A Reflection on the Dominant LearningTheories: Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism

“This is the best lecturer that I have got in my life”. The greatest satisfaction that a lecturer can have is that each time students come out of his class, they have this feeling. However, in a classroom of about 60 students of different knowledge, skills and attitude, this is quite difficult. To be able to achieve this, it is of utmost importance that we, lecturers, understand the learning process of our students, be able to motivate them and to ensure that our classroom has the ideal environment that supports the acquisition and sharing of knowledge. This paper presents a reflection on the three dominant learning theories, behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism and ends with some practices and principles that focus on the strengths of those learning theories while minimising their weaknesses.