Comparing Learning Theories

	Behaviourism	Constructivism	Cognitivism	Andragogy
Driver	Extrinsic Motivation	Active Learning	Active Learning	Intrinsic Motivation
What’s in the focus?	Instructor Led	Student-Centric	Student Led	Self Driven
Learning process	Learn Through Feedback	ZPD, Scaffold-Based Learning	Thought Process First	Problem Based Learning
Can be used for	Simple Tasks, Memorizing Words, Facts	Developing Skills And Strategies	Better Memorizing Via Limiting Cognitive Load	Practical Tasks Can Be Solved Right Away

About Behaviourism

About Constructivism

About Cognitivism

About Andragogy

Detailed Analysis

	Behaviorism	Constructivism	Cognitivism	Andragogy
Contributors	Pavlov Watson Skinner	Piaget Vygotsky Bruner	Bruner Miller Bandura	Kapp Knowles
Overview	Studies observable behavior, as opposed to internal mental states such as thoughts, emotions, and intentions	Students actively construct their own learning and knowledge	Learners play a conscious active role in their own educational journey	Andragogy refers to adult education. This differs from pedagogy as pedagogy often refers to how children learn.
Strengths	Results of learning are observable and measurable Motivation drive students to study better Relatively fast building of stimuli – response relations	Members construct their knowledge themselves Knowledge is transitioned through discussion Support level is individual and can be adapted to student’s skills	Can be used for complex tasks Suitable for different learners Help developing critical thinking More information gets to long-term memory	Adults are self-directed Adults are self- motivated Adults have knowledge background which can be used during education Adults can control the direction and set personal goals Adults can immediately apply gained knowledge
Limitations	Failures demotivate students and may rather cause negative response (fear of failure) Reward should be valuable enough to motivate all students in group Stimuli – response relation weakens with time and should be confirmed regularly	Lack of intrinsic motivation may cause failure Not aplicable large groups of students, where level of support can’t be tuned personally Scaffolding is time consuming	Doesn’t take into account mind abilities of exact learner (audial, visual types) Teaching requires more variety of instructional strategies Less information can be delivered in short period of time	Applicable only if learners are interested in topic Lack of motivation may slow down or interrupt eductational process Background knowledge, if incorrect or outdated, may cause conflict between learner and teacher To apply theory to group learners should have similar background or level of knowledge
Implications	Behavioristic approach can be used for: memorizing tasks (facts, formulas, words and phrases of foreign language) quizes and A/B/C tests gamification (making learning process more attractive) It can not be used for complicated tasks that require higher thinking.	Educational materials should take into account student experience to give a proper starting point for learning process Teacher can use suggestive questions instead of providing straightforward materials to generate discussion among peers Proper learning activities can stimulate collaboration (team work)	Applying cognitivist strategy may help reduce cognitive load on learner Presented information should be suitable for processing by working memory Tasks should be chunk-sized and instructions should be clear Learners may be given chance to control learning process Clean up learning materials from unnecessary or unrelated imagery or text Present information both visually and aurally	Background knowledge of learners must be tested or measured beforehand to set proper goals. Learners should be allowed to have impact on selecting topics / objectives / goals. Shared knowledge must be relevant and applicable to practical tasks. Learning materials should include extra content for independent processing (articles, educational videos).