TEACHING AND LEARNING: EDUCATIONAL THEORIES

Rhonda SeamonsLearning Assessment Coordinator

Editors Note: The following Major Forum address was delivered at BYU-Idaho
on 18 July 2002.

would like you to remember some of the experiences you had in

kindergarten. Remember the smell of the newly sharpened pencils, of
the purple ditto-master fluid, and of the chalk dust. See in your minds
eye that lovely box of sharp, full-length crayons with their wrappers still
on them and that row of children lining up for an assembly. Hear the
recess bell ringing on the playground, a chorus of children repeating the
Pledge of Allegiance, and the hum of the big clock on the wall. (Why
were school clocks always so noisy?) Imagine the feel of the cool desk
chair as you slid into it and the smooth, hard covers of the books in your
schools library. Taste that white paste! (Dont kid yourself; we all ate a
few fingerfuls of that stuff!)
You have been there and done that. You are an expert in being a
student. And you dont just have one year of memories; all of you have
spent at least a decade in school. Some of you have almost finished your
second decade as a student. Now, if any of you ever went back to your
kindergarten classroom after becoming an adult, you were probably
surprised to discover that it was far smaller than you remembered as
a child. You had grown taller. Your perspective had changed. You may
have experienced that on a physical level. Today Id like you to apply that
principle on an intellectual level.
Today you are bigger and taller intellectually than you were at five.
I hope. Were going to look at the teaching-learning process. And were
going to consider it from both a students perspective and a teachers
perspective. You see, students dont always view things the way that teachers
view them. What you remember learning as a student may not be exactly
what your teacher remembers teaching.
In America today there are six major teaching theories. As I present
them, you will have many ah-ha! experiences. Youll think, Oh, yeah,
Mrs. Jones did that in fifth grade! You remember what Mrs. Jones did.
Now youre going to discover why she did it. You might even discover why
someday, when youre teaching your Elders Quorum or Relief Society or
your family, you may want to use Mrs. Jones approach!
S ocial Reconstructionism
Each of the six theories flows from a particular world philosophy. For
instance, Social Reconstructionism comes to us from the philosophy of
conceptualizing and communicating

Now, if any of you

ever went back to
your kindergarten
classroom after
becoming an adult,
you were probably
surprised to
discover that it was
far smaller than
you remembered
as a child.

Social
Reconstructionists
challenge their
students to acquire
strong moral values.

Idealism. The Greek philosopher Plato, living in the 4th century B.C .,
first formalized the philosophy of Idealism, which stresses the ideas of
the mind. Hence the name Idealism. Idealists believe in the power of
the unseen world. They believe in mind over matter.
The modern educational theory that flows from Idealism is Social
Reconstructionism, which holds that schools should be change agents,
free from all forms of discrimination, and concerned with issues of global
welfare. Rather than merely having their students read and talk about
the worlds problems, teachers of this theory encourage their students to
feel and to think about issues. They have their students spend time in
the community becoming immersed in problems and finding possible
solutions. Simultaneously, Social Reconstructionists challenge their
students to acquire strong moral values. One of the primary techniques
employed is simulation and debriefing.
Let me give an example. I once taught with a terrific teacher who loved
the Social Reconstructionist approach. At the time, Mrs. Jeppeson was
teaching fourth grade at J.A. Taylor Elementary School in Centerville,
Utah. In fourth grade, students learn about Utah history. They study
the Anasazi and other Native American tribes. As part of her unit, Mrs.
Jeppeson had her students turn their classroom into a cliff dwelling. The
children crumpled brown paper bags, rubbing them until they became
soft like suede. They flattened the bags and attached them to every surface
in the classroom, making it look like a cave. The students learned about
the pictographs that many tribes used to record significant events. Then
they painted their own stories on their cave wall. It really was a beautiful
work of art.
One day after school when the cave was finished, Mrs. Jeppeson took
cans of spray paint and wrote graffiti all over her classroom cave. The
next morning the students were devastated. Their beautiful cave had
been defaced. They were furious. They interrogated all of the teachers,
learning nothing. They interrogated the other students. Still nothing.
At recess someone found a spray paint can in the dumpster, which led
to a fresh round of bullying children on the playground to find out if
anyone had seen anything. Nothing came of their efforts. They were
beside themselves.
Toward the end of the day, Mrs. Jeppeson called her class together
for the debriefing. She told them that the playground supervisors were
displeased with their behavior. She said she wanted to hear what their side
of the story was. They voiced their frustration at working so long and so
hard to create something beautiful only to have it destroyed by someone
who didnt care. After hearing what they had to say, Mrs. Jeppeson gently
asked them how they supposed the real Native Americans must feel
when tourists visit their beautiful cave dwellings and put spray paint on

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them or carve their names in them or steal parts of them. She never
told them what had happened, that she had deliberately ruined their cave.
That wasnt the point of the lesson. She had wanted her students to learn
the value of respecting other peoples property, and she did it through
simulation and debriefing. The lesson was well-learned. Her students
will never forget what it felt like to be treated disrespectfully. They will
think twice before destroying other peoples property.
You can probably think of other examples of Social Reconstructionism.
Many of you have studied that classic blue eye/brown eye simulation
of slavery. Thats Social Reconstructionism. Certainly, at some point
in your elementary school experience, your class created a mini-society
complete with some form of currency. You elected officers and made
rules to practice running society. Thats Social Reconstructionism. Its a
powerful way to teach.
B ehaviorism
And its totally different than the theory of Behaviorism at the other
end of the card. Behaviorism finds its roots in Realism. Aristotle, one of
Platos pupils, was the father of Realism, which stresses the world of nature
or physical things. Rather than focusing on the ideas in the mind, realists
focus on the tangible things we can sense around us. They rely heavily
on the scientific method, on the systematic analysis of what is observed.
They believe the aim of education is to cultivate habits.
The basic principle of behaviorism is that education can best be
achieved by modifying student behavior through the use of rewards.
Behaviorists believe teachers should state a behavioral objective, observe
student behaviors, and distribute appropriate reinforcers. Behaviorists
are big on performance skills and checklists.
In junior high school, I had a band teacher who was a Behaviorist
through and through. He loved calling out two names from one of
the sectionslike two clarinet players or two trombone playersand
making us stand up and play the twelve major scales in rapid succession.
The student who played them faster was given the higher chair, and
the slower student would take the lower one. Moving up a chair was a
powerful reward.
Mr. Thomas also required us to enter a Solo and Ensemble Festival.
For those who have never been, I will explain the procedure. You (and
a friend or two, if youre in an ensemble) stand before a panel of judges
and play a musical selection on your instrument. The judges evaluate
and critique everything from your posture to your breathing, from
your tonal quality to your use of dynamics. And then they give you a
rating. Our Festival judges made a 1+ the highest score, and it was nigh
impossible to achieve. Anything over a 1- brought tears of happiness.
conceptualizing and communicating

The basic principle

of behaviorism is
that education can
best be achieved by
modifying student
behavior through the
use of rewards.

We would spend weeks practicing to earn a score in the 1 range. Weeks.

Thats Behaviorism.
You have certainly had teachers who practiced Behaviorism. Maybe
you have played Number Munchers, a math facts computer game where
one reward was advancing to the next level. After three rounds of escaping
the Troggles, you were additionally rewarded with a little comedy sketch.
Youve been in Spelling Bees where the reward was staying in while the
others were eliminated. Thats Behaviorism, too. The Pizza Hut Book-It
Program and the Accelerated Reader Program are other fine examples of
Behaviorism. And they workvery well.
P e re n n i a l i s m

Thomists feel that

school curriculum
should contain
both theology
and liberal arts.

For many years there was a struggle between the philosophy of Idealism
and that of Realism. Eventually, Thomas Aquinas attempted to reconcile
the two. The philosophy he authored, known as Thomism, is the official
philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church. Thomists believe that both
ideas and tangible realities are important. Furthermore, they believe that
when reason fails, man must rely on faith. Thomists feel that school
curriculum should contain both theology and liberal arts.
And so a Catholic theory of education arosea theory known as
Perennialism. It focuses on the worlds permanencies: on God and on
the classic works of history and literature. The Perennialist teacher feels
education should confront the problems and questions that have challenged
people over the centuries. And, for the Perennialist, this is primarily
accomplished by reading and discussing the classics. As a Perennialist
would point out, if a problem was addressed by people in the past, we
can and should learn from them.
When have you experienced Perennialism? Well, perhaps you were
involved with the Junior Great Books program. In it students read short
stories by writers like Tolstoy or Hans Christian Andersen. On a given day
in groups with children and parent volunteers, they discuss in amazing
depth the elements of the story: the characters, the plot, the setting, and
the theme.
Perhaps your school didnt do Junior Great Books. Still, you must
have had teachers who had you read chapters at home for an in-class
discussionor an essay. My tenth grade American History class was
that way, as was my AP Biology experience. When you want to expose
students to the greatest thinking mankind has to offer, Perennialism is
the best approach.

perspective

E ssentialism
The Reformers, men like Martin Luther and John Calvin, protested
the abuses of the Catholic Church. Not surprisingly their philosophy
is called Protestant Sectarianism. Like the Thomists the Protestants
believed that God exists and can be known by both faith and reason.
Unlike the Catholics who maintained a strong attachment to the past
(like Latin, a rather dead language), Protestants didnt focus heavily on
the classics. They focused on what was essential for their day. So while
formal schooling was important to the establishment of a priesthood of
believers, Reformers like Luther thought academics should occupy only
part of the day and vocational training should occupy the rest.
Their theory of education became known as Essentialism, the
curriculum consisting of the essentials: reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The primary method employed by Essentialists is the lecture and test.
Essentialists like the no-nonsense approach of just telling students what
they must know. And they usually like students to take notes during the
lectureoften in Roman outline form, if you know what I mean.
I remember the first teacher who introduced me to outlining a
lecture. I was in Mr. Burrells sixth grade grammar class. He called us
into the alcove (I went to a school without walls), handed us squatty little
notebooks, told us to copy everything he wrote into our Notes, turned
to the chalkboard, and began to lecture on the eight parts of speech. And
I neatly copied the information into my notebook. I felt so mature. It
was actually exciting.
My AP European History teacher at Roy High School also used the
lecture formatexclusively. I never remember Miss Larkin using any other
method. And she was, without question, one of the best teachers I ever
had. History came alive in that class. I still remember her stories about
Robespierre and Rasputin. Wow! Many Essentialist teachers incorporate
visual aides into their lecturesyou know, PowerPoint presentations
and video clips. Not Miss Larkin. She kept us spellbound with just her
personal charisma. She was an Essentialist teacher who knew the power
of that theory. Essentialists focus on presenting the fundamentalsand
doing it in a very direct fashion.
E xistentialism
The next theory to develop was Existentialism, which arose in the
nineteenth century from the philosophy of Existentialism, which makes
it easy to remember. While some of the teachings seem a bit bleak,
Existentialism, more than any philosophy which preceded it, taught
that we must create our own meaning. Existentialists believe that we are
responsible for the choices we make. They believe students must choose to

conceptualizing and communicating

Their theory
of education
became known
as Essentialism,
the curriculum
consisting of
the essentials:
reading, writing,
and arithmetic.

Existentialism is
probably the best
theory for teaching
students to be
independent and lifelong learners.

learn. A teacher cannot force knowledge into a student. A teacher cannot

arrange the conditions. At some point ultimately the student must take
that responsibility.
Existentialist teachers provide time for their students to do self-reflection
in journals because they value that part of the learning process. They
want their students to make personal meaning from the education they
are receiving. The main teaching strategy they employ is independent
research and presentation.
As an elementary school teacher, I used the Great Brain program
for independent research wherein students spend about one month
researching a topic of their choice both in class and at home. When
they are ready, they teach the class what they have learned. The projects
were incredible.
For instance, one student, Fantasia, asked if she could learn to
make porcelain dolls, a craft her grandmother enjoyed. Her hour-long
presentation showing dolls at each stage of the firing process was delightful,
and she even gave me a doll she helped make.
Another student, Jeff, asked if he could study planes. Now Jeff was
one of those quiet, artsy students. You know the type: they never say
anything, but their illustrated desktops are simply incredible to look at.
I figured he was going to draw a few planes and quietly hold them up for
us to look at, but I said, Sure. On the day of his presentation, Jeff asked
if he could set up during lunch recess. I gave him permission to remain
in the room, and I went out with my class. When we returned some 40
minutes later, Jeff had suspended a dozen model airplanes from the ceiling.
He had positioned them in dogfights, doing all sorts of aerial maneuvers.
He had gone to Hill Air Force Base and had secured a copy of the fighter
plane silhouette book. With intense (and surprising) animation, Jeff asked
us to open the book at random. He could identify, by silhouette, any
plane in the world. He told us which country manufactured it, which
countries had access to it, how many mach it could go, which ones had
vertical lift-off. It was fascinating. He held us captivated for over an hour.
Thats the power of independent research.
Maybe your school did a Science Fair, Math Fair, or Free Enterprise
Fair. In each case you did your research on your own and then came in
and made your presentation. Existentialism is probably the best theory
for teaching students to be independent and life-long learners.
P ro g re s s i v i s m
The last theory is Progressivism, which comes from the philosophy
of Pragmatism, the philosophy of twentieth-century America, which is,
Whatever works. For the Pragmatist, reality is an event, a process, a verb.
Pragmatists believe that learning should be centered around the interests
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perspective

and needs of the child, and that it should be creative and fun. This is the
first philosophy to truly encourage fun. The theory of Progressivism
encourages cooperation, not competition. It is focused on problem-solving
in cooperative groups, and it makes use of peer evaluation and review.
I incorporated many cooperative learning activities in my class, projects
which integrated numerous subjects. One of my students favorites was our
doll house project. In math we were learning about scale and ratio. The
students were placed in teams for building dream houses for a Barbie.
They each drew plans on graph paper, and then they met to evaluate
which features they liked best. These were blended into a single set of
blueprints. They later enlarged the plans onto butcher paper, eventually
tracing them onto plywood. Several parents took the boards home and
cut the pieces. The next week I handed out power drills and screwdrivers
to my fifth gradersand may I pause to point out that ten-year-olds are
probably too young to fully comprehend the use of power tools; a few
desks in that room were riddled with holes by the end of the dayand
we assembled the houses. In art we learned about color theory, and they
painted the homes. In science we studied circuitry, and they wired them
with electricity. They made furniture and other interesting accessories
for their elevators, helicopter launch pads, and swimming pools. And we
eventually sold the houses at auction for over $100 each. Thats cooperative
learning. Thats Progressivism: integrated subjects and fun!
I did other things, from Interplanetary Travel Companies to a Childrens
Museum for the Ancient Cradles of Civilization. Creative Pursuit, in the
state of Utah, is another fine example of Progressivism. Kids like it, and
they do learn from it. It does tend to be a bit noisier than some of the
other approaches, though. Power drills can be that way.
Mormonism
When I teach courses in educational theory, students here at BYU
Idaho often ask, Which theory of education does Mormonism use?
The answer is not so obvious as you might think. The world believes we
are a protestant sect. They think we are Essentialists. And, frankly, if all
you see is Sacrament Meeting and General Conference, you might be
inclined to believe that all we do in this church is lecture. Fortunately,
there is more to the Mormon theory of education than that!
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints happily teaches that
all of the philosophies I have mentioned contain some truth. In 1978 the
First Presidency gave a statement regarding Gods Love for All Mankind.
In it they proclaimed:
The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the
Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received

conceptualizing and communicating

The theory of
Progressivism
encourages
cooperation, not
competition. It
is focused on
problem-solving in
cooperative groups,
and it makes use
of peer evaluation
and review.

a portion of Gods light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten
whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.

All of the philosophies I have presented today, and all of the theories
that emerged from them, contain some truth. Elder B.H. Roberts explained
the doctrine this way:
While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the
instruction of men; and it is one of Gods instrumentalities for making known
the truth; yet he is not limited to that institution for such purposes, neither in
time nor place. God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among
all the children of men, of their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them
through means that they can comprehend. All the great teachers are servants
of God; among all nations and in all ages. They are inspired men, appointed
to instruct Gods children according to the conditions in the midst of which
he finds them.

The first prophet of

this dispensation,
Joseph Smith, often
expounded on our
need to remain
open to all available
sources of divine
light and knowledge.

The first prophet of this dispensation, Joseph Smith, often expounded

on our need to remain open to all available sources of divine light and
knowledge. As he put it, One of the grand fundamental principles of
Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may. He
further exhorted Church members to gather all the good and true
principles in the world and treasure them.
So, have we done it? Have we embraced the truth in these theories?
Of course! You can find each one of the theories of education represented
in some program of our Church:
Social Reconstructionism (Simulation and Debriefing)
Pioneer Trek
Fast Sunday
Existentialism (Independent Research and Presentations)
Lay Clergy (Preparing a talk)
Personal Scripture Study
Perennialism (Read and Discuss)
Sunday School
Relief Society and Priesthood
Family Scripture Study
Essentialism (Lecture and Test)
General Conference
Sacrament Meeting

Progressivism (Cooperative Learning and Peer Review)

Enrichment Meeting
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Family Home Evening

Behaviorism (Performance and Checklist)
YW Medallion and Duty to God Award
Temple Recommend Interviews
E ducation at BYUIdaho
Of course, BYU Idaho is a curious blend of education and religion.
Not surprisingly, you can also find each of the theories of education
represented here:
Social Reconstructionism (Simulation and Debriefing)
Internships
Practicums
Academic Travel
Student Teaching
Existentialism (Independent Research and Presentations)
Sketchbooks
FA 100
English 313 Journals
Religion
Perennialism (Read and Discuss)
Childrens Literature
Shakespeare
Esentialism (Lecture and Test)
American Heritage
General Education
Forums
Devotionals
Progressivism (Cooperative Learning and Peer Review)
Editing teams in your composition courses
Lab teams in some Science courses
Behaviorism (Performance and Checklist)
Expert Juries in Music
Swimming Class
Online Courses

conceptualizing and communicating

L e a r n i n g a n d Te ac h i n g
Many strategies for teaching and learning are being used here. And not
just here; you have seen the different theories at work throughout your
schoolingeven back in that kindergarten class we mentioned earlier.
A few years ago Robert Fulghum wrote what has become an immensely
popular book called All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten.
The book begins with these observations:
Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how
to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate
school mountain, but there in the sand box at nursery school. These are the
things I learned. Share everything. Play fair. Dont hit people. Put things back
where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Dont take things that arent
yours. Say you are sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you
eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life.
Learn some and think some and draw some and paint and sing and dance and
play and work every day.
Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out in the world, watch for traffic,
hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed
in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really
knows how or why. We are like that.
And then remember that book about Dick and Jane and the first word you
learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK! Everything you need to know is there
somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology, and politics
and sane living.
Think of what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies
and milk about 3 oclock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets
for a nap. Or we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always
put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And it is
still true; no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to
While it is true that
we are instructed to
be as little children
in terms of faith and
of being submissive,
we are commanded
not to be as children
in understanding.

hold hands and stick together.

Mr. Fulghums point is well made; the important themes of education

are introduced in kindergarten. And then, with the cyclical nature of
a schools curricular scope and sequence, those concepts are presented
again and again, with ever-increasing complexity. And we should strive to
increase our understanding of those themes. While it is true that we are
instructed to be as little children in terms of faith and of being submissive,
we are commanded not to be as children in understanding. As Paul put
it in his epistle to the Corinthian saints, Brethren, be not children in
understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding
be men (1 Corinthians 14:20).

10

perspective

Today, I have tried to help you achieve a deeper understanding

about the various teaching theories you have experienced over the years.
Hopefully, this will help you as you teach in the various auxiliaries in the
Church, or in your occupation, or in your home. You should be able to
say, What am I trying to accomplish? And, What method would be
the best for doing it?

conceptualizing and communicating

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