPD), coming from social learning theory (SLT), because students will not be actively mentally engaged if the material they are being taught is too easy. Students will also get frustrated and stop engaging in the material if it is too difficult for them to grasp. Teachers need to take into account how to scaffold students based on where their ZPD is so that they can be successful.

Also beneficial in planning a lesson are the implications that developmental learning theory (DLT) offers. As students continue along in their cognitive development, they will become more and more capable of using abstract thought; however, it is still important to make a lesson concrete to help students create an understanding. Once students are capable of more abstract thoughts, teachers can create the link between abstract ideas and concrete experiences in order to create a deeper understanding of material. An example of this would be a lesson on gravity. The concept of gravity is very abstract, but through a concrete experience, the teacher can allow their students to grasp the concept in a more hands on way. By having students drop things from different heights, they can see the affect that gravity has on an object so that when they discuss the concept as a whole, the students know what gravity might look like.

Another implication from SLT is that students learn from others, so lesson planning should include a group component where students are allowed to discuss with their peers what they are learning, and to share ideas with the class. Along with that, interaction with the teacher is also important in case students have questions. The teacher should facilitate discussion, but also let students learn from each other. Because of this, lecturing is not always the best approach when planning a lesson.

These are just a few ways that learning theory should be taken into account when planning a lesson. Of course behaviorist learning theory will always play a part because it is how students will react to the lesson. As I continue to develop my understanding of the learning theories, I hope to be able to naturally link learning theory to my lesson planning so that I am creating the most effective lessons for my students' learning.