Topic 3 Learning theories

LEARNING THEORY 

Describe how students absorb, process, and retain knowledge during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained.

Behaviorists look at learning as an aspect of conditioning and advocate a system of rewards and targets in education. Educators who embrace cognitive theory believe that the definition of learning as a change in behaviour is too narrow, and study the learner rather than their environment—and in particular the complexities of human memory. Those who advocate constructivism believe that a learner's ability to learn relies largely on what they already know and understand, and the acquisition of knowledge should be an individually tailored process of construction. Transformative learning theory focuses on the often-necessary change required in a learner's preconceptions and world view. Geographical learning theory focuses on the ways that contexts and environments shape the learning process.

Outside the realm of educational psychology, techniques to directly observe the functioning of the brain during the learning process, such as event-related potential and functional magnetic resonance imaging, are used in educational neuroscience. The theory of multiple intelligences, where learning is seen as the interaction between dozens of different functional areas in the brain each with their own individual strengths and weaknesses in any particular human learner, has also been proposed, but empirical research has found the theory to be unsupported by evidence.

Learning Theories

Although there are many different approaches to learning, there are three basic types of learning theory: behaviorist, cognitive constructivist, and social constructivist. This section provides a brief introduction to each type of learning theory. The theories are treated in four parts: a short historical introduction, a discussion of the view of knowledge presupposed by the theory, an account of how the theory treats learning and student motivation, and, finally, an overview of some of the instructional methods promoted by the theory is presented.

	Behaviorism	Cognitive Constructivism	Social Constructivism
View of knowledge	Knowledge is a repertoire of behavioral responses to environmental stimuli.	Knowledge systems of cognitive structures are actively constructed by learners based on pre-existing cognitive structures.	Knowledge is constructed within social contexts through interactions with a knowledge community.
View of learning	Passive absorption of a predefined body of knowledge by the learner. Promoted by repetition and positive reinforcement.	Active assimilation and accommodation of new information to existing cognitive structures. Discovery by learners is emphasized.	Integration of students into a knowledge community. Collaborative assimilation and accommodation of new information.
View of motivation	Extrinsic, involving positive and negative reinforcement.	Intrinsic; learners set their own goals and motivate themselves to learn.	Intrinsic and extrinsic. Learning goals and motives are determined both by learners and extrinsic rewards provided by the knowledge community.
Implications for Teaching	Correct behavioral responses are transmitted by the teacher and absorbed by the students.	The teacher facilitates learning by providing an environment that promotes discovery and assimilation/accommodation.	Collaborative learning is facilitated and guided by the teacher. Group work is encouraged.

There are 5 overarching paradigms of educational learning theories; behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, design/brain-based, humanism and 21st Century skills.

1. Behaviorism is a view in which behavior can be explained by external factors and behavioral conditioning can be used as a universal learning process. In behaviorism, the ideas of positive and negative reinforcement are effective tools of learning and behavior modification, as well as a punishment and reward system.

• Behaviorism Overview
• Behaviorism Learning Theory

2. Cognitivism is a learning theory developed by Jean Piaget in which a child develops cognitive pathways in understanding and physical response to experiences. In this theory, students learn most effectively through reading text and lecture instruction.

• Paradigms of Learning
• Educational Theories of Learning

3. Constructivism is the idea that people are responsible in creating their own understanding of the world and using what they know based on previous experiences in the process of linking new information to these experiences. People use these experiences and new information to construct their own meaning.

• Constructivism
• Influential Theories of Learning

4. Humanism focuses on the individual as the subject and asserts that learning is a natural process that helps a person reach self-actualization. Scenarios and role modeling are important factors in humanistic learning, as are experiences, exploring and observing others.

• Humanistic Approaches to Learning
• Humanism Learning Theory

5. Connectivism is a relatively new learning theory, developed and based upon the idea that people process information by forming connections. This theory has developed with the digital and technology age, adapting to advances in these arenas. This new theory suggests that people no longer stop learning after formal education and continue to gain knowledge from other avenues such as job skills, networking, experience and access to information with new tools in technology.

Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age