Download LEARNING

LEARNING
PRESENTED BY
DR.DALEEP PARIMOO
WHAT IS LEARNING
The
cognitive
conceptualize"
or
"to
(
Latin: cognoscere, "to know", "to
recognize"
) process of
acquiring skill or knowledge
Definitions
LEARNING IS:
1.
2.
3.
“A persisting change in human performance
or performance potential . . . (brought) about
as a result of the learner’s interaction with
the
environment” (Driscoll, 1994, pp. 8-9).
“The relatively permanent change in a
person’s knowledge or behavior due to
experience” (Mayer, 1982, p. 1040).
“An enduring change in behavior, or in the
capacity to behave in a given fashion, which
results from practice or other forms of
experience” (Shuell, 1986, p. 412).
LEARNING THEORIES
There are 6 main theories of learning
1. Behaviorism
2. Cognitivism
3. Social Learning Theory
4. Social Constructivism
5. Multiple Intelligences
6. Brain-Based Learning
THEORIES: BEHAVIOURAL

Primary Focus

Observable behaviour
 Stimulus-response
connections
Thorndike
 Pavlov
 Watson
 Skinner




Assumptions

Learning is a result of
environmental forces
Subcategories
Contiguity
 Respondent (Classical)
 Operant (Instrumental)

Major Theorists

Principles
Time/place pairings
 Biological basis of
behaviour
 Consequences
 Modelling

Behaviorism assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to
environmental stimuli.
The learner starts as a clean slate and behavior is shaped through
positive or negative reinforcement.
Both positive and negative reinforcement increase the probability that the
antecedent behavior will happen again.
In contrast, punishment (both positive and negative) decreases the
likelihood that the antecedent behavior will happen again.
Positive indicates the application of a stimulus; Negative indicates the
withholding of a stimulus.
Learning is therefore defined as a change in behavior in the learner. Lots
of (early) behaviorist work was done with animals (e.g. Pavlov’s dogs)
and generalized to humans.
BEHAVIORISM
 Learning
is defined by the outward expression
of new behaviors
 Focuses
A
solely on observable behaviors
biological basis for learning
 Learning
is context-independent
 Classical
& Operant Conditioning


Reflexes (Pavlov’s Dogs)
Feedback/Reinforcement (Skinner’s Pigeon Box)
BEHAVIORISM
Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology that
assumes that learning occurs through with the
environment. Two other interactions assumptions of
this theory are that the environment shapes behavior
and that taking internal mental states such as
thoughts, feelings and emotions into consideration is
useless in explaining behavior.
BEHAVIORISM
Confined to observable and
measurable behavior
 Classical
 Operant
Conditioning - Pavlov
Conditioning - Skinner
BEHAVIORISM

One of the best-known aspects of behavioral learning
theory is classical conditioning. Discovered by
Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, classical
conditioning is a learning process that occurs
through associations between an environmental
stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. In
order to understand how classical conditioning
works, it is important to be familiar with the basic
principles of the process.
BEHAVIORISM
The Unconditioned Stimulus

The unconditioned stimulus is one that unconditionally,
naturally, and automatically triggers a response. For
example, when you smell one of your favorite foods, you
may immediately feel very hungry. In this example, the
smell of the food is the unconditioned stimulus.
The Unconditioned Response

The unconditioned response is the unlearned response
that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned
stimulus. In our example, the feeling of hunger in
response to the smell of food is the unconditioned
response.
BEHAVIORISM

The Conditioned Stimulus
The conditioned stimulus is previously neutral stimulus that,
after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus,
eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response. In our
earlier example, suppose that when you smelled your favorite
food, you also heard the sound of a whistle. While the whistle
is unrelated to the smell of the food, if the sound of the whistle
was paired multiple times with the smell, the sound would
eventually trigger the conditioned response. In this case, the
sound of the whistle is the conditioned stimulus.

The Conditioned Response
The conditioned response is the learned response to the
previously neutral stimulus. In our example, the conditioned
response would be feeling hungry when you heard the sound
of the whistle.
Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
Several types of learning exist. The most basic form is
associative learning, i.e., making a new association
between events in the environment. There are two
forms of associative learning: classical conditioning
(made famous by Ivan Pavlov’s experiments with dogs)
and operant conditioning.
BEHAVIORISM
Classical Conditioning - Pavlov
A stimulus is presented
in order to get a response:
S
R
Pavlov’s Dogs
In the early twentieth century, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov
did Nobel prize-winning work on digestion. While studying the
role of saliva in dogs’ digestive processes, he stumbled upon a
phenomenon he labeled “psychic reflexes.” While an accidental
discovery, he had the foresight to see the importance of it. Pavlov’s
dogs, restrained in an experimental chamber, were presented with
meat powder and they had their saliva collected via a surgically
implanted tube in their saliva glands. Over time, he noticed that
his dogs who begin salivation before the meat powder was even
presented, whether it was by the presence of the handler or
merely by a clicking noise produced by the device that distributed
the meat powder.
Fascinated by this finding, Pavlov paired the meat powder with
various stimuli such as the ringing of a bell. After the meat
powder and bell (auditory stimulus) were presented together
several times, the bell was used alone. Pavlov’s dogs, as
predicted, responded by salivating to the sound of the bell
(without the food). The bell began as a neutral stimulus (i.e. the
bell itself did not produce the dogs’ salivation). However, by
pairing the bell with the stimulus that did produce the
salivation response, the bell was able to acquire the ability to
trigger the salivation response. Pavlov therefore demonstrated
how stimulus-response bonds (which some consider as the
basic building blocks of learning) are formed..
In technical terms, the meat powder is
considered an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
and the dog’s salivation is the unconditioned
response (UCR). The bell is a neutral stimulus
until the dog learns to associate the bell with
food. Then the bell becomes a conditioned
stimulus (CS) which produces the conditioned
response (CR) of salivation after repeated
pairings between the bell and food
John B. Watson further extended Pavlov’s work and
applied it to human beings. In 1921, Watson studied
Albert, an 11 month old infant child. The goal of the
study was to condition Albert to become afraid of a
white rat by pairing the white rat with a very loud,
jarring noise (UCS). At first, Albert showed no sign of
fear when he was presented with rats, but once the rat
was repeatedly paired with the loud noise (UCS), Albert
developed a fear of rats. It could be said that the loud
noise (UCS) induced fear (UCR). The implications of
Watson’s experiment suggested that classical
conditioning could cause some phobias in humans.
BEHAVIORISM
Classical Conditioning Pavlov
S
US
UR
CS
US
CR
OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as
instrumental conditioning) is a method of
learning that occurs through rewards and
punishments for behavior. Through operant
conditioning, an association is made between
behavior and a consequence for that behavior.
Operant conditioning was coined by behaviorist B.F. Skinner
which is why it is referred to as Skinnerian conditioning. As a
behaviorist, Skinner believed that internal thoughts and
motivations could not be used to explain behavior. Instead, he
suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of
human behavior.
Skinner used the term operant to refer to any "active behavior that
operates upon the environment to generate consequences" (1953).
In other words, Skinner's theory explained how we acquire the
range of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day.
EXAMPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING
Case of children completing homework to earn a reward
from a parent or teacher, or employees finishing projects
to receive praise/incentive/promotions.
In these examples, the promise or possibility of rewards
causes an increase in behavior.
Operant conditioning can also be used to decrease a
behavior. The removal of an undesirable outcome or the
use of punishment can be used to decrease or prevent
undesirable behaviors.
For example, a child may be told he will lose recess
privileges if he talks out of turn in class. This potential
for punishment may lead to a decrease in disruptive
behaviors.
KEY COMPONENTS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

A reinforcer is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows.
There are two kinds of reinforcers


Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the
behavior. In situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behavior
is strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward.
Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes
after the display of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by
the removal of something considered unpleasant.
In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.
EXAMPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

Punishment, on the other hand, is the presentation of an adverse
event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows.
There are two kinds of punishment:


Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by
application, involves the presentation of an unfavorable event or
outcome in order to weaken the response it follows.
Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs
when an favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior
occurs.
In both of these cases of punishment, the behavior decreases
BEHAVIORISM

Operant Conditioning - Skinner
The response is
made first, then
reinforcement
follows.
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Acquisition
Acquisition is the initial stage of learning when a
response is first established and gradually
strengthened. For example, if you are trying to
teach a dog to shake in response to a verbal
command, you can say the response has been
acquired as soon as the dog shakes in response to
only the verbal command. Once the response has
been acquired, you can gradually reinforce the
shake response to make sure the behavior is well
learned.
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Extinction
Extinction occurs when the occurrences of a
conditioned response decrease or disappear. In
classical conditioning, this happens when a
conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an
unconditioned stimulus. For example, if the smell
of food (the unconditioned stimulus) had been
paired with the sound of a whistle (the
conditioned stimulus), it would eventually come to
evoke the conditioned response of hunger.
However, if the unconditioned stimulus (the smell
of food) were no longer paired with the
conditioned stimulus (the whistle), eventually the
conditioned response (hunger) would disappear.
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING


Sponteneous Recovery
Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance of the
conditioned response after a rest period or period of
lessened response. If the conditioned stimulus and
unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated,
extinction will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous
recovery.
Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus Generalization is the tendency for the
conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after
the response has been conditioned. For example, if a
rat has been conditioned to fear a stuffed white
rabbit, it will exhibit fear of objects similar to the
conditioned stimulus.
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Discrimination
Discrimination is the ability to differentiate
between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli
that have not been paired with an unconditioned
stimulus. For example, if a bell tone were the
conditioned stimulus, discrimination would involve
being able to tell the difference between the bell
tone and other similar sounds.
BEHAVIORISM IN THE CLASSROOM



Rewards and
punishments
Responsibility for
student learning rests
squarely with the
teacher
Lecture-based, highly
structured
CRITIQUES OF BEHAVIORISM


Does not account for processes taking place in the
mind that cannot be observed
Advocates for passive student learning in a teachercentric environment

One size fits all

Knowledge itself is given and absolute

Programmed instruction & teacher-proofing
THEORIES: COGNITIVE


Primary Focus
Mental behaviour
 Knowledge
 Intelligence
 Critical Thinking


Assumptions


Learning is a result of mental
operations/ processing
Subcategories
Information Processing
 Hierarchical
 Developmental
 Critical Thinking


Major Theorists

Bloom

Piaget

Gagne
Principles
Memory is limited
 Changes in complexity
 Changes over time
 Good thinking
requires standards

COGNITIVISM

Grew in response to Behaviorism

Knowledge is stored cognitively as symbols


Learning is the process of connecting symbols in a
meaningful & memorable way
Studies focused on the mental processes that facilitate
symbol connection
COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY


Discovery Learning Jerome Bruner
Meaningful Verbal
Learning David
Ausubel
COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY

Discovery Learning
1. Bruner said anybody can learn anything at
any age, provided it is stated in terms
they can understand.
COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY

Discovery Learning
2. Powerful Concepts (not isolated facts)
a. Transfer to many different situations
b. Only possible through Discovery Learning
c. Confront the learner with problems and help
them find solutions. Do not present
sequenced materials.
COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY

Meaningful Verbal Learning
Advance Organizers:
Newmaterial is
presented in a
systematic way, and
is connected to
existing cognitive
structures in a
meaningful way.
COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY

Meaningful Verbal Learning
When learners have
difficulty with new
material, go back to
the concrete anchors
(Advance Organizers).
Provide a Discovery
approach, and they’ll
learn.
COGNITIVISM IN THE CLASSROOM


Inquiry-oriented projects
Opportunities for the
testing of hypotheses

Curiosity encouraged

Staged scaffolding
CRITIQUES OF COGNITIVISM


Like Behaviorism, knowledge itself is given and
absolute
Input – Process – Output model is mechanistic
and deterministic

Does not account enough for individuality

Little emphasis on affective characteristics
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY (SLT)

Grew out of Cognitivism

A. Bandura (1973)



Learning takes place through observation and
sensorial experiences
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
SLT is the basis of the movement against
violence in media & video games
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Learning From Models Albert Bandura
1. Attend to pertinent clues
2. Code for memory (store a visual
image)
3. Retain in memory
4. Accurately reproduce the observed
activity
5. Possess sufficient motivation to
apply new learning
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Research indicates that the following factors
influence the strength of learning from models:
1. How much power the model seems to have
2. How capable the model seems to be
3. How nurturing (caring) the model seems to
be
4. How similar the learner perceives self and
model
5. How many models the learner observes
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Four interrelated processes establish and
strengthen identification with the model:
1. Children want to be like the
model
2. Children believe they are like the
model
3. Children experience emotions
like those the model is feeling.
4. Children act like the model.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Through identification, children come to believe they
have the same characteristics as the model.
When they identify with a nurturant and
competent model, children feel pleased and
proud.
When they identify with an inadequate model,
children feel unhappy and insecure.
SLT IN THE CLASSROOM



Collaborative learning
and group work
Modeling responses and
expectations
Opportunities to observe
experts in action
CRITIQUES OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY



Does not take into account individuality, context,
and experience as mediating factors
Suggests students learn best as passive receivers of
sensory stimuli, as opposed to being active learners
Emotions and motivation not considered important
or connected to learning
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
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM IN THE
CLASSROOM

Journaling

Experiential activities

Personal focus

Collaborative &
cooperative learning
CRITIQUES OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM



Suggests that knowledge is neither given nor
absolute
Often seen as less rigorous than traditional
approaches to instruction
Does not fit well with traditional age grouping
and rigid terms/semesters
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES (MI)

Grew out of Constructivism, framed around
metacognition

H. Gardner (1983 to present)

All people are born with eight intelligences:
1. Verbal-Linguistic
5. Musical
2. Visual-Spatial
6. Naturalist
3. Logical-Mathematical
7. Interpersonal
4. Kinesthetic
8. Intrapersonal
•Enables students to leverage their strengths and purposefully target and develop
their weaknesses
MI IN THE CLASSROOM


Delivery of instruction
via multiple mediums
Student-centered
classroom

Authentic Assessment

Self-directed learning
CRITIQUES OF MI



Lack of quantifiable evidence that MI exist
Lack of evidence that use of MI as a curricular
and methodological approach has any discernable
impact on learning
Suggestive of a departure from core curricula and
standards
BRAIN-BASED LEARNING (BBL)

Grew out of Neuroscience & Constructivism
D. Souza, N. Caine & G. Caine, E. Jensen (1980’s to
present)
 12 governing principles

1. Brain is a parallel processor
7. Focused attention & peripheral
perception
2. Whole body learning
8. Conscious & unconscious processes
3. A search for meaning
9. Several types of memory
4. Patterning
10. Embedded learning sticks
5. Emotions are critical
11. Challenge & threat
6. Processing of parts and
wholes
12. Every brain is unique
BBL IN THE CLASSROOM

Opportunities for group
learning

Regular environmental
changes

A multi-sensory
environment


Opportunities for selfexpression and making
personal connections to
content
Community-based
learning
CRITIQUES OF BBL



Research conducted by neuroscientists, not teachers &
educational researchers
Lack of understanding of the brain itself makes “brainbased” learning questionable
Individual principles have been scientifically questioned
OTHER LEARNING THEORIES OF NOTE

Andragogy (M. Knowles)

Flow (M. Czikszentmihalyi)

Situated Learning (J. Lave)

Subsumption Theory (D. Ausubel)

Conditions of Learning (R. Gagne)
HUMANIST
All students are intrinsically motivated to self
actualize or learn
 Learning is dependent upon meeting a hierarchy
of needs (physiological, psychological and
intellectual)
 Learning should be reinforced.

Stimulus
Response
Unconditioned Stimulus
Unconditioned Response
Unconditioned Stimulus
Neutral Stimulus
Unconditioned Response
Unconditioned Stimulus
Neutral Stimulus
Unconditioned Response
Reward
Punishment
Reinforcement Punishment
Positive
Chocolate Bar
Electric Shock
Negative
Excused from
Chores
No TV
privileges
Interval
Fixed
Variable
Ratio