Thursday, October 22, 2009

Behaviorism and Cognitivism

The basic building blocks to learning, and therefore teaching, are found in the behaviorists and Cognitivist understanding of learning. I say basic because they are both looking for that single discrete event where knowledge is acquired. Cognitivists allow for a little more complex system in the learning process.

Computers are a perfect model for both, especially as they get more complex and our ability to program them improves. The heart of computers will always be the yes/no statement. As complex or nuanced we are able to develop, they will, if they use the current basis of design, rely on single, discrete computations or steps. Perfect for that which behaviorists and cognitivists are trying to find for people.

The challenge as a student and teacher, is that the basic underlying assumption that humans can be reduced to the discrete steps has not been proven. In fact, as a pragmatist/constructivist, the context and perspective of the society and individual are crucial. Humans seem to add a third dimension to the on/off discrete steps with perspective and context.

So, I do believe that learning does effectively occur as behaviorists and cognitivists describe. They just are too limited in their scope to include our understanding of the process as individuals and as a group. I look forward to contructivism and connecting it to pragmatism, Jung's collective unconsciousness, Freud's superego and Dewey's Pragmatism.