EDTK 2030 Information and Communication Technology

                                 Predominant educational theories

 

Behaviorism and Constructivism are two of the predominant educational theories that form the basis of many of today’s educational technology tools in the secondary classroom.  In the research currently being conducted on the subject, there is an obvious shift to a more Constructivist way of thinking when it comes to implementing classroom technologies.  There are also many proponents for a blending of the two theories when it comes to technology integration.

 

 

Suggestions on how both of these theories can be used for a successful ICT class.

 

Behaviorism also known as the behaviorist approach Watson (1913) states that “psychology as a behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is … prediction and control” (p. 158).Behaviorism mainly has to do with observable behavior, as opposed to internal thinking and emotion. Observable behavior can be measured. Internal events, such as thinking should be explained through behavioral terms. A person’s environment determines their behavior. Behavior therefore is the result of stimulus and  response. Watson described the purpose of psychology as “To predict, given the stimulus, what reaction will take place; or, given the reaction, state what the situation or stimulus is that has caused the reaction” (1930, p. 11). Behaviors therefore are learnt from the environment. We learn new behaviors through conditioning. 

 

Constructivism is where individuals put together knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences/previous knowledge and their ideas from their environment.

For classes to be successful in Information Communication Technology first one has to fully understand both theories and develop an environment which will provide a positive and effective learning environment so that students will be stimulated and want to participate in meaningful learning interactions and activities so that they can learn and develop their knowledge that was constructed in their ICT environment based on their experiences. Also the material/content which has to be delivered to the students for learning to take place has to be of age level, understandable, meaningful and captivating in order for students to be interested so that behaviors would be towards learning and not disruption.  

 

References

 

Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158-178.

 

Watson, J. B. (1930). Behaviorism (revised edition). University of Chicago Press.