Rationale for HTSB Standard 1: Learner Development

Amanda Bird ED 295 CRN 53364 Professor C. Rivera February 19, 2014

The assignment Case Study: Learning Theories I completed in my ED 289: Educational Psychology course proves I have met the HTSB Standard 1- Learner Development. This assignment required me to discover and demonstrate four learning theories along with various teaching strategies in my case study lesson plan. In this course our major project was to teach a child of my choice how to do something, I decided to have my case study create their own self portrait using objects and symbols that represented them as a person. In the assignment, the four learning theories, behaviorism, information processing, constructivist and social cognitive these are expressed as the fundamental building blocks that make learning efficient. With the information shared through textbook and with further research I was able to customize and identify many different teaching strategies that identified with the best fit to the four different learning theories. Not only were we asked to find the best-fit teaching strategy I also discovered and explained teaching strategies that might be ineffective for students. This assignment allowed me to discover and apply multiple teaching strategies to my case study and for it to be used as a future teacher. Using teaching strategies will support effective and interesting lesson plans that benefit my students and my teaching strategy. To make the assignment for realistic, I had to incorporate all teaching strategies into my lesson plan and identify how the strategy will specifically to be used in the lesson as if I was teaching. By including teaching strategies into lesson plans using the four learning theories this will provide learners with a more understanding and individualized learning experience to increase personal development. I believe this artifact for the HTSB Standard 1- Learner Development shows I represent I am able to understand that each learners cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development influences learning and knows how to make instructional decisions that build on learners strengths and needs. 1(e) I believe this assignment allowed me to

research and engage in effective and ineffective teaching strategies that will increase students ability to learn based on the four fundamental learning theories. By discovering learning and teaching theories I was able to categorize different methods that could be used to increase any students strengths and even improvement areas. By using the four fundamental learning theories (behaviorism, information processing, constructivist, social cognitive) selecting teaching strategies for my case study was more personalized so the student would perform well in the lesson plan. As a future educator I hope to make each lesson plan and assignment interesting and meaningful in order to provide an authentic learning experience for all my students. This assignment has given me the opportunity to explore teaching strategies and learning theories I find most efficient and useful to be an effective teacher in the classroom. This will be used in my future teaching because I now know it is very important to consider my students influences or strengths to develop the best fit teaching strategies in my lesson plan and instruction so I can help them learn as much possible to fully support my students so they reach their fullest potential.