Introduction to Learning Theories

Outline
 Objectives
 Definition of Learning
 Introduction of Learning
 Categories of Learning Theories

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Definition: Learning is…
 A change in behavior as a result of experience or practice.
 The acquisition of knowledge.
 Knowledge gained through study.
 To gain knowledge of, or skill in, something through study,
teaching, instruction or experience.
 The process of gaining knowledge.
 A process by which behavior is changed, shaped or
controlled.
 The individual process of constructing understanding based
on experience from a wide range of sources.

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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
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Introduction: What is Learning?

Learning is a process

Learning is a product

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Process of Learning
 Learning involves the individual
 Brain
 Body
 Learning involves others
 Dyads
 Groups
 Organizations
 Communities
 Society
 Learning takes place somewhere
 In physical environment
 With things and tools
 Learning occurs over time
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Products of Learning
 Learning is about ideas and concepts

 Learning is about behaviors and skills

 Learning is about attitudes and values

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Definition: Theories are…
 What is a theory?
 A theory provides a general explanation for observations made
over time.

 A theory explains and predicts behavior.

 A theory can never be established beyond all doubt.

 A theory may be modified.

 Theories seldom have to be thrown out completely if thoroughly

tested but sometimes a theory may be widely accepted for a long
time and later disproved.

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So, how do people learn?
 Easy answer: We don’t know for sure.

 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…

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 Broad domains of theories
 Behaviorism
 Constructivism
 Sociocultural
 Cognitivism

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

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How did we get to this point?

A bit of history…

Where can truth and knowledge be found?

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 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.
 Knowledge innate—in place at birth
 Knowledge “drawn out” when teacher asks
questions; help students recall fundamental
insights they possess (self reflection)
 Learning passive process

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Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

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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.
 “There’s nothing in the intellect that
wasn’t previously in the senses”

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John Locke (1632-1704)
Plato is wrong, Aristotle is right.
“Tabula rasa” or “blank slate” theory of
learning.

“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.”

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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.).
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.

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So what?
Why is an understanding of learning
theory important for educators?

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Epistemology
 Our beliefs about the nature of knowledge, our
epistemology, profoundly influence our approach
to education.

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 Psychology of Learning
 Our beliefs about how people learn, our psychology
of learning, profoundly influence our approach to
education.

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Epistemology – Theory - Practice
 All three of these need to align
 Our beliefs about knowledge

 Our beliefs about learning

 Our strategies for practice

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Learning theories as glasses
 What would a classroom look
like as viewed through the lens
of:
 Plato (rationalist)
 Aristotle (empiricist)
 Locke (tabula rasa)
 Or from these perspectives?
 Behaviorism
 Constructivism
 Sociocultural
 Cognitivism
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 What does learning look like?

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 Representations of the Learning
 Behaviorism
Process
 Stimulus-Response
 Reinforced Behavior
 Antecedent Behavior Consequence
 Sequenced knowledge and skills presented in logical
limited steps
 Cognitivism
 Cognitivist Learning Perspective
 Information Processing
 Schema
 Mental Models
 Constructivism
 Inquiry-based
 Discovery learning

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 Relevant Frameworks
 Behaviorism
 Programmed Instruction (logical presentation
of content, overt responses, immediate
knowledge of correctness)
 Cognitivism
 Events of Instruction (Conditions of Learning)
 Constructivism
 Cognitive Apprenticeship
 Cognitive Flexibility
 Situated Learning
 Zone of Proximal Development

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Key Principles: Behaviorism
 Learning happens when a correct response is
demonstrated following the presentation of a
specific environmental stimulus Emphasis is on
observable and measurable behaviors

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 Key Principles: Cognitivism
 Learning is a change of knowledge state
 Knowledge acquisition is described as a mental
activity that entails internal coding and
structuring by the learner.
 Learner is viewed as an active participant in the
learning process
 Emphasis is on the building blocks of knowledge
(e.g. identifing prerequisite relationships of
content)
 Emphasis on structuring, organizign and
sequencing information to facilitate optimal
processing

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Key Principles: Constructivism
 Learners build personal interpretation of the
world based on experiences and interactions
 Knowledge is embedded in the context in
which it is used (authentic tasks in
meaningful realistic settings)
 Create novel and situation-specific
understandings by "assembling" knowledge
from diverse sources appropriate to the
problem at hand (flexible use of knowledge)

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 Goal of Instruction: Behaviorism
 Communicate or transfer behaviors representing
knowledge and skills to the learner (does not
consider mental processing)
 Instruction is to elicit the desired response from
the learner who is presented with a target
stimulus
 Learner must know how to execute the proper
response as well as the conditions under which
the response is made
 Instruction utilizes consequences and
reinforcement of learned behaviors

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Goal of Instruction: Cognitivism
 Communicate or transfer knowledge in the most
efficient, effective manner (mind-independent,
can be mapped onto learners)
 Focus of instruction is to create learning or
change by encouraging the learner to use
appropriate learning strategies
 Learning results when information is stored in
memory in an organized, meaningful way.
 Teachers/designers are responsible for
assisting learners in organizing information in
an optimal way so that it can be readily
assimilated

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Goal of Instruction: Constructivism
 Build personal interpretations of the world
based on individual experiences and
interactions (constantly open to change, cannot
achieve a predetermined, "correct" meaning,
knowledge emerges in relevant contexts)
 Learning is an active process of constructing
rather than acquiring knowledge
 Instruction is a process of supporting
knowledge construction rather than
communicating knowledge
 Do not structure learning for the task, but
engage learner in the actual use of the tools in
real world situations

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Instructional/Learning Strategies:
Behaviorism
 Behaviorism
 Instructional cues to elicit correct response
 Practice paired with target stimuli
 Reinforcement for correct responses
 Building fluency (get responses closer and closer to
correct response)
 Multiple opportunities/trials (Drill and practice)
 Discrimination (recalling facts)
 Generalization (defining and illustrating concepts)
 Associations (applying explanations)
 Chaining (automatically performing a specified
procedure)
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Instructional/Learning Strategies:
Cognitivism
 Information Processing  Dual-Coding Theory
Model  Chunking Information
 Explanations  Repetition
 Demonstrations  Concept Mapping
 Illustrative examples  Advanced Organizers
 Gestalt Theory  Analogies
 Matched non-examples  Summaries
 Corrective feedback  Keller's ARCS Model of
 Outlining Motivation
 Mnemonics  Interactivity
 Synthesis
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Instructional/Learning Strategies:
Constructivism
 Modeling
 Collaborative Learning
 Coaching
 Scaffolding
 Fading
 Problem-Based Learning
 Authentic Learning
 REALs
 Anchored Instruction
 Cognitive Flexibility Hypertexts
 Object-based Learning

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Theorists
 Behaviorism  Constructivism
 Skinner
 Vygotsky
 Bandura
 Thorndike  Lave & Wenger
 Pavlov  Piaget
 Cognitivism  Bransford,
 Gagne Hasselbring,etc.
 Bruner
(CTGV)
 Anderson
 Gardner  Grabinger
 Novak  Spiro and colleagues
 Rummelhart
 Norman
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 Behaviorism
 The theory originates from the works of Ivan Pavlov’s, classical
conditioning, and B. F. Skinner’s, operant conditioning.

 Classical Conditioning is when an unconditioned stimulus and

response is manipulated with a conditioned stimulus to create a
conditioned response.

 Operant Conditioning is a controlled response with a reward/

punishment system according to the behavior.

 The learner needs reinforcements to keep interest.

 Stimuli are effective in controlling behavior.

 As a result, the behaviors can be measured to record learning success.

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 Cognitivism
 Information Processing looks at how information is retrieved and
stored.
 This theory focuses on how to store and retrieve information.
 Learning is attained through rehearsal and consistent use of the
information.
 Retention strategies such as breaking down information and comparing
the information to long term storage are great techniques.

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 Constructivism
 Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner
constructs knowledge based on their past experiences.

 The teacher only acts as a facilitator who encourages students to

explore within a given framework.

Learners may collaborate with others

to organize their ideas and learn from
each other to construct their own
knowledge.

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Social Constructivism in the Classroom
 Journaling

 Experiential activities

 Personal focus

 Collaborative &
cooperative learning

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 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

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 Putting It All Together
Learning Theory Learning Process Technology Support
Through positive/ Educational software
Behaviorism negative can be used to
reinforcement and measure the students
punishment assessment
Rehearsing Flashcards and
Cognitivism information and then memory games can
storing it for long term help retain information
use taught in a lesson
Constructing ones Group PowerPoint
Constructivism own knowledge projects allow students
through past to work together and
experiences and combine their
group collaboration knowledge to learn

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 Motivation to Learn

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 Models of Organizing the
Training Department
 Centralized training
 Training and development resources,
and professionals are housed in one
location
 Training investment and delivery methods
decisions are made from one department
 Advantages- Helps integrate programs for
developing leaders and managing talent

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 The Corporate University
Model

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Business Embedded model

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 Models of Organizing the
Training Department
 The BE model with Centralized training
 Allows the company to gain the benefits of
centralized training
 Ensures that training content and delivery methods
that are business specific

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A Change Model

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 Models of Organizing the
Training Department
 Resistance to change: Managers’ and
employees’ unwillingness to change
 Control: Managers’ and employees’ ability to
obtain and distribute valuable resources
 Power: Ability to influence others
 Task redefinition: Creating changes in
managers’ and employees’ roles and job
responsibilities

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 Marketing the Training and
Creating A Brand
 Internal marketing-Making employees and
managers excited about training
 Internal marketing tactics
 Involve the target audience in developing the
training program
 Demonstrate how a training program can be
used to solve specific business needs
 Identify a “champion” who actively supports
training
 Listen and act on feedback received

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 Marketing the Training and
Creating A Brand
 Advertise on e-mail, on company websites,
and in employee break areas
 Designate someone to interact between the
training
designer and the business unit
 Determine the financial gains top- level executives
are concerned with
 Don’t use jargon

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Outsourcing Training
 Outsourcing: Use of an outside company
that takes:
 Complete responsibility and control of some or
all
training or development activities including
 Administration
 Design
 Delivery
 Development

 Business process outsourcing

 Outsourcing of any business process, such as
HRM, production, or training
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Outsourcing Training
 Advantages of outsourcing training:
 Cost savings
 Time savings
 Improvements in compliance with training mandates
 Access best training practices
 Reasons companies do not outsource their training
 Inability of outsourcing providers to meet company
 needs
 Desire to maintain control over all aspects of
training and development

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 Summary
learning is the process of absorbing information and
retaining it with the goal of increasing skills and abilities
in order to achieve goals - but it's more than that.
Learning is what we go through when we want to be
equipped for non-specific and unexpected situations
and the two are not mutually exclusive. While you do
learn to do something specific, you are also inadvertently
equipped with the knowledge and/or skills to face future
challenges. In essence, learning is all about equipping a
person to tackle not just today's issues, but preparing
him/her to creatively come up with ways to tackle
tomorrow's issues.
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 THANK YOU!!!!

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