Child and Adolescent Learners and

Learning Principles

UNIT 4

LEARNING PRINCIPLES AND

THEORIES

Discussion
NATURE OF LEARNING
 Learning is a key process in human behavior. All living is learning. If we compare the
simple, crude ways in which a child feels and behaves, with the complex modes of adult
behavior, his skills, habits, thought, sentiments and the like- we will know what
difference learning has made to the individual.
 The individual is constantly interacting with and influenced by the environment. This
experience makes him to change or modify his behavior in order to deal effectively with
it. Therefore, learning is a change in behavior, influenced by previous behavior. As stated
above the skills, knowledge, habits, attitudes, interests and other personality
characteristics are all the result of learning.
 Learning is defined as “any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a
result of practice and experience”. This definition has three important elements.
a.) Learning is a change in behavior—better or worse.
b.) It is a change that takes place through practice or experience, but changes due to growth or
maturation are not learning.
c.) This change in behavior must be relatively permanent, and it must last a fairly long time.

TYPES OF LEARNING

1. Motor learning - Most of our activities in our day-to-days life refer to motor activities. The
individual has to learn them in order to maintain his regular life, for example walking,
running, skating, driving, climbing, etc. All these activities involve the muscular
coordination.
2. Verbal learning - This type of learning involves the language we speak; the
communication devices we use. Signs, pictures, symbols, words, figures, sounds, etc., are
the tools used in such activities. We use words for communication.
3. Concept learning - It is the form of learning which requires higher order mental
processes like thinking, reasoning, intelligence, etc. we learn different concepts from
childhood. For example, when we see a dog and attach the term ‘dog’, we learn that the
word dog refers to a particular animal. Concept learning involves two processes, viz.
abstraction and generalization. This learning is very useful in recognizing, identifying
things.
4. Discrimination learning - Learning to differentiate between stimuli and showing an
appropriate response to these stimuli are called discrimination learning.
Example, sound horns of different vehicles like bus, car, ambulance, etc.
5. Learning of principles - Individuals learn certain principles related to science,
mathematics, grammar, etc. in order to manage their work effectively. These principles
always show the relationship between two or more concepts.
Example: formulae, laws, associations, correlations, etc.
6. Problem solving - This is a higher order learning process. This learning requires
the use of cognitive abilities-such as thinking, reasoning, observation, imagination,
generalization, etc. This is very useful to overcome difficult problems encountered by the
people.
7. Attitude learning - Attitude is a predisposition which determines and directs our behavior. We
develop different attitudes from our childhood about the people, objects and everything
we know. Our behavior may be positive or negative depending upon our attitudes.
Example: attitudes of nurse towards her profession, patients, etc.

LEARNING THEORIES

BEHAVIORISM: THE SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY OF APPLIED LEARNING

Years ago, teachers believed that the best way to learn was through repetition, a principle
from Behavioral learning theory that dominated educational thinking since the time of Ivan
Pavlov and his experiment with animals. Students would spend their time copying spelling
words, historical information, and mathematical formulas over and over again until they 'learned'
the information.
Contemporary Behaviorists (often called S-R PSYCHOLOGISTS) view
the ENVIRONMENT as key to learning. Environment factors are seen in terms
of STIMULI and its resultant behavior or RESPONSE. They attempt to demonstrate that
behavior is controlled by environmental contingencies of
external REWARD or REINFORCEMENT which links the stimuli and response. Teachers
who accept the Behavioral perspective of pioneers like B. F. Skinner assume that the behavior
of their students is a response to their past and present environment and that ALL BEHAVIOR
IS LEARNED. For example, classroom troublemakers "learn" to be disruptive because they
seek attention (reinforcement) from their teachers and peers. Withdrawn students learn that their
particular environment does not reinforce social interaction; they become reserved and silent. As
a result, any behavior can (and should) be analyzed in terms of its reinforcement history. The
next logical step for the teacher is to learn the Behavioral processes to change or modify
undesirable behavior in their students. The ultimate teacher responsibility, according to the
Behaviorist, is to construct an environment in which the probability of reinforcing "correct" or
proper student behavior is maximized. This goal is best attained by
careful ORGANIZATION and presentation of information in a DESIGNED SEQUENCE

Edward Lee Thorndike

(August 31, 1874 – August 9, 1949)
An American Psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College,
Columbia University. His work on comparative psychology and the learning process led to the
theory of connectionism and helped lay the scientific foundation for Educational Psychology.

THEORY OF CONNECTIONISM
 The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original S-R
framework of behavioral psychology: Learning is the result of
associations forming between stimuli and responses. Such
 associations or “habits” become strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of
the S-R pairings. The paradigm for S-R theory was trial and error learning in which
certain responses come to dominate others due to rewards. The hallmark of
connectionism (like all behavioral theory) was that learning could be adequately
explained without referring to any unobservable internal states.

Thorndike’s theory consists of three primary laws:

1. Law of effect – responses to a situation which are followed by a rewarding state of

affairs will be strengthened and become habitual responses to that situation
2. Law of readiness – a series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal
which will result in annoyance if blocked.
3. Law of exercise – connections become strengthened with practice and weakened
when practice is discontinued.

A corollary of the law of effect was that responses that reduce the likelihood of achieving
a rewarding state (i.e., punishments, failures) will decrease in strength.

Educational Implications

Law of Effect - As a failure is accompanied by a discouraging emotional state, it

should be avoided. Reward and recognition play a great role in encouraging the
student. Punishments should be avoided as far as possible. Punishment
reduces a negative effect, and it causes discouragement.
Law of Readiness - Hook the learners before they ever begin the course. This can
be done via a pre-work activity or a short video introducing the content. By creating
anticipation, you are building learner excitement and motivating them before they ever
even access the content. Let students know why it is important to learn a subject and what
can they expect from the course. By sharing with the learners what they will learn, you
are already motivating the students to meet standards set forth. Be very clear about how
the content will be organized and lay out the expected outcomes. This removes some
anxiety and begins to get the learners excited about accomplishing tasks set forth.
Law of Exercise - The teachers should provide different opportunities for learners to
practice or repeat the task. (recall manual drill, review, etc.) The teachers should have
constant practice in what has once been learnt. Delayed use or long disuse may cause
forgetfulness.

Thorndike’s theory consists of three secondary laws:

1. Law of Primacy – Learning that takes place in the beginning is the best and
lasting.
2. Law of Recency – This law reminds us that we remember the most recent (last)
material covered.
3. Law of Intensity – The law of intensity states that if the stimulus (experience) is
real, the more likely there is to be a change in behavior (learning).
Educational Implications

Law of Primacy - The learning on the first day is most vivid and strong. The teacher
also should be most serious on the first day of teaching. For the instructor, this means that
what they teach the first time must be correct. It is more difficult to un-teach a subject
than to teach it correctly the first time.
Law of Recency - Instructor recognize the law of recency when they plan a lesson
summary or a conclusion of the lecture. Repeat, Restate, or Reemphasize important
matters at the end of a lesson to make sure that learners remember them instead of
inconsequential details.
Law of Intensity - A learner will learn more from the real thing than from a substitute.
Demonstrations, skits, and models do much to intensify the learning experience of
learners.

Principles of Connectionism
 Learning requires both practice and rewards (laws of effect /exercise)
 A series of S-R connections can be chained together if they belong to the same action
sequence (law of readiness).
 Transfer of learning occurs because of previously encountered situations.
 Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned.

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov

(26 September 1849 – 27 February 1936)
A Russian Physiologist known primarily for his work in classical
conditioning.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a behaviorist theory of learning. It posits
that when a naturally occurring stimulus and an environmental stimulus are
repeatedly paired, the environmental stimulus will eventually elicit a similar
response to the natural stimulus. The most famous studies associated with
classical conditioning are Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s experiments
with dogs.
 The presentation of food to the dog is referred to
as the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) because
the dog’s response to the food occurs
naturally.
 T he light or bell is the conditioned stimulus
(CS) because the dog must learn to associate it
with the desired response.
 Salivation in response to the food is called the
unconditioned response (UCR) because it’s an
innate reflex.
 Salivation to the light or bell is the conditioned response (CR) because the dog learns to
associate that response with the conditioned stimulus.
The Three Stages of Classical Conditioning:
Before Conditioning
At this stage the UCS and CS have no
relationship. The UCS comes up in the environment and
naturally elicits a UCR. The UCR wasn’t taught or
learned, it’s a completely innate reaction. For example,
the first time a person takes a ride on a boat (UCS) they
may become seasick (UCR). At this point the CS is
a neutral stimulus (NS). It has yet to produce any kind of
response because it hasn’t been conditioned yet.

During Conditioning
During the second stage, the UCS and NS are paired leading the previously neutral
stimulus to become a CS. The CS occurs just before or at the same time as the UCS and in the
process the CS becomes associated with UCS and, by extension, the UCR. Generally, the UCS
and CS must be paired several times in order to reinforce the association between the two
stimuli. However, there are times when this isn’t necessary. For example, if an individual gets
sick once after eating a specific food, that food may continue to make them nauseous in the
future. So, if the individual on the boat drank fruit punch (CS) right before getting sick (UCR),
they could learn to associate fruit punch (CS) with feeling ill (CR).

After Conditioning
Once the UCS and CS have been associated, the CS will trigger a response without the
need to present the UCS with it. The CS now elicits the CR. The individual has learned to
associate a specific response with a previously neutral stimulus. Thus, the individual who got
seasick may find that in the future fruit punch (CS) makes them feel ill (CR), despite the fact that
the fruit punch really had nothing to do with the individual getting sick on the boat.

Other Principles of Classical Conditioning

Extinction
As its name suggests, extinction happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer
associated with an unconditioned stimulus leading to a decrease or complete disappearance of
the conditioned response.

For example, Pavlov’s dogs started to salivate in response to the sound of a bell after the sound
was paired with food over several trials. However, if the bell was sounded several times without
the food, over time the dog’s salivation would decrease and eventually stop.

Spontaneous Recovery
Even after extinction has occurred, the conditioned response may not be gone forever.
Sometimes spontaneous recovery happens in which the response reemerges after a period of
extinction.
For example, suppose after extinguishing a dog’s conditioned response of salivation to a bell,
the bell isn’t sounded for a period of time. If the bell is then sounded after that break, the dog
will salivate again — a spontaneous recovery of the conditioned response. If the conditioned and
unconditioned stimuli aren’t paired again, though, spontaneous recovery won’t last long and
extinction will again occur.

Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus generalization happens when, after a stimulus has been conditioned to a specific
response, other stimuli that may be associated with the conditioned stimulus also elicit the
conditioned response. The additional stimuli are not conditioned but are similar to the
conditioned stimulus, leading to generalization. So, if a dog is conditioned to salivate to the tone
of a bell, the dog will also salivate to other bell tones. Although the conditioned response may
not occur if the tone is too dissimilar to the conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus Discrimination
Stimulus generalization often doesn’t last. Over time, stimulus discrimination begins to
occur in which stimuli are differentiated and only the conditioned stimulus and possibly stimuli
that are very similar elicit the conditioned response. So, if a dog continues to hear different bell
tones, over time the dog will start to distinguish between the tones and will only salivate to the
conditioned tone and ones that sound almost like it.

B.F. Skinner
(March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990)

An American Psychologist, a behaviorist. Developed the theory of

operant conditioning. Influenced by John B. Watson & Ivan Pavlov. “Father of
Operant Conditioning”. He believes that the best way to understand behavior is
to look at the cause of an action and its consequences.

Operant Conditioning
 The organism is in the process of “operating”
on the environment.
 Experimented a rat which was placed on a
called “skinner box”
 Skinner used the term operant to refer to any
active behavior that operates upon the
environment to generate consequences.
 The behavior is followed by a consequence, and
the nature of the consequence modifies the
organism tendency to repeat the behavior in the future.
 The term operant indicates that the organism operates on its environment to generate
rewards or to reach some goals.
 Also referred to as instrumental conditioning, because the organism response is
instrumental in gaining some rewards.
COMPONENTS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

1. Reinforcement - something that happens after a behavior or event that strengthens or

increases behavior likely to occur again.
a. Positive Reinforcement (reward or praise)
Types of Positive Reinforces.
▫Natural Reinforcement ▫Social Reinforcement
▫Token Reinforcement ▫Tangible Reinforcement
b. Negative Reinforcement
A response is strengthened by the removal of something considered
unpleasant.

2. Punishment - presentation of an adverse event or outcome that cause a decrease in the

behavior it follows.
a. Positive Punishment (treat)
b. Negative Punishment (painful)

Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning

Primary Reinforcement
 known without being learned
 Biological needs, innate, inborn (ex. Food & Water)
Secondary Reinforcement
 learned value
 conditioned reinforcement (ex. Money & Praise)
SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

Continuous reinforcement
 schedule of reinforcement in which each response is followed by a reinforcer
Intermittent reinforcement
 schedule of reinforcement in which responses produce reinforcers only
occasionally

Albert Bandura
Born on December 4,1925
 Canadian, American
  Studied at University of British Columbia and University of Lowa.
 Researched and taught at Stanford University
 Elected President of American Psychological Association in 1974
 Famous for research on Social Learning Theories.

Observational Learning - observation allows people to learn without performing any

behavior
Modeling - Learning through modeling involves adding and subtracting from the
observed behavior and generalizing from one observation to another.
Enactive Learning - complex human behavior can be learned when people think
about and evaluate the consequences of their beha v’viors.

BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT

Bandura believes that aggressive actions

ordinarily lead to further aggression. This belief is
based on the now classic study of Bandura, Dorrie
Ross, and Sheila Ross (1963), which found that
children who observed others behaving
aggressively displayed more aggression than a
control group of children who did not view
aggressive acts. In this study, the experimenters
divided Stanford University nursery school boys
and girls into three matched experimental groups
and one control group.

THE MODELING PROCESS

Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned. Factors involving both the model and
the learner can play a role in whether social learning is succkkessful.

The following steps are involved in the observational learning and modeling process:

 Attention
 Retention
 Motor reproduction
 Motivation

John B. Watson
(1878 – 1958)
20th century psychologist and developmentalist who claimed that he could take a dozen healthy
infants and mold them to be whatever he chose---doctor, lawyer, beggar, etc.---regardless of their
backgrounds or ancestry or cognitive processes that are unobservable.
  Watson’s belief that children are shaped by their environments
carried a serious message for parents that they are largely
responsible for what their children would become.
 Watson believed that well-learned associations between external
stimuli and observable responses (habits) are the building blocks of
development.
 Profoundly influenced by Pavlov’s model of classical
conditioning.

Edwin R. Guthrie
(Contiguity Theory)

 He claims that the full strength of the bond between stimulus and
response is reached during the first pairing.
 In contiguity theory, rewards or punishment play no significant role in
learning since they occur after the association between stimulus and
response has been made. Learning takes place in a single trial (all or
none).

Contiguity Theory

Guthrie’s contiguity theory specifies that “a combination of stimuli which has

accompanied a movement will on its recurrence tend to be followed by that movement”.
According to Guthrie, all learning was a consequence of association between a particular
stimulus and response. Furthermore, Guthrie argued that stimuli and responses affect specific
sensory-motor patterns; what is learned are movements, not behaviors.

 Application: Contiguity Theory is intended to be a general theory of learning. Although,

most of the research supporting the theory was done with animals. Guthrie did apply his
framework into personality disorders. Pioneered the science of instruction during World
War II when he worked with the Army Air Corps training pilots.
Example: The classic experimental paradigm for Contiguity theory is cats learning to escape
from a puzzle box (Guthrie & Horton, 1946). Guthrie used a glass paneled box that allowed him
to photograph the exact movements of cats. These photographs showed that cats learned to
repeat the same sequence of movements associated with the preceding escape from the box.
Improvement comes about because irrelevant movements are unlearned or not included in
successive associations

Principles
 In order for conditioning to occur, the organism must actively respond (i.e., do things).
 Since learning involves the conditioning of specific movements, instruction must present
very specific tasks.
 Exposure to many variations in stimulus patterns is desirable in order to produce a
generalized response.
  The last response in a learning situation should be correct since it is the one that will be
associated.

Edward C. Tolman
SIGN LEARNING THEORY
(PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM)

WHAT IS NEOBEHAVIORISM?
A form of behaviorism that takes unobservable internal factors like
cognition into account.

PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM
Is a branch of psychology that combines the objective study of behavior while also
considering the purpose or goal of behavior.

PRINCIPLES

 Learning is always purposive and goal – directed

 An organism learns by pursuing signs to a goal.
APPLICATION: State goals clearly and specifically

 Tolman concluded that learning can happen possibly even without us knowing it. This
learning that occurred has just not been evidenced yet. There’s been no motivation for, in
this case, the rats to show that they knew the maze.

LATENT LEARNING
When reinforcement was finally presented, they quickly showed that they had been
learning as evidenced by the abrupt increase in performance.

APPLICATION: When discussing a topic, consider what the students already know in order to
facilitate maximum learning. Conduct pre – tests if necessary.

 From this latent learning theory, he also found “Intervening variables”. These were
variables that could not be observed but can directly or indirectly affect learning.
 For example, hunger was an intervening variable on part of the rats. He showed that these
variables were the actual determinants of a behavior.

APPLICATION: present topics that are congruent to the needs and interest of the students.
Make activities relatable and enjoyable in order to encourage learning.

LEARNING TAKES PLACE EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF REINFORCEMENT.

 The mere exposure to the maze allowed the rats to build a mental model of their
surroundings which they later used to quickly solve the maze.
  He called this internal perceptual representation of external environment features and
landmarks. COGNITIVE MAP.
APPLICATION: A learner remembers new words by visualizing them represented in
memorable fashion. This makes it easier and faster to recall these words. This includes making
mind maps, visualization, association, mnemonics, using clues in reading comprehension,
underlining key words, scanning and self – testing.

Robert Gagne
Died: April 28, 2002 (aged 85).
 American Educational Psychologist
 Involved in applying concepts of instructional theory to the design of
computer-based training and multimedia-based learning.
 In 1940- was his first college teaching job at Connecticut college for
Women.
 He was commissioned a second lieutenant, and assigned to School of
Aviation Medicine, Randolph Field, Fort Worth, Texas.
 In 1949, He accepted an offer to join the US Air Force organization
that became the Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center,
where he was research director of the Perceptual and Motor Skills Laboratory.
 In 1958, he returned to academia as professor at Princeton University,
 In 1962, he joined the American Institutes for Research, where he wrote his first book,
The Conditions of Learning.
 Gagné 's widow, Pat, is a biologist. They have a son, Sam, and daughter, Ellen
 In 1993, He retired to Signal Mountain, Tennessee with his wife.
GAGNE’S PRINCIPLES

1. Different Instructions is required for different learning outcomes.

2. Learning hierarchies define what intellectual skills are to be learned and a sequence of
instruction.
3. Events of learning operate on the learner in ways that constitute the conditions of
learning.

Five Categories of Learning

Distinct internal and external conditions are required to each type of learning. For
instance, for cognitive strategies to be learned, there must be an opportunity for problem solving;
to learn attitudes, the learner must be exposed to credible role model or arguments that are
convincing or moving.

1. VERBAL INFORMATION
2. INTELLECTUAL SKILLS
3. COGNITIVE STRATEGIES
4. ATTITUDES
 5. MOTOR SKILLS

NINE INSTRUCTIONAL EVENTS AND CORRESPONDING COGNITIVE

PROCESSES

1. Gaining Attention (Reception)

2. Informing Learners of the Objective (Expectancy)
3. Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning (Retrieval)
4. Presenting The Stimulus (Selective Perception)
5. Providing Learning Guidance (Semantic Encoding)
6. Eliciting Performance (Responding)
7. Providing Feedback (Reinforcement)
8. Assessing Performance (Retrieval)
9. Enhancing Retention and Transfer (Generalization)

Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt is a German word that means roughly means “shape”, “form”, “essence”, or “whole”.
Gestalt is a psychology term which means “unified whole”. It refers to theories of visual
perception developed by German psychologist in the 1920’s.

MEANING OF THEORY OF LEARNING BY INSIGHT:

• This theory is also called Gestalt Theory of Learning.
• The word Gestalt in German language means ‘whole’, ‘total pattern’ or ‘configuration’.
This school believes that the whole is more important than the parts. So learning also
takes place as a whole.
• It was developed about 1910 by Max Wertheimer and carry on by Wolfgang Kohler and
Kurt Koffka at Frankfurt University

Wolfgang Kohler
 Born in January 21, 1887
 Died in June 11, 1967
 Born in Reval (now Tallinn), Estonia
 Psychologist and Phenomenologist
 Another of the founders of Gestalt Psychology

Kurt Koffka
 Born in March 18, 1886
 Died in November 22, 1941
 Born in Berlin, Germany
 One of the founders of Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt Psychology
 • Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka concluded that learners were not
Passive, but rather active. They suggested that learners do not just collect information as
is but they actively process and restructure data in order to understand it. This is the
Perceptual Process; Certain factors impact on this perceptual process. Factors like past
experiences, needs, attitudes and one’s present situation can affect his perception.
Gestalt Principles

 Law of Proximity - The law of proximity states that when objects appear close to one
another they tend to be perceived as a group.
 Law of Similarity - The law of similarity captures the idea that when we look at objects
that are similar to each other, we tend to group them together. We are prone to notice
matching shapes, colors, and forms (as opposed to looking for what isn’t similar). Our
brains quickly identify patterns faster than the separate parts of the pattern.
 Law of Closure - The law of closure captures the idea that when we see incomplete
elements in a visual, our brains tend to fill in the gaps and see it as a whole.
 Law of Good Continuation - The mind continuous visual patterns. The eye continues in
the direction it is going. The principle of continuity predicts the preference for continuous
figures.
 Law of Good Pragnanz - The word pragnanz is a German term meaning “good figure”.
The Law of Pragnanz is sometimes referred to as the law of good figure or the law of
simplicity y. This law holds that objects in the environment are seen in a way that makes
them appear as simple as possible.
 Law of Figure/Ground - Figure-ground organization is a type of perceptual grouping
which is a vital necessity for recognizing objects through vision
 Insight Learning
 Wolfgang Kohler was the first psychologist who
developed the insight learningp in which he described an
experiment with apes that could use boxes and sticks as
tools to solve the problem.
 Learning by insight means sudden grasping of the solution,
a flash of understanding, without any process of trial and
error
 Refers to the sudden realization of a solution of a problem

EXPERIMENTS OF THEORY OF LEARNING BY

INSIGHT: Kohler’s experiment on Sultan

Experiment with box:

 Kohler kept a monkey (named Sultan) hungry for some

time, and then.
 Shut him in a large cage.
  He hung bananas from the ceiling, and kept a box on the floor of the cage, fast beneath.
 The monkey could not reach the banana. Another box was put in a corner of the cage
 But Sultan could not get the idea of placing one box on the other and thus reaching the
banana.
 Ultimately Kohler gave demonstration of putting one box on the other.
 Sultan could now learn the whole situation. He used his intelligence and insight to put the
two boxes one upon the other, stand on these and then reach the bananas.

Experiment with two sticks:

 In other experiment Kohler kept two sticks in the cage.
 One end of the shorter sticks could be fitted in the one
end of the longer sticks, so as to make them longer.
 The monkey did not get the idea of forming the two
sticks through trial and error.
 When Kohler gave a hint through putting his finger in
the whole of the bigger stick, the monkey viewed the
whole situation and performed the right task through understanding the insight.

Wolfgang Kohler’s Experiment and Insight Learning

The important aspect of learning was not reinforcement, but the

coordination of thinking to create new organizations. Kohler referred to
this behavior as insight or discovery learning.

Insight Learning is the abrupt realization of a problem’s solution.

Insight learning is not the result of trial and error, responding to an
environmental stimulus, or the result of observing someone else
attempt the problem. It is completely cognitive experience, which
requires the ability to visualize the problem and the solution internally, in the mind’s eye so to
speak, before initialing a behavioral response.

Kurt Lewin
(1890 – 1947)
 Born on September 9, 1890, Mogilno, Germany [now in Poland
 German-born American social psychologist own for his field
theory of behavior, which holds that human behavior is
a function of an individual’s psychological environment.
 Lewin studied in Germany at Freiburg, Munich, and Berlin.
 Receiving his doctorate from the University of Berlin in 1914.
 After serving in the German army during World War I, he joined
the faculty of the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute.
 In 1933 he moved to the United States and began work at the State University of Iowa’s
Child Welfare Research Station (1935–45).
  In 1945 he founded and became director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
 Unlike Pavlov, Skinner and Gestaltian psychologists, conducted experiments on the study
of behavior of children. He utilized an elaborate experimental set-up with a view to
control the child’s total environment during the course of the investigation for getting
detailed information.
 Lewin emphasized the study of behavior as a function of the total physical and social
situation. Lewin holds that psychological laws need not be formulated solely on the basis
of statistical averages. Rather the individual case is equally important.
Lewin describes his viewpoint in the following formula:

b=F(pe)
B represents behavior
f is a function
P is the person
E is the total environment situation.

Lewin explains the individual behavior on the basis of life-

space. An individual’s life-space depends on his psychological
force. It includes the person; his drives, tensions, thoughts and his
environment, which consists of perceived objects and events.

Lewin’s theory may be explained as under:

Suppose a person P is moving towards a goal of getting social recognition. But to achieve
the goal, he has to apologies. New asking for apology is the barrier coming in his way. The
barrier may be physical or psychological forces preventing him from reaching the goal. These
forces organize themselves into a pattern which determines his future behavior.

Lewin has classified learning into the following categories:

 Learning is a change in cognitive structure.

 Learning is a change in motivation, i.e., in valences and values.
 Learning is acquisition of skills.
 Learning is a change in group belonging.

Main Concepts of Lewin’s Field Theory:

Lewin’s system leans heavily on concepts derived from topology, a branch of higher
mathematics that deals with transformation in space, from vector analysis, or the mathematics of
directed lines and from the sciences of chemistry and physics concepts as Valence, equilibrium
and field force. Lewin’s most important publication is Principles of Topological Psychology
(1936).
The main concepts used in Lewin’s field theory are as follows:

1. Topology
2. Vector
3. Life-Space
4. The Person in Life-Space
5. Valence
6. Distance and Direction
7. Behavior
8. Barrier
9. Goal
10. Tension
11. Cognitive Structure
Following are the major educational implications of this theory:
1. Reward and Punishment
2. Success and Failure
3. Motivation
4. Memory

COGNITIVISM: THE SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE AND

STRATEGIES
In contrast to the behavioral perspective, Cognitive psychologists focus more on the learner
as an active participant in the teaching-learning process. Those who adhere to this psychology of
learning believe that teachers can be more effective if they know what PRIOR
KNOWLEDGE the student already possesses and how information is processed
and STRUCTURED in an individual's memory. Cognitive-based teachers instruct students by
using TEACHING STRATEGIES to help the learner acquire knowledge more effectively.
Effective instruction for these teachers includes teaching students how to learn, remember, think,
and motivate themselves. There are primarily two persuasions in Cognitive Psychology:
 Cognitive-developmental psychologists, such as Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, study
the various steps in children's thinking and believe they are different from adult thinking.
They stress that teachers must understand the nature of thought processes in planning and
instruction. They attribute growth to STAGES and teaching to a reiterative process
of ASSIMILATION and ACCOMMODATION.
 Cognitive-constructivist psychologists, on the other hand, view human cognition as
knowledge constructed by the individual through various encounters with new ideas and
thinking. Knowledge is a series of BUILDING BLOCKS which the teacher can place
one on top of the other to build upon a student's understanding. Constructivist principles
include the concepts of SCHEMATA, a process of organizing concepts and information
into a cognitive structure that sustains in its subsequent use and retrieval.
Jerome Bruner
Born October 1,1915
  Age 94
 PhD, Harvard,1941(Psychology)
 BA, Duke University,1937
 American Psychological Association
 Law and Society Association
 Society for Research in Child Development
 Cognitive psychologist and educational psychologist
 Scaffolding Theory
 Spiral Curriculum
J. Bruner Theory

 Bruner’s theoretical framework is based on the theme that learning is an active process
and learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon existing knowledge.
 Facets of the process include selection and transformation of information, decision
making, generating hypothesis, and making meaning from information and experiences.
 Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to
 Bruner believed that intuitive and analytical thinking should both be encouraged and
reward.

Principles of J. Bruner Theory

1. Instructions must be concerned with the experiences and contexts that make the student
willing and able to learn (readiness).
2. Instruction must be structured so that it can be easily grasped by the student (spiral
organization).
3. Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the gaps (going
beyond the information given).

Features of J. Bruner’s Theory of Instruction

1. Predisposition towards learning

2. Course Structure
3. Effective Sequence
4. Rewards and Punishments

Cognitive Development
Like Piaget, Bruner believed in stages of instruction based on development.

1. Enactive (birth to age 3) - The first stage he termed “Enactive”, when a person learns
about the world through actions on physical objects and the outcomes of these actions.
2. Iconic (age 3 to 8) – The second stage was called “Iconic” where learning can be
obtained through using models and pictures.
 3. Symbolic (from age 8) - “Symbolic” in which the learner develops the capacity to think
in abstract terms.
Based on this three-stage notion, Bruner recommended using a combination of concrete, pictorial
then symbolic activities will lead to more effective learning.

3 Important Aspects of Constructivism

1. Representation
2. Spiral Curriculum
3. Discovery Learning
Conclusion of Theory

 A major theme in the theoretical framework of Bruner is that learning is an active process
in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past
knowledge.
 As far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage students to
discover principles by themselves and they should engage in an active dialog (i.e.,
socratic learning)
 Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds
upon what they have already learned.

HUMANISM: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT

Humanistic Psychologists believe that how a person FEELS about learning is as

important as how the person thinks or even behaves. They describe behavior not from the
viewpoint of the teacher as do behaviorists but rather from the vantage point of the student who
is performing the activity. Humanists, led by such famous authors as Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers, are especially concerned with the idea of SELF-ACTUALIZATION, the growth of a
person to achieve whatever degree of individual satisfaction they are capable of achieving. The
humanistic teacher creates an educational environment that fosters SELF-DEVELOPMENT,
COOPERATION, POSITIVE COMMUNICATIONS, and PERSONALIZATION OF
INFORMATION.

ABRAHAM MASLOW

Abraham Maslow, in full Abraham Harold Maslow, also

called Abraham H. Maslow, (born April 1, 1908, New York, New York,
U.S.—died June 8, 1970, Menlo Park, California), American psychologist
and philosopher best known for his self-actualization theory of
psychology, which argued that the primary goal of psychotherapy should be the integration of
the self.

 Abraham H. Maslow felt as though conditioning theories did not adequately capture
the complexity of human behavior. In a 1943 paper called A Theory of Human
Motivation, Maslow presented the idea that human actions are directed toward goal
attainment Any given behavior could satisfy several functions at the same time; for
instance, going to a bar could satisfy one’s needs for self-esteem and for social
interaction

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

 His hierarchy proposes that
people are motivated to fulfill
basic needs before moving on to
meet higher level growth needs.
 It is often displayed as a
hierarchical pyramid with five
levels.

 Physiological Needs-
maintenance of the human body.
 Safety and Security Needs-
keeping us safe from harm.
 Social Needs-advance our tribal nature.
 Esteem Needs- higher position within a group and act to foster pride in their work and in
themselves as individuals.
 Self-actualizing Needs- pertains to what a person’s full potential is and realizing that
potential.

Maslow’s Theory of Motivation

 The basis of Maslow’s theory of motivation is that human beings are motivated by
unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs
can be addressed.
 Maslow’s believed that all people are motivated to move up the hierarchy toward a level
of self-actualization.

Additional Stage of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

 Cognitive Needs- need to know and understand.
 Aesthetic Needs- need to express oneself in pleasing ways.
  Transcendence Needs- helping others to achieve self-actualization

CARL RANSOM ROGERS

BORN: January 8, 1902
DIED: February 4, 1987
 Carl Rogers a humanistic psychologist who agreed with the
main assumptions of Abraham Maslow. However, Rogers
added that for a person to "grow", they need an environment
that provides them with genuineness (openness and self-
disclosure), acceptance (being seen with unconditional
positive regard), and empathy (being listened to and
understood).
 Rogers believed that every person could achieve their goals, wishes, and desires in life.
When, or rather if they did so, self-actualization took place.

Self-Actualization
 "The organism has one basic tendency and striving - to actualize, maintain, and enhance
the experiencing organism”
 Carl Rogers believed that humans have one basic motive, that is the tendency to self-
actualize, to fulfill one's potential and achieve the highest level of 'human-beingness' we
can.
 Like a flower that will grow to its full potential if the conditions are right, but which is
constrained by its environment, so people will flourish and reach their potential if their
environment is good enough.
 However, unlike a flower, the potential of the individual human is unique, and we are
meant to develop in different ways according to our personality. Rogers believed that
people are inherently good and creative.
 This means that self-actualization occurs when a person’s “ideal self” (i.e., who they
would like to be) is congruent with their actual behavior (self-image).
 Rogers describes an individual who is actualizing as a fully functioning person. The main
determinant of whether we will become self-actualized is childhood experience.

FULLY FUNCTIONING PERSON

• Rogers believed that every person could achieve their goal. This means that the person is
in touch with the here and now, his or her subjective experiences and feelings,
continually growing and changing.
• In many ways, Rogers regarded the fully functioning person as an ideal and one that
people do not ultimately achieve. It is wrong to think of this as an end or completion of
life’s journey; rather it is a process of always becoming and changing.

Five Characteristics of a Fully Functioning Person

 1. Open to experience- both positive and negative emotions accepted.
2. Existential living- in touch with different experiences as they occur in life, avoiding
prejudging and preconceptions
3. Trust feelings- feeling, instincts, and gut-reactions are paid attention to and trusted.
4. Creativity- creative thinking and risk-taking are features of a person’s life. A person
does not play safe all the time.
5. Fulfilled life- a person is happy and satisfied with life, and always looking for new
challenges and experiences.

Three Components of Self-Concept

1. Self-worth - (or self-esteem) comprises what we think about ourselves.

2. Self-image - How we see ourselves, which is important to good psychological health.
Self-image includes the influence of our body image on inner personality.
3. Ideal-self - This is the person who we would like to be. It consists of our goals and
ambitions in life, and is dynamic – i.e., forever changing.

OTHER LEARNING THEORIES

Gavriel Salomon
Born: October 12, 1938
Died: January 4, 2016
Symbol System Theory

 A specialist in the field of educational

psychologyServed as the Dean of the Faculty of
Education at the University of Haifa from 1993-1998.
 Received his B.A. and M.A. (Summa cum Laude) in
geography and education from the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, Israel (1966), and his Ph.D. in educational
psychology and communication from Stanford University (1968).
 Author of four books and more than 120 articles on technology, learning and peace
education. author of four books and more than 120 articles on technology, learning and
peace education.
 In 1998, he established the Center for Research on Peace Education at the University of
Haifa.
 In 2001, he received the Israel Prize for his contributions to Israeli education and his
“international standing as an expert in the pedagogical uses of communication and
computer technology.”

The Symbol Systems Theory

 Intended to explain the effects of media on learning. Salomon (1977) states: “To
summarize, the symbol systems of media affect the acquisition of knowledge in a number of
ways.

 First, they highlight different aspects of content.

 Second, they vary with respect to ease of recoding.
 Third, specific coding elements can save the learner from difficult mental elaborations by
overtly supplanting or short-circuiting specific elaboration.
 Fourth, symbol systems differ with respect to how much processing they demand or
allow.9
Thus, symbol systems partly determine who will acquire how much knowledge from what kinds
of messages.” According to Salomon, each medium is capable of conveying content via certain
inherent symbol systems.

For example:

Salomon suggests that television requires less mental processing than reading and that the
meanings secured from viewing television tend to be less elaborate than those secured from
reading (i.e., different levels of processing are involved). However, the meaning extracted from a
given medium depends upon the learner. Thus, a person may acquire information about a subject
they are familiar with equally well from different media but be significantly influenced by
different media for novel information.

Salomon (1981) focuses on the reciprocal nature of:

1. instructional communications
2. the instructional setting
3. and the learner.
Salomon argues that schema play a major role in determining how messages are perceived — in
terms of creating an anticipatory bias that influences what information is selected and how it is
interpreted.
Furthermore, media create new schema which affect subsequent cognitive processing.

Application: Salomon’s theory is supported primarily by research conducted with film and
television (especially” Sesame Street “). He examined skills gathered from watching Sesame
Street American Versus Israeli children in grades pre-k through grade school.

Example:

One of the critical concepts of Salomon’s theory is that the effectiveness of a medium
depends upon its match with the learner, the context and the task. Salomon (1977; p 112)
explains: “Learning can be facilitated to the extent that the activated skills are relevant to the
demands of the learning task. Thus, when the task calls for some act of analytic comparison and
the coded message activates imagery instead, the learning may be debilitated. For effective
instructional communication, a match needs to be established between the cognitive demands of
a learning task, the skills that are required by the codes of the message, and the learner’s level of
mastery of these skills.”

Principles:

 The symbolic coding elements of particular media require different mental

transformations and hence affect the mastery of specific skills.
 The level of knowledge and skill that an individual possesses will affect the impact of
specific media sequences.
 The nature of learning/information processing tasks can affect the impact of specific
media sequences.
 The social context of media presentations can influence what message is perceived.
 There is a reciprocal relationship between media and learner; each can influence the
other.
Conclusion:

 Certain skills are acquired through observational means, however, mastery of skills are
never achieve. Salomon concluded that the more deeply and actively one viewed
television the more knowledge was retained.
 However, a child that passively watched retained far less information. Inferring from this
observation, the learner has the most control over what knowledge is absorbed.

Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple

Many of us are familiar with three broad categories in which people learn: visual learning,
auditory learning, and kinesthetic learning. Beyond these three categories, many theories of and
approaches toward human learning potential have been established. Among them is the theory of
multiple intelligences developed by Howard Gardner, Ph.D., John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs
Research Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education at
Harvard University. Gardner’s early work in psychology and later in human cognition and
human potential led to his development of the initial six intelligences. Today there are nine
intelligences, and the possibility of others may eventually expand the list.
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Summarized
1. Verbal-linguistic intelligence (well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds,
meanings and rhythms of words)
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence (ability to think conceptually and abstractly, and
capacity to discern logical and numerical patterns)
3. Spatial-visual intelligence (capacity to think in images and pictures, to visualize
accurately and abstractly)
4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (ability to control one’s body movements and to handle
objects skillfully)
5. Musical intelligences (ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber)
6. Interpersonal intelligence (capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods,
motivations and desires of others)
7. Intrapersonal (capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs
and thinking processes)
8. Naturalist intelligence (ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other
objects in nature)
9. Existential intelligence (sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human
existence such as, “What is the meaning of life? Why do we die? How did we get here?”