Perspectives on Learning

Rather than simply outlining the classical and modern theories of learning, the authors of this aim to work bring the material to life through case studies that engage students in debate about what really happens in classrooms. This expanded and revised edition allows students to test the strengths and weaknesses of various learning theories, helping them to formulate their own philosophies of teaching. Among the concepts that this edition explains are: the Platonic theory of learning - the logic of innate ideas and concepts; the competing empiricist, "blank slate", theory developed by John Locke; the basic features of behaviourism and operant conditioning; the "insight" learning theory of the Gestalters; John Dewey's theory that learning is an experientially active affair; a new chapter on the importance of social interaction and the work of Vygotsky; Piaget's biological model of the development of cognitive structures; and the emerging "cognitive science" approach, comparing the human mind with the computer and artificial intelligence.
The power of this text lies in its insistence that pre- and in-service teachers need to understand the problematic nature of learning theory and continually question and develop their own "perspectives on learning".