Leadership and Ethics

Cognitive Neuroscience, Constructivist, and Situated

Learning Theories

Lesson Plan Critique

ETEC 512

Dr. J. McCracken

Words: 1412
 by Galina Culpechina
12/6/2015

Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................................3
Constructivist Theory.....................................................................................................................3
Summary.....................................................................................................................................3
How the Lesson Plan Reflects Constructivist Theory..................................................................4
Areas of Improvement................................................................................................................4
Suggestions.................................................................................................................................4
Situated Cognition Theory.............................................................................................................5
Summary.....................................................................................................................................5
How the Lesson Plan Reflects Situated Cognition Theory..........................................................5
Areas of Improvement................................................................................................................6
Suggestions.................................................................................................................................6
Cognitive Neuroscience..................................................................................................................6
Summary.....................................................................................................................................6
How the Lesson Plan Reflects Cognitive Neuroscience..............................................................7
Areas of Improvement................................................................................................................8
Suggestions.................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................8
References....................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Leadership and Ethics is a module plan consisting of 2 lessons. The module was designed for one of the courses

of an online MBA program by me in collaboration with the developing faculty who provided all the content.

The audience is adult learners with experience in the field.

This assignment will summarize three learning theories, describe how the lesson plan reflects each of the

theories, identify areas of improvement and then make suggestions for better alignment between those

theories and the Leadership and Ethics lesson plan.

Constructivist Theory

Summary

Constructivism is a view of learning based on the belief that knowledge is constructed by learners through an

active, mental process of development. Learners are the builders and creators of meaning and knowledge.
As per Constructivism, knowledge is constructed around real actions performed by the individual through

social interaction with peers (Piaget) (Ron Good, 1978) in a collaborative environment where they can share

their ideas and experiences (Lev Vygotsky, 1978). The social nature of human learning means that learning

with others is usually more effective than learning alone, and that language and communication are central to

this social process (Cigman, 2009).

A productive, constructivist classroom consists of learner-centered, active instruction. According to Driscoll

(2005), problem solving, reasoning, critical thinking, and the active and reflective use of knowledge constitute

the goal of constructivist instruction. The teacher's role is to help and guide students (Glasersfeld, 2008), to

help them find their own answers, teach about multiple intelligences, and encourage collaborative learning

(Tam, 2000).

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How the Lesson Plan Reflects Constructivist Theory

The learning outcomes for the module are well-defined and concentrate on the top levels of Bloom's

Taxonomy (1956): analysing, applying, and creating - "higher-order thinking skills", which reflect the goal of

constructivist instruction.

In lesson 2, an interactive activity, Developing your Moral Compass, enables students to integrate new ideas

with prior knowledge, enables learning through self-reflection, social interactions with peers and collaboration

on a joint reflection paper.

Areas of Improvement

Except the interactive activity mentioned above, where students work in pairs, they do not have an

opportunity for experiencing the perspectives of others, seeking assistance, negotiating problems, and

discussing solutions.

In Lesson 1, students are not engaged in authentic, challenging and real-world (or simulated) activities,

facilitating better understanding and transfer of learning to new situations. Students are perceived as passive

consumers of knowledge.

Suggestions

1. Engage students in authentic, challenging and real-world activities that have meaning to the adult learner.

2. Encourage group work to solve an open-ended problem and use peers as resources.

3. Engage students in construction of their own content using journals and reflect on their experiences.

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Situated Cognition Theory
Summary

Situated cognition is a theory that describes people's knowledge as situated, being in part a product of the

activity, context and culture in which it is developed and used (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989). The theory is

centered around the idea that knowing is inseparable from actually doing and highlights the importance of

learning within context, in which skills will eventually be utilized. (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989). The focus

is on practical application of acquired knowledge and skills in real life. According to this theory, learning is not

an isolated activity; it is social, as humans are social beings and their knowledge is often regarded as

competence in various activities. Only within groups social interaction and conversation can take place

(Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989).

How the Lesson Plan Reflects Situated Cognition Theory

Students have to create their Ethical Leadership Roadmap/Moral Compass in lesson 2. This activity reflects a

situated learning approach as it encourages students to apply the acquired knowledge in the previous lesson.

In addition, students will be using the product of the activity, Moral Compass, in their own lives. This lesson

also encourages students to discuss their competed projects with their peers in pairs, share personal

information, find similarities and differences and collaborate on a shared paper. This type of activity can be

found in MBA students' workplace when they discuss these topics with their managers, direct reports, make a

presentation to their team or engage in a related problem solving activity. In addition, working on this activity

will make students reflect on their leadership skills and identify what they need to work on.

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Areas of Improvement

Although readings include case studies, students are not required to read and discuss them. Students are not

encouraged to reflect on their Moral Compass activity before they virtually meet with their peers or after the

meeting to see if their opinion has changed. Learning looks like an isolated activity, and students would

definitely benefit from group or class discussions, collaborative learning, meeting with experts virtually or in

the field and conducting interviews with them or helping solve real problems.

Suggestions

1. Create an environment of full immersion, where students can learn skills and behaviours in the context.

2. Get students involved in a community of practice.

3. Include problem based learning or case-based collaborative learning.

Cognitive Neuroscience
Summary

Brain research shows that much academic content is processed primarily in the left hemisphere, and the right

hemisphere processes context. To make learning meaningful and build more extensive neural connections,

teachers should incorporate context as much as possible (Schunk, 2012).

Neuroscience research found that various environmental factors, such as importance, novelty, intensity, and

movement can arouse and maintain people's attention. Other factors, such as organization, rehearsal, and

elaboration help the brain impose structure on learning and assist in the consolidation of neural connections in

memory. (Schunk, 2012).

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Multimodal teaching (including graphics, animations, voice) leads to better outcomes and lower cognitive load

on working memory than presenting it in any one single modality ( Gog et. al, 2008).

Cognitive neuroscience supports the idea that much can be learned through observation. (Bandura, 1986).

Activities that engage learners (e.g., problem-based learning, simulations and role-playing, active discussions)

produce better learning (Schunk, 2012).

Motivation and emotions are integrally linked with cognitive processing and neural activities and can positively

affect attention, learning, and memory. (Schunk, 2012).

When teachers effectively use strategies to reduce emotional distress and build a positive learning

environment based on how the brain processes sensory input and data, students gain emotional resilience and

learn more efficiently and at higher levels of cognition.

How the Lesson Plan Reflects Cognitive Neuroscience

The lesson plan reflects multimodal teaching approach as the lessons include readings, videos, a multimedia

piece with graphics and music, and hyperlinks connecting to other resources. The multiple modes of

interacting with the content decrease cognitive load, increase focused attention and enable more information

to be received (Driscoll, 2005).

The Moral Compass activity starts with music that triggers positive emotions and prepares the brain to learn.

The key phrases students see on screen at the beginning of the activity focus on most important material and

arouse students' attention and prepare students for effective learning. All students' responses are collected in

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a roadmap, making it an effective visual organizer and assisting in the consolidation of neural connections in

memory.

Areas of Improvement

Although the lesson plan includes videos for content presentation, giving students a choice of the way to

communicate with others using audio or video in addition to text will add novelty, involve rehearsal, reduce

emotional distress of students who struggle with writing and lead to better outcomes.

Including activities where learners conduct interviews with each other, followed by interviews with leaders in

the field and share insights learned with others will allow learners to select topics of interest within the scope

of the lesson, structure learning around real problems and increase motivation.

Suggestions

1. Engage students in active discussions using audio, video, or text.

2. Incorporate context to make learning meaningful.

3. Provide opportunities for observation.

4. Use environmental factors to arouse and maintain people's attention.

The updated lesson plan reflects all the suggestions.

Conclusion

Overall, the design of the Leadership and Ethics lesson plan reflects, to some extent, the theories discussed in

this paper. However, it is not designed around real problems and does not provide opportunities to experience

the perspectives of others and actively discuss solutions.

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To promote greater alignment between the lesson plan and the theories, the lesson plan was updated based

on suggestions outlined in this paper. It now reflects problem based approach, where students learn skills and

behaviours within authentic contexts and have a lot of opportunities to observe, discuss and collaborate with

their peers. They are also engaged in constructing their own content through reflection on their experiences.

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References

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice Hall

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Educational

Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.

Gigman, R., Davis A. (2009). New Philosophies of Learning. Wiley-Blackwell.

Gog, T., Jenks, K., Manlove, S., van Hell, J. G., Jolles, J., van Merrinboer, J. J.,Boschloo, A. (2008). Explorations

in Learning and the Brain: On the Potential of Cognitive Neuroscience for Educational Science. de Jong (Ed.).

Retrieved from: http://users.edte.utwente.nl/jong/Explorations%20in%20Learning%20and%20the%20Brain

%20FR%20final.pdf

Driscoll, M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (pp. 384-407; Ch.11-Constructivism). Toronto, ON:

Pearson.

Koohang, A., Riley, L., Smith T., and Schreurs, J. (2009). E-Learning and Constructivism: From Theory to

Application. Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects. Volume 5. Retrieved from

http://ijklo.org/Volume5/IJELLOv5p091-109Koohang655.pdf

Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview. Theory into Practice, Volume 41,

Number 4. Retrieved from http://www.unco.edu/cetl/sir/stating_outcome/documents/Krathwohl.pdf

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Pappas, C. (2015). The Quintessential Of The Situated Cognition Theory And Its Application in eLearning Course

Design. Retrieved from http://elearningindustry.com/situated-cognition-theory-and-cognitive-apprenticeship-

model

Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. Sixth Edition (Ch. 2 Neuroscience of

Learning). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Retrieved from http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-

ideas/engaging-students/problem-based-learning.html

Seitzinger, J. (2006, July 31). Be Constructive: Blogs, Podcasts, and Wikis as Constructivist Learning. The

eLearning Guilds Learning Solutions e-Magazine. Retrieved from:

http://www.elearningguild.com/pdf/2/073106DES.pdf

Tam, M. (2000). Constructivism, Instructional Design, and Technology: Implications for Transforming Distance

Learning. Educational Technology and Society, 3(2).

Von Glasersfeld, E. (2008). Learning as a constructive activity. AntiMatters, 2(3), 33-49. Retrieved from

http://anti-matters.org/articles/73/public/73-66-1-PB.pdf

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard

University Press.

Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. (2015, November 15). Constructivist teaching methods. Retrieved

December 6, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivist_teaching_methods

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