Human Development and Learning

Week 1:

Learning about learning:

  • Human beings are learning machines, but it takes us some years before we become aware of this

  • In the womb and in the years before a human speaks, the mind or brain seems to be on automatic pilot - making connections, building pathways, making meaning of the inputs of our senses

Behaviourist orientations

Behaviourism: explanations of learning concerned with the effect of external events on behaviour

Learning: permanent or relatively permanent changes in individuals that result from instruction or experience

Behaviour: actions that are observable and measurable

Tabula rasa: the notion that the mind of an infant is a clean slate. The new born knows nothing but it has the potential to learn and experience as a result of an innate ability to perceive and build associations

Classical conditioning:

  • Traditional learning and testing stems from classical conditioning

  • is the association of an automatic response with a new stimulus

Albert and the white rat

Behaviourist John B Watson conducted an experiment with an 11 month baby where they conditioned “Albert” to fear a white rat. The rat was introduced to Albert and with the introduction of new stimuli especially a fluffy animal, the toddler was happy and formed a bond. The rat was the later taken out of the basket and when Albert would reach for it, a large bar would bang to create a loud sound and create fear in Albert and form a phobia of furry animals.

  • Proof that we can actually condition humans like animals

Operant Conditioning

  • The use of positive and negative consequences to strengthen or weaken voluntary behaviour

  • Concerned with behaviour that is conscious, intentional or voluntary

  • A learner’s behaviour triggers a sequence of events that leads to a positive or negative outcome, and to learning

Consequences

  • Reinforcement is an event that strengthens behaviour; it has the effect of increasing the frequency of the behaviour it follows:

  • Positive reinforcement: increases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring by contingent presentation of a reward immediately following it (e.g. a lolly or pocket money)

  • Negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated by contingently removing an aversive object or activity (e.g. no homework or no chores)

Strengths and limitations of operant conditioning

Strengths:

  • Provides educators with simple but effective strategies that can be used easily to teach new skills and behaviours quickly and efficiently

  • Particularly helpful for teaching action sequences that need to be performed at an automatic level

  • Helpful for managing undesirable behaviour, especially in classrooms

Limitations:

  • Neglects the contribution of cognition and cognitive skills to learning process, especially for more complex forms of behaviour such as problem-solving

  • Concerns about the impact of long-term dependence on extrinsic, rather than intrinsic, forms of reinforcement

  • Ethical issues with the use of some types of punishment and aversive techniques

Cognitive orientations:

  • Cognitive learning theory: concerned with the internal mental processes and how learners manipulate information during learning

  • Primary concern is with making meaning out of information and experience; and how learners manipulate both new and familiar information

  • Learning is achieved through processing and storing knowledge and skills in one’s mind in such a way that they can be recalled and used at a later time when needed

Humanistic orientations

  • Humanism is a system of thought that is predominantly concerned with the human experience rather than with the spiritual aspects of life

  • It is a general orientation to life or a personal philosophy that recognises the uniqueness of human beings and the qualities of life that contribute to our humanity

Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs: A Theory Of Human Motivation - Brian D. Colwell

Strengths and limitations of Maslow’s hierarchy

Strengths

  • Maslow’s work has had a significant and continuing impact on education

  • Focus is on student needs in a learning situation rather than those of the teacher or curriculum

  • Attention is on meeting students’ basic needs for food, safety and belonging

  • Emotional aspects of students’ experiences and motivation are emphasised, rather than academic achievement

Limitations

  • Critics argue that the hierarchical sequence of needs does not always apply

  • Terms such as “self-actualisation” are vague

  • It is difficult to measure whether some needs have been met