Dear Christine,

"How many learning theories do you use in your work?" You ask.

As you say, there are a myriad of learning theories, some of which are mini-

theories.

As a university professor, I make use of four main learning theories:

1) Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, which is also a learning theory,

2) Lev Yygotsky's social-cultural theory, which is mainly a learning theory but also

a theory of development,

3) Albert Bandura's social learning and social cognitive learning theory.

4) Eduard Deci's theory of self-determination theory.

By making use of Piaget's theory, I am more a mentor and organizer of learning

experiences and situations, such that students come to be able to understand,

reinvent and reconstrcut all that they learn, than a simple transmitter of ready

made of established truths imposed on students from outside,

By making using of Ygotsky's socio-cultural, I try that the students under my

guidance can go further than they would go alone.

By appealing to Bandura's learning theories, I try to generate in my students a high

degree of self-efficacy, which is a key concept in his social learning and social

cognitive theories.

By appealing to Deci's theory of self-determination, I do my best such that my

students become intrinsically-motivated, that is, motivated because of their

intellectual curiosity, not extrinsically motivated, that is, motivated, for example, by

external rewards ( e..g., to get good exam marks). As you know, the distinction

between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is the central concept of Deci's theory

of self-determination,

As I believe that only education can save societies and individuals from possible

collapse, be it violent or gradual, I think that the profession of teaching is the

noblest profession all over the world. However, education should aim at forming

creators and innovators, not conformist people.

Best regards.

Orlando

Dear Christine Chinchen

It has been argued that, at the base and in real phenomenology, all learning is of just the simple types we are familiar with (classical, operant, habituation, etc.). SEE:

Article Mackintosh Lecture. Association and Cognition: Two Processes...

and

Article Causal Reasoning Versus Associative Learning: A Useful Dicho...

and see my many writings here on researchgate.

I have a comprehensive, most-empirical, neo-Piagetian theory of human cognitive development (ontogeny) (completing a major incomplete aspect of Piaget) and, as far as "just learning" is concerned (that is: without considering basic, newly emergent, innately-guided perceptual and attention aspects admixed in with learnings at key times, aka "perceptual/attentional shifts"), the basic types of simple associative learning suffice.