My Latest Attempt to Understand Learning Theory

I'd like to cover the points that stuck out as significant explanations of learning theory.


Constructivist Learning Theory
mental representations are subjective
Everyone can imagines, or links new ideas to things they already know from past experiences. Since we all have different experiences, the mental representations are subjective to the individual. Some individuals learn things more quickly than others because they have different prior knowledge. These varying rates support the idea that knowledge is constructed rather than acquired. If it was passively acquired, we all would learn at the same pace. 


as teachers we feel a need to construct for them 
We help students understand the world but they need to construct it in a way that makes sense to them. They can't really construct the wrong world as long as they're properly understanding what needs to be learned.


learning to learn and learning
For a student to accept knowledge (learn), they need to have a way of achieving it. They need to know how to learn. Everyone learns differently, as we all know. Everyone constructs their way of learning differently, too. As teachers, we should find a way to meet all students' needs. Through the social, contextual, repetitive practice, and motivational aspects of learning, hopefully they can effectively apply these learned skills in future contextual learning.


information must fit into systems of mutually supported ideas for success
This sort of goes back to the metaphor of grabbing on to the old accepted idea (even if it's wrong) with both hands. Then letting go with one hand to catch the new idea (the right one) and waiting until stable before letting go of the old completely. When something is unfamiliar or complicated, it doesn't help to abandon what you thought completely, but instead to see how the right answer fits with what you thought was right.
This idea also fits into how teachers order their curriculum. A science teacher likely wouldn't teach organic chemistry before teaching general chemistry. A math teacher probably wouldn't go from addition to division. An English teacher would probably start with nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs before going into gerunds, participles and infinitives. All these examples wouldn't structurally make sense, because without some sort of basic understanding as the foundation for more complex subject matter, there is nothing to relate the new ideas to. 


The steps mentioned Ausubel's article would coincide with the ideas above. I do appreciate the sixth step--the one for the student to be responsible for. Implementing the powers of higher order thinking in his/her life. It really suggests that learning never ends, there is always a higher level that builds off the ones before it.


Social Learning Theory
Within the Vygotsky article I appreciated the links to constructivism. Learning an idea socially first and individually later is a construct. Learning from a more knowledgeable other is a construct. It is also important that teachers be the facilitators. The student is responsible for learning, but as teachers, we have a responsibility for assisting them along the way. 


Bandura's aspects of modeling (attention, retention, reproduction, motivation) are all true. If a student cannot focus on the topic they won't retain it, if they don't retain it they can't reproduce it, just as if they don't reproduce it they can't retain it. Additionally, learning requires the motivation to know more--this motivation often comes only with success.


I've always agreed with the world and environment affecting behavior, but I'm a little foggy and hesitant to define the argument that our behavior impacts the world. And I'm unsure of how this directly relates to learning theory. When I figure it out, I will complete this portion of the post.