The behaviorist approach always ascribes to the learner a passive role from within, in which learning is triggered only by the reaction to external factors.

In the behaviorist approach, the teacher plays a very important role.The teacher is tasked with providing appropriate learning stimuli and giving learners appropriate feedback on their responses. According to current evidence, the behaviorist view is considered limited and inadequate. Knowledge acquisition cannot be viewed solely in terms of the learner's response to learning stimuli. Rather, learning is a process that takes place in the learner's brain.

Where in cognitivism the focus is on the teacher, learning theories such as cognitivism focus on the reception, processing, and storage of information. Unlike behaviorism, learning is not seen as a passive and internal process, but as the ability to develop solutions to problems by actively processing new information while taking into account previously stored memory.

In the cognitivist approach, the teacher has the task as a knowledge mediator to process content didactically in such a way that relevant information of the problem can be processed in the best possible way and integrated into the already existing knowledge network.

The currently most influential learning theory is that of (cognitive) constructivism. According to this approach, during learning, the newly acquired content in the memory can only be interpreted and integrated into meaningful information on the basis of the existing prior knowledge. According to this approach, the teacher assumes the role of a "coach" who should stimulate and support individual construction processes by, for example, promoting the activation of prior knowledge for the attribution of meaning to new learning content. Accordingly, creating conducive learning atmospheres and learning opportunities is just as important as taking students' individual ideas into account when learning.

Renkl, A. (2006). Wissenserwerb. In Wild, E., & Möller, J. (Hrsg.), Pädagogische Psychologie (S. 3-26). Heidelberg: Springer.

Renkl, A., & Atkinson, R. K. (2007). Interactive learning environments: Contemporary issues and trends. An introduction to the special issue. Educational Psychology Review, 19, 235–238.

Infos taken from: https://bildungsserver.berlin-brandenburg.de/schule/lehrerinnen-und-lehrer/einstieg-ins-lehramt/einstieg-lehramt-wissenschaftlic/lerntheorien