Course Content (Syllabus)
Education is an integrated and comprehensive process. Nevertheless we can – for analytical reasons aiming in the understanding of these processes – differentiate discrete perspectives on it, e.g.: the perspective of politics, of administration, of the teaching subject, of the learning subject, etc. The course here will focus on the perspective of the learning subject! The module is organized along questions like:
• What is “learning” for us, what does “learning” mean to us and for other particular social groups?
• When does the interest, the need, the obligation or the coercion for learning result historically, socially, individually?
• How can we determine the location, the duration, the subjects, the mode or even the learning content?
• What are the subjects, the objects, the social circumstances and the equipment of learning?
• What kind of images for the learning individuals, the society and their “route” are contained in these daily perceptions?
• What does the term “learning” mean to our daily lives? What does it mean in specific social contexts (e.g. inside the school)? How does the procedure of learning take place?
• Perceptions about learning (children, students, teachers)
The course discusses the most influential learning theories:
• Essentialist approaches
• Behaviorist approaches
• Cognitive approaches
• Constructivist approaches
• Learning via participation in social practices
The presentation will reflect on the following 4 questions:
• The image of the learning subject
• Assumptions about the learning practice
• The image of the society and social relationships
• Consequences/ Suggestions for teaching
Keywords
Essentialist - Behaviorist - Cognitive - Constructivist – Participative approaches, Learning subject, perspective on society and praxis, learning.