2021

Learning theories and practical app

educational psychology
ASSIGNMENT

NAME: SEHAR KHALID

Learning Theories and Practical Application of Behaviorism, Cognitivism and

Constructivism

Learning theories are research-based concepts about how students learn. To explain how

students acquire, store, and apply knowledge, theories combine what is known about genetics,

development, environment, motivation, and emotions. Let's take a look at some learning theories

and their practical application.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism encompasses educational psychology theories that focus on the environmental

factors that affect the way students learn. According to behaviorism, learning is defined as an

observable change in behavior.

Ivan Pavlov's classical conditioning was probably the first behaviorist theory to emerge. In

classical conditioning, one learns to associate an unconditioned stimulus that already elicits a

specific response (i.e., a reflex) with a new (conditioned) stimulus in such a way that the new

stimulus elicits the same response. The unconditional stimulus (or UCS) is the object or event

that originally evoked the reflexive / natural response. The response to this is known as the

unconditional response (or UCR). A neutral stimulus (NS) is a new stimulus that doesn’t elicit a

response. When the neutral stimulus gets associated with the unconditioned stimulus, it becomes

the conditioned stimulus (CS). The conditioned response (CR) is the response to the conditioned

stimulus.
BF Skinner's operant conditioning is a learning theory in behavioral psychology that states that

learning occurs through a series of rewards or punishments. According to this theory, rewards

raise the possibility that the behavior will be repeated, while punishments reduce the possibility

of it being repeated. It also states that rewards and punishments can be positive or negative in

nature. This means that when we give or add something to the environment, the interaction is

positive; When we take something away, the interaction is negative. For example, removing an

unwanted activity from the program can be a negative reward, while adding an unwanted activity

to it can be a positive punishment.

Practical application of behaviorism

Behavioral theories imply that the work of the teacher is to (1) determine which cues may

produce the desired responses; (2) arrange practice situations in which cues are paired with the

target stimuli that firstly have no eliciting power but which will be expected to produce the

responses in the “natural” (performance) setting; and (3) arrange environmental conditions so

that students can make the accurate responses in the incidence of those target stimuli and receive

reinforcement for those responses (Gropper, 1987). For example, students of psychology class

are asked to make a report on the experiments they have performed in the psychology lab

according to APA format. They are asked to make such a report for the 1 st time. The target

stimulus (the verbal command “to make a report according to APA format”) does not initially

elicit the correct response nor do the students have the capability to make the correct response.

However, with the repeated presentation of cues (e.g., completed templates of past reports, blank

templates arranged in standard format) paired with the verbal command stimulus, the students

begin to make the appropriate responses. Although the initial responses may not be in the final
proper form, repeated practice and reinforcement shape the response until it is correctly

executed.

Finally, learning is demonstrated when, upon the command to make a report according to APA

format, the students reliably make the report on experiments conducted in psychology lab

according to the APA format and does so without the use of previous examples or models.

You can use behaviorism to improve learning and reduce distracting behavior in students. As

you write lesson plans, determine what knowledge and skills you want students to acquire.

Determine how you will objectively evaluate performance. Develop a system to monitor student

progress and intervene if problems arise. Communicate your academic and behavioral

expectations of students. Use exams and grades to encourage students to do their best. For

example, if you think students are not completing assigned readings, you can give quizzes to

keep students motivated and reward hardworking staff. Control disruptive behaviors that can

interfere with teaching and learning, praise positive behaviors, ignore slightly offensive

behaviors, and consistently enforce the consequences of rule violations.

Cognitivism

Cognitivism talks about how information is received, organized, stored, and retrieved by the

mind. It uses the mind as an information processor, like a computer. Hence, cognitivism goes

beyond observable behaviors and regards learning as internal mental processes. From this

standpoint, learners are actively involved in the way in which they process information.

Knowledge, memory, thinking, and problem solving are areas of development.

Bandura's social cognitive theory assumes that learning takes place in a social context, with the

dynamic and reciprocated interaction of person, environment, and behavior. Observational

learning, in which people observe and mimic the patterns they encounter in their surroundings,

enables people to obtain information much faster. Observational learning occurs through a series

of four processes: Attentional processes take into account, information in the environment

which is selected for observation. People can choose whether they want to observe real role

models or models they encounter through the media. Retention processes involve the

remembering of observed information so that it can later be retrieved and successfully

reconstructed. Production processes reconstruct memories of observations so that what has been

learned can be applied in suitable situations. In most cases, this does not mean that the observer

is exactly repeating the observed action, but rather that they change behavior to create a variation

that suits the context. Motivational processes determine whether an observed behavior is carried

out or not, based on whether the behavior leads to desired or negative results for the model.

When observed behavior is rewarded, the observer is more motivated to reproduce it. However,

if behavior is punished in any way, the observer will be less motivated to reproduce it. Hence,

cognitive social theory warns that humans do not perform all the behaviors they learn through

modeling.

Self-Efficacy

In addition to the information, they can impart during observational learning, models can

increase or decrease the observer's belief in his or her self-efficacy in performing the observed

behaviors and getting the desired results from those behaviors. When people see that others like

them are succeeding, they also believe that they can be successful. Models are therefore a source

of motivation and inspiration. The perception of self-efficacy influences people's decisions and

beliefs about themselves, including the goals they pursue and how much effort they put into
achieving those goals, how willing they are to persevere in the face of obstacles and setbacks,

and the results, that they expect.

Thus, self-efficacy affects a person's motivation to perform various actions and their belief in

their ability to do so. Such beliefs can influence personal growth and change.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development assumes that children go through four different

phases of mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children

acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the nature of intelligence. Piaget's stages are:

 Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years

 Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7

 Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11

 Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up

Piaget believed that children are active participants in the learning process by acting like little

scientists as they experiment, make observations, and discover the world. As children interact

with the world around them, they are constantly adding new information, building on existing

information, and adapting formerly held ideas to accommodate new information. Here are a few

factors that affect the way children learn and grow: Schema: Piaget called it fundamental

building block of rational behavior - a way of organizing knowledge. It helps us in building a

mental representation of the world. Assimilation: The procedure of integrating new info into our

pre-existing schemas is called assimilation. The procedure is rather subjective because we have a

tendency to modify experiences and information slightly to adapt them to our pre-existing

schemas. Accommodation: Another part of adaptation is accommodation which is modifying

developed in the process.

Practical application of cognitivism

For teaching to be effective, it must be based on the student's existing mental structures or

schemas. It should organize the information in a way that enables students to relate the new

information to existing information in a meaningful way. This type of cognitive strategy

encompasses the examples of Analogies and metaphors. For example, instructional design

textbooks often draw an analogy among the acquainted occupation of architect and the

unacquainted occupation of instructional design to assist novice learners in conceptualizing,

organizing, and retaining the essential duties and functions of an instructional designer. Other

cognitive strategies can incorporate the usage of mnemonics, outlining, framing, advance

organizers, concept mapping, and so forth. Such cognitive emphases imply that main duties of

the teacher comprise of (1) considering that individuals bring numerous learning experiences to

learning situation which can affect learning outcomes; (2) finding the most efficient way to

organize and structure the new knowledge to take advantage of the knowledge, skills and

experience previously acquired by the learner; (3) organizing practice along with feedback so

that new info is assimilated and/or accommodated effectively into the cognitive structure of the

learner. Consider the following example of a learning situation utilizing a cognitive approach: A

teacher wants to teach his/her 1st semester BBA students, how to do a cost-benefit analysis for a

development project. In this case, it is assumed that the students have no previous experience

with cost-benefit analysis in a business setting. However, by relating this new task to highly

similar procedures with which the students have had more experience, the teacher can facilitate a

smooth and efficient assimilation of this new procedure into memory. These familiar procedures
may include the process by which the students allocate their monthly pocket money, how they

make a buy/ no-buy decision regarding the purchase of a luxury item, or even how their weekend

spending activities might be determined and prioritized. The procedures for such activities may

not exactly match those of the cost-benefit analysis, but the similarity between the activities

allows for the unfamiliar information to be put within a familiar context. Thus, processing

requirements are reduced, and the potential effectiveness of recall cues is increased.

An example of social cognitive theory would be that a teacher of psychological practicum wants

to teach his/her students the maze experiment. Firstly, he/she gives a lecture on it and then

demonstrates how to perform the maze experiment. Then he/she takes a graded quiz on it. And

then asks students to perform the experiment and announces that the performance over the

experiment would be marked. All students work in pairs in psychology lab. Then he/she asks

students to submit report on it which would also be graded. He/she also provide report templates

and samples to guide student’s performance. In this example, many elements of modeling and

imitation have been included. For example, the teacher demonstrates the experiment and

provides report templates and samples to guide students' performance. The four elements of

observational learning are also represented: the attention element is assumed with the lecture and

demonstration, the retention element is assured by the quiz, the reproduction element is triggered

with the student pair activity and the submission of the required report, and the motivation

element comprises the marked quiz, graded pair activity and graded report. Self-efficacy is

increased as students see other students like them succeed in performing the experiment, they

believe that they can also succeed.

Constructivism
Constructivism is an approach to learning that states that individuals actively build their

knowledge, and that reality is established by the learner’s experiences. Further developing the

ideas of constructivists, Arends (1998) states that constructivism believes that learners personally

construct their meaning through experience and that the interaction of prior knowledge and new

events influence that meaning.

Social constructivism, a theory of social learning developed by Russian psychologist Lev

Vygotsky, states that people are actively involved in shaping their knowledge. Vygotsky

believed that learning occurs essentially in social and cultural settings, rather than merely inside

the person. According to Vygotsky, students learn best by collaborating with people whose skills

are higher than their own i.e., the more knowledgeable others. The theory of social

constructivism focuses on dyads and small groups. For example, students tend to learn by

interacting with peers, teachers, and parents, and teachers encourage and facilitate conversations

through social networks. class discussion. For instance, students learn primarily through

interactions with their peers, teachers, and parents, whereas teachers stimulate and facilitate

discussion through utilizing the natural flow of discussion in the classroom. Social

constructivism implies that effective teaching and learning is strongly reliant upon interpersonal

interaction and discussion, with the main focus on the student’s grasp of the discussion. One of

the fundamental concepts of Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism is the zone of proximal

development (ZPD), which stresses the role of the trainer in an individual’s learning. The ZPD

describes the activities which a learner can do without assistance, and the activities the learner

can’t do without the assistance of a trainer. ZPD shows that students can understand and master

knowledge and skills that they wouldn’t be able to develop on their own, with the assistance of

the teacher. When the learners master a certain skill, they can complete it independently. In this
theory, the trainer serves an important role in the learner’s acquisition of knowledge, rather than

acting as a passive figure.

Radical constructivism is largely based on Jean Piaget’s constructivism, as well on ideas

about epistemology that is how we gain knowledge, from British empiricism, Kant’s idealism,

and Saussure’s structuralism. Following Piaget, von Glasersfeld said that we build our

concepts and our world’s understanding, developmentally. The notion of radical constructivism

was that all knowledge is built instead of perceived through senses. The students create new

knowledge based on existing knowledge and it happens through assimilation. Assimilation is

fitting new information to pre-existing schema, knowledge, and experiences. So, theoretically

today’s education will soon be yesterday’s experience to construct and build on, according to

von Glasersfeld. Radical constructivism, however, says that the knowledge created by

individuals tells nothing about reality, it just helps them to work in their surroundings. Thus,

knowledge is not discovered, it is invented. Man-made reality is constantly changing and

interacting to match ontological reality, although it can never give a "true picture" of it.

Application of constructivism

Constructivist learning theory supports a variety of student-centered teaching methods and

techniques that run counter to traditional education in which teachers simply passively impart

knowledge to students. The teacher's main duty is to produce a collaborative problem-solving

environment where learners become active participants in their own learning. The teacher plays

the role of a facilitator of learning rather than an instructor, from this perspective. The teacher

makes sure they understand the preexisting concepts of students and guides activities to solve
them and then build on them. Scaffolding is a key element in effective teaching, with adults

constantly adjusting their level of support to match the learner's level of proficiency. In the

classroom, scaffolding may include modeling skills, giving clues or advice, and customizing

materials or activities.

Specific strategies used by constructivists include putting tasks in a real context, applying

cognitive practices (modeling and guiding the student to expert performance), presenting

multiple perspectives (learning together to develop and share alternative points of view), social

negotiation (debate, Discussion, and argumentation), the use of examples as real “slices of life”,

reflective awareness and giving meaningful instructions for the use of constructive processes.

Some examples of constructivist classrooms include the following.

1. Mr. X purposefully pair off pupils performing on or above grade level, with pupils

performing below grade level, inviting them to talk about their learning throughout a

lesson.

2. Mrs. X uses collaborative learning to assist engagement with particular learning targets,

making sure of diverse student groupings.

3. Ms. X uses Problem-Based Learning to involve her pupils in solving real world

problems, achieving multiple learning objectives while giving students autonomy in

decision-making. She urges students to work with peers who have different strengths than

their own.

Conclusion

It is concluded that all three schools of thought have significant applications in the field of

learning and education. Behaviorism uses association techniques as well as reinforcements and
punishments to bring observable change in behavior. Whereas cognitivism work on the ways

through which information is received, processed, stored, and retrieved. And constructivism uses

the collaborative learning and student-centered approach to help students in constructing their

own reality.

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References

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