Theories applied in Classroom Teaching

             Teaching has an important role in education.  Without this, information about a certain subject will not be disseminated.  It is an important factor that everybody should know.

            Teaching can be developed through practice and there are lots of theories applied in classroom teaching according to different authors .  The theories are as follows:  Information Processing Theory, Cumulative Learning Theory and Meaningful Learning Theory.

            Information Processing Theory.  Information processing theory and learning follow a certain pattern.  First pattern is the sensory register.  It receives the big amount of information that will be initially processed since it will be soon transferred to the short term memory.  Short term memory is the second pattern.  Information in this memory will either be stored or discarded.  The stored information will be transferred to long term memory, which is the last pattern. It keeps information for long period of time and somehow may not be forgotten. 

           

            Cumulative Learning Theory.  According to Klaus Meir, “Learning occurs as the individual develops higher level skills that build successively on lower skills”.  With that, as teachers we need to observe sequence in teaching in terms of level of learning skills and capabilities required of the learner.  We need to become sensitive with the capabilities of the learner so that as we teach them we may be able to do it step by step based on the learning skills of the students.  Let us check learner’s capabilities in each level of learning and be sure that the prerequisite learning skills are required before moving to the next level.  This is important since it is for student’s good because moving to the next level but not acquiring those prerequisites would be harder for them, while acquiring those would be easier for them to move along to the next level.

            Meaningful Learning Theory.  In this theory, ones learning will become a part of his long term memory.  It is where a person learns by relating his new learning with what he learned before.  Meaningful Learning Theory as applied in classroom teaching guides learners to remember those learning before that serves as a step for the new learning. 

            As teachers, these theories are important to us because it serves as our guidelines to be able to become a sensitive teacher in terms of the learning of our students. It also helps us to become an effective teacher.