Abstract
Detailed examples of a variety of theories of learning and course design are described to provide an overview of teaching and learning concepts necessary for more effective STEM education. Examples include Jo Handelsman’s work on Scientific Teaching, and classic theories of learning such as Piaget’s theories of autonomy, Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, Belenky’s theories of learning, and other ideas from social constructivism that can be helpful in STEM education. Multiple taxonomies of learning can be used in STEM subjects to help structure course design, and Bloom’s Taxonomy, the Feisel Schmitz Taxonomy, and the Miller Taxonomy are described along with types of learning outcomes useful for course design. The ideas of Constructive Alignment and Threshold Concepts can help structure active learning pedagogy learning objectives that can unify and animate courses in STEM disciplines, and a review of these theories along with examples is provided. Schulman’s theory of pedagogical content knowledge and its application in STEM courses is described.
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Penprase, B.E. (2020). Theories of Teaching and Learning. In: STEM Education for the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41633-1_3
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