Theories and

Process of Learning
Definition of Learning

 Permanent change
 Change in behavior or knowledge
 Learning is the result of experience
 Learning is not the result of maturation
or temporary conditions (illness)
Theories of Learning
 Behaviourist
 Cognitive
 Social
 Humanistic
 Constructivist
Behaviorist Learning Theory
 Behaviourists emphasize:
i) the role of experience or external
events that brings about change in
behaviour; and
ii) on how the environment impacts
overt behaviour.
Behavioural Theorist
 Watson,
 Pavlov,
 Thorndike and
 Skinner.
Types of Behavioural
Learning Theory
 Contiguity Learning Theory
 Classical or Respondent Conditioning
Theory
 Operant or Instrumental Conditioning
Theory
Contiguity Learning Theory
 Any stimulus and response connected in
time or space will tend to be associated.
 For example, a student who always fails
his mathematic tests but does well in
one particular test after attempting a
new technique will associate the
stimulus of the new technique and the
response of getting a good grade.
Conditioning
 The process by which an organism’s
behaviour becomes associated with
some stimulus in the environment, so
that when the stimulus is presented,
the behaviour occurs.
kinds of conditioning
(a) Classical Conditioning
(b) Operant Conditioning
(instrumental conditioning)
Classical Conditioning
 Major Theorist: Ivan Pavlov
Food Unconditioned Stimulus

Unconditioned Response
Salivation
(natural, not learned)

Bell Conditioned Stimulus

Conditioned Response (to
Salivation
bell)
 Before conditioning, ringing the bell caused
no response from the dog. Placing food in
front of the dog initiated salivation.
 During conditioning, the bell was rung a few
seconds before the dog was presented with
food.
 After conditioning, the ringing of the bell
alone produced salivation
 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)
 Stimulus Generalization: Once the dog has
learned to salivate at the sound of the bell, it
will salivate at other similar sounds.
 Extinction: If you stop pairing the bell with
the food, salivation will eventually cease in
response to the bell.
 Spontaneous Recovery: Extinguished
responses can be "recovered" after an
elapsed time, but will soon extinguish again if
the dog is not presented with food.
 Discrimination: The dog could learn to
discriminate between similar bells (stimuli)
and discern which bell would result in the
presentation of food and which would not.
 Higher-Order Conditioning: Once the dog has
been conditioned to associate the bell with
food, another unconditioned stimulus, such as
a light may be flashed at the same time that
the bell is rung. Eventually the dog will
salivate at the flash of the light without the
sound of the bell.
 Operant Conditioning
• The term "Operant" refers to how an
organism operates on the environment,
and hence,
• operant conditioning comes from how
we respond to what is presented to us
in our environment.
• It can be thought of as learning due to
the natural consequences of our
actions.
• The learning process involved in
operant behaviour is called operant
conditioning because we learn to
behave in certain ways we operate on
the environment
 Operant Conditioning
(Skinner)
• According to Skinner, an organism
must first make the desired response
and then a “reward” is provided.
• The “reward” reinforces the
response and makes it more likely to
recur.
• The response is instrumental in
bringing about its reinforcement.
• Learning is then said to occur when
the participant must make a response
to produce a change in the
environment.
• Learning occurs when voluntary
behaviour is strengthened or
weakened by consequences or
antecedents.
Thorndike's Experiment
• He put a cat in a cage with a latch on
the door and a piece of salmon
outside of the cage.
• After first trying to reach through
the cage and then scratching at the
bars of the cage, the cat finally hit
the latch on the door and the door
opened.
• With the repetition of this
experiment, the amount of time
and effort spent on the futile
activities of reaching and
scratching by the cats became
less and the releasing of the
latch occurred sooner.
 The "law of effect"
• stated that when a connection
between a stimulus and response is
positively rewarded it will be
strengthened and when it is
negatively rewarded it will be
weakened.
 The “Law of Exercise”
• held that the more an S-R (stimulus
response) bond is practiced the
stronger it will become.
 The "law of readiness"
• Learning is dependent upon the learner's
readiness to act, which facilitates the
strengthening of the bond between
stimulus and response.
• Thus, an athlete who is highly motivated
and eager to learn is more likely to be
receptive to learning than one who is
poorly motivated. See also
Principles of Behavioural
Learning Theories
• Positive Reinforcement or reward:
Responses that are rewarded are
likely to be repeated.
• Negative Reinforcement: Responses
that allow escape from painful or
undesirable situations are likely to be
repeated.
• Extinction or Non-Reinforcement :
Responses that are not reinforced
are not likely to be repeated.
(Ignoring student misbehavior should
extinguish that behavior.)
• Punishment: Responses that bring
painful or undesirable consequences
will be suppressed, but may reappear
if reinforcement contingencies
change. (Penalizing late students by
withdrawing privileges should stop
their lateness.)
 Types of Consequences
• Positive or negative
• Something can be given or taken away
• Good consequences:
– Something positive given, something
negative taken away
• Bad consequences
– Something negative given, something
positive taken away
 Types of Punishment
• Presentation Punishment
– Detention
– Extra work
• Removal Punishment
– Loss of recess
– Loss of privileges
 Kinds of Reinforcement & Punishment
Behavior
Behaviorencouraged
encouraged Behavior
Behaviorsuppressed
suppressed

Positive Presentation
Reinforcement: Punishment:
Something
Something
Given Praise/reward Detention/extra
Given
work

Negative Removal
Reinforcement Punishment
Something
SomethingTaken
Taken
Away
Away Avoid losing Loss of recess/
points grounded!

See Woolfolk, Figure 6.1, p. 212

Reinforcement Schedules

T y p e s o f R e in fo r c e m e n t S c h e d u le s

C o n t in u o u s I n t e r m it t e n t

F ix e d V a r ia b le

In te rv a l R a t io R a t io In te rv a l
PowerPoint 6.10 Schedules of
Reinforcement
PowerPoint 6.11 Reinforcement Schedules and Examples

 Schedule Example
Continuous • An algebra teacher guides students through steps for solving
equations and praises students for every correct answer.
• A person sticks a key in a reliable lock, and the door opens every
time.
Fixed-ratio The algebra teacher says, “As soon as you’ve correctly done two
problems in a row, you may start on your homework, so you’ll be
finished by the end of the period.”
Variable- • A student raises her hand to answer questions, and sometimes she’s
ratio called on, and sometimes she isn’t.
•  A person sticks a key in an unreliable lock, and sometimes the door
opens quickly, and at other times it opens only after a number of
attempts.
Fixed Students are given a quiz every Friday, and they receive their score
interval every Monday.
Variable- Students are given unannounced quizzes, and sometimes the quizzes
interval are
returned the next day, and at other times they are returned a day or two
ater.
 Controlling Antecedents
• Providing previous information about
expected behaviors
• Signaling when a behavior should be
emitted
• Cueing: Lights off means “Be quiet!”
• Prompting: Verbal reminder after
students do not get quiet after lights
were turned off: they missed the cue.
Applied Behavior Analysis
• Baseline behavior
• Target behavior
• Classroom application:
1 - Specify the desired behavior
2 - Plan a specific intervention
3 - Keep track of the results
PowerPoint 6.18 Applied Behavior Analysis

Applied Behavior Analysis

1. Identify target behaviors.

2. Establish a baseline for the target behaviors.

3. Choose reinforcers and punishers (if necessary).

4. Measure changes in the target behaviors.

5. Gradually reduce the frequency of reinforcers as behavior

improves.
Interventions: Encouraging
Positive Behavior
• Teacher attention
• Premack principle
• Shaping
• Positive practice
• See Guidelines, Woolfolk,
 Coping with Undesirable
Behaviors
• Negative reinforcement: “No recess until…”
• Satiation: “I would like 1000 of those
perfect spit wads, please!”
• Reprimands: soft & private
• Response cost
• Social isolation
• Punishment
• See Guidelines, Woolfolk,
Coping with Undesirable
Behaviors
 Cautions: Use a two-pronged
approach:
 Punishment for undesired
behavior
 Clarify and reinforce desired
behavior
PowerPoint 6.17 Effective and Ineffective Punishers

Effective Punishers: Ineffective Punishers:

•Desists •Physical Punishment

•Timeout •Embarrassment and

humiliation
•Detention
•Classwork
•Response Cost
Discussion
1. Teachers should be allowed to use canes in
the classrooms. Discuss.
2. Corporal punishment should not be
encouraged in school. Do you agree?
Behavioral Approaches to
Teaching & Management
Teaching: Mastery
Learning
• Students must
demonstrate
competence before
moving to next unit
• Mastery means 80–
90% correct
• Focuses on basic
skills
Behavioral Management
• Group
consequences
• Token
reinforcement
• Contingency
contracts
 Recent Approaches:
Self-Regulated Learning
• Self-management
– Set goals and make the goals public
– Note: Standards and effect on performance
– Evaluate & record performance
– Promote self-reinforcement
– See Family & Community Partnerships,
Woolfolk, p. 236
Recent Approaches: Cognitive
Behavior Modification & Self-
Instruction

• Similar to self-regulated learning

• Adds thinking and self-talk
• More cognitive than behavioral
approach
 Cognitive Behavior
Modification & Self-
Instruction
• Teaching self-talk:
– Demonstrate & supervise
– Talk out loud while practicing,
student imitates
– Whisper while practicing, student imitates
– Work toward private speech while practicing

See Woolfolk, Figure 6.6, p. 237

 Reflection Question
• What is a habit you would like to
change? How would you implement
the steps of cognitive behavior
modification to change your habit?
• Make a graphic organizer or flow
chart to illustrate your goal and
steps toward meeting that goal.
 Problems & Issues
• Extrinsic rewards may lead to loss of
interest in learning for learning’s sake
• Decrease in motivation
• Motives for influencing student
behaviors: control?
• See Point/Counterpoint, Woolfolk
pp. 239
 DIVERSITY
AND
CONVERGENCES
DIVERSITY
• fears, anxieties
• unique reinforcers/punishers
• Diversity models in texts, posters, etc
CONVERGENCES
• Consequences change behaviors over time
• Effective recognition of behavior is important
• Students can become more self-managing
 Summary
 Learning occurs when experience causes a relatively
permanent change in the individual’s knowledge or
behavior. Some of these evidences may be found
through:
 early explanations of learning: Contiguity and
classical conditioning
 Operant Conditioning
 Applied Behavior Analysis
 Behavioral Approaches to Teaching and Management
 Observational Learning and Cognitive Behavior
Modification
 Problems and Issues
 Diversity and Convergence
 Review Questions
Define learning.
How does a neutral stimulus become a
conditioned stimulus?
Discriminate between generalization
and discrimination.
What defines a consequence as a
reinforcer? As a punisher?
How are negative reinforcement and
punishment different?
 Review
Questions
• How can you encourage persistence in a
behavior?
• What is the difference between a prompt and a
cue?
• What are the steps in applied behavior analysis?
• How can the Premack principle help you identify
reinforcers?
• When is shaping an appropriate approach?
 Review Questions
• What are some cautions in using
punishment?
• What is mastery learning?
• Describe group consequences, token
programs, and contracts.
• What are the steps in self-management?
• What are the main criticisms of
behavioral approaches?