Facilitating Learning and Educational Philosophies

Vocabulary flashcards covering core learning theories, motivation concepts, cognitive processes, and educational philosophies from the provided BLEPT review lecture transcripts.

Naturalism

A philosophy stating that only nature exists, nature is superior to civilization, and only natural laws and forces operate in the world.

Idealism

A philosophy advocated by Plato centered on spiritual values, morals, mind, absolute truth, and a unified reality with God.

Realism

A philosophy advocated by Aristotle holding that reality exists in the natural world independently of the mind, guided by natural law and objective facts.

Pragmatism

An educational philosophy advocated by John Dewey and William James focusing on practical problem-solving, real-life interaction, and knowledge based on what works.

Essentialism

An educational philosophy advocated by William Bagley emphasizing academic excellence, a common body of essential knowledge, and the 4R's (Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Right Conduct).

Progressivism

An educational philosophy associated with John Dewey centered on growth, learning by doing, child-centered curriculum, and real-life problem solving.

Existentialism

A philosophy associated with Jean Paul Sartre asserting that knowledge is subjective, individual freedom of choice precedes knowing, and human beings define themselves through actions.

Perennialism

An educational philosophy advocated by Robert Hutchins focusing on changeless, eternally valid universal truths, cultural literacy, and the Great Books.

Social Reconstructivism

An educational philosophy advocated by Theodore Brameld that seeks to rebuild social order, encourage social reform, and address community and societal needs.

Behaviorism

A learning theory associated with John Watson and B.F. Skinner stating that learning is a change in observable behavior driven by external stimulus-response (S-R) relationships.

Empiricism

A philosophical perspective associated with John Locke asserting that all human knowledge originates strictly from sensory experience and observation.

Structuralism

A psychological perspective associated with Wundt and Helmholtz that analyzes complex mental experiences into basic components like images, feelings, and sensations.

Functionalism

A psychological perspective associated with William James, Angell, or Carr focusing on the functional processes of motivation, thinking, and learning.

Purposivism

A theory holding that individual internal hormones and drives are responsible for the motive to strive toward fulfilling specific objectives.

Philosophical Analysis

An approach associated with G.E. Moore stating that reality is verifiable, truth corresponds strictly to reality, and standard language usage determines meaning.

Marxism

A socio-economic theory proposed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels based on class relations, societal conflict, historical development, and dialectical social transformation.

Rationalism

A philosophy holding that reason and intellect are the primary sources and justifications of knowledge, rather than sensory experience.

Constructivism

A learning theory associated with Jean Piaget proposing that learners actively construct new ideas and schema by connecting new experiences to existing prior knowledge.

Humanism

A worldview that emphasizes self-love, human dignity, individual value, and human agency.

Ethnocentrism

The practice of evaluating and judging other cultures according to the standards and preconceptions of one's own culture.

Xenocentrism

The preference for the products, styles, ideas, or customs of another culture over one's own.

Dual-Coding Theory

A learning theory proposing that information is retained better when presentation incorporates both visual images (real or imagined) and verbal lecture methods.

Law of Readiness

Thorndike's law of learning stating that biological maturation and physical/mental readiness must precede effective learning of certain tasks.

Law of Effect

Thorndike's principle stating that responses followed by pleasant consequences are strengthened, whereas responses followed by unpleasant consequences are weakened.

Law of Exercise

Thorndike's law stating that connections between stimuli and responses are strengthened through practice (law of use) and weakened through disuse (law of disuse).

Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura's theory demonstrating that learning occurs observationally by paying attention to, retaining, reproducing, and imitating modelled behaviors.

Discrimination (Classical Conditioning)

A phenomenon in classical conditioning where an organism learns to differentiate between specific stimuli, responding to one stimulus but not to a similar one.

Cumulative Learning Theory

A theory stating that learning skills are hierarchically arranged from lower-level discrimination learning to high-level problem solving.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Lev Vygotsky's concept representing the distance between a learner's actual development (what they can do independently) and potential development (what they can do with assistance).

Scaffolding

An instructional method where a teacher provides tailored support to a learner in their ZPD and gradually withdraws assistance as the learner gains independence.

Chunking

An information processing technique of grouping individual pieces of information into smaller, organized units to enhance working memory and retrieval.

Microsystem

The innermost level in Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory containing social structures that have direct, immediate contact with the child.

Critical Thinking

A goal-directed process of using logical evaluation, deliberation, and analysis to decide what to reasonably believe or do.

Metacognition

The internal capacity to monitor, regulate, plan, and evaluate one's own thinking and mental processes.

Procedural Knowledge

Knowledge specifying how to perform a sequential series of steps, actions, or physical procedures.

Drive Theory

A motivation theory asserting that internal physiological needs create tension drives that compel an individual to take action to reduce the drive.