Learning Theory Self-Classification

Alexandra Finnie

Ithaca College
 After learning about the various learning theories, I have come to the conclusion

that my teaching involves a mixture of behaviorist, cognitivist, constructivist, and humanist

characteristics. Each of these learning theories has value, and I balance them fairly evenly

in my teaching, although I tend to rely on cognitivist methods slightly more than other

styles. I believe that teachers need to be able to use aspects of each learning theory in order

to provide a well-rounded and meaningful educational experience for every student.

Behaviorism is a natural part of my teaching. I use operant conditioning to

encourage my students to practice, to boost their self-esteem, and to shape their in-class

behavior (Skinner). One example of how I use behaviorist ideas in my teaching can be

shown through an incentive system that I created to encourage my students to practice. In

this system, my students have the opportunity to earn band bucks by coming prepared to

band rehearsals, practicing and filling out their practice charts at home with a parent/adult

signature, and by satisfactorily performing something that they practiced for me. Although

this technique promotes extrinsic motivation, I felt that it was necessary to create some

sort of reward system so that they would be more motivated to practice. My hope is that

eventually, through positive reinforcement and encouragement, I will be able to help them

develop intrinsic motivation to practice when they are able to realize that practicing helps

them improve. When I notice that students are putting in an effort to practice, I make it a

point to draw attention to their progress. Offering these connections displays cognitivist

aspects of my teaching because they help my students expand their schemas related to

practice and effort. Another example of how my teaching naturally draws from behaviorist

views is shown through daily positive reinforcement in the form of verbal praise and

affirmation (Thorndike). Some of the behaviors that elicit this positive reinforcement

include demonstrating focused effort and class participation, playing or singing accurate
musical elements such as notes and rhythms, and being helpful to peers and teachers. I

offer this positive reinforcement in order to boost my students self-esteem, to help

motivate them to continue learning, and to manage classroom behavior. While behaviorist

principals are not part of my philosophy of why I teach music, they are a valuable part of

my teaching.

If I had to pick one learning theory with which I identify with the most, it would be

cognitivism. A great deal of my instruction stems from a cognitivist mindset. As a learner, I

prefer to study and think in an organized, sequential, and structured manner. This is shown

through my teaching and the layout of my lesson plans. I tend to think about the whole

concept that I plan on teaching, determine key objectives, and then break the information

into small pieces and logical steps so that I can show how each step relates to the overall

concept (Gestalt). For example, I usually present a new piece of music in small group

lessons by playing the entire piece for my students (Bandura). This gives them the big

picture understanding of what we are learning. Then, I assist my students in organizing

properties of the new music according to the Law of Pragnanz. We dissect the new piece

by examining similarities between melodic phrases, discussing figure/ground aspects of

what the students notice first about the piece, and noticing patterns that help us simplify

our organization of the new music. My teaching also includes aspects of cognitive

constructivism. I often plan lessons based on long-term goals, and apply a sequential

approach to building new information piece by piece off of previously learned information

and skills. One example of this is shown in my time signature unit. First, I used the

cognitivist reception method to explain the basic organization of measures. I based this

introduction on my students prior knowledge of rhythm. The second part of the lesson

involved working together as a full class to insert bar lines in the appropriate places for
various rhythmic examples. Then, they split into groups in which they composed their own

rhythm examples to fill up two measures of a given time signature. Finally, my students

created a two-measure rhythm segment in a given time signature, and added pitches to it

so that they could build on previous knowledge. My students enjoyed this sequential

learning process, and each activity helped them to build on their previous knowledge

(Bruner, Spiral Curriculum).

Constructivist ideas also contribute to my teaching. Although I do not allow my

students to structure classes and lessons based solely on their own objectives and

interests, I frequently incorporate other aspects of constructivism in my teaching. I provide

opportunities for my students to work on projects and activities in groups, which facilitates

peer scaffolding (Bruner & Vygotsky). I also design learning games that create a feeling of

community by allowing for student creativity, hands-on learning, and teamwork (Dewey).

Additionally, I encourage individual musical expression and creativity during instrumental

lessons. To demonstrate, in one of my small group lessons, I introduced a piece of music

that is based on a story. First, using guided questioning techniques, I facilitated a discussion

about how the music can express the meaning of a story. I then asked my students to create

their own stories for that piece during their practice sessions at home, and told them to

experiment with different ways to express the emotions of their individual story through

their performance of the music. This example shows a way in which I frequently call upon

individual creativity and musical experimentation. Finally, my experiences in this class

have helped me realize the importance of relating every specific concept to the context of

overall musical works. Establishing meaningful context helps students connect and

organize their understanding of new material more effectively. I plan on incorporating this
in my lesson planning in the future, so that I will always relate musical concepts to a bigger

picture to facilitate student understanding (Gestalt, Ausubel).

Humanist ideas are a major part of my teaching philosophy. My main goals as an

educator are to help students develop a greater understanding of themselves and others, to

encourage creativity and expression, and to inspire students to become life-long learners

through their experiences making music. These goals are founded on humanist principles

in that they are about the development of the individual towards self-actualization

(Maslow, Rogers). Although my philosophy is based on humanist ideas, I do not believe

that humanist teaching methods in which students create their own learning environments,

are always the best idea in a school setting. While I think that there are times when

students should be able to have some choices concerning their learning experiences, I also

think that when teachers create specific learning objectives, students can learn more about

themselves and others by being exposed to new ideas and working with their peers.

Consequently, in my teaching, I tend to create a more structured and focused learning

environment rather a completely student-led learning environment.

Overall, it has been interesting to realize how my perception and approach to

teaching is a combination of each type of learning theory. Before taking this class, I did not

realize how interconnected these learning theories are. It is interesting to notice how I

incorporate different parts of each theory into my teaching experiences, and it is also

interesting to notice that my personal preferences of cognitivist learning somewhat

influence my teaching style. I plan on continuing to develop my understanding of each

learning theory so that I can offer a well-rounded educational experience for my students.