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    ELT1 Week 2 Handout

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    Uyen
    This document discusses theories of learning, with a focus on behaviorism. It provides an overview of behaviorism, including the work of Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, and Skinner. Their experiments demonstrated principles of classical and operant conditioning using stimuli, responses, and reinforcement. Behaviorism views learning as the acquisition of behaviors through environmental influences, without consideration of internal mental states. The document outlines behaviorist teaching strategies like drills, questions/answers, guided practice, and positive reinforcement. However, it also notes limitations like a lack of focus on cognition, conformity, and external rather than internal motivation in learning.

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    ELT1 Week 2 Handout

    Uploaded by

    Uyen
    35 views5 pages
    This document discusses theories of learning, with a focus on behaviorism. It provides an overview of behaviorism, including the work of Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, and Skinner. Their experiments demonstrated principles of classical and operant conditioning using stimuli, responses, and reinforcement. Behaviorism views learning as the acquisition of behaviors through environmental influences, without consideration of internal mental states. The document outlines behaviorist teaching strategies like drills, questions/answers, guided practice, and positive reinforcement. However, it also notes limitations like a lack of focus on cognition, conformity, and external rather than internal motivation in learning.

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    This document discusses theories of learning, with a focus on behaviorism. It provides an overview of behaviorism, including the work of Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, and Skinner. Their experiments demonstrated principles of classical and operant conditioning using stimuli, responses, and reinforcement. Behaviorism views learning as the acquisition of behaviors through environmental influences, without consideration of internal mental states. The document outlines behaviorist teaching strategies like drills, questions/answers, guided practice, and positive reinforcement. However, it also notes limitations like a lack of focus on cognition, conformity, and external rather than internal motivation in learning.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    35 views5 pages

    ELT1 Week 2 Handout

    Uploaded by

    Uyen
    This document discusses theories of learning, with a focus on behaviorism. It provides an overview of behaviorism, including the work of Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, and Skinner. Their experiments demonstrated principles of classical and operant conditioning using stimuli, responses, and reinforcement. Behaviorism views learning as the acquisition of behaviors through environmental influences, without consideration of internal mental states. The document outlines behaviorist teaching strategies like drills, questions/answers, guided practice, and positive reinforcement. However, it also notes limitations like a lack of focus on cognition, conformity, and external rather than internal motivation in learning.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 5

    Theories of learning & Behaviorism

    Khanh Bui

    I. By the end of today’s section, you will be able to:


     Discuss the roles of theories of learning in teaching a language
     Explore the principles of Behaviorism
     Apply Behaviorism in teaching English

    II. Theories of learning


    “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed
    him for a lifetime.”
    Chinese proverb
    1. What are theories of learning?
    - A theory is an explanation for why something occurs or how it occurs (Harasim, 2017).
    - It aims to:
     help us to understand both how knowledge is created and how people learn
    (Harasim, 2017).
     systematize and organize what is known about human learning (Lefrançois, 2019)

    2. Why do we need to learn about theories of learning?


     The historical antecedents of contemporary language teaching methods are
    premised upon notions about human learning.
     Language teaching is influenced by the fields of linguistics and psychology.
     Second language teaching methods are closely related to concepts and theories
    about the ways in which humans learn.
    3. Overview of learning theories
     Structural: Language is equated with its linguistic forms.
     Cognitive: Language is a biologically predetermined mental ability.
     Functional/Communicative: Language learning is a tool that is used to
    accomplish things or for certain purposes.
     Interactional: Language is a means through which exchanges, performances, and
    human relationships are created and maintained.
    III. Behaviorism
    “any more or less permanent change in behavior which is the result of experience”
    (Borger & Seaborne, 1966, p16 cited in Jarvis, Holford & Griffin, 2003. p.25)
    1. Key people (1849-1936)
    I. Pavlov (1849-1936) [active 1890’s – 1900’s]
    E.L. Thorndike (1874-1949) [active 1900’s – 1930’s]
    J. Watson (1878-1958) [active 1910’s – 1920’s]
    B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) [active 1930’s – 1960’s]

    2. Pavlov’s experiment
    a. Classical Conditioning
     An Unconditioned Stimulus - sight/taste of food - provokes an Unconditioned
    Response – salivation.
     A normally neutral stimulus – bell, buzzer, metronome is associated with the food
    until it provokes the response – salivation.
     The sound becomes the Conditioned Stimulus and the response becomes the
    Conditioned Response.

    b. An example from a learning environment


    Hearing a teacher, friend, boy/girlfriend say to you, “We need to talk”  Upon hearing
    this phrase your stomach “flutters”
    - Any of your own examples
    The point is, we learn to associate a stimulus with a response, & eventually our body does
    this automatically in the presence of the stimulus. Our response is involuntary.

    c. Examples in the classroom


     Playing soothing music, dimming the lights to calm & relax students
     Helping students associate school with good experiences
     Unintentional classical conditioning:
    ○ Anxiety (test, math, public speaking)
    ○ Humiliation
    ○ Fear
    ○ Frustration
    3. Watson’s experiment
     “Little Albert” experiment: conditioned a young child to associate fear with a furry
    object (rat, rabbit, fur hat, Santa etc)
     Watson writes….
    “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring
    them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type
    of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-
    man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and
    race of his ancestors………..”
    (Watson, 1930. p.82)

    4. Edward Lee Thorndike


     American Psychologist
     In series of experiments which required cats to escape from ‘puzzle boxes’ he
    rejected notion that the cats might be using insight to open the box in favor of
    learning through conditioned responses (Trial and Error).
     Key idea is Law of Effect: responses that are closely followed (‘recency’) by
    gaining a reward, become associated with the situation and are more likely to be
    repeated. Negative consequences can lead to weakened association.

    5. Burrhus Frederic Skinner


     American Psychologist – originally an English graduate
     The founder of ‘Radical Behaviorism’: behavior is learned through reinforcement
     Key ideas: ‘Operant Conditioning’ and ‘Reinforcement’
     Invented the ‘Operant Conditioning Chamber’ (Skinner Box)
    a. Operant Conditioning
     Living things are ‘operating’ on their environment
     If during this operation a reinforcing stimulus is encountered, this increases the
    ‘operant’ i.e. the behavior immediately before the reinforcement. The reinforcing
    stimulus increases the likelihood of the organism repeating the behavior.

    b. Reinforcement
     Positive: Strengthening of behavior by praise, rewarding event
     Negative: Strengthening of behavior by removal/avoidance of event e.g. avoiding
    harm
     Punishment: Weakening of behavior by aversive event
     Extinction: Weakening of behavior by removal of rewarding event

    c. Consequences
     Positive Reinforcement– You behave in a way that results in a reward – so you are
    more likely to repeat that behavior
     Negative Reinforcement – You behave in a way that results in the removal of
    something unpleasant – so you are more likely to repeat that behavior (ex: doing a
    paper early)
     In both cases, something happened that you saw as “good” and as a result, you
    exhibited the behavior more.
     Punishment – Consequence that follows a behavior resulting in you exhibiting the
    behavior less often in the future.
     Punishment can involve adding something (paying a fine, staying after school)
    or removing something you like (losing recess time, leaving your friends)
     In both cases, adding something or removing something, you perceive it as
    “bad” and as a result, you exhibit the behavior less

    6. Key impacts on learning


     Trial and error learning: (Problem solving, Inquiry Based Learning) This can
    be open ended and student led or subject to varying degrees of teacher
    intervention (to a desired outcome).
     Instrumental teaching: Learning outcomes are expressed in behavioral terms.
    Learning is measurable and prescriptive.
     Programmed Learning: Short tasks with frequent feedback (reinforcement) and
    in small steps of increasing complexity.

    Behaviorism and Learning


     External rather than Internal Motivation
    ○ Focus on Rewards & Punishments
    ○ Classroom Management
     Incremental View of Learning
    ○ Learning broken down into small chunks
    ○ Ex: must pass part 1 before beginning part 2
    ○ Repetition to strengthen stimulus response bonds – “Drill & Practice” activities
    ○ Mastery Learning
     Focused on the Individual rather than Social
    7. Limitations and Criticism
     Conformity: Outcomes often conformist. Authority imposes behavioral goals that
    are reproduced reliably but predictably: What about free thinkers, innovation and
    creativity? Who sets the goals?
     Indoctrination: May be seen as indoctrination when a teacher controls outcomes
    and using reinforcement to ‘correct’ result.
     Neglects cognitive (thinking) processes: Potentially limiting learning
     Agency of learning is external: Learners are not encouraged to act independently
    and to make their own choices during learning. The learning and the environment
    is controlled by the teacher.

    8. Behaviorist Teaching Strategies


    Drills: Teachers may practice skills using drill patterns to help students see the repetition
    and reinforcement that behavioral learning theory uses.
    Question and answer: Teachers can use a question as a stimulus and answer as a
    response, gradually getting harder with questions to help students.
    Guided practice: Teachers can be directly involved in helping students go through
    problems to give them the reinforcement and behavior demonstration you want them to
    follow.
    Regular review: Reviews are important to behavioral learning theory. Going back over
    material and giving positive reinforcement will help students retain information much
    better.
    Positive reinforcement: Behaviorist classrooms utilize positive reinforcement regularly.
    This can be in the form of verbal reinforcement and praise, reward systems, added
    privileges, and more.

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