THERE ARE THREE FUNDAMENTAL SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT when it comes to designing educational curriculum: Behaviorist, cognitivism, and constructivism. All three are relevant and play an important role in the field of educational technology. 

Behaviorist design is based on the presumption that human behavior is predictable.

An example of structured learning is found in most "structured (or programmed) curriculum".

Structured learning has predetermined objectives for what is to be learned, as well as predetermined reinforcer's when objectives are met. The end-goal is defined up front, and each step necessary to achieve the goal is given to the student. 

In the example shown, the professor illustrates the particular steps necessary for the students to achieve the final goal, and the student then progresses through the steps. Once the student achieves the desired end-result, s/he is reinforced by getting a good grade.

Behaviorist approaches:

• Rely on overt behavior,
• Are outcome based, and
• Rely on frequent reinforcement of responses.

Cognitive theory says that learning is a process that is dictated by the students previous experiences, and how the information is presented to the student.

Cognitivists are more concerned with the way information is represented in memory, schemata, and mental models.

An example of a Cognitive approach is "associative " learning. 

The cognitive school of thought says that we all organize knowledge and meaning by modifying mental representations. We select information from the environment and store it short-term memory. At that point, we decide to either forget it or process it and store it into long-term memory. Essentially, cognitivists believe we learn by association.

Cognitive approaches:

• Rely on the student's schema's, attitudes, and experiences.
• Believe the new information has to fit into what currently exists.
  

Constructivism dominates the environmental design of education. Constructivists believe the environment needs to be highly adaptive to the student. A constructivist designer might provide all information necessary for learning but will allow the student to learn the materials and information in the manner that is most comfortable to the student. 

An example of "Constructivist" teaching.

Another way of thinking about constructivism is by thinking of it as being very similar to a teacher asking his or her class to build a house. The instructor would provide a rudimentary picture of a house. Tools would be available, and the teacher would be available for guidance when needed, but for the most part the students are on their own as to how they want to go about building the house.

Constructivist approach:

• Relies heavily on the students initiative
• Allows students to learn at their own speed

Authored by:
Julie Moore,
Instructional Designer,
EdTec Graduate Student