Approach

• Approaches to Learning

  • Behavioral
  • Social cognitive
  • Information processing
  • Cognitive Constructivist
  • Social constructivist
• Classical Conditioning


  1. Association made between a previously neutral stimulus and a stimulus that naturally evokes a response

  2. Example: Pavlov's experiment with bell and food
• Operant Conditioning

  1. Probability of a response occurring is increased or decreased due to reinforcement or punishment

  2. Reinforcement can lead to increases in behaviors, punishment leads to decreases

  3. Timing and rate of reinforcement are known as schedules of reinforcement
• Observational Learning

  1. Learning occurs through observing and imitating others

  2. Example: Teen learns not to speed after observing sibling's speeding ticket
• Social Cognitive Theory

  • Emphasizes learning that occurs within a social context
  • People are active agents who can both influence and are influenced by their environment
  • Requires cognitive development to imitate another person's behavior
• Social Cognitive Theory stemmed out of work in the area of social learning theory proposed by Miller and Dollard in 1941
• Humans are motivated to learn particular behaviors that are learned through clear observations, and would be rewarded with positive reinforcement by imitating these observed actions
• The theorists most commonly associated with social cognitive theory are Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel
• Information Processing Theory


  An approach to cognitive development studies that aims to explain how information is encoded into memory
• George Armitage Miller was the first to put forth the idea of the theory of information processing
• Miller's studies are based on Edward C. Tolman's sign and latent learning theories, which propose that learning is an internal and complex process which involves mental processes
• Miller discovered the capacity of the working memory, which can generally hold up to seven plus or minus two items, and coined the term "chunking" when describing the functionalities of short-term memory
• Elements of Information Processing Theory

  • Information stores
  • Cognitive processes
  • Executive cognition
• Sensory Memory


  Holds the information that the mind perceives through various senses, but most are ignored and forgotten to prevent getting overwhelmed
• Short-Term Memory (Working Memory)

  Information only lasts around 30 seconds, cognitive abilities affect how individuals process information, attention and focus play an important role in encoding it into long-term memory, repetition helps remember details for a long time
• Long-Term Memory


  Thought to have unlimited space, various methods are used to store information such as repetition, connecting information, relating to meaningful experience, and breaking up information into smaller chunks
• Declarative Knowledge


  Conscious knowledge that something is true, often expressed verbally
• Procedural Knowledge


  Understanding how to accomplish something, may be implicit and difficult to describe
• Implications of Cognitive Information Processing for Learning include: organizing instruction using graphic representations, arranging practice opportunities, assisting students in becoming self-regulated, and recognizing the limitations of short-term memory
• Cognitive Constructivism


  • Views learning as the process of constructing meaning, how people make sense of their experience
  • Purpose is not only to acquire knowledge, but also to enable learners to create new knowledge, building on prior knowledge
• Social Constructivism


  • Individuals are active participants in the creation of their own knowledge
  • Learning takes place primarily in social and cultural settings, rather than solely within the individual
  • Successful teaching and learning is heavily dependent on interpersonal interaction and discussion
  • Emphasizes the role of the instructor in an individual's learning through the zone of proximal development