Learning Theories

Supriya A
Reg. No. - 1913323036047
Content

1. Introduction
2. Jean Piaget – Cognitive Theory
3. John Anderson – Cognitive Theory
4. Lev Vygotsky – Socio Cultural Theory
5. Jerome Bruner– Socio Cultural Theory
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
Introduction

Learning theories are organized set of principles

explaining how a person receives, process and retain

the knowledge during learning period. These theories

can be used to select instructional tools, techniques and

strategies that promote learning. It help us to know

how learning take place.

Introduction

Behaviorism – new behaviors or changes in behaviors

are acquired through associations between stimuli and
response.

Cognitivism – learning occurs through internal

processing of information.

Constructivism – We construct our own knowledge of

the world based on individual experiences.

Connectivism – it is about connecting people and

technology for learning.
Content 1 – Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget Theory – Cognitive Development

Piaget’s (1936) theory of cognitive development

explains how the child constructs a mental model of
the world.

His contributions include a stage theory of child

cognitive development, detailed observational studies
of cognition in children, and a series of simple but
ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive abilities.

It is concerned with children, rather than all learners.

Basic Components

1. Schemes ( Building Blocks of Knowledge)

2. Adaptation process that enable the

transition from one stage to another.

3. Stages of Cognitive development.

Piaget’s four theories of cognitive development

1) Sensorimotor: Birth to ages 18-24 months

2) Preoperational: Toddlerhood (18-24 months)

through early childhood(age 7).

3) Concrete operational : Ages 7 to 11 years.

4) Formal operational: Adolescence to adulthood.

Sensorimotor Stage (Birth – 2 years)

1. The main achievement during this stage is

object permanence knowing that an object still
exists, even if it is hidden.

2. It requires the ability to form a mental

representation of the object.
Preoperational Stage (2-7 years)

1. During this stage, young children can think

about things symbolically. This is the ability to
make one thing – a word or an object which
stand for something other than itself.

2. Thinking is still egocentric, and the infant has

difficulty taking the viewpoint of others.
Concrete operational stage (7 – 11 years)

1. Piaget considered the concrete stage a major

turning point in the child’s cognitive development
because it makes the beginning of logical or
operational thought.
2. This means the child can work things out internally
in their head.
3. Children can conserve numbers. It is the
understanding that something stays the same
quantity even though its appearance changes.
Formal operational Stage (11 years and
over)

The formal operational stage begins at

approximately age eleven and lasts into
adulthood. During this time, people
develop the ability to think about
abstract concepts, and logically test
hypotheses.
Content 2 - John Anderson
Working memory is the active buffer between the
sensory register and long term memory.
There are two forms of memory storage – Declarative
( what something is – facts) and Procedural (how to do
something).

1. Procedural – It consists of sequences of actions

based on pattern matching that is similar to
computing instructions such as – if this happens,
then do that.

2. Declarative memory on the other hand, holds

factual knowledge, and any relevant association
and context.
Principles

1. Identify the goal structure of the problem

space.
2. Provide instruction in the context of
problem-solving
3. Provide immediate feedback on errors
4. Minimize working memory load.
5. Adjust the “grain size” of instruction with
learning to account for the knowledge
compilation process.
6. Enable the student to approach the target
skill by successive approximation.
Content 3 – Lev Vygotsky
1. Lev Vygotsky’s cultural theory plays a major role in
human beings.
2. At each stage, human beings learn different things
like society cultures, values, beliefs and problem
solving skills.
3. He believes that community plays a central role in
making meaning.
4. Children's learn their cultural values in their family
background.
5. There are two factor – Social interaction and
languages.
Social Interaction

1. This theory explains about the social

interactions with the society

2. It also explains about how children learn and

perceive things in different ages and how the
society will react

3. Eg :The interaction between a teacher and a

student is different and the interaction
between a children and parent is different
Language

1. Language plays an important role to interact.

2. Children come from different cultural

backgrounds and they speak different
languages.

3. Language and social interaction go hand in

hand.

4. In an organization, language is one of the

important barrier that the employees
undergo.
Zone of Proximal Development

1. Zone of proximal development plays an

important role in human learning.

2. It helps to monitor how the children can do their

work with guidance or without guidance.

3. It helps to analyze how children are potential

enough to do the work.

4. Example : children can do their homework with

or without their parents guidance.
Content 4 – Jerome Bruner
1. Jerome Bruner theory of cognitive development
plays a major role in children.
2. It has three representation stages of cognitive
development.
3. He believed that students can learn education not
only through lectures but also through smart class
room and virtual.
4. Each stage has different representation of
learning.
5. Children perceive things differently in learning
through different stages.
Enactive Representation

1. In this representation learning is happening

through actions.

2. It involves encoding and storage of information.

3. Physical activities are represented through

actions.

4. Eg: playing cricket, cooking, walking etc.

5. Everything is implemented and the results are

driven
Iconic Representation

1. It is represented through images.

2. Students can visualize learning through

illustration ,diagrams, pictures etc.

3. Childrens can easily remember things through

pictures.

4. It appears from 1-6 years old.

Symbolic Representation

1. It represents a symbol or a language.

2. The actions and ideas are converted into a

symbol where learning is becoming easy and
understandable.

3. Symbolic representation can be used in words or

in numbers.

4. It appears above 7 years.

5. Information is stored in form of a symbol.

Conclusion

In conclusion theorist have discovered many

theories to help describe the learning styles which

we use today. Learning is based on their own

abilities. Hence combination of theories works

well. While determining the strategy one should

note the learner’s level of knowledge, processing

demands and desired outcomes.

Bibliography

1. https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html#sta
ges
2. https://www.instructionaldesign.org
3. https://www.teachthought.com/learning/theory-co
gnitive-architecture
4. https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
5. https://study.com/academy/lesson/jerome-bruner
s-theory-of-development-discovery

Book

6. Ways of Learning - (Alan Prichard)