Teaching and Learning

UNIT 1 TEACHING AND LEARNING

Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Objectives
1.3 Concept of Learning
1.4 Concept of Teaching
1.5 Theories of Learning
1.5.1 Behaviourist Views
1.5.2 Skinner’s Theory of Operant Conditioning
1.5.3 Cognitive Approach
1.5.4 Synthesis of Behaviourism and Cognitive Approach
1.6 Relationship of Teaching and Learning
1.7 Activities that Facilitate Learning
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Unit-end Exercises
1.10 Suggested Readings

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Curriculum framework and its transaction through the use of text books and various
teaching and evaluation strategies facilitate teaching-learning process. Teaching and
learning are closely related. ‘Learning’ is a dynamic process aimed at bringing about
changes in children’s behaviour and experience, thereby enabling them to acquire
new skills and to improve upon them in new situations. It involves a dynamic
interaction between the teacher and the learner through a process called ‘teaching’.
In this unit, we will discuss the concept of learning and teaching and their relationship.
The theories of learning and their educational implication will also be explained. The
teaching activities which are aimed at facilitating learning will also be discussed.

1.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
! discuss the concept and process of learning,
! describe the concept and process of teaching,
! list and explain various theories of learning and their educational implications,
! explain the relationship of teaching and learning,
! describe the activities which facilitate learning.

1.3 CONCEPT OF LEARNING

Learning is a natural process of growth or change in a person which is manifested
as new modes or patterns of behaviour. This change exhibits itself as a skill, a habit,
an attitude an understanding, or as knowledge or an application. Learning is a relatively
permanent change in behaviour and is the result of reinforced practice through the
process of “stimulus and response”. This definition of learning assumes that certain
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Teaching and Learning conditions in the environment bring about fundamental changes in our behaviour that
persist for a long time. The changes which result from learning are positive and
active, not negative and inert. Learning is not directly observable but inferred from
one’s performance. We can infer that a person has learnt something when he does
something, which he could not do before. A person may know some thing and yet
may not have learnt it. You may know how a computer works, but may not be able
to operate it. Thus the distinction between learning or acquisition of knowledge (i.e.
capability) and performance (i.e., exhibiting this capacity in some form of action) is
an important one. We use the term ‘behavioural tendency’ to maintain the distinction
between learning and performance. The relatively permanent change in behaviour
refers to a change in performance.
We can also define learning in terms of cognitive development. Cognitivists say that
learning is a change or reorganization of cognitive structures, which involves
acquisition and transformation of new knowledge. Thus we may conclude that learning
is a change in knowledge, skills, attitudes and values brought about through experiences
and this change in knowledge may or may not be expressed in overt behaviour.
However, it may be pointed that all behaviours cannot be related to learning. Some
behavioural changes are due to biological development or maturation. In maturation,
growth developments are independent of specific learning conditions. A child starts
walking once his/her legs are strong enough to support his/her weight.
The child is born with the potential to mature and at successive age levels, grasp and
learn language, ways of behaving, attitudes, and values of his/her cultures he is born
also with potential for reorganising and remoulding many aspects of his culture in
harmony with changing conditions and needs. Thus, the child is a product of culture
(environment), as much as he is of biology (heredity). Through maturation and
learning, the child acquires a culture. The process through which the child is taught
the cultural ways that society accepts him to follow is termed as ‘enculturation’. In
this process, the child adjusts his innate (heredity) biological characteristics to the
prevailing cultural practices in society.

1.4 CONCEPT OF TEACHING

The purpose of teaching is to help a child to learn. Teaching is not only confined to
the act of disseminating information to children in classroom situations. It is a
process which involves stimulation, guidance, direction and encouragement of learning
among children. Stimulation causes motivation in the child to learn new things.
Teaching is not a haphazard activity but a goal-directed activity which leads to
predetermined behaviour. The activities of the child in teaching are directed and
controlled, taking into consideration the economy of time and efficiency of learning.
In the process of teaching, the child is guided to develop his capabilities, skills,
attitudes and knowledge to the maximum for adequate adjustment and learning.
Teaching is a communication between two or more persons who influence each other
by their ideas and learn something in the process of interaction. It is a process in
which the learner, teacher, curriculum and other related variables are organized in a
systematic way to attain some pre-determined goal.
Teaching is an educational communication. Here the input is knowledge, skills,
standards and values of a society, interwoven in a particular subject matter. This input
is supplied and managed by the teacher. When he puts forth facts, ideas, attitudes,
statement, etc. ‘coding’ takes place as messages which are coded into sound, visual
images, printed words and non-verbal messages. Thus coding is the process of making
the desired input visible or audible to the students. The channels of communication
are the sound or visual signals produced by the teacher, chalk and board or even the
10 audio-visual signals that convey the message to the students accurately and clearly.
 Teaching and Learning
Check Your Progress
Notes : a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
1. Define Learning.
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2. Define Teaching.
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1.5 THEORIES OF LEARNING

Learning is based on philosophical and psychological ideas and principles about
human nature which have given rise to various learning theories. The prominent
learning theories we intend to discuss in this unit are behaviourism, cognitivism and
the possible synthesis of the two:

1.5.1 Behaviourist Views

Behaviourism is one of the most dominant among the modern theories of learning.
The behaviourist school is very comprehensive and it includes a variety of thoughts.
However, all these thoughts suggest a common approach to learning in terms of the
development of connections in the organism between stimuli(S) and response(R).
Based on laboratory experiments with animals, behaviourists concluded that learning
is a process by which stimulus and response bonds are established when a successful
response immediately and frequently follows a stimulus. They assumed that people
are similar to machines, and considered any reference to the rule of mind irrelevant.
BEHAVIOURISM holds that the subject matter of human psychology is the behaviour
or activities of human beings. The behaviourists have put forward three main laws
of learning: Law of Effect, Law of Readiness and Law of Exercise. The Law of
Effect stresses the importance of the effect of a response. Satisfying results reinforce
the response while annoying results weaken it. Reward and punishment are, therefore,
important ingredients of learning. The law of readiness indicates the student’s
willingness to make S-R connection while the law of exercise relates to strengthening
the connection through practice.
Behaviourists consider learning a formation of habit through conditioning which
links desired responses to stimuli. The prominent theorist among them is B.F. Skinner
who propagated the idea of operant conditioning.

Educational implications
The Behaviourist approach to learning has significantly influenced modern educational
practices. Behaviourists have conceived teaching as manipulation of environment to
produce desired behavioural changes in learners and thus make education more
effective. They suggest the adoption of the following three principles in the teaching-
learning process:
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Teaching and Learning ! Knowledge of result and use of positive reinforcement,
! Minimum delay in reinforcement, and
! Elaboration of complex behaviour by dividing learning into a series of small
steps.
One of the major contributions of behaviourists to education is their emphasis on
defining teaching objectives in behavioural terms. They have stressed the need for
stating objectives in the form of overt behaviour which can be observed and measured.
The role of teachers becomes very crucial in deciding the changes of behaviour in
their students when they learn and teaching in such a way that can students make
attain those behavioural changes.
Behaviourist principles have influenced the contemporary approaches to evaluation
also. For instance, based on the hierarchy of learning outcomes, Bloom has suggested
a model of ‘taxonomy of educational objectives’.
Another educational implication of the behaviourist approach is individualizing
instruction such as ‘Personalized System Instruction (PSI)’ based on the reinforcement
theory that has been widely used in education.

1.5.2 Skinner’s Theory of Operant Conditioning

Skinner propagated the theory related to stimulus-response behaviour and
reinforcement. In his view, learning is a change in behaviour. As the student learns,
his responses in terms of changed behaviour increase. He therefore, formally defines
learning as a change in the likelihood or probability of a response.
The operant conditioning is a learning force which effects desired response more
frequently by providing reinforcing stimulus immediately following the response.
The most important principle of this type of learning is that behaviour changes
according to its immediate consequences. Pleasurable consequences strengthen
behaviour while unpleasant consequences weaken it.
In operant conditioning, learning objectives are divided into many small steps/
tasks and reinforced one by one for teaching purpose. The operant — the response
behaviour of act — is strengthened so as to increase the probability of its reoccurrence
in the future. Three external conditions — reinforcement, contiguity and practice
— must be provided in operant conditioning.
! Reinforcement
The most important aspect of Skinner’s theory of learning relates to the role of
reinforcement. An organism is presented with a particular stimulus — a reinforcer —
after it makes a response. In given situation, the organism will tend to repeat responses
for which it is reinforced.
Skinner distinguished between positive and negative reinforcements. Positive
reinforcement is a stimulus, which increases the probability of desired response.
The positive reinforcement is a positive reward. Praise, smiles, prize money, a funny
television program etc. are the examples of positive reinforcement. In negative
reinforcement, the desired behaviour is more likely to occur if such stimulus
reinforcement is removed. For example, we can close windows and doors to avoid
hearing loud noise; we can avoid wrong answers by giving right answers. Here
‘noise’ and ‘wrong answers’ are negative reinforcers. Thus a negative reinforcer is a
negative reward the avoidance of which gives us relief from unpleasant state of
affairs. Skinner did not equate negative reinforcement with punishment.

Educational implications
The basic implication of operant conditioning to teaching/instructional activities is
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dependency on observable behaviour. For Skinner, reinforcement facilitates learning.
Further, he thinks that the most effective control on human learning requires Teaching and Learning
instrumental aids/teaching aids. Broadly, Skinner’s theory has made the following
contribution to the practice of education in teaching.
! Teaching Machine: Teaching machine, in the sense of a systematic approach to
teaching with the help of machines, deserves attention as it has strongly influenced
education both in theory and practice. In this approach, machines present the
individual students with programmes containing a set of questions to be answered,
problems to be solved, or exercises to be done. In addition, they provide automatic
feedback to the students. Teaching through machines and electronic gadgets
encourages students to take an active part in the instruction process. Use of
mechanical teaching devices has the following advantages:
i) Right answer is immediately reinforced. Machines encourage and force the
students to come up with right answers.
ii) Mere manipulation of the machines probably, will reinforce sufficiently to
keep an average student busy at a task for a prescribed period.
iii) Any student who is forced to leave a learning activity for a period of time
may return at any time and continue from where he left off.
iv) Each student may proceed with his learning task on an individual basis at his
own pace.
v) The teacher is forced to arrange and design the course content carefully in
a hierarchical order.
vi) There is constant interaction between the teaching material and the student,
thus sustaining activities.
vii) After knowing about the progress of the student, the teacher can supply
necessary supplementary reinforcement. Thus, machines make it compulsory
that a given material be thoroughly understood before the student moves on
to the next set of material.

Check Your Progress

Notes : a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
3. What are the Behaviourist principles of learning?
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4. What is Skinner’s Theory of Operant Conditioning?
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Teaching and Learning ! Programmed instruction: Programmed instruction is a self-learning system
in which the subject matter is broken into small bits of information and
presented in a logical sequences. Each step builds deliberately upon the
preceding one.A student progresses through the theme that is being taught
through the program. At the end of each step there is a question to be answered
by the learner. After the question is answered, the learner is expected to check
his/her answer with the correct answer supplied in the program. This is an in-
built feature of programmed material.
Let us sum up Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning in the following table:

S. No. Basic Element Explanation

1. Assumption Behavioural change is a function of environmental
conditions and events
2. Learning Change in behaviour represented by response
3. Learning outcomes New responses/behaviour
4. Component of learning Stimulus, (discrimination) — Response — Stimulus
(reinforcement)
5. Applications to educational – Analysis of readiness and motivation
practice or teaching
– Individual learning materials
– Teaching machines
– Analysis of aversive classroom practices and interactive
classroom situations
– Scheduling reinforcement
– Transfer to response-stimulus relationship to the
solution of the new problem.

1.5.3 Cognitive Approach

Cognitive approaches mainly deal with the psychological aspects of human behaviour.
We discuss this approach in detail along with its application to educational practices.
‘Cognitive psychology’ has taken an important place in the psychology of learning
over the last three decades. While conducting experimental investigations, cognitivism
takes into consideration activities such as perception, concept formation, language
use, thinking, understanding, problem solving, attention and memory. Thus, the
cognitive approach is concerned with the individual’s inner psychological functioning.
Cognitive theorists have investigated and shown that people learn by perceiving,
comprehending and conceptualizing the problem. The comprehension of concepts
and rules, etc. is transferable to the solution of new problems. The cognitive theorists
argue that people grasp things as a whole, and therefore, oppose the Behaviourist
approach to teaching which employed drills to memorise the information.
They believe, learning is both a question of ‘insight’ formation and successful problem
solving, and not a mechanical sequence of stimuli and responses. Thus, teaching
according to cognitivists, should encourage understanding based on ‘problem solving’
and ‘insight formation’.
! Information processing
The contemporary cognitivists equate human mental activities with the process that
goes on in a ‘computer’ in operation. They conceptualize human beings as information
processing system. The information processing system describes a psychological
activity in terms of information being received by the senses and then information
items being selected and passed on to short-term memory where encoding processes
transfer them to the long-term memory. Long term memory provides a store room
14 where information can be retrieved in order to make a response.
There are a number of elements, which are central to the cognitive theory of learning. Teaching and Learning
To begin with, the individual is seen as one having active relationship with the
environment. He has intentions and goals, and thinks of alternative strategies to
achieve these goals. Thinking is essentially a purposive activity. Learning is, therefore,
an intelligent and active process. Within this process, issues of perception are very
important because perceptual activity is the first relationship between a person and
his environment or situation. The individual interacts with the situation and this
interaction leads to relativity in perception as he organizes the stimulus into meaningful
patterns. Thus an individual acquires knowledge through his interaction with the
environment and stores it for using this in new situations.
! Learning as a cognitive process
Learning has been conceived as a cognitive process. In the process of learning,
certain changes in the cognitive structure take place that help the individual in
development and understanding of the concept that is being learnt or taught.
Thus, learning goals are not achieved simply by doing but by grasping the meaning
of things in a way that can be transferred for finding the solution to new problems.
Feedback: One of the important elements of the cognitive approach is the notion of
‘feedback’. The learning situation is seen as one in which an individual confronts a
problem, develops a hypothesis based on his knowledge in his memory and then tries
it out. The consequences of his action then provide him feedback so that the correct
solutions are confirmed and the incorrect ones rejected.

Educational Implications
What is the relationship of this school of thought to educational practices especially
teaching? Cognitive psychologists have investigated complex mental behaviours in a
scientific way and their views are becoming increasingly important in their application
to education and instruction. The major emphasis of this approach is on how to
design educational activities to promote cognitive learning. We describe below the
major educational implications of the cognitive approach for classroom teaching.
i) The most important aspect of the cognitive approach to education relates to
promoting retention of knowledge acquired through learning. The ability to retain
knowledge depends on how best it is understood. ‘Understanding’ can help us
spreading mentally the information we store in our memory and create new
cognitive structures to efficiently use long-term memory.
ii) Teaching materials should be planned on the basis of the theory of discovery.
Instructional methods, therefore, should emphasize the spontaneous discovery
competency of the learner. It indicates that active learning methods should be
adopted to motivate the learner to rediscover the facts or find solutions to the
problems.
iii) This approach emphasizes, appropriate decisions regarding the instructional
objectives, analysis of pre-requisite behaviour, and teaching methods.
iv) Besides, it stresses problem-oriented learning. It gives a detailed description of
how to teach in a reflective way by raising problems and solving them.
v) Lastly, it emphasizes the study of learner characteristics, which can be used by
the teacher to expand the quality and quantity of students’ insights.
Let us compare behaviourism and cognitivism through a schematic representation of
both approaches to learning.

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Teaching and Learning Elements Behaviourist approach Cognitive approach
Basic premise Learning is a function of Learning involves a
environmental conditions, stimuli perceptual reorganization.
and responses. Learning is related to
Stimulus substitution i.e. existing insights. Emphasis on
becomes associated with new information processing and
stimuli. Concentrates on observed human memory.
response and ignore, the mental
processes.
Learning Formula Stimulus-Response-Reinforcement Stimulus-Cognitive
Processes

Process Learning Relationship between stimulus and Learning as insight

response

Entry behaviour Entry behaviour determines the Previous knowledge is used

starting point from which as base from which a
complex behaviour can be learner can develop his own
conditioned new cognitive structure

Motivation Organic drives such as hunger, Goal, curiosity and

fear, anger, love, etc. expectation.

Major contribution Analysis of readiness and Linking new learning to

motivation. Transfer of stimulus cognitive structure.
control scheduling. Providing aids in
Reinforcement analysis of comprehension. Problem
aversive classroom practice. solving and long term
Individualized learning materials. memory.

Check Your Progress

Notes : a) Write your answer in the space given below.
b) Compare your answer with those given at the end of this unit.
5. Identify three important educational implications of the cognitive approach to
learning.
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! Phases of learning
Gagne has identified nine phases of cognitive process that are essential to learning
and which need to be executed in sequential order. The phases of learning are the
typical series of external and internal conditions that constitute a single learning act.
The ‘internal conditions’ of learning include two factors — learner’s psychological
states and cognitive process required for learning. The internal process may be
16 influenced by external events in the form of environmental stimulation.
The functions of the nine phases of Gagne are categorized as: Teaching and Learning

i) Preparation for learning,

ii) Acquisition and performance, and
iii) Transfer of learning.
The importance of these phases is that they are present in every act of learning and
are performed in different ways for different varieties of learning. Preparation for
learning initiates the individual to the learning task. In contrast, acquisition and
performance represent the learning of the new capability. Depending on the complexity
of the skill to be learned, these phases may require a varying number of sessions (one
to several sessions). Finally, transfer of learning may take place a few days after
acquisition of the new skill. A brief account of the categories is given below:

Category Phases and their Functions

Preparation for learning Drawing learner’s attention to the stimulus. Informing the
learner of learning goals/objectives.
Acquisition of performance Presenting stimulus material. Permitting temporary storage of
stimulus features in working memory.
Transferring of stimulus features and related information to
long-term memory. Retrieving stored information. Activating
response.
Providing information and feedback about the correctness of
performance.
Transfer of learning Providing additional cues for later recall of capability and
assessment of performance (cues retrieval).
Enhancing retention and transfer of learning to new situations/
context (Generalisation).

External conditions responsible for learning are very important in various types of
learning. A brief description of these conditions of learning are given below:
1) Contiguity: One of the basic conditions of learning is contiguity — the almost
simultaneous occurrence of the stimuli and responses. In teaching we are always
interested in making the students build up associations between particular stimulus
and responses.
3) Practice: Practice is the repetition of a response in the presence of a stimulus.
We usually need to practice or repeat S-R (stimulus — response) associations to
retain them for relatively longer periods of time. For new stimuli and new
responses, more practice is required. In all types of learning under S – R situations,
practice is of crucial importance. However, in concept learning, principal learning
and problem solving, it is of minor importance, if the other conditions of learning
such as reinforcement are provided appropriately.
3) Reinforcement: Reinforcement is a major condition for learning because of the
complexity of the concept and because of its importance, it should be known
extensively. We can use reinforcement in different ways to produce different
effects. i.e. to effect different types of learning in our students. In the process of
reinforcement an organism is presented with a particular stimulus (reinforcer)
before and after it elicits desired respsonses. In a given situation, the organism
will tend to repeat the responses for which it is reinforced and to discontinue
responses for which it is not reinforced. We can distinguish a reinforcer from
other stimuli because it has a particular effect on behaviour. A positive reinforcer
is a positive reward while a negative reinforcer is a stimulus, which gives us
relief from an unpleasant state of affairs.
4) Feedback or knowledge of correct responses also functions as reinforcement to
strengthen the responses to be learned. The term ‘feedback’ stresses the informative 17
Teaching and Learning aspect of teacher’s function. There are various ways in which feedback may be
provided. The importance of providing feedback has sparked several technological
innovations, including programmed instruction and computer-assisted instruction.
Learning efficiency often increases when the student receives feedback before
moving to new learning materials. Available evidences indicate that active
responding with direct feedback is superior to passive responding with indirect
feedback.
Very weak reinforcement may sufficiently be effective in controlling one’s
behaviour if it is wisely used. We cannot say that a particular consequence is in
fact a reinforcer until we have evidence that it has strengthened the behaviour of
the individual concerned.
5) Generalization and discrimination: Both of these are closely associated with
the basic conditions of contiguity, practice and reinforcement, which are basic to
all learning. The complex learning behaviour can be described in terms of stimulus
generalization and discrimination. In many situations, we observe that a child
when confronted with a new stimulus makes a response he had previously learnt
to make to similar types of stimulus. We call this behaviour ‘generalization’.
When a child is taught to call a particular colour ‘red’, he also learns to call
similar hues ‘red’. Under discrimination, the individual makes different responses
to two or more stimuli. A child for example can learn to select red colour and
not pink. To the extent he learns to pick up red and ignore pink, he has learnt
to discriminate.

1.5.4 Synthesis of Behaviourism and Cognitive Approach

The behaviourists concentrate on the external stimulus and conditions of environment
for learning or bringing about changes in behaviour. The cognitive theories, on the
other hand, stress the internal conditions of learning, viz., perceptual reorganization,
insight, information processing and memory. But in reality, learning depends on both
external and internal conditions. To make this point clear we present below the views
of Gagne whose approach is said to be a synthesis of cognitivism and behaviourism.

Gagne’s views on learning

Robern M. Gagne is a prominent educational psychologist whose ‘conditions of
learning’ are generally employed in teaching-learning process. He identifies the factors
that account for the complex nature of human learning. His viewpoints are often used
to underpin the mechanistic instructional technology that is associated with behaviour
modification and performance or competency-based education. For Gagne, ‘learning
is a change in human disposition or capability, which can be retained, and which
is not simply ascribable to the process of growth’. According to him, learning is
a process that takes place inside an individual’s brain (comparable to the organic
processes such as digestion and respiration). The most important aspect of learner
is ‘his senses, his central nervous system, and his muscles’. Gagne combines a
basic behaviourist position with elements of cognitive thought and builds a hierarchical
model of the different types of learning. Gagne shows the way in which a unifying
theory may be able to explain how different kinds of learning relate to each other.
He synthesises the existing learning theories and has tried to provide a consistent
explanation for all types of learning.
Gagne puts forward a set of psychological principles of learning. For example, learners
learn best when information is presented in logical sequence consisting of short units
with clear framework.

Conditions of Learning
Gagne distinguishes eight conditions of learning, or varieties of learning, beginning
18 with the simple forms and ending with the complex ones. Although Gagne refers to
these conditions as learning types, he is primarily interested in observable behaviour Teaching and Learning
and performance, which is the product of each condition. In this condition of learning
he combines a basic behaviourist thought with cognitive theory into a hierarchical
model of different types of learning. Here, we shall give a brief description of the
phases of learning advocated by Gagne.
! Varieties of learning
Gagne identifies five categories or varieties of learning which include: (i) verbal
information skill; (ii) intellectual skill; (iii) motor skill; (iv) attitudes; (v) and cognitive
strategies. Each type of learning is acquired in a different set of prerequisite skills
and a different set of cognitive processing (i.e. internal conditions of learning) is
required to support the learner’s cognitive processes during learning. Thus, learning
is the result of interaction between a learner’s internal (state and cognitive processes)
and external events (of interaction/stimulus) variables. In other words, Gagne attempts
to synthesize the basic principles of cognitivism and behaviourism. The varieties of
learning identified by Gagne are summarized below:
1. Verbal Information Skill: Verbal information skill provides ability to state/
recall information (fact, definitions, labels, etc.) This has to be developed to meet
the needs of a particular subject matter.
2. Intellectual Skill: Intellectual skills are the most important skills involving the
mental operations. They include conceptualization of environment; discriminating
between things; understanding concepts, seeing relationships between things.
Reading, writing and handling of numbers are the other abilities, which also
come under this variety. These abilities range from the simple to the complex.
3. Motor skills: Motor skills are physical skills. They include a sequence of physical
movements.
4. Cognitive strategies: Cognitive strategies include learner’s thinking, remembering
and learning the procedures we use for ordering and processing information
internally. They are learned over long periods.
5. Attitudes: Attitudes are deep-rooted in us and we find it difficult to change them.
They determine our predisposition to positive and negative responses towards an
object. Our attitudes strongly affect our motivation for learning.

Educational implications of Gagne’s theory of learning

We present here three broad educational implications of Gagne’s theory of learning
to teaching.
i) Prerequisite behaviour: Gagne advocated those processes of learning that move
from the simple to the complex. The learner has to develop the prerequisite
capabilities before he acquires new terminal behaviour. Thus, the use of a hierarchy
of learning and task analysis is an integral part of instructional activities.
ii) Learners’ characteristics: Learners’ individual differences, readiness and
motivation to learn are the important issues to be considered before designing
instructional activities.
iii) Cognitive process and instruction: Transfer of learning and the students’ skills
of problem solving are integral parts of internal conditions of learning applicable
to the instruction. The skill of learning ‘how to learn’ should be developed in the
learner. The emphasis should be on the individuality of the learner.

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Teaching and Learning
1.6 RELATIONSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
There is a close relationship between teaching and learning. A teacher is said to be
teaching when it is helping someone else to learn. The quality of a teacher’s teaching
is directly related to the quality and value of the learning that is taking place in his
students. A teacher and his students interact and communicate, generally, under three
types of relationships: i) authoritarian; (ii) democratic; and (iii) laissez-faire. However,
in actual classroom situations, we find that these three types of relationships overlap.
For example, a teacher is not always democratic. Sometimes he turns out to be
authoritative or laissez-faire. Different types of relationship create distinctive
personality characteristics in students. The students taught by an authoritarian teacher
develop apathy and dependency characteristics. They lack the capacity for initiation
and group action and show no interest in their work.
A democratic teacher respects the individuality of his students. He creates such an
environment in which students freely communicate with each other. The students in
this type of relationship show a high level of efficiency and habit of independent
work.
A laissez-faire teacher is quite opposite to an authoritarian teacher. He does not direct
or guide students’ activities. In a laissez-faire relationship, the students are more co-
operative.
The teaching-learning process, generally operates at three levels which include:
i) Memory level; ii) understanding level; and (iii) reflective level. Memory level of
teaching-learning means committing factual information to memory. If we observe
teachers in the classrooms, we will find that in majority of the cases the teaching is
being carried out at memory level. The teacher gives factual material which students
memorize without understanding it. This type of teaching seems to be based on the
S-R conditioning theory of learning in which bondage is formed between the stimuli
(S) and response (R) without involving any purpose. Cognitive field psychologists
point out that if anything is learned, it involves insight but insight involved in memory
learning has no significant relationship to the material being studied. The material
learned is patterned by the learner. It may be noted that teaching students at the
primary stage is mostly carried out at memory level to teach fundamental skills such
as spellings and rules of arithmetic etc.
Teaching-learning at the understanding level emphasizes the comprehension of the
meaning of something when it is taken out of that particular context. It means seeing
solitary facts in relation to general principles. Comprehension means mastery of the
subject matter. It is reached when thorough understanding of the subject matter is
gained through planned learning. It involves exploration, presentation, assimilation,
organization and recitation through oral presentation or in the form of a written
paper. This type of teaching-learning can be carried out with the students in senior
primary classes.
Reflective level of teaching-learning is at the highest in the hierarchical order of
mental processes. It is not an isolated and unitary process of memorizing factual
information for future recall but it seeks to know how knowledge changes, grows and
is interpreted. Students, at this level, develop curiosity, interest, inquiry and persistence
which culminates in a scientifically determined conclusion or solution of a problem.
Teaching-learning at reflective level involves careful and critical examination of an
idea or problem through the ‘problem solving approach’. It is only possible at the
high school and college level because older learners (students) have usually developed
certain habits and abilities that were not strong in earlier years.

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 Teaching and Learning
Check Your Progress
Notes : a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
6. What is Gagne’s Theory of Learning?
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7. What are the educational implications of Gagne’s Theory of learning to teaching.
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1.7 ACTIVITIES THAT FACILITATE LEARNING

A classroom teacher performs a number of activities, which are aimed at facilitating
learning. These activities are:
1. Presenting the material: The teacher present the prescribed materials, which are
available in part or some other form. The teacher is supposed to breathe life into
the text and help the learner communicate with it.
2. Identifying the objectives: The syllabus and very often, the prescribed text itself
make it clear as to what educational objectives are to be achieved through a
particular course. But practically, it is the teacher who identifies them and states
them in behavioural terms for the learner. It is the teacher who points to what
is significant and what trivial, what needs more attention, and for what purpose.
3. Motivation and learner: To reduce distraction, the teacher provides motivation.
He brings learners to a state of readiness in which learning takes place more
easily. All of us know of teachers whose very name or presence provides enough
motivation for a successful teaching exercises. And then there are teachers who
are demotivating in most of the situations.
4. Exploiting learner’s experience: Good teachers build on learners’ experiences.
One and the same concept may be brought home to rural learners with the help
of their experiences and to those of urban learners with theirs.
5. Providing learning activities: Once a new concept is taught or a new piece of
information is given, the teacher promotes learning through learning activities.
For example, after having taught formula, the teacher asks learners to apply their
learning to work out the solution of a few problems.
6. Facilitating retention: Just knowing about a concept, does not amount to having
learnt it. The learner should be able to retain it in his memory. Good teachers use
different ways and means to help their students to improve their retention through
exercise.
7. Promoting transfer of learning: Having learnt a concept or obtained any new
learning, the learner should be able to transfer his learning to various issues
within and across various disciplines. For example, if we have learnt about the
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Teaching and Learning notion of Relativity in physics, we should be able to think of a different kind of
Relativity in sociology. Besides, transfer also means facilitating further learning.
Used in either sense, transfer is provided by the teacher in the classroom through
various means.
8. Providing occasion for feedback: For successful teaching, two way feedback is
needed from the learner to the teacher, and vice versa. The teacher provides
occasion for this exchange. For example, he puts a few questions to see whether
or not the learners have learnt what he taught.
It is worth noting that each individual learns as a result of his own efforts and
successes. No teacher can learn anything for him. The teacher’s task is to understand
and encourage the child, to watch for an appropriate psychological moment when he
has a high degree of readiness to learn a specific task, to guide him into making a
response, and then to reinforce his natural satisfaction in his own success. The
learning that occurs in a child through experiences provided by the teacher starts
from what he has previously learnt and moves in directions that are determined by
the needs and interests he feels at the particular moment. A teacher is effective if he
is able to identify the child’s own purposes and feelings of need. It is through the
identification of these keys, the teacher unlocks the doors of learning in any direction
that the child can see as significant for the satisfaction of his own purposes and
needs.

1.8 LET US SUM UP

Teaching and learning have a positive significant relationship. Effective teaching
facilitates learning. Learning is a process aimed at bringing about progressive
behavioural changes in an individual (learner). The change is manifested as new
modes or patterns of behaviour in the form of skill, a habit, an attitude, an
understanding, or as knowledge. Effective teaching assist the child to develop his
capabilities, skills, attitudes and knowledge to the maximum for adequate learning.
Learning is both complex and organized. Motivation is an essential feature of learning.
Learning involves processes in which responses are both discriminating and
generalized. The responses made can be observed on a continuum which range from
the ‘random’ to the ‘insightful’.
Philosophical and psychological ideas and principles have given rise to various learning
theories of which behaviourism and cognitivism are most prominent. Behaviourists
talk about ‘chains’ of responses. They approach learning in terms of the development
of connections in the organism between Stimulus (S) and Response (R). Both stimulus
and response are complex and patterned phenomena. The main laws of learning,
according to behaviourists are law of effect, law of readiness and law of exercise. The
law of effect stresses the importance of the effect of response. The law of readiness
indicates the students willingness to make S-R connection while the law of exercise
relates to strengthening the connection through practice. Behaviourists suggest the
adoption of three principles in the learning process which include:
i) knowledge of result and use of positive reinforcement,
ii) minimum delay in reinforcement and
iii) elaboration of complex behaviour by dividing learning into a series of small
steps. One of the major contributions of behaviourists to education is their emphasis
on defining teaching objectives in behavioural terms and individualising instruction
based on reinforcement theory.
Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning is based on stimulus-response behaviour
and reinforcement. The learning objectives are divided into small steps or tasks and
reinforced one by one for teaching/instructional purpose. Programmed Instruction
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and teaching machine are the contributions of operant conditioning. Teaching and Learning

Cognition lay emphasis on perception, concept formation, problem solving, attention

and insight formation. People learn by perceiving, comprehending and conceptualizing
the problem.
Cognitive approach stresses problem-oriented learning in which previous knowledge
is used as a base from which a learner can develop his own new cognitive structure.
Gagne synthesized the basic principles of cognitivism and behaviourism. He
emphasizes that learning is the result of interaction between learners internal (state
and cognitive processes) and external (events of instruction/stimulus) variables.
There is a close relationship between teaching and learning. A teacher is said to be
teaching when it is helping someone else to learn. The quality of a teacher’s teaching
is directly related to the quality of learning that is taking place in his students.
A teacher interacts with his students under three types of relationships; viz.,
authoritative, democratic and laissez-faire. These relationships create distinctive
personality characteristics among the students.
The teaching-learning process generally operates at three levels;
i) memory level;
ii) understanding level; and
iii) reflective level.
Memory level of teaching-learning means committing factual information to memory
without involving any purpose. Teaching learning at the understanding level involves
exploration, presentation, assimilation, organization and recitation through oral
presentation or in the form of written notes. Reflective level is at the highest in the
hierarchical order of the mental process. The students at this level develop curiosity,
interest, inquiry and persistence which culminates in a scientifically determined
conclusion or solution of a problem.

1.9 UNIT-END EXERCISES

1. What is learning? How it is related to teaching? Describe some activities which
you (as teacher) can perform to facilitate learning.
2. Draw a comparison between the behaviourist approach and cognitive approach
to learning. Discuss the educational implications of both the approaches for a
classroom teacher.

1.10 SUGGESTED READINGS

Anderson, J.R. (1980), Cognitive Psychology and Its Implications, San Francisco:
Freeman.
Ausuble, D.P. (1963), The Psychology of Meaningful Verbal Learning, New York:
Grune and Start.
Bower, G.H., and Hilgard, E.R. (1981), Theories of Learning, Prentice Hall.
Frendsen, Arden N. (1961), Educational Psychology — The Principles of Learning
and Teaching, New York: McGraw Hill.
Gagne, Robert M. (1970), The Conditions of Learning, New York: Holt, Rinehaut and
Winston.
Kakkar, S.B. (1993), Educational Psychology, New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India
Pvt. Ltd. 23
Teaching and Learning Kuppuswami, B. (1964), Advanced Educational Psychology, Jullander: University
Publishes.
Stephens, J.M. and E.D. Evans (1973), Development and Classroom Learning, New
York: Holt, Richart and Eindyon.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Learning is a natural process of growth or change in an individual which is
manifested as new modes or patterns of behaviour. This change shows itself as
a skill, a habit, an attitude, an understanding or as knowledge or an appreciation.
It is a relatively permanent change in behaviour and is the result of reinforced
practice through the process of stimulus and response.
2. Teaching is a process which involves stimulation, guidance, direction and
encouragement of learning among children. It is communication between two or
more persons who influence each other by their ideas and learn something in the
process of the interaction.
3. The behaviourist principle of learning suggest a common approach to learning in
terms of the development of connections in the organism between stimuli (S) and
response (R), i.e., learning is a process by which stimulus and response bonds are
established when a successful response immediately and frequently follows a
stimulus.
The behaviourist principles of learning are :
i) Law of Effect
ii) Law of Readiness
iii) Law of Exercise
The Law of Effect stresses the importance of the effect of a response. Satisfying
results reinforce the response while annoying results weaken it. Law of Readiness
indicates the students’ willingness to make S-R connection. Law of Exercise
relates to strengthen the S-R connection through practice.
4. Skinner’s Theory of Operant Conditioning emphasizes stimulus — response
behaviour and reinforcement. Learning is a change in the likelihood or probability
of a response. The operant conditioning is learning force which effects desired
response more frequently by providing reinforcing stimulus immediately following
the response. The most important principle of this type of learning is that behaviour
changes according to its immediate consequences. Pleasurable consequences
strengthen behaviour while unpleasant consequences weaken it. In operant
conditioning, learning objectives are divided into many small steps/tasks and
reinforced one by one for teaching purpose.
5. a) The cognitive approach to education relates to promoting retention of
knowledge acquired through learning. The ability to retain knowledge depends
on how best it is understood. ‘Understanding’ helps us to spread mentally
the information we store in our memory and create new cognitive structures
to efficiently use long-term memory.
b) The cognitive approach emphasizes that teaching materials should be planned
on the basis of theory of discovery. It stresses problem-oriented learning.
c) The approach emphasizes appropriate decisions regarding the instructional
objectives, analysis of pre-requisite behaviour, and teaching methods.
6. Gagne’s theory of learning emphasizes that learning is a change in human
disposition or capability, which can be retained, and which is not simply ascribable
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 to the process of growth. According to this theory, learning is a process that takes Teaching and Learning
place inside an individual’s brain. The most important aspect of learner is his
senses, his central nervous system, and his muscles. The learner can learn best
when information is presented in logical sequence consisting of short units with
clear framework.
7. The broad educational implications of Gagne’s Theory of learning to teaching
are:
i) Pre-requisite behaviour
Gagne advocated those processes of learning that move from simple to
complex. The learner has to develop pre-requisite capabilities before he
acquires new terminal behaviour. Thus, the use of hierarchy of learning and
task analysis is an integral part of instructional activities.
iii) Learner’s characteristics
The learner’s individual differences, readiness and motivation to learn are
the important issues which should be considered before designing instructional
activities.
iii) Cognitive process and instruction
Transfer of learning and the students’ skill of problem solving are integral
parts of internal conditions of learning applicable to the instruction. The skill
of learning “how to learn” should be developed in the learner. The emphasis
should be on the individuality of the learner.

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