Learning theories are normally divided into paradigms, these paradigms symbolise the different views in learning. They consist of; behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, humanism and play.
Behaviourism is “the theory that human and animal behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts and feelings” (Oxford dictionaries) a behaviourist believes that all learners start with a clean slate and that we are conditioned. Conditioning happens when we interact with the environment and how the environment stimulates us dictates our actions. There are two types of conditioning, classical and operant.
Theorist Ivan Pavlov is associated with classical conditioning; Pavlov was born September 1849 in Rayazan Russia and died February 1936. He studied at the University of St Petersburg and received a degree in the Candidate of Natural Sciences in 1875. His theory came about through his study of dogs, he noticed that every time he entered the room in his white lab coat his dog would salivate even if he didn’t have any food, the dog didn’t learn to salivate it was a reflex, it is ‘hard-wired’ into the dog; an unconditioned response. He linked this to the white lab coat, the dogs had learned they would receive food. He wanted to take this further so he then introduced a bell, this was a neutral stimulus, every time he gave the dogs food he would ring the bell, after repeating this action a few times he then rang the bell on its own and the effect was the same, the dogs salivated at the sound of the bell, therefore it was learned and conditioned. The dog had learned through conditioning that when the bell rang it would get food and even when the food was not brought the dog still salivated at the sound of the bell. Burrhus Frederick Skinner is the theorist associated with operant conditioning, Skinner was born in March 1904 in America and died in August 1990, he earnt his doctorate degree at Harvard University. Operant conditioning is a way of learning using positive and negative reinforcement. ‘Skinner felt that classical conditioning was too simple to be the explanation of human behaviour, he felt the best way to understand behaviour would be to look at causes of actions and its consequences’ (McLeod, 2007) Skinner recognised three different types of responses to behaviour, neutral operants – this is neutral response to the environment, behaviour may or may not be repeated. Reinforcers – behaviour from the environment is likely to be repeated, reinforcers can be either positive or negative. Punishers – ‘Responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishment weakens behavior’. (McLeod, 2015) Skinner created a box for rats, in the box was a lever and every time the rat brushed past the lever food would empty into the box; the rats soon learnt that when they pressed the lever they would be rewarded with food – positive reinforcement. ‘The consequence of receiving the food meant they would repeat the action again and again, it strengthened behaviour.’ (McLeod, 2015) Skinner also created a box for the rats which had an electric current, every time the rats were in the box the electric current would be on but when the rats pressed the lever the current would stop, ‘the consequence of escaping the electric shock ensured the action would be repeated again and again, this is negative reinforcement but it strengthened behaviour.’ (McLeod, 2015) Punishment is the opposite to reinforcement as it weakens the behaviour, the subject is not likely to repeat the behaviour; like reinforcement punishment works by either taking away a reward or by using a hurtful stimulus.
Reinforcers are current and used today by schools, my school placement uses positive reinforcement in the use of stickers and certificates, they also use punishers in the form of taking away minutes of playtime or golden time.
Cognitivism takes it one step further than behaviourism as theorists believe that the way people think impacts their behaviour. The learner is active and central to the process; learns objective knowledge from the external world. The learner processes new information using prior knowledge and experience. David Ausubel born October 1918 in America and died July 2008, he earnt his PhD in Developmental psychology at Columbia University. His work focused on the cognitive structure. ‘He sees this as the sum of all the knowledge we have acquired as well as the relationships among the facts, concepts and principles that make up that knowledge’. (theoryfundamentals) Learning for Ausubel was taking something new into our cognitive structure and adding it to our current knowledge. This is how we make meaning. Meaning happens when we connect new information to information the learner already knows. One of the most influential cognitive psychologist is Jean Piaget, he believed that children’s cognitive development moved through distinct stages. The four stages are: ‘Sensorimotor (0-2yrs) This is where exploration and learning occur through physical experiences; Pre-operational stage (2-6yrs) Learning still through action but now supported by language and ability to hold images in the mind; Concrete operational stage (6-11yrs) Increasingly hold ideas in their head whilst thinking, begins to reason; Formal operational stage (11-16yrs) Acquire systematic reasoning and logic’. (Moodle, 2016) He also said that all learning in all stages was guided by two mechanisms: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is where a child deals with a new situation by using existing cognitive organisation. Accommodation is where a child changes their cognitive organisation to deal with the new environment. Piaget called cognitive organisation a schema; schemas are the building blocks for knowledge. A schema is a block of knowledge about one aspect of the world. This links to the constructivists theory which Piaget moved into, constructivism is the name which is given to a set of theories about learning which lies somewhere in between cognitive and humanistic views. Constructivism suggests that the learner is more actively involved. ‘There are two types: cognitive constructivism which is how the individual learner understands things with regard to developmental stages and learning styles and social constructivism which shows how meanings and understandings grow from social interaction’. (Learning and teaching.info) The most recognised constructivist theorist is Lev Vygotsky, born in November 1896 in West Russia and died in June 1934. He studied at Moscow State University where he earnt a law degree, he then went on to study psychology at the Institute of Psychology in Moscow. Vygotsky’s views somewhat differ to Piaget in a number of areas, Vygotsky places more importance on culture contributing to cognitive development, this challenges Piaget’s view of distinct stages and subject of development. Vygotsky also states that social factors contribute to cognitive development, whereas Piaget has been criticised for underestimating this. Some of the main theories developed by Vygotsky are The Zone of Proximal Development; He observed that when doing tasks for themselves the children didn’t do very well, however when an adult worked in partnership with them they performed better. Essentially the zone is the stage between what a child already knows and what they do not yet know, how they get that information needs skills that the child does not yet have or cannot do independently but can with the help of the More Knowledgeable Other. The More Knowledgeable Other can be a teacher, adult, sibling or peer, someone who has more knowledge or experience than the learner. In fact, some institutions now use electronic support systems to assist students in their learning. In essence the More Knowledgeable Other has to have more knowledge of the subject than the learner does. Another theorist who was influenced by Vygotsky’s work is Jerome Bruner, he also believed that children learn through the environment and social interactions with others; born October 1915 in America. He earnt his Bachelor’s degree in psychology at Duke University. Jerome Brunner continued Vygotsky’s theory of the More Knowledgeable Other by taking it a bit further, his studies on learning and his research led him to the Scaffolding theory, this is where the more knowledgeable other shows support in the initial stages of learning something new, the scaffold being the support ensures that the student is not left on their own to try to understand, when the student does understand the scaffold is withdrawn. Bruner also had similarities with Piaget, particularly with the concept of stages, however Bruner’s stages were more flexible, he believed that all children developed through three stages, his three modes of representation are: Enactive representation (0-1yrs) similar to Piaget’s sensorimotor stage. This stage is a representation of knowledge through action. The child stores information through muscle memories; they learn through doing. The next stage is Iconic representation (1-6yrs) Information is stored as sensory images, thinking is based on the use of mental images using sight, hearing, smell or touch. The final stage is the symbolic stage (7yrs up) this is where the child has the ability to store things in the form of symbols, corresponding to Piaget’s concrete stage. Representation of the world is largely through language and other such symbols like numbers.
Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner’s theories are very much used in education today, in 1963 the Plowden report was published and the basis of it was very much linked to Piaget’s development theory. ‘It describes Piaget’s theory of developmental sequence, that is – events which are fixed in their order but varying in the age at which the sequence begins.' (Infed.org) The EYFS (Early Years Framework Stage) still uses different stages such as Personal, Social and Emotional development, communication and language and physical development. Vygotsky’s More Knowledgeable Other is very much used in schools as in the role of the teacher, or even peers. In my school placement they use a buddy system so that higher ability children help children with lower abilities, this works well as the children look up to their friends and strive to be like them. Bruner’s scaffolding theory is also in place in schools, the lesson starts by re-capping what was previously taught and then moving on to subjects that the student does not know. The teacher supports the student until the student understands, the teacher then withdraws their support until the next new subject.
The humanistic approach focus’ on a person’s uniqueness rather than similarities; it views people as being self-determine, free to make their own choices and how individual’s see themselves through their own eyes. The two theorists most associated with humanism are Karl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Maslow was born in April 1908 in America and died in June 1970, he earnt his psychology degree at the University of Wisconsin. ‘Maslow wanted to know what motivates people, he stated that people are motivated to reach certain needs, and when those needs are met they move onto the next’. (McLeod, 2014) He was more interested in knowing what makes people happy and what they will do to achieve it. He believes we all want to reach our highest potential as human beings – self-actualization. His hierarchy of needs show how people need to achieve the basic needs before they can progress; the first stage is: ‘Biological and Physiological needs – A person needs air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep. Once a person has accomplished this they can then move onto the next stage; Safety needs – This is protection from the elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear. Again once this has been achieved we move onto the next stage; Love and Belongingness needs – A person needs friendship, intimacy, affection and love – from work, family, friends and romantic relationships. When this has been met we again move onto the next stage; Esteem needs – This is when a person needs achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect and respect from others. Lastly is self-actualization needs – This is realizing personal potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences’. (Mcleod,2014) In 1970 Maslow extended his hierarchy of needs to include cognitive needs – knowledge and meaning. This is placed after esteem, then after cognitive needs is aesthetic needs – this is appreciation and search for beauty, balance and form. He also added after self – actualization, transcendence needs – this is helping others reach self – actualization. Self-actualization is when a person finds meaning in their life that is important to them. Along with Maslow, Carl Rogers looked into what it takes to be healthy individuals. He developed the personality theory. Carl Rogers was born in January 1908 in America, he earnt his PhD at Columbia University and died in February in 1987. Like Maslow Rogers also felt that each individual’s basic instinct was to succeed to his/her highest possible capacity. He named this as actualizing tendency; shaping human personalities. He believed that in our constant changing world of experiences we are at the centre of it, and that we react to changes in our phenomenal field, this includes external objects and people as well as internal thoughts and emotions. A result of our interactions with the environment and others we form a structure of ourselves – self-concept. If a person has a positive self-concept they view the world as a safe place and feel good about themselves, if a person has a negative self-concept they may not feel good about themselves. Rogers continued this further by dividing the self into the ideal self and the real self, the ideal self being who you would like to be and the real self being who you actually are; Rogers felt that there should be consistency between the two. We experience congruence when our ideal and real self are similar – when our self-concept is accurate. Incongruence is when there is big differences between our ideal self and our real self.