Free Education Theories Essay Examples & Topics

Free Education Theories Essay Examples & Topics

663 samples

Education theory doesn’t refer to just one single approach. Instead, it is an umbrella term that encompasses many ideas that developed over dozens of years. People are diverse and complicated creatures. The ways we learn are just as different as we are. We try to study these ways to understand the purposes and applications of education.

We use education theories for several reasons. One of them is to understand how the world around us functions, thereby realizing how we, as people, function. Another is to use them as the basis for improvement. Recognizing the process of learning allows theorists to come up with better approaches for the future.

In this article, our team aims to help you write your education theories essay. It is not a simple topic, so we have taken a look at the main schools of thought for you. We also came up with a few examples of education theorists. On this page, you will find topics for your essay and some excellent samples as well.

Learning Theories in Education

There exist five main learning and teaching theories. These are the methods of teaching that are used in the process of education. Below, we have tried to simplify these education theories and models for you. We hope that reading through these will give you an idea for your essay.

The main theories of education are:

  • Cognitivism.

The cognitive learning theory focuses on people’s mental processes and their connection with the environment. Students should understand how they think and how it impacts their behavior. Thus, they have more control over their learning. Jean Piaget, one of the first proponents, looked at how external and internal elements impact learning. John Seely Brown took these ideas one step further. He began exploring cognitivism in relation to technology.

  • Humanism.

The focus of the humanistic theory is the person. Learning is the natural process that leads to self-actualization. Abraham Maslow illustrated these ideas in his famous Hierarchy of Needs. Similarly, John Dewey emphasized the need for highly individualized approaches to the education of every individual.

  • Behaviorism.

Behaviorist learning process theory claims that external forces constantly influence how a person acts. This idea became a basis for the development of positive reinforcement. It argues that rewarded behaviors are more likely to repeat. The thought was further studied by B.F. Skinner. However, Albert Bandura researched the more social side of behavioral theory. He claimed that children could learn simply by observing the actions of others.

  • Constructivism.

Our experiences shape who we are as people and the ways we learn. The constructivist theory dictates that we connect new information with our past and use it to create new meaning. Thereby, Lev Vygotsky developed the idea that learning is different from culture to culture, rather than being universal. Jerome Bruner also advocated for constructivism. He stated that the best way to learn is through trial and error.

  • Connectivism.

First developed by George Siemens and Stephen Downes, the theory of connectivism is the most recent on the list. It is a concept closely tied with technology as it is now an integral part of our life. Connectivism says that learning can happen in online spaces. It relies on students combining and sharing their knowledge. The connectedness that became an essential part of the 21st century gives us more opportunities for education.

13 Great Educational Theory Topics

As you have noticed, there is a lot to say about education theories. You can talk at length about particular approaches. Or you can discuss the schools of thought in general. We want to make your job easier. Thus, you can check our ideas or use our topic generator.

Over here, we have listed some interesting topics for you to consider:

  1. The role of early childhood in the principles of constructivist theory.
  2. How do modern education theorists promote cooperative learning techniques?
  3. The development and application of Skinner’s Operant Conditioning in the classroom.
  4. Pros and cons of sex education from the perspective of educational learning theory.
  5. Discussing differences between the major theories of learning.
  6. An examination of the application of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory.
  7. Is it possible to design a universal learning plan? A comparison of constructivist and cognitivist perspectives.
  8. The sociology of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory.
  9. Assessing the differences between children and adult education theories.
  10. Critical analysis of the relevancy of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in a classroom environment.
  11. The impact of Pavlov’s conditioning on the psychology and health of subjects.
  12. How do contemporary education theorists promote motivation in online classrooms?
  13. A critical exploration of the efficacy of the Wilson Reading System.

Thank you for reading! We hope that this article will be useful to you in writing your paper. You may now proceed to our collection of the theory of teaching essay examples below. Use our online text summarizer to save yourself some time!

663 Best Essay Examples on Education Theories

The Pros and Cons of Sex Education in Schools

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Sex Education – Importance and How to Teach

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School Uniform and Maintenance of Discipline

Some prefer to implement the use of school uniform citing various benefits such as improvement of discipline in schools while others see the whole issue of school uniform as a cover up of failed social [...]
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Learning Theories of Kolb, Schön, and Gibbs

Finally, Gibbs' theory of reflective learning provides a five-step model which can be utilized to analyze a past event and improve the outcomes of similar situations in the future.
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Birth Order and Academic Performance

If a child is in the middle, they may have a hard time finding their place in the world. Birth order has also been suggested to have a substantial impact on cognitive development because of [...]
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Girls Doing Better Than Boys in Education

The aim of education is to expand the ability of people to know clearly how they can relate with others and to bring together their expression for the improvement and growth of the society.
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Why Homework Is So Important

Homework and holiday assignments are the most common tasks that students are given when they are not in school to enhance their learning.
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Importance of Educational Management Essay

This paper therefore explores the most fundamental components of educational management; components that help determine what educational management is via scrutinizing how education management has transformed over the years and discussing the impact of education [...]
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Are Children Smarter Because of the Internet?

In a study conducted regarding the influence of the Internet on children from low income families, it was indicated that children who had access to the Internet recorded high scores compared to those who had [...]
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Classical Conditioning

By definition, classical conditioning is the "pairing of an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response". Extinction is the process by which a conditioned response is lost due to lack of [...]
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Good School’ Definition and Aspects

Despite this, it is important to note that there are fundamental qualities that a good school should poses. Therefore, despite the fact that school is where learners go to sharpen their academic skills, a good [...]
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Conducting Research: Advantages and Disadvantages

One of the major advantages of conducting research is the chance to participate in a broader discussion of particular issues. It is necessary to note that the disadvantages do not belittle the importance of conducting [...]
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Standardized and Nonstandardized Assessments

The major difference between standardized and nonstandardized assessments lies in their sizes: standardized assessment allows to evaluate student abilities in different schools and even states, and nonstandardized assessment is aimed to check the level of [...]
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How to Enhance Listening Skills

The efforts aimed at enhancing listening skills work by the principle of eliminating, or rather reducing the challenges that go hand in hand with listening; that is, the factors that hinder effective listening.
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Moral Values in Education

Schools are relied upon by the community and parents to instill and reinforce moral values among students. Those people who support the argument that schools should teach morality are of the view that it is [...]
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Final Exams in a School

The importance of exams is that students of English are motivated to learn English as there are clear goals. The exams are also similar to the activities of the students.
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The Importance of Arts Education

In the western world, arts subjects have been neglected and pushed to the periphery of the academic field in favour of the sciences.
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Class Size Matters

The increased accessibility of the teachers makes it easy for the learners to address the specific problems with the teachers that would improve the learning process.
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Separation Between Girls and Boys in the Classroom

The right age for the separation of the sexes in the primary or high schools There are various schools of thought on the issues that appertain to the age limit that is recommended for separation [...]
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Stroop Experiment: Congruent and Incongruent Words

The core aim of the Stroop experiment was to reveal the differences in perception of congruent and incongruent words. First, the paper focused on the research plan involving such aspects as hypotheses and methods where [...]
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Standardized Tests

Formal education is not just a platform for the understanding of society and life at large as it is also a place for people to learn about themselves, who they are, love and eventually help [...]
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Separate Schools for Females

On the other hand, female students from mixed-sex schools are distracted by boys, especially in adolescent stage when their emotional and sexual feelings are high, and they spend time trying to impress each other, while [...]
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Education System That Encourages Creativity

Because of the recent issues regarding the solution of non-standard economical and financial tasks, the need to spur creativity in people has emerged, which can be solved by teaching creativity in schools; however, the given [...]
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Successful Education Process

With respect to a school setting, success in education has to focus on the rights of the learners to survival, safety, development, and involvement while engaging all the stakeholders and creating a favorable environment.
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Piaget’s Philosophy in HighScope Educational Model

The philosophy developed by Jean Piaget is one of the most important developmental frameworks based on the principles of the cognitive development, and this theory is selected for the discussion in the paper.
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Classroom Behaviour Management

According to Lewis, Roache, and Romi, the ability of a learner to grasp the concept that is passed by the teacher heavily relies on the ability of that particular teacher to manage the behaviour of [...]
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What Is the Purpose of Education?

However, the controversial nature of education is described not only in the meaning of the word. The aim of education is connected with the reasons to have it.
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Your Image of the Child by Loris Malaguzzi

As such, adults around her have the responsibility to cooperate with one another to provide her with a stimulating environment conducive to her learning so her talents, skills and knowledge are optimized to be the [...]
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Skinner’s, Pavlov’s, and Bandura’s Experiments

According to the psychologist, the "likelihood of future behavior is determined by the consequences of past behavior". The last type of reinforcement proposed by Skinner is punishment, an unpleasant experience that decreases the likelihood of [...]
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Flipped Classrooms’ Advantages and Disadvantages

In addition, the tests enable lecturers and teachers to evaluate the ability of each students and reference accordingly. For example, availability of internet outside the classroom setting is mandatory for students and teachers to access [...]
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Eclectic Theory of Learning

The actions of parents can be viewed as a stimulus which gives rise to the response of a learner. Apart from that, it is possible to examine the application of constructivism because this learning theory [...]
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Teaching Approaches by Dewey, Montessori and Vygotsky

The questions for the discussion between the three foundational educators will concern the meaning and importance of the environment for the learning process and the role and goal of the school curriculum.
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Educating Special Needs Students

This partly arises from the wide range of differences in the types of intellectual disabilities, and differences in the range of impairment even among students suffering from the same type of intellectual disability.
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School Is Bad for Kids and Here’s Why

Schools are therefore not the only forum through which children can be socialized and it is possible to form a harmonic society without the presence of schools. To reinforce this assertion, this paper has demonstrated [...]
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Jamaican Ministry of Education: Assessment in Education

The purpose of the revised NSC is to promote a smooth transition from one level to the next, clarify the expectations for each grade, eliminate redundant content, and make sure that students are well-equipped to [...]
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Why Is Early Childhood Education Important?

The social capability of a child is critical in the overall social growth of a child. Research carried out on a child's brain capacity indicates that eighty five percent of the brain develops at the [...]
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Play-Based Assessment

According to the research that the authors conducted, the diversity in the objects used in play can be useful in learning activities, and in the evaluation of how children respond to different environments.
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Reading Accuracy

The accuracy in reading also requires the reader to have the capacity of interpreting or deriving sense from words within the text during the reading process.
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Clinical Supervision to Instructional Supervision

Blumberg, A.advances that the evolution of clinical supervision to instructional supervision saw the development and the recognition of the critical links across the aspect of supervision, staff development, and evaluation as well as the integration [...]
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The Forest School Theory by Marlene Power

In the context of the play scenario, the forest school approach would likely applaud the play scenario, given that the child was given the freedom to explore, test out what works and does not with [...]
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Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

The paper will look at the applicability of the instrument for assessing the cognitive abilities of children giving special attention to how the freedom for distractibility index is applied.
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The Effective Early Childhood Educator

Effective early childhood educators are the backbone to successful early childhood education. Effective early childhood educators must be able to anticipate and provide the necessary emotional and educational support to their students.
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Evaluation of Classroom Management Theories

The following evaluation will assess the Skinner Model of Operant Conditioning, the Glasser Model or The Choice Theory, the Canter Model, and Jones' Model. Therefore, educators must balance the approaches and adapt to the conditions [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 398

Single-Sex Schooling in Education

Fergusson documents that in single-sex schooling, boys are able to work hard without the fear of appearing "feminine" to the girls. Another merit of single-sex schooling is that it leads to the increase in self-confidence [...]
  • Pages: 5
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Education policies in the UK since 1944

The paper will look at a brief history of the evolution of education policies to the time period of the 1940's decade and then focus on the major development of education policies from 1944 to [...]
  • Pages: 9
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Education and Schooling from Several Perspectives

The position of the researcher is that the primary purpose of schooling, based on the position of the researcher, is to have a standardized approach of passing a set of skills and knowledge to a [...]
  • Pages: 10
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Communicative Language Teaching

Brown stated that the role of the tutor is to enhance communication among the learners and between the learners and the texts and the learning activities.
  • 5
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Analysis of the IDEA Proficiency Tests (Pre-IPT)

The results of the present tests provide the demonstration of the linguistic skills of the concrete child and indicate the different level of capability of the native, limited and non-native English speakers.
  • 3
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Educational Psychology Theories for Nurses

The major educational psychology and learning theories are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Educational and learning theories help nursing educators to enhance their students' learning outcomes through the use of the most effective strategies that improve [...]
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Sensorial Materials in Education

In order to understand how sensorial materials can help a child in an auto-education process, it is, first and foremost, necessary to define the essentials of this process. The use of sensorial materials helps to [...]
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Social Studies in the Elementary School

Young children require the knowledge of social studies to better their lives right from their homes, to their peer groups, in social life with the outside community, and in the world as they grow.
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Transformative Education: Theory and Practice

This approach is beneficial because it enables students to understand the diversity of the community in which they live. In many cases, students can be encouraged to offer their solutions to the task that a [...]
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Education Theories: Formative and Summative Evaluations

Thus, it is necessary to focus on the discussion of using different formative and summative evaluations in K-3 and Birth-Pre-K learning environments; on the importance of informal evaluation; on the role of diagnostic evaluation; and [...]
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Education Act (1944)

This fact was clearly respected in the formulation of the 1944 education act because it outlined that, "it shall be the duty of the local education authority for every area, so far as their powers [...]
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Parenting Styles and Their Influence on Adulthood

The family context is regarded as essential because it helps to establish the link between childhood and the relationships of a person with their parents with future behavior and performance.
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2306

Importance of Group Discussion

At this stage, it was important for the students to choose the group leader and the group secretary. In the discussion, each of the group members had to play an active role in contributing to [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 623

Learning Theories: Comparative Perspective

The teacher is the source of knowledge and the learner is the recipient. The role of the teacher is to reduce threats in the learning environment and make it challenging.
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2486

Scientific Skills and Knowledge Importance

Science and language have therefore become inseparable subjects in the learning of scientific facts and also in the application of scientific skills and knowledge.
  • Pages: 10
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Transfer of Training: Concept and Challenges

There are various factors that determine the degree of success of the process of transfer of training, some of them being; training design, the characteristics of individual trainee as well as environmental and situation in [...]
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Operating Room and Instructional Design Models

David Merrill proposed the model that is based on five key principles, namely the task-centered principle, the principle of activation, the principle of demonstration, the principle of application, and the principle of integration.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1705

The Theory of Connectivism

The various theories of education and learning describe how learning occurs, the factors that shape learning, the importance of memory in learning, and how knowledge is transferred.
  • Pages: 6
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Social Cognitive Theory: Definition and Postulates

The Social Cognitive Theory is an integral part of the theory of Social Constructivism, according to which the essence of qualitative dynamics within the society is environmentally rather than biologically predetermined.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1115

“Idiot Nation” by Michael Moore

Moore feels that most people in the country may be idiots because of the poor educational standard in schools and colleges as also in view of their lack of motivation and gratitude.
  • Pages: 3
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A Support for Dress Code Policy

Dress codes issues in America have been serious to an extent that students have historically taken school administration to courts because of infringing on individual free expression contained in the 1st and 14th amendments.
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Sensorial Rationale in Montessori System

At that, the basic principle of the sensorial teaching is to encourage the child to self-learning and self-development. The peak of the movement period is accounted for three years, and the child is to be [...]
  • Pages: 7
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Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky

In the past, learning was thought to be transmitted from the teacher to the student because the teacher was considered a source of all knowledge while the student was considered as a passive recipient of [...]
  • 1
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1187

Cornell note taking system

The model was meant to aid students in the University by simplifying the study process. This keeps the facts in the notes fresh in the mind of students.
  • Pages: 2
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Freudian’s Concept of Education

Therefore, the problem of teachers using psychoanalytic theories often lies in the lack of understanding that the manifestations of the unconscious in a child are not a sign of adequate education.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1455

Strategies to Ace Your Exam

Tests and examinations are an important part of the education process. Examinations also help to grade students based on the effort they put into reading for their exams.
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 850

Assessments for ELLs: Pros and Cons

In addition to the above, this type of assessment is widely used in the general assessment of native English-speaking students "Alternate classroom assessments refer to assessments that are typically given by individual teachers in their [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 570

Improving Reading Fluency: Data Collection

The following data collection instruments will be used in the study. A checklist will be used to collect various data in the study as per different tools that will be used.
  • Pages: 6
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The Benefits of Higher Education for Citizens

Since I intend to work in a managerial position in the future, communication will also help me to understand the needs and motivations of employees and tailor my management style appropriately to achieve the best [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1479

Learning Skills Enhancement

When using the tutorials, the learner will be expected to make notes based on the personal understanding of the concepts presented in the tutorials.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 841

Using Video Games in Education

These are just some of the principles that Gee posits, and he makes a strong case for the use of video games in and out of education.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 753

The Six Facets of Understanding

Understanding is the "deepening and development" of the student knowledge on fundamental concepts and ideas in a given discipline. In the classroom context, the six facets of understanding provide evidence of student understanding of concepts [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 865

General Education Requirements

In this light, this paper discusses the types of issues, in relation to content, requirements and impacts of general education as a program and its relevance to both student and the general society.
  • 1
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2710

Leading With Cultural Intelligence by D. Livermore

It is essential not only not to be afraid of cross-cultural encounters but to seek them and expand one's worldview. The goal of cross-cultural interactions does not lie in understanding how a person must change [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1463

Montessori’s Concept of New Education

She began her research about the development of the child and the necessary conditions required in order for the child to fully grow from a medical perspective, researched about the child and her mission was [...]
  • Pages: 4
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Behaviorism and Cognitivism as Learning Theories

This learning theory is feasible to our learners in that it is built on the effects of the learner's emotions which form part of great learning. The rationale for choosing this learning theory is that [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 791

The Value of Education

The main goal of this paper is to discuss the key aspects of the education system in the United States and highlight its value.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 848

Behavioral and Cognitive Theories of Learning

The purpose of this work is to determine differences and similarities of behavioral and cognitive theories of learning and understand whether they could be used in online environment or not.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1379

Philosophy of Education by Nel Noddings

One of the most important and frequently addressed concepts of educational philosophy of the present days is the concept of the relationship between social and cultural diversity in the contemporary world and the changes it [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1148

Early Gifted Education: Why Is It Needed?

In this case, the students are required to solve the analogies in the context of the presented counterfactual premises. The attributes of teachers and their beliefs about their students' education or learning experiences are essential [...]
  • Pages: 15
  • Words: 4017

Learning Theories for Online Education

Here are the points I will cover in this wiki, WIKI support of learning theories, the main pedagogical strength of WIKI, WIKI weakness, and how to use wiki tools in personal teaching.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 1032

Pragmatism Theory by Jean Piaget

This theorist argues that in first stage of development, the child's experience of the new environment is by movement of body the limbs and the five senses.
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