GIVE FIVE DEFINITION OF LEARNING.
CRITICALLY EXAMINE ALL THE LEARNING THEORIES, MENTIONING THEIR MERITS AND DEMERITS , AND THEIR IMPLICATION TO EDUCATION.
GIVE REASONS FOR CHOOSING ONE OF THE THEORY OF LEARNING AS THE MOST RELEVANT TO NIGERIA. EDUCATION
WRITTEN BY
UDO, RAPHAEL WILLIE
FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF UYO,UYO
AN ASSIGNMENT
SUBMITTED TO
PROF. (MRS.) P. I. ENANG COURSE LECTURER,
PDE 514(EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY) DEPARTMENT OF INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF UYO,UYO
FEBRUARY, 2018
Learning is a central process in understanding human behaviour.
Learning is the process of the information of relatively permanent neural circuit through the simultaneous activity of the elements of the circuit to-be ,such activity is of the nature of change in cell structure through growth in such a manner as to facilitate the arousal of the entire circuit
when a component elements is arousal or activated.
Learning is a dynamic process whereby, through interactive experience, insights or cognitive structures of life spaces are changed and so become more useful for future guidance.
Learning is a part of almost every aspect of psychology, from development psychology (how we acquire behaviour through the life cycle ) to social psychology (how we learn to interact with other ) to abnormal psychology (how we develop such behaviour as phobias and depression ).
In my own view, learning is a process of developing a creative thinking mindset, which helps to solve human problems, and produce a permanent change in human behaviour land attitude .
INTRODUCTION Many Learning Theories have been developed over a long period, though a majority of those now in use have arisen in the last century or so. These theories apply to many different levels of educational learning. Learning theories are conceptual frameworks describing how information is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed, and knowledge and skills retained. Behaviorists look at learning as an aspect of conditioning and will advocate a system of rewards and targets in education. Educators who embrace cognitive theory believe that the definition of learning as a change in behaviour is too narrow and prefer to study the learner rather than their environment, and in particular the complexities of human memory. This page covers the definition of learning, major theorists and their theories. Information will also include the merits and the demerits, and their implication to Nigeria education .These includes the following theories of learning:
A. Edward Thorndike's Theory of Learning
B. Classical Conditioning Theory of Learning
C. Operant Conditioning Theory of Learning
D. GESTALT/COGNITIVE FIELDS OF LEARNING
E. PIAGET THEORY OF COGNITIVE MENTAL INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
A. EDWARD THORNDIKE'S THEORY OF LEARNING:
A prominent American psychologist introduced a set of principles that would come to be known as Thorndike's Laws. According to these Laws, learning is achieved when an individual is able to form associations between a particular stimulus and a response. These are known as habits, and can either be encouraged or deterred by external parameters and the frequency an individual is exposed to the stimulus and the response. In a learning environment, Thorndikes Laws highlight the importance of rewards and emphasize on the necessity of practice and repetition. More specifically, the Law of Readiness (see below) suggests that a teacher can only instruct a student if that student is willing to be educated. When a student does not show any signs of readiness, a teacher should provide instructions that will help the student develop.
In Thorndikes view, learning is the process of forming associations or bonds, which he defined as the connection of a certain act with a certain situation and resultant pleasure. His work leading up to (1898) provided the beginning of an exact estimate of just what associations, simple and compound, an animal can form, how quickly he forms them, and how long he retains.
MERITS OF THORNDIKES THEORY OF LEARNING IN EDUCATION
. Repetition should be the best thing that teacher have to do in a classroom. According to Thorndike, students will learn by imitation and so repetition is vital in the learning process.
Practice is emphasized. Therefore, teachers should give learners exercises assignments, homework and projects
.Continuous assessment opportunities should be provided to make learners answer to problems. Reward is even important because it promotes learning. On the other hand, teacher should avoid punishments or make students embarrassed.
.Preparation for learning is maybe the most important. A teacher should wait until student is ready to learn and he should give those experiences that can help students to improve readiness.
.Learning materials should be presented from simple to complex and from complex to super complex.
.Materials taught should be relevant to real life situations and not just abstracts.
DEMERITS OF THORNDIKES THEORY OF LEARNNG IN EDUCATION
. Learning is a continuous process and not a discrete as Thorndike visualized.
.Problem solving learning does not depend on trials and errors as Thorndike demonstrated.
. Remembering and forgetting are neglected.
. Transfer of learning cannot be explained by the theory. . . . Practice or excessive drill of the same thing may lead to functional fixedness and solve problems.
B. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY OF LEARNING
Classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behaviour via the process of association. In simple terms two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learning response in a person or animal.
Classical conditioning was first described in 1903 by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, and later studied by John B. Watson, an American psychologist. Its an automatic/reflexive type of learning that occurs through associations between environmental and natural stimuli with the use of a neutral signal before the latter. Meat powder was presented, as a reaction to the buzzers sound.
MERITS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN EDUCATION
Classical conditioning can be applied in the classroom, for the creation of a pleasant environment that can make school a positive experience for students.
. Creating of positive situations and associations that can help students learn, as well as overcome difficulties such as anxiety, school phobia, and low confidence, that can interfere with learning.
. The principle of classical conditioning can be used to help learners develop good habits Classical conditioning can be used to make learners to be favourably disposed to a subject by presenting subjects or tasks in a non-threatening manner.
DEMERITS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN EDUCATION
. Problem solving learning has no explanation from the theory of classical conditioning.
. Remembering and forgetting has no explanation with classical conditioning.
. Rewards, punishments, and its effects on learning has not been satisfactory explained.
. Learning as a continuous process is not explained with the classical conditioning theory.
. Classical conditioning theory is deterministic. This means that it does not allow for any degree of freewill will in the individual.
Classical conditioning emphasizes the importance of learning from the environment, and supports nurture over nature. However, it is limiting to describe behaviour solely in terms of either nature or nurture, and attempts to underestimate the complexity of human behaviour.
C. OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY OF LEARNING B. F. Skinner a renowned American psychologist is regarded as the founder of Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is a method of learning that takes place through rewarding or punishing a certain behaviour. There is positive and negative reinforcement, as well as positive and negative punishment. Positive reinforcing, such as praising or rewarding, strengthens a certain behaviour, while negative reinforcing involves the removal of an outcome after the display of a certain behaviour. In both cases, the behaviour increases. On the other hand, positive punishment involves the presentation of an unfavourable event that will weaken the occurring response, while negative punishment involves the removal of a favourable event after the occurrence of a certain behaviour. In these cases, the behaviour decreases.
MERITS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING IN EDUCATION . Operant conditioning is a vehicle for teachers to achieve behaviour modification in order to improve classroom management and facilitate learning.
Learning complex behaviours can also be facilitated through an operant conditioning.
. It provides teachers with a set of tools for improving classroom management and student learning. Operant conditioning is commonly used in classrooms and is viewed by many teachers as an effective approach to improving classroom practice. It is very relevant to shaping skill performance.
. The use of positive reinforcement in behaviour modification, ratio of five compliments for every one criticism is generally seen as being the most effective in altering behaviour in a desired manner.
DEMERITS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING IN EDUCATION Operant conditioning does not explain transfer of learning apart from the fact that it explains stimulus generation.
. It is superficial and does not deal with the depth of the mind.
. It neglects innate endowment.
. Operant conditioning does not explain problem solving learning.
. It fails to account for spontaneity, curiosity, and creativity among learners. It dehumanizes learning process.
IMPLICATIONS OF INSTRUMENTAL/OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY TO EDUCATION
The teacher should know that the environment or the conditions in which the students learn are very significant to the learning outcomes, hence, the teacher should provide conducive learning environment and conditions for his/her students.
1. Reinforcement is an essential factor if the students must perform well in a given task. To this end, the teacher should not neglect the use of motivation that can adequately propel the students into actions.
2. If a student engages in a disruptive behaviour, the teacher should not reinforce such a behaviour rather, he/she should endeavour to tell such a student the dare consequence of that action.
3. When there is interference in the transfer of experiences by the learners, the teacher may use explanations and reinforcement to strengthen the desired facts and weaken the undesired one.
D.GESTALT/COGNITIVE FIELDS OF LEARNING The views of many theorists were collected by Gestalt to formulate a cognitive field theory. Notable among them were Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler. Gestalt in German language organization or fusion. This theory rejected the views that consider the learning process in an isolated form rather than in a total or holistic form. The theory does not support associating bits of experiences as postulated in the stimulus-response theories. This theory is of the opinion that parts are configured or organized to make complete (Burns or meaningful experiences or impressions. The emphasis here is on the importance of experience, meaning, problem solving and the development of insights 1995). The Gestalt therefore placed more credence on insightful learning rather than trial and error like that of Thorndike or mechanical conditioning as performed by Ivan Pavlov in his classical conditioning theory. Insightful learning is hinged on the fact that animals undergo a series of problem-solving approach following a sequence of principles or logic and previous experience before arriving at a solution. In this theory, the cognitive or mental processes of the animals are regarded as the yardstick in the development of insightful learning. To establish this fact, Gestalt Psychologists performed several experiments using apes as subjects. In one of the experiments, an ape (Sultan) was put in a cage. This sultan was very intelligent. In the cage was a stool and banana, hung on the top of the box. Initially, several unsuccessful attempts were made by the apes to get the banana. Suddenly, sultan decided to pull out the stool and climbed it to pluck the banana from where it was hung. This type of learning is called insightful, because it involves problem-solving approach. Another experiment was performed with several apes including sultan, put in the box with a banana and a stick lying outside the cage. Several experimental apes stretched their hands to pick the banana from outside but were unsuccessful. The brilliant one among them (sultan) devised a solution by picking the stick outside first and using it to draw the banana closer until its hand touched the banana. The last experiment performed by Kohler on this insightful learning, was an extension of the second experiment. In this case, the apes were put in the cage; banana and two sticks (long and short) were lying outside. None of these two sticks could get to the banana unless by joining them together. The apes in the box made series of attempts to rake in the banana with the two sticks separately without succeeding. It was sultan who later manipulated and fixed the two sticks together before it could finally collect the banana. All these experiments indicated that learning cannot take place in a segregated way but in a complete form.
MERITS OF GESTALT/COGNITIVE FIELDS OF LEARNING
. Response is systematic and organized in cognitive structure.
. Learning is permanent experience gained and can be used or transferred into another related tasks.
. They are more interested in processes and justification of a task. It is good for higher thinking They believe in the doing it yourself system.
. The theory organizes the problem so that the learner can know the relationship between or among them.
DEMERITS OF GESTALT /COGNITIVE FIELDS OF LEARNING
.It does not explain transfer of learning.
. Response is programmed i.e. mechanical The learning takes place through trial and error or success learning is temporal. Extinction can set in if the learning is not reinforced.
. The result or the outcome is the ultimate of the behaviourist .
. There is no association or interrelatedness of the problems.
Implications of Gestalt Theory to Education
. This theory has developed the concept that learners have different needs and concerns at different times, and that they have subjective interpretations in different contexts (Burns, 1995).
. The teacher should realize the importance of instructional aids during teachinglearning activities; hence he/she should make use of teaching aids for a meaningful learning in the classroom.
. The teacher should make his/her teaching more participatory to the students. It is on this basis that the teacher will be able to discover the hidden talents in his/her students.
. If the classroom experiences of the students are related, students will be able to transfer the gained experience into future learning. This will then promote interrelatedness.
. The teacher should not neglect the use of motivational strategies in teaching and learning activities.
. This reinforcement will stimulate the efforts of the students in the classroom.
E. PIAGET THEORY OF COGNITIVE MENTAL INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Piaget's theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human intelligence developed by a Swiss developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget (1896 1980). Piaget believed that the childhood plays a vital and active role to growth of intelligence and child learns through doing and actively exploring. The theory of intellectual development involves focuses on intuition, believing, remembering and perceiving. It is primarily known as a developmental stage theory, but, in fact, it deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how human comes gradually to acquire, construct, and use it. To Piaget, development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes because of biological maturation and environmental experience. Accordingly, children construct an understanding of the world around them, and then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment.
MERITS OF PIAGET THEORY OF LEARNING
. Piaget's focus on qualitative development had an important impact on education. While Piaget did not specifically apply his theory in this way, many educational programs are now built upon the belief that children should be taught at the level for which they are developmentally prepared.
. In addition to this, a number of instructional strategies have been derived from Piaget's work. These strategies include providing a supportive environment, utilizing social interactions and peer teaching, and helping children see fallacies and inconsistencies in their thinking (Driscoll, 1994) .
. Discovery learning the idea that children learn best through doing and actively exploring - was seen as central to the transformation of primary school curriculum.
. The report's recurring themes are individual learning, flexibility in the curriculum, the centrality of play in children's learning, the use of the environment, learning by discovery and the importance of the evaluation of children's progress - teachers should 'not assume that only what is measurable is valuable.
. According to Piaget (1958), assimilation and accommodation require an active learner, not a passive one, because problem-solving skills cannot be taught, they must be discovered.
.Because Piaget's theory is based upon biological maturation and stages, the notion of 'readiness' is important. Readiness concerns when certain information or concepts should be taught.
According to Piaget's theory, children should not be taught certain concepts until they have reached the appropriate stage of cognitive development.
DEMERITS OF PIAGET THEORY OF LEARNING
. Problems with Research Methods:
Much of the criticism of Piaget's work is in regards to his research methods. A major source of inspiration for the theory was Piaget's observations of his own three children. In addition to this, the other children in Piaget's small research sample were all from well-educated professionals of high socioeconomic status. Because of this unrepresentative sample, it is difficult to generalize his findings to a larger population.
. Problems with Formal Operation: Research has disputed Piaget's argument that all children will automatically move to the next stage of development as they mature. Some data suggests that environmental factors may play a role in the
. Underestimates Children's Abilities: Most researchers agree that children possess many of the abilities at an earlier age than Piaget suspected. Recent theory of mind research has found that 4- and 5-year-old children have a rather sophisticated understanding of their own mental processes as well as those of other people. For example, children of this age have some ability to take the perspective of another person, meaning they are far less egocentric than Piaget believed.
SKINNERS OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY IS ONE OF THE MOST RELEVANT LEARNING THEORIES TO NIGERIA EDUCATION.
The reasons are state below: Operant conditioning is a vehicle for teachers to achieve behaviour modification in order to improve classroom management and facilitate learning.
. Learning complex behaviours can also be facilitated through an operant conditioning.
. It provides teachers with a set of tools for improving classroom management and student learning.
. Operant conditioning is commonly used in classrooms and is viewed by many teachers as an effective approach to improving classroom practice.
. It is very relevant to shaping skill performance.
. The use of positive reinforcement in behaviour modification, ratio of five compliments for every one criticism is generally seen as being the most effective in altering behaviour. Skinner (1971) deals with the issue of free will and social control.
SUMMARY
This work has provided a brief introduction to some of the more influential general learning theories. It has explain how people learn different theories .Theories of learning can inform teaching and the use of different instructional materials including technology , but ultimately the learning activities in which the learners engage in. It has also explained the merits (educational implications) and the demerits (criticisms) connected to each learning theories.
REFERENCES
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.htm
McLeod, S. Simply Psychology. Skinner - Operant Conditioning (2007). Retrieved September 26, 2013, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html Medler, David A. A Brief History of Connectionism. Neural Computing Surveys, 1(2), p18-72. 1998.
Crowl, T.K., Kaminsky, S., Podell, D.M., (1997). Educational Psychology: Windows on Teaching. Chicago: Brown and Benchmark Publishers.
Burners , R. (1995). The Adult Learner at Work. Sydney: Business and Professional Publishing.
Piaget, J. (1936).Origins of intelligence in the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Piaget, J. (1945).Play, dreams and imitation in childhood . London: Heinemann.
Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. AMC,1012
Thorndike, E. L. (1898). Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied
CRITICALLY EXAMINE ALL THE LEARNING THEORIES, MENTIONING THEIR MERITS AND DEMERITS , AND THEIR IMPLICATION TO EDUCATION.
GIVE REASONS FOR CHOOSING ONE OF THE THEORY OF LEARNING AS THE MOST RELEVANT TO NIGERIA. EDUCATION
WRITTEN BY
UDO, RAPHAEL WILLIE
FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF UYO,UYO
AN ASSIGNMENT
SUBMITTED TO
PROF. (MRS.) P. I. ENANG COURSE LECTURER,
PDE 514(EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY) DEPARTMENT OF INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF UYO,UYO
FEBRUARY, 2018
Learning is a central process in understanding human behaviour.
Learning is the process of the information of relatively permanent neural circuit through the simultaneous activity of the elements of the circuit to-be ,such activity is of the nature of change in cell structure through growth in such a manner as to facilitate the arousal of the entire circuit
when a component elements is arousal or activated.
Learning is a dynamic process whereby, through interactive experience, insights or cognitive structures of life spaces are changed and so become more useful for future guidance.
Learning is a part of almost every aspect of psychology, from development psychology (how we acquire behaviour through the life cycle ) to social psychology (how we learn to interact with other ) to abnormal psychology (how we develop such behaviour as phobias and depression ).
In my own view, learning is a process of developing a creative thinking mindset, which helps to solve human problems, and produce a permanent change in human behaviour land attitude .
INTRODUCTION Many Learning Theories have been developed over a long period, though a majority of those now in use have arisen in the last century or so. These theories apply to many different levels of educational learning. Learning theories are conceptual frameworks describing how information is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed, and knowledge and skills retained. Behaviorists look at learning as an aspect of conditioning and will advocate a system of rewards and targets in education. Educators who embrace cognitive theory believe that the definition of learning as a change in behaviour is too narrow and prefer to study the learner rather than their environment, and in particular the complexities of human memory. This page covers the definition of learning, major theorists and their theories. Information will also include the merits and the demerits, and their implication to Nigeria education .These includes the following theories of learning:
A. Edward Thorndike's Theory of Learning
B. Classical Conditioning Theory of Learning
C. Operant Conditioning Theory of Learning
D. GESTALT/COGNITIVE FIELDS OF LEARNING
E. PIAGET THEORY OF COGNITIVE MENTAL INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
A. EDWARD THORNDIKE'S THEORY OF LEARNING:
A prominent American psychologist introduced a set of principles that would come to be known as Thorndike's Laws. According to these Laws, learning is achieved when an individual is able to form associations between a particular stimulus and a response. These are known as habits, and can either be encouraged or deterred by external parameters and the frequency an individual is exposed to the stimulus and the response. In a learning environment, Thorndikes Laws highlight the importance of rewards and emphasize on the necessity of practice and repetition. More specifically, the Law of Readiness (see below) suggests that a teacher can only instruct a student if that student is willing to be educated. When a student does not show any signs of readiness, a teacher should provide instructions that will help the student develop.
In Thorndikes view, learning is the process of forming associations or bonds, which he defined as the connection of a certain act with a certain situation and resultant pleasure. His work leading up to (1898) provided the beginning of an exact estimate of just what associations, simple and compound, an animal can form, how quickly he forms them, and how long he retains.
MERITS OF THORNDIKES THEORY OF LEARNING IN EDUCATION
. Repetition should be the best thing that teacher have to do in a classroom. According to Thorndike, students will learn by imitation and so repetition is vital in the learning process.
Practice is emphasized. Therefore, teachers should give learners exercises assignments, homework and projects
.Continuous assessment opportunities should be provided to make learners answer to problems. Reward is even important because it promotes learning. On the other hand, teacher should avoid punishments or make students embarrassed.
.Preparation for learning is maybe the most important. A teacher should wait until student is ready to learn and he should give those experiences that can help students to improve readiness.
.Learning materials should be presented from simple to complex and from complex to super complex.
.Materials taught should be relevant to real life situations and not just abstracts.
DEMERITS OF THORNDIKES THEORY OF LEARNNG IN EDUCATION
. Learning is a continuous process and not a discrete as Thorndike visualized.
.Problem solving learning does not depend on trials and errors as Thorndike demonstrated.
. Remembering and forgetting are neglected.
. Transfer of learning cannot be explained by the theory. . . . Practice or excessive drill of the same thing may lead to functional fixedness and solve problems.
B. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY OF LEARNING
Classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behaviour via the process of association. In simple terms two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learning response in a person or animal.
Classical conditioning was first described in 1903 by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, and later studied by John B. Watson, an American psychologist. Its an automatic/reflexive type of learning that occurs through associations between environmental and natural stimuli with the use of a neutral signal before the latter. Meat powder was presented, as a reaction to the buzzers sound.
MERITS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN EDUCATION
Classical conditioning can be applied in the classroom, for the creation of a pleasant environment that can make school a positive experience for students.
. Creating of positive situations and associations that can help students learn, as well as overcome difficulties such as anxiety, school phobia, and low confidence, that can interfere with learning.
. The principle of classical conditioning can be used to help learners develop good habits Classical conditioning can be used to make learners to be favourably disposed to a subject by presenting subjects or tasks in a non-threatening manner.
DEMERITS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN EDUCATION
. Problem solving learning has no explanation from the theory of classical conditioning.
. Remembering and forgetting has no explanation with classical conditioning.
. Rewards, punishments, and its effects on learning has not been satisfactory explained.
. Learning as a continuous process is not explained with the classical conditioning theory.
. Classical conditioning theory is deterministic. This means that it does not allow for any degree of freewill will in the individual.
Classical conditioning emphasizes the importance of learning from the environment, and supports nurture over nature. However, it is limiting to describe behaviour solely in terms of either nature or nurture, and attempts to underestimate the complexity of human behaviour.
C. OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY OF LEARNING B. F. Skinner a renowned American psychologist is regarded as the founder of Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is a method of learning that takes place through rewarding or punishing a certain behaviour. There is positive and negative reinforcement, as well as positive and negative punishment. Positive reinforcing, such as praising or rewarding, strengthens a certain behaviour, while negative reinforcing involves the removal of an outcome after the display of a certain behaviour. In both cases, the behaviour increases. On the other hand, positive punishment involves the presentation of an unfavourable event that will weaken the occurring response, while negative punishment involves the removal of a favourable event after the occurrence of a certain behaviour. In these cases, the behaviour decreases.
MERITS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING IN EDUCATION . Operant conditioning is a vehicle for teachers to achieve behaviour modification in order to improve classroom management and facilitate learning.
Learning complex behaviours can also be facilitated through an operant conditioning.
. It provides teachers with a set of tools for improving classroom management and student learning. Operant conditioning is commonly used in classrooms and is viewed by many teachers as an effective approach to improving classroom practice. It is very relevant to shaping skill performance.
. The use of positive reinforcement in behaviour modification, ratio of five compliments for every one criticism is generally seen as being the most effective in altering behaviour in a desired manner.
DEMERITS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING IN EDUCATION Operant conditioning does not explain transfer of learning apart from the fact that it explains stimulus generation.
. It is superficial and does not deal with the depth of the mind.
. It neglects innate endowment.
. Operant conditioning does not explain problem solving learning.
. It fails to account for spontaneity, curiosity, and creativity among learners. It dehumanizes learning process.
IMPLICATIONS OF INSTRUMENTAL/OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY TO EDUCATION
The teacher should know that the environment or the conditions in which the students learn are very significant to the learning outcomes, hence, the teacher should provide conducive learning environment and conditions for his/her students.
1. Reinforcement is an essential factor if the students must perform well in a given task. To this end, the teacher should not neglect the use of motivation that can adequately propel the students into actions.
2. If a student engages in a disruptive behaviour, the teacher should not reinforce such a behaviour rather, he/she should endeavour to tell such a student the dare consequence of that action.
3. When there is interference in the transfer of experiences by the learners, the teacher may use explanations and reinforcement to strengthen the desired facts and weaken the undesired one.
D.GESTALT/COGNITIVE FIELDS OF LEARNING The views of many theorists were collected by Gestalt to formulate a cognitive field theory. Notable among them were Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler. Gestalt in German language organization or fusion. This theory rejected the views that consider the learning process in an isolated form rather than in a total or holistic form. The theory does not support associating bits of experiences as postulated in the stimulus-response theories. This theory is of the opinion that parts are configured or organized to make complete (Burns or meaningful experiences or impressions. The emphasis here is on the importance of experience, meaning, problem solving and the development of insights 1995). The Gestalt therefore placed more credence on insightful learning rather than trial and error like that of Thorndike or mechanical conditioning as performed by Ivan Pavlov in his classical conditioning theory. Insightful learning is hinged on the fact that animals undergo a series of problem-solving approach following a sequence of principles or logic and previous experience before arriving at a solution. In this theory, the cognitive or mental processes of the animals are regarded as the yardstick in the development of insightful learning. To establish this fact, Gestalt Psychologists performed several experiments using apes as subjects. In one of the experiments, an ape (Sultan) was put in a cage. This sultan was very intelligent. In the cage was a stool and banana, hung on the top of the box. Initially, several unsuccessful attempts were made by the apes to get the banana. Suddenly, sultan decided to pull out the stool and climbed it to pluck the banana from where it was hung. This type of learning is called insightful, because it involves problem-solving approach. Another experiment was performed with several apes including sultan, put in the box with a banana and a stick lying outside the cage. Several experimental apes stretched their hands to pick the banana from outside but were unsuccessful. The brilliant one among them (sultan) devised a solution by picking the stick outside first and using it to draw the banana closer until its hand touched the banana. The last experiment performed by Kohler on this insightful learning, was an extension of the second experiment. In this case, the apes were put in the cage; banana and two sticks (long and short) were lying outside. None of these two sticks could get to the banana unless by joining them together. The apes in the box made series of attempts to rake in the banana with the two sticks separately without succeeding. It was sultan who later manipulated and fixed the two sticks together before it could finally collect the banana. All these experiments indicated that learning cannot take place in a segregated way but in a complete form.
MERITS OF GESTALT/COGNITIVE FIELDS OF LEARNING
. Response is systematic and organized in cognitive structure.
. Learning is permanent experience gained and can be used or transferred into another related tasks.
. They are more interested in processes and justification of a task. It is good for higher thinking They believe in the doing it yourself system.
. The theory organizes the problem so that the learner can know the relationship between or among them.
DEMERITS OF GESTALT /COGNITIVE FIELDS OF LEARNING
.It does not explain transfer of learning.
. Response is programmed i.e. mechanical The learning takes place through trial and error or success learning is temporal. Extinction can set in if the learning is not reinforced.
. The result or the outcome is the ultimate of the behaviourist .
. There is no association or interrelatedness of the problems.
Implications of Gestalt Theory to Education
. This theory has developed the concept that learners have different needs and concerns at different times, and that they have subjective interpretations in different contexts (Burns, 1995).
. The teacher should realize the importance of instructional aids during teachinglearning activities; hence he/she should make use of teaching aids for a meaningful learning in the classroom.
. The teacher should make his/her teaching more participatory to the students. It is on this basis that the teacher will be able to discover the hidden talents in his/her students.
. If the classroom experiences of the students are related, students will be able to transfer the gained experience into future learning. This will then promote interrelatedness.
. The teacher should not neglect the use of motivational strategies in teaching and learning activities.
. This reinforcement will stimulate the efforts of the students in the classroom.
E. PIAGET THEORY OF COGNITIVE MENTAL INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Piaget's theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human intelligence developed by a Swiss developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget (1896 1980). Piaget believed that the childhood plays a vital and active role to growth of intelligence and child learns through doing and actively exploring. The theory of intellectual development involves focuses on intuition, believing, remembering and perceiving. It is primarily known as a developmental stage theory, but, in fact, it deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how human comes gradually to acquire, construct, and use it. To Piaget, development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes because of biological maturation and environmental experience. Accordingly, children construct an understanding of the world around them, and then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment.
MERITS OF PIAGET THEORY OF LEARNING
. Piaget's focus on qualitative development had an important impact on education. While Piaget did not specifically apply his theory in this way, many educational programs are now built upon the belief that children should be taught at the level for which they are developmentally prepared.
. In addition to this, a number of instructional strategies have been derived from Piaget's work. These strategies include providing a supportive environment, utilizing social interactions and peer teaching, and helping children see fallacies and inconsistencies in their thinking (Driscoll, 1994) .
. Discovery learning the idea that children learn best through doing and actively exploring - was seen as central to the transformation of primary school curriculum.
. The report's recurring themes are individual learning, flexibility in the curriculum, the centrality of play in children's learning, the use of the environment, learning by discovery and the importance of the evaluation of children's progress - teachers should 'not assume that only what is measurable is valuable.
. According to Piaget (1958), assimilation and accommodation require an active learner, not a passive one, because problem-solving skills cannot be taught, they must be discovered.
.Because Piaget's theory is based upon biological maturation and stages, the notion of 'readiness' is important. Readiness concerns when certain information or concepts should be taught.
According to Piaget's theory, children should not be taught certain concepts until they have reached the appropriate stage of cognitive development.
DEMERITS OF PIAGET THEORY OF LEARNING
. Problems with Research Methods:
Much of the criticism of Piaget's work is in regards to his research methods. A major source of inspiration for the theory was Piaget's observations of his own three children. In addition to this, the other children in Piaget's small research sample were all from well-educated professionals of high socioeconomic status. Because of this unrepresentative sample, it is difficult to generalize his findings to a larger population.
. Problems with Formal Operation: Research has disputed Piaget's argument that all children will automatically move to the next stage of development as they mature. Some data suggests that environmental factors may play a role in the
. Underestimates Children's Abilities: Most researchers agree that children possess many of the abilities at an earlier age than Piaget suspected. Recent theory of mind research has found that 4- and 5-year-old children have a rather sophisticated understanding of their own mental processes as well as those of other people. For example, children of this age have some ability to take the perspective of another person, meaning they are far less egocentric than Piaget believed.
SKINNERS OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY IS ONE OF THE MOST RELEVANT LEARNING THEORIES TO NIGERIA EDUCATION.
The reasons are state below: Operant conditioning is a vehicle for teachers to achieve behaviour modification in order to improve classroom management and facilitate learning.
. Learning complex behaviours can also be facilitated through an operant conditioning.
. It provides teachers with a set of tools for improving classroom management and student learning.
. Operant conditioning is commonly used in classrooms and is viewed by many teachers as an effective approach to improving classroom practice.
. It is very relevant to shaping skill performance.
. The use of positive reinforcement in behaviour modification, ratio of five compliments for every one criticism is generally seen as being the most effective in altering behaviour. Skinner (1971) deals with the issue of free will and social control.
SUMMARY
This work has provided a brief introduction to some of the more influential general learning theories. It has explain how people learn different theories .Theories of learning can inform teaching and the use of different instructional materials including technology , but ultimately the learning activities in which the learners engage in. It has also explained the merits (educational implications) and the demerits (criticisms) connected to each learning theories.
REFERENCES
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.htm
McLeod, S. Simply Psychology. Skinner - Operant Conditioning (2007). Retrieved September 26, 2013, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html Medler, David A. A Brief History of Connectionism. Neural Computing Surveys, 1(2), p18-72. 1998.
Crowl, T.K., Kaminsky, S., Podell, D.M., (1997). Educational Psychology: Windows on Teaching. Chicago: Brown and Benchmark Publishers.
Burners , R. (1995). The Adult Learner at Work. Sydney: Business and Professional Publishing.
Piaget, J. (1936).Origins of intelligence in the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Piaget, J. (1945).Play, dreams and imitation in childhood . London: Heinemann.
Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. AMC,1012
Thorndike, E. L. (1898). Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied
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