FEIS Theories of Learning - Comprehensive Notes

UNIT 1 NATURE OF LEARNING

  • Course Intended Learning Outcome: Describe the nature of learning and analyze various learning issues and problems and its classroom implications

  • Essential Question: What is learning and what are the different principles of learning?

  • Overview: This lesson is developed to orient students on the course requirements and to present basic information on concepts, processes and principles of learning.

  • Learning Target: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to differentiate among learning perspectives (WS #1).

LEARNING DEFINITION

  • Learning, like reflexes and instincts, allows an organism to adapt to its environment.

  • Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience.

  • Learning theories develop hypotheses that describe how this process takes place.

  • The scientific study of learning started in earnest at the dawn of the 20th century.

  • Major concepts and theories:

    • Behaviourist theories

    • Cognitive psychology

    • Constructivism

    • Social constructivism

    • Experiential learning

    • Multiple intelligence

    • Situated learning theory and community of practice

Dissection of Concepts

  • An approach is a perspective (view) that involves certain assumptions (beliefs) on human behavior: the way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods are appropriate for undertaking this study.

  • The five major perspectives in psychology are biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and humanistic.

Major Learning Theories

  • Behaviourism

  • Gestalt theory

  • Cognitivism

  • Constructivism

Behaviorism

  • Is primarily concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior.

  • Emphasize changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner.

  • John B. Watson (1878-1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) are the two principal originators of behaviorist approaches to learning.

  • Watson believed that human behavior resulted from specific stimuli that elicited certain responses.

  • Skinner believed that seemingly spontaneous action is regulated through rewards and punishment. Skinner box.

Gestalt

  • The Gestalt theory was to a great extent propagated by Köhler, Koffka and Wertheimer.

  • Gestalt psychologists argued that we do not experience the world in simple, small chunks of information that enter our minds and are later combined into complex ideas.

  • Gestalt theory claimed that we experience the world in meaningful patterns or as an organised whole. Thus, knowledge is organised to solve a problem, and therefore, we should view learning from the perspective of problem solving.

Cognitivism

  • The cognitive view of learning, like the behaviourist view, sees knowledge as given and absolute.

  • Many of the information processing models of teaching and learning are based on the cognitive view of learning.

Constructivism

  • The constructivist view of learning assumes different forms, just like the aforementioned theories.

  • In essence, constructivist theories see knowledge as a constructed entity.

  • Individuals use their own mental constructs to make sense of their experiences.

Experiential Episodes

Complete the following:
*Worksheet #1: Differentiating Psychological Perspectives. Differentiate between various psychological perspectives by identifying their major beliefs, theories, and implications for education.

NOTE: The following sections are examples of how to categorize and apply the principles of each perspective.

  • Psychological Perspectives FORCES THAT INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR MAJOR BELIEFS / THEORIES IMPLICATIONS TO EDUCATION

  • For each perspective, provide the following information:

    • Major Beliefs/Theories: Summarize the key principles and ideas.

    • Key Theorists: List the main contributors to the perspective.

    • Implications for Education: Explain how this perspective influences teaching methods, classroom management, curriculum design, and student assessment.

UNIT 1 Theories of Learning

Course Intended Learning Outcome: Explain and compare different behaviorist theories, identify their implications for educational practice, and apply knowledge of these theories in teaching and learning.

  • Essential Questions: How do varied theoretical perspectives view learning? What principles are associated with different learning perspectives? What instructional implications are associated with the learning theories? How are the theories applied in the classroom?

  • Overview: This lesson intends to provide essential information on the different classical theories of learning under the Behaviorist perspective, particularly the Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, and Connectionism.

  • Learning Target:At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to suggest educational implications on the use of classical and operant conditioning, and connectionism theories in the classroom (WS#2).
    These videos need to be watched before advancing

  • Classical Conditioning Theory 5:46 mins

  • Connectionism Theory 6:67 mins

  • Operant Conditioning Theory 4:47 mins

Dissection of Concepts

Learning theories are organized set of principles explaining how individuals acquire, retain, and recall knowledge. As such, understanding the concepts and principles behind these learning theories can guide teachers in designing classroom activities that promote learning among students.

  • One of the most popular approaches is Behaviorism which conforms with the assumption that new behaviors or changes in behaviors are acquired through associations with stimuli and responses.

  • Two learning theories under the Behaviorism are:

    • Classical Conditioning Theory (main proponent: Ivan Pavlov)

      • Involves learning a new behavior via the process of association. There are three stages of classical conditioning:

        • before conditioning,

        • during conditioning,

        • after conditioning

    • Connectionism theory (main proponent: Edward Lee Thorndike)

      • Assumes that learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses.

NOTE: The below points compares Classical vs. Operant conditioning including its history and founder,
*Classical Conditioning:
* A signal is placed before a reflex
* Developed in Russia
* Works with involuntary Behavior
* Behavior is said to be “Elicited”

*Operant Conditioning
*Behavior is said to be is “emitted”
*Developed in US
*Works with voluntary behavior

Experiential Episodes

  • Using Classical Conditioning to Explain Phobias. One experiment which used the principles of classical conditioning was Watson and Raynor (1920) who created a phobia in a little boy called ‘Little Albert’.

In a test based on prior-knowledge review questions that would trigger thought processes, the following can be presented and tested:
What would happen if COVID had a effect on Phillipinos? Students would then be evaluated on learned responses, phobia related stimulus and reaction.

Authentic Assesment

  • WS #2: Analyze Tan's 2021 study, through the lens of the behaviorist perspective.

    • Classical Conditioning

    • Operant Conditioning

    • Connectionism

  • Rubric used to grade assignments as well as criteria for successful submissions.

UNIT 1 Theories of Learning

Course Intended Learning Outcome: Explain and compare different behaviorist theories, identify their implications for educational practice, and apply knowledge of these theories in teaching and learning.

  • Essential Questions: How do varied theoretical perspectives view learning? What principles are associated with different learning perspectives? What instructional implications are associated with the learning theories? How are the theories applied in the classroom?

  • Overview: This lesson provides essential information on the Social Learning Theory. Activities/tasks included in this lesson focus on how these theory may be utilized by pre-service teachers in designing classroom activities.

  • Learning Target/s: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to suggest educational implications on the use of social learning theory and nine events of learning in the classroom.

These videos must be watched before advancing
*Social learning theory 9:35

Dissection of Concepts

Social learning theory (main proponent: Albert Bandura) agrees with the behaviorist learning theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. However, he adds two important ideas: (1) Mediating processes occur between stimuli & responses and (2) Behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning.
Bandura’s social learning theory added a social element, arguing that people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people (observational learning).

Experiential Episodes

Albert Bandura’s social learning theory states that people learn from each other through the simple process of observation and imitation (copying). The four processes in social learning are:
* Attention ,in order to learn, you must be paying attention
* Retention, you must be able to retain the information
* Reproduction performing the behavior you have seen
* Motivation , being motivated to imitate the behavior through reinforcement or punishment.
* Seeing a beauty product being advertised on the television and buying it the next time we are shopping.
* A child sees her sister being rewarded for a good school report and so tried harder at school.
* A son copies her mother and ‘cooks’ dinner on his pretend play kitchen.
* Male and female siblings are playing dressing up.
* The people whom are observed and copied are called role models. Worksheet #3. Gender Norms, Roles and Expression. Using the principles of Social Learn

Authentic Assessment

  • Worksheet #3. Gender Norms, Roles and Expression is used to measure understanding of material.

    • Rubrics and grading scales are used to measure results of assignments.

Theories of Learning

Course Intended Learning Outcome Explain and compare different cognitivist theories, identify their implications for educational practice, and apply knowledge of these theories in teaching and learning.

Concepts / View of Learning:
1. PIAGET’s Cognitive Theory, & Schema Theory
2. G. MILLER’s Information Processing Theory
3. AUSUBEL’s Meaningful Reception Learning
4. A. PAIVIO’s Dual Coding Theory
5. NEISSER’s Cognitive Psychology Theory (mental processes)

The Elements of Information Processing Model

  1. Sensory Memory or Sensory Register

  2. Working Memory

  3. Short-term memory

  4. Long-term memory

Experiential Episodes: create a comparative organizer (Ausubel’s concept) that clearly presents the connections among the five cognitive theories discussed this week.
* The key areas to be covered are:

    1. Core Concepts: Identify the main concepts or principles of each cognitive  theory.
        **2.** Key Theorists: Mention the key theorists associated with each theory.
        **3.** Applications: Highlight how each theory can be applied to educational practice.
        **4.** Connections: Illustrate how the theories are related to one another.

Authentic Assessment: Chapter Test & Learning Log.

UNIT II Humanist and Connectivist Perspectives

Explain and compare different humanist and connectivist theories, identify their implications for educational practice, and apply knowledge of these theories in teaching and learning
Humanistic theory as applied to learning is largely constructivist

The study of persons is holistic

Addressing people’s capabilities and potentialities as they make choices and seek control over their lives.
Motivation is important for attaining basic needs, but greater choices are available when striving to maximize one’s potential.

Connectivism

Central aspect of connectivism is the metaphor of a network with nodes and connections (Siemens, 2005)
According to connectivism, learning is creating networks (Fig. 2.1). Nodes are external entities, which can be used to form a network.

Experiential Episodes:

Research the technological advancements and theories in technology and identify specific technologies that emerged in response to the needs of each theory.
Application of Motivation Theories to Digital Learning. I
Reflect on the interplay between learning theories and the technologies that developed alongside them.

Authentic Assessment:

Prepare to present your findings using 5-minute presentation during the next LGD.
Below are the assigned topics for each group:
Group Topic
A. Behaviorism and Technology
B. Cognitivism and Digital Tools
C. Constructivism and Technology
D. Humanist Theory & Educational Technology
E. Connectivism in the Digital Age
F. Application of Motivation Theories to Digital Learning.

WEEK UNIT II Cognitive Development

Apply developmentally appropriate and meaningful pedagogy grounded on content, knowledge and current research
This lesson provides essential information on Blooms taxonomy particularly on how to develop Lesson Plan Objectives.

Dissection Of Concepts

Lesson plan objectives provide clear direction four teaching and testing. Instructional objectives at the lesson plan level state (1) expected behaviors in terms of specific skills, tasks, or attitudes, and (2) content. They may also state (3) outcomes, sometimes called standards, in terms of level of achievement, proficiency, or competency and (4) conditions of mastery.
Classify and discuss the 3 domains:cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.
With 6 levels of outcomes:
Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating & Creating.

Experiential Episodes:

Tasks:
Class will be grouped according to the intended specialization. Guided by the SMART way of writing objectives SP

Authentic Assessment:

Present cognitive, affective and psychomotor objectives on the box below. Refer to these materials for samples.
This information will be used to gauge competency of knowledge of material by the user/student.

WEEK Learning Theories

Apply developmentally appropriate and meaningful pedagogy grounded on content, knowledge and current research
This lesson provides essential information on the theory of Multiple Intelligences. Activities/tasks included in this lesson focus on how these theory may be utilized by pre-service teachers in designing classroom activities.

Student presentation.

Dissection of Concepts

Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences includes linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, naturalist knowledge.

Kolb's Learning Styles and Experiential Learning

Active Experimentation (Doing), Reflective Observation (Watching), Concrete Experience (Feeling)&Accommodating.

Experiential Episodes:

Personal Profile: Answer the learning style questionnaire.
Authentic Assessment.
What are the educational implications of the following theories: Multiple Intelligences, Emotional Intelligence and Learning Styles?

UNIT III Principles and Theories of Motivation

Use current research findings as bases for examining pedagogical practices Apply theories and principles of learning and motivation to specific classroom situations.
This lesson acquaints the pre-service teachers to the concepts and principles of motivation.

Dissection of Concepts

Job performance is affected by Motivation, ability & environment.
Many theories involve the idea the team member must have the most motivation. Two that are discussed within are McClellands theory and Maslows.

Read the questions pertaining for prior engagement and complete the following assignment:
Answer the questions that follow. How can these motivational theories be used in the context of blended learning during the pandemic?

Important points to remember:

  • Each week, WS, CT, LGD, Project Presentations and the Final Exam should have final comp. grades of 98-100% in order to have UNO status.

  • Educational learning is not just based on grades, understand, grow and take chances towards your personal development to achieve a better understanding during this course.