Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
What is Learning?
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Learning is gaining new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values or preferences.
It may involve processing different types of information.
Learning functions can be performed by different brain learning processes.
It depends on the mental capacities of learning subject, the type of knowledge which
needs to be acquired, as well as on environmental circumstances.
Three main categories of learning theories:
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Behaviourism – a learning process which focuses only on the aspects of learning that
are objectively observable.
Cognitivism – a learning process that looks beyond behaviour to explain learning
based on thinking.
Constructivism – a learning process in which learner actively builds new ideas or
concepts.
Behaviourism
As popularized by Russian psychologist, Ivan Pavlov and American psychologist, B.F
skinner, Behaviorism Theory:
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Described as a developmental theory that measures observable behaviours produced by a
learner’s response to stimuli.
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Responses to stimuli can be reinforced with positive or negative feedback to condition
desired behaviours.
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Punishment is sometimes used in eliminating or reducing incorrect actions, followed by
clarifying desired actions.
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The learner uses low level processing skills to understand material and the material is
often isolated from real-world contexts or situations.
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The theory of behaviourism concentrates on the study of overt (obvious) behaviours that
can be observed and measured
It views the mind as a “black box” in the sense that response to stimulus can be observed
quantitatively, ignoring the possibility of thought process occurring in the mind.
The basic idea of behaviourism are: human behaviour is a product of the stimulusresponse interaction and that behaviour is modifiable
Behaviourism is a learning theory that only focuses on objectively observable behaviours and
discounts any independent activities of the mind.
There are two different types of conditioning, each yielding a different behavioural pattern:
 Classic conditioning occurs when a natural reflex responds to a stimulus.
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
 Behavioural or operant conditioning occurs when a response to a stimulus is
reinforced.
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Behaviourism was the main approach in learning prior the 1950s. For behaviourism
theory, learning is the process of acquisition of new behaviour based on environmental
conditions.
It relies only on observable behaviour and such that, behaviourism is a traditional
approach of learning in which it mainly focused on behaviour modification with the use
of “drill and practice” and also “reward and punishment.”
Cognitivism
Cognitivism focuses on the inner mental activities involving the mental processes such as
thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving need to be explored.
They (the constructivists) believe that knowledge arises from the interaction of a particular
structure and a person’s own psychological environment. Learning involves the
reorganization of experiences, either by attaining new insights or changing old ones. The key
idea is to create a meaningful learning environment.
As stated by Piaget, Cognitive development results from the interactions that children have
with their physical and social environments. As a child explores his world, and eventually
they began to discover that they hold a perspective of the world uniquely their own.
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Cognitive learning is the acquisition of knowledge and skill by mental or cognitive
processes.
It includes creating mental representations of physical objects and events, and other forms
of information processing.
In cognitive learning, the individual learns by listening, watching, touching, reading, or
experiencing and then processing and remembering the information.
Cognitive learning might seem to be passive learning, because there is no motor
movement. However, the learner is quite active, in a cognitive way, in processing and
remembering newly incoming information.
Cognitive learning theories view learning as a process of understanding and internalizing
facts and concepts about the world around us, each individual has a unique concept of
things based on personal experience. These concepts are extremely subjective and very
personal. Learning happens when the experiences grow.
Cognitive theories attempts to answer how and why people learn by attributing the
process to cognitive activity and take the perspective that students actively process
information and learning takes place through the efforts of the students as they organize,
store and find relationships between information, linking new to old knowledge, schema
and scripts.
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
Cognitivism could be argued that this is the reason for the separation of schools into levels
such as pre-school, primary and secondary. As Jean Piaget have classified in his cognitive
theory of development, which emphasized thought processes such as thinking, understanding,
and perceiving.
Jean Piaget has stated that cognitive growth occurs through a series of stages, known as
'stages in development'. These are:
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sensorimotor (0 to 2 years),
pre-operational (2-7 years),
concrete-operational (7-12 years), and
formal-operational (12 years –adult).
The existence of these separate stages, has in it, own characteristic mode of thinking and the
limitations involved.
Constructivism
We use Constructivist approach in our teaching:
 We need to use or reflect on the children’s experiences so that they can construct or build
their own understanding.
 In this case, different people generates their own ‘rules’ and ‘mental models’ which is
then use to make sense of their experiences.
 Therefore, constructivism is simply the process of adjusting our rules/mental models to
accommodate new experiences.
 There are also several principles of constructivism:
a) Learning is a search for meaning.
b) Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts. And parts must be
understood in the context of wholes.
c) Teachers must understand the mental models that students used.
d) The purpose of learning is for an individual to build up their own
meaning/understanding.
Constructivism refers to:
 the epistemological consideration focusing exclusively on the meaning-making activity of
the individual mind
 It is a theory to guide understanding of how students acquire critical questioning skills
 It can become a guiding theoretical foundation and provide a theory of cognitive growth
and learning that can be applied to several learning goals
 In constructivist learning environment, the role of the teacher shifts from being a source
of knowledge to facilitating learning.
Constructivism or Constructivist learning is based on students' active participation in
problem-solving and critical thinking regarding a learning activity which they find relevant
and engaging. They are "constructing" their own knowledge by testing ideas and approaches
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
based on their prior knowledge and experience, applying these to a new situation, and
integrating the new knowledge gained with pre-existing intellectual constructs.
The term refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves---each learner
individually (and socially) constructs meaning---as he or she learns.
Guiding principles in implementing constructivist learning
In implementing constructivist approach in our lesson, we should bear in mind that:
 Learning is an active process in which the learner uses sensory input and constructs
meaning out of it.
 People learn to learn as they learn: learning consists both of constructing meaning and
constructing systems of meaning.
 The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental: it happens in the mind.
 Learning involves language: the language we use influences learning.
 It takes time to learn: learning is not instantaneous.
 Motivation is a key component in learning.
The effective use of ICT in teaching and learning.
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There are evidences from numerous researches that ICT can help pupils to learn and
teachers to teach effectively.
ICT can be used effectively indifferent ways to improve the teaching and learning
processes whether they are used by individual pupils, in groups and by the teacher to
initiate discussion.
ICT can also help to develop pupil’s thinking in a many ways including reasoning,
understanding and creativity.
Therefore, with creative approaches on ICT use, we can integrate the learning theories
that we mentioned earlier in our teaching.
Integration of ICT with behaviourism
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Behaviourism is one of the oldest teaching methods. It is characterized by rote learning
drill-and-practice acquisition and a punishment-and-reward system of learning
Behaviourism cares little about the mental processes that take place within the learner,
who is considered a black box.
The teacher plays a central role, being a master with responsibility for training the learner.
Learning takes place in a highly controlled environment, through drill-and-practice
technique.
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Learning using technology provides drill, practices, and tutorial using computer
assisted/generated learning and the contents must be divided into several instructional
steps from the easiest to the hardest.
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In order to improve the efficiency of learning, students are asked to repeat certain sections
or do a diagnostic test. Students are expected to increase the skill through repetitive
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
practice with appropriate feedback. The messages of encouragement are used to increase
learner motivation.
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For Behaviourism learning, it relies on observable behaviour.
Behaviourism is often used by teachers who reward or punish student behaviours.
Therefore, this type of learning can be used as a modification of behaviour.
Teacher can use varieties of educational website or software such as spreadsheets,
Microsoft word, Microsoft PowerPoint etc.
This kind of learning is easier to conduct since it depends on the targeted behaviour.
Teacher can directly identify pupils who have problem in their learning by looking at
their performance in the activities given.
Behaviourism learning is suitable to be used with lower primary as well as upper primary.
What can we do about behaviourism in ICT is that; maybe we can use ICT as a reward for a
good behaviour. We can give the pupils who get good grades and finish the tasks on time the
opportunity to use ICT, for example, we let the pupils to play some educational games using
the computer after they finished their tasks.
Another example for using ICT in teaching and learning could be an online “gap fill” tutorial
in a foreign language, as such learning English: students have to enter a word or phrase to
complete the sentence (behaviour) and they receive an immediate response from the
computer telling them if they were right or wrong (consequence). If they are incorrect the
students will receive a hint or direction to the content where they can review the task. When
they have consistently completed the exercise correctly they will be said to have learned and
achieved the goal of the lesson.
Integrating ICT usage with cognitivism
In cognitivists’ view, mental activity is the primary focus of learning, where it measures by
how one thinks and not how one behaves.
There are 3 important processes when it comes into cognitive learning, which include:
 Acquiring new information
 Transforming old information to fit a particular task
 Evaluating or measuring to see whether the transformed information works.
When it comes to technology, it is important to include specific principles:
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Interactive assignments.
Moments of reflection
Interaction with peers and teacher
Problem-solving
Levels of development
Adapt to the learning styles of students
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
 Be flexible and adaptive.
Cognitivism theory and ICT
 Cognitivism learning can be acquired through listening, watching, touching, reading and
then processing and remembering the information.
 Therefore, there is various range of software which can be used for this learning theory.
 For example, for the lower primary children, teacher can ask them to touch and identify
the name of the computer equipments such as computer screen, keyboard, mouse, CPU
and so forth. Through this kind of activity, pupils can touch, listen to the teacher and at
the same time experience the learning by themselves and then the learning may proceed
to process and remember the information.
 There are also some educational website which support and can be used for Cognitivism
learning such as www.bbc.co.uk/schools, www.bbc.co.uk/science, http://nlum.usu.edu.
 Cognitivism relies on both teacher and learner. The teacher provides content and leads the
learning.
 The learner is responsible for internalizing the material presented by the teacher
 Teacher can build meaningful activity using tools in ICT such as IWB, MS Office and so
forth.
 Pupils can work with the available tools than can stimulate their curiosity and co-ordinate
their sense of touch, hearing and seeing.
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In cognitivist model, learning takes place when the ‘correct’ materials are available to the
learner and the teacher directs the learning.
Cognitivism recognizes the individual differences between learners, each having preconceived ideas and preferred learning styles.
Example of ICT activity in teaching Friction in Year 4
Ask the children to carry out an investigation into the effect of rolling a car down:
a) Slopes with different surfaces
b) Slopes of different elevations.
Use a spreadsheet to record the results. Produce a graph to show results.
Integrating the use of ICT into Constructivists’ approach
How ICT is integrated in this theory?
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The Web is where constructivist learning can take place
It provides access to rich sources of information, encourages meaningful interactions with
contents and brings people together to challenge support or respond to each other.
Here, the teacher is required to provide guidance or coaching to allow students to create
their own meaning otherwise it does not guarantee constructivist learning.
Example of activity:
DFAQ (Dynamic Frequently Asked Questions)
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
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The Dynamic Frequently Asked Question (DFAQ) tool was designed and developed as a
special purpose question and consultation environment for students
It aims to encourage learners to continually question thus they become lifelong learners.
It provides an anonymous medium through which students consulted one another and
with a teacher
It is an educative, social and communicative space, which dynamically create a
knowledge resource from student consultations
Several advantages of DFAQ are:
o Supports learning on and off-classroom
o Consultations are anonymous
o It is available 24 hours a day
o It allows student the opportunity to learn from answers to questions that other
students have posed.
Constructivism theory and ICT
 Constructivism learning is suitable for high-ability pupils. It can be used for upper
primary pupils.
 Since constructivism learning focuses on builds up knowledge based on experiences,
therefore, it encourages pupils to learn independently.
 The effective use of ICT can help in the success of the learning. Pupils can use ICT to
find extra information and relate it with their prior knowledge before construct a new
knowledge.
 The use of programmes such as LOGO programming, Euclidean Reality and Geometer’s
Sketchpad can be used for teaching Mathematics. These programmes are some of the
examples of Constructivism learning.
 Pupils have the basic knowledge on shapes and with the use of the programmes; it helps
the pupils to build up new knowledge by trying to draw shapes using those programmes.
 The cognitive learning also needed here, since the pupils have to reflect back their prior
knowledge and practice hands on activity to construct new knowledge.
 Students will learn more because they are actively involved in their own learning process
 They are invited to perform investigation/exploration and find something by themselves.
 They are invited to interact with real environments and contextual, and therefore they will
build their own knowledge.
 Moreover, students will learn to be active and will reach the ability to think critically and
solve problems in a systemic / holistic approach.
 In the end they themselves will master the content as well as the processes.
Constructivism in learning ICT:
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Learning through the internet, where pupils can explore and find the answers to some of
the teacher questions.
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Using World Wide Web and search engine such as Google to gain more knowledge.
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
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Using Enquiry where teachers can ask pupils a question and pupils try to find out the
answers.
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Using some activities on the web such as http://www.e-learningforkids.org
Conclusion:
An increasing interest in constructivist theories has changed the reference paradigm within
which the computer is considered for learning aims. The attention has been progressively
focussed on the internal aspects of students, on their attitudes and behaviours and on the
cognitive processes that are involved in learning interactions with the computer. One of the
major forces which has driven change has been the assumption that meanings are lost if
learning is simply seen as the transmission of information. Learning is progressively
considered as being based on an active exploration and personal construction, rather than on a
transmissive model.
What are the advantages of integrating ICT into these learning theories?
For Behaviourism, the advantages are that:
 Its positive and negative reinforcement techniques can be very effective. ICT can help
pupils to enjoy their learning
 It can be used as treatments for human disorders including autism, anxiety disorders and
antisocial behaviour.
 It is use by teachers to reward or punish pupil’s behaviour.
 It allows students of varying ability to work on exercises in their own time and at their
own pace
 This way all students can achieve a similar level of competence and the teacher’s time is
spent on teaching more complex knowledge and skills or focusing on student with
particular needs
 It is more motivating than exercise books as they contain visual (still and moving images)
and audio aids and are pleasing to look at and interact with
 The variety of written, visual and verbal clues can help students with different learning
styles.
Disadvantages in integrating ICT into behaviourism
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Behaviourism does not account for all kinds of learning, since it ignores the activities of
the mind.
Behaviourism does not explain some learning–such as the recognition of new language
patterns by young children–for which there is no reinforcement mechanism.
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
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Drill and practice does not concern on how students work problems out. What matters is
they know the answers by rote learning.
Students are not given the chance to explore things around them. As a result they will not
know how far they understand certain things and the high-ability pupils will control the
ICT activities.
Advantages of using cognitivism in integration of ICT in the learning
Cognitive learning is also a passive learning, because there is no motor movement. However,
it makes the learner quite active, in a cognitive way, in processing and remembering newly
incoming information. It also enables the students to create and transmit a complex culture
that includes symbols, values, beliefs and norms.
Cognitive strategies enhances learning because the effective use of such strategies minimizes
the demands on working memory
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A student who is good at strategic learning may possess;
o A broad range of strategies
o Knowledge of when, why and how to use the strategies (metacognition)
o A broad knowledge base
o The ability to focus and ignore distractions
Advantages in using constructivism in ICT
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The online environment provides opportunities for exploration and highly creative and
individualised self-expression and for individualised learning, allowing students to
progress at their own pace.
It gives students access to a wide range of raw and real-world data which engages
students in authentic learning tasks.
It allows the student to be actively engaged with their learning and be at the centre of the
process. These features of the online environment suggest that online learning activities
designed using constructivist strategies highly effective.
Disadvantages of using constructivism in ICT
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Not all children in the class have the same conceptual growth. Therefore, teacher needs
to do extra work for preparing various activities suitable with the pupil’s abilities. Pupils
with low skills in ICT will not enjoy learning and the more able students tend to dominate
the activity, leaving out the less able students. Less able students tend to move away from
the activity since they are not given the opportunity to give a shot.
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
In reality, creating environment, instruction, or activities that support student-centred learning
are harder than just giving the lecture material to the students especially for old generation
teacher. Problems also come from the students itself. Some students may not ready with this
approach especially for passive students. Forcing the approach to this type of learner will
only lead to poor outcomes. In my opinion, completely changed from the old teaching
methods to the new teaching method (constructivism approach) methods cannot be done in
full scale. We need to use combine the approach which will give active students the
opportunity to build on their knowledge but also did not leave the passive students by giving
them the lecture and also encourage them to become more active.
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It is Time consuming- to conduct this type of learning teacher and pupils need to spend
more time. For examples: to find information, make hypothesis and testing.
Computer ratios not support the pupil ratios. Limited computers lead to the failure of the
constructivism learning.
Lack of teachers’ ability in conducting ICT may hinders the constructivist theory of
learning
Lack of teachers’ questioning and answering skills may lower students’ confidence. This
may include teacher’s content knowledge as well
How can we relate this into the Brunei Context and with regard to the SPN21?
The Ministry of Education’s Vision is:
To transform Brunei Darussalam to a more knowledgeable, thoughtful, multi-skilled,
competitive and smart nation based upon the teachings of Islam according to
AhliSunnahWalJamaah
And its Mission is:
To enable access for all to e-Education by providing a strong foundation in ICT thereby
promoting excellence in human capacity building.
When we talked about SPN21,
As we all know, ICT plays a big part in our life today. According to our SPN21, in order for
our students to achieve success in the 21st century, they need to attain certain levels of
mastery in the fields of technology and to acquire full understanding of any information that
they acquire through various means.
The aims for the learning outcomes:
• ICT skills for creative learning
• Obtain information
• Analyse and process information
• Present information
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
• Communicate electronically through the local and global network
In addition, we all aware that at the primary level, the curriculum is now integrated across
subject areas using themes and topics that are based on understanding, experience and the
surrounding environment. The use of discussion forums, blogs, wiki and on-line collaborative
activities can help the students to experience connectivity across the learning areas, learning
with understanding and also made aware that ideas do not exist in isolation but connected.
Examples of how these three learning theories can be integrated with ICT in Brunei
context?
ICT across the curriculum had been implemented to the primary school in Brunei. Therefore,
all teachers of different subjects are encouraged to use ICT as their teaching tools. The
implementing of SPN 21 in our education requires our young children to be skilful in ICT. In
relation to this, teacher needs to be well prepared especially in technical skills and
pedagogical skills. These three learning theories can be used as to cope with the pupils
abilities in learning. Although our education in Brunei is more to exam-oriented but with the
use of ICT, it might helps pupils to be more active and develop their thinking skills in their
learning process.
How should the teachers use ICT in Brunei context?
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Teachers should use interactive methods of teaching such as hands on activities and group
work by using ICT so that pupils will enjoy their learning.
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Teachers should present students with challenges to increase problem solving abilities as
in line with what is required in SPN 21.
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Teachers need awareness of how different learning styles can be used as a way to
measure the ‘whole person’ rather than the small part of intelligence represented by IQ
tests.
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MOE should encourage teachers to use ICT in their teaching and provide teachers with
ICT training and workshops.
Barriers in implementing these in the teaching
From the teachers’ own experiences in conducting these three learning theories in teaching,
of course they are some implications especially with the integration of ICT such as:
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We have limited computers for the pupils and some of the computers in schools are not
working.
We also have limited internet access. Not all schools in Brunei have a good internet
access. Some teachers have to use their own broadband for teaching.
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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Seminar for Week 11: Learning Theories and ICT
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Some teachers have less support from the ICT teachers. When the teachers needed some
help and cooperation from the ICT teachers, some of them refused. Some of them also
dominate the ICT room and did not give chances to other teachers to use it. This can
demotivate the teachers to use ICT in their teaching.
The pupils must have basic computer literacy skills or otherwise the teachers might find it
difficult to achieve their target in their teaching.
Some teachers are also technophobia, they lack computer the much-needed skills to use
ICT in teaching. Therefore, they need support to develop both technical and new
pedagogical skills.
As Brunei curriculum is still exam-oriented, drill and practice is still a crucial strategy in
order to get the students move to the upper level. This is especially for Year 6 in which
they are facing PSR. Not much activity can be done with them since they have to
complete the syllabus before the event.
Students are not strategic learners. They have to be taught how to use particular strategies.
Some teachers do not browse for educational websites that can be used to support
cognitivist theory of learning
Insufficient facilities may prevent the teaching and learning using ICT
Some teachers do not have sufficient knowledge in conducting such activity using ICT.
This may be because they are too occupied with the traditional teaching strategy.
They have lack of confidence in teaching using ICT. Therefore, they need to undergo
trainings in order to be able to apply it with the students
It is quite time consuming where teacher has to wait for students’ responds and the
teacher may think that the syllabus may not be completed in time.
Conclusion:
Every approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. The best strategy that we can use
is by combining those approaches to take benefits from all. How?
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It is very important for teachers for understand the basic concepts of information and
communication technologies that can be used to enhance effective, constructive and
interesting learning process.
Teachers are also required to creatively mix learning strategies that take advantages of
ICT, such as chat, e-mail, mailing list, blogs, presentations with PowerPoint slides,
simulations, and others.
Teacher should also be aware about student’s motivation and self-regulation because this
will affects the outcome of the learning process.
Done by: Norazlina (08B1035), Saifull (08B1036), Mudianawati (08B1040), Norfirzanah (08B1041), Tinidiana
(08B1048).
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