Republic of the Philippines

PRESIDENT RAMON MAGSAYSAY STATE UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL

Course: ED201: Foundations of Education

I. BEHAVIORISM

A. Definition

Behaviorism theory takes on the concept that all behavior can be explained

without the need to consider internal mental states or consciousness. It is a

worldview that operates on a principle of “stimulus-response”. This means that an

action will cause a certain reaction. It also assumes that a learner is essentially

passive, thus, responding to environmental stimuli. The learner starts off as a clean

slate (i.e. tabula rasa) and behavior is shaped through positive reinforcement or

negative reinforcement. Both positive reinforcement 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.

behaviors and discounts any independent activities of the mind. Behavior theorists

define learning as nothing more than the acquisition of new behavior based on

environmental conditions.

B. Theorists

1. Ivan Pavlov

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behavior via

the process of association. In simple terms, two stimuli are linked together

to produce a newly learned response in a person or animal.

An unconditioned stimulus (Food) following a neutral stimulus

(Bell) very closely causes an unconditioned response (Salivation). After a

lot of repetition, the neutral stimulus will cause the unconditioned

response (Salivation) without the unconditioned stimulus (Food) and will

become a conditioned response (Bell).

Watson made great advances in social science through the rigor of

his work and his concern for observable behavior rather than musing about

internal mechanisms. He translated Pavlov's work with dogs into everyday

life and, in particular, the field of advertising.

He promoted a change in psychology through his article,

"Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it", or called

"The Behaviorist Manifesto". In this article, Watson outlined the major

features of his new philosophy of psychology, called "behaviorism".

Watson conducted the controversial "Little Albert" experiment,

which is an experiment showing how classical conditioning can be used to

condition an emotional response.

Nine months' old little Albert was exposed a series of stimuli including a

white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks and burning newspapers and observed

the boy's reactions. The boy initially showed no fear of any of the objects he

was shown. The next time Albert was exposed the rat, Watson made a loud

noise by hitting a metal pipe with a hammer. Naturally, the child began to

cry after hearing the loud noise. After repeatedly pairing the white rat with

the loud noise, Albert began to cry simply after seeing the rat.

3. B.F Skinner

From the 1940s, Skinner revised the ideas of Pavlov and Watson

into what he called 'operant conditioning'. Basically, operant conditioning

is a simple feedback system. In operant conditioning, the organism

avoid a punishment. There are four different possible consequences to

behavior in operant conditioning. The behavior can be rewarded (causing

it to be repeated) or punished (making it less likely to be repeated). We can

either give something to the organism (called "positive" because we are

adding a stimulus) or we can take something away (called "negative"

because we are subtracting a stimulus). Thus, our four consequences are

positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative

punishment.

C. Behaviorism in the classroom

There are multiple ways to exercise behaviorism in the classroom. These

are some of the ways that teachers can practice the theory:

1. Compliment Good Behavior

The simplest way in which to apply positive reinforcement is to praise a

student when she behaves well or successfully completes a task. Take

advantage of the effectiveness of simple statements of praise. When offering

praise, however, opt for a specific statement such as, "you really showed mature

insight right there" as opposed to a vague statement such as "nice work."

2. Support Praise with Evidence

Saying nice things to your students will work fine for a while, but they might

stop believing you unless you can show them exactly why their behavior

warrants praise in the first place. Whenever possible, show them the proof:

point out the specific act and explain why it was so important.
 3. Utilize Negative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement isn't punishment. Rather, it's when reward good

behavior by taking away something your students see as negative. For example,

your class clown always makes inappropriate comments during health lessons

and disrupts the class. He also really doesn't like writing book reports because

the writing is boring. You could offer to let him do his book report another way,

perhaps as a diorama, on the condition he behaves appropriately during health

lessons. By removing something he sees as negative, you've reinforced a

separate, positive behavior.

4. Apply Unpleasant Consequences When Necessary

Presentation punishment is the type we are most familiar with: a student

misbehaves and you act by adding a punishment like a detention or time-out.

Removal punishment is similar to negative reinforcement: you remove

something the students see as good because they have behaved badly.

D. Critiques of Behaviorism

1. Behaviorism does not account for all kinds of learning, since it disregards

the activities of the mind.

Example: Taking a true or false type of exam with the assurance of retaking

it until the students get it right will result to students guessing the right

answer.

2. It advocates for passive student learning in a teacher- centric environment.

3. Behavior is not internalized.

teacher.

II. CONSTRUCTIVISM

A. Definition

Constructivism as a paradigm or worldview posits that learning is an active,

constructive process. It emphasizes that knowledge is constructed rather than being

acquired. People construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world,

through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. Thus, the learner

is said to be an information constructor. They actively construct or create their own

subjective representations of objective reality. New information is linked to prior

knowledge; thus mental representations are subjective.

B. Theorists

1. John Dewey

John Dewey rejected the notion that schools should focus on repetitive, rote

memorization & proposed a method of "directed living" – students would engage

in real-world, practical workshops in which they would demonstrate their

knowledge through creativity and collaboration. Students should be provided with

opportunities to think for themselves and articulate their thoughts.

2. Jean Piaget

Piaget proposed that children progress through a sequence of four stages,

assumed to reflect qualitative differences in children's cognitive abilities. Limited

taught key cognitive tasks if they have not reached a particular stage of

development.

a. Sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2)

The main achievement during this stage is object permanence -

knowing that an object still exists, even if it is hidden.

b. Pre-operational stage (from age 2 to age 7)

During this stage, young children can think about things

symbolically. This is the ability to make one thing - a word or an object -

stand for something other than itself.

c. Concrete operational stage (from age 7 to age 11)

Piaget considered the concrete stage a major turning point in the

child's cognitive development because it marks the beginning of logical

or operational thought. This means that the child can work things out

internally in their head (rather than physically try things out in the real

world).

d. Formal operational stage (age 11+ - adolescence and adulthood).

During this time, people develop the ability to think about abstract

concepts, and logically test hypotheses.

is determined by biological maturation and interaction with the environment.

Although no stage can be missed out, there are individual differences in the rate at

which children progress through stages, and some individuals may never attain the

later stages.

3. Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky was a cognitivist, but rejected the assumption made by Piaget that

it was possible to separate learning from its social context. He argued that all

cognitive functions originate in (and must therefore be explained as products of)

social interactions and that learning did not simply comprise the assimilation and

accommodation of new knowledge by learners; it was the process by which learners

were integrated into a knowledge community. He demonstrated the importance of

language in learning by demonstrating that in infants, communication is a pre-

requisite to the child’s acquisition of concepts and language. He claims that

knowledge is not simply constructed, it is co-constructed.

C. Constructivism in the classroom

In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning can point towards a

number of different teaching practices. In the most general sense, it usually means

encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem

solving) to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they

are doing and how their understanding is changing. Teachers may also encourage
 the students to do a collaborative work which will enable them to share and gain

ideas from the other students. The teacher also makes sure she understands the

students' preexisting conceptions, and guides the activity to address them and then

build on them. Constructivist teachers encourage students to constantly assess how

the activity is helping them gain understanding. By questioning themselves and

their strategies, students in the constructivist classroom ideally become expert

learners. This gives them ever-broadening tools to keep learning. With a well-

planned classroom environment, the students learn how to learn. The classroom is

no longer a place where the teacher pours knowledge into passive students, who

wait like empty vessels to be filled.

D. Critiques of Constructivism

1. The student might be extremely active and follow the teacher’s instructions,

but then develop the wrong conclusion.

2. It is extremely difficult for the teacher to assess whether or not the student

has reached the correct conclusions. On the other hand, in traditional

teaching, the student’s understanding of the presented material is not fully

assessed after every lesson, which makes constructivist strategies still

superior.

3. Constructivist learning might not be compatible with certain subjects and a

standardized curriculum, as it might take some students longer to complete

certain tasks.
III. COGNITIVISM

A. Definition

Cognitive theory defines learning as a semi-permanent change in mental

processes or associations. Cognitivists do not require an outward exhibition of

learning but focus more on the internal processes and connections that take place

during learning. This theory developed as a reaction to Behaviorism. Cognitivists

objected to behaviorists because they felt that behaviorists thought learning was

simply a reaction to a stimulus and ignored the idea that thinking plays an important

role. One of the most famous criticisms addressed to Behaviorism was Noam

Chomsky’s argument that language could not be acquired purely through

conditioning, and must be at least partly explained by the existence of some inner

abilities.

The main assumption of cognitive psychology is that there are cognitive

processes that take place and influence the way things are learned. Explanations for

how cognitive processes work are known as information processing theories or

models. This theory focuses on how information is received, organized, stored, and

retrieved by the mind. Knowledge can be stored cognitively as symbols which can

facilitate easier learning by connecting these symbols in a meaningful and

memorable way.

B. Theorists

1. David Ausubel
 David Paul Ausubel was an American psychologist whose most significant

contribution to the fields of educational psychology, cognitive science, and science

education learning, was on the development and research on meaningful learning

and advance organizers. In using advance organizers, new material is presented in

a systematic way and is connected to existing cognitive structures in a meaningful

way. Influenced by Jean Piaget, Ausubel believed that understanding concepts,

principles, and ideas are achieved through deductive reasoning. Similarly, he

believed in the idea of meaningful learning as opposed to rote memorization.

C. Cognitivism in the classroom

The best way for a teacher to approach using cognitivism in the classroom

is to ask questions to help students refine their thinking and recognize where they

may be wrong. The teacher can approach topics that students may think they

already know and introduce some new aspect to make them redefine something.

Alternately, for entirely new topics, the teacher may want to draw upon background

knowledge before challenging existing ideas (schema) and create learning toward

amplification or change of those schemata. Some great examples of Cognitivism

can be found in online games and reinforcement activities, such as sorting games,

puzzles, and flashcards. The teacher may also opt to use graphic organizers for a

better understanding of concepts and ideas.

D. Critiques of Cognitivism

1. It dismisses important factors in human behavior.

Those who believe in the cognitive approach think that everything

boils down to one thing: cognitive processes. It doesn’t take into account
 other factors that may affect behavior, such as genes, individual

experiences, biological structures, and even chemical imbalances. This can

lead to the generalization of human behavior, which doesn’t sit well with

many people who think that each individual is different. It can also be

defeating for people who have different thought processes and behaviors

than normal because of one or more of the factors listed above.

2. It is based on controlled experiments.

One of the reasons why psychologists prefer the cognitive approach

is that it’s founded on experiments that are regarded to be scientifically

sound because it uses the scientific method. However, many people point

out that these experiments may not be as valid as they look. By observing

people in a controlled environment, psychologists only get responses that

are closely tied to the stimuli that their subjects are exposed to. They don’t

get to observe how their subjects act in the real world, where they’re

exposed to several stimuli at once and have to react based on this mixture

of information.