As I read about the various theories of learning, each theory resonated within me in a different way. I quickly began to realize that, at some point during the school day, I use pieces from each of the four theories: cognitivism, constructivism, behaviorism, and social psychological. As I continued to read, it became evident that different instructional strategies lend themselves more easily to the various theories. It is imperative that teachers use a variety of instructional strategies, because our students must complete many different tasks. By using a wide spectrum of strategies, we encourage our students to think critically. This is evidenced by the importance that task variety is given in Webb's Depth of Knowledge and Hess' Cognitive Rigor Matrix.
Many strategies can be enhanced through the use of technology. Presentations can be much more engaging when delivered with the use of multimedia, such as Promethean technology, PowerPoints, or video. Likewise, high quality tutorial can be explored through WebQuests, Flash based websites, and projects created by software programs such as Captivate.
So, how will this affect the classroom and student engagement? I think Marzano probably says it the best himself, but I'll do my best do him justice.
The face of the classroom is changing with society. A driving force of that change is the ever advancing field of technology. He cites that approximately 50% of classrooms in the United States will have some sort of interactive whiteboard; whereas, the United Kingdom has closer to 80%. Our nation's lower assessment performance has definitely been highlighted in education as of late. The relationship here is that, as Marzano said, technology provides teachers with more tools. When we take what we already know about effective instruction and instructional strategies, we can build on it by integrating technology.
