1. Cluster 9 Social Cognitive and Constructivist Views of Learning Anita Woolfolk’s Educational Psychology
Social Learning
Social Cognitive Theories
Constructivist and Situated Learning

2. Parents, Peers and Teachers
Key Terms:
Constructivism- emphasis that individuals learn best
when they are constructing knowledge and understanding
Social Learning- learning from observing the behavior of
others and the outcomes of those behaviors
Observational Learning- learning by observation and imitation
of others
Vicarious Reinforcement- reinforcement that occurs through
the observation of another being reinforced for that behavior
Parents, Peers and Teachers
Steinberg’s Study of 20,000 adolescents
40% are just going through the motions of learning
Parenting styles have an influence on students’ values
Teacher support is also important

3. Social Learning Theory/Social Cognitive Theory
Social Learning Theory/Social Cognitive Theory Albert Bandura 
Bandura:
aggression is learned through behavior modeling
originated social learning theory (SLT) that has now developed as Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)
Originally SLT was based on behavioral principles of reinforcement and punishment, social behaviors. More recently, he added cognitive factors such as beliefs an self-perceptions, self-efficacy and expectations to his theory, referred to as SCT.
individuals do not actually inherit violent tendencies, but rather model them
argued that individuals, especially children, learn aggressive responses from observing others either personally or through the media and environment
Bobo doll experiments

4. Social Cognitive Theory and Learning
Enactive Learning and Vicarious Learning
Observation/Modeling
Attention -Retention -Reproduction
Motivation and reinforcement -Vicarious reinforcement
See table 24.1, p. 308—Factors that Affect Observational Learning
Developmental level of learner -Status and prestige of the model
Similarity of models Vicarious consequences
Outcome expectations Value of the goal
Self-efficacy
Observational Learning and Teaching
Directing attention -Fine-tune already-learned behaviors
Strengthening/weakening inhibitions -Modeling
Arousing emotions
See Guidelines, p. 310-Using Observational Learning
Reciprocal Determinism
Internal and External forces are important components of social cognitive theory
Reciprocal Influences
Social Influences
Achievement Outcomes
Self-influences

5. Constructivism and Situated Learning
How is knowledge constructed?
realities and truths of the external world direct knowledge construction-Information processing
Internal processes direct knowledge construction-Piaget
both internal and external processes direct constructivism-Vygotsky
See Table 25.1, p. 317 and Table 25.2-, p Views of Learning
Situated Knowledge
notion that much of what is learned is specific to the situation
adopting norms, behaviors, skills, beliefs, language and attitudes of a particular community (such as a work environment community)
Common Elements of Constructivist Perspectives-Implications for Teachers
complex learning environments and authentic tasks
social negotiation to encourage development of higher mental processes through social interaction.
multiple representations of content—multiple analogies, examples, metaphors
understanding the knowledge construction process-make students aware of the influences that shape their thinking
student ownership of learning

6. Applications of Constructivist and Situated Learning Perspective
Inquiry Learning-many forms
teacher presents puzzling event, question or problem
formulate hypothesis to explain the event or solve problem
generate and collect data to test hypotheses
draw conclusions
reflect on original problem and thinking processes needed to solve it
Problem-Based Learning
real meaningful problem
may not necessarily be a “right” answer
use current events, social issues
Anchored instruction
Orient students to the problem
Organize students for study/research—tasks
assist independent and group investigation—research techniques and resources, experiments
develop and present in form of artifacts, reports, videos, models
analyze and evaluate problem-solving process

7. Dialogue and Instructional Conversations
provide necessary opportunities for student to operate within their zones of proximal development (mastery of a task can take place with appropriate guidance/help/support)
reduction of dominance of teacher talk in the classroom
See Table 26.2-Elements of the Instructional Conversation, p. 329
Cognitive Apprenticeships
students observe and expert model (teacher) of the performance
students get external support through coaching or tutoring
conceptual scaffolding is provided and gradually removed as the students become more competent
students continually articulate their knowledge
students reflect on their progress through comparison with the expert and with their own earlier efforts
students are required to explore new ways to apply what they have learned, for example, reciprocal teaching (a modeling based method used to teach reading comprehension strategies)
math example-What are you doing? Why are you doing it? How will success in your strategy help you find a solution to the problem?
Examples of Critical Thinking Skills- see Table 26.3, p. 333