Conceptions of Learning and Cognitive Development
Once we have established our beliefs about intelligence and what it means to our students and our teaching, the next step is to determine how students learn. Cognitive development and learning has much been the debate as of late. There are those that hold the behaviorist philosophy that memorization is learning. If you know it, if it is committed to memory, you understand it.
There are also those that deem this untrue. Those of the constructivist view hold that understanding is a process of discovering for one’s self the lessons he/she are learning. Understanding cannot come from mere memorization. Knowing certain steps to follow to get the right answer does not constitute learning or cognition, it merely shows that one can follow directions. I hold the personal belief that even if memorization can lead to understanding, it is because that person was able to construct the knowledge on his/her own based on previous knowledge. Even those who claim they have learned by memorization and understand what they’ve "learned" can actually be attributed to a subconscious reconstruction of knowledge already in their possession.
Disclaimer: I hold that the following links are based on my own perception of the possible ways in which learning and cognitive development occurs. These following links are not the full spectrum of possibilities, only those I find most appealing to my sense of teaching and learning.