LEARNING THEORIES
WHAT IS LEARNING?
Learning is a relatively permanent change in
behavior as a result of experience…
 Leaning is a relatively permanent change in
mental representation of association as a result
of experience…
Jeanne Ormrod (2004)

Robert Gagne
Lev Vygotsky

Learning is defined as a change in behavior― as a
result of experience―that can be measured.
Burton, Moore, & Magliaro, 2004; Driscoll, 2000; Ormrod, 2004

Organisms learn through classical and operant
conditioning. Circumstances in the environment,
direct rewards, and indirect rewards “shape”
behavior. Brandt and Perkins, 2000
B
C
His theory stipulates that there are several
different types or levels of learning.
 Identifies 5 learning outcomes are possible:







Intellectual skill
Cognitive strategy
Verbal information
Motor skill
Attitude
Created a hierarchy to provide direction for
instructors so that they can "identify
prerequisites that should be completed to
facilitate learning at each level”, and a basis for
sequencing instruction. (cited in Kearsley 1994a)
9. enhancing retention and
transfer (generalization)
8. assessing performance
(retrieval)
7. providing feedback
(reinforcement)
6. eliciting performance
(responding)
5. providing learning guidance
(semantic encoding)
4. presenting the stimulus
(selective perception)
3. stimulating recall of prior
learning (retrieval)
2. informing learners of the
objective (expectancy)
1. gaining attention (reception)



Learning is a change in mental
representations and associations brought
about by experiences.
Early research, “focused primarily on
information processing, especially
pattern recognition, memory, and
problem solving. Brandt and Perkins, 2000
Learners are not passively influenced by
environmental events, but they “actively
choose, practice, pay attention, ignore,
reflect, and make many other decisions
as they pursue goals”. Woolfolk, 2004



Social Development Theory argues that social
interaction precedes development; consciousness
and cognition are the end product of
socialization and social behavior.
His theory is one of the foundations of
constructivism.
His theory asserts three major themes:
Social interaction
 More Knowledgeable Other
 Zone of Proximal Development

Interpsychological
and
Intrapsychological
•Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the
process of cognitive development
•Social learning precedes development
More
Knowledgeable
Other
•Refers to anyone who has a better understanding
or a higher ability level than the learner, with
respect to a particular task, process, or concept.
•Teacher, coach, older adult, peers, a younger
person, or even computers.
Zone of Proximal
Development
•The distance between a student’s ability to
perform a task under adult guidance and/or with
peer collaboration and the student’s ability solving
the problem independently.
•Learning occurs in this zone.




Both approaches provide useful perspectives on
how people learn.
Following only one is not advisable when
carrying out instructional design activities
because every context is different.
No single approach can completely account for
all the variables.
For successful instructional design to occur,
instructional designers must be able to borrow
from the different approaches to consider all
variables.
References
http://carolyn.jlcarroll.net/LearnThists.html
http://www.elearningguru.com/articles/art3_3.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike
http://www.essortment.com/all/jeanpiagettheo_rnr
n.htm
http://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskyssocial-learning-theory.html
The Essentials of Instructional Design, Abbie
Brown and Timothy D. Green, 2006