Theories of Learning
Adapted from a presentation given by:
Dr.Jane Waters
Jane.waters@smu.ac.uk
Learning and knowing?
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Do humans learn all that they know?
How do we come to know things?
Is all learning the same?
Do we learn in different ways?
Facts – content: I know that…..
Opinions – ideas: I think that…..
Social position: this is my friend, this is my teacher.
Emotions: I feel sad, I am angry.
Self image: I am a good pupil, I am a naughty girl.
What is learning?
The three central theories we will consider
suggest learning is:
 responding to external stimuli –
behaviourism;
 making meaning of experience for oneself –
constructivism;
 making meaning of experience through social
negotiation – social constructivism;
Behaviourism
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the ‘empty vessel’;
the ‘blank slate’;
Burrhus Skinner (1904 – 1990) American
psychologist;
focused on observable, quantifiable events
and behaviour, the effect of the outside world
on individual behaviour;
not interested in hidden internal processes;
Reinforcement
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Skinner’s theory suggested:
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the response a learner receives from an action
can increase or decrease the likelihood of that
action being repeated;
desirable action can be positively reinforced by
reward;
undesirable action can be negatively reinforced by
reprimand or punishment;
repetition of such patterns enables child to learn
what behaviour is desirable and undesirable;
Pavlov’s dogs
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behaviourism is similar to Pavolv’s theory of
operant conditioning;
it is a stimulus-response model;
assumes learners modify their behaviour (the
stimulus) until they receive a positive response;
repeated positive response will ensure the
behaviour is learnt;
suggests that without positive reinforcement a
behaviour becomes extinct;
Behaviourist teaching approaches
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repetition of desired responses (drilling, flash
cards,times tables chanting …)
reward for desired behaviour (smiley faces,
praise, house points, merits …)
punishments for undesirable behaviour
(missing playtime, loss of ‘golden time’,
detention, warnings, sanctions …)
have been adopted for behaviour
management programmes (‘catch them being
good’)
Constructivism
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‘Making meaning’
the ‘lone scientist’;
Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) Swiss biologist
observed his children’s cognitive
development and thinking;
concluded that the human infant actively
seeks to make sense of the world;
learning is a result of the child’s exploration of
and interaction with the environment;
Mental structures schema
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Through the exploration of the environment the child
adapts his/her mental structures schema through
three processes:
Assimilation
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Accommodation
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New experiences are taken in (assimilated) and added to
an increasing store of memory and understanding
A new experience does not ‘fit’ with existing
understandings and some adjustment (accommodation) in
understanding has to take place
Equilibrium
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The goal of every learner – a balance is achieved
(temporarily – until another challenge to that equilibrium
comes along and more accommodation is needed)
The active learner, the lone scientist
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learning is seen as an intrinsically motivated
(rather than motivated by external reward)
the child is mentally active (not a passive
receiver)
Piaget’s active learner has been described as
the ‘lone scientist’ exploring the world to
make meaning for him/herself, regardless of
social environment;
The learning process
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it has been claimed that Piaget’s work
allowed theorists to consider cognitive
development (learning) as a process;
‘Learning takes place and provides a
foundation for future learning’ (Smidt 2006
p.21)
the learner is ACTIVE in this process;
learning is not something that is done to the
learner, it is something they engage in
themselves;
Linear development
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Piaget is also associated with the ‘stage
theory’ of cognitive development
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This has been heavily critiqued but is still highly
influential in UK educational provision.
he proposed every child had to pass through
4 stages of learning sequentially;
these stages represent different (more
complex) ways of thinking and reasoning;
Piaget’s stages
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Sensory motor period: 0-2 years
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Pre-operational period: 2-7 years
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Exploration of the physical world and how it related to the
self (ego-centric understandings)
Period of concrete operations: 7-11 years
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Physical interaction with the world
Logical understandings of the world including reversibility,
ordering, sorting, conservation and seriation
Period of formal operations: 11-12 upward
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Generation of hypotheses and ability to think abstractedly
and scientifically
Constructivist teaching approaches
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Practical activity, direct experience
Exploration and physical manipulation of
materials
Focus on pupils making sense of what they
are doing/ thinking – explain what you think,
tell us how you did it, write down your ideas
Starting from current understandings
‘I hear, I forget; I see, I remember; I do, I
understand’
Social constructivism
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‘Active participant’
‘Negotiated meaning’
Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934) Russian
psychologist
Learners actively make meaning and their
social world is fundamental to this process
All cognitive functions originate in social
interaction and are then internalised on an
individual level.
The role of others
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Vygotsky believed the role of other people
(adults, siblings and other children) was
essential for children's learning
The tools of a culture shape the thinking of
the young child
Tools (cultural tools)
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Symbolic tools: e.g. language, art, music
Objects: e.g. pens, phones, computers
It is through children's interaction with others
and symbolic tools that children
collaboratively construct knowledge and
understanding
Learning …
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Is not just about things (how it works,
scientific concepts)
Is also about being part of a community
By using the symbolic tools with other people
children are part of their culture
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This includes beliefs, language, rules – how we
act in different situations, with different people
Language and culture as tools for
understanding
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All experience is mediated by the language
and culture of the group
Knowledge is co-constructed by an individual
within the social frameworks of language and
culture of the group.
Experiencing twice
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Vygotsky suggested that children gain the
same knowledge on two levels
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First: the social level – by experiencing it with
others, maybe more experienced others
Second: the psychological level – by making
mental maps of what has been understood
Learning happens first through interaction
then through internalisation
The child is a ‘collaborative learner’ (not a
‘lone scientist’)
The ZPD
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Vygotsky introduced the idea of the “zone of
proximal development” (ZPD)
Child demonstrates alone what s/he has
already mastered
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Knowledge and skill that the child has
Child can perform at a higher level when
he/she is supported by a more capable peer
or adult
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Knowledge and skill that the child has not yet
mastered
The ZPD
Level of Potential Development
Knowledge and understanding which the child may gain in the
future but is inaccessible from where they are now (level of
actual development)
“Zone of Proximal Development”
Knowledge and understanding which the child may grasp with
the help of a more competent peer or adult – the child is on the
edge of her capabilities and needs support [“scaffolding”]
Level of Actual Development
Knowledge acquired and solid conceptual understanding – what
the child can do alone and independently
Scaffolding
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Jerome Bruner (born 1915 American psychologist)
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It is important for anyone helping a child learn to
work within this ZPD
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‘scaffolding’ - the social role of the adult in supporting a
child’s learning
working below means the child learns nothing new
working above means the work is inaccessible for the child
and beyond their current capabilities
The educator ‘scaffolds’ the child’s performance
often by providing small steps of guidance
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the ‘scaffolding’ is removed once the child can perform
alone
Social constructivist teaching approaches
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Collaborative learning methods, encouraging
talking together
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Teamwork skills development
Discussion of ideas
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Talk with your partner and write your answer
together
tell us what your group did/ found out/ explored…
Scaffolded learning opportunities maximised
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interaction with teacher/other is central to
learning process
Does it matter?
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The way teachers think about the learning process
guides the way they teach…..Yes it matters!
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Sometimes ‘what works’ is OK is the short term
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Good professional practice involves reflecting on
why it works, whether it works long term and what
alternatives there may be
Such reflections will be influenced by
understandings of what learning is and how children
learn
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Children’s questions
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What does thinking look like?
What colour is thinking?
Why is the moon tall in the water?
Where does the sun go?
What if I went shopping and I died?
Who decides about the vicar?
Why did the plane go into the tower?
Learning – the biological process
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100 billion neurons in the
brain
The neuron is the functional
unit of the brain
Neurons communicate
using electrical signals and
chemical messengers
called neurotransmitters
that either stimulate or
inhibit the activity of a
responding neuron
A neuron or nerve cell
The neuron, or nerve cell, is the functional unit of the nervous
system. The neuron has processors called dendrites that receive
signals and an axon that transmits signals to another neuron.
Neurons transmit information to other
neurons
Neurons transmit information to other neurons. Information passes from the
axon of one neuron to the dendrites of another across a microscopic gap.
Information crosses the gap via hook-ups called synapses.
What does the research tell
us?
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John Bruer, educationalist, states:
neurosciences tell us “absolutely nothing”
about early childhood
There are a number of ideas that some
theorists and practitioners have latched onto
There is now a HUGE market for brain
stimulation strategies due to ideas about:
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Synaptic growth
Critical periods
Enriched environments
Impacts on classroom practice
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However, some ideas based on ‘brain
research’ have made their way into the
classroom
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These include:
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Left brain, right brain
Brain gym
Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic learning
Left brain, right brain
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Language – left hemisphere
Graphic and emotional – right hemisphere
Myth:
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Pupils are either left – or right brain users
Neuroscience suggests that it is dangerous to
suppose that language processing only
occurs in the left hemisphere of all people
Humans are not either – or in their brain use!
Brain Gym
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Look at this website:
http://www.learningsolutions.co.uk/braingym2.php
Myth: ‘These movements can have a
profound effect, developing the brain's neural
pathways through movement, just as nature
intended.’
(from the above website)
There is no evidence to suggest that such
classroom activities have any effect on the
brain of young children
VAK learners
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Learning styles
Myth:
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Everyone has a dominant learning style, either visual,
auditory and kinaesthetic
Neuroscience tells us that our brains ‘interlink input
modalities’
That is, information is taken in via pathways that are
inter-linked, for example:
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Visual – auditory
Visual - motor
Motor – auditory
Visual - taste
To conclude…
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Three central theories
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Behaviourism
Constructivism
Social constructivism
You will see aspects of all three theories in practice
In the classroom you may see initiatives that claim
to be based on international practice or brain
research too
Maintain a reflective approach….
Good luck!
Further reading:
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Follow up chapter: handout
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Wray D. (2006) Unit 2:2 ‘Looking at Learning’ from
Arthur, Grainger and Wray [Eds] Learning to
Teach in the Primary School
Additional summary material:
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Smidt S. (2007) Chapters 1-3 The Developing
Child in the 21st Century. London: Routledge
References
Bruer J: ‘Neural connections: some you use,
some you loose’
http://www.jsmf.org/about/j/neural_connection
s.htm
 Blakemore S-J. & Frith U. (2005) The
Learning Brain Oxford. Blackwell
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Chapter 2: ‘The Developing Brain’