Ways of Learning: Learning Theories and Learning Styles in the Classroom is not a book about libraries. Yet, it is a book for librarians. This book explores the ways in which people learn, both in formal and informal settings. While the focus is on implications for a more formal classroom environment, the learning theories and styles presented here can have a great impact on reference services, web design, library programming, and other services.
In this second edition, author Alan Pritchard presents basic theories on learning, followed by the two major schools of psychology that have dealt with learning: behaviorism and constructivism. While many are familiar with the concepts of behaviorism, definitions and examples of constructivism have been more elusive for many reasons. Pritchard clearly outlines different schools of thought within the field of constructivism and gives concrete examples of how learners construct their own knowledge. This will be particularly helpful for instruction librarians who are looking for ways to help students build their own concepts and mental models of how research is conducted.
