This course is a concentration core subject in a doctorate program in the Faculty of Education of UIII. The course provides a broad overview of some of the influential learning theories and the implications of these theories for educational practice.
Each of us carries assumptions about how, why, and where people learn and what constitutes adequate learning or understanding in various situations. These assumptions come from our cultural backgrounds and upbringing, from our own “apprenticeship of observation”(Lortie, 1975) as learners who have engaged in different endeavors, perhaps from our work as educators of children and adults, and from other pursuits such as being a researcher or an expert in some arena. One major goal of this course will be for each of us to make our assumptions about the processes and products of learning as explicit as possible. Becoming aware of our theories of learning assists us with the second major goal of this course—gaining a deeper understanding of the significant theories of learning and development that have influenced our educational systems.