LEARNING

THEORIES
LEARNING THEORIES
- A coherent framework and set of integrated
concepts and principles that describe, explain or
predict how people learn, how learning occurs, and
what motivates people to learn and change.
LEARNING THEORIES USEFUL TO
HEALTH EDUCATION

•Behavioral learning theory

•Cognitive psychology
•Social learning theory
BEHAVIORAL LEARNING
THEORY
•According to this theory, learning is the result of
connections made between stimulus conditions in the
environment (S) and the individual’s responses (R) .
•Sometimes termed as the S-R model of learning
•Behaviorism assumes that a learner is essentially passive,
responding to environmental stimuli.
•Believes that a learner starts out with a blank slate
(tabularasa), and behavior is shaped by positive
and negative reinforcement.
1. Classical Conditioning Ivan
Pavlov
•Ian Pavlov was a famous Russian
Psychologist
He lived from 1849 to 1936
He made many discovery in psychology
Pavlov won the Nobel prize in psychology
Classical conditioning
• Classical conditioning is a kind of learning in which previously
neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response through its
association with a stimulus that naturally brings about the
response.
• Classical condition is a learning technique associated with the
relation between stimulus and its response
• Classical conditioning involves the interplay between FOUR
elements:
• Conditioned stimulus • Conditioned response
• Unconditioned stimulus • Unconditioned response
FOUR COMPONENTS OF CONDITION
•THE UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS (UCS)
• Is one that unconditionally, naturally and automatically triggers a response

•THE UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE (UCR)

• Is the unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned response

•THE CONDITIONED STIMULUS (CS)

• Ispreviously natural stimulus that, after becoming associate with the unconditioned stimulus,
eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response

•THE CONDITIONED RESPONSE (CR)

• Is the learned response to the previously natural stimulus
Pavlov’s Original Experiment
 Principles of Classical conditioning
1. Systemic Desensitization
- A technique based on respondent conditioning that is used by
psychologists to reduce fear and anxiety in their clients.
- based on the principles that repeated and gradual exposure to fear-
inducing stimulus under relaxed and non-threatening circumstances will give
the patient that sense of security that no harm will come so that he or she no
longer fears the stimulus.
2. Stimulus Generalization
- is the tendency of initial learning experiences to
be easily applied to other similar stimuli.
3. Stimulus Recovery
- A useful respondent conditioning concept that needs to be given
careful consideration in relapse prevention programs.
- Spontaneous recovery helps us understand why it is so difficult
to completely eliminate unhealthy habits and addictive behaviors such
as smoking, alcoholism, and drug abuse.
2. OPERANT
CONDITIONING
B.F. Skinner
• Invented the “Skinner Box”- associated with operant
 conditioning
• “The consequences of an act affect the probability
of it happening again” March 1904 - August 1990

OPERANT CONDITIONING
• “behavior is followed by a consequence, and the nature of the
consequence modifies the organisms tendency to repeat the
behavior in the future”.
• Reinforcement – is defined as any behavioral consequence that
strengthens ( increase the
frequency of behavior) a
behavior

REINFORCEMENT
IN LEARNING
 • POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
– any sequence of behavior that
leads to an increase in the probability of its occurrence
• PUNISHMENT/ NEGATIVE
REINFORCEMENT
- A negative consequence that leads to a
reduction in the frequency of the
behavior that produced it.
OPERANT CONDITIONING PROCEDURES
PROCEDURES PURPOSE APPLICATION
Positive Reinforcement Increase behavior Give reward following
behavior
Negative Reinforcement decrease behavior Remove aversive stimulus
following behavior.
Extinction Decrease behavior DO NOT reward behavior
Punishment Decrease behavior Give aversive stimulus
following behavior or take
away positive stimulus
 WAYS OF EMPLOYING
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
1. Verbal Ways
2. Non-verbal ways
3. Citing in class or publishing on the bulletin board
exceptional works or outputs
 CLASSIFICATION OF EDUCATIONAL REINFORCERS
1. RECOGNITION
• Praise, formal acknowledgement, informal acknowledgement
2. TANGIBLE REWARDS- grades, foods, prizes
3. LEARNING ACTIVITIES
4. SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES
5. STATUS INDICATORS – appointment as a peer tutor or having own
space.
6. INCENTIVE FEEDBACK – increased knowledge of examination
scores or knowledge of individual contributions (helping others)
7. PERSONAL ACTIVITES – opportunity to engage in special projects
and extra time off.
Operant Behaviorism and Education
• Skinner believed that education should maximize
KNOWLEDGE.
• He suggests that teachers should use techniques to produce
meaningful behavioral changes. He favoured the use of
teaching materials, programmed instruction,, and behavior
therapy, for it can provide immediate reinforcement.
• He is AGAINST the use of punishment in classroom.
4 undesirable effects of punishment:
• Punishment only temporarily suppresses behavior, it is not a
permanent solution.
• Punishment produces undesirable emotional reactions such as
frustration, anger, and guilt.
• Actions other than unwanted behavior may also be punished. Red
marks on a term paper and a low grade for misspelled words punish
the errors, also the student’s time and effort in writing paper
• The major shortcoming associated with punishment, however, is that it
does not generate positive behaviors.
COGNITIVE THEORIES OF
LEARNING
 COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY
• Learning is viewed as an active process that occurs within the
learner and which can be influenced by the learner.
• The theory focuses on the inner mental activities. Opening of the
“Black box” of human mind is vital in understanding how people
learn. According to the cognitive school of thought, mental
processes such as thinking, memory, and problem-solving need to
be explored.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
THEORY
• Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Jean Piaget was born in
Neuchâtel (Switzerland) on August 9, 1896. He died
in Geneva on September 16, 1980
• The Swiss psychologist and educator, famous for
his learning theories based on different stages in the
development of children's intelligence.
 Piaget's theory of cognitive
development
• is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human
intelligence.
• It is primarily known as a developmental stage theory, but in fact, it deals
with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans come gradually to
acquire, construct, and use it.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
•Sensori-motor Stage
is the first of the four stages in cognitive development which
"extends from birth to the acquisition of language“.
In this stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by
coordinating experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical,
motoric actions.
• Pre-operational Stage
- covers from about 2-7 years old, roughly corresponding to the
preschool years.
- During this stage, the child learns to use and to represent
objects by images, words, and drawings.
- The child is able to form stable concepts as well as mental
reasoning and magical beliefs.
- The child however is still not able to perform operations; tasks
that the child can do mentally rather than physically.

- Thinking is still egocentric.

This stage is highlighted by the following:
The Symbolic Function
This is the ability to represent objects and events.--- a symbol is a
thing that represents something else.
Egocentrism
- this is the ability of a child to only see his point of view and to
assume that everyone also has his same point of view.
Centration
- this refers to the tendency of the child to only focus on one
aspect of a thing or event and exclude other aspects.
Reversibility
The pre-operational children still has the inability to reverse
their thinking.

Animism
This is the tendency of children to attribute human like
traits or characteristics to inanimate objects.
Transductive Reasoning
This refers to the pre-operational child’s type of reasoning
that is neither inductive or deductive. Reasoning appears
to be from particular to particular i.e., if A causes B, then
B causes A
 •Concrete-operational Stage

This stage, which follows the preoperational

stage, occurs between the ages of 7 and 11 years
and is characterized by the appropriate use of
logic.
Important processes during this stage are:
• Decentering—where the child takes into account multiple aspects
of a problem to solve it.
• Reversibility—the child understands that numbers or objects can
be changed, then returned to their original state.
• Conservation—understanding that quantity, length or number of
items is unrelated to the arrangement or appearance of the object
or items.
• Seriation—the ability to sort objects in an order according to size,
shape, or any other characteristic.
Formal operational Stage
-Intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use
of symbols related to abstract concepts.

-At this point, the person is capable of hypothetical

and deductive reasoning.
This stage is characterized by the following:
•Hypothetical Reasoning
- this is the ability to come up with different hypothesis about a
problem and to gather and weigh data in order to make a final decision or
judgment.

•Analogical Reasoning
- this is the ability to perceive the relationship in one instance and
then use that relationship to narrow down possible answer in another
similar situation or problem.
•Deductive Reasoning
- this is the ability to think logically by applying a general rule to a
particular instance or situation.
 THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
• Multiple intelligences refers to a theory describing the different
ways students learn and acquire information. These multiple
intelligences range from the use of words, numbers, pictures and
music, to the importance of social interactions, introspection, physical
movement and being in tune with nature.
- Accordingly, an understanding of which type(s) of
intelligence a student may possess can help teachers adjust
learning styles, and suggest certain career paths for
 Intelligence Skills and Career Preferences

1. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence Skills - Listening, speaking, writing,

Well-developed verbal skills and teaching.
sensitivity to the sounds, Careers - Poet, journalist, writer, teacher,
meanings and rhythms of words lawyer, politician, translator

2. Mathematical-Logical Skills - Problem solving (logical & math),

Intelligence Ability to think performing experiments
conceptually and abstractly, and Careers - Scientists, engineers,
capacity to discern logical or accountants, mathematicians
numerical patterns
3. Musical Intelligence Skills - Singing, playing instruments,
Ability to produce and appreciate composing music
rhythm, pitch and timber Careers - Musician, disc jockey, singer,
composer

4. Visual-Spatial Intelligence Skills - puzzle building, painting,

Capacity to think in images and pictures, constructing, fixing, designing objects
to visualize accurately and abstractly Careers - Sculptor, artist, inventor,
architect, mechanic, engineer

5. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence Skills - Dancing, sports, hands on

Ability to control one's body movements experiments, acting
and to handle objects skillfully Careers - Athlete, PE teacher, dancer, actor,
firefighter
6. Interpersonal Intelligence Capacity to Skills - Seeing from other perspectives,
detect and respond appropriately to the empathy, counseling, co-operating
moods, motivations and desires of Careers - Counselor, salesperson,
others politician, business person, minister

7. Intrapersonal Intelligence Skills - Recognize one’s S/W, reflective,

Capacity to be self-aware and in tune aware of inner feelings
with inner feelings, values, beliefs and Careers - Researchers, theorists,
thinking processes philosophers
8. Naturalist Intelligence Skills - Recognize one’s connection to
Ability to recognize and categorize nature, apply science theory to life
plants, animals and other objects in Careers – Scientist, naturalist, landscape
nature architect

9. Existential Intelligence Skills – Reflective and deep thinking,

Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep design abstract theories
questions about human existence, Careers – Scientist, philosopher,
such as the meaning of life, why do we theologian
die, and how did we get here
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
• Social learning theory is largely based on the work of Albert Bandura
(1977, 2001), who mapped out a perspective on learning that includes
consideration of the personal characteristics of the learner, behavior
patterns, and the environment.
• this theory has gone through several “paradigm shifts”
• One of Bandura’s early observations was that individuals need not
have direct experiences to learn; considerable learning occurs by
taking note of other people’s behavior and what happens to them.
Bandura’s Social Theory Model
•first step in Bandura’s model is the attentional phase, a
necessary condition for any learning to occur.
•The second step comprises the retention phase, which
involves the storage and retrieval of what was observed.
•a certain type of behavior.
•Third is the reproduction phase, during which the
learner copies the observed behavior. Mental rehearsal,
 immediate enactment, and corrective feedback
strengthen the reproduction of behavior.
•The fourth step is the motivational phase, which focuses
on whether the learner is motivated to perform
PEDAGOGY VS ANDRAGOGY
• PEDAGOGY is the art and science of helping children to learn.
• ANDRAGOGY is the art and science of helping adult to learn.
• Adult learning is more learner-centered
• The learner become more independent self directed human being
• Previous experiences of the adult serves as a rich source for learning
• Readiness to learn is more oriented to the developmental tasks of social roles.
• Shift of learning orientation from being subject-centered to problemoriented.
•