DIVINE GRACE V.

GALORIO
BEEd-III
THORNDIKE’s Connectionism

LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Activity 1

Get a detailed lesson plan in your field of specialization and capture the instances where
Thorndike’s laws of learning are reflected or applied. Use the grid below. (30pts)
In the Lesson Plan Thorndike’s Laws Implications
of Learning
Law of Readiness Its imply that this
motivation hook the
learners before they
ever begin the lesson.
For example, this
motivation before
learning commences,
one must be physically,
emotionally, mentally
and psychologically
prepared.
Law of Primacy It implies that learning a
concept or skill again is
more difficult than the
first time one has
learned it..This explains
why teacher’s correct
students who have
misconceptions in a
new lesson. The
application part in a
lesson plan or daily
lesson log is
strategically situated
before generalizing a
concept so that
teachers can detect the
misunderstandings of
the students in a
certain lesson. When
the misconception is
not corrected for the
 first time, that may lead
to habit formation
Law of Intensity Teachers provide
activities that come
with extreme
relevance to the
learners. This teaching
principle is primarily
rooted in Thorndike’s
Law of Intensity. It
implies that exposing
the students in real-
world applications of
the skills and concepts
makes them most
likely to remember the
experience.

Activity 2
Answer the following: (5pts each)
1. In what ways do the theories of Pavlov and Thorndike become similar and different?

- Edward Thorndike experimented with cats while Pavlov with dogs. Thorndike had hypothesized
that behaviors were strengthened by experiences of success or failure. He tested this by
repeatedly placing cats in a box, which allowed one way out when the cat performed certain
behavior. His results showed that the cats eventually stumbled onto the correct behavior and were
released. Over subsequent trails the cats became faster at performing the correct procedure,
Thorndike called this learning from trial and error. Two major contributors to Behaviorism are Ivan
Pavlov and Edward Thorndike. These two very important psychologists had quite different views
when it came to conditioning, but are surprisingly similar in some aspects as well. Having lived
during the same time, Thorndike and Pavlov were aware of one another’s work and while Pavlov is
credited as the father of classical conditioning, Thorndike’s discoveries led to the founding of
operant conditioning by B. Skinner. To Pavlov, what we learned is a link between stimuli while
contrastingly Thorndike believed we learn what is reinforced in our minds. The main difference
between these two theories was that Thorndike included rewarding situations in his theory,
whereas Pavlov studied only reflex responses to stimuli. Skinner proposed that both Pavlov and
Thorndike studied, stimulus > response learning, which he defined as behaviors elicited by a
stimulus, or respondent behaviors.
2. If you were to critique the Laws of Learning postulated by Thorndike, what may be its
weakness/es? Defend your answer.
- - Behaviorists and other psychologists have criticized Thorndike's law of impact and puzzle box
methodology extensively. The law of effect has been criticized on four fronts: the implied or
retroactive working of the effect, the philosophical meaning of the law, the identification of the
effective conditions that produce learning, and the law's overall utility.

3. Do you think the laws of learning can be applied to all ages and subject areas? Why are why not?

- Yes, it is applicable and can be useful for all ages and all subject areas the laws of learning. Based
on my idea/ experience with teachers about how students learn and how teachers teach, there are
that certain laws govern the learning process. These laws apply to any student at any grade and in
any subject area. Just as important, they are also supportive of what we know about brain growth
and development. Although they have direct application for you as a classroom teacher, you'll note
they are also applicable to adults who want to learn, too.