Principles of learningFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Educational psychologists and pedagogues have identified several principles of learning, also referred to as laws of learning, which seem generally applicable to the learning process. These principles have been discovered, tested, and used in practical situations. They provide additional insight into what makes people learn most effectively. Edward Thorndike developed the first three "Laws of learning:" readiness, exercise, and effect. Since Thorndike set down his basic three laws in the early part of the twentieth century, five additional principles have been added: primacy, recency, intensity, freedom and requirement.

The majority of these principles are widely applied in aerospace instruction, and some in many other fields, as outlined below:

Contents

1 Readiness 2 Exercise

3 Effect

4 Primacy

5 Recency

6 Intensity

7 Freedom

8 Requirement

9 Laws of Learning Applied to Learning Games

10 See also

11 References

12 External links

13 Further reading

Readiness

Readiness implies a degree of concentration and eagerness. Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to learn, and do not learn well if they see no reason for learning. Getting students ready to learn, creating interest by showing the value of the subject matter, and providing continuous mental or physical challenge, is usually the instructor’s responsibility. If students have a strong purpose, a clear objective, and a definite reason for learning something, they make more progress than if they lack motivation. In other words, when students are ready to learn, they meet the instructor at least halfway, simplifying the instructor’s job.

Since learning is an active process, students must have adequate rest, health, and physical ability. Basic needs of students must be satisfied before they are ready or capable of learning. Students who are exhausted or in ill health cannot learn much. If they are distracted by outside responsibilities, interests, or worries, have overcrowded schedules, or other unresolved issues, students may have little interest in learning.

Exercise

The principle of exercise states that those things most often repeated are best remembered. It is the basis of drill and practice. It has been proven that students learn best and retain information longer when they have meaningful practice and repetition. The key here is that the practice must be meaningful. It is clear that practice leads to improvement only when it is followed by positive feedback.

The human memory is fallible. The mind can rarely retain, evaluate, and apply new concepts or practices after a single exposure. Students do not learn complex tasks in a single session. They learn by applying what they have been told and shown. Every time practice occurs, learning continues. These include student recall, review and summary, and manual drill and physical applications. All of these serve to create learning habits. The instructor must repeat important items of subject matter at reasonable intervals, and provide opportunities for students to practice while making sure that this process is directed toward a goal.

Effect

Main article: Law of effect

Enjoying the water - Learning backstroke photo by Tom@HK

The principle of effect is based on the emotional reaction of the student. It has a direct relationship to motivation. The principle of effect is that learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying feeling, and that learning is weakened when associated with an unpleasant feeling. The student will strive to continue doing what provides a pleasant effect to continue learning. Positive reinforcement is more apt to lead to success and motivate the learner, so the instructor should recognize and commend improvement. Whatever the learning situation, it should contain elements that affect the students positively and give them a feeling of satisfaction. Therefore, instructors should be cautious about using punishment in the classroom.

One of the important obligations of the instructor is to set up the learning situation in such a manner that each trainee will be able to see evidence of progress and achieve some degree of success. Experiences that produce feelings of defeat, frustration, anger, confusion, or futility are unpleasant for the student. If, for example, an instructor attempts to teach advanced concepts on the initial engagement, the student is likely to feel inferior and be frustrated. Impressing upon students the difficulty of a task to be learned can make the teaching task difficult. Usually it is better to tell students that a problem or task, although difficult, is within their capability to understand or perform. Every learning experience does not have to be entirely successful, nor does the student have to master each lesson completely. However, every learning experience should contain elements that leave the student with some good feelings. A student’s chance of success is definitely increased if the learning experience is a pleasant one.

Further information: Emotion and memory and Operant conditioning

Primacy

Not to be confused with Law of primacy in persuasion.

Primacy, the state of being first, often creates a strong, almost unshakable, impression. Things learned first create a strong impression in the mind that is difficult to erase. For the instructor, this means that what is taught must be right the first time. For the student, it means that learning must be right. “Unteaching” wrong first impressions is harder than teaching them right the first time. If, for example, a student learns a faulty technique, the instructor will have a difficult task correcting bad habits and “reteaching” correct ones.

The student's first experience should be positive, functional, and lay the foundation for all that is to follow. What the student learns must be procedurally correct and applied the very first time. The instructor must present subject matter in a logical order, step by step, making sure the students have already learned the preceding step. If the task is learned in isolation, is not initially applied to the overall performance, or if it must be relearned, the process can be confusing and time consuming. Preparing and following a lesson plan facilitates delivery of the subject matter correctly the first time.

Further information: Serial position effect

Recency

The principle of recency states that things most recently learned are best remembered. Conversely, the further a student is removed time-wise from a new fact or understanding, the more difficult it is to remember. For example, it is fairly easy to recall a telephone number dialed a few minutes ago, but it is usually impossible to recall a new number dialed last week. The closer the training or learning time is to the time of actual need to apply the training, the more apt the learner will be to perform successfully.

Information acquired last generally is remembered best; frequent review and summarization help fix in the mind the material covered. Instructors recognize the principle of recency when they carefully plan a summary for a lesson or learning situation. The instructor repeats, restates, or reemphasizes important points at the end of a lesson to help the student remember them. The principle of recency often determines the sequence of lectures within a course of instruction.

Further information: Serial position effect, Forgetting, and Forgetting curve

Intensity

The more intense the material taught, the more likely it will be retained. A sharp, clear, vivid, dramatic, or exciting learning experience teaches more than a routine or boring experience. The principle of intensity implies that a student will learn more from the real thing than from a substitute. For example, a student can get more understanding and appreciation of a movie by watching it than by reading the script. Likewise, a student is likely to gain greater understanding of tasks by performing them rather than merely reading about them. The more immediate and dramatic the learning is to a real situation, the more impressive the learning is upon the student. Real world applications that integrate procedures and tasks that students are capable of learning will make a vivid impression on them.

In contrast to practical instruction, the classroom imposes limitations on the amount of realism that can be brought into teaching. The instructor needs to use imagination in approaching reality as closely as possible. Classroom instruction can benefit from a wide variety of instructional aids, to improve realism, motivate learning, and challenge students. Instructors should emphasize important points of instruction with gestures, showmanship, and voice. Demonstrations, skits, and role playing do much to increase the learning experience of students. Examples, analogies, and personal experiences also make learning come to life. Instructors should make full use of the senses (hearing, sight, touch, taste, smell, balance, rhythm, depth perception, and others).

Freedom

The principle of freedom states that things freely learned are best learned. Conversely, the further a student is coerced, the more difficult is for him to learn, assimilate and implement what is learned. Compulsion and coercion are antithetical to personal growth. The greater the freedom enjoyed by individuals within a society, the greater the intellectual and moral advancement enjoyed by society as a whole.

Since learning is an active process, students must have freedom: freedom of choice, freedom of action, freedom to bear the results of action—these are the three great freedoms that constitute personal responsibility. If no freedom is granted, students may have little interest in learning.

Requirement

The law of requirement states that "we must have something to obtain or do something." It can be an ability, skill, instrument or anything that may help us to learn or gain something. A starting point or root is needed; for example, if you want to draw a person, you need to have the materials with which to draw, and you must know how to draw a point, a line, a figure and so on until you reach your goal, which is to draw a person.

Further information: Law of Requirement

Laws of Learning Applied to Learning Games

The principles of learning have been presented as an explanation for why learning games (the use of games to introduce material, improve understanding, or increase retention) can show such incredible results.[1] In particular, the principles of learning present conditions which are very similar to a number of the design techniques used in games. Games use the technique of Flow, which is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it." (Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)[2] The primary aim of flow in games is to create intrinsically motivating experiences, which is a part of the principle of readiness.

Games use many other techniques which tie to the principles of learning.[1] They use practice to prolong game play, which is part of the principle of exercise. Game designers also place heavy emphasis on feedback, which goes with practice as part of exercise. Games use the technique of simplicity to reduce distractions, balance difficulty versus skill, and accurately correlate actions to corrective feedback. This impacts flow and motivation and increases the positive feelings toward the activity, which links back to the principles of exercise, readiness, and effect. Games use immersion and engagement as ways to create riveting experiences for players, which is part of the principle of intensity. Finally, part of the primary appeal of games is that they are fun. Although fun is hard to define, it is clear that it involves feelings such as engagement, satisfaction, pleasure, and enjoyment which are part of the principle of effect.

aws of Learning

INTRODUCTION:

Anyone who intends to guide and direct the learning activities of others requires a detailed understanding of the nature and processes of learning. Instructors are masters of many skills. What they teach demands a high degree of competence in presenting subject matter. Nevertheless, HOW they teach depends largely on their understanding of the learning process and the ability to apply this understanding.

DEFINITION OF LEARNING

What is "learning?" Learning takes place when there is a change in a student's behavior. It may not be directly observable. Learning is based on observation of behavior changes that result from a person's interaction with their environment. An individual's learning may involve changes in any of three areas:

1. Manner of perceiving and thinking. 2. Physical behavior (motor skills).

3. Emotional reactions or attitudes.

Learning refers to any of these changes when they occur as a result of an experience. Thus, learning cannot be literally described but the conditions under which it occurs can be identified. The instructor should understand these conditions and apply them when teaching.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LEARNING PROCESS

Purposeful Process. Most people have definite ideas about what they want to achieve. They have goals or clear objectives. Effective instructors seek ways to create new learning situations to meet the trainees' goals. Motivation, the force that impels a person toward a goal, is the instructor's most effective tool to encourage learning. This can be either weak or strong motivation depending on the situation.

Internal Experience. The instructor cannot learn for the trainee, nor can he or she pour predigested learning into the trainee's head. The trainee can learn only from his or her own experiences. A person's knowledge is a result of their experiences and manner of perceiving them and reacting to them. No two people have exactly the same experiences. All learning stems from experience. For example, by repeated drill, a trainee can learn to repeat a list of words or to recite the principles of leadership. However, trainees can make the list an actual part of their lives only if they understand them well enough to apply the ideas that they represent correctly in real situations.

Active Process. Since learning comes only through experience, the trainee must be actively involved in the experience. This activity can take many forms. Learning is more than simply exposing a trainee to an idea or a skill. Likewise, one cannot safely assume that trainees can apply what they know just because they correctly quote a paragraph from a textbook. The trainee must become actively involved in the learning situation, but just any kind of involving activity will not suffice. The trainee must engage in the appropriate activity. Obviously, learning a physical skill requires experience in performing that skill. The instructor should understand, however, that mental habits are always learned through practice. Even attitudes are developed or modified as an individual reacts emotionally to a stimulus.

Multidimensional. Learning is multidimensional. Multidimensional develops new concept. In other words, it is possible to learn other things while concentrating on or practicing the main subject. While practicing drill, the trainees learn teamwork and cooperation. While learning dormitory arrangement, they learn attention to details and following explicit instructions.

Individual Process. All trainees do not learn at the same rate. New instructors are likely to be discouraged when they discover that a well-planned lesson does not enable them to teach all the trainees with equal effectiveness. They soon recognize this as a natural and predictable problem because trainees seldom learn at the same rate. Differences in rates of learning are based on

differences in intelligence, background, experience, interests, desire to learn, and countless other psychological, emotional and physical factors. Instructors must recognize these differences in determining the amount of subject matter to teach, the rate of which they will cover the material, and the appropriate time to teach it. Once the slower trainees are identified, it is up to the instructor to bring them up to the level of the rest of the flight. You must identify their weak areas, bring the areas to their attention, and show them how to correct them. You may be fortunate and have some trainees who excel. These trainees may be used to help others during their practice. This serves a twofold purpose. The fast learning trainees are relieved from boredom and the slow learning trainees receive the benefit of the peers' expertise.

Laws of Learning

Edward L. Thorndike in the early 1900's postulated several "Laws of Learning," that seemed generally applicable to the learning process. Since that time, other educational psychologists have found that the learning process is indeed more complex than the "laws" identified. However, the "laws" do provide the instructor with insight into the learning process that will assist in providing a rewarding experience to the trainee.

The laws that follow are not necessarily stated as Professor Thorndike first stated them. Over the years, they have been restated and supplemented, but, in essence, they may be attributed to him. The first three are the basic laws: the law of readiness, the law of exercise, and the most famous and still generally accepted, the law of effect. The other three laws were added later as a result of experimental studies: the law of primacy, the law of intensity, and the law of recency.

As with anything else relative to the instruction and learning process, nothing that we do is a singular item; a combination of activities occurs at the same time to make the experience complete.

Law of Readiness The Law of Readiness means a person can learn when physically and mentally adjusted (ready) to receive stimuli. Individuals learn best when they are ready to learn, and they will not learn much if they see no reason for learning. If trainees have a strong purpose, a clear objective and a sound reason for learning, they usually make more progress than trainees who lack motivation. When trainees are ready to learn, they are more willing to participate in the learning process, and this simplifies the instructor's job. If outside responsibilities or worries weigh heavily on trainees' minds or if their personal problems seem unsolvable, they may have little interest in learning.

Law of ExerciseThe Law of Exercise stresses the idea that repetition is basic to the development of adequate responses; things most often repeated are easiest remembered. The mind can rarely recall new concepts or practices after a single exposure, but every time it is practiced, learning continues and is enforced. The instructor must provide opportunities for trainees to practice or repeat the task. Repetition consists of many types of activities, including recall, review, restatement, manual drill and physical application. Remember that practice makes permanent, not perfect unless the task is taught correctly.

Law of Effect This law involves the emotional reaction of the learner. Learning will always be much more effective when a feeling of satisfaction, pleasantness, or reward accompanies or is a result

of the learning process. Learning is strengthened when it is accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying feeling and that it is weakened when it is associated with an unpleasant experience. An experience that produces feelings of defeat, frustration, anger or confusion in a trainee is unpleasant. Instructors should be cautious about using negative motivation. Usually it is better to show trainees that a problem is not impossible, but is within their capability to understand and solve.

Law of PrimacyThis law states that the state of being first, often creates a strong, almost unshakeable impression. For the instructor, this means that what they teach the first time must be correct. If a subject is incorrectly taught, it must be corrected. It is more difficult to un-teach a subject than to teach it correctly the first time. For the trainees' first learning experience should be positive and functionally related to training.

Law of Intensity The principle of intensity states that if the stimulus (experience) is real, the more likely there is to be a change in behavior (learning). A vivid, dramatic or exciting learning experience teaches more than a routine or boring experience. A trainee will learn more from the real thing than from a substitute. Demonstrations, skits, and models do much to intensify the learning experiences of trainees.

Law of Recency Things most recently learned are best remembered, while the things learned some time ago are remembered with more difficulty. It is sometimes easy, for example, to recall a telephone number dialed a few minutes ago, but it is usually impossible to recall a telephone number dialed a week ago. Review, warm-ups, and similar activities are all based on the principle that the more recent the exercise, the more effective the performance. Practicing a skill or new concept just before using it will ensure a more effective performance. Instructors recognize the law of recency when they plan a lesson summary or a conclusion of the lecture. Repeat, restate, or reemphasize important matters at the end of a lesson to make sure that trainees remember them instead of inconsequential details.

 

SUMMARY:

You will soon become directly responsible for literally hundreds of learning situations. The degree of knowledge that you impart to your trainees will depend a great deal on how well you can apply your understanding of the learning process. Learn to recognize the trainees' physical, emotional, and attitudinal states and the effect you can have on these states employing the characteristics and laws of learning. Help to motivate your trainees toward a goal and lessen their frustration by holding confusion to a minimum. Remember that learning is multidimensional and capitalize on this fact.

The 5 Laws of Learning

The instant we are born into this world, we embark on a challenging, lifelong journey of learning. We start out learning basic things like walking and talking. From there we enter school, where we take on the alphabet, socializing and writing, as well as reading and arithmetic. Then it goes on and on. Many teenagers think that learning stops after high school or college, but in reality, learning goes on until the end of our lifetimes. Some things we excel at, some we are just okay with, and other things we are embarrassed to show people how little we know. Why is this? Why do we all comprehend and excel at learning things at various skill levels? The answers to that can be found in the Five Laws of Learning, and they are as follows:

1. The Law of Doing. Hands on, otherwise known as experience, teaches us best. The connection between actually doing something and our brain is a strong one. So, when you are learning something new, don't just discuss how to do it, or read about how to do it...Do It.

2. The Law of Motivation. When something is worth learning, it is worth learning well, to paraphrase that old adage. If your heart just isn't into something, you will not learn it. Attitude has a lot to do with approaching a new subject to learn it. So does motivation. Know why what you are about to learn is important to you. Learn how it affects your life. Understand the basic concept behind what you are about to learn. Find what will motivate you to pick up a new skill. Get behind it and go for it.

3. The Law of Relevancy. If a subject is not relevant to you in your life, you will unconsciously refuse to learn it. That is because you inherently need to know why you are learning it. You want to learn how to use the internet, but you may not need to know HTML or any of its scripting languages in order to learn how to find things on the search engines, or navigate around websites. You must know what is relevant, and cut out all of the rest that will be of no use to you.

4. The Law of Association. Have you ever started to learn something, and upon learning some key concepts, found that you learned the subject more easily, because you discovered that what you are learning now is similar to something you learned before? That is the Law of Association at work for you. Your mind works by associating similar classifications of things, and applying them to the new field of study. We learn to read by first learning about letters and sounds, then putting them together in the new field of study called reading. We first learn about numbers, then about basic ways to add, subtract, multiply and divide those numbers, before entering new fields of study like algebra, geometry and calculus. This example can be carried into anything we learn, for our entire lives. It is easier to learn something new and more advanced when we have a basic background that is similar, that we can associate with our new subject.

5. The Law of Repetition. Anyone who has gone to church for any length of time, especially as children, can relate to this Law. How many times did we need to hear about the Story of Noah, or the Fall of Adam? Until we learned it, that's how many times. By repeating information and principles, we retain the subject matter more strongly and are more easily able to recall the subject. The reason we can remember song lyrics from our favorite songs years later is because of the Law of Repetition. The more we are exposed to a topic, the deeper it is embedded into our minds. Memorization is just the Law of Repetition.

As you embark on new learning experiences, keep these five Laws in your mind. They will be your guide as you feel frustrated about "not getting it at first." Apply these Laws and you will get it. You may not master the subject, but you will learn it.

These laws are particularly relevant to adult learners.

Law of previous experience : New learning should be linked to (and build upon) the experiences of the learner.

Check the entry level of the participants. Remind yourself that adults bring a variety of rich experiences to the training session. Design activities to ensure easy adjustments to fit different entry levels and to incorporate relevant experiences.

Law of relevance: Effective learning is relevant to the learner’s life and work.

Use simulations and role plays to increase the link between the learning situation and the real world. After a training activity, debrief the participants and discuss strategies for applying what they learned in the game to their real-world context.

Law of self-direction. Most adults are self-directed learners.

Don't force everyone to participate in every activity. Identify training objectives and let participants select among different resources and activities to learn at their own pace and according to their personal preferences. Involve participants in setting training goals and selecting appropriate types of learning activities.

Law of expectations. Learners' reaction to a training session is shaped by their expectations related to the content area, training format, fellow participants, and the trainer.

Some learners are anxious about mathematical concepts and skills. Encourage them with intriguing puzzles and short-cut techniques. Other learners feel uncomfortable about making fools of themselves in public while playing games. Establish ground rules that reward risk-taking among participants. Demonstrate non-judgmental behavior by applauding participants for their effort.

Law of self image. Adult learners have definite notions about what type of learners they are. These notions interfere with or enhance their learning.

Reassure participants about their ability to learn new concepts and skills. Motivate them to attempt challenging tasks. Ensure frequent and early successes by making initial tasks simple and by progressing in small steps. However, avoid patronizing participants with simple, trivial tasks. Incorporate learning tasks at different levels of difficulty in your activities.

Law of multiple criteria. Adult learners use a variety of standards to judge their learning experiences and accomplishments.

Encourage participants to choose personal standards and scoring systems. Provide different ways to "win" in your activities. In simulations and role-plays, keep scores related to different criteria. During debriefing, discuss alternative criteria for measuring participants' performance.

Law of alignment. Adult learners require the training objectives, content, activities, and assessment techniques to be aligned to each other.

Create a training situation that closely resembles the job situation. Teach and test for the same content, using similar strategies. Make sure that the scoring system used in your training activities rewards the mastery of the training objectives.

General Public

These laws apply to all human beings, from infancy to old age.

Law of active learning: Active responding produces more effective learning than passive listening or reading.

Intersperse lectures and reading assignments with active-learning episodes such as quizzes and puzzles. Provide participants with ample opportunities to respond by asking questions, encouraging them to ask questions, answering their questions, and questioning their answers.

Law of practice and feedback: Learners cannot master skills without repeated practice and relevant feedback.

Don’t confuse understanding a procedure with ability to perform it. Invest ample time in conducting activities that provide repeated practice and feedback. Make sure that the training activities incorporate immediate and useful feedback from peers and experts. Use rating scales, checklists, and other devices to ensure that the feedback is objective and useful.

Law of individual differences: Different people learn in different ways.

Use training activities that accommodate a variety of learning styles. Make sure that participants can respond by writing, speaking, drawing, or acting out. Encourage and permit participants to learn individually, in pairs, and in teams.

Law of learning domains. Different types of learning require different types of strategies.

Learn to recognize different types of training content and objectives. Don't use the same type of activity to teach different types of training. Use suitable designs to help participants achieve different training objectives related to concepts, procedures, and principles.

Law of response level. Learners master skills and knowledge at the level at which they are required to respond during the learning process.

If your training activity requires participants to merely talk about a procedure, don't assume that they will be able to apply it in their workplace. If you want participants to solve workplace problems, the learning activity should require them to solve problems. Avoid trivial, closed questions with rote-memory answers in your training games. Challenge participants with authentic that require innovative solutions.

All Creatures Great and Small

These laws apply to all animals, include white mice, pigeons, dolphins, and people.

Law of reinforcement: Participants learn to repeat behaviors that are rewarded.

Make sure that training activities provide several opportunities for earning rewards. Require participants to make frequent decisions and responses. During the initial stages of training, reward even partially-correct answers.

Law of emotional learning: Events that are accompanied by intense emotions result in long-lasting learning.

Use training games, simulations, and role plays that add emotional element to learning. Make sure that emotions don’t become too intense and interfere with learning. Make sure that participants don’t learn dysfunctional behaviors because of intense emotions. Debrief participants after emotional activities to reflect on their feelings and learn from their reactions.

Learning theory (education)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A classroom in Norway. Learning also takes places in many other settings.

Learning theories are conceptual frameworks that describe how information is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed, and knowledge and skills retained.[1][2]

Behaviorists look at learning as an aspect of conditioning and will advocate a system of rewards and targets in education. Educators who embrace cognitive theory believe that the definition of learning as a change in behavior is too narrow and prefer to study the learner rather than the environment, in particular, the complexities of human memory. Humanists emphasize the importance of self-knowledge and relationships in the learning process. Those who advocate constructivism believe that a learner's ability to learn relies to a large extent on what he already knows and understands, and that the acquisition of knowledge should be an individually tailored process of construction.

Contents

1 Paradigms o 1.1 Behaviorism

1.1.1 Conditioning

o 1.2 Cognitivism

1.2.1 Educational neuroscience

1.2.2 Taxonomies

o 1.3 Humanism

1.3.1 Transformative learning

o 1.4 Constructivism

2 Other topics

o 2.1 Multimedia Learning

o 2.2 Learning Style Theory vs Instructional Theory

o 2.3 Informal and post-modern theories

o 2.4 Criticism of learning theory

3 See also

4 References

5 Further reading

6 External links

Paradigms

It has been suggested that portions of Educational psychology#Learning theory be moved or incorporated into this section. (Discuss)

BehaviorismMain article: Behaviorism (philosophy of education)

Behaviorism, as a learning theory, is based on a change in knowledge through controlled stimulus/response conditioning. This type of learner is dependent upon an instructor for acquisition of knowledge. The instructor must demonstrate factual knowledge, then observe, measure, and modify behavioral changes in specified direction. This type of learning is a

conditioned response or memorization of facts, assertions, rules, laws, and terminology. The correct response is achieved through stimulation of senses. The focus of intelligence development is visual/spatial, musical/rhythmic, and bodily/kinesthetic intelligence. The purpose in education is to help a learner adopt knowledge from an instructor through use of the learner’s senses. This learning goal is the lowest order learning: factual knowledge, skill development, and training. The term "behaviorism" was coined by John Watson (1878–1959). Watson believed that theorizing thoughts, intentions or other subjective experiences was unscientific and insisted that psychology must focus on measurable behaviors.[3] For behaviorism, learning is the acquisition of a new behavior through conditioning.

Conditioning

Both types of conditioning forms the core of Behavior Analysis. It has grown into a popularized practice called Applied behavior analysis. ABA differs from Behavior modification as the latter only used reinforcement and aversive punishments to modify behavior.

There are two types of conditioning:

Classical conditioning , where the behavior becomes a reflex response to stimulus. Operant conditioning , where antecedents follow a behavior which leads to a consequence such

as a punishment, reward, or reinforcement.

Classical conditioning was noticed by Ivan Pavlov when he saw that if dogs come to associate the delivery of food with a white lab coat or with the ringing of a bell, they will produce saliva, even when there is no sight or smell of food. Classical conditioning regards this form of learning to be the same whether in dogs or in humans.[4]

Operant conditioning, or radical behaviorism, also known as the experimental analysis of behavior, reinforces this behavior with antecedents, rewards and non-aversive punishments. A reward increases the likelihood of the behavior recurring, a punishment decreases its likelihood.[5]

Behaviorists view the learning process as a change in behavior, and will arrange the environment to elicit desired responses through such devices as behavioral objectives, Competency-based learning, and skill development and training.[6]

CognitivismMain article: Cognitivism (philosophy of education)

Cognitivism, as a learning theory, is the theory that humans generate knowledge and meaning through sequential development of an individual’s cognitive abilities, such as the mental processes of recognition, recollection, analysis, reflection, application, creation, understanding, and evaluation. The Cognitivists' learning process is adoptive learning of techniques, procedures, organization, and structure to develop internal cognitive structure that strengthens synapses in the brain. The learner requires assistance to develop prior knowledge and integrate new knowledge. The purpose in education is to develop conceptual knowledge, techniques,

procedures, and algorithmic problem solving using Verbal/Linguistic and Logical/Mathematical intelligences. The learner requires scaffolding to develop schema and adopt knowledge from both people and the environment. The educators' role is pedagogical in that the instructor must develop conceptual knowledge by managing the content of learning activities. This theory relates to early stages of learning where the learner solves well defined problems through a series of stages.

Cognitive theories grew out of Gestalt psychology, developed in Germany in the early 1900s and brought to America in the 1920s. The German word gestalt is roughly equivalent to the English configuration or pattern and emphasizes the whole of human experience.[7] Over the years, the Gestalt psychologists provided demonstrations and described principles to explain the way we organize our sensations into perceptions.[8]

Gestalt psychologists criticize behaviorists for being too dependent on overt behavior to explain learning. They propose looking at the patterns rather than isolated events.[9] Gestalt views of learning have been incorporated into what have come to be labeled cognitive theories. Two key assumptions underlie this cognitive approach: that the memory system is an active organized processor of information and that prior knowledge plays an important role in learning. Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to consider how human memory works to promote learning, and an understanding of short term memory and long term memory is important to educators influenced by cognitive theory.[10] They view learning as an internal mental process (including insight, information processing, memory and perception) where the educator focuses on building intelligence and cognitive development.[6] The individual learner is more important than the environment.

Once memory theories like the Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model [11] and Baddeley's working memory model[12] were established as a theoretical framework in cognitive psychology, new cognitive frameworks of learning began to emerge during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Today, researchers are concentrating on topics like cognitive load and information processing theory. These theories of learning play a role in influencing instructional design.[13] Cognitive theory is used to explain such topics as social role acquisition, intelligence and memory as related to age.

Educational neuroscienceMain article: Educational neuroscience

It has been suggested that portions of this section be moved into Educational neuroscience. (Discuss)

American Universities such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of Southern California and others, in the first decade of the twenty-first century, began offering majors and degrees dedicated to educational neuroscience or neuroeducation. Such studies seek to link an understanding of brain processes with classroom instruction and experiences.[14] Neuroeducation seeks to analyze the biological changes that take place in the brain as new information is processed. It looks at what environmental, emotional and social situations are best in order for new information to be retained and stored in the brain via the linking of neurons, rather than

allowing the dendrites to be reabsorbed and the information lost. The 1990s were designated "The Decade of the Brain," and advances took place in neuroscience at an especially rapid pace. The three dominant methods for measuring brain activities are: event-related potential, functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetoencephalography (MEG).[15]

The integration and application to education of what we know about the brain was strengthened in 2000 when the American Federation of Teachers stated: "It is vital that we identify what science tells us about how people learn in order to improve the education curriculum."[16] What is exciting about this new field in education is that modern brain imaging techniques now make it possible, in some sense, to watch the brain as it learns, and the question then arises: can the results of neuro-scientific studies of brains as they are learning usefully inform practice in this area?[17] Although the field of neuroscience is young, it is expected that with new technologies and ways of observing learning, the paradigms of what students need and how students learn best will be further refined with actual scientific evidence. In particular, students who may have learning disabilities will be taught with strategies that are more informed.

The differences of opinion and theory in psychology indicate that the learning process is not yet understood.[citation needed] Neuroscience shows that the brain can be modelled not with a central processor where ‘'intelligence'’ lies, but in having perhaps 70 functional areas. Mental activity requires several areas to work together. What appear as different types of intelligence result from different combinations of well-developed functional areas. Learning is a process by which neurons join by developing the synapses between them. Knowledge is arranged hierarchically, with new knowledge being linked to existing neural networks.[citation needed]

Outside the realm of educational psychology, techniques to directly observe the functioning of the brain during the learning process, such as event-related potential and functional magnetic resonance imaging, are used in educational neuroscience. As of 2012, such studies are beginning to support a theory of multiple intelligences, where learning is seen as the interaction between dozens of different functional areas in the brain, each with their own individual strengths and weaknesses in any particular human learner. [citation needed]

TaxonomiesFor more information, see Theory of multiple intelligences.

The theory of multiple intelligences is a taxonomy of intelligence that differentiates it into specific (primarily sensory) "modalities", rather than seeing intelligence as dominated by a single general ability. This model was proposed by Howard Gardner in his 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Gardner chose eight abilities that he held to meet these criteria: musical–rhythmic, visual–spatial, verbal–linguistic, logical–mathematical, bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. He later suggested that existential and moral intelligence may also be worthy of inclusion.

For more information, see Bloom's taxonomy.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of learning objectives that provides a framework for discussing cognitive, affective, and psycho-motor learning.

HumanismMain article: Humanism (philosophy of education)

Humanism, as a learning theory, is based on human generation of knowledge, meaning, and ultimately expertise through interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. This self-directed learning is needs motivated, adaptive learning. Acquisition, development, and integration of knowledge occur through strategy, personal interpretation, evaluation, reasoning, and decision-making. The learning goal is to become self-actualized with intrinsic motivation toward accomplishment. This learner is able to adapt prior knowledge to new experience. The educator’s role in humanistic learning is to encourage and enable the learner, andragogically, by providing access to appropriate resources without obtrusive interference. The learning goal is high order learning of procedural knowledge, strategy, reasoning, abstract analysis, and development of expertise. Humanists include Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Marie Montessori, and William Glasser.

Transformative learningMain article: Transformative learning

Transformative learning focuses upon the often-necessary change that is required in a learner's preconceptions and world view. Transformative learning seeks to explain how humans revise and reinterpret meaning.[18] Transformative learning is the cognitive process of effecting change in a frame of reference.[19] A frame of reference defines our view of the world. The emotions are often involved.[20] Adults have a tendency to reject any ideas that do not correspond to their particular values, associations and concepts.[19] Our frames of reference are composed of two dimensions: habits of mind and points of view.[19] Habits of mind, such as ethnocentrism, are harder to change than points of view. Habits of mind influence our point of view and the resulting thoughts or feelings associated with them, but points of view may change over time as a result of influences such as reflection, appropriation and feedback.[19] Transformative learning takes place by discussing with others the “reasons presented in support of competing interpretations, by critically examining evidence, arguments, and alternative points of view.”[19] When circumstances permit, transformative learners move toward a frame of reference that is more inclusive, discriminating, self-reflective, and integrative of experience.[19]

ConstructivismMain article: Constructivism (philosophy of education)

Constructivism is a theory to explain how knowledge is constructed in the human being when information comes into contact with existing knowledge that had been developed by experiences. It has its roots in cognitive psychology and biology and an approach to education that lays emphasis on the ways knowledge is created in order to adapt to the world. Constructs are the different types of filters we choose to place over our realities to change our reality from chaos to order. Von Glasersfeld describes constructivism as “a theory of knowledge with roots in

philosophy, psychology, and cybernetics”.[1] Constructivism has implications for the theory of instruction. Discovery, hands-on, experiential, collaborative, project-based, and task-based learning are a number of applications that base teaching and learning on constructivism.

Built on the work of Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, constructivism emphasizes the importance of the active involvement of learners in constructing knowledge for themselves, and building new ideas or concepts based upon current knowledge and past experience. It asks why students do not learn deeply by listening to a teacher, or reading from a textbook. To design effective teaching environments, it believes, one needs a good understanding of what children already know when they come into the classroom. The curriculum should be designed in a way that builds on what the pupil already knows and is allowed to develop with them.[21] Begin with complex problems and teach basic skills while solving these problems.[22] This requires an understanding of children's cognitive development, and constructivism draws heavily on psychological studies of cognitive development.

The learning theories of John Dewey, Maria Montessori, and David Kolb serve as the foundation of constructivist learning theory.[23] Constructivism has many varieties: Active learning, discovery learning, and knowledge building are three, but all versions promote a student's free exploration within a given framework or structure.[24] The teacher acts as a facilitator who encourages students to discover principles for themselves and to construct knowledge by working to solve realistic problems.

Other topics

Multimedia Learning

A multimedia classroom at Islington College, in the United Kingdom

Main article: Multimedia learning

Multimedia learning refers to the use of visual and auditory teaching materials that may include video, computer and other information technology.[citation needed] Multimedia learning theory focuses on the principles that determine the effective use of multimedia in learning, with emphasis on using both the visual and auditory channels for information processing.

The auditory channel deals with information that is heard, and the visual channel processes information that is seen. The visual channel holds less information than the auditory channel.[citation needed] If both the visual and auditory channels are presented with information, more knowledge is retained. However, if too much information is delivered it is inadequately processed, and long term memory is not acquired. Multimedia learning seeks to give instructors the ability to stimulate both the visual and auditory channels of the learner, resulting in better progress.[25]

Learning Style Theory vs Instructional TheoryMain article: Learning styles

Learning style theory proposes that individuals learn in different ways, that there are four distinct learning styles – feeling, watching, thinking and doing – and that knowledge of a learner's preferred learning style will lead to faster and more satisfactory improvement.[26] Other learning theories have also been developed for more specific purposes. Connectivism is a recent theory of networked learning which focuses on learning as making connections.

Terms for Instructional theory are diaskagogy, pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy which relate to the maturity (age) of the learner.

Informal and post-modern theories

In theories that make use of cognitive restructuring, an informal curriculum promotes the use of prior knowledge to help students gain a broad understanding of concepts.[27] New knowledge cannot be told to students, it believes, but rather the students' current knowledge must be challenged. In this way, students will adjust their ideas to more closely resemble actual theories or concepts.[27] By using this method students gain the broad understanding they're taught and later are more willing to learn and keep the specifics of the concept or theory. This theory further aligns with the idea that teaching the concepts and the language of a subject should be split into multiple steps.[28]

Other informal learning theories look at the sources of motivation for learning. Intrinsic motivation may create a more self-regulated learner,[29] yet schools undermine intrinsic motivation. Critics argue that the average student learning in isolation performs significantly less well than those learning with collaboration and mediation.[30] Students learn through talk, discussion, and argumentation.[31][32]

Criticism of learning theory

Critics of learning theories that seek to displace traditional educational practices claim that there is no need for such theories; that the attempt to comprehend the process of learning through the construction of theories creates problems and inhibits personal freedom.[33][34]

Theories of Learning

Learning Theories in the Early Childhood Classroom Environment

During the early stages of development, children learn by playing.  Play, in a developmentally appropriate environment, inspires the child to relate oneself to the environment while making sense of the infinite elements uniting internal processes with external influences.  As children play, they learn.  They learn about the size, shape, smell, taste, and tactile quality of their world.  As they internalize the sensations of the environment, they integrate personal experiences to hypothesize the impossible.  Imaginary play is constant as children relate their hopes and experiences to new sensations.  As their minds translate external experiences with personal meaning, children become masters of their environment (Bodrova and Leong, 1996, p.125).  The child’s environment may be defined as a continuum between the imaginary and the sensory. 

Complex yet accessible relationships occurring in the classroom enrich the mental processes of young students.  “The rationale for emphasizing the construction of relationships in education is that it is basically by constructing relationships that children elaborate their knowledge and develop their intelligence” (DeVries, 2004, p. 412).  When children reflect on their environment, they instinctively classify experiences according to both individual personality and the surrounding culture. (Gardner, 1982, p.30-35)  As children become familiar with the syntax of social knowledge, their worlds are shared with one another to form a social imagination.

As the child struggles to comprehend new experiences, he or she will naturally utilize scientific notions of problem solving and critical thinking.  As the child begins to understand experience, social cooperation augments skills of perspective and interpretation:

Shared activity provides a meaningful social context for learning…Social interaction provides support in a physical sense as well as a motivational sense…Through talking and communicating, the gaps and flaws in one’s thinking become explicit and accessible to correction…thought becomes sequential and visible to the thinker. (Bodrova and Leong, 1996, p. 110)

A classroom of authentic experiences shared by eager children becomes “a community of learners.” (Chard & Katz, 2001, http://www.project-approach.com/foundation/class.htm)

With the aforementioned as a foundation, the following paper will relate Behaviorist, Social Cognitive, Cognitive and Constructivist learning theories to the early childhood classroom based on a common curriculum standard.  Each theory is described by the same curriculum standard using different lesson plans as defined by specific learning theories.   

The Lesson Plan        

In an early childhood classroom operating within a public elementary school, the teacher prepares a lesson on food production.  According to the classroom curriculum standards, the teacher should provide the children with an awareness of the process of taking food from the farm producer and preparing it for the grocery store consumer.  The generalized curriculum standard offers the teacher the freedom to choose from a variety of examples to use for teaching the process.  The community of the school is rural and many of the children are familiar with small farms.  The children drink milk everyday at school and, therefore, have personal

experiences with the beverage.  Because of these factors, the teacher decides to focus on milk production.

Behaviorist Learning Theories

Behaviorism defines learning as a change in observable behaviors due to environmental stimuli.  Using behaviorist learning theories, a teacher begins a lesson on milk production by having the children gather during group time on a large carpet.  As the children sit on the carpet facing the teacher only, he or she presents the book, The Milk Makers, by Gail Gibbons.  The children face only the teacher to avoid undesirable reinforcement that could distract from the goal of the lesson.  The teacher uses the picture book to explain the topic because the children are engaged with the visual material as the teacher narrates the pictures.  As the children listen to the story, they receive a summary of the information they are expected to learn.

When the teacher is finished reading the story, he or she re-explains the four stages of milk production.  As she summarizes the information, she introduces four pictures that illustrate each stage.  After the summary, the teacher passes each child a set of pictures to view.  The teacher tests the children on their understanding by having them hold up the pictures in sequential order.

The assessment is based on both classical and operant conditioning.  Each child will hold up a picture, the unconditioned response, when the teacher asks for a certain card, the unconditioned stimulus.  The teacher’s positive feedback, a conditioned stimulus, will prompt the correct choice, the conditioned response, according to the lesson.  Operant conditioning is utilized as the children are reinforced with stickers and chosen activities.

During the teacher’s assessment the children hold up one picture at a time.  The children face the teacher so each child is focusing on the appropriate picture and the teacher’s feedback.  Each child who holds up the appropriate picture receives a star.  When a child has received four stars in a row, he or she may leave the group area for a chosen activity.  The teacher retests the remaining children until each has mastered the material.

Behaviorist learning theories simplify lessons so that the child’s focused attention and the teacher’s curriculum goals remain specific.  Because of the efficiency of a behaviorist lesson plan in terms of planning, execution, and assessment, the teacher has more time for alternate classroom tasks.  The clear structure of a behaviorist lesson can be especially beneficial for children who are easily distracted or over-stimulated.  However, the categorical focus of behaviorism can be wearisome for children in need of variety and stimulation.    

Social Cognitive Learning Theories

Using social learning methods, the teacher has the children sit in a circle on a large carpet for group time.  The children are arranged so that every person is visible.  The teacher sits at the head of the circle and reads The Milk Makers, by Gail Gibbons.  After the story, the teacher distributes four cards to each child displaying four stages of milk production. 

After reading the story, the teacher explains the pictures before explicitly demonstrating how to present the pictures in sequential order.  The teacher passes the four pictures to each child and begins the assessment.  The children are asked to show the first card in the process of milk

production.  The teacher calls on each child who displays the appropriate picture.  A model child is asked to describe the picture.  The teacher then asks for the same picture again, waiting for each child to present the correct answer as demonstrated by the model.  Based on social cognitive learning theories, the children expect to receive recognition for selecting the appropriate picture.  Once the teacher begins to assess the children’s understanding, the children use each other’s responses to evaluate their individual progress as compared to others.  The final assessment utilizes modeling, reinforcement, and feedback as described by social cognitive theories.

The group approaches each picture in the same manner.  After every picture has been discussed, the teacher quickly calls for the pictures again, giving the children less time to present the appropriate answer.  Children who choose the correct pictures are recognized by the teacher and are reinforced with praise.  Using vicarious reinforcement, these children serve as models for the ignored children who have selected incorrectly.  At the end of the lesson the children place their cards in correct order and hand them back to the teacher.  The teacher uses the order of each set to assess individual learning.

Social cognitive theories reflect the natural tendencies of individuals to alter personal behaviors based on the observed behavior of others.  They are effective because they are natural.  In classroom groups, children often rely on each other for support and guidance in both explicit and implicit ways.   However, teachers should be wary of the essence of motivation as defined by classroom competition.  Excessive use of modeling to influence children can lead to unnecessary competition.  Unnecessary competition can affect the inherent motivation of children in a variety of ways.

Cognitive Learning Theories

A lesson about milk production using cognitive learning methods begins with a group discussion about milk.  The teacher asks the children if they drink milk, where they buy it, and where the milk comes from.  The children are encouraged to hypothesize about the process of transferring milk from the cow to the grocery store.  As the children make guesses, the teacher transcribes ideas so the children can view the words.  After the children are finished hypothesizing, the group votes on which idea makes the most sense. As children discuss ideas related to milk production, personal experiences are encouraged and evaluated.  The teacher listens to discover each child’s level of understanding.    

When the topic seems exhausted the teacher reads the book, The Milk Makers, by Gail Gibbons.  The children are encouraged to interrupt the story for questions related to the previous hypotheses.  As the children interact with the story they are asked to edit their earlier ideas.

After the story, the teacher asks the group to review the new ideas.  Pictures illustrating the main ideas of the story are introduced to focus the children on the most distinct stages of milk production.  After discussing the story, materials are removed and a numbered board is introduced.  The group is asked to assign the four stages in order without seeing the pictures.  As the group discusses the appropriate order, the pictures are re-introduced and attached to the board.  As the children finish, the teacher summarizes the information.  The book and board is left in the room so the children can revisit the lesson autonomously. 

The basic principles underlying cognitive learning theories include thought as an active pursuit, a foundation of experience used to organize new information, a personal perspective regarding new information, a social environment to acquire new knowledge, and the use of practice to further differentiate between experience and new information.  When children think, they use all of their senses.  The process of sensing is a highly involved network of stimuli, as described by neuroscience.  As children contemplate using their senses, they incorporate Piaget’s notions of assimilation and accommodation to regain equilibrium.  By placing learning in a social environment, children expand their repertoire of experiences by contemplating the experiences of others.  The process of learning is enhanced with reconsiderations of past experiences and new details.  By using these ideas to form a learning environment rather than a lesson plan, the teacher makes the “lesson,” or learning environment, more naturally motivated. 

Using cognitive learning theories, the teacher offers a variety of experiences to approach information, assess understanding and summarize the combination of information and understanding.  The children are active in the exploration using social interaction and feedback to stimulate individual thinking processes.  Even during the physically passive activity of listening to the picture book, the children are encouraged to converse with the story, allowing new information to clarify previous understanding. 

When the teacher writes down the children’s hypotheses, the class is able to revisit a solidified idea during the dynamic process of differentiating experience.  This is perhaps the defining characteristic of the lesson because this solidification provides the framework for the children’s processes of thought.  The children see simultaneously the journey of their thinking and the highly varying nature of contemplation as sense becomes knowledge.

Cognitive learning theories infuse the classroom curriculum with meaningful interaction.  Children grow together in intricate ways.  Not all experiences can be measured equally, because everyone’s experience is utterly unique.  By collecting individual experiences the classroom builds a learning environment that is both deep and authentic.  The assessment of such an environment may seem difficult at first glance, because the philosophy collides with standardized assessment practices.  However, with practice, the teacher can realize a more artistic approach to assessment that values depth of understanding rather than test measures.  

Constructivist Learning Theories

To prepare for the topic of milk production in a constructivist environment, the teacher organizes a field trip to the local dairy.  He or she coordinates the field trip with the cafeteria milk delivery so the children can visit the delivery truck the following morning.

The day before the field trip, the children and teacher discuss milk production.  Personal experiences are collected and hypotheses are formulated regarding the field trip.  The children make a list of items to find in the dairy and draw pictures of farmers and their cows. 

The children spend the following day visiting the dairy.  Each child carries a clipboard to record information.  The teachers photograph the tour and write down the children’s verbal reflections.

During the following morning, the children visit the cafeteria to meet the milk delivery man.  The children tour the truck and watch him refill the cafeteria refrigerators.  Some children draw pictures of the truck while others tally the number of carts carried by the delivery man.

 The children and teacher gather during the afternoon to discuss their experiences.  The teacher records personal observations related by the children.  As the children discuss their favorite experiences, teachers encourage the children to explore significant elements.  As the children relate to the group, the teachers discover which topics are most exciting to the children.

The following week the room is transformed into a dairy.  The water table is equipped with milk jugs and funnels.  The writing area is prepared with clipboards holding inventory charts.  The block area contains farm animals and semi-trucks.  The dramatic play area is decorated according to farm themes.  The reading area includes books about cows, dairies, and nutrition. 

During the morning, the children gather on a large carpet to prepare for the day and discuss the current activities.  Based on the children’s interests, the teachers divide the children in two groups.  One group discusses the trip to the dairy and reviews pictures and observations recorded by the students and teachers.  The other group discusses the morning visit with the delivery man.  Each group defines favorite moments and illustrates these moments by drawing pictures.

After the separate groups have finished their illustrations, they share with the class.  Each group discusses the events as recounted by students according to their illustrations.  To conclude, the children create a milk production timeline using their pictures.  As the children work together to create the timeline, they discuss the different stages involved in milk production.

The principles of constructivist learning require that teachers ask the children many questions about a variety of examples, which occur within the learning environment.  The constructivist learning environment must be authentic and learning experiences must be relevant.  Based on both Piaget and Vygotsky, learning experiences must be social in context to augment individual development.  Learning should never be forced, but should be appreciated as it occurs naturally.  By keeping the learning environment authentic and the children’s natural perceptions worthy, motivation exists as an element of the environment.  The teacher is an observer of perception rather than a presenter of information.  The teacher provides for the learner rather than imposing on the learner.

During the constructivist process of studying milk production, the children use natural thinking methods to survey an authentic environment.  As the children become more experienced, play experiences are provided to elaborate on those experiences.  To access higher order reasoning, the children are expected to illustrate with both drawings and conversations. “For Vygotsky, this symbolic use of objects, actions, words, and people prepares the way for the learning of literacies based on the use of symbols like reading, writing, and drawing.” (Bodrova & Leong, 1996, p. 58)  As children explore their new knowledge, they summarize and reassess the information in small groups.  The structured format as practiced in small groups allows children to take their learning to the next level.  As children discuss their learning, the imagination is fortified for new experiences.

Constructivist learning theories are most problematic in areas of special education.  The experiences of constructivist education necessitate a more coercive mediator for special learners than is necessary for children of typical development.  In this situation, the teacher must regard focused attention as the most important relationship between the teacher and the student.  What detail the child focuses on is less important than the process of focusing on a detail.  This detail can take on an infinite number of shapes and sizes in the mind of the teacher, but can become quite specific and permanent to the child.  While other students may be capable of observing intricate relationships between a variety of details, the special learner may be satisfied with a sole element for contemplation.  This element could provide the path for the teacher to mediate focused attention without losing inherent motivation.  Constructivist learning in special education can be effective, but it requires more patience, acceptance, and focus by the teacher without being absolute in areas of control.  The most obscure observation of a lesson as provided by the special learner, can be the most enlightening if given a direction.

Conclusion

Behaviorist, Social Cognitive, Cognitive, and Constructivist learning theories represent a continuum of approaches available for teaching young children.  Behaviorist theories are described by categorical processes based on observed behavior.  These theories focus on molding the child’s repertoire of behaviors using the array of behaviorist methods of classical and operant conditioning.  Social Cognitive theories elaborate the behaviorist ideas of observed behavior by using the notion of modeling as the main approach.  By capitalizing on the notion of human beings as inherently social creatures, teachers can use social feedback to augment the curriculum.  Cognitive learning theories focus on the thinking processes of the learner rather than the behavior of the learner.  According to cognitive theory, learning is an active process taking place in the largely unobservable domain of the human brain.  The learner approaches information using first the senses and later reflection.   Constructivist learning theories also define learning as an active pursuit.  Using constructivist theory, the pursuit of knowledge is dependent on a combination of internal and external processes as the individual interacts with his or her environment.  Together, the four learning theories present a highly complex knowledge base of how individuals learn. 

Young children are able to define their own experiences both individually and as a collective.  As children process and revisit experience, they define social knowledge according to their experiences of their culture.  At the height of learning, the learning community becomes a scientific cooperative, dedicated to researching and celebrating the world. 

Sources cited

Bodrova, E. & Leong D.J. (1996).  Tools of the mind:  The Vygotskian approach to early childhood education.  Merrill:  Ohio. DeVries, R. (2004).  Why the child’s construction of relationships is fundamentally important to constructivist teachers.  Prospects, 34(4), 411-422.

Gardner, H (1982).  Art, mind and brain: A cognitive approach to creativity.  Basic Books:  USA.

Chard, S.C. & Katz, L.G. (2001).  Project Approach.  http://www.project-approach.com/foundation/class.htm.

 Theories of learningObjectives:

Consider a variety of theories of learning Identify several principles of learning

Understand how individual differences affect the learning process

There are many different theories of how people learn. What follows is a variety of them, and it is useful to consider their application to how your students learn and also how you teach in educational programs. It is interesting to think about your own particular way of learning and to recognise that everyone does not learn the way you do.

Burns (1995, p99) 'conceives of learning as a relatively permanent change in behaviour with behaviour including both observable activity and internal processes such as thinking, attitudes and emotions.' It is clear that Burns includes motivation in this definition of learning. Burns considers that learning might not manifest itself in observable behaviour until some time after the educational program has taken place.

Sensory stimulation theory Reinforcement theory

Cognitive-Gestalt approaches

Holistic learning theory

Facilitation theory

Experiential learning

Action learning

Adult learning (Andragogy)

Why consider learning theories?

References

Sensory Stimulation Theory

Traditional sensory stimulation theory has as its basic premise that effective learning occurs when the senses are stimulated (Laird, 1985). Laird quotes research that found that the vast majority of knowledge held by adults (75%) is learned through seeing. Hearing is the next most effective (about 13%) and the other senses - touch, smell and taste account for 12% of what we know. By stimulating the senses, especially the visual sense, learning can be enhanced. However, this theory says that if multi-senses are stimulated, greater learning takes place. Stimulation through the senses is achieved through a greater variety of colours, volume levels, strong statements, facts presented visually, use of a variety of techniques and media.

Reinforcement theory

This theory was developed by the behaviourist school of psychology, notably by B.F. Skinner earlier this century (Laird 1985, Burns 1995). Skinner believed that behaviour is a function of its consequences. The learner will repeat the desired behaviour if positive reinforcement (a pleasant consequence) follows the behaviour.

Positive reinforcement, or 'rewards' can include verbal reinforcement such as 'That's great' or 'You're certainly on the right track' through to more tangible rewards such as a certificate at the end of the course or promotion to a higher level in an organisation.

Negative reinforcement also strengthen a behaviour and refers to a situation when a negative condition is stopped or avoided as a consequence of the bahaviour. Punishment, on the other hand, weakens a behaviour because a negative condition is introduced or experienced as a consequence of the behaviour and teaches the individual not to repeat the behaviour which was negatively reinforced. A set of conditions is created which are designed to eliminate behaviour (Burns, 1995, p.108). Laird considers this aspect of behaviourism has little or no relevance to education. However, Burns says that punishment is widely used in everyday life although it only works for a short time and often only when the punishing agency is present.

Burns notes that much Competency Based Training is based on this theory, and although it is useful in learning repetitive tasks like multiplication tables and those work skills that require a great deal of practice, higher order learning is not involved. There is criticism of this approach that it is rigid and mechanical.

Cognitive-Gestalt approaches

The emphasis here is on the importance of experience, meaning, problem-solving and the development of insights (Burns 1995, p.112). Burns notes that this theory has developed the concept that individuals have different needs and concerns at different times, and that they have subjective interpretations in different contexts.

Holistic learning theory

The basic premise of this theory is that the 'individual personality consists of many elements ... specifically ... the intellect, emotions, the body impulse (or desire), intuition and imagination (Laird, 1985, p.121) that all require activation if learning is to be more effective.

Facilitation theory (the humanist approach)

Carl Rogers and others have developed the theory of facilitative learning. The basic premise of this theory is that learning will occur by the educator acting as a facilitator, that is by establishing an atmosphere in which learners feel comfortable to consider new ideas and are not threatened by external factors (Laird 1985.)

Other characteristics of this theory include:

a belief that human beings have a natural eagerness to learn, there is some resistance to, and unpleasant consequences of, giving up what is currently held to

be true,

the most significant learning involves changing one's concept of oneself.

Facilitative teachers are:

less protective of their constructs and beliefs than other teachers, more able to listen to learners, especially to their feelings,

inclined to pay as much attention to their relationship with learners as to the content of the course,

apt to accept feedback, both positive and negative and to use it as constructive insight into themselves and their behaviour.

Learners:

are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning, provide much of the input for the learning which occurs through their insights and experiences,

are encouraged to consider that the most valuable evaluation is self-evaluation and that learning needs to focus on factors that contribute to solving significant problems or achieving significant results.

Experiential learning

Kolb proposed a four-stage learning process with a model that is often referred to in describing experiential learning (McGill & Beaty 1995). The process can begin at any of the stages and is continuous, ie there is no limit to the number of cycles you can make in a learning situation. This theory asserts that without reflection we would simply continue to repeat our mistakes. The experiential learning cycle:

(Brooks 1995, p.66)

Kolb's research found that people learn in four ways with the likelihood of developing one mode of learning more than another. As shown in the 'experiential learning cycle' model above, learning is:

through concrete experience through observation and reflection

through abstract conceptualisation

through active experimentation

Differences in learning styles

As already discussed, the idea that people learn in different ways has been explored over the last few decades by educational researchers. Kolb, one of the the most influential of these, found that individuals begin with their preferred style in the experiential learning cycle (see above).

Honey and Mumford (1986 cited in McGill & Beaty 1995 p.177) building on Kolb's work, identified four learning styles:

Activist (enjoys the experience itself), Reflector (spends a great deal of time and effort reflecting)

Theorist (good at making connections and abstracting ideas from experience)

Pragmatist (enjoys the planning stage)

There are strengths and weaknesses in each of these styles. Honey and Mumford argue that learning is enhanced when we think about our learning style so that we can build on strengths and work towards minimising weaknesses to improve the quality of learning.

Action Learning

Action Learning is the approach that links the world of learning with the world of action through a reflective process within small cooperative learning groups known as 'action learning sets' (McGill & Beaty 1995). The 'sets' meet regularly to work on individual members' real-life issues with the aim of learning with and from each other. The 'father' of Action Learning, Reg Revans, has said that there can be no learning without action and no (sober and deliberate) action without learning.

Revans argued that learning can be shown by the following equation, where L is learning; P is programmed knowledge (eg traditional instruction) and Q is questioning insight.

L = P + Q

Revans, along with many others who have used, researched and taught about this approach, argued that Action Learning is ideal for finding solutions to problems that do not have a 'right' answer because the necessary questioning insight can be facilitated by people learning with and from each other in action learning 'sets'.

Adult Learning (Andragogy)

Malcolm Knowles (1978, 1990) is the theorist who brought the concept of adult learning to the fore. He has argued that adulthood has arrived when people behave in adult ways and believe themselves to be adults. Then they should be treated as adults. He taught that adult learning was special in a number of ways. For example:

Adult learners bring a great deal of experience to the learning environment. Educators can use this as a resource.

Adults expect to have a high degree of influence on what they are to be educated for, and how they are to be educated.

The active participation of learners should be encouraged in designing and implementing educational programs.

Adults need to be able to see applications for new learning.

Adult learners expect to have a high degree of influence on how learning will be evaluated.

Adults expect their responses to be acted upon when asked for feedback on the progress of the program.

Here is a quote from Burns (1995, p.233)

By adulthood people are self-directing. This is the concept that lies at the heart of andragogy ... andragogy is therefore student-centred, experience-based, problem-oriented and collaborative very much in the spirit of the humanist approach to learning and education ... the whole educational activity turns on the student.

Adulthood as a social construction

Pogson and Tennant (1995) provide a perspective of adulthood as a social construction. They say that the concept of a life's course varies for different individuals and different cultures; therefore trainers and adult educators should be wary of definitive views of adults and their behaviour.

Burns would probably support this view as he discusses the notion that 'definitions of the adult are not clear' and says 'the same is true of adult education'. He discusses the 'petrol tank' view of school education: 'fill the tank full at the only garage before the freeway, then away we go on life's journey' (1995, p.227). He goes on to discuss that problems can arise when people have not had their tank filled completely at school and he extends the metaphor to suggest that there should be service stations along 'the length of the highway of life'.

The question could be asked - when is maturity complete? Is there no further development after a certain stage in life?

Some authors think that while children at approximately the same age are at approximately the same stage of development, the same cannot be said of adults. Adults would vary in levels of knowledge and also in their life experiences. There could be said to be tremendous variation in adult experience.

An adult's emotional response can affect learning

Some adults can approach formal educational settings with anxiety and feelings of high or low self-efficacy. Their approach to new learning contexts can be influenced by how they appraise or evaluate the new experience.

for example: given two adults in a classroom where an exercise is about to begin, one individual may interpret the exercise in such a way that leads to a feeling of 'excitement', while the other person interprets the exercise in such a way that leads to the feeling of 'embarrassment'. It is self evident that the way the individual interprets the situation and the subsequent emotion that arises, will affect the kind of action the individual is to take. (Burns, 1995, p.16)

Burns considers that such appraisals, coupled with labels such as 'fear' or 'anxiety' can lead some learners to emotionally disengage from the source of discomfort that is the learning experience. However, when coupled with labels such as 'excitement' or 'challenge' the learner is led to take actions that focus on the task.

Why consider learning theories?

This short paper has summarised a range of learning theories that can be applied in educational contexts. Teaching and learning activities can be designed and implemented to take principles of learning into account. Also, it is interesting to think about individual differences among learners and to work towards including activities that have variety and interest for all the learners in educational programs.

References

Brooks, J 1995 Training and Development Competence: a practical guide Kogan Page, London. Burns, R. 1995 The adult learner at work Business and Professional Publishing, Sydney.

Burns, S. 1995 'Rapid changes require enhancement of adult learning' HRMonthly June, pp 16-17.

Knowles, M.S. 1978 The Adult Learner: a Neglected Species 2nd edition, Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, Book Division.

Knowles, M.S. 1990 The Adult Learner: a Neglected Species 4th edition, Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, Book Division

Laird, D. 1985 Approaches to training and development Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.

McGill, I & Beaty, L 1995 Action Learning, second edition: a guide for professional, management and educational development Kogan Page, London.

Pogson, P. & Tennant, M. 1995 'Understanding Adults' in Foley, G. ed. Understanding adult education and training, St Leonards, Allen & Unwin, pp.20-30.

Lee Dunn, 2000

Summaries of Learning Theories and Models

Theories and Models of Learning for Educational Research and Practice. This knowledge base features learning theories and models that address how people learn. A resource useful for scholars of various fields such as educational psychology, instructional design, and human-computer interaction. Below is the index of learning theories, grouped in categories. Note that this website is an iterative project and these entries are a work in progress; please leave comments with suggestions, corrections, and additional references.

Paradigms:

Behaviorism Cognitivism

Constructivism

Design-Based

Humanism

Behaviorist Theories:

Behaviorism Overview Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

GOMS Model (Card, Moran, and Newell)

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

Social Learning Theory (Bandura)

Cognitivist Theories:

Cognitivism Overview Assimilation Theory (Ausubel)

Attribution Theory (Weiner)

Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller)

Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (Mayer)

Component Display Theory

Elaboration Theory (Reigeluth)

Schema Theory

Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (Piaget)

Constructivist, Social, and Situational Theories:

Constructivism Overview Cognitive Apprenticeship (Collins et al.)

Communities of Practice (Lave and Wenger)

Discovery Learning (Bruner)

Social Development Theory (Vygtosky)

Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

Situated Learning (Lave)

Motivational and Humanist Theories:

Humanism Overview ARCS Model of Motivational Design (Keller)

Emotional Intelligence (Goleman)

Experiential Learning (Kolb)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow)

Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan)

Design Theories and Models (Prescriptive):

Design-Based Research Overview ADDIE Model of Instructional Design

ARCS Model of Motivational Design (Keller)

Elaboration Theory (Reigeluth)

Descriptive and Meta Theories:

Activity Theory (Vygotsky, Leont’ev, Luria, Engstrom, etc.) Actor-Network Theory (Latour, Callon)

Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom)

Distributed Cognition (Hutchins)

Identity Theories:

Erikson’s Stages of Development (Erikson) Identity Status Theory (Marcia)

Self-Theories: Entity and Incremental Theory (Dweck)

Miscellaneous Learning Theories and Models:

Affordance Theory (Gibson) Multiple Intelligences Theory (Gardner)

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Theories of Learning

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By Thomas Shuell

Updated on Jul 19, 2013

CONCEPTIONS OF “LEARNING”

EVOLVING THEORIES OF LEARNING

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE

DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEARNING

Learning is one of the most important activities in which humans engage. It is at the very core of the educational process, although most of what people learn occurs outside of school. For thousands of years, philosophers and psychologists have sought to understand the nature of learning, how it occurs, and how one person can influence the learning of another person through teaching and similar endeavors. Various theories of learning have been suggested, and these theories differ for a variety of reasons. A theory, most simply, is a combination of different factors or variables woven together in an effort to explain whatever the theory is about. In general, theories based on scientific evidence are considered more valid than theories based on opinion or personal experience. In any case, it is wise to be cautious when comparing the appropriateness of different theories.

In addition to formal theories, people hold personal theories, including theories of learning and teaching. Some typical questions such theories might involve are: How does one determine if learning has occurred? What factors determine whether or not learning occurs? Are these factors located in the environment or within the individual?

This entry focuses first on different conceptions and definitions of learning. Next, the evolution of theories and conceptions of learning over the past 100 years is discussed, highlighting some of the advantages and limitations of different theoretical perspectives. Following a discussion of the relationship between theory and practice, examples of different types of learning are presented, and the appropriateness of different theories for different learning situations is pointed out.

CONCEPTIONS OF “LEARNING”

Understanding any theory requires a clear idea of what the theory is trying to explain. When a particular word is used, people usually assume everyone has a common understanding of what the word means. Unfortunately, such is not always the case. In trying to understand the various theories of learning and their implications for education, it is helpful to realize that the term

“learning” means different things to different people and is used somewhat differently in different theories. As theories of learning evolved over the past half-century, definitions of learning shifted from changes that occur in the mind or behavior of an individual to changes in participation in ongoing activities with other individuals to changes in a person's identity within a group (e.g., a change from being a follower to being a leader). Although, most definitions of learning involve a change in an individual's knowledge, ability to perform a skill, or participate in an activity with other individuals, there is considerable variation among the theories about the nature of this change.

Further difficulty in understanding similarities and differences among various theories results from the frequently overlooked fact that there are different types of learning. In many cases, the various theories are relevant to different types of learning and are not necessarily incompatible with one another. Rather, they provide different perspectives on the complex phenomena of learning and complement one another in their ability to explain different types of learning situations. Thus, radically different theories are relevant to the classroom by addressing different aspects of classroom learning, and it is wise to avoid comparing apples with oranges. Examples of different types of learning are presented later in this entry.

EVOLVING THEORIES OF LEARNING

The modern psychological study of learning can be dated from the work of Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), whose well-known study of memory was published in 1885. Other early studies of learning were by Edward L. Thorndike (1874–1949), whose dissertation on problem solving was published in 1898, and Ivan Pavlov (1849– 1936), whose research on classical conditioning was begun in 1899 but first published in English in 1927. These theories focused on explaining the behavior of individuals and became known as behavioral theories. These theories use a stimulus-response framework to explain learning and dominated psychology and education for over half a century. Because behavioral theories focus on environmental factors such as reinforcement, feedback, and practice, they conceptualize learning as something that occurs from the outside in.

Behavioral theories provide very good explanations for certain kinds of learning but poor explanations for other types of learning. Operant conditioning, for example, is better than other theories at explaining the rote acquisition of information, the learning of physical and mental skills, and the development of behaviors conducive to a productive classroom (i.e., classroom management). In these situations, the focus is on performing behavioral tasks rather than developing a learner's cognitive structure or understanding. Although classical conditioning frequently is dismissed as irrelevant to human learning (Pavlov's initial research paradigm involved dogs salivating), this type of learning provides by far the best explanation of how and why people, including students, respond emotionally to a wide variety of stimuli and situations. The many types of emotional reactions acquired through classical conditioning include: anger toward or hatred for a particular person or group, phobias to a particular subject area or to school itself, and infatuation with another person. However, they are very poor at explaining how individuals come to understand complex ideas and phenomena.

But environmental factors are not the only ones that influence learning. Serious consideration of other perspectives began to enter mainstream psychological thinking about learning during the

1960s. For example, people clearly learn by observing others, and a learner's belief about his or her ability to perform a task (i.e., self-efficacy) plays an important role in their learning. In 1963 Albert Bandura and R. H. Walters published the first formal statement of social-learning theory in their book, Social Learning and Personality Development. Social-learning theory has clear roots in behavioral theory but differs from these theories in significant ways. During the 1980s the theory became known as social-cognitive theory. Although essentially the same theory, the new name more accurately reflects the cognitive features of the theory and aids in differentiating it from behavioral theories of learning.

During the 1970s and 1980s conceptions and definitions of learning began to change dramatically. Behavioral theories gave way to cognitive theories that focused on mental activities and the understanding of complex material. An information-processing metaphor replaced the stimulus-response framework of behavioral theories. These theories emphasized that learning occurred from the inside out rather than from the outside in. During the late 1970s John Flavell and Ann Brown each began to study metacognition—the learners' awareness of their own learning, an ability to reflect on their own thinking, and the capacity to monitor and manage their learning. During the mid 1980s the study of self-regulated learning began to emerge (see Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001).

Then, especially during the later 1980s and the 1990s, these cognitive theories were challenged by theories that emphasized the importance of social interactions and the sociocultural context of learning. The work of the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) first became available in North America and along with the work of anthropologists such as Jean Lave began to have a major influence on theories of learning. Individuals were seen as initially participating in peripheral activities of a group (known as legitimate peripheral participation)before becoming fully integrated into group activities. Apprenticeship became a metaphor for the way people learn in natural settings. The notion that people learn by observing others, first articulated in social-cognitive theory, was expanded in a new context.

Traditionally, learning has been viewed as something that occurs within an individual. Individuals may participate and learn in groups, but it is the individual person that learns. With few exceptions, the educational systems in Europe and North America have adopted this perspective, if not entirely with regard to instructional practices, certainly in the evaluation of student performance and the assignment of grades. Many psychologists and educators currently consider learning to be a phenomenon that is distributed among several individuals and/or environmental affordances (such as calculators, computers, and textbooks) or situated (existing or occurring) within a “community of practice” (or community of learners). Both a social and a material dimension are involved in this distribution (Pea, 1993). For example, a student may use a calculator to help learn how to solve a three-digit multiplication problem (the material dimension) and/or work with another student to understand the proper procedures to follow (the social dimension). In either case, the student is not learning totally on his or her own but is taking advantages of resources (affordances) available in the environment. If the student is not able to solve a subsequent problem without the aid of the calculator or another student, then it is possible to see the distributed nature of learning. In such situations, participation or activity rather than acquisition becomes the defining metaphor (Greeno, 2006).

The evolution from behavioral to social to distributed to situated theories of learning was accompanied by new conceptions of knowledge (for a good discussion of these changes, see Schraw, 2006). Traditional theories conceive of knowledge as a commodity capable of being transmitted, more or less intact, from one individual to another. According to these theories, knowledge is something an individual acquires; when a student successfully learns it, he or she can reproduce the knowledge in its original form. In contrast, more recent theories conceive of knowledge as something each learner constructs or creates afresh rather than something that is assimilated in its preexisting form. According to current theories, truly “objective” knowledge does not exist, although something similar exists in the form of collective knowledge within a particular culture or discipline. Knowledge resides in the community of learners (individuals) that creates it and is distributed among members of the community and the various environmental affordances available to the group. Because each person constructs his or her own understandings, the knowledge they acquire is unique. Communities and cultures are composed of individuals with common understandings, and these groups provide opportunities for new members (e.g., children) to construct similar knowledge of the world through schools and/or a variety of informal activities.

The 1990s were dubbed “The Decade of the Brain,” and huge advances were made in neuroscience and how the brain relates to human behavior and learning. The study of how the brain relates to learning is in its infancy (for an introduction to some of the issue, see Bransford et al., 2006). An understanding of how the neurophysiology of the brain affects learning and cognition will add greatly to our understanding of human learning and have a large influence on future theories of learning. Nevertheless, a psychological component to these theories will remain critical for learning in educational settings. Education as it is presently understood is based on psychological processes and interactions capable of being influenced by instruction, and it seems likely that psychological interventions will continue to be important for the foreseeable future.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE

The relationship between theories of learning and educational practices is complicated by several factors. One would think that instructional practices should be based on the best theories of learning available, but this relationship is not as straightforward as one might think. Schools and educational practices are far more likely to be based on philosophical beliefs than on empirical studies and theoretical understanding of learning. Schools are established according to different community and cultural beliefs about the world, the nature of humankind and children, locus of authority, and what should be learned. Schools also differ in their beliefs about teaching and learning, but the philosophical beliefs often come first. Every educational system and instructional program contains a theory of learning, although frequently this theory is implicit and goes unrecognized.

These philosophical and theoretical differences are formidable. Many have endured for centuries, and the debate is unlikely to end anytime soon. For example, the “factory model” of schooling dominated education in the United States for many years. This model is based on production and

management procedures successful during the industrial revolution. It stands in sharp contrast to the voices of Henry David Thoreau (1817– 1862), John Dewey (1859–1952), and others who advocated discovery, social reform, and freedom as the appropriate means of education. Both perspectives are clearly evident in modern-day discussions of education and instructional practices.

The correspondence between these philosophical perspectives and the various theories of learning is quite apparent. Classroom activities in a traditional classroom, for example, revolve around and are controlled by the teacher, who presents the to-be-learned material and dictates the type of learning activities in which students engage. Students are expected to study the information (via classroom activities and homework) until it is mastered. The knowledge being learned is seen as a commodity being passed from one individual (the teacher) to another (the student).

Very different classrooms emerge from different philosophical perspectives. If one believes, for example, that knowledge is something created afresh by each student, that learning occurs from working on authentic tasks in a social environment, and that the mental activities of the student determines what he or she learns, then the resulting classroom is likely to be one in which students work in groups and/or on projects, discussing how best to solve a problem, or negotiating the meaning of a concept. Once again consistency exists between theoretical beliefs and classroom practices. However, it is not always clear which comes first, for there is evidence that individuals seek out and accept information that confirms their existing beliefs while tending to reject information that would disconfirm those beliefs.

This reality leads to another realization regarding the relationship between theory and practice, namely that the relationship is two-way. A common belief is that knowledge flows from scientific theories to the development of effective practices, that sound theories of learning dictate effective educational practices. Science, however, does not always operate in such a linear fashion. In both the physical and social sciences, ideas often come from observing and questioning things that occur in the real world: “Why did that apple fall from the tree?” (a question asked by Isaac Newton [1643–1727] that led to his discovery of the three laws of motion). Scientific breakthroughs also come from trying to solve a practical problem (Stokes, 1997), such as “what is the best way to teach the concept of photosynthesis?” Established educational practices that teachers have found effective can and should be a source of ideas in developing a viable theory of learning.

A third caveat in understanding the relationship between theory and practice is realizing that the student is more important than the teacher in determining what is learned. This does not mean the teacher is not important; only that it is the students' perceptions, prior knowledge, and beliefs that determine what and if they learn something approximating the instructional goals of the teacher. The bottom line in the teaching-learning process is the learning activities in which the students engage, not the instructional activities in which the teacher engages.

Modern-day conceptions of learning and teaching recognize that students are active, often proactive, participants in the learning process, even if they appear otherwise. This dynamic nature of the learning process is one reason why instructional interventions that appear the same

to the teacher can result in very different student outcomes and why rather different instructional methods can result in very similar outcomes (e.g., Nuthall & Alton-Lee, 1990; Olson, 2004).

DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEARNING

The relationship between theories of learning and educational practices is complicated by the reality that there is more than one type of learning. None of the present theories is capable of explaining learning in all situations, and scholars working within a particular theoretical perspective often ignore or deny the importance of other types of learning and the relevance of other theories for different situations. Nearly every educational setting involves several types of learning, each with its unique importance to the functioning of the classroom.

There is little agreement on how many types of learning actually exist. Nevertheless, it should not be too difficult to identify different types of learning in the following examples: (a) learning to tie a shoelace or necktie, (b) being afraid (fearful in a literal sense) to work in a math class after a lengthy public ridicule by a teacher two years earlier for being unable to explain a problem to the class, (c) understanding and explaining causes of the French and American revolutions, (d) learning to cook by watching one's father or mother, and (e) negotiating an understanding of “learning” with a person holding a different theoretical perspective. Different theories are good for explaining one example but poor for explaining other examples.

When evaluating the validity or usefulness of different theories, especially from the perspective of the student doing the learning, it is helpful to consider what the person is learning and what is taken as evidence that learning has occurred. Students do not always engage in the type of learning sought by the teacher. For example, a teacher conducts a lesson on the Civil War that includes authentic activities, having students question one another about the war, and finally giving the students a quiz. It would not be at all uncommon for the teacher to conclude that a particular student understood what happened at Gettysburg when in reality he or she only memorized certain facts.

Theories of learning are efforts to explain how people learn. Different theories are based on different assumptions and are appropriate for explaining some learning situations but not others. Theories of learning can inform teaching and the use of different instructional resources including technology, but ultimately the learning activities in which the student actually engages (mental, physical, and social) determine what a student learns in the classroom. Classroom learning involves social, emotional, and participatory factors in addition to cognitive ones, and theories of learning need to take these factors into account. Most current theories of learning presuppose that the goal of education is to develop the ability of students to understand the content and to think for themselves, presumptions that are consistent with the majority of modern-day schools.

See also:Cognitive Load Theory, Constructivism, Distributed Cognition, Dual Coding Theory, Information Processing Theory, Self-Efficacy Theory, Self-Regulated Learning, Situated Cognition, Social Cognitive Theory, Sociocultural Theory

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alexander, P. A., & Winne, P. H. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Bransford, J., Stevens, R., Schwartz, D., Meltzoff, A., Pea, R., Roschelle, J., et al. (2006). Learning theories and education: Toward a decade of synergy. In P. A. Alexander & P. H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 209–244). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Greeno, J. G. (2006). Learning in activity. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (pp. 79–96). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Nuthall, G., & Alton-Lee, A. (1990). Research on teaching and learning: Thirty years of change. Elementary School Journal, 90, 547–570.

Olson, D. R. (2004). The triumph of hope over experience in the search for “What Works”: A response to Slavin. Educational Researcher, 33(1), 24–26.

Pea, R. D. (1993). Practices of distributed intelligence and designs for education. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: psychological and educational considerations (pp. 47–87). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Salomon, G. (Ed.). (1993). Distributed cognitions: psychological and educational considerations. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Sawyer, R. K. (Ed.). (2006). The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Schraw, G. (2006). Knowledge: Structures and processes. In P. A. Alexander & P. H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 245–263). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Stokes, D. E. (1997). Pasteur's quadrant: Basic science and technological innovation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (Eds.). (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Learning: Theory and Research

Overview of Learning Theories Although there are many different approaches to learning, there are three basic types of learning theory: behaviorist, cognitive constructivist, and social constructivist. This section provides a brief introduction to each type of learning theory. The theories are treated in four parts: a short historical introduction, a discussion of the view of knowledge presupposed by the theory, an

account of how the theory treats learning and student motivation, and finally, an overview of some of the instructional methods promoted by the theory is presented.

BehaviorismCognitive Constructivism

Social Constructivism

View of knowledge

Knowledge is a repertoire of behavioral responses to environmental stimuli.

Knowledge systems of cognitive structures are actively constructed by learners based on pre-existing cognitive structures.

Knowledge is constructed within social contexts through interactions with a knowledge community.

View of learning

Passive absorption of a predefined body of knowledge by the learner. Promoted by repetition and positive reinforcement.

Active assimilation and accommodation of new information to existing cognitive structures. Discovery by learners.

Integration of students into a knowledge community. Collaborative assimilation and accommodation of new information.

View of motivation

Extrinsic, involving positive and negative reinforcement.

Intrinsic; learners set their own goals and motivate themselves to learn.

Intrinsic and extrinsic. Learning goals and motives are determined both by learners and extrinsic rewards provided by the knowledge community.

Implications for Teaching

Correct behavioral responses are transmitted by the teacher and absorbed by the students.

The teacher facilitates learning by providing an environment that promotes discovery and assimilation/accommodation.

Collaborative learning is facilitated and guided by the teacher. Group work.

<< CHAPTER INDEX

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Learning: Theory and Research

Behaviorism

Behaviorist teaching methods have proven most successful in areas where there is a “correct” response or easily memorized material.

BackgroundView of KnowledgeView of LearningView of MotivationImplications for Teaching

Background

Methodological behaviorism began as a reaction against the introspective psychology that dominated the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Introspective psychologists such as Wilhelm Wundt maintained that the study of consciousness was the primary object of psychology. Their methodology was primarily introspective, relying heavily on first-person reports of sensations and the constituents of immediate experiences. Behaviorists such as J. B. Watson and B. F. Skinner rejected introspectionist methods as being subjective and unquantifiable. Instead, they focused on objectively observable, quantifiable events and behavior. They argued that since it is not possible to observe objectively or to quantify what occurs in the mind, scientific theories should take into account only observable indicators such as stimulus-response sequences. According to Skinner (1976, 23),

The mentalistic problem can be avoided by going directly to the prior physical causes while bypassing intermediate feelings or states of mind. The quickest way to do this is to … consider only those facts which can be objectively observed in the behavior of one person in its relation to his [or her] prior environmental history.

Radical behaviorists such as Skinner also made the ontological claim that facts about mental states are reducible to facts about behavioral dispositions.

View of Knowledge

Behaviorists such as Watson and Skinner construe knowledge as a repertoire of behaviors. Skinner argues that it is not the case that we use knowledge to guide our action; rather “knowledge is action, or at least rules for action” (152). It is a set of passive, largely mechanical responses to environmental stimuli. So, for instance, the behaviorist would argue that to say that that someone knows Shakespeare is to say that they have a certain behavioral repertoire with respect to Shakespeare (152). Knowledge that is not actively expressed in behavior can be explained as behavioral capacities. For example, “I know a bluebird when I see one” can be seen as effectively equivalent to “I have the capacity to identify a bluebird although I am not now doing so” (154). If knowledge is construed as a repertoire of behaviors, someone can be said to understand something if they possess the appropriate repertoire. No mention of cognitive processes is necessary (156–57).

View of Learning

From a behaviorist perspective, the transmission of information from teacher to learner is essentially the transmission of the response appropriate to a certain stimulus. Thus, the point of education is to present the student with the appropriate repertoire of behavioral responses to specific stimuli and to reinforce those responses through an effective reinforcement schedule (161). An effective reinforcement schedule requires consistent repetition of the material; small, progressive sequences of tasks; and continuous positive reinforcement. Without positive reinforcement, learned responses will quickly become extinct. This is because learners will continue to modify their behavior until they receive some positive reinforcement.

View of Motivation

Behaviorists explain motivation in terms of schedules of positive and negative reinforcement. Just as receiving food pellets each time it pecks at a button teaches a pigeon to peck the button, pleasant experiences cause human learners to make the desired connections between specific stimuli and the appropriate responses. For example, a student who receives verbal praise and good grades for correct answers is more likely to learn those answers effectively than one who receives little or no positive feedback for the same answers. Likewise, human learners tend to avoid responses that are associated with negative reinforcements such as poor grades or negative feedback.

Implications for Teaching

Behaviorist teaching methods tend to rely on so-called “skill and drill” exercises to provide the consistent repetition necessary for effective reinforcement of response patterns. Other methods include question (stimulus) and answer (response) frameworks in which questions are of gradually increasing difficulty; guided practice; and regular reviews of material. Behaviorist methods also typically rely heavily on the use of positive reinforcements such as verbal praise, good grades, and prizes. Behaviorists assess the degree of learning using methods that measure observable behavior such as exam performance. Behaviorist teaching methods have proven most successful in areas where there is a “correct” response or easily memorized material. For example, while behaviorist methods have proven to be successful in teaching structured material such as facts and formulae, scientific concepts, and foreign language vocabulary, their efficacy in teaching comprehension, composition, and analytical abilities is questionable.

Reference

Skinner, B. F. (1976). About Behaviorism. New York: Vintage Books.

Learning: Theory and Research

Cognitive Constructivism

Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist students in assimilating new information to existing knowledge, and enabling them to make the appropriate modifications to their existing intellectual framework to accommodate that information.

BackgroundView of KnowledgeView of LearningView of MotivationImplications for TeachingJean PiagetWilliam G. PerryReferences

Background

Dissatisfaction with behaviorism’s strict focus on observable behavior led educational psychologists such as Jean Piaget and William Perry to demand an approach to learning theory that paid more attention to what went on “inside the learner’s head.” They developed a cognitive approach that focused on mental processes rather than observable behavior. Common to most cognitivist approaches is the idea that knowledge comprises symbolic mental representations, such as propositions and images, together with a mechanism that operates on those representations. Knowledge is seen as something that is actively constructed by learners based on their existing cognitive structures. Therefore, learning is relative to their stage of cognitive development; understanding the learner's existing intellectual framework is central to understanding the learning process.

View of Knowledge

While behaviorists maintain that knowledge is a passively absorbed behavioral repertoire, cognitive constructivists argue instead that knowledge is actively constructed by learners and that any account of knowledge makes essential references to cognitive structures. Knowledge comprises active systems of intentional mental representations derived from past learning experiences. Each learner interprets experiences and information in the light of their extant knowledge, their stage of cognitive development, their cultural background, their personal history, and so forth. Learners use these factors to organize their experience and to select and transform new information. Knowledge is therefore actively constructed by the learner rather than passively absorbed; it is essentially dependent on the standpoint from which the learner approaches it.

View of Learning

Because knowledge is actively constructed, learning is presented as a process of active discovery. The role of the instructor is not to drill knowledge into students through consistent repetition, or to goad them into learning through carefully employed rewards and punishments. Rather, the role of the teacher is to facilitate discovery by providing the necessary resources and

by guiding learners as they attempt to assimilate new knowledge to old and to modify the old to accommodate the new. Teachers must thus take into account the knowledge that the learner currently possesses when deciding how to construct the curriculum and to present, sequence, and structure new material.

View of Motivation

Unlike behaviorist learning theory, where learners are thought to be motivated by extrinsic factors such as rewards and punishment, cognitive learning theory sees motivation as largely intrinsic. Because it involves significant restructuring of existing cognitive structures, successful learning requires a major personal investment on the part of the learner (Perry 1999, 54). Learners must face up to the limitations of their existing knowledge and accept the need to modify or abandon existing beliefs. Without some kind of internal drive on the part of the learner to do so, external rewards and punishments such as grades are unlikely to be sufficient.

Implications for Teaching

Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist students in assimilating new information to existing knowledge, and enabling them to make the appropriate modifications to their existing intellectual framework to accommodate that information. Thus, while cognitivists allow for the use of “skill and drill” exercises in the memorization of facts, formulae, and lists, they place greater importance on strategies that help students to actively assimilate and accommodate new material. For instance, asking students to explain new material in their own words can assist them in assimilating it by forcing them to re-express the new ideas in their existing vocabulary. Likewise, providing students with sets of questions to structure their reading makes it easier for them to relate it to previous material by highlighting certain parts and to accommodate the new material by providing a clear organizational structure. Because learning is largely self-motivated in the cognitivist framework, cognitivists such as A. L. Brown and J. D. Ferrara have also suggested methods which require students to monitor their own learning. For instance, the use of ungraded tests and study questions enables students to monitor their own understanding of the material. Other methods that have been suggested include the use of learning journals by students to monitor progress and highlight any recurring difficulties, and to analyze study habits.

Jean Piaget

The most influential exponent of cognitivism was Swiss child psychologist Jean Piaget. Piaget rejected the idea that learning was the passive assimilation of given knowledge. Instead, he proposed that learning is a dynamic process comprising successive stages of adaption to reality during which learners actively construct knowledge by creating and testing their own theories of the world (1968, 8). Piaget’s theory has two main strands: first, an account of the mechanisms by which cognitive development takes place; and second, an account of the four main stages of cognitive development through which children pass.

The basic principle underlying Piaget’s theory is the principle of equilibration: all cognitive development (including both intellectual and affective development) progresses towards

increasingly complex and stable levels of organization. Equilibration takes place through a process of adaption, that is, assimilation of new information to existing cognitive structures and the accommodation of that information through the formation of new cognitive structures. For example, learners who already have the cognitive structures necessary to solve percentage problems in mathematics will have some of the structures necessary to solve time-rate-distance problems, but they will need to modify their existing structures to accommodate the newly acquired information to solve the new type of problem. Thus, learners adapt and develop by assimilating and accommodating new information into existing cognitive structures.

Piaget suggested that there are four main stages in the cognitive development of children. In the first two years, children pass through a sensorimotor stage during which they progress from cognitive structures dominated by instinctual drives and undifferentiated emotions to more organized systems of concrete concepts, differentiated emotions, and their first external affective fixations. At this stage, children’s outlook is essentially egocentric in the sense that they are unable to take into account others’ points of view. The second stage of development lasts until around seven years of age. Children begin to use language to make sense of reality. They learn to classify objects using different criteria and to manipulate numbers. Children’s increasing linguistic skills open the way for greater socialization of action and communication with others. From the ages of seven to twelve years, children begin to develop logic, although they can only perform logical operations on concrete objects and events. In adolescence, children enter the formal operational stage, which continues throughout the rest of their lives. Children develop the ability to perform abstract intellectual operations, and reach affective and intellectual maturity. They learn how to formulate and test abstract hypotheses without referring to concrete objects. Most importantly, children develop the capacity to appreciate others’ points of view as well as their own.

Piaget’s theory was widely accepted from the 1950s until the 1970s. Although the theory is not now as widely accepted, it has had a significant influence on later theories of cognitive development. For instance, the idea of adaption through assimilation and accommodation is still widely accepted.

William G. Perry

William G. Perry, an educational researcher at Harvard University, developed an account of the cognitive and intellectual development of college-age students through a fifteen-year study of students at Harvard and Radcliffe in the 1950s and 1960s. Perry generalized that study to give a more detailed account of post-adolescent development than did Piaget. He also introduces the concept of positionality and develops a less static view of developmental transitions.

The sequence of cognitive structures that make up the developmental process may be described in terms of cross-sections of cognitive structures representative of different stages in the developmental sequence. Each stage is construed as a relatively stable, enduring cognitive structure, which includes and builds upon past structures. Stages are characterized by the coherence and consistency of the structures that compose them. The transition between stages is mediated by less stable, less consistent transitional structures. Freud, Whitehead, and Piaget all use the notion of a stage in this way. Perry rejects the notion of a stage. He argues that construing

development in terms of a sequence of stable stages in which students are “imprisoned” is too static (Perry 1999, xii). Instead, he introduces the notion of a position. Perry accepted Piaget’s claim that learners adapt and develop by assimilating and accommodating new information into existing cognitive structures. He also accepted Piaget's claim that the sequence of cognitive structures that constitute the developmental process are both logically and hierarchically related, insofar as each builds upon and thus presupposes the previous structure. However, he laid far greater emphasis on the idea that learners approach knowledge from a variety of different standpoints. Thus, according to Perry, gender, race, culture, and socioeconomic class influence our approach to learning just as much as our stage of cognitive development (xii). We each interpret the world from a different position (46) and each person may occupy several positions simultaneously with respect to different subjects and experiences (xii). The developmental process is a constantly changing series of transitions between various positions.

Perry provides the following illustration different types of position (1999, 2):

… a lecturer announces that today he will consider three theories explanatory of ____________.Student A has always taken it for granted that knowledge consists of correct answers, that there is one right answer per problem, and that teachers explain these answers for students to learn. He therefore listens for the lecturer to state which theory to learn.Student B makes the same general assumptions but with an elaboration to the effect that teachers sometimes present problems and procedures, rather than answers, “so that we can learn to find the right answer on our own…”Student C assumes that an answer can be called “right” only in the light of its context, and that contexts or “frames of reference” differ…Whatever the lecturer then proceeds to do…, these three students will make meaning of the experience in different ways which will involve different assessments of their own choices and responsibilities.

Perry identifies nine basic positions, of which the three major positions are duality, multiplicity, and commitment.

The most basic position is duality. The world, knowledge and morality are assumed to have a dualistic structure. Things are right or wrong, true or false, good or bad. Students see teachers as authority figures who impart right answers and “the truth.” The role of the student is seen as being to receive those answers and demonstrate that they have learned them. Detachment is difficult in this because there is only a single, correct point of view. Most students have passed beyond this stage by the time that they arrive in university. Those who have not quickly do so in the inherently pluralistic culture of modern universities.

Positions two through four are largely transitional. Learners gradually develop an increased recognition of multiplicity but still assimilate that multiplicity to the fundamentally dualistic framework of the first position. For instance, a student may

recognize the existence of a multiplicity of different points of view in the university but still look for the point of view that the teacher “wants us to learn” (121).

The next major position is multiplicity. The world, knowledge and morality are accepted as relativistic in the sense that truth is seen as relative to a frame of reference rather than absolute. Learners recognize that things can only be said to be right or wrong within a specific context. Teachers are seen as expert guides or consultants rather than as authority figures who impart “the truth.” Peers are accepted as legitimate sources of learning (xxxii). This position involves a much more extensive restructuring of the learner’s existing knowledge than previous positions as knowledge can no longer be assimilated to the existing dualistic organizational scheme.

Positions six through eight are also largely transitional. Recognition of the relativity of knowledge leads to the realization that a stable locus or point of view is necessary for a sense of identity and to give some feeling of continuity. This leads to the gradual formation of commitments to certain points of view, relationships, sorts of activities, etc. The learner realizes the necessity to find his own point of view in a relativistic world. He or she begins by questioning and reconsidering past beliefs and commitments, then develops and expands upon firm commitments regarding important areas of life and knowledge.

The final major position is commitment. The commitments that the learners have developed together with their recognition that all knowledge is relative, leads to the realization both that each person partly determines his or her own fate and the recognition that commitments, and hence identity, are constantly evolving.

Because Perry’s initial research was based on a small and fairly non-representative sample of students, many of the details of his positions have been modified or developed by later researchers. However, the idea of positionality has had a significant influence on social identity theory and his account of developmental transitions is consonant with current approaches to adult learning (xii).

References

Perry, William G. (1999). Forms of Ethical and Intellectual Development in the College Years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Piaget, Jean (1968). Six Psychological Studies. Anita Tenzer (Trans.), New York: Vintage Books.

Learning: Theory and Research

Social Constructivism The level of potential development is the level at which learning takes place. It comprises

cognitive structures that are still in the process of maturing, but which can only mature under the guidance of or in collaboration with others.

Background View of Knowledge View of Learning View of Motivation Implications for Teaching

Background

Social constructivism is a variety of cognitive constructivism that emphasizes the collaborative nature of much learning. Social constructivism was developed by post-revolutionary Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky was a cognitivist, but rejected the assumption made by cognitivists such as Piaget and Perry that it was possible to separate learning from its social context. He argued that all cognitive functions originate in, and must therefore be explained as products of social interactions and that learning was not simply the assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge by learners; it was the process by which learners were integrated into a knowledge community. According to Vygotsky (1978, 57),

Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals.

Vygotsky’s theory of social learning has been expanded upon by numerous later theorists and researchers.

View of Knowledge

Cognitivists such as Piaget and Perry see knowledge as actively constructed by learners in response to interactions with environmental stimuli. Vygotsky emphasized the role of language and culture in cognitive development. According to Vygotsky, language and culture play essential roles both in human intellectual development and in how humans perceive the world. Humans’ linguistic abilities enable them to overcome the natural limitations of their perceptual field by imposing culturally defined sense and meaning on the world. Language and culture are the frameworks through which humans experience, communicate, and understand reality. Vygotsky states (1968, 39),

A special feature of human perception … is the perception of real objects … I do not see the world simply in color and shape but also as a world with sense and meaning. I do not merely see something round and black with two hands; I see a clock …

Language and the conceptual schemes that are transmitted by means of language are essentially social phenomena. As a result, human cognitive structures are, Vygotsky believed, essentially socially constructed. Knowledge is not simply constructed, it is co-constructed.

View of Learning

Vygotsky accepted Piaget’s claim that learners respond not to external stimuli but to their interpretation of those stimuli. However, he argued that cognitivists such as Piaget had overlooked the essentially social nature of language. As a result, he claimed they had failed to understand that learning is a collaborative process. Vygotsky distinguished between two developmental levels (85): The level of actual development is the level of development that the learner has already reached, and is the level at which the learner is capable of solving problems independently. The level of potential development (the “zone of proximal development”) is the level of development that the learner is capable of reaching under the guidance of teachers or in collaboration with peers. The learner is capable of solving problems and understanding material at this level that they are not capable of solving or understanding at their level of actual development; the level of potential development is the level at which learning takes place. It comprises cognitive structures that are still in the process of maturing, but which can only mature under the guidance of or in collaboration with others.

View of Motivation

Behavioral motivation is essentially extrinsic — a reaction to positive and negative reinforcements. Cognitive motivation is essentially intrinsic — based on the learner's internal drive. Social constructivists see motivation as both extrinsic and intrinsic. Because learning is essentially a social phenomenon, learners are partially motivated by rewards provided by the knowledge community. However, because knowledge is actively constructed by the learner, learning also depends to a significant extent on the learner's internal drive to understand and promote the learning process.

Implications for Teaching

Collaborative learning methods require learners to develop teamwork skills and to see individual learning as essentially related to the success of group learning. The optimal size for group learning is four or five people. Since the average section size is ten to fifteen people, collaborative learning methods often require GSIs to break students into smaller groups, although discussion sections are essentially collaborative learning environments. For instance, in group investigations, students may be split into groups that are then required to choose and research a topic from a limited area. They are then held responsible for researching the topic and presenting their findings to the class. More generally, collaborative learning should be seen as a process of peer interaction that is mediated and structured by the teacher. Discussion can be

promoted by the presentation of specific concepts, problems, or scenarios; it is guided by means of effectively directed questions, the introduction and clarification of concepts and information, and references to previously learned material. Some more specific techniques are suggested in the Teaching Guide pages on Discussion Sections.

Reference

Vygotsky, Lev (1978). Mind in Society. London: Harvard University Press.