Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective

Written to inform students of the main principles, concepts, and research findings of key theories of learning–especially as they relate to education–and to provide applications of principles and concepts in settings where teaching and learning occur, this revised text blends theory, research, and applications throughout, providing its readers with a coherent and unified perspective on learning in educational settings. The primary emphasis is placed on cognitive theories that stress learners’ constructions of beliefs, skills, strategies, and knowledge, but behavioral theories are also discussed in detail. Chapters have numerous applications of learning principles to applied settings including vignettes at the start of each chapter illustrating some of the principles discussed in the chapter, examples and applications throughout the chapters, and separate sections on instructional applications at the end of each chapter.

Key features of this revised text include: a new chapter on Self-Regulation (Chapter 9); core chapters on the neuroscience of learning (Chapter 2), constructivism (Chapter 6), cognitive learning processes (Chapter 7), motivation (Chapter 8), and development (Chapter 10) all related to teaching and learning; updated sections on learning from technology and electronic media and how these advancements effectively promote learning in students (Chapters 7 & 10); detailed information on content-area learning and models of instruction to form coherence and connection between teaching and learning in different content areas, learning principles, and processes (Chapters 2-10); and over 140 new references on the latest theoretical ideas, research findings, and applications in the field. An essential resource for understanding key learning theoretical principles, concepts, and research findings–especially as they relate to education–this proven text blends theory, research, and applications throughout, providing its readers with a coherent and unified perspective on learning in educational settings.

Dale H. Schunk is Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Stanford University, a M.Ed. from Boston University, and a B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana. He has held faculty positions at Purdue University (where he served as Head of the Department of Educational Studies), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where he also was Chair of the Academic Affairs Institutional Review Board), and the University of Houston.

Dale has edited six books, is co-author of Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications (Prentice Hall, 2008) and has authored over 80 articles and book chapters. He has served as President of Division 15-Educational Psychology for the American Psychological Association and as Secretary of Division C-Learning and Instruction for the American Educational Research Association. He is presently a member of the editorial boards of three professional journals.

Dale's teaching and research interests include learning, motivation, and self-regulation. He has received the Early Career Contributions Award in Educational Psychology from the American Psychological Association, the Albert J. Harris Research Award from the International Reading Association, and the Outstanding Service Award from the Purdue University School of Education