12
How Learning Theories and Principles Influence Curriculum Design and Assessment
Section 1: Introduction
Learning in education institutions is based on several theories, all of which help understand how individuals learn and gather knowledge. These theories explain, analyse, describe, and predict the path along which learning will proceed in a formal or informal setting. Accordingly, the purpose of the study is to look into the various learning and education models that are common within the field of education and instruction to critically analyse them before establishing their relevance when making lesson plans for a piano teaching class. To fulfil its purpose, the research study proceeded to look into the workings of a piano leaching class, reviewing the related lesson plan to better understand a sample lesson can be planned, and executed to ensure every learner receives the best, most beneficial experience possible while in a classroom. More specifically, the study will seek to answer the following research questions, namely:
How do education theories determine how lesson plans are designed and implemented during a lesson?
What other external factors contribute to a learners comprehension ability, over and above what’s covered in a lesson plan?
What are the benefits of a lesson plan when teaching a class?
From the onset, the study was guided by a thesis that sought to answer the above research questions during the study. More specifically, the thesis adopted by the study was: “Theories and practices which can influence and improve the teaching outcomes for learners and instructors during the teaching of a piano lesson.”
Section 2: Outline of Unit
The above study focused on piano lessons for children in junior school, specifically those in Grade 6. The class average age is seven years, with the total class size totalling six students. Given that the above was an introductory class, the lesson showed a reflection of the same. In this regard, the lesson plan detailed the activities of a single lesson over one day. The lesson plan is to be implemented over a single day, and it features. As McInerney & Green-Thompson (2020) explains, the study remains highly important as it will help assist in the quick identification of important steps in the learning process and show what’s necessary to ensure an effective classroom.
Given the relatively young age of the class and their small number, the research hopes to proceed and collect data using a blend of observation, questionnaire, and oral questions about their overall experience. In the same regard, the study also concerned itself with investigating how well they grasp the various concepts taught and apply the same afterwards. The study hopes to have an overall comprehensive view of the learning process and the effectiveness of the lesson plan when teaching a piano lesson amongst children aged seven years.
Section 3: Underpinning Theory/Literature Review
No two learners are ever alike, and how one learns and gathers knowledge will vary greatly (Duchesne & McMaugh 2018). The human brain is behind all these unique capabilities, as is our different experiences and upbringing (Yang et al., 2020). Accordingly, educational theorists have come up with different models showing that successful learning outcomes can be achieved regardless of the differences noted and what learning techniques to use to ensure effective learning in a classroom with uniquely different children. Yet, with the passage of time, learning and teaching has also taken a new perspective with the classroom moving from a physical location, to the online space (Wang et al., 2015). As Common Sense Education. (2016) explains, this shift has brought with it new forms of learning including webinars, virtual conferences, and blended learning (A mixture of online and physical learning).
Theory of Learning
As O’Connell (2016) explain, blended learning is stems from the natural evolution of e-learning. Rather than eliminate either e-learning, or traditional in class learning, blended learning makes use of a combination of the two. According to Mishra & Panda (2020), blended learning mixes the traditional roles of the teacher in a traditional classroom setup, with that of the e-teacher found in virtual classrooms. This form of learning has been available for only the last couple of decades, after technology was invented to facilitate the same (Abeka & Bosire 2020). Yet, in the few decades since , evidence has been gathered gradually, with improved models and theories giving more clarity about blended learning, while at the same time comparing it to traditional, in-class learning, and e-learning. There are two major theories that support blended learning, namely:
The Complex Adaptive Blended Learning System
This theory has the learner being placed at the centre of other stakeholders, all with an interest of seeing him learn. In total, there are six major elements, each with their own sub-systems and these are:
The Learner
The Institution
The Learning Support
The Teacher
The Content
The Technology
Each system has its own sub-system, and also acts in relationship with all others in what is a complex system, with dynamic and integrative systems as seen in the figure below.
Figure 1: The CABLS Framework
(Source: “Chapter 2: Theories Supporting Blended Learning,”)
As seen from the figure above, the learner remains the most important part of the eco-system above. Accordingly, other traditional learning theories can also be integrated into the system. For instance, the Cognitive Learning Theory dictates that learners can be equally influenced by both internal and external elements, which is evident in the CABLS model. In the same breath, the behavioural theory dictates that the learner’s ability to learn is highly dependent on the external factors within a learner’s environment, and this is visible too within the model.
Section 4 Methodology
Given the relatively small size of the classroom, the research found it wise to collect data using qualitative means. To this end, data collection for the study would be in three parts, namely, answering oral questions, having a simple questionnaire, and making observations on how the classroom progressed. To help the study attain better results, the data collection methods would attempt to make as little disruption to the learning environment as possible. The study also established a need to be spontaneous.
What’s more, all the data collected would occur inside a classroom or immediately after the lesson. Being a piano teaching class of only six children, the study would conduct oral interviews on everyone and gather their various responses before they can be analysed for similar themes and patterns. As the study is based on three particular learning theories, namely, cognitive, behavioural, and constructivism, all the questions asked will be designed to see how much of an influence each Theory holds on the learning process and the lesson plan designed.
On the second part of the data collection, the study would interview the teacher both orally and with the help of a questionnaire. This step would be essential to get the input of the person most responsible for moulding young minds. Given this most important role, their response and opinions to how the lesson is planned would be invaluable to the overall research findings.
Section 5 Case students
From the study, it was possible to single out three different classes of students following the use of the lesson plan on three separate occasions. Looking at the students, the study identified three specific learners with different achievement levels, namely high, medium & low. To maintain the anonymity of each of the students, in line with industry best practice (Cronje 2020), the study allocated the following names to them:
Sample One = High Achievers
Sample Two = Medium Level Achiever
Sample Three = Low-Level Achiever
It is important to note that each of the three learners represented their class of achievers and portrayed similar traits across each level from the onset. Firstly, the three samples revealed different levels of comprehension and understanding of the curriculum while also experiencing different levels of difficulty in comprehending the class activities and assignments. More specifically, the following was noted amongst the different samples:
Sample One: With John and other students put in the first sample of high achievers, a high level of comprehension was noted, and students found themselves eager to learn and engage the teachers with the different activities introduced. In the same breath, the study noted that the first sample of individuals was the most active regarding engaging with the teacher and answering questions as asked.
Sample Two: This group had Joan and other students determined to be of average comprehension ability. While this sample of individuals was noted not to be the most gifted, they weren’t the slowest learners. Instead, they were observed to be a blend between the most gifted and less gifted individuals.
Sample Three: This comprised a student given the name Francis and others of similar learning ability that was not quite at par with other learners during class. The overall behaviour noted with the above students was that of being easily distracted by other environmental factors, thereby ensuring that their concentration span was minimal at best.
Section 6 Description of findings
A total of three classes were conducted for this study. These piano lessons were conducted on three different days simultaneously, and this decision was arrived at following deliberations that piano lessons comprised a co-curricular activity that was best done after school. With every lesson, the instructor of the day would arrive an hour before time to prepare for the lesson and students’ arrival. What’s more, the study also decided to use three different instructors but follow near-similar lesson plans. In this variance, the effect of changing teachers would be determined, and how big this influence was. At the end of these three lessons, the following observations were made, namely:
Concentration Span was an Inverse Function of Leaner’s Ability
The class was seen to have different concentration spans between the most gifted, the least gifted, and those caught in the middle. Many of the students in the three most attentive classes also doubled up as the brightest and sharpest during class. While the inverse was also true, it was noted that with a little attention amongst the learners with low and medium ability, most students would also catch up with the others, and the learning progress in a smoother manner.
Confidence Participation in Class
Equally, the students that were noted to have the most confidence were also the ones with the highest learning ability throughout the three classes. This observation was extremely important as it helped establish confidence and learning ability as the independent and dependent variable, with the teacher’s ability only playing a marginal influence on proceedings during the research.
Section 7 Analysis and interpretation of findings
Looking into the results, it was apparent that learning ability influenced the behaviour of all of the students. In the students where learning ability was high, the student’s concentration span and confidence levels remained exemplary. However, the figure for both confidence levels and concentration spans was reduced as the learning ability decreased. In this regard, the research study was curious to find out the underlying reasons behind the scores posted by each student. For this data, a simple questionnaire was designed to maintain anonymity and encourage truthful replies from the three students that represented their different classes.
Interpreting the data gathered revealed the following themes were the most significant factors affecting learners’ ability.
The Children’s Family Background – This was seen to determine the level of peace and stability present at home, all of which were important when determining how conducive the home environment is to promote learning. From the study, it was established that a child that experienced an unstable home would likely find himself performing lowly at school, due to emotional distresses. For instance, one such child was seen to grow increasingly anxious every time they interacted with an adult, and this made the teacher’s job even harder to carry out.
Hereditary Factors – Heredity factors also played a somewhat significant role in determining the number of children learning during classroom hours. While there was no student with serious genetic conditions such as autism, it remained a beautiful circumstance that all the children involved in the research study showed no visible indication of such factors.
Quality of Education Received thus Far – Finally, the quality of education received by students was also a significant factor as the students came from different learning institutions. In this regard, the student noted to come from the highest-rated school, in terms of academic performance, also remained the most learned and academically gifted. This observation was consistent with the cognitive learning theory which states that a student’s prior learning environment highly determines the learning outcomes they will achieve during a lesson. Accordingly, the student from the highest rated school had the best mannerism and was always eager to ask questions and engage the teacher, ensuring that the learning opportunity was well utilised instead of learners who took instruction from schools generally considered sub-standard.
Section 8 Conclusions and Recommendations
In conclusion, the lesson plans remained an effective tool in ensuring the right set of factors that would typically determine the learning process amongst young children in a piano lesson were established. In this regard, the results were overwhelmingly conclusive that the day’s instructors were least to blame for the different learning outcomes established. Instead, the main factors were determined to arise from the learners’ background, including the state of the family back at home, hereditary factors, and quality of learning received thus far.
The results noted and the various effects on learners’ ability to pick up the piano and understand the same. Given the knowledge gathered, it is clear that teachers have plenty of work to do about ensuring every learner has an enjoyable and productive lesson. To help ensure meeting this goal, instructors can follow the following template and carry out the following activities:
Get to understand more about a learner’s situation at home before or during the said lesson. This would help determine whether anything of concern occurs within the home that can hamper the learners’ comprehension ability.
Equally, every instructor needs to better understand the background of their students with regards to the regular school they attend and any traits they might have taken after from their parents.
By implementing these two recommendations, an instructor can effectively design a class and contribute productively to the desired learning outcomes.
References
Abeka, S. O., & Bosire, J. (2020). Improving Learner Engagements through Implementing Technology-Enabled Learning. Commonwealth Of Learning.
Chapter 2: Theries Supporting Blended Learning. (n.d.). In Guide to Blended Leanring. Commonwealth of Learning.
https://openbooks.col.org/blendedlearning/chapter/chapter-2-theories-supporting-blended-learning/
Common Sense Education. (2016). Introduction to the SAMR model. Common Sense Education. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b5yvgKQdqE
Cronje, J. (2020). Towards a new definition of blended learning. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 18(2), pp114-121.
Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A. (2018). Educational psychology for learning and teaching. Cengage AU.
McInerney, P., & Green-Thompson, L. P. (2020). Theories of learning and teaching methods used in postgraduate education in the health sciences: a scoping review. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 18(1), 1-29.
Mishra, S., & Panda, S. (2020). Technology-Enabled Learning: Policy, Pedagogy and Practice.
O’Connell, A. (2016). Seven blended learning models used today in higher ed. Retrieved from http://acrobatiq.com/seven-blended-learning-models-used-today-in-higher-ed/
Wang, Y., Han, X., & Yang, J. (2015). Revisiting the blended learning literature: Using a complex adaptive systems framework. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 18(2), 380–393. Retrieved from https://www.j-ets.net/ETS/journals/18_2/28.pdf
Yang, J., Yan, F. F., Chen, L., Xu, J., Fan, S., Zhang, P., … & Huang, C. B. (2020). General learning ability in perceptual learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(32), 19092-19100.
The post 12 How Learning Theories and Principles Influence Curriculum Design and Assessment Section appeared first on PapersSpot.