EDUCATION 2

LECTURER: S. BUKHOSINI
NOVEMBER 2024
THEORIES OF LEARNING
 Learning
 Education involves the process of the development and learning of the child
on multiple dimensions, facilitated by the teacher, who is guided by a
curriculum
 Learning is acquisition of knowledge, habits and attitudes
 Learning plays an important role in the languages we speak, our customs &
beliefs
 It is a progressive change in behavior as individual reacts to a situation in
an effort to adopt his behavior effectively to the demands made upon him.
Thus learning is change in behavior.
 Learning is not simply something that occurs via the transmission of
knowledge from one person to another.
 Learning is often a complex enterprise involving more than just the
cognitive attributes of the mind or isolated as test scores or grades
LEARNING THEORIES
 Learning theory

 Schunk (1991) lists five definitive questions that serve to distinguish

each learning theory from the others:
(l) How does learning occur?
(2) Which factors influence learning?
(3) What is the role of memory?
(4) How does transfer occur?
(5) What types of learning are best explained by the theory?
Theories of learning have been classified into two main schools:
1. Association theories and
2. Field theories.

 According to association theory, man is like a complex machine. His

behavior is largely, if not entirely determined by his environment. His purposes
or goals are often irrelevant.
 According to field theory, man is an energy system, an adaptive, purposeful
creature whose behavior is determined by the manner in which he perceives
his environment.
Association theories Field theories

Main proponents: Thorndike, Pavlov, Includes Gestalt’s theory, Lewin’s

Skinner, Hull. topological theory, and Tolman’s signgestalt
theory.

Stresses on Analysis Stresses on Integration.

Whole to part Part to whole

Simple to complex Perception of totality

Teacher - cantered Child - cantered

 PAVLOV’S CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY
OFLEARNING
 Classical conditioning was accidentally discovered around the beginning of
the 20th century by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov.
 Pavlov was studying digestive process in dogs when he discovered that the
dogs salivated before they received their food.
 In fact, after repeated pairing of the lab attendant and the food, the dogs
started to salivate at the sight of the lab assistants.
 Pavlov coined these phenomena as “psychic secretions." He noted that dogs
were not only responding to a biological need (hunger), but also a need
developed by learning.
 Pavlov spent the rest of life researching why this associate learning occurred,
which is now called classical conditioning
 Our mouth waters on seeing meat, seeing ‘chocolates’ or a child
associates dolls with pleasure.
™
Similarly, the child develops aversion for a particular subject, just
because of the teacher’s stern attitude who teaches that subject.
 The sight of stick/ rod creates fear in the mind of child if he has
actually been hit by it sometime or other.
 Same way, if two girls have been seen together number of times,
seeing one reminds us of the other. These all are illustrations of
Associative Connections.
 This idea of association has been the basis of conditioned
response theory, according to which learning consists in building
up of new associative bonds between a stimulus and a
response.
 The simplest interpretation of this phenomenon is that when two
stimuli are presented repeatedly together, the new one first, then
the original- effective one, the new one also becomes effective.
 KEY CONCEPTS OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) A stimulus that elicits a response without

conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UCR) Automatic response elicited by the

unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) A neutral stimulus that when paired with an

unconditioned stimulus (UCS) elicits a similar
response

Conditioned Response (CR) A response that is learned by pairing the

originally neutral conditioned stimulus (CS)
with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS).
 The food is an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and the salivation is the
unconditioned response (UCR).
 The bell is a neutral stimulus until the dog learns to associate the bell with
food.
 Then the bell becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) which produces the
conditioned response (CR) of salivation after repeated pairings between
the bell and food.

 Initially even if food is not served but bell is rung, the dog salivates. Thus
the dog is now conditioned. But if no food is served but bell is rung
continuously for few days in line, then over the period of time salivating
stops.
 Principles of Classical Conditioning

 The theory of Classical conditioning emphasized by Pavlov gave birth to

number of important concepts and principles in the field of learning such
as:
1. Principle of Acquisition – The acquisition phase is the consistent
pairing of the CS (e.g. bell) and the UCS (food) that produces CR
(salivation). In the example above, this phase occurs when the dog
begins to salivate at the sound of the bell. Conditioning occurs more
rapidly when the food follows the bell by half a second.
2. Principle of Stimulus Generalization – After an animal has learned a
conditioned response to one stimulus, it may also respond to similar
stimuli without further training- for example, using a different sounding
bell.
3. Time lag or Factor - It means if there is time lapse between
unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and conditioned stimulus (CS), then required
response will not be obtained. E.g. when the child performs well in his
exams, but if the teacher instead of appreciating his effort immediately,
praises him after two months, the reinforcement will be of no use.

4. Principle of Extinction - The extinction phase is when the conditioned

response no longer occurs after repeated pairings without the
unconditioned stimulus.
-The dog’s response to the bell can be extinguished by repeatedly
presenting the bell (CS) without the food (UCS). The dog has not
completely forgotten the association between the bell and the food.
- E.g. if the child is not encouraged after every proper act, then the child
loses interest as well as motivation to do better as the child feels neglected
and less appreciated.
5. Principle of Discrimination
The opposite of generalization, discrimination happens when a
conditioned response does not occur when there is a difference between
the presented stimulus and the original conditioned stimulus. If Pavlov’s
dog heard a bell but no food presented repeatedly
 EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
1. Discipline, good habits, virtues can be effectively learnt through the
process of conditioning.
2. Many of our fears and phobias may be traced back to some kind of
conditioning. When things and objects are associated with an
unpleasant experiences and a sort of generalization is made, phobia
appears. Such fears and phobias can be removed by de-conditioning.
3. Dislike for certain school subjects can be also be removed through
reconditioning by associating pleasant stimuli with them.
4. Use of audio- visual aids in teaching- learning process involves
conditioning theory. E.g. teacher shows the picture of cow along with
written word ‘COW’, teacher also spells the word, later even if there is no
picture shown to the child, the child associates the word seen with the
picture.
5. Training of animals in circus is done with the help conditioning.
6. Conditioning is also used for developing positive attitude towards
learning, teacher and school.
7. In lower class teaching of alphabets, tables, counting etc is done
through conditioning. E.g. ‘A’ for Apple, counting with beads.
Constructivism Theory
 Constructivism

 It is assumed that learners have to construct their own knowledge individually

and collectively.
 Each learner has a tool kit of concepts and skills with which he or she must
construct knowledge to solve problems presented by the environment.
 The role of the community, other learners and teacher is to provide the
setting, pose the challenges, and the support that will encourage
mathematical construction
 Constructivism is an approach to teaching and learning based on the premise
that cognition (learning) is the result of "mental construction.
 In other words, learners learn by fitting new information together with what
they already know.
 Constructivism is a learning theory found in psychology which explains how
people might acquire knowledge and learn. It therefore has direct application
to education.
 How does learning occur? Constructivism is a theory that equates learning
with creating meaning from experience
 Basic characteristics of Constructivist Learning Environments (Tam,2000),
four basic characteristics of constructivist learning environments, which
must be considered when implementing constructivist instructional strategies:
1) Knowledge will be shared between teachers and learners.
2) Teachers and learners will share authority.
3) The teacher’s role is one of a facilitator or guide.
4) Learning groups will consist of small numbers of learners
 A combination of the following learning strategies can be used by the
teachers to create constructivist learning environment:
• Use of multimedia/teaching aids
• Scaffolding (breaking learning into chunks to make the material or skill
easier for learners)
• Case studies
• Role playing
• Story telling
• Group discussions/Group activities (reciprocal Learning)
• Probing questions
• Project based learning
 Constructivism, an epistemological view of knowledge acquisition
emphasizes on four aspects:
1) knowledge construction rather than knowledge transmission and the
recording of information conveyed by others,
2) new learning builds on prior knowledge,
3) learning is enhanced by social interaction and
4) meaningful learning develops through authentic tasks. The role of the
learner is conceived as one of building and transforming knowledge
 Constructivist pedagogy should be based on the following seven
principles as these appear to be most common across studies.
 First, the emphasis is not on memorizing and reproducing knowledge,
but not on using and transforming it
 Second, acquiring and using knowledge are not separate phases;
rather, knowledge is learned by using it.
 Third knowledge is used especially to solve problems.
 Fourth, stimulating students thinking activities and enhancing their
metacognitive and self-regulative skills are embedded in the study of
content knowledge.
 Fifth social interaction has a central role in the learning process.
 Sixth, assessment of learning is embedded in the learning process.
 Seventh, students themselves must be involved in the assessment of
their learning.
Benefits of Constructivism
1. Children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively
involved, rather than passive listeners.
2. Education works best when it concentrates on thinking and
understanding, rather than on rote memorization. Constructivism
concentrates on learning how to think and understand.
3. Constructivist learning is transferable. In constructivist classrooms,
learners create organizing principles that they can take with them to other
learning settings.
4. Constructivism gives learners ownership of what they learn, since
learning is based on learners' questions and explorations, and often
learners have a hand in designing the assessments as well.
5.Constructivist assessment engages learners' initiatives and personal
investments in their journals, research reports, physical models, and artistic
representations. Engaging the creative instincts develops learners' abilities to
express knowledge through a variety of ways. Learners are more likely to retain
and transfer the new knowledge to real life.
6. By grounding learning activities in an authentic, real-world context,
constructivism stimulates and engages learners
7. Constructivism promotes social and communication skills by creating a
classroom environment that emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas.
-Learners must learn how to articulate their ideas clearly as well as to
collaborate on tasks effectively by sharing in group projects.
ACTIVITY

 DISADVANTAGES OF CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY