Chapter 4

• Learning


  The process of acquiring knowledge, skills or behaviour through experience
• Behaviourist approaches to learning


  • Theories that propose learning occurs by interacting with the external environment and associating stimuli
• Classical conditioning


  1. Neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus to produce conditioned response

  2. Learner plays a passive role
• Neutral stimulus (NS)


  A stimulus that produces no significant response prior to conditioning
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)


  The stimulus that produces a (naturally occurring) unconscious response
• Conditioned stimulus (CS)


  The stimulus (originally the 'neutral stimulus') that produces a conditioned response after being (repeatedly) paired with an unconditioned stimulus
• Unconditioned response (UCR)


  The naturally occurring behaviour that occurs automatically when the UCS is presented
• Conditioned response (CR)


  The learned response that occurs involuntarily after the CS is presented
• Three-phase process: Before conditioning

  1. The NS produces no relevant response

  2. The UCS elicits the UCR
• Three-phase process: During conditioning


  1. The NS is (repeatedly) paired with the UCS to produce the UCR

  2. Typically, the NS is presented almost immediately before the UCS (~0.5 seconds)

  3. If the UCS is presented before the NS, the learner will simply produce a response to the UCS and ignore the NS. As a result no association would occur.
• Three-phase process: After conditioning

  1. The NS becomes the CS

  2. The CS elicits the CR (the CR occurs due to the CS)

  3. The UCS still elicits the UCR (the UCR occurs due to the UCS)
• Operant conditioning


  • A behaviourist approach to learning as it suggests that learning occurs through interacting with the external environment
• Operant conditioning


  A three-phase learning process that involves an antecedent, behaviour and consequence, whereby the consequence of a behaviour determines the likelihood that it will reoccur
• Antecedent


  The stimulus or event that precedes and often elicits a particular behaviour. It signals the probable consequence for the behaviour, and therefore influences the occurrence of the behaviour. It is associated with a consequence, that enables the organism to predict the likely outcome of their behaviour.
• Behaviour


  The voluntary action that occurs in the presence of the antecedent. It has an effect on the environment in the form of a consequence that follows it.
• Consequence


  The outcome of the behaviour, which determines the likelihood that the behaviour will occur again. It is the environmental event that occurs immediately after the behaviour, and has an effect on the occurrence of the behaviour in the future.
• Reinforcement


  A consequence that increases the likelihood of the behaviour reoccurring (increases the learner's desire to repeat the behaviour)
• Positive reinforcement


  The addition of a desirable stimulus, which increases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring
• Negative reinforcement


  The removal of an undesirable stimulus, which increases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring
• Punishment


  A consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring (decreases the learner's desire to repeat the behaviour)
• Positive punishment


  The addition of an undesirable stimulus, which decreases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring
• Negative punishment


  The removal of a desirable stimulus, which decreases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring
• Social-cognitive approaches to learning


  • Theories that propose learning takes place in a social setting and involves various cognitive processes
• Observational learning


  A process of learning that involves watching the behaviour of a model and the associated consequence of that behaviour. The learner has an active role in learning as they need to watch and pay attention to the model in order to be able to imitate the behaviour.
• Model


  The individual who is performing the behaviour that the learner observes
• Five stages of observational learning

  1. Attention

  2. Retention

  3. Reproduction

  4. Motivation

  5. Reinforcement
• Attention


  The first stage of observational learning in which individuals actively focus on the model's behaviour and the consequences of the behaviour
• Retention


  The second stage of observational learning in which individuals create a mental representation to remember the model's demonstrated behaviour
• Reproduction


  The third stage of observational learning in which the individual must have the physical and mental capabilities to replicate the behaviour
• Motivation


  The fourth stage of observational learning in which the individual must want/desire to perform the behaviour. Intrinsic motivation occurs from within the individual, extrinsic motivation occurs from factors external to the individual.
• Reinforcement


  The fifth stage of observational learning in which the individual receives a desirable consequence for the behaviour which makes them more likely to reproduce the behaviour again in the future. Self-reinforcement is reinforced by factors internal to the individual, external reinforcement is reinforced by factors external to the individual, vicarious reinforcement is reinforced by observing the reinforcement of another person performing the same behaviour.
• For First Nations peoples, learning is not only dependent on the relationships between learner and teacher, but also immersive; learning takes place by seeing, hearing, feeling and doing.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander processes of learning

  • Learning is a process that takes place within complex systems of knowledge. Systems of knowledge are developed by communities working together and sharing knowledge, informed by culture, including who can learn what and where, consist of information that is highly relevant to day-to-day living and survival, informed by spiritual and ancestral knowledge, consist of information that is highly interconnected, patterned (created) on Country (the traditional lands of a particular language or cultural group, including both geographical boundaries and the spiritual, emotional and intellectual connections to and within it).
• Multimodal learning


  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander approaches to learning are multimodal (use a variety of methods) including story-sharing, learning maps, non-verbal, symbols and images, land links, non-linear, deconstruct-reconstruct, community links.
• Learning embedded in relationships


  • The process of learning for First Nations peoples is deeply embedded in relationships between concepts, relationships between people, and relationships between people and Country.
• Country


  (the traditional lands of a particular language or cultural group, including both geographical boundaries and the spiritual, emotional and intellectual connections to and within it)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander approaches to learning

  • Multimodal (use a variety of methods)
• 8 ways of Aboriginal learning framework

  • Story-sharing: learning takes place through narrative
  • Learning maps: planning and visualising processes and knowledge
  • Non-verbal: sharing knowledge through non-verbal means (e.g. dance, art)
  • Symbols and images: learning through images, symbols and metaphors
  • Land links: learning and knowledge are inherently linked to Country
  • Non-linear: thinking outside the square and taking knowledge from different viewpoints
  • Deconstruct-reconstruct: breaking down a concept into parts and then applying it
  • Community links: connecting learning to local values, needs and knowledge
• Learning for First Nations peoples

  • Deeply embedded in relationships: relationships between concepts, between learner and teacher, between individuals/families/communities, and between all of the above and Country