1. Learning Theory
COMPETENCE III

2. Learning theories
Behaviorism Cognitivism Social Constructivism

3. Behaviorism Cognitive Constructivism Social Constructivism
Behaviorism
Cognitive 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.

4. Behaviorism
The assumption has been that if teachers speak clearly and students are motivated, learning will occur. If students do not learn, the logic goes, it is because they are not paying attention or they do not care. These ideas were grounded in a theory of learning that focused on behavior. One behavior leads to another, behavioral-learning theorists argued, and so if teachers act in a certain way, students will likewise act in a certain way. Central to behaviorism was the idea of conditioning—that is, training the individual to respond to stimuli.

5. Behaviorism
Learning is defined by the outward expression of new behaviors
Focuses only on visible behaviors
A biological basis for learning
Learning is context-independent
Classical & Operant Conditioning
Reflexes (Pavlov’s Dogs)
Feedback/Reinforcement (Skinner’s Pigeon Box)
Biological basis for learning – you have it or you don’t…it’s a thing you inherit

6. Cognitivism
Research suggests that learners—from a very young age—make sense of the world, actively creating meaning while reading texts, interacting with the environment, or talking with others. Even if students are quietly watching a teacher speak, they can be actively engaged in a process of comprehension, or “minds on” work, as many teachers describe it. As Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) wrote, “It is now known that very young children are competent, active agents of their own conceptual development.
Grew in response to Behaviorism in an effort to better understand the mental processes behind learning

7. Cognitivism Grew in response to Behaviorism
Knowledge is stored cognitively as symbols
Learning is the process of connecting symbols in a meaningful and memorable way
Studies focused on the mental processes that facilitate symbol connection
Grew in response to Behaviorism in an effort to better understand the mental processes behind learning

8. Cognitivism Jean Piaget Jerome Bruner Genetic Epistemology
Assimilation and Accommodation
Jerome Bruner
Discovery Learning
Learner as independent problem-solver
Assimilation: The integration of new information into an existing symbol system
Accommodation: The adjustment of internal symbol systems to make space for new information that challenges the structure

9. Social Constructivism
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.
Imitation: Individuals adopt the modeled behavior more readily and completely if the person they are observing is admired by the observer
We more readily model behavior if it results in outcomes we value or approve of

10. Social Constructivism
Grew out of and in response to Cognitivism, framed around metacognition
Knowledge is actively constructed
Learning is…
A search for meaning by the learner
Contextualized
An inherently social activity
Dialogic and recursive
The responsibility of the learner
Lev Vygotsky
Social Learning
Zone of Proximal Development
Knowledge is actively constructed by individuals in light of and in relation to our past experiences, the context of learning, personal motivation, and our beliefs/attitudes/prior knowledge
Think of the lab…instead of just watching it being done, the student acts as the active agent conducting the lab, with expert support leading them to the edge of their knowledge and beyond.
Dialogic: central focus is on written & spoken dialogue
Recursive: new learning is built upon prior learning…scaffolding

11. Other Learning Theories
Multiple Intelligences
Brain Based Learning
Situated Learning (J. Lave)
Subsumption Theory (D. Ausubel)
Conditions of Learning (R. Gagne)

12. Multiple Intelligences (MI)
Grew out of Constructivism, framed around metacognition
H. Gardner (1983 to present)
All people are born with eight intelligences:
Facilitates students to power their strengths and decisively target and develop their weaknesses
1. Verbal-Linguistic
5. Musical
2. Visual-Spatial
6. Naturalist
3. Logical-Mathematical
7. Interpersonal
4. Kinesthetic
8. Intrapersonal
Metacognition – simply put is learning about learning, but more realistically, it’s about kn owing who you are as a learner, and developing the capacity to leverage your strengths to your advantage while purposefully addressing your weaknesses

13. Brain-Based Learning (BBL)
Grew out of Neuroscience and Constructivism
D. Souza, N. Caine and G. Caine, E. Jensen (1980’s to present)
12 governing principles
1. Brain is a parallel processor
7. Focused attention and peripheral perception
2. Whole body learning
8. Conscious and unconscious processes
3. A search for meaning
9. Several types of memory
4. Patterning
10. Embedded learning sticks
5. Emotions are critical
11. Challenge and threat
6. Processing of parts and wholes
12. Every brain is unique

14. Our Brain