Download learning theories and procedures

LEARNING THEORIES AND
PROCEDURES
UNIT 4
A. Learning Theories and
Application
 Learning is always defined as a change of behavior
as a result of experiences.
 The problem faced by teachers is how to make
students want to learn. Teachers have the
responsibilities of determining learning objective,
TL procedures, classroom management, and
helping students to learn.
 All teachers have views and theories of learning.
By observing the teacher teaching, we can
understand the basic assumption of what TL
process she is doing, although she cannot say in
words.
 For example, a teacher who is in a complete
control on all of the student’s activities is unaware
that she is practicing her theory in a different way
than the other teacher who develops a situation in
which students are allowed to decide their own
way of learning.
 One of the objectives of teacher education is to
help prospective teachers understand the
relationship between theories and practice..
 In the old days teachers believed that successful
learning was a result of intensive repetition. This is
called behavioral learning theories.
 Later research found that repetition was not the
best learning strategy to arrive at a higher level.
Therefore, teachers began to change their way of
teaching.
 The following are a short look at some of the
theories of learning:
a. Contemporary behaviorist (or so called StimulusResponse theory):
 It sees factors in the environment stimuli and
results of behavior in the form of responses.
 Behavior is controlled by external reward or
reinforcement.
 A teacher who believes this behavioral theory
assumes that student’s behavior is a response to
the past and present environments.
Examples:
A student who is a trouble maker has learned to be
one because his friends agree to and reinforce his
behavior.
A student who is a loner has learned that his
environment does not reinforce him to socialize with
his friends.
 Behavior can be analyzed by studying the
development of reinforcement, a method which can
change behavior.
 The teacher is responsible for making the
environment which provides reinforcement or
reward for the students.
b. Cognitive psychologists, on the other hand, focuses
on the students as active participants in the TL
process.
 A teachers who believes in this theory says that
her class will be effective if she knows what
knowledge the students already have and what
they are thinking during the lesson.
 To be specific, cognitive approach tries to
understand how the information that the teacher
gives is processed and arranged in their minds.
3. Humanistic psychologists view that feeling is as
important as behavior or thought.
 They think that behavior is the development of
self-actualization in the area that individuals
choose themselves.
 Humanistic teachers give emphasis on creativity
which helps self-development, cooperation, and
communication with students in order that their
students will learn more effectively.
 As we know, there is no one learning theory which
is the best; each has its own strengths and
weaknesses.
 Why?
a. No theory of behavioristic, cognitive, and
humanistic fits the individual differences of the
students.
b. Not all of educational practices are based on one
particular theory. Attempts have been made to
integrate cognitive and humanistic methods or
cognitive and behavioral methods.
c. Teachers have no obligation to use a particular
theory; any theory can be flexibly adopted and
used in a particular situation.
A. LEARNING THEORY:
BEHAVIORISM
1. Thorndike: The Law of Effect
 Thorndike’s theory is known as Connectionism,
because he thinks that learning is a process of
recalling, forming, and S-R association.
 He developed his theory by using a cat which he
put in a puzzle box with a door opening. When the
animal pulls a rope which is hanging in the cage,
the door will be open and the cat gets the reward,
i.e., the food.
 Thorndike summed up that learning is the
formation of connection between S-R and problem
solving, which can be done by trial and error.
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 The important factor which affects learning is the
reward or a feeling of satisfaction out of an event.
 Punishment is not important since it weakens the
bond and does not influence the effect.
 Law of Exercise is the second learning principle,
which says that the bond between S and R ill be
strengthened with the R more frequently exercised
towards the S.
 The bond between S and R will become weak when
the exercise is stopped or when the neural bond is
not present.
 He added later that exercise without a reward is
not effective.
Suggestions for teachers:
 Teachers should know before hand what to teach,
what response to expect, and when to give a
reward or reinforcement.
 The S-R bond is apparent in Mathematics: more
frequent exercises on multiplication will strengthen
the response. In the same way, more frequent
reading activity and use of words will make the R
stronger.
 The law of effect leads to providing rewards, such
as a star affixed to the paper work, whereas the
law of exercise refers to more frequent drills or
tests.
2. Ivan Pavlov:
Classical Conditioning
 In his experiment with a dog, Pavlov identifies that
both food and saliva are the unconditioned
stimulus or the natural stimulus which are able to
produce a certain response.
 Conditioned stimulus is one that is unable to
produce a certain response without a particular
conditioning process. For example, a bell ring after
it is conditioned can produce a certain response.
 A conditioned response, in other words, is one that
is produced by a conditioned stimulus.
 In this experiment there are two important things:
a. A conditioned stimulus must be followed by an
unconditional stimulus immediately;
b. This process must be repeated many times (32
times) until the conditioned response is formed.
For example, after the dog has been fed together
with a bell ring 32 times, when the animal hears a
single bell ring, it will produce saliva.
c. When a repeated conditioned response is not
followed by an unconditioned stimulus (is not given
reinforcement), the conditioned response will extinct.
For example, when a bell is rung without food.
3. J.B. Watson:
Conditioning Reflect
 Watson used Pavlov’s experiment as a basis for his
learning theory.
 He believed that learning is a process of
conditioning the reflect (response) through a
change of one stimulus to another.
 Watson asserts that human beings are born with
reflects, emotional reaction, fears, love, and anger.
All behaviors are developed by way of conditioning.
 For example, a child will not feel afraid of a mouse
when he sees it, but when at the same time a loud
sound such as a bang is heard, the child becomes
shocked and begins to develop a sense of fear.
 Many behaviors are learned by way of classical
conditioning.
For example, students will learn a negative attitude
when the teacher gets angry at their inability to solve
a difficult math problem.
Thus, experiences of being asked about difficult
matters will produce disappointment.
Fears about the English lesson probably is the result
of fears of another difficult lesson such as Math:
students will generalize their feeling of fears of other
lessons.
4. B.F. Skinner:
Operant Conditioning
 Skinner views reward or reinforcement as the most
important factor in the learning process: we tend
to learn a response when it is followed by
reinforcement.
 Skinner chose the term reinforcement than reward,
because reward may be interpreted as a subjective
behavior related to happiness, whereas
reinforcement is a neutral term.
 Pavlov focuses on the fact that behavior arises
when there is a certain stimulus; while Skinner
says that such a behavior only explains a small
part of all activities.
 Skinner asserts that there is another behavior that
he called it an operant behavior, because such a
behavior takes place in any unconditioned stimuli
or circumstances, like food for example.
 Skinner’s finding concerns about the relationship
between behavior and consequences. For example,
if an individual’s behavior is followed immediately
by a pleasing consequence, the individual will use
the same behavior again, as often as possible.
 Using pleasant or unpleasant consequences in the
effort of changing behavior is called the operant
conditioning.
 The pleasant consequences will make the behavior
stronger, while the unpleasant consequences will
make the behavior weaker.
Thus, the pleasant consequences will become more in
frequency, and otherwise.
o Respondent conditioning is a behavior which
results from the presence of a stimulus, like a bell
in Pavlov’s experiment.
o Operant conditioning is a behavior which is made
by the organism itself: an operant is not always
preceded by an outside stimulus.
o The frequency of the operant behavior is
determined by the effect of the behavior.
 Operant conditioning, although it is closely related
with Thorndike’s theory, is different from
Thorndike’s explanation.
 In Thorndike’s view, the presence of a reward will
strengthen the bond between the S and the R,
while in Skinner’s theory it is similar responses
that will be strengthened, not the relationship
between the S and the R.
 In real teaching practices, the teacher has an
important role, that is, to improve the skill in
giving reinforcement, to return and discuss
frequently the students’ work after their work has
been corrected, and to praise the desired
consequences.
Group Work
 Think of how Operant Conditioning is used in the
classroom!
 The first group presentation will be done by the
Class of 2011.
5. Procedures for Developing
Behavior
 In using reinforcement to strengthened behavior,
there are two important methods: shaping and
modeling.
1. Shaping or successive approximation is a model to
teach complex behaviors by reinforcing responses
and lead subjects to a final response.
 For example, when a teacher wants to lead
students for successful learning, she will reinforce
the steps to success.
 This process is called shaping because it involves
forming particular responses from a number of
responses.
 Frazier (1989) suggests using shaping to improve
learning behavior in five steps:
1. Coming to the classroom in time.
2. Participating actively in learning activities.
3. Showing good results.
4. Doing homework.
5. Improving achievements.
The result was that students came in time regularly,
showed better collaboration, and used time more
effectively.
2. Modeling: an individual learns by observing
another person’s behavior as a model.
 Language (style), dresses, music, etc. can become
a model.
 We learn because we are reinforced to do it. Most
students have first learning experience by direct
imitation.
 Modeling may happen without direct
reinforcement.
 Modeling can be used to teach both academic and
motor skills.
 Clarizio (1981) gave an example in reading a story
book.
 The following are procedures to eliminate
unfavorable classroom behaviors:
a. Reinforcing competing behaviors: the teacher
ignores unwanted behaviors but praises students
who show willingness to learn. In a short time
such a social reinforcement can reduce unwanted
classroom behaviors.
b. Extinction: a process whereby the operant does
not receive reinforcement anymore. Question:
What will you do to a student who always answers
teacher’s questions without thinking?
Note: an unwanted behavior may become worse if it
is not improved immediately.
c. Satiation: a procedure which encourages students
to do something over and over again until they
become exhausted. A student who is found smoking
is forced to finish a pack of cigarettes.
d. Changing the environment which affects behaviors.
What will you do if there is a continuous loud noise
outside of the classroom?
e. Punishment: giving punishment to stop unwanted
behavior should be done with caution. Punishment
may not necessarily change bad behaviors.
 Steps to change behaviors:
1. Make an operational statement on a behavior
which can be changed. Example: “I will stay on
my seat unless I am permitted to leave.” Or, “I
will raise up my hand and wait till I am called to
speak.”
2. Get a clear picture of a behavior which you want
to change. First note the frequency of happening.
Example, how many times do students leave their
seats for toilets?
3. Arrange learning situation or treatment in order
that the desired behavior may take place. Example,
the teacher sticks rules of conduct on the wall and
explain them to class so that students know very well
what their teacher wants.
4. Identify potential reinforcements. Example, the
teacher does a survey what activities the students
like, what things they like to have, or what kind of
foods or snacks they like to have.
B. Cognitive Theory
 The behavioral theory can only answer part of a
question about learning. Learning is not only a
matter of giving stimuli and rewards.
 Cognitive theorists say that learning is a result of
knowing about the world by way of thinking.
Learning involves beliefs, hopes, and feelings.
 Both behavioral and cognitive theories recognize
the importance of reinforcement but their
reasoning is different: for the behaviorists,
reinforcement strengthens responses but for the
cognitivists reinforcement is a feedback.
 The feedback gives information about what will
probably be happening if the behavior is repeated.
Thus, reinforcement for the students is to reduce
uncertainty in achieving knowledge.
 Cognitivists view learning as something active:
looking for information to solve a problem,
rearranging and organizing what they already
know to get a new knowledge.
 Implications of Cognitive theory in teaching and
learning:
1. Teaching Strategies
a. Focus the student’s attention by asking a question
of what they already know or what will happen if.... .
b. Identify what is important, difficult, and
uncommon.
c. Emphasize the importance of the new information
as stated in the learning objectives.
d. Help the students to recall the information already
learned.
e. Help the students to relate and combine the old
and the new information.
2. Strategies to help students to recall:
Lindsay and Norman (1987): memorizing needs
efforts; the materials to be memorized should be
relevant to other things; organizing the memory. The
materials can be broken into small chunks and then
reassembled in a meaningful way.
Using mnemonics:
a. Peg-type Mnemonics: putting items in a list onto
appropriate pegs or places. Here, imagination is
important. Example: How do you memorize your
phone number?
b. Chain-type Mnemonics: relating or linking the first
item to the second, the second to the third, the third
to the fourth, etc. Example: How do you memorize
the colors of a rainbow?
c. Keyword Method: decide on which word is the
most important in a statement. Example: What is
language? It is a system of arbitrary vocal symbol
used for communication in a particular group of
people.
d. Chunking: dividing a series of numbers into easyto-memorize units or groups. Example: How do you
memorize your PIN or phone number?
1. Bruner: Discovery Learning
 Still in the cognitive theory, Bruner (1966) raised
the Discovery Learning theory.
 Bruner thinks that the teacher should create a
situation where students can learn by themselves
rather than giving a package of information.
 He says that students should take part in the
process of knowledge-getting. Knowing is a
process, not a product.
 Students should be encouraged to experience and
or experiment themselves to find concepts and
principles to find a solution for their own problem.
 Some additional suggestions:
a. Give a temporary guess or hypotheses through
questions. Example: What will happen if...?
b. Use a variety of media and games.
c. Encourage students to satisfy their curiosity in the
subject matter.
d. Use some examples which are contradictory to the
topic.
2. Ausubel: Reception Learning
Expository Teaching.
 Ausubel (1968) criticizes the discovery learning. He
said students do not always know what is
important or relevant but need external motivation
in doing cognitive assignments.
 What is important is what students have known.
He raised an alternative model called reception
learning.
 Expository teaching is a systematic teaching by
exposing meaningful information.
 The teacher sets learning situation, selects
materials, and delivers the materials in an
organized way.
 Although the teacher’s role is different in the
discovery learning and the receptive learning,
these two approaches have three things in
common:
a. Both emphasize students’ active participation.
b. Both need previous knowledge to be linked with
the new one.
c. Both assume that knowledge will gradually change
in the mind of the students.
 Expository teaching has 3 principle steps of
delivery:
1st: Presentation of Advance Organizer.
2nd: Presentation of Learning Task or Material.
3rd: Strengthening Cognitive Organization.
C. Humanistic Theory
 Although it is clear that learning is influenced by
environment (stimulus) and cognitive factor
(thinking and doing), it is also apparent that
learning is affected by the person and his feelings.
 Humanistic theorists indicate that:
1. Individual’s behavior is determined by his view of
the world;
2. Individuals are not only the product of
environment as the behaviorists say, but of the
internal motivation for self-actualization and
fulfilment of their unique potentials as human
beings.
 The humanistic view of learning centers on the
students---student-centered.
 The following are proponents of humanistic theory
of learning:
1. Arthur Combs et.al. (1974)
 A person’s view of the world is determined by his
feelings, perception, belief, and objective.
 In order to change a person’s behavior, we have to
change the individual’s perception.
2. Maslow (1968)
 He thinks that there is a hierarchy of human
needs: need to survive, need for security, need to
love and be loved, need for self-esteem, need for
intellectual achievement and aesthetics, and need
for self-actualization.
3. Carl Rogers (1969, 1983)
 He says that education should be human, personal,
and meaningful.
 The principles of human learning:
1. The desire to learn.
2. Significant learning –relevant to needs.
3. Learning without threat.
4. Self-initiated learning.
5. Learning to change
 Implication of Humanistic teaching and learning:
a. person-centered education
b. Combination of affective experiences and
cognitive learning.
c. Open education