module 20, post 2

1.  I found the behaviorism theory the most valuable.  This is because the concept of consequences for good/bad behavior makes sense to me, and, I believe is the most basic and can be understood by the widest range of people.  The teaching method I would most likely use in my classroom is the discovery learning method, because I am a true believer in the fact that really experiencing a concept before even realizing that you are experiencing a concept is the best way to understand that concept.  I remember in elementary school, a teacher used the discovery learning method in a science classroom, and I always remembered every detail of the concept after that, because I had a specific hands-on memory of that concept being real and true and fact in the flesh.  The two (behaviorism theory and discovery learning theory) actually do not match up.  (The discovery learning theory is related to the Cognitive Learning Theory).

2.  To exemplify the discovery learning theory, I would teach a lesson in which the objective is to learn to beat in 3 and 2 at the same time.  I would have my students start learning a piece in which one of the parts has steady triplets while one of the others has eighths.  After a few days of practicing, they would have the different parts in their mind without even realizing it.  I would then introduce them to the idea of 3 and 2 together, asking them to eventually clap and "ta" each rhythm.  They would master it very quickly, and would be surprised at their speed.  This would be because they had already learned a piece with the same rhythm in it without even realizing it!