Learning Theories and The Brain

This week we were asked to look for two sources that either dealt with the brain and learning, information processing theory, or problem-solving methods during the learning process. I found this website http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/49710646/Instructional%20Design that is dedicated to instructional design. However, it did have some good, clear information on learning theories. There was one page that did a great job of comparing behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism learning theories.  The side by side comparison makes it easy to understand how the learning theories are different from each other. There was also a section that showed the different instructional approaches and how much student involvement would be attained from each approach.

The next site is titled “Problem-Solving Skills in Education and Life” and can be found at http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/think/methods.htm#thinking-skills-education.  This site has a wealth of knowledge on helping students to learn to think. There is a page called Active Learning Theories & Strategies that captivated my attention. This page talks about the importance of keeping the learner mentally stimulated which is necessary to produce learning. This page looks at learning theories before diving into teaching strategies to produce active learning.

I also found some information on how the brain learns at the different stages of a child's maturity level at http://www.apa.org/education/k12/brain-function.aspx. In designing instruction it is important to understand the capabilities of the learner. Even learners that are the same age may not have the soae maturity level as each child may develop at a different rate perhaps having dissimilar skills and temperament.