Learning Theory Statement

Through our series of four lessons we have integrated the two learning theories of science
understanding in biological sciences and inquiry skills with questioning and predicting. Our
four lessons are focused on Australian animals and identifying the external features of
animals. Students will make predictions on what features they think an animal has and for
what reason, the habitats of each animal and will then partake in various classroom
activities to investigate and research. By the end of the four lessons the class will have
collectively compiled a digital book which they can then show their parents. This supports
the Australian curriculum link ACSIS024 to Respond to and pose questions, and make
predictions about familiar objects and events. (Australiancurriculum.edu.au, 2015). The
Australian curriculum link ACSSU017 Living things have a variety of external features
(Australiancurriculum.edu.au, 2015) will be explored by looking at various images and
videos of Australian animals and analysing their features such as a strong beak, sharp
teeth and a spiky tail, then the students will discuss why these features may be important
to each animal, linking it to the next curriculum link that looks at the habitat of an animal
and how their needs are met (ACSSU211) (Australiancurriculum.edu.au, 2015). This will
be explored by interactive games such as matching the habitat facts to the animal and
then continuing to research answers to the questions they posed at the beginning of the
lessons.

The four lessons will be delivered in a constructivist theory by providing various activities
and interactive programmes for the students to locate the information themselves. The
teacher constructs the content and scaffolds the activities, but the students must begin by
forming their questions and researching the information themselves. This then establishes
a productive and active environment in the classroom and leads students to become

engaged and active learners from a young age. Students actively construct their
knowledge and participate in their education (Ucdoer.ie, 2015). The content of Australian
animals acts as a context that the children can relate to and value as resourceful
information that is engaging and relevant. In relation to Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal
development the students were introduced to the topics in an environment that allowed
them to establish their own prior knowledge and scaffold what they wanted to find out from
there on, with the guidance and support of the teacher. Vygotsky's zone of proximal
development is "the distance between the actual developmental levels as determined by
independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined
through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable
peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). When planning the four lessons, our group was focused on
allowing students to develop their own understanding through independence but also in a
group setting so they were able to support each other and work collaboratively.

Teachers can assess students throughout the four lessons by annotated notes, recording
which students were engaged in the classroom activities and which excelled in
independent activities. The four lessons provide opportunities for all students to be
engaged and provides the teacher an insight as to what learning areas the students feel
most comfortable in and what areas they may need further support in later on. Throughout
the four lessons, annotated notes will be taken based on the activities and the lesson
objectives, then overall the final product will be a collective digital book. Each group will
have worked together to produce a video and several pictures of their assigned Australian
animal, annotating the features and habitats of them. Although the process of collecting
and compiling this information is a key opportunity for teachers to assess the students, the
contents of the digital book will provide opportunity to assess how well students used the
ICT materials and understood the content. The digital book will be available to parents to

view, and the teacher will keep a copy to refer back to.

The overall purpose of the four lessons are to allow students to develop enquiry and
investigation skills in a supportive and varied environment about an engaging topic that the
entire class can relate to. Under the social constructivist theory of Vygotsky and his zone
of proximal development, an independent and collaborative classroom environment was
constructed provided with engaging activities for all academic levels and supportive ICT
resources to add quality to the content.

References
Ucdoer.ie,. (2015). Education Theory/Constructivism and Social Constructivism in the
Classroom- UCD- CTAG. Retrieved from
http://www.ucdoer.ie/index.php/Education_Theory/Constructivism_and_Social_Constructivi
sm_in_the_Classroom
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.