Introduction
One of the most important characteristics of
human beings is their capacity to learn.
An individual starts learning immediately after his
birth.
Our personality, our habits, skills, knowledge,
attitude and interest is largely the result of
learning.
All our adaptive as well as maladaptive, and
cognitive as well as affective behavior formed by
learning process.
These are the vital important in helping the
individual to adapt to his environment.
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Definitions
The term learning covers every modification in
behavior to meet environmental requirements.
Learning is the acquisition of habits,
knowledge and attitudes.
It involves new way of doing things and it
operates on an individual’s attempt to
overcome the obstacles or to adjust the new
situations.
It represent progressive changes in behavior.
It enable him to satisfy interests to attain
goal. 3
Nature of learning
Learning is a process.
It involves all those experiences and training of
an individual which helps to change his
behavior.
Learning prepares the individual to adjust and
adopt in the situations.
All the learning is purposeful and goal-
oriented.
Learning is universal and continuous.
It is a continuous and never-ending process that
goes from womb to tomb.
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Factors influencing learning
Learning is a process of bringing relatively
permanent changes in behavior of the
learner through the experience.
Learning process is centered on three
elements.
Factors associated with the learners.
Factors associated with the type of
learning
Factors associated with the men and
material.
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Factors associated with the learners
Learner’s physical health
Learners mental health
Basic potential of the learner
The level of motivation
Goal of life
Readiness and will power
Maturation
Age
Emotions
sex
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Theories of learning
Behaviourism
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Behaviourism
All things should be looked at from the
perspective of behaviour.
And it doesn’t matter what is going on in
the mind, it just matters what the
behaviour
So there is no difference in the behaviourist
mind between external behaviour and
internal thoughts.
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Behaviourist
s Ivan Pavlov
Edward Lee Thorndike
John B. Watson
B.F. Skinner
10
Behaviourist
s Ivan Pavlov
Edward Lee Thorndike
John B. Watson
B.F. Skinner
11
Behaviourist
s Ivan Pavlov
Edward Lee Thorndike
John B. Watson
B.F. Skinner
12
Behaviourist
s
Ivan Pavlov
Edward Lee Thorndike
John B. Watson
B.F. Skinner
13
Classical conditioning
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Ivan
Pavlov
Born Sept 14, 1849
Died Feb 27, 1936
born in Russia
physiologist,
psychologist, and
physician
awarded the Nobel Prize
in Physiology or
Medicine in 1904 for
research on the digestive
system
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Educational implication of
classical conditioning theory
Fear, love towards a particular subject is
created through conditioning.
A teacher, method of teaching or harsh
treatment of his students, create strong
dislike among them towards subject.
The theory of classical conditioning
emphasizes that the students should be
exposed to positive stimuli in order to
develop desirable habits, interest and
attitudes in them.
Edward Lee
Thorndike
Born August 31, 1874
Died August 9, 1949
Born in Williamsburg,
Studied animal behaviour
and the learning process
led to the theory of
connectionism
Laying the foundation
for modern educational
psychology.
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Trial and error theory of learning
Cats in Puzzle
Boxes
Cats in Puzzle
Boxes
Thorndike looked at how cats learned to
escape from puzzle boxes
The puzzle box experiments were
motivated by Thorndike's dislike for
statements that animals made use of
extraordinary faculties such as insight
in their problem solving.
Cats in Puzzle
Boxes
Thorndike's instruments in answering this
question were learning curves revealed
by plotting the time it took for an animal
to escape the box each time it was in the
box
if the animals were showing insight, then their
time to escape would suddenly drop to a
negligible period, which would also be shown
in the learning curve as an abrupt drop;
while animals using a more ordinary method
of trial and error would show gradual curves.
Cats in Puzzle
Boxes
His finding was that cats
consistently showed gradual
learning.
Educational implication of
Thorndike’s theory
According to him, when the child is ready to learn,
he learns more quickly and effectively. He warns
that the child should not forced to learn.
And teacher must provide learning environment.
The task of the teacher is to motivate the students
by arousing interest.
Learners should be encouraged to perform his task
independently. He must try various solutions to the
problem before arriving at the correct time.
All we need to know in order to
“
describe and explain behavior is this:
actions followed by good outcomes are
likely to recur , and actions followed
by bad
outcomes are less likely to recur.”
(Skinner, 1953)
B. F. Skinner
Science of behavior: Study of conditioning and
extinction of operants
Dependent variable in the "Skinner box": rate
of response
Law of acquisition
key variable: reinforcement
practice provides opportunities for
additional
reinforcement
LAW OF
EFFECT
Behavior Better state Increased
of affairs probability of
behavior occurring
again
Behavior Worse state Decreased
of affairs probability of
behavior occurring
again
OPERANT CONDITIONING
TECHNIQUES
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT = increasing
a behavior by administering a reward
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT = increasing a
behavior by removing an aversive stimulus
when a behavior occurs
PUNISHMENT = decreasing a behavior by
administering an aversive stimulus following
a behavior OR by removing a positive
stimulus
EXTINCTION = decreasing a behavior by
not rewarding it
Theory of insightful learning
(Gestalt psychology)
Gestalt psychology was found in Germany
in 1912 by max Wertheimer and his
colleagues.
The word “Gestalt” means Form or shape
or a particular arrangement of elements.
Gesalt Theory
The Gestalt Theory believes individuals use insight
and their prior experiences to determine their
responses to stimuli. They also use the laws of
Gestalt Theory to try to make sense of, and provide
order to, information in their perception. This
information leaves a trace in memory; traces link
together to form connections of information. The
Gestalt theory is closely related to the present day
cognitive constructivist view of learning. Problem
solving is a good choice of instructional methods
to use to incorporate the beliefs of the Gestalt
theory.
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Educational implication of gestalt
theory
The organization of the syllabus and
planning of the curriculum should give
plenty of opportunity to use the mental
abilities.
Cognitive theory of learning
According to this theory learning through
imitation.
Learning through observing the behavior of
others
Four steps in observational learning
Paying attention
Remembering behavior
Reproducing action
Being motivated to learn and carry out the
behavior.
Transfer of learning
Definition:
Transfer refers to the transfer of knowledge,
training and habits acquired in one situation
to the another situation.
Types of transfer
Positive transfer
Negative transfer
Zero transfer
Positive transfer:
When something previously learned benefit
performance or learning in a new situation. Eg: if
one has learned to play tennis and he find it
easier to learn to plat badminton.
Negative transfer
When someone previously learnt hinders
performance or learning in a new situation, we
call it negative transfer. Eg: Tamil or Guajarati his
pronunciation of English is affected.
Zero:
Previous learning makes no difference at all to the
performance or learning in a new situation. Eg:
learning history may neither help nor hinder the
learning.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
The social learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura h
as become perhaps the most influential theory of learning
and development.
The social learning theory of bandura focuses on the
learning that occurs within a social [Link] considers that
people learn from one another,including such concepts as
observational learning,imitation and [Link]
The learning theory emphasizes the importance of
observing and modelling the behaviours,attitudes,and
emotional reactions of others.
Basic social learning concepts
• The idea that people can learn through observation.
• The idea that internal mental states are an essential part
of this process.
• This theory recognizes that just because something has
been learned, it does not mean that it will result in a
change in behaviour.
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