What is the difference between the Behaviorist Lesson Plan format and the Constructivist Lesson Plan format?

In my opinion the Behaviorist Lesson Plan format is better equipped to organize learning for children in elementary school (K-5). The Behaviorist Lesson Plan format was pieced together from brilliant suggestions made by Madeline Hunter. Her main goal was to create a more effective teacher. Through the eight step design she made it abundantly clear how a teacher should be handling the material for a lesson and how it should be given to the students. These effective teachers had a methodology to their madness; they were very organized when planing and presenting a lesson. Hunter believed that a properly taught lesson contained eight steps that maximized learning, regardless of the teaching style, subject matter, or economic background of the students. These eight steps are: 1) Purpose/ Objective, 2) Anticipatory Set, 3) Input, 4) Modeling, 5) Guided Practice, 6) Check For Understanding, 7) Independent Practice, and 8) Closure. Now, I am familiar with these steps and have recently become a little more familiarized with the Constructivist Lesson Plan format and have come to my own reasoning about both formats. The Behaviorist Lesson Plan format, although is said to work with any grade level and subject matter, is better suited to organize learning for young children. I believe this because the format is very restricted and there are certain things you are expected to do when teaching new material. The format is created in such a way that it's as if you are teaching a child to ride a bicycle. You inform the child why it is best to learn to ride a bicycle and what their goal is once they learn the action (purpose/ objective - for a little more freedom and to make it to the end of the block without falling over). You (as the instructor) show them how easy it is and tell them they can also achieve this goal (anticipatory set). The thought of them riding a bicycle on their own excites them and puts them in a state of readiness. First, you walk them through the action (input), making sure to hold on to the back of the seat while they are riding the bicycle. Then, you show them in more detail what it is to ride a bicycle on their own (model). You show them how it's done. Finally, they continue to practice riding a bicycle while your hand is still attached to the seat and you are giving them pointers (guided practice). When you think they are ready to fly solo, you make sure to check their understanding of what it means to ride a bicycle on their own and if they would feel comfortable riding alone. You may ask: Do you want me to let go of the seat now? If they feel confident in their riding abilities the answer will be yes, and when you let go of the seat it is left completely up to them to show you what they know (independent practice). Once they have ridden circles around you, they are now ready to ride their bicycle down the block. When they achieve this goal, independently, the lesson is completed (closure). As you can see this format doesn't leave much space for true independent practice, understanding, and evaluation. It is very “monkey see, monkey do.” But this is exactly what the children of this age group need. Their understanding at that age operates on a more simplistic level. Students in this age range need to know what they are going to be taught, why they should know this, and how to do it. As simple as that. The Constuctivist Lesson Plan builds off of what the student already knows. It is used to construct or reconstruct the student's understanding of the material being taught. This format, I believe, is better suited for the cognitive levels of students in middle and high school (6-12). The Constructivist Lesson Plan is formatted with 6 important elements: 1) Situation, 2) Groupings (of students and materials), 3) Bridge (creating connections of what the student knows to what will be taught), 4) Questions (to encourage continuous thinking throughout the lesson), 5) Exhibit (showing others-peers, teachers, parents-what they learned through various outlets, verbally or visually), and 6) Reflections (to internally gauge their own learning). In this format the student is given a chance to come to their own conclusions of what might be taught and to showcase what they already know about the topic. The Constructivist Lesson Plan format is more of a relaxed fit. The teacher wants the student to come away with some new knowledge of the material, but also wants the student to take it upon themselves to realize what and why they are being taught the material to begin with. The teacher is no longer there to hold the student's hand (or the bicycle's seat) through the lesson, instead the teacher gives them the space to move about through the material by themselves. A Constructivist teacher places the student on a bicycle and leaves the student to explore this new contraption on their own, bumps, bruises, and all.