The Contrast Between Behavioral Principles and Cognitive Principles in Learning

In pages 150-157 in the Weaver textbook, the author takes an in-depth look at the different approaches in educational philosophy. The author works from two different schools of thought: one being a congnitive approach modeled around mini-lessons, while the other a more pre-determined and set instruction based on behavorist principles.
The author begins by explaining mini-lessons and its correlation to a constructionist approach to education. The concept of mini-lessons and its application was introduced by Lucy Calkins in The Art of Teaching Writing, then expanded with Nancy Atwell's In the Middle: Writing, Reading, and Learning with Adolescents. Their approach focuses on the practice of mini-lessons, which are short and brief explanations of concepts meant to aid students in their learning of a certain topic or technique. Some of the key concepts of this approach include: keeping lessons between five and ten minutes, applying these lessons when the teacher sees a common problem or mistake, and a close analysis of the students needs and readiness for the mini-lessons. Essentially, teachers act through their own discretion, applying mini-lessons when they see fit, not through any set or fixed cirriculumm. Another important aspect is the concept of no follow-up after the mini-lesson; the teacher simply helps when it is apparent that the student needs help and is ready.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, is the more traditional approach towards instruction, which is based in behavioral pyschology. This type of instructional approach can trace its roots back to 1920, when a man named Edward Thorndike devised the "laws of learning." Some of the tenets of this approach involve the Law of Readiness, the Law of Exercise, and the Law of Identical Elements. Thorndike believed that learning should be ordered and efficient, ( Law of Readiness) following a structured regiment of writing skills that students are expected to master. In addition, and in contrast to a constructionist approach, Thorndike prescribes learning based through drills, exercise, and practice ( Law of Exercise). Finally, in the Law of Identical Elements , Thorndike proposes that the learning of a " stimulus-response connection" should be tested in the same conditions that it was learned in. This is based in approach that tests isolated skills through test questions that have a direct relation with practice questions and exercises.
In conclusion, there are many marked contrasts in the differing approaches, cognitive versus behavioral. Where in a behavioral approach the educator looks for a student to master isolated concepts, in a cognitive approach the educator looks for the construction of concepts, not just a quick memorization quickly forgotten after testing. Also, the behavioral approach is grounded in linear, definite practices, exercises, and tests, whereas the cognitive approach is aware of the many different ways people come to learn and understand concepts. A cognitive approach believes learners must construct their own understanding of the concepts in order to fully understand or grasp the subject they are learning. Where the behavioral approach aims to instruct through an ordered and precise regiment, the cognitive approach aspires to educate in a more natural, "hands-off" manner, hopefully helping the student to develop his own construction of the concepts being taught.