Concepts of Learning

Prepared by: Janus G. Agustero-Naparan,

DevEdD
 Definition: Learning is…
“a persisting change in human
performance or performance
potential . . . (brought) about as a
result of the learner’s interaction
with the environment”
(Driscoll, 1994, pp. 8-9).
 Definition: Learning is…
“the relatively permanent change in
a person’s knowledge or behavior
due to experience”
(Mayer, 1982, p. 1040).
 Definition: Learning is…
“an enduring change in behavior, or
in the capacity to behave in a
given fashion, which results from
practice or other forms of
experience”
(Shuell, 1986, p. 412).
 Some First Principles
• Learning is something all humans do
– Fetuses learn
– Infants learn
– Children learn
– Adults learn

• Learning is not uniquely human – all

living things learn
• Learning evolved as an adaptation for
promoting survival.
• Learning is an intentional process.
 What is Learning?

• Learning is a
process.

• Learning is a
product.
 Process of Learning
• Learning involves the individual
– Brain
– Body
• Learning involves others
– Dyads
– Groups
– Organizations
– Communities
– Society
 Process of Learning
• Learning takes
place somewhere
– In physical
environment
– With things and
tools
• Learning occurs
over time
 Products of Learning
• Learning is about
ideas and concepts
• Learning is about
behaviors and skills
• Learning is about
attitudes and values
So, how do people learn?
• Easy answer: We don’t know for
sure.
So, how do people learn?
• Difficult answer:
We have multiple theories
that provide glimpses of an
answer from many
different perspectives.
These stem from
psychologists,
philosophers, sociologists,
anthropologists,
evolutionary biologists,
linguists, neuroscientists…
 I believe that (the) educational
process has two sides—one
psychological and one
sociological. . . Profound
differences in theory are never
gratuitous or invented. They grow
out of conflicting elements in a
genuine problem.
-John Dewey, In Dworkin, M. (1959)
Dewey on Education
Take a moment to
absorb everything.
How did we get to this point?

A bit of history…

Where can truth and knowledge be found?

Plato (428-347ish B.C.E.)
⚫Truth is found within
ourselves (rationalist)
⚫Ideas do not belong to the
actual world: They are
too perfect (e.g., one’s
conception of triangles or
circles). They belong to
the REAL world, in which
ideas are eternal and
flawless.
 Plato (428-347ish B.C.E.)
⚫Knowledge is innate—in
place at birth
⚫Knowledge is “drawn
out” when teacher asks
questions; help students
recall fundamental
insights they possess
(self reflection)
⚫Learning is a passive
process
 Aristotle (470–399 BCE)

• Truth is found outside

of ourselves using our
senses (Empiricist)
• Developed a scientific
method of gathering
data to study the world
around him.
 Aristotle (470–399 BCE)

“There’s nothing in
the intellect that
wasn’t previously in
the senses.”
 John Locke (1632-1704)
▪ Plato is wrong,
Aristotle is right.

▪ “Tabula rasa” or
“blank slate”
theory of learning.
 John Locke (1632-1704)
“Let us then suppose the mind to be …
white paper, void of all characters,
without any ideas. How comes it to be
furnished? Whence comes it by that vast
store, which the busy and boundless
fancy of man has painted on it with an
almost endless variety? Whence has it
all the materials of reason and
knowledge? To this I answer, in one
word, from experience. In that all our
knowledge is founded; and from that it
ultimately derives itself.”
 John Locke (1632-1704)
▪ Enter world devoid of
content but with
biologically preformed
capacities & processes.
▪ Immediately experience
environment through
senses.
▪ “Simple ideas”
remembered and built
upon by “internal”
phenomena
(concentration,
puzzlement, etc.).
John Locke (1632-1704)
▪ Simple ideas not
invented; child must
have experience to
develop & all complex
ideas trace back to
combinations of simple
ideas.
▪ Learner still passive;
experience happens to
learner rather than
learner engaging in it,
even perhaps creating
it.
What does learning look like?
 Learning Theories
Q: How do people learn?
A: Nobody really knows.
But there are 3 main perspectives
that try to explain the process of
learning:
1. Behaviorism
2. Neo-Behaviorism
3. Cognitivism
Take a moment to
absorb everything.
 Behaviorism
Confined to observable and
measurable behavior

▪ Classical Conditioning - Pavlov

▪ Operant Conditioning – Skinner
▪ Connectionism - Thorndike
 Behaviorism
▪ Classical Conditioning - Pavlov

A stimulus is presented
in order to get a response:

S R
 Behaviorism
▪ Classical Conditioning - Pavlov

S US
UR

CS US

CR
 Behaviorism
▪ Operant Conditioning - Skinner

The response is made first,

then reinforcement follows.
 Behaviorism
▪ Connectionism – Thorndike

▪ Laws of Learning
▪ Law of Readiness
▪ Law of Exercise
▪ Law of Effect
 Behaviorism
• Learning is defined by the outward
expression of new behaviors
• Focuses solely on observable
behaviors
• Classical & Operant Conditioning
– Reflexes (Pavlov’s Dogs)
– Feedback/Reinforcement (Skinner’s
Pigeon Box)
– Connection (Thorndike)
Behaviorism in the Classroom
• Rewards and
punishments
• Responsibility
for student
learning rests
squarely with
the teacher
• Lecture-based,
highly
structured
 Critiques of Behaviorism
• Does not account for processes
taking place in the mind that
cannot be observed
• Advocates for passive student
learning in a teacher-centric
environment
 Critiques of Behaviorism
• One size fits all
• Knowledge itself is given and
absolute
• Programmed instruction &
teacher-proofing
Take a moment to
absorb everything.
 Learning Theories
▪ Behaviorism
▪ Neo-Behaviorism
▪ Cognitivism
 Neo-Behaviorsm
• Social Learning
Theory/Observational Learning
Theory by Albert Bandura
• Purposive Behaviorism by Edward
Tolman
 Social Learning Theory (SLT)

• Grew out of Cognitivism

• A. Bandura (1973)
• Learning takes place through
observation and sensorial
experiences
 Social Learning Theory (SLT)

• Imitation is the sincerest form of

flattery
• SLT is the basis of the movement
against violence in media & video
games
Social Learning Theory:
Processes
1. ATTENTION - Attend to
pertinent clues
2. VISUALIZATION - Code for
memory (store a visual image)
3. RETENTION - Retain in memory
4. MOTOR REPRODUCTION -
reproduce the observed activity
5. MOTIVATION - Possess
sufficient motivation to apply
new learning
 Social Learning Theory
Four interrelated processes
establish and strengthen
identification with the model:
1. Children want to be like the
model
2. Children believe they are like
the model
3. Children experience
emotions like those the
model is feeling.
4. Children act like the model.
 SLT in the Classroom
• Collaborative
learning and group
work
• Modeling responses
and expectations
• Opportunities to
observe experts in
action
Critiques of Social Learning
Theory
• Does not take into account
individuality, context, and
experience as mediating factors
Critiques of Social Learning
Theory
• Suggests students learn best as
passive receivers of sensory
stimuli, as opposed to being
active learners
• Emotions and motivation not
considered important or
connected to learning
Social Constructivism
 Social Constructivism
• Grew out of and in response to
Cognitivism, framed around
metacognition
• Knowledge is actively constructed
 Social Constructivism
• Learning is…
– A search for meaning by the
learner
– An inherently social activity
– The responsibility of the learner
 Social Constructivism
• Lev Vygotsky
– Socio-Cultural/Linguistic/Historic
• Zone of Proximal Development
 Social Constructivism in the
Classroom

• Journaling
• Experiential
activities
• Personal focus
• Collaborative &
cooperative
learning
 Critiques of Social
Constructivism
• Suggests that knowledge is neither
given nor absolute
• Often seen as less rigorous than
traditional approaches to instruction
• Does not fit well with traditional age
grouping and rigid terms/semesters
Take a moment to
absorb everything.
 Learning Theory

▪ Behaviorism
▪ Cognitive Learning Theory
▪ Social Learning Theory
 Cognitivism

• Grew in response to Behaviorism

• Knowledge is stored cognitively as
symbols
 Cognitivism
• Learning is the process of
connecting symbols in a
meaningful & memorable way
• Studies focused on the mental
processes that facilitate symbol
connection
Cognitive Learning Theory

▪ Discovery
Learning -
Jerome Bruner

▪ Meaningful Verbal
Learning -
David Ausubel
 Cognitive Learning Theory
▪ Discovery Learning
1. Bruner said anybody can learn
anything at any age, provided it
is stated in terms they can
understand.
 Cognitive Learning Theory
▪ Discovery Learning
2. Powerful Concepts (not isolated
facts)
a. Transfer to many different
situations
b. Only possible through Discovery
Learning
 Cognitive Learning Theory
▪ Discovery Learning
2. Powerful Concepts (not isolated f
facts)
c. Confront the learner with
problems and help them find
solutions. Do not present
sequenced materials.
 Cognitive Learning Theory
▪ Meaningful Verbal Learning

Advance
Organizers:
New material is
presented in a
systematic way, and is
connected to existing
cognitive structures in
a meaningful way.
 Cognitive Learning Theory
▪ Meaningful Verbal Learning

When learners have

difficulty with new
material, go back to the
concrete anchors
(Advance Organizers).
Provide a Discovery
approach, and they’ll
learn.
 Cognitivism in the Classroom

• Inquiry-oriented
projects
• Opportunities for
the testing of
hypotheses
• Curiosity
encouraged
• Staged scaffolding
 Critiques of Cognitivism
• Like Behaviorism, knowledge
itself is given and absolute
• Input – Process – Output model is
mechanistic and deterministic
• Does not account enough for
individuality
• Little emphasis on affective
characteristics
 Multiple Intelligences (MI)

• Grew out of
Constructivism,
framed around
metacognition
• H. Gardner (1983
to present)
Multiple Intelligences (MI)
• All people are born
with eight
intelligences:
• Enables students to
leverage their
strengths and
purposefully target
and develop their
weaknesses
 Multiple Intelligences (MI)

1. Verbal-Linguistic 5. Musical

2. Visual-Spatial 6. Naturalist

3. Logical- 7. Interpersonal
Mathematical
4. Kinesthetic 8. Intrapersonal

9. Existential
 MI in the Classroom
• Delivery of
instruction via
multiple mediums
• Student-centered
classroom
• Authentic
Assessment
• Self-directed
learning
 Critiques of MI
• Lack of quantifiable evidence that
MI exist
• Lack of evidence that use of MI as
a curricular and methodological
approach has any discernable
impact on learning
• Suggestive of a departure from
core curricula and standards
Brain-Based Learning (BBL)
• Grew out of Neuroscience &
Constructivism
• D. Souza, N. Caine & G. Caine, E.
Jensen (1980’s to present)
• 12 governing principles
 Brain-Based Learning (BBL)
1. Brain is a parallel 7. Focused attention &
processor peripheral perception
2. Whole body learning 8. Conscious & unconscious
processes
3. A search for meaning 9. Several types of memory

4. Patterning 10. Embedded learning sticks

5. Emotions are critical 11. Challenge & threat

6. Processing of parts 12. Every brain is unique

and wholes
 BBL in the Classroom
• Opportunities
for group
learning
• Regular
environmental
changes
• A multi-sensory
environment
 BBL in the Classroom
• Opportunities for
self-expression
and making
personal
connections to
content
• Community-based
learning
 Critiques of BBL
• Research conducted by neuroscientists,
not teachers & educational researchers
• Lack of understanding of the brain itself
makes “brain-based” learning
questionable
• Individual principles have been
scientifically questioned
 Humanist

• All students are intrinsically motivated

to self actualize or learn
• Learning is dependent upon meeting a
hierarchy of needs (physiological,
psychological and intellectual)
• Learning should be reinforced.
 ■Sources:

– facultyweb.anderson.edu/~jhaukerman/Learning
%20Theory.ppt
– Matthew D. Laliberte
www.nercomp.org/data/media/A%20Brief%20History
%20of%20Learning%20Theory.ppt
– Michael A. Lorber, Ph.D.
www.learningtechnologies.ac.uk/.../PROJECT/resour
ces/Learning%20Theory/Resources/learning
%20theories.ppt
– www.dcs.bbk.ac.uk/selene/reports/SeLeNe1.2.ppt