UNIT

3:
The
Learning
Process
Prepared by: Katherine R. Vilaga, RMT, MPH
Objectives:
• Explain the different learning
theories as basis in informed
instructional material preparation
and delivery
•  Explain the learning process.
Overview
•  The learning process
•  Definitions •  Metacognition and
•  Learning theories self-regulated learning
•  Behavioural •  Creativity
•  Humanistic •  Andragogy
•  Cognitive
•  Constructivist
•  Others
The Learning Process
 Learning
1. “A persisting change in human performance or
performance potential . . . (brought) about as a result of
the learner’s interaction with the environment”
(Driscoll, 1994, pp. 8-9).

2. “The relatively permanent change in a person’s

knowledge or behavior due to experience” (Mayer, 1982, p.
1040).

3. “An enduring change in behavior, or in the capacity

to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice
or other forms of experience” (Shuell, 1986, p. 412).
 Cognitive Development
Instructional Implications:
1.  There should be plenty of opportunity for
assimilation and accommodation in order
for students to proceed from one stage to
the next.
2.  The richer the experience, the more
elaborate the cognitive structure
development.
3.  Materials and activities should be geared
for the appropriate level of cognitive
development.

Elaboration Theory
Reigeluth
 Elaboration Theory
Elaboration Theory details a general
model of organizing instruction from
a simple to more complex structure.
 Elaboration Theory
•  Features of the Model (Ragan &
Smith, 1996):
1.  An epitome at the beginning of
the instruction
2.  A learning-prerequisite sequence
within each level of elaboration
3.  A learner-control format
4.  The use of analogies,
summarizers and sythesizers.
 Elaboration Theory
•  Courses can have 3 different
structurings which are based on the
goals of the course.

1.  Conceptual
2.  Procedural
3.  Theoretical
Problem-Based Learning
Roger Schank
 Problem-Based Learning

Learning that is situated around an

event, case, problem, or scenario.
 Problem-Based Learning
Five Strategies for Using PBL (Duffy &
Cunningham, 1996):

1. The Problem as a Guide: the problem

is presented in order to gain
attention prior to presenting the
lesson.
 Problem-Based Learning
Five Strategies for Using PBL

2. The Problem as an Integrator or Test:

the problem is presented after
readings are completed and/or
discussed -- these are used to check
for understanding.
 Problem-Based Learning
Five Strategies for Using PBL

3. The Problem as an Example:

the problem is integrated into the
material in order to illustrate a
particular principle, concept or
procedure.
 Problem-Based Learning
Five Strategies for Using PBL

4. The Problem as a Vehicle for Process:

the problem is used to promote
critical thinking whereby the
analysis of how to solve it becomes
a lesson in itself.
 Problem-Based Learning
Five Strategies for Using PBL

5. The Problem as a Stimulus for Authentic

Activity: the problem is used to develop
skills necessary to solve it and other
problems -- skills can include physical
skills, recall of prior knowledge, and
metacognitive skills related to the problem
solving process. A form of authentic
assessment of the skills and activity
necessary in the content domain.
 Problem-Based Learning
•  Design PBL Instruction:
1.  Task Analysis: analysis must take
place not only within the content
domain but should also determine the
actual setting where the learning will
be authentic.
2.  Problem Generation: The problems
must be constructed so they include
the concepts and principles that are
relevant and they must be set in a real
context.
 Problem-Based Learning
•  Learning Sequence:
1.  Collaborative Analysis session where
groups work together to solve the
problem.
2.  Self-directed Learning where the
students identify the information and
resources that are necessary to solve
the problem.
 Problem-Based Learning

Assessment: assessment of learning

must occur within the context of the
problems and should be in the form
of both self assessment and peer
assessment.
Conditions of Learning
Robert Gagne
 Conditions of Learning
The five categories:

1.  verbal information

2.  intellectual skills
3.  cognitive strategies
4.  motor skills
5.  attitudes
 Conditions of Learning
 Nine events of Instruction
(Ragan & Smith, 1996)

1. Gain Attention 5. Provide learning

2. Inform the learner guidance
of the objective 6. Elicit performance
3. Stimulate recall of 7. Provide feedback
prior knowledge 8. Assess performance
4. Present stimulus 9. Enhance retention
material and transfer
 Conditions of Learning
•  Major Principles of Gagne’s Theory
(Kearsley, 1998)
1. Different instruction is needed for different
learning outcomes.
2. Events of learning operate on the learner in ways
that constitute conditions of learning.
3. The specific operations that constitute
instructional events are different for each type of
learning outcome.
4. Learning hierarchies define what intellectual
skills are to be learned and a sequence of
instruction.
Assimilation Theory
David Ausubel
 Assimilation Theory

Concerned with how individuals

learn large amounts of meaningful
material. The primary process in
learning is that new information is
related to relevant knowledge that is
already existing in an individual’s
cognitive structure.
 Assimilation Theory
•  The steps to this process are:
1.  Subsumptive: meaning and new
examples are added to an existing
concept
2.  Superordinate: ideas and concepts are
sythesized and therefore new
inclusive concepts are created
3.  Combinatorial: additional
background is added to achieve a
more global understanding of the
concept.
 Assimilation Theory

Ausubel differs from Gestalt theories,

schema theory and Bruner’s spiral
learning model in that he emphasizes
the reorganization of existing
cognitive structures.
 Assimilation Theory
Principles:
1. The most general ideas of a subject
should be presented first and then
progressively differentiated in terms
of detail and specificity.
2. Instructional materials should attempt
to integrate new materials with
previously learned material by
comparing new and old ideas and
concepts.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Benjamin Bloom
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Learning Theory
Q: How do people learn?
A: Nobody really knows.
But there are 6 main theories:

1.  Behaviorism
2.  Cognitivism
3.  Social Learning Theory
4.  Social Constructivism
5.  Multiple Intelligences
6.  Brain-Based Learning
Learning Theories
Behaviorism
 Behaviorism
Confined to observable and measurable
behavior

§ Classical Conditioning - Pavlov

§ Operant Conditioning - Skinner

 Behaviorism

§ Classical Conditioning - Pavlov

A stimulus is presented
in order to get a response:

S R
 Behaviorism
§ Classical Conditioning - Pavlov
S US
UR

CS US

CR
 Behaviorism
§ Operant Conditioning - Skinner

The response is made first,

then reinforcement follows.
 Behaviorism
•  Learning is defined by the outward expression of
new behaviors
•  Behavioral learning theorists believe that
learning has occurred when you can see changes
in behavior.
•  A biological basis for learning
•  Learning is context-independent

•  Classical & Operant Conditioning
•  Reflexes (Pavlov’s Dogs)
•  Feedback/Reinforcement (Skinner’s Pigeon
Box)
Behaviorism in the Classroom
•  Rewards and
punishments

•  Responsibility for
student learning
rests squarely with
the Teacher/
Influencer

•  Lecture-based, highly
structured
Key Principles: Behaviorism

• Learning happens when a correct

response is demonstrated following
the presentation of a specific
environmental stimulus Emphasis is on
observable and measurable behaviors
Critiques of Behaviorism
•  Does not account for processes taking place
in the mind that cannot be observed

•  Advocates for passive student learning in a
teacher-centric environment

•  One size fits all

•  Knowledge itself is given and absolute

•  Programmed instruction & teacher-proofing

Behaviorism: Practical
Application: Health
• Weight loss
• Smoking cessation
• Assertiveness training
• Anxiety-reduction programs
Goal of Instruction: Behaviorism
•  Communicate or transfer behaviors representing
knowledge and skills to the learner
•  Instruction is to elicit the desired response from
the learner who is presented with a target
stimulus
•  Learner must know how to execute the proper
response as well as the conditions under which
the response is made
•  Instruction utilizes consequences and
reinforcement of learned behaviors
Cognitivism
 Cognitivism
•  Knowledge is stored cognitively as symbols

•  Learning is the process of connecting
symbols in a meaningful & memorable way

•  Focused on the mental processes that
facilitate symbol connection
Cognitive Learning Theory

§  Discovery Learning - Jerome Bruner

§  Meaningful Verbal Learning -

David Ausubel
Cognitive Learning Theory
§ Discovery Learning

1. Bruner said anybody can learn anything at

any age, provided it is stated in terms
they can understand.
Cognitive Learning Theory
§ Discovery Learning

2. Powerful Concepts (not isolated facts)

a. Transfer to many different situations
b. Only possible through Discovery Learning
c. Confront the learner with problems and help
them find solutions. Do not present
sequenced materials.
Cognitive Learning Theory
§ Meaningful Verbal Learning

Advance Organizers:

New material is
presented in a
systematic way, and
is connected to
existing cognitive
structures in a
meaningful way.
Cognitive Learning Theory
§ Meaningful Verbal Learning

When learners have
difficulty with new
material, go back to
the concrete anchors
(Advance Organizers).
Provide a Discovery
approach, and they’ll
learn.
Cognitivism in the Classroom
•  Inquiry-oriented
projects

•  Opportunities for
the testing of
hypotheses

•  Curiosity
encouraged

•  Staged scaffolding
Key Principles: Cognitivism
•  Learning is a change of knowledge state
•  Learning occurs through internal processing of
information.
•  Learner is viewed as an active participant in
the learning process
•  Emphasis is on the building blocks of
knowledge
•  Emphasis on structuring, organizing and
sequencing information to facilitate optimal
processing
Clinical Application

The patient must learn how to physically manipulate the blood pressure
manometer, learn how to hear blood pressure sounds, and understand
the meaning of the sounds. Each of these tasks can be practiced as a
separate activity, then combined. In the last phase of learning, the
automatic phase, the patient gains increasing confidence and
competence in performing the task.
Goal of Instruction: Cognitivism

•  Communicate or transfer knowledge in the
most efficient, effective manner
•  Focus : to create learning or change by
encouraging the learner to use appropriate
learning strategies
•  Learning results when information is stored in
memory in an organized, meaningful way.
•  Teachers/designers are responsible for
assisting learners in organizing information in
an optimal way so that it can be readily
assimilated
Goal of Instruction: Constructivism
•  Build personal interpretations of the world based on
individual experiences and interactions
•  Learning is an active process of constructing rather than
acquiring knowledge
•  Instruction is a process of supporting knowledge
construction rather than communicating knowledge
•  Do not structure learning for the task, but engage
learner in the actual use of the tools in real world
situations
Critiques of Cognitivism
•  Like Behaviorism, knowledge itself is given
and absolute

•  Input – Process – Output model is
mechanistic and deterministic

•  Does not account enough for individuality

•  Little emphasis on affective characteristics
 Cognitivism
•  Information Processing looks at how information is retrieved and
stored.
•  This theory focuses on how to store and retrieve information.
•  Learning is attained through rehearsal and consistent use of the
information.
•  Retention strategies such as breaking down information and
comparing the information to long term storage are great techniques.
 Constructivism
•  Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner
constructs knowledge based on their past experiences.

•  The teacher only acts as a facilitator who encourages students to
explore within a given framework.


Learners may collaborate
with others to organize their
ideas and learn from each
other to construct their own
knowledge.

 Putting It All Together
Learning Theory Learning Process Technology Support
Through positive/ Educational software
Behaviorism negative can be used to
reinforcement and measure the students
punishment assessment
Rehearsing Flashcards and
Cognitivism information and then memory games can
storing it for long term help retain information
use taught in a lesson
Constructing ones Group PowerPoint
Constructivism own knowledge projects allow students
through past to work together and
experiences and combine their
group collaboration knowledge to learn
Social Learning
Social Learning Theory (SLT)

•  Grew out of Cognitivism - A. Bandura (1973)

•  Learning takes place through observation and
sensorial experiences

•  “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”

Social Learning Theory
Learning From Models
- Albert Bandura

1. Attend to pertinent clues
2. Code for memory
3. Retain in memory
4. Accurately reproduce the
observed activity
5. Possess sufficient motivation to
apply new learning
Social Learning Theory
Factors influencing the strength of
learning from models:

1. How much power the model seems to have
2. How capable the model seems to be
3. How nurturing the model seems to be
4. How similar the learner perceives self and
model
5. How many models the learner observes
Social Learning Theory
Four interrelated processes establish
and strengthen identification with
the model:

1. Children want to be like the
model
2. Children believe they are like the
model
3. Children experience emotions
like those the model is feeling.
4. Children act like the model.
 Social Learning Theory
Through identification, children come to
believe they have the same
characteristics as the model.

When they identify with a nurturant and competent

model, children feel pleased and proud.
When they identify with an inadequate model,
children feel unhappy and insecure.
SLT Application
•  Collaborative learning
and group work

•  Modeling responses
and expectations

•  Opportunities to
observe experts in
action
Critiques of Social Learning
Theory
•  Does not take into account individuality,
context, and experience as mediating factors

•  Suggests students learn best as passive
receivers of sensory stimuli, as opposed to
being active learners

•  Emotions and motivation not considered
important or connected to learning
Social Constructivism
 Social Constructivism
•  Grew out of and in response to Cognitivism, framed
around metacognition

•  Knowledge is actively constructed

•  Learning is…
•  A search for meaning by the learner
•  Contextualized
•  An inherently social activity
•  Dialogic and recursive
•  The responsibility of the learner

•  Lev Vygotsky
•  Social Learning
•  Zone of Proximal Development
Social Constructivism

•  Journaling

•  Experiential
activities

•  Personal focus

•  Collaborative &
cooperative
learning
Key Principles: Constructivism
•  Learners build personal interpretation of the
world based on experiences and interactions
•  Knowledge is embedded in the context in
which it is used.
•  Create novel and situation-specific
understandings by "assembling" knowledge
from diverse sources appropriate to the
problem at hand.
Critiques of Social Constructivism
• Suggests that knowledge is neither
given nor absolute

• Often seen as less rigorous than
traditional approaches to instruction

• Does not fit well with traditional age

grouping and rigid terms/semesters
Humanist
 Humanist
• All students are intrinsically motivated
to self actualize or learn
• Learning is dependent upon meeting a
hierarchy of needs
• Learning should be reinforced.
 Humanist
"Am I a good person?”

"What should I be contributing to the
society?”
Humanist
 Humanist Application

humanist theory is used to help post myocardial infarction patients

regain a sense of personal control over their health care management.
It is possible to select elements of each theory that you find useful in
patient teaching.
Multiple
Intelligence
Multiple Intelligences (MI)
•  Grew out of Constructivism, framed around metacognition

•  H. Gardner (1983 to present)

•  All people are born with eight intelligences:

•  Enables students to leverage their strengths and
purposefully target and develop their weaknesses

1. Verbal-Linguistic 5. Musical
2. Visual-Spatial 6. Naturalist
3. Logical-Mathematical 7. Interpersonal
4. Kinesthetic 8. Intrapersonal
 MI in the Classroom
•  Delivery of instruction via
multiple mediums

•  Student-centered
classroom

•  Authentic Assessment

•  Self-directed learning
Critiques of MI
•  Lack of quantifiable evidence that MI exist

•  Lack of evidence that use of MI as a curricular
and methodological approach has any
discernable impact on learning

•  Suggestive of a departure from core curricula
and standards
Brain-based
learning
 Brain-Based Learning (BBL)
•  Grew out of Neuroscience & Constructivism

•  D. Souza, N. Caine & G. Caine, E. Jensen (1980’s to

present)
•  12 governing principles

1. Brain is a parallel processor 7. Focused attention & peripheral

perception
2. Whole body learning 8. Conscious & unconscious processes
3. A search for meaning 9. Several types of memory
4. Patterning 10. Embedded learning sticks
5. Emotions are critical 11. Challenge & threat
6. Processing of parts and 12. Every brain is unique
wholes
BBL in the Classroom
•  Opportunities for group
learning
•  Regular environmental
changes
•  A multi-sensory
environment
•  Opportunities for self-
expression and making
personal connections to
content
•  Community-based learning
Critiques of BBL
• Research conducted by neuroscientists,
not teachers & educational researchers

• Lack of understanding of the brain itself

makes “brain-based” learning questionable

• Individual principles have been

scientifically questioned
Andragogy
• A theory of adult learning that details
some of the ways in which adults learn
differently than children.
• Malcom Shepherd Knowles
(1913-1997)
Knowles’ 5 Assumptions of
Adult Learners:

1.  Self-Concept
2.  Past Learning Experience
3.  Readiness to Learn
4. Practical Reasons to Learn.
5. Driven by Internal Motivation
4 Principles of Andragogy
1.  Adults need to be involved in the planning and
evaluation of their instruction.
2.  Experience (including mistakes) provides the
basis for learning activities.
3.  Adults are most interested in learning subjects
that have immediate relevance to their job or
personal life.
4.  Adult learning is problem-centered rather than
content-oriented.
Other Learning Theories of
Note

•  Flow (M. Czikszentmihalyi)

•  Situated Learning (J. Lave)

•  Subsumption Theory (D. Ausubel)

•  Conditions of Learning (R. Gagne)

Acknowledgement
•  Prof Fernando Rubio of University of
Huelva, Spain
•  Dr. Shahram Yazdani
•  Janne Pauleen Bautista, RMT of Saint
Louis University
•  Efraem Jude Duquez, RMT, MSMT of
Saint Louis University
•  Audrey Glen Culliao, MSBiol of Saint
Louis University


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