Unit Two: Learning and Behavior Development

Unit Aim: To provide secondary school teachers with a foundational understanding of key
learning theories (behaviorist, cognitive, constructivist), how learning manifests in skill and
attitude changes, and practical strategies to enhance memory, promote transfer, and combat
forgetting in the classroom.

1. Meaning, Principles, Outcome, and Implications of Learning

 Meaning of Learning:

o A relatively permanent change in an individual's behavior, knowledge,

understanding, or capacity that results from experience. It is not due to maturation
(biological growth), temporary states (like fatigue or illness), or instinct.
o Key Aspect: Learning is an internal mental process, but it is inferred from
observable changes in behavior or performance.

o Example: A student wasn't able to solve quadratic equations but, after instruction
and practice, can now solve them consistently. This indicates learning has
occurred.
 Key Principles of Learning: These principles serve as guidelines for effective teaching.

1. Learning is Active: Learners are not empty vessels; they must actively engage
with content, construct meaning, and process information.
2. Learning is Goal-Oriented: Learners are more motivated and focused when they
have clear purposes and goals for their learning.
3. Learning is Cumulative: New knowledge is built upon and connected to prior
knowledge. Effective learning integrates new information into existing cognitive
structures.
4. Learning is Self-Regulated: Effective learners take control of their own learning
process, monitoring their understanding, planning strategies, and evaluating their
progress.
5. Learning is Contextual: It is influenced by the environment in which it occurs,
including social, cultural, and physical factors.
6. Learning Involves Interaction: With content, peers, teachers, and the broader
environment.
 7. Learning is Transferable: Knowledge and skills acquired in one situation can be
applied to new, similar situations.
 Outcomes of Learning: Learning manifests in various ways.

o Acquisition of knowledge (e.g., facts, concepts, theories, principles).

o Development of skills (e.g., problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, practical

laboratory skills, communication skills).
 o Changes in attitudes and values (e.g., developing a positive attitude towards
science, valuing teamwork).
o Formation of habits (e.g., good study habits).

Implications for Teachers:

o Design lessons that require active participation (discussions, group work,
problem-solving).
o Clearly communicate learning objectives and help students set personal goals.

o Always activate prior knowledge before introducing new concepts.

o Provide opportunities for practice and application of learned material.

o Assess diverse learning outcomes, not just factual recall.

2. Behaviorist Perspective Concerning Changes in Attitudes and Skills

 Core Idea: Learning is an observable and measurable change in behavior that occurs
through associations between environmental stimuli and responses, and through the
consequences (reinforcement or punishment) that follow behavior. Internal mental states
are largely disregarded in this perspective.

 Key Theories:
o Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov):

 Concept: Learning through association, where a neutral stimulus becomes

associated with a naturally occurring stimulus to elicit a similar response.
 Process: Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) -> Unconditioned Response (UCR).
Neutral Stimulus (NS) + UCS -> UCR. Eventually, NS becomes Conditioned
Stimulus (CS) -> Conditioned Response (CR).

 Example: A student might develop anxiety (CR) every time the math teacher
(CS) enters the room, because in the past, the math teacher was always
associated with difficult tests (UCS) that caused anxiety (UCR).
 Application to Attitudes: Explains how students can develop positive or
negative attitudes towards school, subjects, or teachers based on their
associated experiences
o Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner):
 Concept: Learning occurs through the consequences of voluntary actions.
Behaviors followed by favorable consequences (reinforcers) are more likely to
be repeated, while behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences
(punishers) are less likely.

 Key Concepts:
 Reinforcement: Any consequence that strengthens (increases) the
likelihood of a behavior.
 Positive Reinforcement: Adding a desirable stimulus after a
behavior.

 Example: A teacher praises (positive stimulus) a

student for completing their homework, increasing the
likelihood they do homework again.

 Negative Reinforcement: Removing an undesirable stimulus

after a behavior.

 Example: A teacher tells students that if they all

complete their in-class assignment quietly (behavior),
they won't have any homework tonight (removal of
undesirable homework).
 Punishment: Any consequence that weakens (decreases) the
likelihood of a behavior.

 Positive Punishment: Adding an undesirable stimulus after a

behavior.
 Example: A student talks out of turn and receives a
verbal reprimand (undesirable stimulus added).

 Negative Punishment: Removing a desirable stimulus after a

behavior.
 Example: A student misbehaves during group time and
loses privileges (removal of desirable activity).
 Shaping: Reinforcing successive approximations of a desired
complex behavior until the full behavior is achieved.
  Extinction: The gradual weakening and disappearance of a learned
response when reinforcement for that response is stopped.
 Application to Skills & Attitudes: Behaviorism provides tools for managing
classroom behavior, encouraging participation, and developing routine skills
through systematic reinforcement.

 Implications for Teachers:

o Focus on Positive Reinforcement: Use praise, recognition, good grades, and
privileges to encourage desired academic and social behaviors.
o Be Consistent: Apply rules and consequences consistently to establish clear
behavioral expectations.
o Use Shaping: Break down complex tasks (e.g., writing a research paper, solving
multi- step math problems) into smaller steps and reinforce each successful
approximation.
o Identify Reinforcers: Understand what genuinely motivates individual students
(it varies!).
o Avoid Over-Reliance on Punishment: Punishment can suppress behavior but
doesn't teach desired alternatives and can lead to negative emotional responses.
o Create Positive Associations: Ensure the classroom is a place associated with
success, support, and positive experiences to foster positive attitudes towards
learning.

3. Cognitive and Constructivist Perspectives of Learning (Thinking Skills and Problem- Solving
Strategies)

 Core Idea (Cognitive Perspective): Learning is seen as an active, internal mental

process where individuals acquire, organize, process, and use information. It focuses on
how people think, understand, remember, and solve problems.

 Key Concepts from Cognitive Perspective:

o Information Processing: Views the mind as a system that processes information
like a computer, involving stages of sensory input, working memory (short-term),
and long-term memory.
o Schema: Mental frameworks, categories, or organized patterns of thought and
behavior. They help us organize and interpret new information, influencing what
we notice and remember.
  Example: A student has a "Democracy" schema. When learning about
Ethiopian elections, they fit new information (e.g., voting processes, political
parties) into this existing schema, or modify it if new information contradicts
their current understanding.
o Metacognition: "Thinking about thinking." It involves awareness and control over
one's own cognitive processes. This includes planning, monitoring, and evaluating
one's own learning.

 Example: Before a test, a student might decide to focus on difficult topics first
(planning), then check their understanding by self-quizzing (monitoring), and
finally evaluate if they're ready (evaluating).
 Core Idea (Constructivist Perspective): Learners actively construct their own
understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing and reflecting on those
experiences. Knowledge is not simply absorbed; it is built.
 Key Concepts from Constructivist Perspective:
o Assimilation (Piaget): Integrating new information into existing schemas.

 Example: A student learns about a new type of bird and fits it into their existing
"bird" schema, which already includes wings, feathers, and flying.
o Accommodation (Piaget): Modifying existing schemas or creating new ones to
incorporate new information that doesn't fit neatly into existing structures. This
often involves a conceptual change.

 Example: A student previously thought all birds fly. They then learn about
ostriches. They must accommodate their "bird" schema to include the concept
of flightless birds, or create a new sub-category.
o Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD - Vygotsky): The gap between what a
learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance and
collaboration from a more knowledgeable other (e.g., teacher, peer). Learning is
most effective when instruction targets this zone.

 Example: A student can factor simple quadratic equations alone (independent

ability) but struggles with complex ones. With the teacher's guidance or a peer's
explanation (more knowledgeable other), they can
solve the complex ones. The ZPD is the range of problems they can solve with help.
o Scaffolding: The temporary support provided by a teacher or more skilled peer to
help a learner master a new task within their ZPD. This support is gradually
withdrawn as the learner becomes more competent.

 Example: A teacher provides a graphic organizer for an essay, then helps

students brainstorm ideas, then reviews an outline, gradually reducing the
support as students become more proficient at essay writing.

 Thinking Skills Development (Cognitive & Constructivist Focus):

o Critical Thinking: The objective analysis and evaluation of information to form a
judgment. Involves identifying biases, distinguishing facts from opinions,
evaluating evidence, and drawing logical conclusions.
o Creative Thinking: The ability to generate novel and useful ideas, solutions, or
approaches. Involves divergent thinking.
o Problem-Solving: The process of identifying a problem, generating potential
solutions, evaluating them, and implementing the best one.

 Problem-Solving Strategies:
o Algorithmic Strategies: Step-by-step procedures that guarantee a correct
solution if followed correctly (e.g., mathematical formulas, scientific protocols).
o Heuristic Strategies: General problem-solving rules of thumb or mental shortcuts
that don't guarantee a solution but increase the likelihood of finding one (e.g.,
working backward, breaking a problem into smaller parts, trial and error, means-
ends analysis).

 Implications for Teachers:

o Activate Prior Knowledge: Always begin lessons by explicitly connecting new
information to students' existing knowledge (e.g., "What do you already know
about...?" or using K-W-L charts).
o Encourage Active Learning: Design activities that require students to construct
meaning, not just passively receive it (e.g., discussions, debates, group projects,
inquiry-based learning).
 o Provide Scaffolding: Offer appropriate levels of support (e.g., prompts, hints,
examples, graphic organizers, simplified texts) that are gradually removed as
students gain mastery.
o Teach Metacognitive Skills: Explicitly teach students how to plan their learning,
monitor their understanding, and evaluate their own strategies. Encourage self-
reflection.
o Foster Higher-Order Thinking: Design tasks that demand critical analysis,
creative solutions, and complex problem-solving. Ask "Why?", "How?", and "What
if?" questions.
o Promote Collaboration: Encourage peer learning and group work to leverage
social interaction within the ZPD.

4. Learning in Schools: Aids (Memory and Strategies), Gains (Transfer of Learning), and
Losses of Learning (Forgetting)

 Aids to Learning (Memory and Strategies):

o Memory Processes:

 Encoding: The initial process of converting information into a form that can
be stored in memory (e.g., acoustic, visual, semantic).
 Storage: The process of retaining encoded information over time (e.g., in
short-term or long-term memory).
 Retrieval: The process of accessing stored information from memory when
needed.

o Effective Memory Strategies for Students:

 Elaboration: Connecting new information to existing knowledge in meaningful
ways (e.g., relating a new historical event to something known about the region,
creating analogies).
 Organization: Structuring information into logical categories or frameworks
(e.g., outlines, concept maps, hierarchies, tables).
 Rehearsal (Elaborative vs. Maintenance): While simple repetition
(maintenance) helps for short-term recall, elaborative rehearsal (connecting to
meaning) is crucial for long-term memory.
  Chunking: Grouping individual pieces of information into larger, more
meaningful units (e.g., remembering "F-B-I-C-I-A-N-B-C" as "FBI CIA NBC").
 Mnemonics: Memory aids that use imagery or associations (e.g., acronyms
like "ROY G BIV" for colors of the rainbow; creating vivid mental pictures).
 Spaced Practice/Distributed Practice: Spreading out study sessions over
time, rather than "cramming." This leads to stronger, more durable memories.
 Retrieval Practice (Testing Effect): Actively recalling information from
memory (e.g., self-quizzing, flashcards, explaining concepts to others) is a
more effective learning strategy than simply rereading notes.

 Gains of Learning (Transfer of Learning):

o Definition: The application of knowledge, skills, or strategies learned in one
context to new or different contexts. This is a primary goal of education.

o Types of Transfer:
 Positive Transfer: When prior learning helps or facilitates new learning (e.g.,
learning to ride a bicycle helps in learning to ride a motorbike).
 Negative Transfer: When prior learning hinders or interferes with new learning
(e.g., accustomed to driving on the left side of the road might make driving on
the right side confusing initially).
 Near Transfer: Applying skills/knowledge in a very similar context to where it
was learned (e.g., solving a math problem type exactly like one seen in class,
but with different numbers).
 Far Transfer: Applying skills/knowledge in a very different context, requiring
deeper understanding and adaptation (e.g., using critical thinking skills learned
in history to analyze a current political issue).
o Conditions Promoting Transfer: Transfer is not automatic; it must be taught for.

 Teaching for Understanding: Focus on deep conceptual understanding

rather than rote memorization.
  Providing Varied Examples: Present concepts in multiple contexts and
formats.
 Highlighting Common Principles: Explicitly point out the underlying rules or
principles that apply across different situations.
 Encouraging Metacognition: Ask students to reflect on how they can apply
what they've learned to new situations.
 Using Authentic Tasks: Design learning activities that mirror real-world
applications of knowledge and skills.
 Losses of Learning (Forgetting):
o Definition: The inability to retrieve previously learned information. It's a natural
process but can be mitigated.

o Causes of Forgetting:
 Decay Theory: Memories fade or weaken over time if not regularly accessed
or used ("use it or lose it").
 Interference Theory: Other memories (old or new) block or disrupt the
retrieval of target memories.

 Proactive Interference: Old learning interferes with the recall of new

information.
 Retroactive Interference: New learning interferes with the recall of
old information.
 Retrieval Failure: The information is stored in memory, but the correct cues or
pathways to access it are unavailable (like a file being on a computer but you
can't find its location).
 Motivated Forgetting: Conscious or unconscious repression of memories,
often associated with traumatic or unpleasant experiences.
 Lack of Encoding: The information was never properly stored in long-term
memory in the first place (e.g., distracted during a lesson).

 Implications for Teachers:

o Teach Memory Strategies: Explicitly instruct students on effective study
techniques like elaboration, organization, spaced practice, and self-quizzing.

o Design for Transfer:

  Present concepts with diverse examples and real-world problems.

 Encourage students to connect learning across different subjects.

 Ask "How would you use this information in a new situation?"

o Combat Forgetting:

 Implement regular review sessions (spaced repetition).

 Ensure students deeply understand concepts during encoding.

 Provide clear organization for new material to minimize interference.

 Use effective retrieval cues during instruction and assessment.