Running head: EDUC 5210 Written Assignment Unit 3 1

EDUC 5210 Written Assignment Unit 3

University of the People

EDUC 5210 Written Assignment Unit 3 2

Introduction

According to Wikipedia, Social learning is a theory of learning process and social

behaviour which proposes that new behaviours can be acquired by observing and imitating

others and modify their own behaviour accordingly. It just means that people learn by

observing others. It indicates that observation, modelling, and cognition all interact to

inform learning.

In this assignment, I will be talking about the social learning approach. The first step

of this learning is through observation and the modelling process is that you have to pay attention,

otherwise you aren’t observing anything. During my lessons, my main agenda is to get my

students to pay attention by putting them in control of the discussion and allowing them to

determine the agenda.

An example of a lesson I have done a few times is in History: Ancient Egypt. I start first

by showing my students pictures of the pyramid and Egyptian mummies. That piques their

interest and gets their attention and from there, I ask them what they know or have read and heard

about Ancient Egypt. I gather all their responses and use that in teaching them about the topic.

Sometimes, it might not be the way I have planned the lesson but teaching my students have

shown me among other things that, I don’t necessarily have to follow my plans hook, line and

sinker all the time, all I need to do is pass my message and knowledge across to the children in a

way they will never forget.

In delivering my lesson using the social learning approach, I let my students’ questions

guide the class. By gathering answers to questions from the class or even assigning questions to

teams or pairs, this way, I encourage peer collaboration and group problem solving. In the groups,

I pair them using their different learning abilities. I have realised that when I make my students
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coach each other, it helps them to retain what they have learnt and observed. Another thing is to

also put them in different teams to research about the topic, If learners are in teams, they attend

different discussions and return to their teams and ‘teach’ their topic to their team mates.

Another aspect of social learning modelling behaviour process is performing and

practicing the positive behaviour that is talked about in the lesson. That means, I make them play

out what they have learnt. They play different roles and then the other students get to mention

what part that has been played relating to the topic being taught. An important adjustment to truly

apply social learning is to transform the role play into a ‘real play. That makes whatever that has

been taught stick in.

Simulation can also help incorporate social learning. There is a higher likelihood for

learning and behaviour change when students see a person taking an action and being rewarded

for that action and this is the basis of simulation.

In conclusion, “A person’s interest often survives when a reward is used neither to

bribe nor to control but to signal a job well done, as in a ‘most improved player’ award. If a

reward boosts your feeling of competence after doing good work, your enjoyment of the task

may increase. Rewards, rightly administered, can motivate high performance and creativity.

And extrinsic rewards (such as scholarships, admissions, and jobs that often follow good

grades) are here to stay.” -David G. Meyers. Psychology: Eighth Edition in Modules.
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Resources

Social Learning Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/social-

learning.html

Social learning theory retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_learning_theory

How to Incorporate Social Learning into the Classroom retrieved from

https://trainingindustry.com/articles/content-development/how-to-incorporate-

social-learning-into-the-classroom/