1. JOT2 – LEARNING THEORIES
Cindy Drake-Whitehead
Student ID:
JOT2 Issues in Instructional Design – Task 2
Western Governor’s University
Mentor: Karen Lamb

2. Task A: Learning Theories & Learners
Constructivism, Cognitivism, Behaviorism

3. Constructivism is Beneficial for Learners Who:
Have an ill-defined problem with multiple ways of solving
Are creating and designing projects, such as websites and art
Need to work in groups with peers
Need to construct their own knowledge while in real-world situations

4. Cognitivism is Beneficial for Learners Who:
Need to classify and organize information
Need to apply rules and execute procedures
Have little knowledge of a subject and need to mimic the instructor
Need explanations and demonstrations of the new material
Have prior knowledge and must link to it to learn even more

5. Behaviorism is Beneficial for Learners Who
Need to memorize new subject material
Require feedback for reinforcement
Are learning material that requires a low level of processing
Need to respond the same way every time to a stimulus
Need to act quickly and automatically to a cue

6. Task B: Learning Theory Used in Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan: Using Household Measures in Pharmacy Calculations (Green and Ballington, 2013)

7. Why the Lesson Plan (Green and Ballington, 2013) Demonstrates Cognitivism
Builds on students’ prior knowledge
Teacher demonstrates equations on the board
Teacher models measuring substances for students to mimic
The equations are put into context
Students perform tasks with defined, sequential steps

8. Task C: Adaptation of Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan Adapted to a Behaviorist Theory.

9. Cognitivist Lesson Plan Modified to Behaviorism
Have students memorize standard temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit
Keep records of students’ efforts and reward highest achievers
Drill and practice in the classroom
Create computer games for repeated practice
Use flashcards to teach the units and equations
Give immediate positive or negative feedback to students

10. Task D: Lesson Plan Discussion
Cognitivism Chosen for Lesson Plan

11. Cognitivism Chosen for Lesson Plan
Students need teachers to perform the equations first– model and demonstrate
Mastering equations is less about memorizing, rather it is understanding why you do each step
Students must master sequential steps in response to different stimuli
Students require prior knowledge – units, measurements
Multiple ways to solve some equations

12. Task E: Effective Instruction Through the Use of Design Theories

13. Benefits of Using the Theories of Design
Focuses attention on the desired results of instruction
Helps designers know which info is essential, is important, or just nice to know
Focuses on activities that provide evidence of a student’s understanding
Students learn about topics that engage and interest them
Data from student evaluations allow for tweaking of instruction

14. Task F: Design Theories
Strengths and Limitations:
Wiggins
Gagne
Teaching for Understand (The Harvard model)

15. Strengths of Wiggins Theory
The instruction is focused on what students need to know to get the end results
Assessments are conceived before lessons and activities – makes lesson planning easier
No excess information is taught – less confusion for students and teachers
Feedback from evaluation and peers is frequent – able to tweak instruction quickly
Based on clearly defined goals

16. Limitations of Wiggins
It is a time consuming process – may take a few years to fully develop instruction
Can be difficult for veteran teachers – hard to grasp creating assessments before lessons
Heavily dependent on assessments to drive instruction
May focus too much on results and goals and not enough on individual learning styles and student needs

17. Strengths of Gagne’s Events
Keeps learners engaged in the classroom
Students’ prior knowledge is strengthened as they use it as a base for new knowledge
Modeling by teachers allows students to learn by aural and visual cues.
Teachers have a structured formula for the classroom
Encourages transfer of learning to new situations

18. Limitations of Gagne’s Events
Does not fit with every learning style – some students need less structure and more learner-centered activities
Does not allow for much teaching flexibility
9 events can be tedious on the teacher and student
May encourage passivity in the learner – not enough encouragement to discover information on their own

19. Strengths of Teaching for Understanding
Emphasizes using generative topics for student engagement – topics that have multiple points of interest for students
Goals for understanding are clearly outlined, making teaching and curriculum design easier
Encourages activities that demonstrate students’ understanding of the material
Emphasizes ongoing assessments for continual feedback to encourage student improvement
Builds on the students’ previous knowledge

20. Weaknesses of Teaching for Understanding
Constant assessments required for feedback can be stressful on the teacher and student
Creating assessments is time consuming
Constant test taking and projects are stressful on the student
Students understand in different ways. Some activities that prove understanding will not work for every student
TFU may not be ideal for short-term instruction due to time-consuming nature

21. Task G: Most Suitable Design Process
Wiggins – Understanding By Design

22. Wiggins – Most Suitable Design Theory
The pharmacy calculations course is completely online, which lends itself to Backward Design
Learning goals are stated first – students know what is expected of them on the national certification exam
Assessments are then created to match the content of the national exam
Lessons are then created – games, quizzes, worksheets to teach the math calculations found on the assessments and national exam

23. Wiggins – Most Suitable Design Theory
According to the learner analysis, my students tend to fear pharmacy math
Knowing what is expected of them from the beginning reduces stress and confusion
Assessments are very important for the learner to prove to themselves that they are ready to sit for the national exam

24. Works Cited
Green, T., & Ballington, D. (2013). Pharmacy Calculations for Technicians, 5th Edition Chapter 5 Lesson Plan. Retrieved from irc.emcp.com: