Learning Theory

Learning TheoryDr Linda Rush Vice Dean, Teacher Education

Objective

To explore the theory underpinning the interaction between the teacher and learner in the classroom setting

Structure Explore the notion of interaction

and mediation

Consider learning theory associated with interaction

Present theoretical frameworks for reflecting on interaction in the classroom

Introducing interactionAt its most simplest, interaction can be seen as

reciprocal action, that is: a return made for something given, felt or shown – an interactive exchange allowing a two-way flow of information

The centrality of importance of interaction was taken up by some sociologists and some psychologists who call themselves 'symbolic interactionists’

Symbolic Interactionists posit the idea of two types of human interaction, symbolic and non-symbolic

Interaction and mediationOften the terms interaction and

mediation are used synonymously

To mediate adds a qualitative dimension to interaction

Mediation can be viewed as an arrangement of actions and interactions

Types of interaction A teacher might interact

with their class with a view to imparting new knowledge or they may interact to confront misconceptions being held on behalf of a learner.

Alternatively they may interact with a view to encouraging and maintaining motivation.

Types of interaction Reed (1999) writes about

forms of interaction such as appraisal and assessment.

Within early years education there is general agreement about teachers interacting with their children (through questioning, modelling language, skills and behaviour) with a view to extending their learning.

Types of interaction A teacher's intervention or

mediation can be 'outside' whereby the teacher is on the periphery of the learning going on, but providing comments or encouragement, or on the 'inside' where the teacher takes on a role, joins in and models, maybe, language, skill or behaviour.

The relationship between learning and development

Piaget’s cognitive -developmental theoryPiaget's theory is based on the

idea that the developing child builds cognitive structures - in other words, mental "maps," schemes, or networked concepts for understanding and responding to physical experiences within his or her environment.

Piaget's four developmental stages Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2

years old)

Preoperational stage (ages 2-7)

Concrete operations (ages 7-11)

Formal operations (beginning at ages 11-15)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yhXjJVFA14&feature=youtube_gdata



Piaget’s principles for building cognitive structures

Assimilation


Accommodation


Equilibrium

How Piaget's theory impacts on learning Curriculum - Educators must plan a

developmentally appropriate curriculum that enhances their students' logical and conceptual growth.

Instruction - Teachers must emphasize the critical role that experiences - or interactions with the surrounding environment--play in student learning.

Behaviourism

Behavior theorists define learning as nothing more than the acquisition of new behavior.

Behaviourism - conditioning as a universal learning process.

Classic conditioning occurs when a natural reflex responds to a stimulus.

Behavioral or operant conditioning occurs when a response to a stimulus is reinforced.

Criticisms of BehaviourismDoes not account for all kinds of

learning, since it disregards the activities of the mind

Does not explain some learning - such as the recognition of new language patterns by young children - for which there is no reinforcement mechanism

Reinforced patterns of behaviour will alter with new information

How Behaviorism impacts on learning Its positive and negative

reinforcement techniques can be very effective - both in animals, and in treatments for human disorders such as autism and antisocial behavior. Behaviorism often is used by teachers, who reward or punish student behaviors.

Vygotsky’s socio-culural theory

The social cognition learning model asserts that culture is the prime determinant of individual development.

Culture makes two sorts of contributions to a child's intellectual development

Through culture children acquire much of the content of their thinking, that is, their knowledge

The surrounding culture provides a child with the processes or means of their thinking, what Vygotskians call the tools of intellectual adaptation

Vygotsky’s socio-culural theoryA dialectical process – involving

problem solving with more knowledgeable other (MKO)

Language - primary form of interaction

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Scaffolding

Internalisation

How Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory impacts on learningCurricula should be designed to

emphasize interaction between learners and learning tasks.

Role of ‘scaffolding’ - where the adult continually adjusts the level of his or her help in response to the child's level of performance--is an effective form of teaching

Assessment – prospective, not retrospective!

Meaningful Learning

Meaningful learning occurs when new ideas are incorporated into a structure of thought that has already been established by previous learning (see Bruner’s notion of a Spiral Curriculum)

Meaningful Learning: Two dimensions

The degree of meaningfulness

The mode of encounter.

Meaningful Learning: Three conditions1.The material itself must be meaningful; it

must make sense or conform to experience

2.The learner must have enough relevant knowledge for the meaning in the material to be within their grasp.

3. The learner must intend to learn meaningfully, that s/he must intend to fit the new material into what s/he already knows rather than to memorise from word to word

Learning Theory

Education

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