TEACHING/

PEDAGOGICAL
APPROACHES
By Aziz Ahmed Alizai
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BEHAVIORISM CONSTRUCTIVISM SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTIVISM
 Behaviorism
◦ The central belief of a behaviourist is that students learn through reinforcement - constant feedback that
tells them whether what they are doing is right or wrong. This comes in the form of test scores, homework
marks and more. 
◦ However, behaviourism has its critics. Some say that the approach disregards student identity and
individuality, whilst other pedagogical theorists claim it studies actions of the body rather than that of the
brain, and is therefore inept at assessing real learning. 
◦ Behaviourism emerged in 1898, in the early stages of developmental psychology. It was the year that Edward
Thorndike created his learning theory using a cat and a box. 
◦ The box had a pulley system and a lever that the cat had to use if it wanted to escape the box. Thorndike
found that by giving the cat a treat when it learned to escape, it learnt to associate it’s actions with receiving a
treat and would then escape faster next time. 
◦ This technique formed the basis for operant conditioning: teaching a behaviour or action through repetition
and reinforcement. It’s the basis for most behaviourist approaches to teaching. 
 Constructivism
◦ Constructivism can be traced back to educational psychology in the work of Jean Piaget )1980–1896( ‫پ ی اجے‬
identified with Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Piaget focused on how humans make meaning in relation
to the interaction between their experiences and their ideas.
◦ It is a learning theory based on students active participation in solving problems and critical thinking
◦ It is based on critical thinking and problem solving
◦ Encourages higher level of thinking
◦ student centered
◦ boosts confidence
 Social Constructivism
‫ٹ‬
Social constructivism was developed by Lev Vygotsky ‫وگ سکی‬ ‫ل ی و ا‬ (1978, p. 57) who
suggested that,
Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level
and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then
inside the child (intrapsychological).
◦ According to this approach man is a social animal and learning is a collaborative
process between teacher and student bother teacher and students play a vital role
in learning process.
◦ Teachers should allow their students to come up with their own questions, make
their own theories, and test them for viability