Principles: (1) The Highest Level Of Observational Learning Is Achieved By First Organizing And Rehearsing The Modeled Behavior Symbolically And Then Enacting It Overtly. Coding Modeled Behavior Into Words, Labels Or Images Results In Better Retention Than Simply Observing. (2) Individuals Are More Likely To Adopt A Modeled Behavior If It Results In Outcomes They Value. (3) Individuals Are More Likely To Adopt A Modeled Behavior If The Model Is Similar To The Observer And Has Admired Status And The Behavior Has Functional Value.
The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action . Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, an environmental influences.
The component processes underlying observational learning are:
Attention, including modeled events (distinctiveness, affective valence, complexity, prevalence, functional value) and observer characteristics (sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past reinforcement):
a. In order for an individual to learn anything, they must pay attention to the features of the modeled behavior. Many factors contribute to the amount of attention one pays to the modeled activities, such as the intensity of the characteristics of both the observer and the person being observed vs. competing stimuli.
Retention, including symbolic coding, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal):
b. If an individual is to be influenced by observing behaviors he or she needs to remember the activities that were modeled at one time or another. Imagery and language aid in this process of retaining information. Humans store the behaviors they observe visually ( in the form of mental images) and auditorily ( in the form of verbal/sound descriptions), that they are easily able to recall to reproduce the activity.
Motor Reproduction, including physical capabilities, self-observation of reproduction, accuracy of feedback:
c. Reproduction involves converting symbolic representations into appropriate actions. Behavioral reproduction is accomplished by organizing one's own responses in accordance with the modeled pattern. A person's ability to reproduce a behavior improves with practice.
Motivation, including external, vicarious and self reinforcement:
d. To imitate a behavior, the person must have some motivating incentive, or reinforcement. Reinforcement is defined as a positive or negative consequence that follows a behavior that increases (or attempts to increase) the likelihood of that behavior occurring in the future. Punishment is a positive or negative consequence that decreases the possibility of that behavior occurring in the future.
L. FESTINGER
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
According to cognitive dissonance theory, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions (i.e., beliefs, opinions). When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance. In the case of a discrepancy between attitudes and behavior, it is most likely that the attitude will change to accommodate the behavior. Two factors affect the strength of the dissonance: the number of dissonant beliefs, and the importance attached to each belief. There are three ways to eliminate dissonance: (1) reduce the importance of the dissonant beliefs, (2) add more consonant beliefs that outweigh the dissonant beliefs, or (3) change the dissonant beliefs so that they are no longer inconsistent.
ERIKSON
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
According to Erikson, the socialization process consists of eight phases - the "eight stages of man." His eight stages of man were formulated, not through experimental work, but through wide - ranging experience in psychotherapy, including extensive experience with children and adolescents from low - as well as upper - and middle - social classes. Each stage is regarded by Erikson as a "psychosocial crisis," which arises and demands resolution before the next stage can be satisfactorily negotiated. These stages are conceived in an almost architectural sense: satisfactory learning and resolution of each crisis is necessary if the child is to manage the next and subsequent ones satisfactorily, just as the foundation of a house is essential to the first floor, which in turn must be structurally sound to support and the second story, and so on.
1. Learning Basic Trust
Versus Basic Mistrust (Hope)
Chronologically, this is the period of infancy through the first one or two years of
life. The child, well - handled, nurtured, and loved, develops trust and security
and a basic optimism. Badly handled, he becomes insecure and mistrustful.
2. Learning Autonomy
Versus Shame (Will)
The second psychosocial crisis, Erikson believes, occurs during early childhood,
probably between about 18 months or 2 years and 3½ to 4 years of age. The
"well - parented" child emerges from this stage sure of himself, elated with his
new found control, and proud rather than ashamed. Autonomy is not, however, entirely
synonymous with assured self - possession, initiative, and independence but, at least for
children in the early part of this psychosocial crisis, includes stormy self - will,
tantrums, stubbornness, and negativism. For example, one sees may 2 year olds
resolutely folding their arms to prevent their mothers from holding their hands as they
cross the street. Also, the sound of "NO" rings through the house or the
grocery store.
3. Learning Initiative
Versus Guilt (Purpose)
Erikson believes that this third psychosocial crisis occurs during what he calls the
"play age," or the later preschool years (from about 3½ to, in the United
States culture, entry into formal school). During it, the healthily developing child
learns: (1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including
fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow. Immobilized
by guilt, he is: (1) fearful (2) hangs on the fringes of groups (3) continues to depend
unduly on adults and (4) is restricted both in the development of play skills and in
imagination.
4. Industry Versus
Inferiority (Competence)
Erikson believes that the fourth psychosocial crisis is handled, for better or worse,
during what he calls the "school age," presumably up to and possibly including
some of junior high school. Here the child learns to master the more formal skills
of life: (1) relating with peers according to rules (2) progressing from free play to play
that may be elaborately structured by rules and may demand formal teamwork, such as
baseball and (3) mastering social studies, reading, arithmetic. Homework is a
necessity, and the need for self-discipline increases yearly. The child who, because
of his successive and successful resolutions of earlier psychosocial crisis, is trusting,
autonomous, and full of initiative will learn easily enough to be industrious. However,
the mistrusting child will doubt the future. The shame - and guilt-filled child will
experience defeat and inferiority.
KOHLER, KOFFKA, & WERTHEIMER
GESTALT THEORY
Gestalt theory emphasized higher-order cognitive processes in the midst of behaviorism. The focus of Gestalt theory was the idea of "grouping", i.e., characteristics of stimuli cause us to structure or interpret a visual field or problem in a certain way. The primary factors that determine grouping were: (1) proximity - elements tend to be grouped together according to their nearness, (2) similarity - items similar in some respect tend to be grouped together, (3) closure - items are grouped together if they tend to complete some entity, and (4) simplicity - items will be organized into simple figures according to symmetry, regularity, and smoothness. These factors were called the laws of organization and were explained in the context of perception and problem-solving. Wertheimer was especially concerned with problem-solving. Werthiemer provides a Gestalt interpretation of problem-solving episodes of famous scientists (e.g., Galileo, Einstein) as well as children presented with mathematical problems. The essence of successful problem-solving behavior according to Wertheimer is being able to see the overall structure of the problem: "Directed by what is required by the structure of a situation for a crucial region, one is led to a reasonable prediction, which like the other parts of the structure, calls for verification, direct or indirect. Two directions are involved: getting a whole consistent picture, and seeing what the structure of the whole requires for the parts."
GREENSPAN
STAGES OF RELATING AND COMMUNICATING
Both listening to and watching a child are essential for effective observation. Facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body posture, and word (or lack of words) are all important clues that help you determine how to approach the child. Once a child's mood and style have been assessed, you can approach the child with the appropriate words and gestures. You can open the circle of communication with a child by acknowledging the child's emotional tone, then elaborating and building on whatever interests the child at the moment. After your initial approach, following a child's lead simply means being a supportive play partner who is an "assistant" to the child and allows the child to set the tone, direct the action, and create personal dramas. This enhances the child's self-esteem and ability to be assertive, and gives child a feeling that "I can have an impact on the world." As you support the child's play, the child benefits from experiencing a sense of warmth, connectedness and being understood. As you follow the child's lead, extending and expanding a child's play themes involves making supportive comments about the child's play without being intrusive. This helps the child express own ideas and defines the direction of the drama. Asking questions to stimulate creative thinking can keep the drama going, while helping the child clarify the emotional themes involved. As you open the circle of communication when you approach the child, the child closes the circle when the child builds on your comments and gestures with comments and gestures of their own. One circle flows into another, and many circles may be opened and closed in quick succession as you interact with the child. By building on each other's ideas and gestures, the child begins to appreciate and understand the value of two way communication.
Stage 3: SHARED MEANINGS (18 to 36 months)
Provide examples of how the child is beginning to communicate ideas through words.
How does the child use pretend play to communicate emotional themes such as curiosity, independence and rejection?
Describe ways in which child makes wants, desires, and emotions know through pretend play. Describe how pretend play becomes more complex.
Stage 4: EMOTIONAL THINKING (3 to 5 years)
How are feelings expressed?
What evidence do you have the child realizes the relationship between feeling, behaviors, and consequences?
How would you describe the child's relationship with adults?
How does the child control impulses and stabilize moods?
How does the child interact with peers in pretend play?
Does the child help to structure and organize play themes?
JEROME BRUNER
CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY
Learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the information given".
The teacher should try and encourage students to discover principles by themselves. The teacher and student should engage in an active dialog (i.e., socratic learning). The task of the teacher is to translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner's current state of understanding. Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds upon what they have already learned.
KOHLBERG
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
The pre-conventional level of moral reasoning is especially common in children, although adults can also exhibit this level of reasoning. Reasoning in the pre-conventional level judges the morality of an action by its direct consequences. The pre-conventional level consists of the first and second stage of moral development:
Stage one: individuals focus on the direct consequences that their actions will have for themselves. For example, they think that an action is morally wrong if the person who commits it gets punished.
Stage two: espouses the "what's in it for me" position; right behavior being defined by what is in one's own best interest. Stage two reasoning shows a limited interest in the needs of others, but only to a point where it might further one's own interests, such as "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." Concern for others is not based on loyalty or intrinsic respect in stage two.
LEV VYGOTSKY
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
The social cognition learning model asserts that culture is the prime determinant of individual development: culture teaches children both what to think and how to think. Humans are the only species to have created culture, and every human child develops in the context of a culture. Therefore, a child's learning development is affected in ways large and small by the culture--including the culture of family environment--in which he or she is enmeshed. Vygotsky believed that the life long process of development was dependent on social interaction and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development. This phenomena is called the Zone of Proximal Development . Vygotsky describes it as "the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers." In other words, a student can perform a task under adult guidance or with peer collaboration that could not be achieved alone. Vygotsky claimed that learning occurred in this zone. Vygotsky focused on the connections between people and the cultural context in which they act and interact in shared experiences. Humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environments. Initially children develop these tools to serve solely as social functions, ways to communicate needs. Vygotsky believed that the internalization of these tools led to higher thinking skills. The egocentric speech of early childhood is viewed as a transition from social speech to internalized thoughts. Thus, Vygotsky believed that thought and language could not exist without each other. The "Zone of Proximal Development," or ZPD, is the gap between what a learner can accomplish independently and what a learner cannot do, even with assistance. That which a learner can do independently is one's "Zone of Current Development," or ZCD. A more capable peer or teacher is known as a "More Knowledgeable Other," or MKO, and is essential to helping a learner accomplish tasks that may be in one's ZPD. Those acting as MKO's must be highly involved, must work in collaboration with their students to facilitate learning, and must be familiar with the students' individual ZPD's. This is in contrast to some traditional teaching methods, which require that students simply regurgitate recited material. In creating a more collaborative environment students are encouraged to create their own meanings, which are much. The successful applications of Vygotsky’s theories require a learning environment dedicated to the principles of this four stage process:
Four-Stage Process of ZPD
Stage 1: Assistance provided by More Knowledgeable Others (capacity begins)
Stage 2: Assistance provided by self (capacity developed)
Stage 3: Automatization through practice (capacity becomes rote knowledge)
Stage 4: De-automatization; recursiveness through previous three stages (capacity must be re-learned, but at a much quicker pace)
J. M. CARROLL
MINIMALISM
The Minimalist theory of J.M. Carroll is a framework for the design of instruction. The critical idea of minimalist theory is to minimize the extent to which instructional materials obstruct learning and focus the design on activities that support learner-directed activity and accomplishment. Carroll feels that training developed on the basis of other instructional theories (e.g., Gagne, Merrill) is too passive and fails to exploit the prior knowledge of the learner or use errors as learning opportunities.
The minimalist theory suggests that (1) all learning tasks should be meaningful and self-contained activities, (2) learners should be given realistic projects as quickly as possible, (3) instruction should permit self-directed reasoning and improvising by increasing the number of active learning activities, (4) training materials and activities should provide for error recognition and recovery and, (5) there should be a close linkage between the training and actual system.
H. GARDNER
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
The theory of multiple intelligences suggests that there are a number of distinct forms of intelligence that each individual possesses in varying degrees. Gardner proposes seven primary forms: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, body-kinesthetic, intrapersonal (e.g., insight, metacognition) and interpersonal (e.g., social skills). According to Gardner, the implication of the theory is that learning/teaching should focus on the particular intelligences of each person. For example, if an individual has strong spatial or musical intelligences, they should be encouraged to develop these abilities. Gardner points out that the different intelligences represent not only different content domains but also learning modalities. A further implication of the theory is that assessment of abilities should measure all forms of intelligence, not just linguistic and logical-mathematical.
PIAGET
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Piaget was the first theorist to recognize that children and adults had different cognitive processes. . For Piaget, it was important to probe the underlying understandings and knowledge bases in children's cognition, with repeated questionings and a focus on the reasonings behind their answers. Piaget believed he could learn far more about child cognition "by noting and querying their incorrect answers than just by tallying their correct ones." It is from such 'clinical' intensity that provided the vast wealth of research data upon which Piaget based his cognition theory, much of which largely endures to the present day in some form. Piaget believed that cognitive development happens through the rich interplay of biological processes of maturation, neural development (Central Nervous System and memory) as well as language formation via the interaction of social learning experiences .A child's physical maturation in combination with sensory- motor development enables the active experiencing and discovery of the physical environment. Piaget believed that all thought begins with physical activity in the early stages of a child's development evolving in maturity with complex abilities to manipulate mental functions that are abstract/hypothetical. Piaget's most famous metaphor to describe this endogenous or internally motivated process, is viewing the child as a 'little scientist' who experiments and explores his world. He also believed that the child was very much the active learner in an age-stage process whereby the child progresses qualitatively through the stages of cognitive development in a two-pronged adaptive/interactive process which allows for new information to be fitted (assimilation) into already existing cognitive structures (accommodation). Piaget terms the notion of Horizontal Decalage to refer to the 'lag' within different tasks at different ages of achieving full operations. Vertical Decalage refers to mastery at different stages of cognitive progress; i.e. sensorimotor etc.
The General Periods of Development
1. The sensorimotor stage; with six sub-stages,
(birth to two years).
2. The stage of concrete operations, with two sub-stages- pre-operational thought
(two to seven years) and concrete operations (seven to eleven years).
3. The stage of formal operations (eleven years through to adulthood).
Operational Intelligence.
It is characterized by pre-conceptual thinking, centration, language acquisition, animism and irreversibility at the pre-operational level. Concrete operations is characterized by reversibility, decentration, classification, ability to order, number serration - large to small and conservation abilities. The term 'operation' is a key concept for Piaget, and is defined as an internalized activity subjected to rules of logic (Lefrancois,1995).
(i) Pre-operational thought:(2-7 years)
The preoperational child is much more capable of understanding his world but markedly
different to adults in terms of efficiency. This stage is divided into two sub-phases;
Preconceptual thinking: 2-4 years.
This stage is characterized by a lack of ability to classify and regards similar objects
as though they are identical in a type of muddled categorization; i.e. all men must be
'Daddy', all animals are 'doggies', all toys are his, one pile of green beads has more
than another pile of non-green beads. The preconcepts child cannot hierarchically
discriminate between oranges and apples for instance but has a hunger to constantly ask
'what is that?'.
Intuitive thinking: 4-7 years.
Thinking has become more logical and perception plays a striking role now. Piaget's
experiments for Conservation indicate the child is able to be easily tricked by dominant
and immediate perceptions. 'Egocentrism' or self-centred understanding dominates
the thinking in the intuitive child who is unable to understand the point of view of
others. Dominant question is 'why?'
(ii) Concrete Operations:(7-11/12 years)
This is the stage of operational thinking characterized by the child's ability to hold
ideas in his head simultaneously as problem-solving is going on. Here the child begins the
transition from "prelogical, egocentric, perception dominated kind of thinking to a
more rule-regulated thinking." He acquires the logic of conservation, illustrated
by the tall and wide beaker experiment so famous in Piagetian theory.
J. LAVE
SITUATED LEARNING
Situated learning is a general theory of knowledge acquisition. Lave argues that learning as it normally occurs is a function of the activity, context and culture in which it occurs (i.e., it is situated). This contrasts with most classroom learning activities which involve knowledge which is abstract and out of context. Social interaction is a critical component of situated learning -- learners become involved in a "community of practice" which embodies certain beliefs and behaviors to be acquired. As the beginner or newcomer moves from the periphery of this community to its center, they become more active and engaged within the culture and hence assume the role of expert or old-timer. Furthermore, situated learning is usually unintentional rather than deliberate. These ideas are what Lave & Wenger call the process of "legitimate peripheral participation."
E. THORNDIKE
CONNECTIONISM
The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original S-R framework of behavioral psychology: Learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses. Such associations or "habits" become strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of the S-R pairings. The paradigm for S-R theory was trial and error learning in which certain responses come to dominate others due to rewards. The hallmark of connectionism (like all behavioral theory) was that learning could be adequately explained without referring to any unobservable internal states. Thorndike's theory consists of three primary laws: (1) law of effect - responses to a situation which are followed by a rewarding state of affairs will be strengthened and become habitual responses to that situation, (2) law of readiness - a series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal which will result in annoyance if blocked, and (3) law of exercise - connections become strengthened with practice and weakened when practice is discontinued. A corollary of the law of effect was that responses that reduce the likelihood of achieving a rewarding state (i.e., punishments, failures) will decrease in strength. The theory suggests that transfer of learning depends upon the presence of identical elements in the original and new learning situations; i.e., transfer is always specific, never general. In later versions of the theory, the concept of "belongingness" was introduced; connections are more readily established if the person perceives that stimuli or responses go together (c.f. Gestalt principles). Another concept introduced was "polarity" which specifies that connections occur more easily in the direction in which they were originally formed than the opposite. Thorndike also introduced the "spread of effect" idea, i.e., rewards affect not only the connection that produced them but temporally adjacent connections as well.