How do people learn?

Piaget or Vygotsky, Operant or Classical Conditioning, Information Processing Models or

Cognitive Science Models of learning

Piaget
Piaget believed that people learn through first-hand
knowledge. Piaget believed that people pass through 4 stages in
the same order. The first is sensorimotor, around 0-2 years,
where children learn through reflexes, senses, and movement.
In this stage, children are only able to see the world from their
point of view. The next is pre-operational, from when the child
starts to talk to around 7 years old. At this age, the child
develops language and begins to use symbols to represent
objects. They can understand that words, images, and pictures
are symbols for something else. Although they can use words
and objects to reason (illogically, however), there are still problems with conservation. In
graphic A, the young boy in the pre-operational age is unable to decipher
the difference between the same amount of liquid in a regular and tall sized
cup. This is the lack of conservation which is achieved in the third step. The
following is concrete operational, from first grade to about 11 years old. The
child then learns to think in a logical manner about concrete problems. They
can deal with problems in the past, present, and future. They have grasped
the ability to add and subtract. They can logically understand that 3+5=8 and
8-3=5. The final step is the formal operational, from adolescence to
adulthood. In this stage, they can think in a hypothetical manner. They are
also more scientific in their thinking and can understand/solve abstract problems. Someone
at the formal operational stage would be able to answer the question with deep analytical
thought:

How would life be different if people did not have to sleep?

Whereas children at other developmental stages would be unable to answer this. A typical
response would be “People have to sleep” because they cannot grasp the hypothetical
situation. If the idea is still unclear, see Piaget's Stages of Development for further examples.

Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is focused on learning where voluntary behavior is either increased or
decreased by an antecedent or a
consequence. Specifically, it is how one
acts in a certain environment. The idea
was curated by B.F. Skinner. Operant
conditioning was a rebuttal to classical
conditioning from Ivan Pavlov. You can
read more about classical conditioning
here. An example of operant
conditioning is choosing to go down path
A instead of path B because there is cheese at the end of path A. In another example, graphic
b, we can see how operant conditioning is used to either increase or decrease behavior. This
can be very effective in a classroom setting to dismantle poor student behavior or encourage
good behavior.

Informational Processing Models

In order to be an effective teacher, one must use guidelines for gaining and maintaining
attention. Some of these factors would be using signals, such as hand, visual, and auditory
signals. In addition, there should be a variety with things
such as tone, teaching through groups, visual aids, auditory
aids, and surprises to maintain focus. When used in tandem
with signals, the teacher can become very effective in
keeping students engaged. In order to help maintain this
newly learned material, teachers can implement
mnemonics. Many teachers do things such as connecting
old material to new to help connect ideas. They also go over
the same information over the spread of several weeks to essentially “hammer” it into your
head. For a further look at effective hand signals, see this video.

Memory is only stored in the working memory section for seconds to minutes. It must take
numerous recollections and attention to store a memory in the long term memory section.
While some have very low capacity for short and long term, it is very possible to have a larger
capacity to remember short term thoughts.
For more information on the informational processing model, click here.

What does it mean for the day-to-day operations?

Takeaways to become a more successful teacher

It is imperative to know the cognitive level that your students are at. As Piaget
 would suggest, there are certain
developmental stages in which age
ranges fall into. Identifying your target
range and cognitive development level
can give insight on to the capabilities of
your students’ brain. For example, you
would want to focus on harnessing the
abstract mindset of a child in the formal
operational stage. You would also not
want to give a conservation problem to a
child in the pre-operational stage.
Through cognitive conditioning, you can learn how to appropriately motivate your students--
whether this is to increaser good behavior or diminish subpar behavior.
Finally, you can garner, and hold, the attention of your students as well as help them establish a
foundation of new material through the information processing model. By combining all of
these techniques, you can become an effective teacher with successful students.

Citations
"Information Processing Model". Youtube, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwOBQsjClo0.

Margetts, Kay, and Anita Woolfolk Hoy. Educational Psychology. 14th ed., Pearson Education, Inc., 2018

Mcleod, Saul. "Classical Conditioning | Simply Psychology". Simplypsychology.Org, 2019,

https://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html.

"Piaget's Stages Of Development". Youtube, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A.

"Teacher Toolkit: Nonverbal Signals". Youtube, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z15df-d-MSs.

"What Is Operant Conditioning And How Does It Work?". Verywell Mind, 2019,
https://www.verywellmind.com/operant-conditioning-a2-2794863.