FACILITATING LEARNING

SIGNIFICANT CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGIES

METACOGNITION is, put simply, thinking about one’s thinking.  More

precisely, it refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one’s
understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a critical
awareness of a) one’s thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and

learner.

Initially studied for its development in young children (Baker & Brown,
1984; Flavell, 1985), researchers soon began to look at how experts
display metacognitive thinking and how, then, these thought processes can
be taught to novices to improve their learning (Hatano & Inagaki, 1986). 
In How People Learn, the National Academy of Sciences’ synthesis of
decades of research on the science of learning, one of the three key
findings of this work is the effectiveness of a “‘metacognitive’ approach to
instruction” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000, p. 18).

Metacognitive practices increase students’ abilities to transfer or adapt their

learning to new contexts and tasks (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, p. 12;
Palincsar & Brown, 1984; Scardamalia et al., 1984; Schoenfeld, 1983,
1985, 1991).  They do this by gaining a level of awareness above the
subject matter: they also think about the tasks and contexts of different
learning situations and themselves as learners in these different contexts. 
When Pintrich (2002) asserts that “Students who know about the different
kinds of strategies for learning, thinking, and problem solving will be more
likely to use them” (p. 222), notice the students must “know about” these
strategies, not just practice them.  As Zohar and David (2009) explain,
there must be a “conscious meta-strategic level of H[igher] O[rder]
T[hinking]” (p. 179).

Metacognitive practices help students become aware of their strengths and

weaknesses as learners, writers, readers, test-takers, group members, etc. 
A key element is recognizing the limit of one’s knowledge or ability and
then figuring out how to expand that knowledge or extend the ability. Those
who know their strengths and weaknesses in these areas will be more
likely to “actively monitor their learning strategies and resources and
assess their readiness for particular tasks and performances” (Bransford,
Brown, & Cocking, p. 67).

The absence of metacognition connects to the research by Dunning,

Johnson, Ehrlinger, and Kruger on “Why People Fail to Recognize Their
Own Incompetence” (2003).  They found that “people tend to be blissfully
unaware of their incompetence,” lacking “insight about deficiencies in their
intellectual and social skills.”  They identified this pattern across domains—
from test-taking, writing grammatically, thinking logically, to recognizing
humor, to hunters’ knowledge about firearms and medical lab technicians’
knowledge of medical terminology and problem-solving skills (p. 83-84).  In
short, “if people lack the skills to produce correct answers, they are also
cursed with an inability to know when their answers, or anyone else’s, are
right or wrong” (p. 85).  This research suggests that increased
metacognitive abilities—to learn specific (and correct) skills, how to
recognize them, and how to practice them—is needed in many contexts.

 
Putting Metacognition into Practice

In “Promoting Student Metacognition,” Tanner (2012) offers a handful of

specific activities for biology classes, but they can be adapted to any
discipline. She first describes four assignments for explicit instruction (p.
116):

 Preassessments—Encouraging Students to Examine Their Current

Thinking: “What do I already know about this topic that could guide
my learning?”
 The Muddiest Point—Giving Students Practice in Identifying
Confusions: “What was most confusing to me about the material

explored in class today?”

 Retrospective Postassessments—Pushing Students to Recognize
Conceptual Change: “Before this course, I thought evolution was…
Now I think that evolution is ….” or “How is my thinking changing (or
not changing) over time?”
 Reflective Journals—Providing a Forum in Which Students Monitor
Their Own Thinking: “What about my exam preparation worked well
that I should remember to do next time? What did not work so well
that I should not do next time or that I should change?”
Next are recommendations for developing a “classroom culture grounded in
metacognition” (p. 116-118):

 Giving Students License to Identify Confusions within the Classroom

Culture:  ask students what they find confusing, acknowledge the
difficulties
 Integrating Reflection into Credited Course Work: integrate short
reflection (oral or written) that ask students what they found
challenging or what questions arose during an
assignment/exam/project
 Metacognitive Modeling by the Instructor for Students: model the
thinking processes involved in your field and sought in your course by
being explicit about “how you start, how you decide what to do first
and then next, how you check your work, how you know when you
are done” (p. 118)

To facilitate these activities, she also offers three useful tables:

 Questions for students to ask themselves as they plan, monitor, and

evaluate their thinking within four learning contexts—in class,
assignments, quizzes/exams, and the course as a whole (p. 115)
 Prompts for integrating metacognition into discussions of pairs during
clicker activities, assignments, and quiz or exam preparation (p. 117)
 Questions to help faculty metacognitively assess their own teaching
(p. 119)

Weimer’s “Deep Learning vs. Surface Learning: Getting Students to

Understand the Difference” (2012) offers additional recommendations for
developing students’ metacognitive awareness and improvement of their
study skills:

“[I]t is terribly important that in explicit and concerted ways we make

students aware of themselves as learners. We must regularly ask, not only
‘What are you learning?’ but ‘How are you learning?’ We must confront
them with the effectiveness (more often ineffectiveness) of their
approaches. We must offer alternatives and then challenge students to test
the efficacy of those approaches.” (emphasis added)

She points to a tool developed by Stanger-Hall (2012, p. 297) for her

students to identify their study strategies, which she divided into
“cognitively passive” (“I previewed the reading before class,” “I came to
class,” “I read the assigned text,” “I highlighted the text,” et al) and
“cognitively active study behaviors” (“I asked myself: ‘How does it work?’
and ‘Why does it work this way?’” “I wrote my own study questions,” “I fit all
the facts into a bigger picture,” “I closed my notes and tested how much I
remembered,” et al).  The specific focus of Stanger-Hall’s study is
tangential to this discussion,1 but imagine giving students lists like hers
adapted to your course and then, after a major assignment, having
students discuss which ones worked and which types of behaviors led to
higher grades. Even further, follow Lovett’s advice (2013) by assigning
“exam wrappers,” which include students reflecting on their previous exam-
preparation strategies, assessing those strategies and then looking ahead
to the next exam, and writing an action plan for a revised approach to
studying. A common assignment in English composition courses is the self-
assessment essay in which students apply course criteria to articulate their
strengths and weaknesses within single papers or over the course of the
semester. These activities can be adapted to assignments other than
exams or essays, such as projects, speeches, discussions, and the like.

As these examples illustrate, for students to become more

metacognitive, they must be taught the concept and its language
explicitly (Pintrich, 2002; Tanner, 2012), though not in a content-delivery
model (simply a reading or a lecture) and not in one lesson. Instead, the
explicit instruction should be “designed according to a knowledge
construction approach,” or students need to recognize, assess, and
connect new skills to old ones, “and it needs to take place over an
extended period of time” (Zohar & David, p. 187).  This kind of explicit
instruction will help students expand or replace existing learning strategies
with new and more effective ones, give students a way to talk about
learning and thinking, compare strategies with their classmates’ and make
more informed choices, and render learning “less opaque to students,
rather than being something that happens mysteriously or that some
students ‘get’ and learn and others struggle and don’t learn” (Pintrich, 2002,
p. 223).

Metacognition instruction should also be embedded with the content and

activities about which students are thinking.  Why?  Metacognition is “not
generic” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, p. 19) but instead is most effective
when it is adapted to reflect the specific learning contexts of a specific
topic, course, or discipline (Zohar & David, 2009).  In explicitly connecting a
learning context to its relevant processes, learners will be more able to
adapt strategies to new contexts, rather than assume that learning is the
same everywhere and every time.  For instance, students’ abilities to read
disciplinary texts in discipline-appropriate ways would also benefit from
metacognitive practice.  A literature professor may read a passage of a
novel aloud in class, while also talking about what she’s thinking as she
reads: how she makes sense of specific words and phrases, what
connections she makes, how she approaches difficult passages, etc.  This
kind of modeling is a good practice in metacognition instruction, as
suggested by Tanner above.  Concepción’s “Reading Philosophy with
Background Knowledge and Metacognition” (2004) includes his detailed
“How to Read Philosophy” handout (pp. 358-367), which includes the
following components:

 What to Expect (when reading philosophy)

 The Ultimate Goal (of reading philosophy)
 Basic Good Reading Behaviors
  Important Background Information, or discipline- and course-specific
reading practices, such as “reading for enlightenment” rather than
information, and “problem-based classes” rather than historical or
figure-based classes
 A Three-Part Reading Process (pre-reading, understanding, and
evaluating)
 Flagging, or annotating the reading
 Linear vs. Dialogical Writing (Philosophical writing is rarely
straightforward but instead “a monologue that contains a dialogue” [p.
365].)

What would such a handout look like for your discipline?

Students can even be metacognitively prepared (and then prepare

themselves) for the overarching learning experiences expected in specific
contexts. Salvatori and Donahue’s The Elements (and Pleasures) of
Difficulty (2004) encourages students to embrace difficult texts (and tasks)
as part of deep learning, rather than an obstacle.  Their “difficulty paper”
assignment helps students reflect on and articulate the nature of the
difficulty and work through their responses to it (p. 9).  Similarly, in courses
with sensitive subject matter, a different kind of learning occurs, one that
involves complex emotional responses.  In “Learning from Their Own
Learning: How Metacognitive and Meta-affective Reflections Enhance
Learning in Race-Related Courses” (Chick, Karis, & Kernahan, 2009),
students were informed about the common reactions to learning about
racial inequality (Helms, 1995; Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 1997; see student
handout, Chick, Karis, & Kernahan, p. 23-24) and then regularly wrote
about their cognitive and affective responses to specific racialized
situations.  The students with the most developed metacognitive and meta-
affective practices at the end of the semester were able to “clear the
obstacles and move away from” oversimplified thinking about race and
 racism ”to places of greater questioning, acknowledging the complexities of
identity, and redefining the world in racial terms” (p. 14).

Ultimately, metacognition requires students to “externalize mental events”

(Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, p. 67), such as what it means to learn,
awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses with specific skills or in a
given learning context, plan what’s required to accomplish a specific
learning goal or activity, identifying and correcting errors, and preparing
ahead for learning processes.

————————
1 
Students who were tested with short answer in addition to multiple-choice
questions on their exams reported more cognitively active behaviors than
those tested with just multiple-choice questions, and these active behaviors
led to improved performance on the final exam.

VICARIOUS LEARNING

 Vicarious Learning
Knowledge Hub

 Analytics
 Communication
 Employee performance
 Employee training & development
 Human resources
 Leadership
 Learning & Development
 Learning theories
o ADDIE model
o Adult learning theory
o Adult learning principles
o Blended learning
o Bloom’s Taxonomy
o Career development theories
o Cognitive learning
o Continuous learning
o Collaborative learning
o Cooperative learning
o Learning curve
o Lifelong learning
o Organizational learning
o Personalized learning
o Phenomenon-based learning
o Social learning theory
o Steep learning curve
o Transformative Learning
o Vicarious learning
o SAM model
 Technologies

Develop and maintain Learning Culture

In this workbook, we put together tips and exercises to help you develop
your organisation’s learning culture.
After reading this article, you will grasp vicarious learning and how it helps
individuals expand their knowledge and skills.

This guide will give you ideas on how this type of learning can help improve
specific situations and manage tasks in the workplace.
Discover:

 What is Vicarious Learning?

 Vicarious Learning vs. Observational Learning

 Benefits of Vicarious Learning

1. Easy to obtain an experience

2. It takes risks out of the equation

3. Improvement in imitation and knowledge retention

4. You can learn from the stories

 Vicarious Conditioning

 Vicarious Learning Examples

1. Viewing real-life situations

2. Watching a video

3. Reading a book and hearing a story

What is Vicarious Learning?

Vicarious learning is a way of learning that allows individuals to learn from

the experience of others.

It is a conscious process that involves sensing, feeling, and empathizing

with what people are doing and taking notes, and evaluating.

Rather than direct, hands-on instructions, vicarious learning is derived from

indirect sources such as hearing and seeing.
Examples of indirect sources include: when an individual sees or hears a
live situation, watches a video, listens to a story, reads a book, or imagines
a situation.

Vicarious Learning vs. Observational Learning

These two types of learning are similar in most ways, but they are not the
same.

Both styles refer to a person having an experience that others can learn
from. In vicarious learning, you can get the learning experience through
other’s indirect experiences.

It can be through seeing or hearing them interacting and it can also be

hearing the story of imagining the situation. An individual feels and thinks
like the main character in that event.

However, observational learning is more clinical and objective. The learning

experience is acquired by seeing a live situation or video recording. It also
uses other visuals, such as images.

Benefits of Vicarious Learning

Implementing a vicarious learning approach in any learning environment is

an effective strategy for expanding personal and professional knowledge.

This approach is based on the idea that individuals pick up new information
and learn from seeing others’ experiences g. Learning from other
individuals’ indirect experiences is memorable and fun and, therefore,
useful.

The following are the benefits of vicarious learning:

1. Easy to obtain an experience

Seeing or listening to others’ experiences helps you to understand new

experience patterns and behaviors.

It is also relatively fast and easy to obtain information on any new

experiences. Vicarious learning equips you with unique experiences that
have either positive or negative effects.

One example, when employees see how others performing something it’s
easier to learn this rather than just doing it on your own.

You can watch first what to do, and then copy steps or movements to
achieve the same result and learn through both experiences: vicarious
(observational part) and real practical experience.

Another example, one person can explain and describe his experience to
another person, so a person who is learning will get new knowledge and
experience through visualization.

The real-world example most people face is an exam. Students often ask
others how an exam was, what the teacher asked you, what was the
subject/topic, and other questions related to the exam. And most often they
get knowledge and experience that might help them to pass the exam
successfully.

2. It takes risks out of the equation

Vicarious learning helps you gain experience without actual participation,

e.g. you can watch a video of some dangerous situation and learn
something from it, without the actual presence.

An opportunity like this allows you to get insights into certain situations
without going through a costly trial and error process.

3. Improvement in imitation and knowledge retention

Vicarious learning offers the opportunity to watch and mimic a process and
absorb the information at your own pace.

After understanding all the aspects of the task, it is committed to long-term

memory and can be performed when the need arises.

4. You can learn from the stories

There are millions of books, stories, and bibliographies about people’s lives
in the world.

These documents are used to present their past experiences, actions, and
real-life situations.

Vicarious Conditioning
Vicarious conditioning is the act of learning things through observing the
reactions, attitudes, and emotions of others rather than direct exposure.

In psychology, it can be defined as learning through observing other

people’s responses to an environmental stimulus that is most noticeable to
the observer.

Vicarious classical conditioning occurs when a conditioned reflex is

developed because there is an association between the conditioned
stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus of reflexive response.

Vicarious Learning Examples

There are plenty of ways in which vicarious learning is applied in our

everyday lives.

1. Viewing real-life situations

A salesperson who is relatively new to the job can learn how to offer better
services and make more sales.

It can be done by listening to the sales experts make sales and observing
how they behave when making sales.

It is also essential to pick the best traits to combine with their strengths to
their business’s advantage.
Many employees often learn by behaving how they see their senior
colleagues around them behave. They follow them around the workplace to
get more experience and advice from them.

It only shows how much other people’s actions may just influence our daily
lives.

2. Watching a video

With technological advancements, it has become quite easy for everyone

to learn new skills just at the click of a button.

It has been very easy for business colleagues to catch up and keep the
business going by interacting through various technological platforms such
as Zoom and Slack.

These platforms also encourage colleagues to learn the skills through

webinars, thus vicarious learning.

The same technological advancements also allow everyone to learn new

skills they are interested in by watching videos.

Videos posted online often have “how-to” and tutorial videos. These videos
elaborately show one how to perform such tasks, thus enhancing their
skills. Apart from these “how-to” videos, there are also other videos that
can be used for educational purposes on various topics.

All these are examples of vicarious conditioning since the observer learns
from someone’s experience.
3. Reading a book and hearing a story

From the business-related books, we see the various business strategies

that the author has applied and what worked in their business, and what
failed.

It gives us a new perspective of the strategies to apply to make our

businesses more successful and gives us an idea of the things not to do. It
is all a part of vicarious learning.

When reading a book, we often get so engrossed in the story that we start
picturing ourselves in the character’s shoes.

Depending on the character’s role, we get to learn the consequences of

certain actions. In this regard, we get to learn through the character’s
experience that all actions have consequences, and based on our actions,
we expect a certain type of outcome.

Stories often have a way of capturing our attention and making us attentive.

Hearing a story from your colleague about someone who was recently fired
because of specific misconduct will warn you to keep off the same activity.

It will also teach you to abide by company laws and regulations to avoid the
same fate.

In the same way, hearing about someone who was recently promoted for
being a high-performing employee will teach you that you should be more
committed to your work to get better returns and therefore get considered
for a promotion.

LOOKING GLASS SELF CONCEPT

The looking-glass self describes the process wherein individuals

base their sense of self on how they believe others view them. Using
social interaction as a type of “mirror,” people use the judgments
they receive from others to measure their own worth, values, and
behavior. According to Self, Symbols, & Society, Cooley’s theory is
notable because it suggests that self-concept is built not in solitude,
but rather within social settings. In this way, society and individuals
are not separate, but rather two complementary aspects of the same
phenomenon.

Core Assumptions

According to Society in Focus, the process of discovering the looking-

glass self occurs in three steps:

1. An individual in a social situation imagines how they appear to

others.
2. That individual imagines others’ judgment of that appearance.
3. The individual develops feelings about and responds to those
perceived judgments.

What is meant by brain lateralization?

The left and right sides of the brain are specialised to attend to
different information, to process sensory inputs in different ways and
to control different types of motor behaviour. This is referred to as
hemispheric specialization or simply as brain lateralization.
Lateralization of brain function is the view that functions are performed by
distinct regions of the brain. For instance, it is believed that there are
different areas of the brain that are responsible for controlling language,
formulating memories, and making movements.
If a certain area of the brain becomes damaged, the function associated
with that area will also be affected.
It contrasts with the holistic theory of the brain, that all parts of the brain are
involved in the processing of thought and action.
The human brain is split into two hemispheres, right and left. They are both
joined together by the corpus callosum, a bundle of nerve fibres which is
located in the middle of the brain.
Hemispheric lateralization is the idea that each hemisphere is responsible
for different functions. Each of these functions are localized to either the
right or left side.
The left hemisphere is associated with language functions, such as
formulating grammar and vocabulary, and containing different language
centres (Broca’s and Wernicke’s area).
The right hemisphere is associated with more visuospatial functions such
as visualization, depth perception, and spatial navigation. These left and
right functions are the case in the majority of people, especially those who
are right-handed.
The brain contains cortices such as the visual, motor, and somatosensory
cortices. These cortices are all contralateral, meaning that each
hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body.
For example, the motor cortex in the left hemisphere controls the muscle
movements of the right arm and leg. Likewise, damage to the right occipital
lobe (responsible for vision) can result in loss of sight in the left field of
vision.

Language Lateralization
Hemispheric lateralization is the idea that both hemispheres are
functionally different and that certain mental processes and behaviors are
mainly controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other.
There is evidence of some specialization of function mainly regarding
differences in language ability. Beyond that, however, the differences that
have been found have been minor. What we do know is that the left
hemisphere controls the right half of the body, and the right hemisphere
controls the left half of the body.

Broca’s Area
Paul Broca was a French physician and was one of the earlier advocators
for the ideas of lateralization of brain function. In 1861, Broca met a patient
who he would refer to as ‘Tan’.
At the time, there was a lot of debate as to whether there was localization
of function within the brain or if the whole brain was utilized in the
performance of every function.
Broca described the patient ‘Tan’ who was named this due to this being the
only word they could say. Often this patient would repeat the word twice,
saying ‘Tan Tan’.
When ‘Tan’ died, a post-mortem of his brain revealed that there was
damage to a part of his left frontal cortex. Broca found that other patients
with similar problems to Tan had damage to the same region.
It was concluded that the damage to this region, then given the name
‘Broca’s area’ was the reason for Tan’s language problems. Broca’s area is
believed to be located in part of the inferior frontal gyrus in the frontal lobe,
on the left side of the majority of people.
This research is large support for the view that the role of language function
is localized to the left hemisphere of the brain. Broca’s area has been found
to be associated with multiple language functions including language
comprehension and being able to articulate words.
This region is also associated with listening as being able to understand
words requires articulating them in your head. It has also been suggested
to be active during the planning of movements, initiating movement and
understanding another’s movement.
Broca’s area may also contain mirror neurons as this area appears to be
involved in observing people and imitating them (Amunts & Hari, 2005).
The term Broca’s Aphasia was used to describe the condition of Tan and
Broca’s other patients. People who have damage to Broca’s area tend to
have suffered brain injury (e.g. through a stroke) which then affects this
language area.
The main symptom of Broca’s aphasia is a deficit in the production of
language, both spoken and written. A person with damage to this area
would likely be unable to articulate words or be able to string a coherent
sentence together.
Speaking in an abnormal tone or rhythm can also be a symptom of this
damage, as well as speech being repetitive, disordered grammar and a
disordered structure of individual words.
Finally, damage can also result in transcortical motor aphasia, meaning the
speech is non-fluent and often limited to two words at a time.
Wernicke’s Area
A few years after Broca’s discoveries, in 1876, German neurologist Carl
Wernicke identified another region of the brain associated with language.
Wernicke identified that some of his patients were able to speak but were
not able to actually comprehend language. When examining the brains of
these patients, it was revealed that there were lesions at a junction of the
upper temporal lobe in the left hemisphere.
This region was named Wernicke’s area and was described as being an
area where heard and seen words are understood as well as words being
selected for articulation.
This area also works together with Broca’s area. Wernicke’s
area comprehends the language and chooses words, which are then sent
to Broca’s area to be articulated.
Wernicke’s area contains motor neurons which are involved in speech
comprehension and is surrounded by an area called Geschwind’s territory.
When a person hears words, Wernicke’s area associated the sounds to
their meaning, to which neurons in Geschwind’s territory are thought to
help by combining the many different properties of words (such as the
sound and meaning) to provide fuller comprehension.
When a person speaks, however, this process happens in reverse as
Wernicke’s area will find the right words to correspond to the thoughts that
are to be expressed.
 The term Wernicke’s Aphasia was coined to describe damage to
Wernicke’s area. This is often thought to be damaged via head trauma or
disease.
People who experience Wernicke’s aphasia may experience symptoms
such as an inability to understand spoken language and speaking using
inappropriate words.
Their sentences may not make sense, they may repeat words, make up
meaningless words or their sentences lacking any meaning.
The majority of the time, people with Wernicke’s aphasia will often speak
fluently, in comparison to Broca’s aphasia where language is non-fluent or
broken up.
Some patients may not even be aware that they have an issue with their
speech and will believe they are speaking normally.

PLAY AND ITS CATEGORIES

Types of play
 Physical play. Physical play can include dancing or ball games. ...
 Social play. By playing with others, children learn how to take turns,
cooperate and share. ...
 Constructive play. Constructive play allows children to experiment with
drawing, music and building things. ...
 Fantasy play. ...
 Games with rules.

What Is Gestalt Psychology?

By 
Kendra Cherry 
Updated on November 08, 2022
  Medically reviewed by 
David Susman, PhD
Table of Contents
 History
 Principles
 Uses
 Impact
 FAQs
Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and
behavior as a whole. When trying to make sense of the world around us,
Gestalt psychology suggests that we do not simply focus on every small
component. Instead, our minds tend to perceive objects as elements of
more complex systems.
A core belief in Gestalt psychology is holism, or that the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts.1 This school of psychology has played a major
role in the modern development of the study of human sensation
and perception.
Gestalt Meaning
Gestalt is a German word that roughly means "configuration" or the way
things are put together to form a whole object.
History of Gestalt Psychology
Originating in the work of Max Wertheimer, Gestalt psychology formed in
part as a response to the structuralism of Wilhelm Wundt.2
While followers of structuralism were interested in breaking down
psychological matters into their smallest possible parts, Gestalt
psychologists wanted instead to look at the totality of the mind and
behavior. Guided by the principle of holism, Wertheimer and his followers
identified instances where perception was based on seeing things as a
complete whole, not as separate components.
A number of thinkers influenced the development of Gestalt psychology,
including Immanuel Kant, Ernst Mach, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 3
Wertheimer developed Gestalt psychology after observing what he called
the phi phenomenon while watching alternating lights on a railway
signal.4 The phi phenomenon is an optical illusion where two stationary
objects seem to move if they are shown appearing and disappearing in
rapid succession. In other words, we perceive movement where there is
none.
Based on his observations of the phi phenomenon, Wertheimer concluded
that we perceive things by seeing the whole perception, not by
understanding individual parts. In the example of blinking lights at a train
station, the whole we perceive is that one light appears to move quickly
between two points. The reality is that two separate lights are blinking
rapidly without moving at all.

Influential Gestalt Psychologists

Wertheimer's observations of the phi phenomenon are widely credited as
the beginning of Gestalt psychology and he went on to publicize the core
principles of the field. Other psychologists also had an influence on this
school of psychology.5
Wolfgang Köhler: Köhler connected Gestalt psychology to the natural
sciences, arguing that organic phenomena are examples of holism at work.
He also studied hearing and looked at problem-solving abilities in
chimpanzees.
Kurt Koffka: Together with Wertheimer and Köhler, Koffka is considered a
founder of the field. He applied the concept of Gestalt to child psychology,
arguing that infants first understand things holistically before learning to
differentiate them into parts. Koffka played a key role in bringing Gestalt
principles to the United States.
Principles of Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology helped introduce the idea that human perception is not
just about seeing what is actually present in the world around us. It is also
heavily influenced by our motivations and expectations.
Wertheimer created principles to explain how Gestalt perception functions.
Some of the most important principles of Gestalt theory are: 26

 Prägnanz: This foundational principle states that we naturally

perceive things in their simplest form or organization.
 Similarity: This Gestalt principle suggests that we naturally group
similar items together based on elements like color, size, and
orientation. An example would be grouping dogs based on whether
they are small or large, or if they are big or small.
 Proximity: The principle of proximity states that objects near each
other tend to be viewed as a group.
 Continuity: According to this Gestalt principle, we perceive elements
arranged on a line or curve as related to each other, while elements
that are not on the line or curve are seen as separate.
  Closure: This suggests that elements that form a closed object will
be perceived as a group. We will even fill in missing information to
create closure and make sense of an object. An example of this
Gestalt psychology principle is using negative space to give the
illusion that a particular shape exists when it doesn't.
 Common region: This Gestalt psychology principle states that we
tend to group objects together if they're located in the same bounded
area. (For example, objects inside a box tend to be considered a
group.)

 Gestalt Laws of Perception

Uses for Gestalt Psychology

There are several uses for Gestalt psychology today, some of which
include those related to therapy, design, product development, and
learning.

Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy is based on the idea that overall perception depends on the
interaction between many factors. Among these factors are our past
experiences, current environment, thoughts, feelings, and needs. Gestalt
therapy involves key concepts such as awareness, unfinished business,
and personal responsibility.7
The main goal of Gestalt therapy is to help us focus on the present. While
past context is important for viewing yourself as a whole, a Gestalt therapist
will encourage you to keep your focus on your present experience.
Research suggests that Gestalt therapy is effective at treating symptoms
of depression and anxiety, and it may help people gain confidence and
increase feelings of self-efficacy and self-kindness.8 It is often a helpful way
to structure group therapy.
The therapeutic process is reliant on the relationship between the client
and therapist. As a client, you must feel comfortable enough to develop a
close partnership with your therapist, and they must be able to create an
unbiased environment where you can discuss your thoughts and
experiences.
 PILLARS OF LEARNING

A central argument is that if education is to succeed in its tasks, curriculum

as its core should be restructured or repacked around the four pillars of
learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together,
and learning to be.

LEARNING STYLES
A learning style is the way that different students learn. A style of
learning refers to an individual's preferred way to absorb, process,
comprehend and retain information. The four key learning styles are: visual,
auditory, tactile and kinaesthetic.