Welcome to Inspire My Teaching's recommended reads about traditional and modern theories on how we learn. We've cherry picked the best bits, top tips and helpful highlights, so you can learn more without wasting time.

Three Modes of Representation, Spiral Curriculum & Discovery Learning

Bruner looked at Piaget's earlier principles and moved forward to research 'how we think'. His decided 'Modes of Representation' are the way in which information or knowledge are stored and encoded in memory. He continued to theorise the benefits of a 'Spiral Curriculum' and the importance of 'Discovery Learning'. This document provides a summarised understanding of these different areas.

The Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget's (1936) theory of cognitive development explains how a child constructs a mental model of the world. He describes the importance of schemas (mental building blocks) and that there are 4 stages of cognitive development. This document gives you a summarised explanation of Piaget's theories.

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Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development YouTube clip

Zone of Proximal Development & Scaffolding

The zone of proximal development ( ZPD), is best understood as the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. Check out the multiple documents summarising and explaining Vygotsky's learning theories. 

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What is ZPD? YouTube Clip

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 

There are 5 stages of need for people to feel safe and able to function properly in life.  This can be applied to how our students feel in the classroom.

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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs YouTube Clip

Bloom's Taxonomy

There are six stages in Bloom's hierarchy of ability: remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating. This is a useful concept for phrasing learning objectives.

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Bloom's Taxonomy Summary YouTube Clip

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