03.+Learning+Theories

=Learning Theories=

Behaviorism
> acts with favorable outcomes will be repeated while those with unfavorable results will be supressed
 * emphasizes changes in behavior (actions) that result from stimulus-response associationsprior conditioning made by the learner
 * concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior
 * all behaviors can also be learned and unlearned, and replaced by new behaviors
 * desired response must be rewarded
 * Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936): conditioning
 * John B. Watson (1878-1958): stimulus-response (bell rings, dog salivates)
 * B. F. Skinner (1904-1990): operant conditioning (rat touches lever, gets food, touches again), only desired response should be conditioned,
 * Albert Bandura: modeling
 * strategies:
 * contracts between teacher-student, (if not completing homework on time, student will stay at school to do it)
 * consequences (positive/negative reinforcements and punishments),
 * modelig, (friends are late for school, child starts to be late for school)
 * shaping, (gradually change behaviour and reward it: sit down, stop talking)

Cognitivism
how information is processed (not how learning happens) analogous to a computer's processor There are three components: sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM) or working memory, and long-term memory (LTM). The computer has input devices, the CPU, and hard drive storage.

Each memory stage has four attributes: representation, capacity, duration, and cause of forgetting. For the visual sensory register, for example, representation is iconic-- limited to the field of vision, and lasts for about 250 milliseconds. The main cause of forgetting is decay. The auditory register is echoic (based on sound); its duration is 2-3 seconds, it is only limited to the sounds we actually can hear and decay is the primary cause for forgetting.
 * Sensory registers:** hearing (echoic) and seeing (iconic), tactile (touch), olfactory (smell), and gustatory (taste)

You perceive and attend to stimuli; that information is then actively processed in STM based on information stored in LTM. The representation is echoic. It is limited to 5-9 items, and it lasts only about 20 seconds. Interference is the principal cause of forgetting. Example: repeating/rehearsing a phone number to keep it in STM, if someone asks a question, number gets forgotten.
 * Short Term Memory:** where thinking happens,

five types of memory: declarative (knowing that), procedural (knowing how) or episodic (events), imagery, and strategic The representation is semantic (based on meaning). Capacity and duration are considered unlimited in LTM, and the cause of forgetting is failure to retrieve. Information gets into LTM via elaboration. When I think about teaching learners, I need to know what they already know so that they can relate the new information to their existing knowledge. Learner has to be actively engaged, actively relating new information to existing knowledge. ideas are linked, more pathways to retrieve info the better
 * Long term Memory:** everything we know and know how to do.


 * Metacognition:**strategies that control thinking and learning and to facilitate learner autonomy.
 * Metacognitive strategies** are planning for learning, thinking about the learning process as it is taking place, monitoring...and evaluating learning (p. 94)..." Metacognitive strategies might include using advance organizers, self-planning, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation.


 * Cognitive strategies** are more task-specific, and often refer to "direct manipulation of the learning material itself (Brown, 1987)." Examples of cognitive strategies are note-taking, repetition, guessing meaning from context, or using mnemonic devices.


 * Socioaffective strategies** refer to strategies that use association with or input from teachers or peers.

Extensive study of this notion of learning strategies in the 1980s led Michael O'Malley and his associates (1985) to formulate a list of 24 strategies used by English as a Second Language (ESL) students in their study.

Constructivism
Bruner, Piaget, Vygotsky, Gagne, Semiotic There are two approaches: cognitive ~ and social ~ Jonassen (1994) proposed that there are eight characteristics that differentiate constructivist learning environments: learner centered
 * 1) multiple representations of reality
 * 2) represent the complexity of the real world
 * 3) knowledge construction inserted of knowledge reproduction
 * 4) authentic tasks in a meaningful context
 * 5) real-world settings
 * 6) thoughtful reflection on experience
 * 7) context- and content- dependent knowledge construction
 * 8) collaborative construction of knowledge through social negotiation

Connectivism
George Siemens, Steve Dows The half-life of knowledge gets shorter. The “half-life of knowledge” is the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD). Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago. 40 years ago a carreer was for a lifetime. connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to synthesize and recognize connections and patterns is a valuable skill. If the underlying conditions used to make decisions change, the decision itself is no longer as correct as it was at the time it was made knowledge is networked and distributed. Learning is forming internal and external networks. Learning occurs in chaotic, complex spaces. Aided by technology. Connections create meaning.

=Participation Assignment 2: What theories of learning and models of instructional design do you see in this course?= 1. **Cognitive Constructivism** (Jean Piaget) says that humans construct their own knowledge through experience, such as providing learners with authentic tasks in a meaningful context in real-world settings. The lesson plan we have to create during our course draws on our real life situation. “Plan a unit of learning, selected from your professional or personal life”. [|http://viking.coe.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/et-it/cognitiv.htm]
 * Principles of connectivism:**
 * Learning and knowledge rests in **diversity of opinions**.
 * Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
 * Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
 * Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
 * Maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
 * Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
 * Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
 * Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

2. **Situated cognition theory** (Jean Lave) and **cognitive apprenticeship** (model, practical steps) It states that learning occurs via authentic activities in an apprenticeship-like situation (like architect works with a master architect). The teacher models than lets students do it independently. We got a sample template of the lesson plan prepared by our instructor. Based on the template each of us independently works on their own blueprint. It also states we understand concepts better via others' opinions and viewpoints. Our forum discussion assignments require us to reflect on another student's post. []

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