1. Edward Lee Thorndike

2. Some Background Information August 31, 1874 - August 9, 1949 Graduated from Roxbury Latin School (1891) Received Bachelor’s from Wesleyan University (1895) Received Master’s from Harvard University (1897) Received PhD from Columbia University (1898) Married Elizabeth Moulton (1900) and bore 5 Children Employed at Teachers College at Columbia University.

3. Connectionism Suggests that learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses. Connections become strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency Certain responses may come to dominate others due to rewards

4. Thorndike’s “Puzzle Box” Classic Example of S-R theory (Stimulus and Response theory). The lever acts as the stimulus. The response is the door being opened from the lever.

5. Principles of the Theory Learning requires both practice and rewards. A series of S-R connections can be chained together if they belong to the same action sequence Transfer of learning occurs because of previously encountered situations Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned.

6. Laws of Connectionism Law of Readiness: the more "ready" an individual to respond to a stimulus, the stronger will be the bond between them. If an individual is ready to respond but is not made to respond, it becomes frustrating and annoying to that person. Law of Exercise: connections grow stronger when used or weaker when not used. Law of Effect: connections are strengthened only when the making of the connection results in a satisfying state of affairs or weakened when the result is an annoying state of affairs.

7. Characteristics of Learning Multiple Response or Varied Reaction Set of Attitude Partial Activity or Prepotency of Elements Assimilation Associative Shifting

8. Accomplishments Known as Father of modern educational philosophy. Formed the theory of Connectionism Became President of the Psychometric Society (1937)

9. How to Utilize the Theory in Classrooms Use exercises that require a stimulus to reach a response. Emphasize more on rewarding than punishment because rewards result in stronger connection making. By repeating exercises and reinforcing the results with appropriate rewarding and punishing will result in a connection between a particular stimulus or response.