The 5 fundamental pedagogical models

Educating and learning are common concepts, relatively easy to identify and that we often see reflected in our daily lives and in almost everything we do. However, understanding what learning means and what it should aim to be inculcated with both formal and informal (especially in children and developing people), as well as how to carry it out, is more complex than what apparent.

The different ways of seeing education have generated that throughout history they have emerged and applying different pedagogical models. In this article we are going to observe some of the main models in this regard.

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The main pedagogical models

There are numerous ways of conceptualizing learning, each of them having different repercussions depending on the practical effects of said conception. Many of the ideas regarding how it works or how the educational process should be carried out They have been elaborated and have been constituted as a more or less solid pedagogical model.

These models are the representation of the set of relationships that make it possible to explain a specific phenomenon, in this case learning. Having a pedagogical model allows us not only to have an explanation about it, but also to elaborate a series of guidelines that lead us to educate and promote certain aspects depending on the type of model chosen one. There are a large number of pedagogical models, among which the ones that we show you below stand out.

1. traditional model

The traditional pedagogical model, the most used throughout history, proposes that the role of education is to transmit a body of knowledge. In this relationship between student, educator and content, the student is only a passive recipient, absorbing the content that the educator pours on him. The leading role falls on the educator, who will be the active agent.

This type of model proposes a methodology based on the memory retention of information, from the continuous repetition of tasks and without requiring an adjustment that allows the granting of meaning to the material learned.

Likewise, the level of learning achievement through the product of the educational process will be evaluated, qualifying the student based on whether he is capable of replicating the information transmitted. High importance is attached to the concept of discipline, being the teacher an authority figure, and knowledge is transmitted without a critical spirit and accepting what is transmitted as true. It is based on imitation and ethical and moral development.

2. behavioral model

The behavioral pedagogical model also considers that the role of education is the transmission of knowledge, seeing it as a way to generate the accumulation of learning. It is based on the behaviorist paradigm in its operant aspect, proposing that every stimulus is followed by its response and the repetition of this is determined by the possible consequences of said response. At the educational level, learning by behavior modeling is intended, fixing the information through reinforcement.

The role of the student under this paradigm is also passive, although it becomes the main focus of attention. The teacher continues to be above the student, in an active role in which he issues the situations and information that serve as a stimulus. The use of rote and imamitivo-observational methodology abounds. Technical procedures and skills are usually well learned under this methodology at a procedural level, considering learning as behavior change.

It works through a summative evaluation that takes into account the levels of expected behavior and the analysis of the products produced throughout the evaluation (such as exams).

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3. Romantic/naturalistic/experiential model

The romantic model is based on a humanist ideology that aims to take into account the student as a leading and active part of learning and centralized in the inner world of the child. It is based on the premise of non-directivity and maximum authenticity and freedom, assuming the existence of sufficient internal capacities on the part of the apprentice to be functional in his life and looking for a natural learning methodology and spontaneous.

Under this model, it is promoted that the development of minors should be natural, spontaneous and free, focusing learning on free experience and the interests of the child, being only the educator a possible help for this in case of need. The important thing is that the minor develops his internal faculties in a flexible way. It is not theoretical but experiential: you learn by doing.

In this model, it is proposed that the subject should not be evaluated, compared or classified, pointing out the importance of being able to learn freely without interference. At best, a qualitative evaluation is proposed, leaving aside the quantification to observe how the subject has developed.

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4. cognitive/developmental model

Based on the Piagetian conception of development, this model differs from the previous ones in that its main objective is not to comply with the curriculum, but to contribute and train the subject. in such a way that they acquire sufficient cognitive skills to be autonomous, independent and able to learn by himself. Education is experienced as a progressive process in which human cognitive structures are modified, modifications that can indirectly alter behavior.

The role of the teacher goes on to assess the level of cognitive development and guide students in order to acquire the ability to make sense of what they have learned. It is a facilitator in stimulating the development of the apprentice, being the teacher-student interaction bidirectional. It is about generating experiences and areas where you can develop, qualitatively evaluating the learner subject.

5. educational-constructivist model

The constructivist educational model is one of the most widely used and accepted today. Based as the previous one on authors such as Piaget but also together with the contributions of other prominent authors such as Vigotsky, this model focuses its attention on the student as the main protagonist of the educational process, being an essential active element in learning.

In this model, the teacher-student-content triad is seen as a set of elements that interact in a bidirectional way with each other. It is sought that the student can progressively construct a series of meanings, shared with the teacher and with the rest of society, based on the content and orientation of the teacher.

A fundamental element for this perspective is that the learner can attribute meaning to the learned material and also to the learning process itself, with the teacher acting as a learning guide and taking the latter into account the need of provide help tailored to the needs of the learner.

It is a matter of optimizing its capacities as much as possible, in such a way that it approaches the maximum level potential rather than being limited to your actual current level (i.e. reaching the level you can reach with aid). Control is gradually ceded to the student as he masters the learning, in such a way that greater autonomy and self-management capacity is achieved.

Bibliographic references:

• Castells, N. & Solé, I. (2011). Psychopedagogical evaluation strategies. Jan. Martin and I. Solé (Coords). Educational orientation. Intervention models and strategies (Chap. 4). Barcelona: Grao.
• De Zubiría, J. (2006). pedagogical models. Towards a dialogue pedagogy. Bogota, Magisterium.
• Florez Ochoa, R. (1999). Pedagogical evaluation and cognition. McGraw-Hill Interamericana S.A. Bogota.
• Vergara, G. and Accounts, H. (2015). Current validity of pedagogical models in the educational context. Option, Year 31 (Special 6): 914-934.