Ways of learning : learning theories and learning styles in the classroom

135 Pages·2009·0.911 MB·English

by  Alan Pritchard

Ways of Learning
Second edition
Teachers are good at providing excellent opportunities for allowing children’s learning to
progress.Often,without fully understanding the reasons why,teachers encourage learning in
their charges which works well,and is a good approach at a particular time with a particular
child or group of children.With greater insight into what is currently known about the processes
of learning and about individual learning preferences,teachers are able to provide even better
learning situations which are more likely to lead to effective learning.This book seeks to provide
details which teachers can make use of in their planning and teaching in order to supply better
opportunities for effective and lasting learning.
The first edition of this book has been used widely and has now been revised to include
updated information in the existing chapters as well as a new chapter which covers the area of
learning difficulties and special educational needs.
Alan Pritchard is Associate Professor at the Warwick Institute of Education, University of

Warwick,UK.
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Ways of Learning
Learning theories
and learning styles
in the classroom
Second edition
Alan Pritchard
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First published 2009
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by Routledge
2 Park Square,Milton Park,Abingdon,Oxon OX14 4RN 12
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada 13
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue,New York,NY 10016 14
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. 15
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s 16
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,an informa business
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© 2009 Alan Pritchard
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All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic,mechanical,or other means,now known or hereafter 20
invented,including photocopying and recording,or in any information storage or
retrieval system,without permission in writing from the publishers. 1
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data 2
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
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Pritchard,Alan (Alan M.)
Ways of learning/Alan Pritchard – 2nd ed. 5
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index. 6
1.Learning,Psychology of. 2.Cognitive sty les. I.Title.
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LB1060.P735 2008
370.15′23–dc22 8
ISBN 0-203-88724-7 Master e-book ISBN 9
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ISBN 10:0-415-46608-3 (pbk)
ISBN 10:0-203-88724-7 (ebk) 2
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ISBN 13:978-0-415-46608-0 (pbk)
ISBN 13:978-0-203-88724-0 (ebk) 4
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To Mum and Dad, who set me on the road to learning,
and to Jackie, Maria and Frances, who have taught me far
more than I ever could have imagined possible.
Even now the learning continues.
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Contents
Preface ix
Preface to the second edition xi
Chapter 1 Learning 1
Chapter 2 Behaviourism and the beginnings of theory 5
Chapter 3 Cognitive,constructivist learning 17
Chapter 4 Multiple intelligences 34
Chapter 5 Learning styles 41
Chapter 6 Difficulties with learning 57
Chapter 7 Brain-based learning and other new understanding 86
Chapter 8 Relating theory to practice:what can we learn from research? 103
Appendix: Comparing and contrasting Piaget and Vygotsky – in summary 115
References 116
Index 121

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Preface
Learning is something that happens quite naturally and goes by quite unnoticed in many cases.
We may reflect on the way that a child is able to do something which previously they could
not and we may be amazed at the way that a young child has developed over even a short
period of time.This is unplanned learning,though parents often spend time helping children
to develop certain skills and understanding,and as such it is recognised as different from the
planned learning that takes place in the more formal settings of our educational system –
playgroups,nurseries and schools.
As children develop,they follow what is sometimes considered a ‘normal’pattern of learning,
and they become more skilled and knowledgeable almost as a matter of course.However,in
order to enhance this process we have an established system whereby children are taught and
where they are initiated into the accepted knowledge and skills base that is considered to be
essential if they are to grow into citizens of our society who are able to function and contribute
effectively,as well as lead happy and fulfilling lives.
The nature of the accepted knowledge and skills is not a topic for consideration here,but
the means by which the initiation takes place,in particular the ways in which learning progresses

and the most effective approaches which teachers might employ,are at the heart of this book.
Learning in schools does not happen by chance,though children will learn many things that
are not planned for,and an understanding of the ways in which we believe learning takes place
is really an essential for those responsible for planning and implementing programmes of learning
– teachers.
Our understanding of the processes involved in learning is developing as more and more
focused research is undertaken.This research takes place both in laboratories remote from
schools,and in classrooms where teachers are engaging daily with an enormous range of topics,
with an enormously variable population of learners.In the laboratories,the research might focus
on the structure of the brain, for example, and in classrooms the research might focus on
techniques of questioning or perhaps the effect of the immediate environment on the ability
of children to concentrate.When all of the findings,however tentative some of them might be,
are considered together,and when some of the assumptions from research are tested and re-
examined in more detail, we are able to arrive at a generally accepted set of approaches to
teaching which seem to be effective.This set of approaches is wide, variable and constantly
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