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Learning Theories Simplified: ...and how to apply them to teaching
Are you struggling to get your head around John Dewey's educational pragmatism? What exactly is Jean Piaget saying about cognitive development? Maybe you're running out of time and patience making sense of Carol Dweck's mindsets? Have you reached breaking point reading Daniel T. Willingham on educational neuroscience?
Written for busy teachers, trainers, managers and students, this dip-in dip-out guide makes theories of learning accessible and practical. It explores over 100 classic and contemporary learning theorists in an easy-to-use, bite-sized format with clear relevant illustrations on how each theory will benefit your teaching and learning.
Each model or theory is explained in less than 350 words, many with accompanying diagrams, and the 'how to use it' sections, in less than 500 words. Every entry
Do it steps in order to apply the theory or model
Reflection points & challenges to develop your understanding of how to apply it
Analogies & metaphors from which understanding and meaning can be drawn
Tips for the classroom
Further reading if you want to explore a theory in greater depth. More titles by Bob
Educational Leadership Simplified
A Quick Guide to Special Needs and Disabilities
Written for busy teachers, trainers, managers and students, this dip-in dip-out guide makes theories of learning accessible and practical. It explores over 100 classic and contemporary learning theorists in an easy-to-use, bite-sized format with clear relevant illustrations on how each theory will benefit your teaching and learning.
Each model or theory is explained in less than 350 words, many with accompanying diagrams, and the 'how to use it' sections, in less than 500 words. Every entry
Do it steps in order to apply the theory or model
Reflection points & challenges to develop your understanding of how to apply it
Analogies & metaphors from which understanding and meaning can be drawn
Tips for the classroom
Further reading if you want to explore a theory in greater depth. More titles by Bob
Educational Leadership Simplified
A Quick Guide to Special Needs and Disabilities
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 14, 2015
116 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 2, 2022
It is a incredible helpful tool to learn about these classic theories for learning.
It is written in such a manner that the theories are easy yo understand and don't take much time to read them. It also give real examples on how to use the theories within the classroom.
An excellent tool!
It is written in such a manner that the theories are easy yo understand and don't take much time to read them. It also give real examples on how to use the theories within the classroom.
An excellent tool!
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March 10, 2025Read this cover to cover for my assignment and it genuinely deserves 5 stars
Thank you Bob Bates for getting me to understand what my lecturers could not
Thank you Bob Bates for getting me to understand what my lecturers could not
September 9, 2022
Like a bible for people working in education. Great summary of prominent theories and leading thinkers across psychology, philosophy, sociology and more. Also the small bits of humour are much appreciated:) I will certainly have that celebratory drink he mentions.
June 28, 2019
There are a lot of factual errors in this book. The whole first section is problematic, but his description of negative reinforcement is just plain wrong.
Who let this get published?
Who let this get published?
February 12, 2020
I use this all the time with the students in my class. It’s such an easy guide to theory and laid out in layman’s terms
November 17, 2023
There were aspects of this book that should have made it five stars. Having a brief overview of 134 theories and thinkers about teaching and learning is incredibly useful. For each theory/thinker, there is a summary, suggestions on how to use it, key ideas of what to do in the classroom, questions to reflect on and recommendations for further reading. I was less keen on the coaching section, but with 134 entries, not all of them were going to be my favourites.
Some of the issues I had with the book that prevented me from giving five stars: A couple of times, the author refers to someone as “suffering” with autism and even suggests that autism is caused by damaged parts of the brain. This appeared even though there was an entry on neurodiversity. In the neurodiversity entry, the author writes that “critics of neurodiversity argue that it is just another bandwagon that minority groups jump on”. This is the critical perspective to reflect on. In some other entries, the author just used this box to suggest that you reflect on how you could apply it to your setting, so I don't see why he couldn't have done that here.
The author also includes a weird comment on race in an unrelated entry. He writes “Don’t choose stereotypes to reinforce good behaviour. Remember that there were some excellent white activists and some awful black activists who fought to end apartheid.” I agree that stereotypes are not useful, but why criticise black anti-apartheid activists here? It’s not a section on race; there is no in-depth look at issues of racism, apartheid, model minorities or tone-policing. Just having the one sentence here comes across as racist.
My final problem is how mental health is portrayed. The author includes a story about someone he worked with who died by suicide. It is not an entry on mental ill health, how to respond when someone is distressed or where to signpost people to. Instead, it comes across like it was included for shock value. I would welcome an entry on any of those topics, but not random references to suicide with no purpose.
There is also a whole entry on psychopaths. Personality disorders are already a very controversial topic, so quite why you would decide to refer to students as psychopaths I don’t know. Instead of labelling students with behavioural problems as “psychopaths”, I would have preferred some entries on the reasons behind some of those behavioural problems. For example, students with a diagnosis of autism, PDA and/or ADHD are often labelled as challenging or naughty, so a brief look at what might be going on for them and how to support them would have been far more useful.
Some of the issues I had with the book that prevented me from giving five stars: A couple of times, the author refers to someone as “suffering” with autism and even suggests that autism is caused by damaged parts of the brain. This appeared even though there was an entry on neurodiversity. In the neurodiversity entry, the author writes that “critics of neurodiversity argue that it is just another bandwagon that minority groups jump on”. This is the critical perspective to reflect on. In some other entries, the author just used this box to suggest that you reflect on how you could apply it to your setting, so I don't see why he couldn't have done that here.
The author also includes a weird comment on race in an unrelated entry. He writes “Don’t choose stereotypes to reinforce good behaviour. Remember that there were some excellent white activists and some awful black activists who fought to end apartheid.” I agree that stereotypes are not useful, but why criticise black anti-apartheid activists here? It’s not a section on race; there is no in-depth look at issues of racism, apartheid, model minorities or tone-policing. Just having the one sentence here comes across as racist.
My final problem is how mental health is portrayed. The author includes a story about someone he worked with who died by suicide. It is not an entry on mental ill health, how to respond when someone is distressed or where to signpost people to. Instead, it comes across like it was included for shock value. I would welcome an entry on any of those topics, but not random references to suicide with no purpose.
There is also a whole entry on psychopaths. Personality disorders are already a very controversial topic, so quite why you would decide to refer to students as psychopaths I don’t know. Instead of labelling students with behavioural problems as “psychopaths”, I would have preferred some entries on the reasons behind some of those behavioural problems. For example, students with a diagnosis of autism, PDA and/or ADHD are often labelled as challenging or naughty, so a brief look at what might be going on for them and how to support them would have been far more useful.
November 11, 2023
This is arguably a great textbook which references classical learning theories, contemporary thinking on learning and teaching, early childhood and developmental strategies and learning design. Each part is broken down into a number of theories and models, explained in less than 500 words in a very accessible language. It's brilliant for dipping in and out, especially as the examples are so accessible. I would be interested to read his further work on learning differences in the future.
I would recommend this book to anyone studying education or working in the field, regardless of level and area.
Personally, I wish there were more examples focused on online learning as well as mention of connectivism, networked learning and online classrooms but the book is still valuable without these.
I would recommend this book to anyone studying education or working in the field, regardless of level and area.
Personally, I wish there were more examples focused on online learning as well as mention of connectivism, networked learning and online classrooms but the book is still valuable without these.
June 18, 2025
I read this for a graduate class. it was alright. Some of the viewpoints and advice were realistic and others were idealistic. It did seem like the majority of the examples were targeted towards the elementary level.
June 15, 2025
A solid read -- a bit more focused on pedagogy than androgogy (adult learning), but an apt resource for anyone who is focused on the "marketing" of education, namely, how do you help others learn?
November 3, 2022
Just what it says on the tin. The author has taken over 130 theories about or linked to learning and education, and summarises each in two pages.
The good: The format is consistent throughout - an introduction, a guide on how to put the theory into practice, notes on how it applies to teaching, a critical question and then relevant further reading. The book is handily laid out in themes, so you can easily read as much or as little in your chosen topic as you need. Links between the theories are also made obvious, as are how one may build upon another.
The bad: Some of the author’s examples feel forced at times - he has not done quite enough to bridge his and our understanding through their use. This isn’t common though, I only noticed it a handful of times. Given the very significant number of theories addressed here, that’s good going.
In summary: This has been a really useful resource for quickly and efficiently introducing a theory and pointing the reader in the direction of further relevant information. As noted, does it’s job well.
The good: The format is consistent throughout - an introduction, a guide on how to put the theory into practice, notes on how it applies to teaching, a critical question and then relevant further reading. The book is handily laid out in themes, so you can easily read as much or as little in your chosen topic as you need. Links between the theories are also made obvious, as are how one may build upon another.
The bad: Some of the author’s examples feel forced at times - he has not done quite enough to bridge his and our understanding through their use. This isn’t common though, I only noticed it a handful of times. Given the very significant number of theories addressed here, that’s good going.
In summary: This has been a really useful resource for quickly and efficiently introducing a theory and pointing the reader in the direction of further relevant information. As noted, does it’s job well.
December 13, 2016
An excellent outline of various learning theories from Plato to today.
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September 7, 2021Read for teaching degree course
April 7, 2022
This was a wonderfully helpful, concise overview of learning theories. I used it to help with some curriculum development work I did for the University of Pretoria-Mamelodi.
March 20, 2023
Best book for the essay referencing
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews