Operates on the principle of stimulus-response Learner is essentially a passive entity Learning is differentiated into classic conditioning and operant conditioning It disregards the activities of mind It is unable to explain new learning like recognition of new language Expectation- person’s knowledge plays a vital role Observational learning- an individual learns by observing others in society Behavioural capability- person’s knowledge is necessary to influence his behaviour Self-efficiency- person’s faith on his knowledge base plays a vital role in learning Reciprocal determinism- people change their behaviour once they interact with others Behaviourist TheorySocial learning Theory Both the theories are applicable for the society Role of reinforcement Behaviour is one of the learning element Part 1 Running head: THEORIES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
Running head: THEORIES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING Behaviourist/behaviourism theory The behaviourism theory explains why people behave the way they do. It emphasises on the what can be observed. This theory assumes that the learner is actually passive and responds to his or her stimuli. The leaner can be considered as clean slate and his or her behaviour is shaped by the negative and positive reinforcement. Both the negative and the positive reinforcement increases the chances of occurrence of the antecedent behaviour (Harasim, 2012). Operant conditioning occurs as a response to stimuli when reinforced. The operant conditioning can be considered as a simple feedback system. It is important to mention that when reinforcement or a reward follows a stimulus, then the response becomes more probable in future (Watson, 2017). Sociocultural Theory Sociocultural theory can be described as a theory that looks towards the important contributions that a society makes towards the development of an individual’s development. Expectationis what the knowledge of person is and his beliefs regarding the society and the deliberate outcomes of his actions (Swain, Kinnear & Steinman, 2015).Observational learning is what a person learns from others by observing others in a society.Behavioural capability means that knowledge of a person plays a role in influencing his behaviour.Self-efficacycan be described as an individual’s faith on himself and it is based on the knowledge base. This means that an individual is more likely to act based on his knowledge base.Reciprocal determinismis described as a two-way concept that emphasises on the social learning and communication. Reinforcementmeans how an individual’s behaviour gets affected when others react to his behaviour (Mercer & Howe, 2012). Similarities between the Behaviourism and social learning theory One of the biggest similarities between the behaviourist and the socio-cultural theory is that the both the theories are based on learning. However, both the theories are also similar in terms of role of reinforcement. Reinforcement is a concept which highlights that an individual gets affected by the way others react to his behaviour. The behavioural theory also suggests the same aspect and how an individual learns by others behaviour and reactions. The second part emphasises on the behaviour learnt and it is common to both the behaviourist and the socio- learning theory (Pritchard, 2013).
1THEORIES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING Part 2 Introduction- Learning theories can be described as the conceptual frameworks that can be used to teach students so that they can know the ways of retaining, processing, absorbing knowledge during the process of learning. The learning theories also takes into account of the prior experiences, environmental influences, emotional influences and the cognitive aspects of learning. The different types of the learning theories provide an organized set of principles that explains how and active learner acquires, retains and recalls information or knowledge. The study of the different types of the learning theories provides an insight how the process of learning pf learning occurs. The principles on which the learning theories are based can be used as guidelines that helps in the selection of the strategies, techniques and the instructional tools that explicitly promote learning. This study will exclusively focus on the two major learning theories: Behaviourist theory and the socio-learning theory. This study an account of the benefits as well as the limitations of the selected theories (Schunk, 2012). Behaviourism theory- it is a learning approach that emphasizes on the objective and the scientific methods of investigation. This approach is concerned only with the behaviour of stimulus and response. Further this theory states that the all types of the behaviour can be learned actively by interacting with the environment. The important people that contributed to this theory are Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, John B. Watson. Certain vital aspects of the behaviourism are: behaviourist theory assumes that learner is passive and one that responds to environmental stimuli; the theory of behaviourism believes that the learner begins his or her learning as a clean slate and the behaviour is shaped by the negative and the positive reinforcement; reinforcement can be both negative and positive and reinforcement has the tendency of increasing the chances of an event to occur again; positive reinforcement is actually an application of a stimulus; while the negative reinforcement can be described as the withdrawal of a stimulus; Behaviourism can also be described as the precursor of cognitive learning (Olson, 2015). The benefits of the behaviourism theory rely on the fact that it can be effectively applied in the field of education. The teachers that follow this theory provides an immediate feedback to the learner; the teacher breaks a task into small parts or steps; teacher repeats the task as many times as possible; the teacher procedure proceeds from the simplest to the complex tasks; gives positive reinforcement to the learners; Skinner emphasises that the positive reinforcement can be considered to be more effective in changing the behaviour in comparison to punishment; the aspects of teaching are adjusted so that it can be age appropriate. The student on the other hand respond positively to the reinforcement; the students work themselves towards an assignment so that they can proceeded from the most basic to the more complicated tasks and concepts; the students ask questions to the teachers so that they can gain clarity in certain directions; asks for feedback from the teachers (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). The theory of behaviourism is simple to understand and it relies entirely on the observable behaviour and also describes the several aspects of universal laws of behaviour. The negative and the positive aspects of the reinforcement techniques are very effective. Like in the treatment of the human disorders including the antisocial behaviour, anxiety disorders and autism. Behaviourism is also used by the teachers are willing to punish and reward the student depending on their behaviours (Siemens, 2014).
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2THEORIES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING One of the highlighting facts of the behaviourism is that the learning theory explicitly focuses on the observable activities and it does not take into account of the independent actives that goes on inside the mind. The behaviourist theorists also highlight that the learning is actually acquiring the new behaviours and it is based on the different kinds of the environmental conditions. Behaviourists carried out experiments and identified that conditioning is a vital or a universal process in learning. The two different types of the conditioning yield different types of the behavioural pattern. Classic conditioning occurs when a natural reflex takes place under the action of a stimulus. The humans are wired biologically and it is capable of producing specific responses. One of the most common examples of the classic conditioning in the field of education is a situation where the students have the illogical fears like the general school phobia, fear of public speaking, fear of failure. The operant conditioning happens once the reply to an impetus is strengthened and it can be considered as a simple feedback system. If a recompense follows a reply to a impetus, then the reply becomes more prominent and likely in the future (Gormezano, Prokasy & Thompson, 2014). There are certain limitations of the behaviourism theory: the theory of behaviourism does not take into account of all kinds of learning and at the same time it disregards the activities the goes on in mind; the behaviourism theory is unable to explain some aspects of learning- like the recognition of the new languages by the children which does not include any kind of reinforcement; research says that the animals are able to adapt to the reinforced pattern and also to the new information. For example, a rat can shift its previous behaviour that it had mastered through the reinforcements (Lee, 2016). Socio cultural theory- this theory looks towards the important contributions that a society makes towards the development of an individual. The theory emphasises on the interaction between the developing individuals and the society in which the individuals are growing up. The socio-cultural theory also depicts that the learning in human is largely a social process. The social cultural theory mostly grew from the work of the psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who believed that the culture, peers, caregivers, parents play a vital part in the growth of the sophisticated direction functions. The sociocultural theory emphasises not only on the peer and the adult impact but also on the individual learning and how the attitudes and the cultural beliefs play a definitive role in the education, cognitive psychology, and child development. It is important to mentions that the children are born with the biological constraints within their minds. Each and every culture provides a tool for the intellectual adaptation. These tools allow the children to shape their fundamental abilities that specifically adapts to the culture in which they live. The social learning theory consists of several aspects like observational learning, reinforcement, capability, reciprocal determinism, self-efficacy and expectation (Dörnyei, 2015). Expectationis what the knowledge of person is and his beliefs regarding the society and the deliberate outcomes of his actions.Observational learningis what a person learns from others by observing others in a society.Behavioural capabilitymeans that knowledge of a person plays a role in influencing his behaviour.Self-efficacycan be described as an individual’s faith on himself and it is based on the knowledge base. This means that an individual is more likely to act based on his knowledge base.Reciprocal determinismis described as a two-way concept that emphasises on the social learning and communication.Reinforcementmeans how an individual’s behaviour gets affected when others react to his behaviour (Mercer & Howe, 2012). Benefits of the sociocultural theory lies within the applicability of the theory and the way it is perceived by the different levels of the development and by the teachers. In a classroom, the
3THEORIES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING teachers are the one that assess the students for the determination of the skills possessed by the student. After this has been established, the educators provide instruction to the students that help them to stretch the limits of the child’s capabilities. At the first instance, a particular student may require the assistance from a more knowledgeable peer or from an adult. Teachers plan the lessons and the instruction. Furthermore, a teacher can organize class into groups where the children with less skill can be paired with the students that have higher levels of skill; direct instruction, prompts and hints can be helpful for the children to improve their levels of ability; teacher helps the students to move progressively towards a specific goal. It is important to stress that the play is an important part in learning. Parents and the teachers are able to utilize this knowledge and provide the children with plenty of opportunity to play (Bonk & King, 2012). The limitation of the socio-cultural theory is: this theory is not good towards explaining the ideas that are abstract; the lab experiments that are performed for the establishment of the study are artificial; the socio-cultural theory emphasises mostly on the external behaviour; furthermore, this theory is unable to explain how the cognitive process work. Conclusion- from the above discussion it can be concluded that the principles on which the learning theories are based can be used as guidelines that helps in the selection of the strategies, techniques and the instructional tools that explicitly promote learning. Both the socio- cultural theory and the behaviourism theory are common in aspects of reinforcement and the behaviour learnt is common to both the behaviourist and the socio-learning theory.
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5THEORIES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING Swain, M., Kinnear, P., & Steinman, L. (2015).Sociocultural theory in second language education: An introduction through narratives(Vol. 11). Multilingual matters. Watson, J. B. (2017).Behaviorism. Routledge.