Chapter 4
Learning: Theories and Program Design
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What is Learning? What is
Learned?
Learning - a relatively permanent
change in human capabilities that is not a
result of growth processes.
These capabilities are related to specific
learning outcomes.
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Table 4.1 – Learning Outcomes
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Learning Theories
Reinforcement Theory
Social Learning Theory
Goal Theories
Need Theories
Expectancy Theory
Information Processing
Theory
Adult Learning Theory
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Reinforcement theory - emphasizes
that people are motivated to perform or
avoid certain behaviors because of past
outcomes that have resulted from those
behaviors.
Several processes in reinforcement theory are
positive reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, extinction, and punishment.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Reinforcement theory
The trainer needs to identify what outcomes
the learner finds most positive and negative.
Trainers then need to link these outcomes to
learners acquiring knowledge, skills, or
changing behaviors.
Trainers can withhold or provide job-related,
personal, and career-related benefits to
learners who master program content.
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Table 4.2 - Schedules of
Reinforcement
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Social learning theory - emphasizes
that people learn by observing other
persons (models) whom they believe are
credible and knowledgeable.
The theory recognizes that behavior that
is reinforced or rewarded tends to be
repeated.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Social learning theory
Learning new skills or behavior comes from:
directly experiencing the consequences of using a
behavior or skill, or
the process of observing others and seeing the
consequences of their behavior.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Social learning theory
Learning is also influenced by a person’s selfefficacy, which is a person’s judgment about
whether he or she can successfully learn
knowledge and skills.
A person’s self-efficacy can be increased using
several methods: verbal persuasion, logical
verification, observation of others (modeling),
and past accomplishments.
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Figure 4.1 - Processes of Social
Learning Theory
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Goal theories
Goal setting theory - assumes that behavior
results from a person’s conscious goals and
intentions.
Goals influence a person’s behavior by:
directing energy and attention.
sustaining effort over time.
motivating the person to develop strategies for goal
attainment.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Goal theories
Goal setting theory
It is used in training program design.
It suggests that learning can be facilitated by
providing trainees with specific challenging goals
and objectives.
The influence of goal setting theory can be seen in
the development of training lesson plans.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Goal theories
Goal orientation - the goals held by a
trainee in a learning situation.
It includes learning and performance orientation.
Learning orientation - trying to increase ability or
competence in a task.
Performance orientation - learners who focus on
task performance and how they compare to others.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Goal theories
Goal orientation
It affects the amount of effort a trainee will expend
in learning (motivation to learn).
Learners with a high learning orientation will direct
greater attention to the task and learn for the sake
of learning in comparison to learners with a
performance orientation.
Learners with a performance orientation will direct
more attention to performing well and less effort to
learning.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Need theories
Helps to explain the value that a person
places on certain outcomes.
Need - a deficiency that a person is
experiencing at any point in time.
Maslow’s and Alderfer’s need theories focused
on physiological needs, relatedness needs,
and growth needs.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Need theories
The major difference between Alderfer’s and
Maslow’s hierarchies of needs is that Alderfer
allows the possibility that if higher-level needs
are not satisfied, employees will refocus on
lower-level needs.
McClelland’s need theory focused primarily on
needs for achievement, affiliation, and power.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Need theories
Suggest that to motivate learning, trainers
should identify trainees’ needs and
communicate how training program content
relates to fulfilling these needs.
If certain basic needs of trainees are not met, they
are unlikely to be motivated to learn.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Expectancy theory
It suggests that a person’s behavior is based
on three factors:
Expectancies - the link between trying to perform
a behavior and actually performing well.
Instrumentality - a belief that performing a given
behavior is associated with a particular outcome.
Valence - the value that a person places on an
outcome.
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Figure 4.2 - Expectancy Theory of
Motivation
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Table 4.3 - Implications of
Adult Learning Theory for Training
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Information processing theory
It gives more emphasis to the internal
processes that occur when training content is
learned and retained.
It highlights how external events influence
learning, which include:
Changes in the intensity or frequency of the
stimulus that affect attention.
Informing the learner of the objectives to establish
an expectation.
Enhancing perceptual features of the material
(stimulus), drawing the attention of the learner to
certain features.
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Learning Theories (cont.)
Information processing theory
It highlights how external events influence
learning, which include:
Verbal instructions, pictures, diagrams, and maps
suggesting ways to code the training content so that
it can be stored in memory.
Meaningful learning context (examples, problems)
creating cues that facilitate coding.
Demonstration or verbal instructions helping to
organize the learner’s response as well as
facilitating the selection of the correct response.
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Figure 4.3 – A Model of Human
Information Processing
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Table 4.4- The Relationship among Learning
Processes, Instructional Events, and Forms of
Instruction
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The Learning Process
The learning cycle involves four stages:
Concrete experience
Reflective observation
Abstract conceptualization
Active experimentation
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Table 4.5 – Learning Styles
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The Learning Process (cont.)
Age influences on learning
Trainers need to be aware of trainees’ ages to
create a learning environment and develop
materials that meet their preferences.
According to some trainers, there are four
generations of employees with distinct
attitudes toward work and preferred ways to
learn—Millenniums (or nexters), Gen Xers,
baby boomers, and traditionalists.
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The Learning Process (cont.)
Instruction - trainer’s manipulation of
the environment in order to help trainees
learn.
The training context - the physical,
intellectual, and emotional environment
in which training occurs.
Practice - physical or mental rehearsal
of a task, knowledge, or skill to achieve
proficiency in performing the task or skill
or demonstrating the knowledge.
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Table 4.6 - Features of Good
Instruction That Facilitate Learning
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Table 4.8 - Characteristics of
Good Training Objectives
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The Learning Process (cont.)
Metacognition - individual control over
one’s thinking.
Two ways that individuals engage in
metacognition are monitoring and control.
Advance organizers - outlines, texts,
diagrams, and graphs that help trainees
organize the information that will be
presented and practiced.
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The Learning Process (cont.)
Overlearning - Continuing to practice
even after being able to perform the
objective several times.
Error management training - giving
trainees opportunities to make errors
during training; provides the opportunity
for trainees to engage in metacognition.
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The Learning Process (cont.)
Practice can be massed, spaced, in
whole, or in part.
It must be related to the training
objectives.
Feedback is information about how well
people are meeting the training
objectives, and should be provided as
soon as possible after the trainees’
behavior.
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The Learning Process (cont.)
Employees learn through observation,
experience, and interacting with others.
Communities of practice - groups of
employees who work together, learn from
each other, and develop a common
understanding of how to get work
accomplished.
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Table 4.11 - Internal and External Conditions
Necessary for Learning Outcomes
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Table 4.12 - Details to Consider
When Evaluating a Training Room
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Figure 4.4 - Examples of Seating
Arrangements
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Table 4.13 - Matching Training
Rooms With Learning Requirements
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Table 4.14 - Examples of how to
get Trainees Involved
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Table 4.15 - Design Document
Template
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Table 4.17 - Sample of a Detailed
Lesson Plan
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Table 4.18 - Features of an
Effective Lesson Plan
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Table 4.19 - Sample Lesson
Overview
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