Reflecting on Teaching Theories and Practices

Please reflect on your understanding of the two theoretical approaches presented in this unit.

Behaviorist theory has a substantial presence in educational practices. Teachers give grades for meeting performance standards. They provide rewards for appropriate behaviors and punishment for whatever is against the rules. Teachers give homework, tests, and speak with students in order to evaluate content knowledge.

APA.

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Cognitive theorists have influenced the ways teachers consider how students process information. Teachers expect students to remember the content. They try to capture and maintain student attention. Teachers want students to use their knowledge to analyze, synthesize, and problem-solve.

Reflecting on Teaching Theories and Practices

Please consider three domains of your teaching: classroom management, lesson plan construction, and instructional delivery style. If you are not currently a teacher, then imagine how your classroom model might incorporate the three domains of teaching. Reflect on where you find evidence of behaviorist or cognitive principles in what you already do (or would do) across the three domains? What modifications to your practices would you consider (if any) given your understanding of the theories?

For example, you may find that you are behaviorist-heavy in your classroom management, but cognitive-heavy in your lesson planning. Please examine where you notice particular biases or preferences for one theoretical approach over another across the three domains. There’s nothing wrong with having these preferences, but please reflect on why you have them.

Reflecting on Teaching Theories and Practices

Consider the following questions to guide your reflections:

What drives the philosophy of your classroom management lesson planning and delivery style?,
What if you changed the philosophy of your classroom? Should you engage in the same pedagogies for all lessons’?,
To what extent does your student population community expectations school culture and/or personal strengths influence your bias/preference for behaviorist/cognitive practices?

It is not necessary to address each of these issues; these are only suggestions to inspire your reflection. Consider creating a mind map rather than a written document to complete this assignment. If you choose to use mind mapping, include a reference to the course learning resources.

There are many mind mapping software programs available on the web or you can use the one available here. To learn more about mind mapping you can review the following resources: