Over the course of time, numerous theories of learning have been advanced by scholars, including the communications, behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist perspectives.
COMMUNICATIONS PERSPECTIVE
From this perspective, learning is a communication process between a teacher and students. It is successful when students accurately understand what was communicated. It can be impacted by a number of factors such as environmental factors (e.g., loud noise), psychological factors (e.g., learning styles), or personal filters (e.g., attitudes).
BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE
Based on this view, learning is the acquisition of new behavior in response to conditions in the environment.
According to B.F. Skinner (1904-1990),
behavior is contingent on consequences and can be controlled through the use of
operant conditioning (i.e., feedback system). In particular, positive
reinforcement (e.g., reward) leads to the increase of desirable
behavior; negative reinforcement strengthens desirable behavior through the
avoidance of negative consequences; and punishment decreases undesirable behavior.
COGNITIVIST PERSPECTIVE
According to this perspective, learning is a mental operation
that takes place after information enters the senses and is processed,
stored, and used. It includes two main perspectives.
Information-processing theorists like George Miller compare the human mind to a computer. After a person receives information via a sensory receptor (e.g., eyes), the information is either discarded or sent to short-term memory depending on whether or not the person is concentrating on the information. Once in short-term memory, the information is divided into small "chunks" (i.e., about 5-9) and remains there for some twenty seconds. Chunks of information that are rehearsed, repeated, or organized are retained and transferred to long-term memory; those that are not, are forgotten.
Social learning theorists, such as Bandura (1925-present), argue that learning takes place through observational learning. Students learn from observing models and what happens to them when they engage in different behaviors with different consequences (i.e., vicarious reinforcement).
CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVE
This perspective is associated with Jean Piaget and his research on the cognitive development of children. According to this view, as children interact with their physical and social environments, they construct "mental maps" or schemas to make sense of their experiences and learn through the process of assimilation and accommodation. When they have a new experience (e.g., new object), they either assimilate it into an existing schema or accommodate it by creating a new schema. This perspective ncludes two dominant perspectives.
Cognitive Constructivism
Associated with Robert Gagne, this perspective states that different categories of learning (e.g., verbal
information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills, and
attitudes) are activated through a variety of teaching strategies. Learning culminates from a nine-step instructional
process.
Social Constructivism
Advanced by Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), social constructivism views learning as a cultural and collaborative process that results from interacting with people and society. Social learning promotes cognitive development in children or what is called "Zone of Proximal Development" (i.e., distance between what they know (i.e., level of actual development) and what they can learn under the guidance of adults or peers (i.e., level of potential development).
REFERENCES
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Culatta, R. (2020). Conditions of Learning: Robert Gagne. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/conditions-learning/
KAMBALS VLOG. (2016). Albert Bandura Social cognitive theory and vicarious learning. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/UbruJh0MODI
Learn My Test. (2018).Operant conditioning explained. [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/piM6C3pHsA8
Learn My Test.(2019). Information-processing theory explained.
[Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/aURqy9BEJO4
Miller, G. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two:
Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological
Review, 63, 81-97.
Piaget, J. (1970). The science of education and the psychology of the child. NY: Grossman.
Skinner, B. (1968). The technology of teaching. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Sprouts. (2018). Piaget's theory of cognitive development. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/IhcgYgx7aAA
Sprouts. (2020). Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development: How
relationships increase learning. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/8I2hrSRbmHE
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind
in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
