A
SEMINAR PAPER
ON
INSTRUCTIONAL (TEACHING) THEORIES
WRITTEN BY
AKPAN, ESENAM PAUL
PRESENTED
TO
DR (MRS) ALICE UDOSENDEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM STUDIES,
EDU MANAGEMENT & PLANNINGFACULTY OF EDUCATION
UNVERSITY OF UYO, UYO.
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE COURSE (EDC:611) FOR THEAWARD OF MASTER’s DEGREE IN EDUCATION
JULY, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i. Title page
ii. Table of contents
iii. Abstract
Introduction - - - - - - - 1-3
Gagne’s theory of instruction - - - -
4-6
Gagne’s Nine steps (Events) of Instruction - 6-
7
Strength and weaknesses of the theory - - 7-
9
The implication of Gagne’s theory - - - 9
Bruner’s theory of Instruction - -
10-12
Principles which Bruner’s theory is Built upon -
12-16
Implication of Bruner’s theory on curriculum
study - 16-17
Ausubel’s theory of Instruction - - -
17-20
Implication of Ausubel theory - - - - 21
Constructivism theory of instruction - -
21-242
The principles of constructivism - - -
24-25
Implication of constructivism - - - -
26-28
Vygotsky’s theory of Instruction - - -
28-31
Strengths and weakness of the theory - - 31
Implication of Vygotsky theory to curriculum
studies - 31-32
Conclusion - - - - - - - 33
Recommendation - - - - - - 34
References
3
ABSTRACTThis paper examined the different instructional theories; its relationshipwith curriculum studies and the education process of the leaner ingeneral. It however reviews different definition of “Instructional Theory"by different authors, but specifically viewed an Instructional theory as asystematic way of "how what one wishes to teach can best be learned"(Okoro 2002). This paper considered Bruner’s theory of Instruction,Gagne’s theory of Instruction, Ausubel’s theory of Instruction, VygotskyInstructional theory and the constructivist theory of Instruction as themajor variables for discussion. It however concluded that a theory ofteaching must answer the questions of teaching for efficient learning. Itwas recommended that; Instructors should adopt the differentInstructional theories that best fit the nature of the class, age ofstudents present in class and the type of subject taught as these wouldpredict and control the ways in which the teacher-behaviors affect thelearning of students.
4
INTRODUCTION
An Instructional theory is a theory that
offers explicit guidance on how to better help
people learn and develop.
Kerlinger (1965) has also defined the term theory
of teaching as a set of interrelated constructs,
definitions, propositions which present a
systematic view of teaching by specifying
relation among variables with the purpose of
explaining and predicting. Under this definition
main emphasis has been given on the relationship
among teaching variables. The purpose of
relationship is to understand predict and control
teaching tasks Bruner (1964) defines the theory
of teaching as the explanation of "general
methodology of teaching." From his definition
Bruner believes that teaching is different from
instruction. His definition is concerned with
"how what one wish to teach can best be learned"
(Okoro 2002).
Instructional theories focus on how to
structure materials for promoting the education
of the learners, particularly Youth. Originally
5
in the United States in the late 1970s,
instructional theory is typically influenced by
three general educational thoughts; the
behaviorist, the cognitive and the constructivist
schools of thoughts. Instructional theory is
heavily influenced by the 1956 work of Benjamin
Bloom, a University of Chicago Professor and the
result of his taxonomy of educational objectives.
Other instructional theorists like Robert M.
Gagne came up in 1965.
Although instructional theory has been
criticized by some authors like Paulo Freire
whose work appears to criticized instructional
approaches that adhere to the knowledge
acquisition stance, and his work pedagogy has had
a broad influence over a generation of American
educators with his critiques of various "banking"
models of Education and analysis of the teacher
student relationship (http;//www.dsa-
atlanta.org/pdf_docs/macedo_intro_poto.pdf)
Freire surfice that knowledge comes about only
through the learner by inquiring and pursuing the
subjects in the world end through Interaction; He
6
emphasized on teacher – student Interpersonal
relationship.
B.O Smith (1969) gives a statement as a
definition of theory of teaching. ‘a teacher who
is not theoretically trained will interpret
events and objects in terms of communications
concepts that have come from the experience of
the race permeated without, model ideas about
human behaviors.’ The statement by smith
indicates the nature of theory of teaching. Here
theory of teaching answers three questions; ‘how
do teachers behave, why do they behave as they
perform and with what effect? These fundamental
questions apply for all teachers, for all
students and for all situations in which teaching
occurs.
The few theories of instruction (teaching)
that would answer these questions include
Bruner’s instructional theory; Vygotsky’s
instructional theory, Gagne’s theory of
instruction and the constructivist’s theory of
instruction.
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2.1 GAGNE’S HEIRARCHICAL THEORY OF INSTRUCTION
Robert Mils Gagne was an American
Educational Psychologist who lived between August
21, 1916-April 28, 2002. He was best known for
his conditions of learning; He pioneered the
science of instruction during the World War II
when He worked with the army Air Corps. He
applied instructional theory to the design of
computer-based training and multimedia-based
learning.
Although it is not unusual for R. M Gagne’s
work to be considered in a volume addressing
learning theories, his contributions can most
appropriately be considered as an ‘Instructional
theory’ (Smith and Ragan 1996). Gagne (1985)
described the nature of instructional theory as
an attempt to relate the external event of
instruction to the outcomes of learning by
showing how these events lead to appropriate
support or enhancement of internal learning
processes. The province of an instructional
theory to Gagne, is to propose a rationally based
relationship between instructional events, their
effects on learning processes and the learning
8
outcomes that are produced as a result of these
processes Gagne (1985;p244).
Gagne’s theory of instruction is commonly
broken into three areas;
(1) Taxonomy of learning outcomes; which is
similar to Bloom’s taxonomies of cognitive,
affective and Psychomotor outcomes. Gagne’s
taxonomy consists of five categories of learning
outcomes – verbal information, intellectual
skills, cognitive strategies, attitude, and motor
skills. Gagne, Briggs and Wager (1992) explain
that each of the categories lead to a different
class of human performance.
(2)The conditions of learning: Essential to
Gagne’s ideas of instruction are what he calls
‘Conditions of learning’. He breaks these down
into internal and external conditions.
The internal conditions deal with previously
learned capabilities of a learner or what the
learner knows prior to the instruction. For
example, before a learner can understand the
lesson on ‘Nervous Co-ordination’, the learner
must have had prior knowledge to the lesson
based on ‘sense perception’.
9
The external conditions deal with the stimuli
(purely behaviorist term) that are presented
externally to the learner. For example, what
instruction is provided to the learner
determines what knowledge the learner will gain
from the instruction.
To tie Gagne’s theory of instruction together he
formulated nine events of instruction which when
followed, these events are intended to promote
the transfer of knowledge or information from
perception through the stages of memory. He
based his events of instruction on the cognitive
information processing learning theory.
(3)The events of instruction:
GAGNE’S NINE STEPS (EVENTS) OF INSTRUCTION ARE
SUMMERIZED AS FOLLOWS:
(1) Gain attention: Present stimulus to ensure
reception of instruction.
(2) Tell the learner the learning objective.
what will the pupils gain from the instruction.
(3) Stimulate re-call of prior learning.
Ask for re-call of existing relevant knowledge.
(4) Present the stimulus: Display the content
(5) Provide learning guidance.10
(6) Elicit performance: Learners respond to
demonstrate knowledge.
(7) Provide feedback: Give informative feedback on
the learner’s performance
(8) Assess performance: assess more performance and
more feedback to reinforce information.
(9) Enhance retention and transfer to other
contexts.
STRENGTH OF GAGNE’S THEORY AND ITS ASSUMPTIONS
According to Cunningham (1996), Gagne’s
theories into real life have some unique
strength. Following the three areas of the theory
as described by Driscoll (1994) I will first
examine the domains of learning outcomes.
As a teacher of the instructional lesson, the
assumptions prove to be very beneficial because
(1) It provides a good way to put more structure
into the objectives of the lesson plans.
(2) The domains of learning help the teacher to
better understand what type of learning he was
expecting to see from the students.
(3) The nine events of instruction provide the
instructions with the fulcrum where lesson can
be hanged.11
WEAKNESS OF GAGNE’S THEORY AND ITS ASSUMPTION
The weakness of this theory stems from the nine
steps to instruction, this makes the theory rigid.
The nine events of instruction saves as a guide to
teacher but must be followed in hierarchical mode;
owing to this, if one step is omitted then complete
learning in the lesson has not taken place.
Tanner and Tanner (1980) also falsified Gagne’s
theory from the definition. He assumes that
learning is mechanical and linear, and that the
learner is a mere mechanism to be conditioned
toward making the right automatic responses.
The theory is systematic and the systematic
nature of it may be a turn-off for teachers who are
creative.
The theory is difficult to implement. Many times
it is difficult to take the goals a teacher has for
students and put into a correct learning outcome
category and then create objectives using Gagne’s
standard verbs.
THE IMPLICATION OF GAGNE’S THEORY
Although Gagne’s work was directed at instruction
not at
12
Curriculum design, a substantial influence from his
ideas can be observed in those areas. Cambell,
Primtose,cooper, stacy-ann and Green Molrose (2011)
writes thus, while Gagne’s theoretical frame work
covers all aspects of learning, the focus of the
theory is on intellectual skills. The theory has
been applied to the design of instruction in all
domains. These events should satisfy or provide the
necessary conditions for learning and serve as the
basis for designing instruction and selecting
appropriate media.
Gagne’s theory also helps curriculum designers of
the contemporary world to make lessons learners-
centered by providing meaningful, customized
learning experiences. For example, the publishers
of text books mostly at the primary school levels
align the chapters of the text books with schools’
syllabus accompanied with flamboyant pictures to
facilitate individuals learning.
BRUNER’S INSTRUCTIONAL THOERY (DISCOVERY TEACHING)
Jerome Bruner was born in 1915 in New York, USA.
He is a cognitive psychologist who is primarily
interested in the development of mental abilities.
He is most associated with what is called discovery13
learning. Bruner believes that learning is
different from instruction. For him, emphasis
should be placed on how to make instruction
scientific just as it is placed on theories of
learning. Bruner is the major proponent of what is
today known as ‘Discovery Teaching or teaching for
discovery learning.
This is a teaching method requiring the re-
arrangement of subject-matter structure so that the
learner is able to go beyond the evidence presented
to acquire new insights.
Bruner says knowing is a process, not a product
instructing someone in a discipline is not a matter
of getting, him to commit results to mind (Okoro
2002). Instructing rather, is that of teaching him
to participate in the process that makes the
establishment of knowledge possible. Instead of
presenting the learners with conclusion, the
learning situation should be structured so that
they learn how to work with data to make inference.
That is, learners should be made to learn the
procedures or methods of inquiry.
In his ‘discovery teaching’ he based his teaching
method on inquiry learning. Here learning is gained
14
through experience. He emphasized that instructors
should help the learners use inductive reasoning –
using specific to formulate general principles.
He advocated the spiral construction of
curriculum. (revisit concepts) where the learner
builds on past experience, students interact with
environment to discover facts and relationship on
their own. Students should be made to create own
construct of knowledge through narrative
PowerPoint.
The inductive processes are mastered by learners
as they participate in discovery learning
situations. Examples of discovery teaching are (1)
In teaching about mammals include man, goat, dog,
cats, Wales camels as examples, then ask students
to mention other examples of mammals.
(2) Encourage students make intelligent guesses.
Instead of giving a word’s question; say – let us
take a look at the words around it and think about
what it possibly means.
According to Rhalmi (2011), the main ideas of the
theory can be summarized as follows:
Learning is an active process, thus, learners
select and transform information.
15
Learners make appropriate decisions and
postulate hypotheses and test their
effectiveness
Learners use prior experience to fit new
information into the pre-existing structure.
Instructors should encourage scaffolding.
i.e. the process through which able peers or
adults offer supports for learning
Curriculum should follow a spiral structure
i.e. the curriculum should revisit its basic
ideas, building on them until the student
grasps the full formal concept.
The intellectual development includes three
stages: the enactive, iconic and symbolic
stages.
PRINCIPLES WHICH BRUNER’S THEORY IS BUILT UPON
Bruner’s theory specifies four principles
which a theory of instruction must encompass.
These are:-
(A) Motivation: Children are by nature motivated
to learn. They have built-in ‘will to learn.
This is intrinsic motivation. A theory of
instruction, according to Bruner, must be16
concerned with the experiences and contexts
that will tend to make learners willing and
able to learn.
(B) Structure: A theory of instruction must
specify the ways in which a body of knowledge
should be structured so that it can be
readily grasped by the learner. Bruner states
that any given area of knowledge can be
presented in such a way as to be understood
by almost any learner (Okoro 2002). Bruner
considered that structure of any body of
knowledge can be characterized in three ways;
(i) Method of presentation (lecture method,
demonstration method or discovery method).
(ii) How much is presented at a time
(iii) Which level of presentation is being
aimed at (whether it is being presented by
means of action, images or symbols).
Bruner distinguished three main levels or modes
of processing information by children, these
include:-
17
The enactive stage: This refers to learning
by actions, it implies adaption at the
motor level. For example, the capacity for
a child to move around or try to reach and
to grasp something.
The iconic stage: This refers to the
learners’ use of picture or models; the
child uses images to form concrete objects
in learning. For example; in the nursery
one and two; pupils are provided with
pictures and colours to match it with the
names of what they are to learn.
The symbolic stage: This refers to the
ability to develop how to think in abstract
terms. This stage general abstract ideas
are learnt through word and numbers.
C. Sequence: A theory of instruction should
specify the most effective sequence in which
to present the materials.
Bruner believes that learning in a specific
subject area should move through a certain
sequence. For younger learners especially,
instruction should first begin with the
activity level, followed by the use of images
18
through representation, and finally, the
materials can be communicated through words.
D. Re-enforcement: A theory of instruction should
specify the nature of rewards. Feedback is very
important in learning in order to achieve
mastery of any task, the learner must receive
feedback to either improve on wrong learning or
to progress with the right task.
Weakness off Bruner’s theory
(1) Since the instructor is passive, learning by
the learner require much of the cognitive
work, this too much information received from
the environment by the Learner often lead to
cognitive overload.
(2) It often requires vast resources unavailable
in traditional classrooms.
(3) It always leads to potential misconceptions
which teachers may fail to recognize.
(4) It does not give teacher ample opportunity to
have control over learners.
THE IMPLICATION OF BRUNER’S THEORY IN CURRICULUM
STUDIES
19
Bruner’s theory has direct implications on
the teaching practice and curriculum development.
Here are some of these implications.
(1) The teachers must revisit materials to
enhance knowledge. The concept of ‘spiral
curriculum’ which is seen as entry behavior
to help learners have prior knowledge about
the lesson before new concept, vocabularies
etc are introduced.
(2) Teachers should assist learners in building
their knowledge by giving them class work,
Assignments and surprise tests.
(3) Instruction must be appropriate to the level
of the learners. For example being away of
the learner’s modes (enactive, iconic,
symbolic) will help you plan and prepare
appropriate materials for instruction,
according to the difficulty that matches
learner’s level.
(4) Students should be involved in the class
using prior knowledge.
(5) Teachers should provide feedback that is
directed towards intrinsic motivation. Bruner
(1961,p;28) in Rhalmi (2011) states that
20
learners must ‘experience success and failure
not as reward and punishment, but as
information.’
AUSUBEL’S INSTRUCTIONAL THEORY (EXPOSITORY
TEACHING)
David Paul Ausubel (1918,-2008) was an
American Psychologist who is known for the term
‘Expository teaching’. Ausubel is particularly
concerned with the best possible way for the
teacher to convey meaning through instruction to
learners. According to him, the principal
function of pedagogy is the presentation of ideas
as information meaningfully and effectively such
that clear, stable and unambiguous meaning emerge
and are retained over a long period of time as an
organized body of knowledge.
Ausubel believes that factual information is
most easily learned if it is organized and
sequenced logically. That is new information is
meaningful to the extent that it can be related
to what is already known. He therefore,
emphasizes that contents of materials be
presented in a logical order, moving from generic
to specific concepts, so that learners can form21
cognitive structure and encode new information
(Okoro 2002).
Expository teaching is sometimes called
deductive teaching because the teacher often
begins with a definition of the concepts or
principles, illustrates them and unfolds their
implications. The three basic principles of
Ausubel’s expository teaching are:
i. Concepts are meaningful only when the
learners can visualize them and subsume
them within a cognitive structure
ii. When teaching a concept, the teacher
should proceed from the most generic
concepts to the most specific ones.
Before trying to define ‘Chimpanzee,’
for instance, first teach the more
generic concepts of ‘animal,’
vertebrate, ‘Homoikilothermic’ and
‘Mammals’ all of which subsume
‘Chimpanzee,’
iii.Learners can learn a concept only when
they are ‘ready,’ for it
One interesting aspect of Ausubel’s
theory is his notion of ‘Advance organizers.’
22
The Concept of advance Organizers
Advance Organizers, according to Azlina et
all (2008) are concepts given to learners prior
to the materials actually to be learned, to
provide a stable cognitive structure in which the
new learning can be subsumed. They are concepts
and principles which facilitate the reception of
new knowledge and are chosen for usefulness in
explaining and organizing the new concept.
Anderson, Spiro and Anderson (1978) In Ivie
(1998; p 35) for example, conceded that Ausubel’s
general theory of subsumers contains much that is
valuable for educational practice. Siann and
Ugwuebu (1980) in their book Educational
Psychology in a changing world summarised
Ausbel’s major recommendation in the following
seven points.
1.Explain your learning objectives.
2.Start lesson with advance organizers that
include general principles to help students
absorb the materials systematically.
3.Alert the students to new concepts.
4.Present the learning in systematic steps.
23
5.Ensure, by asking questions, that students
are actively taking part in the lesson and
are mastering the material.
6.Follow the lesson with a summary
7.Set questions or assignments on that
materials that require students to organize
related materials on their own.
IMPLICATION OF AUSUBEL THEORY
The expository theory of Ausubel in
application developed the theory of reception
learning; it places teacher and students in
specific roles and follows a certain sequential
path.
- It makes students to understand the similarities
and differences between new materials and related
concepts.
- It helps instructors to present new information
in small, logically organized steps and in a
sequence that is easy to follow
- It helps students translate what is learned into
an organized reference that reflects upon past
experience or prior knowledge.
CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY OF INSTRUCTION
24
Constructivism is a theory of instruction that
argues that ‘humans generate knowledge and meaning
from an interaction between their experiences and
their ideas’. Constructivists were of the opinion
that learners form or construct much of what they
learn or comprehend (Kristim 2011). Central to the
tenet of constructivism is that, learning is an
active process. Information may be imposed, but
understanding cannot be, for it must come from
within (Maurine 1999). Since according to Elleh
(2014), constructivism is a philosophy of learning
founded on the premise that , by reflecting, on our
experiences, we construct our own understanding of
the world we live in. constructivism require a
teacher to act as a facilitator whose main function
is to help students become active participants in
their learning and make meaningful connections
between prior knowledge, new knowledge and the
process involved in learning.
According to Jacqueline and Martins (1983) on a
workshop on constructivism as a paradigm for
teaching and learning; constructivism is basically
a theory based on observation and scientific study
about how people learn. When we encounter something
25
new, we have to reconcile it with our previous
ideas and experience, may be changing what we
believe, or maybe discarding the new information as
irrelevant. This predisposes that we are active
creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must
ask questions, explore and assess what we know
(Stephen and Karen 2013).
Constructivist teachers encourage students to
constantly assess how the activity is helping them
gain understanding by questioning themselves and
their strategies, students in the constructivist
classroom ideally become ‘expert learners.’ This
gives them ever broadening tools to keep learning.
With a well planned classroom environment, the
students learn how to learn.
For example: A JSS 2 teacher believes his
students are ready to study ‘Gravity’ He creates an
environment of discovering with objects of varying
kinds, students explore the differences in weight
among similar sized blocks, foam, wood and lead.
Some students hold the notion that heavier objects
fall faster than light ones. The teacher provides
materials (Stories, vidoes, images) about Galileo
Newton etc. He leads a discussion on theories about
26
falling. The students then replicate Galileo’s
experiment dropping objects of different weights
and measuring how fast they fall. They see that
objects of different weight actually usually fall
at the same speed although surface area and aero
dynamic properties can affect the rate of fall.
THE PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTIVISM
Jacqueline and Martin (1993) offer five key
principles of constructivist theory which can guide
curriculum structure and lesson planning. These
are:
1.Pose problems of emerging relevance to
students.
2.Structure learning around primary concepts
3.Seek and value students’ points of view
4.Adapt instruction to address students’
suppositions
5.Assess students’ learning in the context of
teaching.
Benefits of Constructivist theory
27
1.Constructivism promotes social and communication
skills by creating a classroom environment that
emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas.
2.It creates a transferable learning atmosphere
where students create organizing principles that
they can take with them to other learning
setting.
3.Learning/students learn more, and enjoy learning
more when they are actively involved rather than
passive listener.
4.By grounding learning activities in an authentic,
real-world context, constructivism stimulates and
engages students
5.Constructivism gives students ownership of what
they learn.
6.Engaging the creative instincts develops
students’ abilities to express knowledge through
a variety of ways. The students are more likely
to retain and transfer the knowledge to real
life.
Pitfalls of Constructivism
Sweller (1988) found evidence that pratice by
novice during early Schema acquisition, distracts
these learners with unnecessary search-based28
activity when the learner’s attention should be
focused on understanding (acquiring schemas)
IMPLICATION OF CONSTRUCTIVISM
According to the social constructivist approach,
instructors have to adapt to the role of facilitators
and not teachers (Bauerseld 1995). Where as a teacher
gives a didactic lecture that covers the subject
matter, a facilitator helps the learner to get to his
or her own understanding of the context. In
constructivism, the learner plays an active role in
the learning process. The emphasis thus, turns away
from the instructor and the content and forwards the
learner (Gamoran, Secada and Marelt, 1998). The
Dramatic change of role in constructivism implies
that a facilitator needs to display totally set of
skills than a teacher (Brownstein 2001)
- A teacher tells, a facilitator asks
- A teacher lectures from the front, a facilitator
supports from the back
- A teacher gives answers according to a set
curriculum; a facilitator provides guidelines and
creates the environment for the learner to arrive
at his own conclusions.
29
- A teacher mostly give a monologue, a facilitator
is in continuous dialogue with the learner
(Rhodes and Bellamy, 1999).
Brooks and Brooks (1999) summarized a large
segment of the literature on descriptions of
‘constructivists teacher’ as implications to
curriculum studies and education in general,
they conceive of a constructivist teacher as
someone who will:-
1.Encourage and accept students’ autonomy and
initiative.
2.Use a wide range of materials including raw
data, primary sources and interactive materials
and encourage students to use them.
3.Inquire about students’ understanding of
concepts before sharing his/her own
understanding of those concepts.
4.Encourage students to engage in dialogue with
the teacher and with one another.
5.Encourage students’ inquiring by asking
thoughtful, open-ended questions and encourage
students to ask questions to each other and
seek elaboration of student’s initial
responses.
30
6.Engage students in experiences that show
contradictions to initial understanding and
then encourage discussion.
7.Provide time for students to construct
relationships and create metaphors.
8.Assess students’ understanding through
application and performance of open structured
tasks.
Hence, from a constructivist’s perspective,
the primary
Responsibility of the teacher is to create and
maintain a collaborative problems-solving
environment, where students are allowed to
construct their own knowledge and the teacher
acts as facilitator or guide (Mureen 1999).
VYGOTSKY’s THEORY OF INSTRUCTION
Lev Vygotsky 1896 who lives in Orsha, in
Russian Empire developed this theory; he placed
more emphasis on social contributions to the
process of development. He focused on the
connections between people and the socio-cultural
context in which they act and interact and share
experience. According to Vygotsky, humans use31
tools that develop from a culture, such as speech
and writing to mediate their social environments.
Vygotsky’s theory holds three major themes which
are:
1.The more knowledgeable others (MKO)
2.Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
3.Social interaction.
THE MORE KNOWLEDGABLE OTHER (MKO)
This refers to someone who has a better
understanding or higher ability level than the
learner, with respect to particular task, process
or concept for example; when an assignment is given
in schools, students would consult their senior
colleagues, parents, internets etc to facilitate
the accomplishment of the task.
ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)
This is an important concept that relates to the
difference between what a child can achieve
independently and what a child can achieve with
guidance and encouragement from skilled partner.
According to Vygotsky, learning occurs here.
Vygotsky sees the ZPD as the area where the most
sensitive instruction or guidance should be given
32
allowing the child to develop skills they will then
use on their own, developing higher mental
functions.
Level of Assisted Performance
(ZPD)
Level of Independent Performance
From the diagram above, crossing the ZPD is
essential to vygostk’s theory. This can only be
accomplished with the help from MKOs (more
knowledgeable others)
Example of ZPD is when an instructor is reading
an English course book 3 with a learner, the
learner reads aloud, while the instructor follow
the learner’s reading. When he comes across a word
that is unfamiliar e.g. ‘conflagration.’ He asks
for help; instead of telling him the answers, show
him a picture of a ‘large destructive fire’
33
Di
fficulty o
f the
task
(meaning of conflagration). They will figure out
the meaning of the word.
SOCIAL INTERACTION
ZPD is developed when students work in group,
share ideas in group works or use online-media in
learning. Teachers can use videos and interactive
worksheets to assist student through scaffolding.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF THE THEORY
The theory is highly child-centered and it aids
fast and long lasting cognitive development. Since
it is socio-culturally based; good cultural values
and norms of the society can be basely learnt.
Critique to this theory is that since teacher and
more knowledge others (MKOs) serve as role models,
the learner can learn bad attitude from his model
by re-creating previous classroom (learning)
collaborations.
34
IMPLICATIONS OF VYGOTSKY THEORY TO CURRICULUM
STUDIES (CLASSROOM)
According to Vygotsky, for curriculum to be
developmentally appropriate, the teachers must plan
activities that encompass not only what children
are capable of doing on their own, but what they
can learn with the help of others (Karpov and Hay
Wood 1998).
Just as Bruner’s theory of instruction, Vygotsky
repeatedly stressed the importance of past
experiences and prior knowledge in making sense of
new situations or present experiences which is very
important in every lesson as entry behaviors.
Teachers can use information about both levels of
Vygotsk’s zone of proximal development in
organizing classroom activities.
35
CONCLUSION
As discourse in this paper the different
instructional theories and their implications in
practical classroom experiences and curriculum
developments in education, this paper concluded
that instructional theory is tied to learning
theory, thus, different instructional (teaching)
theories can only be applied in different
classes/age-level of learners to aid effective
learning and cognitive development; as this would
answer the questions of ‘the teaching for effective
learning.
36
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the forgoing grounds, this paper
recommended that:
1.Vygotsky instructional theory, Ausubel’s and
constructivist theories of instruction should
only be practiced in the tertiary level of
education where there is ‘Readiness’ on the parts
of the students to learn, while Gagne’ and
Bruner’s instructional theory should be
implemented in Nursery, Primary and Secondary
School Level.
2.Instructors should adopt the ‘best fitted’
instructional theory that suites the age of the
learners present in class.
3.Instructors should match the instructional theory
with the type of subject/topic taught as this
will predict the control ways in which teacher-
behaviors affect the learning of students.
37
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