Human Learning and

Classroom Behaviour
Gladys Nakalema
04/10/2023
Lecture 1
 Course Details
• Course Name: HUMAN LEARNING AND CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

• Course Code: PSY 2101

• Contact Hours: 45 Hours

• Credit Units: 3

• Course Description:
This course is designed to help the student understand and apply the basic
principles and concepts underlying learning of students in secondary schools and
to enable the students help pupils in secondary schools learn effectively.
Course objectives
After concluding this course, you shall be able to :
1. Explain the characteristics of learning
2. Describe the principles of conditioning
3. Discuss the Components of cognitive learning
4. Explain the roles of biology and culture in determining learning
5. State the implications of learning to classroom behavior
6. Describe ways of class control and discipline
 Course outline
1. Learning 2. Memory and forgetting

Attributes of Learning • Overview of the Information

Theories of learning Processing Model: Encoding
• Classical Conditioning • Sensory Memory and Short-Term
• Instrumental Learning Memory
• Operant Conditioning
• Serial Position Effects and Long-Term
• Cognitive Learning and Memory
The Role of Biology and Culture in Learning
• Retrieval
Application of learning to the classroom situation.
Transfer of learning; • Forgetting and the Biology of Memory
Organisation of learning: Bloom’s taxonomy • Methods for improving memory
• Implications of memory and forgetting
Dealing with special children in the learning process in the classroom
 Course outline
3. Motivation 4. Class control, discipline and
management

• Motivational concepts • Classroom management strategies

• Major theories of motivation • Self concept

• Role of values and expectancies in • Problem behaviors in schools

determining choice and strength of • Disciplinary measure
motivation
• Effects of motivation and emotion
on perception, cognition, and
behavior
Assessment
• 1 Course work
• 1mid-semester Test
• 1 Examination
Learning
What is learning?
What is knowledge?-innate or nurtured?
How can we measure knowledge? OR When do we say someone has learnt something?
 Introduction
The education system is always under reforms due to various reasons;
• political,
• advancement in technology,
• change in societal needs etc.

This calls for the teachers to adjust to the several reforms to enable students cope better later on in
life.

Such reforms and adjustments must be guided by the foundational theories that drive teaching. This
also includes ideas about
• how students learn,
• what they should learn, and
• how teachers can enable student learning.
 Introduction
The basic goal of any type of education is to enable children to become
competent and well adjusted individuals now and in the future

This is facilitated by a conducive environment or atmosphere.

Learning is long standing research area as evidenced by the scholarly

work done in history and it evolves as the environment does.
 Study of the mind
Nativism - philosophical approach that people are born with innate ideas
about certain things
• Descartes believed that an individual is born with
• a concept of God,
• concept of self, and
• certain fundamental axioms of geometry such as establishing the shortest distance
between points

Empiricism-
• John Locke(1632-1704) believed that the mind starts out as a clean slate
(tabula rasa) to be filled with ideas and information the person encounter
through various sense experiences
Study of the mind
• Later on scholars
• appreciated the distinction of voluntary and involuntary behaviour e,g
Hobbes (1679)
• That the mind works based on associations that originate from sense
experiences

However the above scholars were largely criticised for simplification of learning.

This lead to work on cognition and social learning theories

 Definition of Key terms-Learning
• Learning:
Learning has been defined functionally as changes in behavior that
result from experience or mechanistically as changes in the organism
that result from experience.

Lefrancois (2000) defined learning as a relatively permanent change in

potential for behaviour that results from experience, provided that
changes are not as a result of fatigue, maturation, drugs, disease or
physical injury.
 Definitions of learning
Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge, attitudes and skills

• including behavior change in the emotional sphere,

• acquisition of symbolic knowledge

Therefore sensory acuity is required.

In addition, learning depends on the inclination and ability to receive and

respond to stimulation (Taylor, 2002)
Note
• Learning does not include
• physiological changes like fatigue, temporary sensory resistance and hunger
• Maturation: Gain in height –reaching higher objects
• Under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• disease or
• physical injury.
Broader perspectives of learning
• An individual starts learning as soon as he is born and this goes on
through life
• Learning enables an individual adopt new ways of doing things
• attempts to adjust to new situations
• Meet demands
• Achieve goals
• Learning can be vertical,
• where the precision in execution of a behaviour is increased

• Information added to what is already given. (Sets, Addition,

triangles)

• Learning can be horizontal

- what is learned is integrated and organized as a part of a
functioning unit of expanding experience

e.g. learning Physics, Math, Geography- to support efficient

retention of astronomy or Avionics
• In the classroom, the change process involves
• telling,
• listening,
• judging,
• reading,
• reciting,
• observation,
• experimentation,
• interaction
• which eventually should be carried on to daily life activities.
What shows that someone has
learnt something?
Characteristics of learning
Characteristics of learning
• Growth and Experience
• Adjustment
• Active
• Purposeful (Goal oriented)
• Intelligent
• Individual and social
• Product of the environment
• Behaviour modification
Factors that facilitate learning
What should teachers consider when preparing to teach?
 Introduction
• There are several things to consider in the teaching and learning process.

• There are many different ways that people can learn, but there are 3 primary
factors that influence how quickly you can learn anything new:
intelligence (IQ),
the prior knowledge you need, and
the quality of the instruction you receive.

• The factors that influence learning can be internal or external.

Internal factors
1. Age/Maturation
2. Gender
3. Attitude
4. Motivation
5. Self-esteem/perception
6. Emotion
7. Personality
8. Study habits
9. Memory
10. Ability
Age/ Maturation
• physically and mentally maturity facilitate learning.

• Research shows that children >10yrs learn language faster than

adults.
 Gender and learning
• Gender difference are not only physical, but also in roles, responsibilities and work
accorded to them by society.

• When it comes to school and learning, the attitudes and actions of teachers and
families can exert great influence.
• These influences have clear ramifications for the cognitive development of girls
and boys.

• Hence the observed differences over the years…

• Performance on science subjects vs humanities
•
Gender and learning ctd
Note:
In relation to thinking skills and learning processes, males and females
are more alike than different.

Assess the situation of urban living children

Self-Esteem and learning
 Defn.

 High self –esteem perform better than those with a low self-esteem

 Children with high self esteem

● set higher goals and
● rely less on other peoples approval
● More realistic about their ability
● Do not easily give up on tasks
Personality and learning

Extravert (E) ...... Introvert (I)

Sensing (S) ...... Intuitive (N)

Thinking (T) ...... Feeling (F)

Perceiving (P) ...... Judging (J)

 Personality and learning
Extraverted Types in the Classroom:
 work best in classrooms that allow time for discussion, talking and/or
working with a group.

 Prefer activities involving some type of physical activity.

 they may find it difficult to settle down, read, or concentrate on

homework.

 find listening difficult and need to talk to work out their ideas
 Personality and learning
Introverted Types in the Classroom:
 tend to enjoy reading, lectures, and written over oral work.
 prefer to work independently,
 do well at verbal reasoning,
 need time for internal processing.
 enjoy listening to others talk about a topic while privately processing the information.

 Introverts may encounter difficulty with instructors who speak quickly without allowing
time for mental processing.
 They are often uncomfortable in discussion groups, may find it difficult to remember
names, and hesitate to speak up in class.
Personality and learning
• Understanding personality types in greater depth, which can be useful
in
• developing strategies for more effective study,
• better time management,
• smoother communications,
• more successful relationships,
• Helping learners while selecting courses and majors,
• developing our less-preferred ways of learning.
 Emotions and learning
• Feelings or emotions and thinking have been identified as forces that
may affect one's learning styles.

• Emotions can interfere with students’ learning in several ways;

i. limiting the capacity to balance emotional issues with schoolwork,

ii. creating anxiety specifically about schoolwork, and
iii. triggering emotional responses to classroom events.
Emotions and learning
Anxiety
 The level of anxiety of a learner affect the learning process.
 High levels of anxiety inhibit learning as one is restless, feels helpless
and less confident.
 Anxiety is driving force for students to study harder therefore low levels
of anxiety demotivate learners.
Attitude and Learning
Students always complain that learning is boring –Truancy

There are many ways you can improve your learners’ attitude toward learning:

 setting an example,
 making learning fun,
 showing why it is important to learn(Link subject matter to their surroundings),
 Letting them chose what they are learning(at some point),
 Giving special attention if they are struggling with school(remedial classes).
Ability and Learning
• Ability refers to an individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in
a job

• An individual’s overall abilities are essentially made up of two sets of

factors:-
1.Intellectual abilities
2.Physical abilities

• The ability of a learner contributes to what he or she will specialize in

future
Study habits
What are some of the study
habits you utilise daily?
Study Habits and Learning
 Study habits are strategies and methods of purposeful learning

 Study habits can also be defined as the student’s pattern of

behavior whether systematic or unsystematic, efficient or inefficient
adopted in pursuit of their studies (Nagaraju, 2004; Abid, 2006)

 Effective study skills are essential for students not only to acquire
good grades in school, but useful in general to improve learning
throughout one's life, in support of career and other interests.
Study habits
 Concentration
 Remembering
 Organizing time
 Studying a chapter
 Listening and taking notes
 Taking tests
 Setting goal and priorities

These skills/habits and more will enable a learner consolidate

subject matter
 Academic stress and Study habits
• The study examined academic stress, study habits and academic performance of 196 (113 males
and 83 females) undergraduates of Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda
using a cross-sectional survey research design. Findings showed that daily academic hassles were
found to be the most stressful (M = 3.11; SD = 0.96) while personal problems were reported as
the least stressful (M = 2.27; SD = 0.86). First year students experienced greater academic stress
from financial hardships (χ = 10.71; p = .03), academic overload/time (χ = 10.23; p = .04) and
2 2

social expectations (χ = 10.79; p = .01) than the continuing students. Motivation was the most
2

used study habit (M = 6.52; SD = 1.18) among the respondent, while studying a chapter was the
least common study habit (M = 3.86; SD = 1.35) among the students. Faculty of Development
Studies students had better study habits (χ = 8.75; p = .03) than other faculties/institute based
2

on grade performance. The GPA/CGPA 4.40 - 5.00 category had superior study habits (χ = 11.47;
2

p = .01) than the other GPA/CGPA categories. Age (OR =. 88) was a significant predictor of having
supplementary exams. Our results highlight the need for strategic interventions focusing on
reducing academic stressors and improving the study habits of the undergraduates considering
the uniqueness of the different faculties and year of study for improved academic performance.

Nakalema, G., & Ssenyonga, J. (2014). ACADEMIC STRESS: ITS CAUSES AND RESULTS AT A UGANDAN UNIVERSITY. African Journal
of Teacher Education, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.21083/ajote.v3i3.2762
• Learning is also influenced by environmental factors. These
include;

• Culture-
• Influence the orientation towards learning, motivation, ways of thinking

• Technology
• Prior knowledge, strategies for learning and teaching

• Instructional practices
• Teacher sets the learning environment
Learning theories
Lecture 3
Learning theories
A learning theory explains the different ways people learn by focusing
on the internal and external influences that affect the learning process

Some of the theoretical perspective on learning include:

1. Behaviorism (Conditioning and associations)
2. Cognitivism
3. Social Learning theory
4. Constructivism
Classical Conditioning
 Introduction
• Founded by John B. Watson but widely associated with Ivan Pavlov and
B.F. Skinner.

• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) a Russian Physiologist tudying salivation in

dogs (research program on digestion)

• Made a surgical opening in a dog’s cheek and inserted a tube that

conducted saliva away from the salivary glad for measurement

• During his research, it was discovered that the dog would salivate on
seeing the person that usually brings the food, hearing the footsteps,
sight and smell of the food, seeing the dish…..
 Conditioning
• These new salivary responses were not inborn but had been acquired
through experience

• Hence the term ‘conditioning’

• A basic kind of learning that involves associations between the
environmental stimuli and the organism’s responses.

• Classical Conditioning can be referred to as a learning process that

entails the formation of new reflexes
• Reflex- simple relatively automatic stimulus-response sequence
mediated by the nervous system
 Experiment
• Under normal situations when a Dog sees meat, What happens?
 Experiment
• In one experiment, Pavlov sounded a bell just before placing food in the
dogs mouth.

• After several pairings of a bell with food, the dog would salivate in
response to the bell sound alone; no food was necessary

• The new reflex was referred to as a conditioned reflex- it depended on the

previous experience of the dog

• In this reflex,
• the stimulus (Bell) - Conditioned stimulus
• the learned response – Conditioned response
 Key terms
• Define the following terms in classical conditioning
1.Neutral stimulus
2.Unconditioned Stimulus
3.Unconditioned Response
4.Conditioned Stimulus
5.Conditioned response
• De Houwer, J., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Moors, A. (2013). What is
learning? On the nature and merits of a functional definition of
learning. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 20(4), 631-642.