University of mindanao

Tagum campus

GED 222

Facilitating
Learning
 FACILITATING LEARNING
Lesson 1 - METACOGNITION
- “Thinking about Thinking” or “learning how to learn”.

Categories of Metacognitive Knowledge (by Flavell)

1. Person Variable – refers to knowledge about how human beings learn and process
information, as well as individual knowledge of one’s own learning
processes. It includes how one views himself as a learner and thinker.

2. Task Variable – refers to knowledge about the nature of the task as well as the type of
processing demands that it will place upon the individual. It is about
knowing what exactly needs to accomplished, gauging its difficulty and
knowing the kind of effort it will demand from you.

3. Strategy Variable – involves awareness of the strategy you are using to learn a topic
and evaluating whether a strategy is effective.

 Meta-attention – is the awareness of specific strategies so that you can keep your
attention focused on the topic or task at hand.

 Metamemory – is the awareness of memory strategies that work best for you.

Lesson 2 – LEARNER-CENTER PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors

1. Nature of the Learning Process

The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an
intentional process of constructing meaning from information and experience.

 Successful learners are active, goal-directed, self-regulating, and assume personal

responsibility for contributing to their own learning.

2. Goals of the Learning Process

The successful learner, over time and with support and instructional
guidance, can create meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge.

 Educators can assist learners in creating meaningful learning goals that are
consistent with both personal and educational aspirations and interests.

3. Construction of knowledge
The successful leaner can link new information with existing knowledge in
meaningful ways.

 Educators can assist learners in acquiring and integrating knowledge by a number

of strategies that have been shown to be effective with learners of varying abilities,
such as concept mapping and thematic organization or categorizing.

4. Strategic Thinking
The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and
reasoning strategies to achieve complex learning goals.

 Learning outcomes can be enhanced if educators assist learners in developing,

applying, and assessing their strategic learning skills.
 5. Thinking about Thinking
Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental operations facilitate
creative and critical thinking.

 Instructional methods that focus on helping learners to develop these higher order
(metacognitive) strategies can enhance student learning and personal
responsibility for learning.

6. Context of learning
Learning is influenced by environmental factors, including culture, technology, and
instructional practices.

 The classroom environment, particularly the degree to which it is nurturing or not,

can also have significant impacts on student learning.

Motivational and Affective Factors

7. Motivational and emotional influences on learning

What and how much is learned is influenced by the learner’s motivation. Motivation
to learn, in turn, is influenced by the individual’s emotional states, beliefs, interests
and goals, and habits of thinking.

 Positive emotions, such as curiosity, generally enhance motivation and facilitate

learning and performance. Mild anxiety can also enhance learning and
performance by focusing the learner’s attention on particular task. However,
intense negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related
thoughts (e.g., worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing
punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing labels) generally detract from motivation,
interfere with learning, and contribute to low performance.

8. Intrinsic Motivation to Learn

The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to
motivation to learn. Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty
and difficulty, relevant to personal interests, and providing for personal choice and
control.

 Educators can encourage and support learners’ natural curiosity and motivation to
learn by attending to individual differences in learners’ perceptions of optimal
novelty and difficulty, relevance, and personal choice and control.

9. Effects of Motivation on effort

Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and
guided practice. Without learners’ motivation to learn, the willingness to exert this
effort is unlikely without coercion.

 Effective strategies include purposeful learning activities, guided by practices that

enhance positive emotions and intrinsic motivation to learn, and methods that
increase learners’ perceptions that a task is interesting and personally relevant.

Developmental and Social Factors

10. Developmental influences on learning

As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for
learning. Learning is most effective when differential development within and
across physical, intellectual, emotional, and social domains is taken into account.

 Awareness and understanding of developmental differences among children with

or without emotional, physical, or intellectual disabilities can facilitate the creation
of optimal learning contexts.

11. Social Influences on learning

 Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and
communication with others.

 Positive learning climates can also help to establish the context for healthier levels
of thinking, feeling and behaving. Such contexts help learners feel safe to share
ideas, actively participate in the learning process, and create a learning
community.

Individual Differences Factors

12. Individual differences in learning

Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities for learning that
are a function of prior experience and heredity.

 Educators need to be sensitive to individual differences, in general. They also need

to attend to learner perceptions of the degree to which these differences are
accepted and adapted to by varying instructional methods and materials.

13. Learning and diversity

Learning is most effective when differences in learners’ linguistic, cultural, and
social backgrounds are taken into account.

 When learners perceive that their individual differences in abilities, backgrounds,

cultures, and experiences are valued, respected, and accommodated in learning
tasks and contexts, levels of motivation and achievement are enhanced.

14. Standards and assessment

Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the learner as
well as learning progress – including diagnostic, process, and outcome
assessment – are integral parts of the learning process.

 Self-assessment of learning progress can also improve students self appraisal

skills and enhance motivation and self-directed learning.

Lesson 3 – COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY-JEAN PIAGET

- Major contributor- Jean Piaget, a Swiss scholar who studied children’s intellectual development
during the 1920’s

- Children are neither driven by undesirable instincts nor molded by environmental influences

- Piaget and followers view children a constructivists, that I, as curious active explorers who
respond to the environment according to their understanding of its essential features

- Piaget divided intellectual development into four major periods

a. Sensorimotor- (birth to two years)

 Infants use sensory and motor capabilities to explore and gain a basic
understanding of the environment
 At birth they have only innate reflexes with which to engage the world. By the end
of the sensorimotor period, they are capable of complex sensorimotor coordination
 Infants learn that objects continue to exist when they are out of sight (object
permanence) and begin to internalize behavioral schemata to produce images or
mental schemata.

Object permanence. This is the ability of the child to know that an object still exists
even when out of sight. This ability is attained in the sensory motor stage.

b. Preoperational (two to seven years)

  Children use symbolism (images and language) to represent and understand
various aspects of the environment.
 Thought is egocentric, meaning that children think everyone sees the world in
much the same way that they do.
 Children become imaginative in their play activities. They gradually begin to
recognize that other people may not always perceive the world as they do.

Symbolic Function. This is the ability to represent objects and events.

Egocentrism. This is the tendency of the child to only see his point of view and to
assume that everyone also has his same point of view.

Centration. This refers to the tendency of the child to only focus on one aspect of a
thing or event and exclude other aspects.

Irreversibility. Pre-operational children still has the inability to reverse their thinking.

Animism. This is the tendency of children to attribute human like traits or

characteristics to inanimate objects.

Transductive reasoning. This refers to the pre-operational child’s type of reasoning

that is neither inductive nor deductive.

c. Concrete Operations (seven to eleven years)

 Children are no longer fooled by appearances. By relying on cognitive operations,

they understand the basic properties of and relations among objects and events in the
everyday world.
 Able to solve concrete (hands-on) problem in logical fashion.
 Understand laws of conservation and are able to classify and seriate. Understands
reversibility.
 Becoming much more proficient at inferring motives by observing other’s behavior and
the circumstances in which it occurs.

Decentering. This refers to the ability of the child to perceive the different features of
objects and situations.

Reversibility. During the stage of concrete operations, the child can now follow that
certain operations can be done in reverse.

Conservation. This is the ability to know that certain properties of objects like number,
mass, volume, or area do not change even if there is a change in appearance.

Seriation. This refers to the ability to order or arrange things in a series based on one
dimension such as weight, volume or size.

d. Formal Operations (eleven years and beyond)

 Able to solve abstract problems in logical fashion

 Becomes more scientific in thinking
 No longer is logical thinking limited to the concrete or the observable. Children enjoy
pondering hypothetical issues and as a result may become rather idealistic.
 Capable of systematic, deductive reasoning that permits them to consider many
possible solutions to a problem and pick the correct answer.

Hypothetical Reasoning. This is the ability to come up with different hypothesis about a
problem and to gather and weigh data in order to make a final decision or judgment.

Analogical reasoning. This is the ability to perceive the relationship in one instance and
then use that relationship to narrow down possible answers in another similar situation or
problem.
 Deductive reasoning. This is the ability to think logically by applying a general rule to a
particular instance or situation.

Lesson 4 – SOCIOHISTORIC-LEV SEMANOVICH VYGOTSKY

- Russian psychologist who highly stressed the importance of the social

environment development.

- Two Central factors in Cognitive Development:

1.) Social interaction is the way in which children develop increasingly more
complex thinking. Children gain knowledge and skills through “shared
experiences” between themselves and adults or older peers.

2.) Language – opens the door for learners to acquire knowledge that others
already have. Learners use language to know and understand the world
and solve problem. It helps the learners regulate and reflect in his own
thinking.

* Private speech – is a form of self- talk (talking-to-oneself) that guides

the child’s thinking and action.

- Cognitive development is concerned as dependent on social mediation. The child

is socially dependent at the beginning of his cognitive life and becomes
increasingly independent on his thinking through many experiences in which
adults or older peers help.

- The child acquires new skills and information with the zone of proximal
development (ZPD), the level at which a child finds a task too difficult to complete
alone, but which he can accomplish with the assistance or support of an adult or
older peer.

- Activities – Vygotsky believed in the essential role of activities. Children learn

better through hands- on activities than passive listening.

- Scaffolding – this refers to the support or assistance that let the child accomplish
a task she/ he cannot accomplish independently.

- Scaffold and fade- away technique – if learners become proficient, able to

complete task on their own that they could initially do without assistance, the
guidance can be withdrawn.

- This theory suggest that, in addition to providing a stimulating environment, early

childhood educators need to promote discovery, explaining and providing
suggestions to suit each child’s zone of proximal development.

Lesson 5- THE PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY – ERIK ERIKSON

- People progress through a series of eight stages

- Each stage is characterized by a “conflict or crisis” that the individual must
successfully resolve in order to develop in a healthy direction.
- Focus is an important socio- cultural determinants of human development and
less on the sex instinct
- An individual who fails to resolve one or more of the life crisis is almost certain to
encounter problems in the succeeding stages of development or in the future.
 SA trash car na hot NAAY dust and id NI auntie general go
Stage Age Characteristics

1. Trust vs Mistrust Birth to 1 year Whether children come to trust or mistrust themselves and
other people depends on their early experiences

 Infants are met, cuddled,  When a child is chaotic,

(Infancy stage) fondled and shown unpredictable and
genuine affection evolve rejecting as brought
a sense of a world as a about by his
safe and dependable environment, he
place approaches the world
with fear and suspicion
Maladaptation ( too much trust ) – sensory maladjustment:
Overly trusting, even gullible, this person cannot believe
anyone would mean them harm, and well use all the
defenses at their command to find an explanation or
excuse for the person who did him wrong.

Malignancy (too much mistrust) – withdrawal: this is

characterized by depression, paranoia and possible
psychosis.

Virtue – Hope; this is a strong belief that even when things

are not going well, they will still work out well in the end.

2. Autonomy vs 1 – 3 years As children begin to walk, climb, etc., a new conflict

Shame and Doubt confronts them that is whether to assert their will or not.
( Early Childhood)
 When parents are  When children are not
patient, cooperative, allowed such freedom
encouraging, children and are over-protected,
acquire a sense of they develop an
independence and excessive sense of
competence shame and doubt.
Maladaptation: Impulsiveness – a sort of shameless
willfulness that leads you in later childhood and even
adulthood, to jump into things withput proper consideration
of your abilities.

Malignancy: Compulsiveness - If a persons feels as if their

entire being rides on everything they do, and so everything
must be done perfectly.

Virtue: Will power or Determination.

3. Initiative vs Guilt 3 – 6 years The repertoire of motor and mental abilities greatly
(Middle Childhood) expands.

The healthy child learns to broaden his skills to cooperate

and to lead as well as to follow.

 Parents who give their  Parents who curtail this

children freedom to do freedom are giving
things like running, children a sense of
 riding, skating, etc. are themselves as
allowing them to develop nuisances and inept
initiative. intruders in the adult
world. Rather than
being active they
become passive.

Maladaptation: Ruthlessness – is to be heartless or

unfeeling or be “without mercy”.

Malignancy: Inhibition – inhibited person will not try things

because “nothing ventured, nothing lost” and, particularly,
nothing to feel guilty about.

Virtue: Courage – the capacity for action despite a clear

understanding of your limitations and past failings.

Elementary years-children concerned with how things

4. Industry vs Inferiority 6-12 years work and how they are made.
(Late Childhood)
Children learn to win recognition by being productive.
Work becomes pleasurable and they learn to persevere.

 Parents, teachers, who  Those who ignore,

support, reward and rebuff. Deride children’s
praise children are effort are strengthening
encouraging industry. feelings of inferiority.
Maladaptation: Narrow Virtuosity- the ones that parents or
teachers push into area of competence, without allowing
the development of broader interests.

Malignancy: Inertia- includes all of us who suffer from the

“inferiority complexes”.

Virtue: Competency-mostly industry with just a touch of

inferiority to keep us sensibly humble.

5. Identity vs Role It is reached at the time of puberty when childhood is left

Confusion behind and the transmission to adulthood begins.
(Adolescence)
Individual has to develop an integral and coherent sense
of self. He seeks answers to the question “Who am I”.

 To find an identity,  When the adolescent fails

adolescents try on many to develop a centered
new roles as they grope identity he/she becomes
with romantic trapped in either role
involvement, vocational confusion a “negative
choice and adult identity”. Role confusion
statuses. implies uncertainty of
appropriate behavior.
Maladaptation: Fanaticism-fanatic believes that his way is
the only way.

Malignancy: Repudiation-to reject their membership in the

world of adults and, even more, they reject their need for
an identity.

Virtue: Fidelity: loyalty, the ability to live by societies

standards despite their imperfections and incompleteness
 and inconsistencies.

6. Intimacy vs Isolation As Erickson views intimacy, it is the capacity to reach out

(Early Adulthood) and make contact with other people and to fuse one’s
identity with that of others. Capable of experiencing the
intimacy of enduring friendship or marriage.

 Central to intimacy is the  Fear of self-abandonment

ability to share with and results in a feeling of
care about another isolation.
person without fear or
losing oneself in the
process.
Maladaptation: Promiscuity- the tendency to become
intimate too freely, too easily and without any depth to
your intimacy.

Malignancy: Exclusion- the tendency to isolate oneself

from love, friendship, and community, and to develop a
certain hatefulness in compensation for one’s loneliness.

Virtue: Love- being able to put aside differences and

antagonisms through “mutuality of devotion”.

7. Generality vs Individual is able to work productively and creatively.

Stagnation
(Late Adulthood)
 Generativity-  Stagnation-condition
Parental responsibility, in which individuals are
interest in producing and preoccupied with their
guiding the next material possessions or
generation. Entails physical well-being.
selflessness.
Maladaptation: Overextension- people try to be so
generative that they no longer allow time for themselves,
for rest and relaxation.

Malignancy: Rejectivity- too little generativity and too much

stagnation and you are no longer participating in or
contributing to society.

Virtue: Caring- serve you through the rest of your life

8. Ego Integrity vs Stage of facing reality, recognizing and accepting it.

Despair Individuals take stick of the years that have gone before.
(Old Age)
 Some feel a sense of  Others experience
satisfaction with the despair, the feeling that
accomplishment. the time is too short for an
attempt to start another
life and to try out
alternative roads to
integrity.
Maladaptation: Presumption-happens when a person
“presumes” ego integrity without actually facing the
difficulties of old age.

Malignancy: Disdain- a contempt of life, one’s own or

anyone’s; person becomes negative and appears to hate
life.

Virtue: Wisdom- has the strength that approaches death

without fear ;a gift to children
Lesson 6 – THE LEARNING THEORY (BEHAVIORISM) -JOHN WATSON

- John Watson proclaimed that he could take a dozen healthy infants and train
them to be whatever he chose- doctor, lawyer, beggar, and so on.

- Basic premise of Watson’s “behaviorism”

 That the mind of an infant is a “tabula rasa” and that learned associations
between stimuli and responses are the building blocks of human
development.
 Development does not proceed through series of stages
 It is a continuous process marked by the gradual acquisition of new and more
sophisticated behavioral pattern, or habits.
 He believe that only the simplest of human reflexes (for example, the sucking
reflex) are inborn and that important behavioral tendencies. Including traits,
talents, values and aspirations are learned.

- The behaviorists of the 1980’s are more moderate in their views. They recognize
that heredity and maturation play meaningful roles in human development and
that no amount of prompting or environmental enrichment could transform a
severely retarded person into a lawyer or a brain surgeon.

- However, these contemporary learning theorists believe that biological factors

merely place limits on what children are capable of learning.

- To this day, theorists who favor the learning approach feel that the most
significant aspects of human behavior-those habits and qualities that make us
“human”- are learned.

Lesson 7 – THE MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY-LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

- The moral development of each successive generation is of obvious significance

to society. Although moral standards may vary from culture to culture, every
society has devise rules that its constituents must obey in order to remain
members in good standing.

- Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on Piaget’s studies of moral development by

making moral dilemmas that could be appropriate for older children. Thus 1963,
he developed the description of the three levels and six stages of moral
reasoning.

a.) Level-One – Preconventional Morality (0-9 years)

 This is typical of children up to age nine

 Called preconventional because young children do not really understand the
conventions or rules of a society.

Stage 1: Punishment – Obedience Orientation (toddler to 7)

* The physical consequence of an action determines goodness or badness

* Those in authority have superior power and should be obeyed.
* Punishment should be avoided by staying out of trouble.

Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation (pre-school to school age)

* An action is judged to be right if it is instrumental or satisfying ones own needs or

* Obeying rules should bring some sort of benefits in return

b.) Level Two – Conventional Morality (9-20 years)

  Typical of nine to twenty tears old
 Called conventional since 9 to 20 year olds conform to the convention of society
because they are rules of a society

Stage 3: Good Boy – Nice Girl Orientation

* The right action is one that would be carried out by someone whose behavior is
likely to please or impress others

Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation

 To maintain the social order, fixed rules must be established and obeyed. It is
essential to respect authority.

c.) Level Three – Postconventional Morality (after age 20)

 This is usually reached only after age 20 and by only a small proportion of adults
 Called postconventional level because the moral principles that underlie the
conventions of a society are understood

Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation

* Rules are needed to maintain the social agreement at the same time the rights of
the individual should be protected

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle orientation

* Moral decisions should be made in terms of self-chosen ethical principles. Once

principles are chosen, they should be applied in consistent ways.

Lesson 8- LEARNING

 A change in behavior resulting from the interaction of the organism with its environment
 Changes brought about by development is not learning (ex. Ability to stand)
 Involves relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge which is the result of
experience or practice
 A process of acquiring, remembering, applying skills, knowledge, attitudes and other
models of response.

Different Principles of Learning

and Their Applications in Classroom Situation

Principle Application in Classroom Situations

1. Learning by doing is more effective than just Let the students have the feel of things through
sitting and listening the hands-on activities. (Ex. to learn how to use
the computer, a computer should be available
for practice)
2. Concepts should be presented in varied/ Teachers should be very creative, resourceful
different ways. and imaginative in teaching so as not to make
the students as well as themselves get bored.
(Ex. If pictures were used in teaching on a
Monday, the next day the teacher may use
storytelling.)
3. Learning is aided by formulating and asking Teaching is a two-way process. It’s not only the
questions. teachers who will always do the talking and
asking. Students should be given a chance to
 do the same thing. (ex. Any question regarding
the discussion?)
4. Effort is put forth when tasks are challenging In giving tasks to students, the teacher should
consider that the tasks are not too difficult nor
too easy and simple to do. (Ex. Asking students
to write a reaction paper is not as challenging
as when you ask the students to present or
interpret the story in a creative manner.)
5. The principle of readiness is related to the The teacher must consider the student’s age in
learners’ stage of development and their presenting certain content and in expecting
previous learning certain cognitive processes. (Ex. A third grader
can deal with concrete operations but cannot
make inferences)

Different Theories of Learning

And Their Applications in Classroom Situations

A. Behavioral Learning Theories or Associative Learning Theories

 Prefer to concentrate on actual behavior

 Conclusions based on observations of external manifestations of learning
 Did not focus on any underlying changes that may take place in the learner

1. Ivan Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Conditioning

 Term classical means in the established manner

 Individual learns when a previously neutral stimulus is paired with an
unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus evokes a conditioned response

Features of Classical Conditioning

 Stimulus Generalization – a process by which the conditioned response transfers to

other stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus (ex. If a pupil enters
school for the first time and gets terrified at the sight of a stern teacher, then that pupil may
transfer that fear or anxiety to anything about school-another teacher, pupil, book
building, etc.)

If you observe that a student is nervous in your class, try to discover what caused it;
take steps to introduce non-provoking stimuli with those that caused the anxiety.

 Discrimination- a process by which one learns not to respond to similar stimuli in an

identical manner because of previous experiences. (Ex. A pupil learning to read might
have serious difficulties if he could not discriminate the letters p, b , and d, or horizontal
lines from vertical lines, left from right)

Stress to students the importance of being able to distinguish things that seem alike but are
different. One can discriminate because of prior experiences. Provide continued practice
to be used in searching for differences.

 Extinction – the process by which a conditioned response is lost. (Ex. If a student is

always scolded by the teacher for failing in the test, he/she will develop fear in taking a
test. But if in the succeeding tests, he/she passed with flying colors and was praised by
the teacher; gradually the fear in taking a test will be extinguished.)

 Spontaneous Recovery – Extinguished responses can be “recovered” after an elapse

time, but will soon extinguish again if the dog is not presented with food.
 The teacher may change his/her style or pattern of doing things so that there will be a
change of behavior or attitude on the part of the students.

2. Edward Thorndike’s Connectionism

 Term connectionism means learning by selecting and connecting.

 Put more emphasis on the response of the organism not limiting himself to the
association between the stimulus and the response.

 Believed that all learning is explained by bonds or connections that are formed
between the stimulus and response. These connections occur mainly through trial and
error.

 Formulated the three major laws of learning

 Law of Readiness – readiness is an important condition in learning. A learner

may be satisfied or frustrated depending on his/her stage of readiness. The
learner should be biologically prepared.

A child is ready to learn if he/she shows interest/sustained interest/ improvement

in performance.

 Law of Exercise – explains that any connection is strengthened in proportion to

the number of times it occurs and in proportion to the average vigor and duration
of the connection. Practice alone is not enough for improvement.

Let students practice what they have learned. Provide activities where students can
show/perform/apply not only in school but out of school as well what was learned
in the classroom.

 Law of Effect – when an organism’s response is accompanied or followed by a

satisfactory state, the strength of the connection is increased. If an annoying
stage accompanies or follows the response, the strength of the connection is
decreased. Rewards, successes or positive reinforcement further learning,
while punishment, failure or negative experiences hinder it.

Teachers should consider individual differences. Things said or done may have
different effects on the behavior of students.

3. Tolman’s Purposive Bahaviorism

1. Tolman believed that learning is a cognitive process.

2. Learning involves forming beliefs and obtaining knowledge about the environment
and then revealing that knowledge through purposeful and goal-directed behavior.
 3. This is tendency to “learn location” signified that rats somehow formed cognitive
maps that help them perform well on the maze. He has also found out that
organisms will select the shortest or easiest path to achieve the goal.

4. Latent Learning – a kind of learning that remains or stays with the individual until
needed. It is a learning that is not outwardly manifested at once. According to
Tolman it can exist even without reinforcement.

5. The Concept of Intervening Variable – variables that are not readily seen but
serve as determinants of behavior. Tolman believed that learning is mediated or is
influenced by expectations, variables. Example, in his experiments with rats he found
out that hunger was an intervening variable.

4. Burrhus Skinner’s Reinforcement and Operant Conditioning

a. Stressed the consequence of behavior in order to learn.

b. Proved that reinforcement is a powerful tool in shaping and controlling behavior in

and out of the classroom.

c. Emphasized the greater influence of the environment or learning and behavior that is
either to reinforce or eliminate.

d. Reinforcer is a stimulus event that if it occurs in the proper temporal relation with a
response tends to maintain or increase the strength of a response, stimulus-response
connection.
- Primary – related to basic needs. Ex. food
- Secondary – value of something is acquired when associated with primary
reinforcer. Ex. money to buy food.

e. Positive Reinforcer – any stimulus that is given or added to increase the response.
Example: A mother who promises a new cell phone for her son who gets good
grades.

f. Negative Reinforcer – Any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of a

response when it is withdrawn or removed.

Example: A teacher announces that a student, who gets an average grade of 1.5 for
two grading periods, will be no longer take the final examination.

g. Shaping of Behavior – To begin shaping, the animal may be rewarded for simply
turning in the lever, for brushing against the lever and finally for pressing the lever.

h. Behavioral Chaining – This will come about when a series of steps are needed to be
learned. The animal would waste each step in sequence until the entire sequence is
learned.

Reinforcement – not synonymous with reward. Psychologists use the term “reward”
and believed that reinforcement becomes effective when applied to specific behavior.

 Schedules of Reinforcement
1. Continuous – every time it occurs
2. Intermittent – every now and then
3. Ratio – after a set of response. Ex. for every 3 correct responses
4. Interval – after the first response made following predetermined period of
elapsed time.

Teachers may use pleasant or unpleasant consequences to control the

occurrence of behavior.

5. Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Learning

  Called “observational learning” or “social learning theory”

 Learning takes place when one person observes and then imitates the behavior of
others

 Information we process from observing other people, things and events influences
the way we act

 Models are classified as

 Real life – teachers, parents

 Symbolic – oral or written symbols (ex. books)
 Representational – presented through audio – visual measures (ex. films)

Importance of models

 Observer may inquire new responses

 May strengthen or weaken every existing response
 May cause the reappearance of responses that we apparently forgotten

Four Phases in Observational Learning

1. Attention – mere exposure does not ensure acquisition of behavior. Observer must attend
and recognize the distinctive features of the model’s response.

2. Retention – reproduction of the desired behavior implies that a student symbolically

retains the observed behavior.

3. Motor Reproduction Processes – after observation, have students demonstrate as soon

as possible. Correct behavior can be reinforced, while incorrect ones are altered.

4. Motivational Processes – although observer acquires and retains ability to perform the
modeled behavior, there will be no overt performance unless conditions are favorable.

Teachers should be aware of their behavior since children do not do just what adults tell
them to do but rather what they see adults do.

Lesson 9- COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORIES

 Prefer to concentrate on analyzing cognitive processes

 Believe in the non-observable behavior.
 Define cognitive psychology as the study of structures and components of information
processing.

1. Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory

 View – focused on the psychological field or life space of an individual

 Life space of an individual consists of everything one needs to know about a

person in order to understand his / her behavior in a specific psychological
environment at a specific time.

 Life space concept – it is not always possible to draw accurate conclusions simply
by observing overt behavior. To understand behavior it is often essential to be
“subjective” in the sense that the observer must see things form the subject’s point
of view at a given moment.

In a classroom for instance, each individual has his / her own psychological field
apart from others. Teachers, therefore, must try to suit the goals and activities of
 the lessons to the learner’s needs.

2. Wolfgang Kohler’s Problem Solving Theory

 Insight is the
 capacity to discern the true nature of a situation.
 imaginative power to see into and understand immediately

 Gaining insight is a gradual process of exploring, analyzing and restructuring

perceptions until a solution is arrived

 The more intelligent a person and the more experience he has, the more capable
he will be for gaining insight

 Held that animals and human beings are capable of seeing relationships between
objects and events and act accordingly to achieve their needs. They have the
power of looking into relationships involved in a problem and in coming up with a
solution.

 His studies on apes led him to conclude that learning was a result if insightful
solutions, not blind trial error.

 The important aspect of learning was not reinforcement, but the coordination of
thinking to create new organizations (of materials). Kohler referred to this behavior
as insight or discovery learning.

Teachers should assist students in gaining insights by giving / presenting activities /

situations to do so they will be able to solve their problems.

3. David Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning Theory

 Meaningful learning is the acquisition of new meaning. Two important ideas in the
definition
 material be learned is potentially meaningful
 refers to the process by which students turn potentially meaningful material into
actual meaningfulness.

 Meaningful learning occurs when the material to be learned is related to what

students already know.

 Two dimensions of leaning processes

 The first relates to the two ways by which knowledge to be learned is made
available to the learner:

- Meaningful Reception Learning – new logically, an organized material is

presented in final form and the learner relates it to his / her existing knowledge.

- Rote Reception Learning – material in any kind is presented in final form and is
memorized.

 The second dimension relates to the two ways by which the learner may
incorporate new information into his existing cognitive structure.

- Meaningful Discovery Learning – leaner arrives at the solution to a problem or

other outcome independently and relates it to his existing knowledge.

- Rote Discovery Learning – the solution is arrived at independently but is

committed to memory.
  This theory primarily applies to older students who can read reasonably well and
who already have a fund of basic concepts in a subject –matter field.
Teachers to take note that before actual learning is expected, the teachers may use
advance organizers – a term for an abstract, general overview of new information.

4. Jerome Bruner’s Theory of Instruction

 Calls his view of learning “instrumental conceptualism”

 The acquisition of knowledge, whatever its forms is a dynamic interactive process.
A learner is a purposive participant in the knowledge getting process who selects,
structures, retains and transforms information.
 Focused, on the problem of what people do with information to achieve
generalized insights or understanding.
 Learning is seen as a cognitive process that involves three (3) simultaneous
processes.
 Acquisition- process of obtaining new information that can either replace or
refine something previously known

 Transformation- manipulation of information to fit new situations

 Evaluation- checking on whether or not the learned material has been

manipulated appropriately.

Bruner’s Main Concepts

Representation

1. Enactive Representation
2. Iconic Representation
3. Symbolic Representation

Spiral Curriculum

Discovering Learning

Categorization

1. Identity Categories
2. Equivalent Categories
3. Coding Systems

Teachers must strive to see a problem as the learner sees it and provide information that
is consistent with the learners perspective.

5. Robert Gagne’s Cumulative Learning

 Learning skills are hierarchically arranged, where there is a progression from

developing simple stimulus- response association to concepts and principles
and problem solving.

 Enumerated eight (8) levels of learning.

Sa SM Davao City Para Po

 Signal Learning- where involuntary responses are learned. Similar to classical
conditioning. Ex. hot iron touched-flinching of the hand
  Stimulus-Response Learning- where voluntary responses are learned.
Similar to operant conditioning. Ex. getting ready to move at the sound of a fire
alarm.

 Motor/ Verbal Chains Learning- two or more separate motor/verbal

responses maybe combined or chained to develop a more complex skill. Ex.
house+wife= housewife

 Discrimination Learning- learner selects a response which applies to certain

stimuli. Ex. sound of fire engine different from other sounds/ sirens

 Concept Learning- involves classifying and organizing perceptions to gain

meaningful concepts. Ex. concept of “triangle”, discriminate triangle from other
shape and deduce commonality among different shapes.

 Principle Learning (Rule Learning) - involves combining and relating

concepts already learned to form rules. Ex. Equilateral triangles are similar in
shapes.

 Problem Solving- considered the most complex condition; involves applying

rules to appropriate problem situations. Ex. Solving mathematical problems
using given formula. Find the are of a square A= l x w

6. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

 Microsystem – The immediate environment the child lives in. Children’s

microsystems will include any immediate relationships or organizations they
interacts with, such as their immediate family or caregivers and their school or
daycare. How these groups or organizations interact with the child will have an
effect on how the child will be able to grow. Furthermore, how a child acts or
reacts to these people in the microsystem will affect how they treat her in
return. Each child’s special genetic and biologically influenced personality
traits, what is known as temperament, end up affecting how others treat them.

 Mesosystem – describes how the different parts of a child’s microsyatems

work together for the sake of the child. For example, if a child’s caregivers take
an active role in a child’s school, such as going to parent-teacher conferences
and watching their child’s soccer games, this will help ensure the child’s
overall growth. In contrasts, if the child’s two set of caretakers, mom with step-
dad and dad with step-mom, disagree how to best raise the child and give the
child conflicting lessons when they see him, this will hinder the child’s growth
in different channels.

 Exosystem- The exosystem level includes the other people and places that
the child herself may not interact with often but that still have a large affect on
her, such as parents’ workplaces, extended family members, the
neighborhood, etc. For example, if a child’s parent gets laid off from work, that
may have negative effects on the child if her parents are unable to pay rent or
to buy groceries; however, if her parents receives a promotion and a raise at
work, this may have a positive effect on the child because her parents will be
better able to give her physical needs.

 Macrosystem- The largest and most remote set of people and things to a
child but which still have a great influence over the child. The macrosystem
includes things such as the relative freedoms permitted by the national
government, cultural values, the economy, wars, etc. These things can also
affect a child either positively or negatively.

Lesson 10- INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

A. How Student Diversity Enriches the Learning Environment

1. Students’ self-awareness is enhanced by diversity.

2. Student diversity contributes to cognitive development.
 3. Student diversity prepares learners for their role as responsible members of society.
4. Student diversity can promote harmony.

Some Tips on Student Diversity

1. Encourages learners to share their personal history and experiences.

2. Integrate learning experiences and activities which promote students’ multicultural and
cross-cultural awareness.

3. Aside from highlighting diversity, identify patterns of unity that transcend group
differences.

4. Communicate high expectations to students from all sub-groups.

5. Use varied instructional methods to accommodate student diversity in learning styles.

6. Vary the examples you use to illustrate concepts in order to provide multiple contexts
that are relevant to students from diverse backgrounds.

7. Adapt to the students’ diverse backgrounds and learning styles by allowing them
personal choice and decision-making opportunities concerning what they will learn and
how they will learn it.

8. Diversity your methods of assessing and evaluating student learning.

9. Purposely, form small-discussion groups of students from diverse backgrounds. You

can form groups of students with different learning styles, different cultural background,
etc.

B. Learning/ Thinking Styles

 refer to the preferred way an individual processes information

1. Sensory Preferences

 Individuals tend to gravitate toward one or two types of sensory input and maintain a
dominance in one of the following types:

Visual Learners. These learners must see their teacher’s actions and facial expression to
fully understand the content of a lesson.

Visual-iconic. Those who prefer this form of input are more interested in visual
imagery such as film, graphic displays, or pictures in order to solidify learning.

Visual-symbolic. Those who prefer this form of input feel comfortable with abstract
symbolism such as mathematical formulae or the written word.

Auditory Learners. They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things
through and listening to what others have to say.

Listeners. This is the more common type. They most likely do well in school.
Talkers. They are the ones who prefer to talk and discuss.

Tactile/ Kinesthetic Learners. They benefit much from a hands-on approach, actively
exploring the physical world around them.

2. Global-Analytic Continuum

Analytic. Analytic thinkers tend toward the linear, step-by-step processes of learning.
Global. Global thinkers lean towards non-linear thought and tend to see the whole pattern
rather than particle elements.
 LEFT BRAIN (Analytic) RIGHT BRAIN (Global)
Successive Hemispheric Style Simultaneous Hemispheric Style
1. Verbal 1. Visual
2. Responds to word meaning 2. Responds to tone of voice
3. Sequential 3. Random
4. Processes information linearly 4. Processes information in varied order
5. Responds to logic 5. Responds to emotion
6. Plans ahead 6. Impulsive
7. Recalls people’s names 7. Recalls people’s faces
8. Speaks with few gestures 8. Gestures when speaking
9. Punctual 9. Less punctual
10. Prefers formal study design 10. Prefers sound/music background while studying
11. Prefers bright lights while studying 11. Prefers frequent mobility while studying

C. Multiple Intelligences as Dispositions ( Howard Gardner)

Disposition/Intelligence Sensitivity to: Inclination for: Ability to:

Speak effectively
(teacher religious leader,
The sounds, meanings,
Verbal-Lingustic Speaking, writing, politician) or write
structures, and styles of
Intelligence listening, reading effectively (poet,
language
journalist, novelist,
copywriter, editor)
Finding patterns, making
Patterns, numbers and work effectively with
calculations, forming and
numerical data, causes numbers (accountant,
Logical-Mathematical testing hypotheses,
and effects, objective statistician, economist)
Intelligence using the scientific
and quantitative and reason effectively
method, deductive and
reasoning (engineer, scientist,
inductive reasoning
computer programmer)
Representing ideas Create visually (artist,
colors, shapes, visual visually, creating mental photographer, engineer,
Spatial Intelligence puzzles, symmetry, images, noticing visual decorator) and visualize
lines, images details, drawing and accurately (tour guide,
sketching scout, ranger)
Use the hands to fix or
Activities requiring create (mechanic,
strength, speed, surgeon, carpenter,
Bodily-Kinesthetic Touch, movement,
flexibility, hand-eye sculptor, mason) and
Intelligence physical self, athleticism
coordination, and use the body
balance expressively (dancer,
athlete, actor)
Create music
(songwriter, composer,
Tone, beat, tempo, Listening, singing,
Musical Intelligence musician, conductor)
melody, pitch, sound playing an instrument
and analyze music
(music critic)
Work with people
(administrators,
managers, consultants,
Noticing and responding teachers) and help
Interpersonal Body language, moods, to other people’s people identify and
Intellegence voice, feelings feelings and overcome problems
personalities (therapists,
psychologists)

Setting goals, assessing Meditate, reflect, exhibit,

One’s own strengths,
Intrapersonal personal abilities and self- discipline, maintain
weaknesses, goals and
Intelligence liabilities, monitoring composure, and get the
desires
one’s own thinking most out of oneself
Naturalist Intelligence Natural objects, plants, Identifying and Analyze ecological and
animals naturally classifying living things natural situations and
 data (ecologists and
rangers), learn from
occurring patterns, living things (zoologist,
and natural objects
ecological issues botanist, veterinarian)
and work in natural
settings (hunter, scout)

D. Concept of Intelligence

Intelligence has been defined as “problem solving skills and ability to adopt and
learn from life’s everyday experiences”. (Santrock, 2002) To begin this lesson, we will look at the
three ways that people had tried to describe intelligence – 1. Spearman’s Theory, 2. Stenberg’s
theory and 3. Gardner’s theory.

1. Spearman’s Theory

At one end of the range of theories of intelligence is the theory of Charles

Spearman (1904) who proposed that intelligence was a single quality or ability within the human
brain. Spearman discovered that people who score high in IQ or mental ability test usually scored
higher on other types of test, and people who scored lower generally had lower scores on other
tests. Spearman thought that if all mental tests are positively correlated there must be some
common variable or factor that produces this positive correlation. Using statistics the
demonstrated it was true.
This general factor he calls “g”. If a person gets a lot of this general intelligence
then that person with a lot of “g” will perform well in Mathematics, Language, reasoning, memory
and other tasks. If a person gets only a little “g” then they would not act intelligently in all these
areas – perhaps there are some areas or in a low level at all areas. This way of thinking about
intelligence is called, “Intelligence Factor Theory”.
Spearman also proposed a second factor of intelligence which he called specific
intelligence‘s’, leading Spearman to the eventual development of a two-factor theory of
intelligence. According to this two-factor theory of intelligence, the performance of any
intellectual act requires some combination ‘g’, which is available to the same individual to the
same degree for all intellectual acts, and of ‘specific factors’ or ‘s’ which are specific to that act
and which varies in strength from one act to another. Since ‘g’ is needed in all tasks, the most
important information to have about a person’s intellectual ability is an estimate of their ‘g’ factor.

E. Learners with Exceptionalities

 Disability. A disability is a measurable impairment or limitation that “interferes with a

person’s ability, for example, to walk, lift, hear, or learn.
 Handicap. A handicap is a disadvantage that occurs as a result of a disability or
impairment.

Categories of Exceptionalities

Specific cognitive or academic difficulties

 Learning Disabilities. Learning disabilities involve difficulties in specific cognitive

processes like perception, language, memory, or metacognition that are not due to
other disabilities like mental retardation, emotional or behavioral disorders, or
sensory impairments.
 Attention- Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is manifested in either or both
of these: (1) difficulty in focusing and maintaining attention and (2) recurrent
hyperactive and impulsive behavior.
 Speech and Communication Disorders. There is difficulty in spoken language
including voice disorders, inability to produce the sounds correctly, stuttering,
difficulty in spoken language comprehension that significantly hamper classroom
performance.
 Social/Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

 Emotional/ Conduct Disorders. This involves the presence of emotional states

like depression and aggression over a considerable amount of time that they
notably disturb learning and performance in school.
 Autism. Autism is a condition manifested by different levels of impaired social
interaction and communication, repetitive behaviors and limited interests.
 Mental Retardation. Mental Retardation refers to significant sub- average
intelligence and deficits in adaptive behavior.

Physical Disabilities and Health Impairments

 Physical and health impairments. This involves physical or medical conditions

(usually long- term) including one or more of these: (1) limited energy and strength,
(2) reduced mental alertness, and/or (3) little muscle control.
 Severe and Multiple Disabilities. This refers to the presence of two or more
different types of disability, at times at a profound level.

Sensory Impairments

Visual Impairments. These are conditions when there is malfunction of the eyes or optic
nerves that prevent normal vision even with corrective lenses.
Hearing Impairments. These involves malfunction of the ear or auditory nerves that
hinder perception of sounds within the frequency range of normal speech.
Giftedness. This involves a significantly high level of cognitive development. There is
unusually high ability or aptitude in one or more of these aspects: intellectual ability,
aptitude in academic subjects, creativity, visual or performing arts or leadership.

Lesson 11- MOTIVATION

Meaning of Motivation

Motivation is an inner drive that causes you to do something and preserve at

something. Motivation is an inner drive that energizes you to do something. It is strength of
the drive toward an action.

Indicators of a High Level of Motivation

Your student’s level of motivation is shown in his/her choice of action, intensity,

and persistence of effort. If you have a highly motivated student you have a student who is
excited about learning and accomplishing tings.

Types of Motivation

Motivation is classified either as intrinsic or extrinsic. It is intrinsic when the

source of motivation is from within the person himself/herself or the activity itself.
Motivation is extrinsic when that which motivates a person is someone or something
outside him/her.

Type of Motivation which is More Benefecial

Obviously, intrinsic motivation is more beneficial than extrinsic motivation

because intrinsic motivation comes from within the person himself/herself. Intrinsic
motivation is evident when people engage in an activity for its own sake, without some
obvious external incentive present.

1. Attribution theory

What is the attribution theory? This theory explains that we attribute our
successes or failures or other events to several factors. For instance, you attribute your
popularity to your popular parents or to your own sterling academic performance.

Three Ways of Attribution Theory

 1. Locus (“place”): Internal versus external. If your student traces his good grade to his
ability and to his hard work, he attributes his good grade to internal factors.

2. Stability: Stable versus unstable. If you attribute your poor eyesight to what you have
inherited from your parents, then you are attributing the cause of your sickness to
something stable, something that cannot change because it is in your genes.

3. Controllability: Controllable versus uncontrollable. If your student claims his poor

academic performance is due to his teacher’s ineffective teaching strategy, he attributes
his poor performance to a factor beyond his control.

2. Self – Efficiency theory

A sense of high self-efficiency means a high sense of competence. Self-efficiency

is the belief that one has the necessary capabilities to perform a task, fulfill role
expectations, or meet a challenging situation successfully.

Enhancing Strategies of Self – Efficiency

 Make sure students master the basic skills. Mastery of the basic skills like reading,
writing, ‘rithmetic will enable the child to tackle higher level activities.
 Help them make noticeable progress on difficult tasks. You like to give up climbing
a mountain when you feel that it seems you are not making progress at all.
 Communicate confidence in students’ abilities through both words and actions.
Express confidence that your students, with all their abilities, can easily tackle the
learning task.
 Expose them to successful peers. Being with successful peers, your students will
enhale success and get energized to succeed as well.

Other recommendations from motivation theorists are:

 Provide competence-promoting feedback. Communicate to your students that they

can do the job. They have the ability to succeed.
 Promote mastery on challenging tasks. Don’t give your students extremely difficult
nor extremely easy task.
 Promote self – comparison rather than comparison with others. Desiderata says:
If you compare yourself with others, you will become vain and bitter. For always there
will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”
After encouraging your students to set their personal goals, ask them to
evaluate their progress against their own goals.
 Be sure errors occur within an overall context of success. ( Ormrrod, 2004 )
There will always be errors or mistakes as we learn, as we go through life.

3. Self – determination and self – regulation theories

Students are more likely intrinsically motivated when they have a sense of self-
determination – when they believe that they have some choice and control regarding the
things they do and the directions their lives take.

Sense of Self-determination about school activities and assignments

 Present rules and instructions in an informational manner rather than

controlling manner.
 Provide opportunities for students to make choices. Several times a particular
lesson objective can be reached by the use of varied strategies.
 Evaluate student performance in a non-controlling fashion. Communicate
evaluation results to inform your students of their progress without passing judgment
of some sort but to make them see that they are strong in some points but not so in
other items.

The following process involved in self-regulated learning:

  Goal-setting. Self-regulated learners know what they want to accomplish when they
read or study.
 Planning. Self-regulated learners determine ahead of time how best to use the time
they have available for learning.
 Attention Control. Self-regulated learners try to focus their attention on the subject
matter at hand and clear their minds of potentially distracting thoughts and emotions.
 Application of learning strategies. Self-regulated learners choose different learning
strategies depending on the specific goal they hope to accomplish.
 Self-monitoring. Self-regulated learners continually monitor their progress toward
their goals and they change their learning strategies or modify their goals, if necessary.

D. Choice Theory

The choice theory is a biological theory that suggests we are born with specific needs that we are
genetically instructed to satisfy. All of our behavior represents our best attempt at any moment to
satisfy our basic needs or genetic instructions.

4 Basic Psychological Needs that must be satisfied to be emotionally healthy:

 Belonging or connecting
- The need for belonging or connecting motivates us to develop relationships and
cooperate with others. Without the need for belonging and cooperating, we would only
strive to be independent.

 Power or competence
- The need for power is more than just a drive to dominate. Power is gained through
competence, achievement, and mastery. Our genetic instruction is to achieve, master new
skills and to be recognized for our accomplishments…

 Freedom
- As humans, we are also motivated to be free, to choose. Having choices is part of what it
means to be human and is one reason our species has been able to evolve, adapt and
thrive…

 Fun
- Each time we learn something new, we are having fun, another universal human
motivator. It is our playfulness and our sense of discovery that allows us to learn as much
as we do.

E. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Levels in the Lower-Order Needs

PSLEA

 First-level needs are basic survival and physiological needs for food, air, water,
and sleep.
 Second-level needs are bodily safety and economic security.

Levels in the Higher-Order Needs

 Third-level need is the need for love and belonging.

 The needs at the fourth level include those for esteem and status, including one’s
feelings of self-worth and of competence.
 The fifth level need is self-actualization, which means becoming all that one is
capable of becoming, using one’s skills to the fullest, and stretching talents to the
maximum.

F. Goal Theory

Learning Goals versus Performance Goals

- The goals we set for ourselves affect our level of motivation.
1. A learning goal is a “desire to acquire additional knowledge or master new skills.”
 2. A performance goal is a “desire to look good and receive favorable judgments from
others or else look bad and receive unfavorable judgments.”

Self-determined goals
- Personally relevant goals and self-determined goals enhance a student’s motivation.

Goal setting
- As a motivational tool, goal setting is effective when the following major elements are present:
1. goal acceptance, 2. specificity, 3. challenge, 4. performance monitoring and 5. performance
feedback.