eLearningIndustry_Logo
Sign In
  • Join Newsletter
  • eBooks
  • Webinars
  • Find Top LMS Software
  • Find Top Authoring Tools
  • Find Top Content Providers
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    All Articles Publish an Article Learning Management Systems Authoring Tools Trends Design and Development Instructional Design Best Practices Free Resources
  • Directory
    Pick The Right eLearning Partner Content Providers Learning Management Systems Free LMS Consulting Review an LMS Promote Your LMS Authoring Tools Review an Authoring Tool Promote Your Authoring Tool Web Conferencing Software Project Management Software Course Marketplaces Language Providers Translation Providers Voice Actors Top eLearning Companies Registration
  • Events
    Webinars Promote Your Event All Events Conferences Congresses Events Seminars Symposiums Workshops Promoting Your Event Guide Free eBook
  • Press Releases
    Promote Your Press Release Press Releases Archive Press Release Guidelines Press Releases Guide Free eBook
  • Jobs
    Find Jobs Promote Your Job
  • Post Here

How can we help you?

Loading...
Oups. Something Has Gone Terribly Wrong. Please Try Later

Sign In

By signing in with LinkedIn, you're agreeing to create an account at elearningindustry.com and accept our terms of use and privacy policy.
Learn more about how we use LinkedIn.

How we use LinkedIn

We use LinkedIn to ensure that our users are real professionals who contribute and share reliable content.

When you sign in with LinkedIn, you are granting elearningindustry.com access to your LinkedIn account, which is used to authenticate you without you having to enter a different user name and password. We also use this access to retrieve the following information:

  • Your full name.
  • Your primary email address.

You can revoke this access at any time through your LinkedIn account.

Sign In with LinkedIn

Already have an account? Login here
  1. Home
  2. Instructional Design
  3. Instructional Design Models and Theories: Gestalt Theory
Photo of Christopher Pappas
By Christopher Pappas
January 7, 2014
4 minutes to read
Comments
Instructional Design

Instructional Design Models and Theories: Gestalt Theory

1922 - Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler introduce Gestalt Psychology. Check the Instructional Design Models and Theories: Gestalt Psychology article and presentation to find more.

Instructional Design Models and Theories: Gestalt Theory

Who is Who

Max Wertheimer

Max Wertheimer was born in Prague in 1880. After obtaining his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Würzburg in 1904, he taught at several universities in Germany. He eventually ended up teaching at the New School for Social Research in New York, where he remained until his death in 1943. He is one of the 3 founders of Gestalt Psychology and was known for his work in Productive Thinking, as well as for his concept of Phi Phenomenon. Wolfgang KöhlerWolfgang Köhler was born in Estonia in 1887 and was an eminent psychologist and phenomenologist. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1909. He met Wertheimer and Koffka at the University of Frankfurt. In the 1930s he emigrated to the United States and became a professor at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania until his death in 1967.

Kurt Koffka

Kurt Koffka was born in Berlin in 1886. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1908. In 1927, after emigrating to the US, he became a professor at Smith College in Massachusetts. He had a great interest in the laws that govern the human perception of the environment, as well as in interpretation and developmental psychology. He died in 1941.

The Gestalt Theory (Gestaltism)

According to the Gestalt Theory, which is commonly known as the Law of Simplicity, every stimulus is perceived by humans in its “most simple form”. The main focus of the theory is “grouping” and the entire theory emphasizes on the fact that the whole of anything is greater than the sum of its parts. Besides, “gestalt” in German means the “shape of an entity’s complete form”. Thus, the operational principle of the brain is holistic and has a self-organizing inclination.

The 4 Laws of Organization

The factors that determine the principle of “grouping” –also known as the “laws of organization”- are the following:

  1. Proximity
    Elements are typically grouped together based on their immediacy
  2. Similarity
    Elements similar to one another tend to be grouped together
  3. Closure
    Elements are typically grouped together if they are a part of an entity
  4. Simplicity
    Elements should be organized into simplistic figures, based on their symmetry, smoothness and regularity

The primary goal of the Gestalt Theory is to encourage the brain to view not just the whole, but also the parts that make up that whole. For example, when someone is looking at a tree, is he just staring at this tree, or does he also see the leaves, the branches, and the trunk? The whole and the sum of its parts are two entirely different things, and learning can be achieved if learners are able to cognitively process how parts can make up this whole.

The main principles of the Gestalt Theory

The main principles of the Gestalt Theory in Learning are:

  1. Teachers should encourage their students to discover the relationship of the elements that make up a problem
  2. Incongruities, gaps, or disturbances are essential stimuli in the learning process
  3. Educational instruction should be based on the Laws of Organization

In a learning environment, the Gestalt Theory applies to problem solving and perception. However, it can be used in all aspects of education. A perfect example was provided by Wertheimer himself, when he asked children to find the area of a parallelogram. He suggested that, as long as parallelograms had a normal shape, the children could apply the standard procedure in order to determine the area. However, if the parallelogram had an irregular shape, children could not apply the same logic or principles, but had to solve the problem by understanding the actual structure of the shape.

Implement the Gestalt Theory by using the Best Authoring Tool!
Discover, choose and compare the top eLearning Authoring Tools Providers!
Find the right vendor

Join us at the Instructional Design History Journey

A New Instructional Design Model Will Be Added Every Week! You are more than welcome to let us know if you would like us to cover an instructional design model and theory that is not included at Instructional Design Models and Theories. Simply leave a comment at Instructional Design Models and Theories.

Last but not least, you are more than welcome to embed the Gestalt Theory presentation at your site of blog. If you have a question that needs an answer concerning the Gestalt Theory do not hesitate to leave a comment and I will reply you as soon as possible.

References

  • Scholarpedia. Gestalt Principles. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Gestalt_principles
  • Ellis, W.D. (1938). A Source Book of Gestalt Psychology. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
  • Wertheimer, M. (1959). Productive Thinking (Enlarged Ed.). New York:Harper & Row.
  • http://www.gestalttheory.com/
  • http://www.gestalt.org/barlow.htm
  • http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Gestalt_psychology.html
Gestalt Theory from eLearning Industry
Adult Learning Theories Instructional Design Instructional Design Models Instructional Design Theories Instructional Design Training Instructional Designer Instructional Designers
  • Write or read Comments
Close
Subscribe to the newsletter Subscribe to the newsletter

Read Also

  • Implementing the Five Moments of Need Model
  • Exploring The Layers Of Social Learning
  • Get To Know 500,000+ Instructional Designers And eLearning Professionals
  • Free Authoring Tools For eLearning
  • The Ultimate List Of Open Source Learning Management Systems (2019 Update)
eLearningIndustry_Logo
The best collection of eLearning articles, eLearning concepts, eLearning software, and eLearning resources.
  • Articles

    • Post Here
    • Top eLearning Authors
    • How To Publish An eLearning Article
    • How to View your Stats
    • Archive
  • Press Releases

    • Promote Your Press Release
    • Press Releases Guide eBook
    • How To Post A Press Release
    • Guidelines
    • Archive
  • Events

    • Promote Your Event
    • Promoting Your Event eBook
    • How To Post An Event
    • Archive
  • Directory

    • Get Listed
    • Top LMS Software
    • Free LMS Consulting
    • Top Authoring Tools
    • Top eLearning Content Providers
    • How to Create a Business Listing
    • How to Create a Product Listing
  • Jobs

    • Promote Your Job
    • How To Post And Manage A Job Listing
    • Job Openings
    • About
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
    • Support
    • Advertise
  • French flag ELEARNING INDUSTRY IN FRENCH
© 2011–2019 eLearning Industry.