Are you a student or teacher? Explore our easy-to-read summaries of learning theories, educational guides and useful tools below.
Paradigms
Constructivist, Social and Situational Theories
- Constructivism Overview
- Anchored Instruction (Bransford)
- Cognitive Apprenticeship (Collins et al.)
- Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger)
- Communities of Practice (Lave and Wenger)
- Connectivism (Siemens, Downes)
- Discovery Learning (Bruner)
- Ecological Theory of Development (Bronfenbrenner)
- Multiliteracies (New London Group)
- Semiotics (deSaussure, Barthes, Bakhtin)
- Social Development Theory (Vygotsky)
- Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
- Situated Learning (Lave)
Descriptive and Meta Theories
Child Development Theories
Behaviorist Theories
Motivation and Humanist Theories
- Humanism Overview
- ARCS Model of Motivational Design (Keller)
- Emotional Intelligence (Goleman)
- Experiential Learning (Kolb)
- Flow (Csikszentmihalyi)
- Grit (Duckworth, Matthews, Kelly, Peterson)
- Intrinsically Motivating Instruction (Malone)
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow)
- Positive Psychology / PERMA Theory (Seligman)
- Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan)
Identity Theories
Miscellaneous Learning Theories and Models
Cognitivist Theories
- Cognitivism Overview
- Attribution Theory (Weiner)
- Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller)
- Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (Mayer)
- Elaboration Theory (Reigeluth)
- Expertise Theory (Ericsson, Gladwell)
- Functional Context Theory (Sticht)
- Gestalt Theory (von Ehrenfels)
- Information Processing Theory
- Metacognition (Flavell) NEW!
- Situated Cognition (Brown, Collins & Duguid)
- Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (Piaget)
- Theory of Mind, Empathy, Mindblindness (Premack, Woodruff, Perner, Wimmer)