Introduction
Your three struggling students Forgetful Freddy, Distracted Diane, Restless Rachel are all in third grade, but they will be freshmen in nine years. All are entering third grade for the first time, which means that this is their first experience in a structured teaching program. They have not yet learned the behaviors that a teacher expects of them in an organized classroom setting. As the school year progresses, they will each find ways to cope with or even exploit the system that you are trying to establish in your classroom. For this year, however, Freddy, Diane, and Rachel are three unique problems that require different solutions. What are their struggles and how will you overcome them?
This WebQuest program will familiarize students with three major learning theories: Cognitive Psychology, Behaviorism, and Social Cognitive Theory. Online resources will be accessed, a comparison product developed, and applications for each theory to the real classroom implemented. Below you will find a list of tasks, products, and evaluations that are expected of students in this WebQuest.
Task
Students will understand the basic tenets of Cognitive Psychology, Behaviorism, and Social Cognitive Theory.
This self assessment test provides brief outlines of various learning theories. Compare and contrast the characteristics of each theory's positions on learning, motivation, and behavior to gain insight into which model or models might best guide your instructional practices.
Using each of the theories described above, create an application to a concrete classroom situation such as a student having difficulties completing World War II related assignments.
Develop a 3-panel digital infographic or slide deck that compares and contrasts the three Social Contract theories and describes specific classroom examples for each theory.
Students reflect on which theory they would use in their future classroom.
Products expected
Group product: This resource is a three‑panel infographic or slide deck (such as Canva, Google Slides, or PowerPoint) that compares and describes the Evolution, Creation, and Intelligent Design Theories.
Individual product: A short written reflection (1–2 paragraphs) on how you would utilize the presented educational psychological theories to nurture academic success of a student who is struggling. For example, imagine the student is under a lot of stress due to their World War II assignments. We'll be doing this assignment as a group, 3-4 people.
Roles: This area of study deals with thinking, memory, problem solving, learning, vision and attention.
Gestalt- looks at the whole, not just individual pieces.
Social Cognitive Artist- focuses on modeling, self‑efficacy, and social context.
Designer- organizes and designs the final product.
These roles can be combined with other activities. Groups of three can combine a Designer role with a single theory role.
Process
Step 1 – Build Background Knowledge (Individual)
- Use the provided links to explore each theory:
- Cognitive Psychology in Education
- Behaviorism and Classroom Management
- Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory
- Take notes for each theory under these headings: Definition | Key Theorists | How Learning Happens | Role of Learner | Role of Teacher | Classroom Strategies | Strengths and Limitations
Step 2 – Group Roles and Organizer
In groups, students:
- What are the team members' roles?
- Create a comparison chart or Venn diagram showing:
- Similarities and differences among the three theories.
- An explanation of each learning theory (Behavior, Cognitivism, Humanism) as it might apply to a student having difficulties with a World War II assignment. For example: remember content, be motivated to do the assignment, feel confident to complete the assignment.
Step 3 – Apply Theories to a Struggling WWII Student
Groups answer
- Cognitive Psychology: I was thinking about ways for teachers to use chunking, graphic organizers, retrieval practice and prior knowledge connections for teaching WWII. Here are some ideas.
- Behaviorism: What role could reinforcement, goals, and feedback play in developing consistent study behaviors for WWII assignments?
- Social Cognitive Theory: What role could peer modeling, teacher think aloud, and developing self-efficacy play in making this student a powerful learner of WWII content?
- Add the application names to the list of strategies that can be used in the classroom in the final product.
Step 4 – Create the Final Product (Group)
Please create your infographic or slide deck using Canva, Google Slides, or PowerPoint and upload and submit as a single file (e.g. PDF). The infographic or slide deck should be 3 panels.
Panel 1 – Cognitive Psychology
• Definition, Major Theorists, Process of Learning and Real Life Application: WWII Class.
This post covers the essential points of behaviorism and how they apply in the classroom through the story of a WWII-era lesson. I also provide a couple of positive and negative characteristics of the educational model.
Panel 2 – Behaviorism
Definition, key theorists, how learning happens, WWII classroom example, one strength, one limitation.
Panel 3 – Social Cognitive Theory
Definition, key theorist, how learning happens, WWII classroom example, one strength, one limitation.
In addition to the 3 separate essays, develop a final section titled: “Putting It Together” – This section will highlight the similarities and differences of both Behaviorist Constructivism and Humanistic Constructivism. The teacher can use this section to give concrete ideas on how she or he would actually combine all three theories to support a student who is having a rough time with the WWII assignment.
Step 5 – Individual Reflection
Each student writes a 1–2 paragraph reflection:
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory catches my attention because I see how language and social interaction always come together. Also, I have noticed in the past that supporting students through collaboration can be particularly helpful.
How would you connect all of these theories to a student who is struggling in completing a series of assignments on World War II?
These theories will enable you to plan developmentally appropriate, sequential and challenging learning opportunities.
Evaluation
| Introduction/Hook | Task | Process | Use of Resources | Content Accuracy & Depth |
Product Quality |
Critical Thinking / Application | Reflection |
Mechanics |
| Engaging, clearly sets stage and purpose | Challenging, aligned with learning outcomes | Logical, detailed, easy to follow |
Accurate, credible sources |
Correct definitions, clear WWII applications |
Organized, visually clear, creative |
Strong comparison and thoughtful application | Insightful, connects theory to teaching | No grammar errors |
| Clear purpose | Clear but limited depth | Mostly clear | Some credible sources | Adequate examples | Clear but less polished | Adequate comparison |
Adequate reflection |
Minor errors |
| Basic connection | Partially described | Some missing steps | Limited or unclear |
Limited examples |
Minimal visuals | Surface‑level | Minimal insight | Frequent errors |
| Unclear | Missing | Unclear | Missing | Missing | Incomplete | None |
Missing |
Many errors |
Conclusion
This WebQuest is more than just memorizing definitions of terms, learners will learn how to apply Cognitive Psychology, Behaviorism, and Social Cognitive Theory to help diagnose and support a student who is having difficulty completing World War II assignments.
They discover that Cognitive Psychology is used to structure and remember content like timelines, or complex relationships between causes and effects. Behaviorism teaches children how to build good study habits and develop academic motivation through reinforcement. This framework strengthens confidence and motivation by modelling healthy behaviors and providing social support.