EPY 412 WEEK 7

LEARNING

 Definition

 Theories of learning & types

 Conditions for human learning

 Reinforcement for learning

 Punishment and its influence on learning

Introduction

This unit gives the definition of learning and identifies and discusses the elements
necessary for effective learning processes. Phases of learning and factors necessary for
learning are also explored.

Specific Objectives

After studying this unit, you should be able to:

1. Define terminologies used in human learning and memory learning and explain the
key concepts in the definition.

2. Identify and briefly describe the elements of the learning process.

3. Describe the phases of learning.

4. Discuss the factors necessary for effective learning.

5. Identify conditions necessary for learning.

6. Describe the memory process.

7. Discuss the factors that hinder memory.

8. Explain how you would enhance your students’ memory.

Definitions

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour, which comes as a result of

repeated practice and experiences. The key concepts of (Morgan, 1986) these definitions
are:

1. Relatively permanent change

2. Change in behaviour

3. Repeated experiences

Note

The use of the term ‘permanent’ excludes behaviour that is temporary e.g. drunkenness
and behaviour due to illness, injury, fatigue.

The term’ behaviour ‘implies that learning is not directly observable, but manifests itself
in ones’ repeated actions.

Practice ‘is used in the definition to exclude change in behaviour that is due to
maturation, disease or physical change, fatigue, old age, etc.

Human behaviour is a product of learning.

Elements of the Learning Process

i) The learner

A person who has a certain capacity for learning, needs and/ or problems that may
facilitate or hinder learning.

ii) Stimulus or stimulus situation

A stimulus is an object or event in the learner’s environment that may stimulate or affect
his/her sense organs, which transmit nerve impulses to the central nervous system where
they are interpreted or translated into response (action).

iii) Response

This refers to the nervous, mental or muscular activity/performance of the learner that
results front stimulation or manipulation. A lot of this performance may not be easily
observable for it is in overt, however some of it becomes visible (overt) and is described
as performance and is usually accounted for in terms of the learners’ observable changes
in behaviour.

Written Exercise 7

1. State and explain four factors that hinder learning. (8 marks)

2. Discuss the elements of the learning process. (12 marks)

Phases of Learning

Learning takes place in five hierarchical sequences or stages because the interaction with
the stimuli at each stage is different from the other. Interference with learning at a
preceding phase, may affect learning at the next stage. E.g. if the learner is not active at
the first stage of attention, because he/she is looking out at the passers’ by, when the
teacher is explaining how to solve a simultaneous equation, the other phases i.e.
perception, acquisition, retention and transfer (generalization) will also be affected.

i) Attention

Attention refers to the learners’ field of vision or listening onto which focuses all his
mental faculties of observation at the exclusion of others. Learning begins with attention.
A boy who is watching basketball through the window, his attention is out in the field at
the expense of what is happening in the classroom. He will therefore find he does not
know the meaning of the formula a 2 = b2 + c which the teacher explained while he was
watching basketball. The same will happen to a girl who concentrates on examining
other girls’ hairstyles, make-up and clothes.

ii) Perception

This is the stage at which the input from the sense (eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin) are
registered and decoded or meaning added to it. Perception involves a bit of evaluation
and synthesis of new with the old information. Perception is usually dictated by:

1. Subject being learned, e.g. flower in Biology will not be registered in the same way
as in a fine art class.
2. Learner’s previous experience: for a child who has been stung by a bee the word bee
represents a frightening ordeal while it may simply be an enjoyable spelling game for
another child.

3. Learner’s abilities: age, language level, needs and interests.

NB: In planning teaching material, the teacher should always put himself/herself in the
learner’s shoes/position so as to be able to more effectively manage the learner’s
perceptions. Ask yourself: How will the learners see this? Is it attractive? What picture
will it portray? Can the learner make appropriate discrimination? Is the right language
used?

iii) Acquisition

This is the phase at which the learner has attained a new skill, knowledge, ability or
disposition that he/she did not have before. It is characterized by new ability or insight to
see or do things he/she could not do earlier.

iv) Retention

This is the learners’ ability to keep in store for some time or retain what he/she has
learned. It is the learner’s ability to recall or reproduce what he/she has learned for future
use. Effective retention is determined by previous learning experiences, organization
methods, distribution of learning experiences and the amount/quality of practice given
during and after learning.

v) Transfer (Generalization)

This is the learner’s ability to carry over skills, knowledge, performance gained in one
topic, course, and level of life to another area, course, topic or operation. It is also
evident when learning in one area facilitates (or hinders) mastery of skill or knowledge
in another or different situation.

Transfer is the aim of all learning for it enables the learner to use his/her school
knowledge and skills in totally different situations of life to solve basic problems of life.
Transfer depends very much on retention, but it is higher for it demands, - analysis,
discrimination, synthesis and application of skill and knowledge in novel situations.
retention merely refers to calls for the later reproduction of learned materials in the same
manner in which it was originally learned. In transfer, there is creativity and originality
as the initial material may be altered to suit certain individual or local needs.
Gagne (1970) distinguishes between two types of transfer:

. 1. Lateral and

2. Vertical

1. Lateral - This is observed when the learner is better able to perform other
somewhat related/similar but novel/new tasks of the same level of complexity.

E.g. if a student learned pregame, he/she then learns without further instruction to
give the meaning of preview, preschool, preset, preamble.

2. Vertical transfer - This occurs when the products of earlier learning are used or
become pre-requisites for later advanced or complex learning. Short
division/multiplication leads to long division and multiplication respectively. A lot
of learning proceeds in hierarchies of concepts principles, and skills, always
beginning with the simplest.

Conditions for effective transfer of learning

For effective transfer to occur:

 There must be something in common between the two activities such as facts,
skills, methods or principles.

 The learner must be able to perceive the similarities between the two subjects
or activities.

 There must be thorough learning of the first task.

 The learner must be made aware of the possibility of transfer.

 The learner must have a high ability to gain insight into the principle
underlying the subject he/she is learning.

What is the value of transfer?

 Transfer helps in solving new problems.

 The learners’ reactions to later situations are influenced by their previous ex-
perience.

 It gives encouragement to solve a new problem.

  Almost all educational and training programmes are based on assumptions that
what is taught in the classroom is transferred to new situations.

How can a teacher enhance learners’ skill of transfer?

 Make sure that learners have thoroughly mastered the subject content area before
moving to the next.

 Help learners develop the right mental set, i.e. looking for the connections be-
tween one subject topic with the others.

 Help learners gain insight into the rules underlying the subject they are learning.

 Learners should be allowed to have an opportunity of experimenting with a va-

riety of problems.

 Give learners plenty of practice in transfer.

 Project method should be used in teaching so that learners can see for themselves
the connections between different subjects.

 Relate what is being taught to learners to real-life situations.

 Learning readiness, which is the learners’ active desire or willingness to want to

be involved in the on-going learning, facilitates learning and its transfer.

Learning readiness is a product of many factors:

• Practice in situations similar to which transfer is desired.

• Avoidance of interference within the learning environment.

• Sequential or hierarchical building up of the learning materials/content. Level and

intensity of motivation.

• The learner’s level of emotional adjustment.

What is the importance of skill transfer in learning?

Activity 1

1. Explain the key aspects in the definition of learning

2. Identify and briefly describe the elements of the learning process.
3. Distinguish between sensation and perception
 4. Discuss the two types of transfer of learning.

Models and Perspective in Human Memory

Memory is the human mental ability to acquire information from the environment, store,
retain and retrieve the same when needed for future use. This process is referred to as
information processing. Information from the environment is acquired through the
sensory system: visual (eyes), auditory (ears), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste) and kin
aesthetic (touch).

From information processing perspective there are three main stages in the formation and
retrieval of memory:

• Encoding - This is the process of receiving, processing and combining of re-

ceived information.

 Storage - Creation of a permanent record of the encoded information.

 Retrieval - Calling back the stored information in response to some cue for use in a
process or activity.

Models of the memory process

There are generally three types of memory: sensory memory, short term memory and
long-term memory as can be seen on the diagram below.

Multi-store Model

Sensory Short term Transfer Long term

Attention
memory memory memory
Retrieval

Rehearsal
What is the importance of the memory stores in information processing?

Sensory memory

This is a very short-lived memory that takes place when environmental stimuli-impinge
on the sensory organs. The ability to look at an item and remember what it looked like
within just, a second of observation or memorization is an example of sensory memory.
This memory degrades extremely quickly and hence not dependable.

Information that is attended to moves on to the working memory storage otherwise it is

forgotten.

The sensory memories act as buffers for stimuli received through the senses. A sensory
memory exists for each sensory channel: iconic memory for visual stimuli, echoic
memory for aural stimuli and haptic memory for touch.

Information is passed from sensory memory into short-term memory by attention,

thereby filtering the stimuli to only those which are of interest at a given time.

Short term/working memory

This memory allows recall for a period of several seconds to a minute without deliberate
rehearsal. Its capacity is also very limited without rehearsal. Short-term memory is
believed to rely mostly on an acoustic code for storing information and to a lesser degree
a visual code.

Long term memory

The storage in sensory memory and short term memory generally has a strictly limited
capacity and duration, which means that the information is available for certain duration
of time, but is not retained indefinitely. By contrast, long term memory can store much
large quantities of information for potentially unlimited duration (sometimes a whole life
span). The capacity can also approach infinity (unlimited). While short term memory
encodes information acoustically, long term memory encodes memory semantically
under what Jean Piaget referred to as mental schema.
 What is the relationship between memory and learning?

Sensory memory
Sensory memory corresponds approximately to the initial 200 - 500 milliseconds after an
item is perceived. The ability to look at an item, and remember what it looked like with
just a second of observation, or memorization, is an example of j sensory memory. With
very short presentations, participants often report that they | seem to “see” more than
they can actually report. The first experiments exploring this form of sensory memory
were conducted by Sperling (1960) using the “partial report paradigm.” Subjects were
presented with a grid of 12 letters, arranged into three rows of 4. After a brief
presentation, subjects were then played either a high, medium or low tone, cuing them
which of the rows to report. Based on these partial report experiments, Sperling was able
to show that the capacity of sensory memory was approximately 12 items, but that it
degraded very quickly (within a few hundred milliseconds). Because this form of
memory degrades so quickly, participants would see the display, but be unable to report
all of the items (12 in the “whole report” procedure) before they decayed. This type of
memory cannot be prolonged via rehearsal.

Short term memory

Short term memory allows recall for a period of several seconds to a minute without
rehearsal. Its capacity is also very limited: Miller (1956), when working at Bell
Laboratories, conducted experiments showing that the store of short-term memory was
7±2 items (the title of his famous paper, “The magical number 7±2”). Modern estimates
of the capacity of short-term memory are lower, typically on the order of 4-5 items, and
we know that memory capacity can be increased through a process called chunking. For
example, if presented with the string:

FBIPHDT WAIBM

People are able to remember only a few items. However, if the same information is
presented in the following way:

FBI PHD TWA IBM

people can remember a great deal more letters. This is because they are able to chunk the
information into meaningful groups of letters. Beyond finding meaning in the
abbreviations above, Herbert Simon showed that the ideal size for chunking letters and
numbers, meaningful or not, was three. This may be reflected in some countries in the
tendency to remember phone numbers as several chunks of three numbers with the final
four-number groups generally broken down into two groups of two.

Short term memory is believed to rely mostly on an acoustic code for storing infor-
mation, and to a lesser extent a visual code. Conrad (1964) found that test subjects had
more difficulty recalling collections of words that were acoustically similar (e.g. dog,
hog, fog, bog, log) however, some individuals have been reported to be able to rein
ember large amounts of information, quickly, and be able to recall that information in
seconds.

Long term memory

The storage in sensory memory and short-term memory generally has a strictly limited
capacity and duration, which means that information is available for a certain period of
time, but is not retained indefinitely. By contrast, long-term memory can store much
larger quantities of information for potentially unlimited duration (sometimes a whole
life span). The capacity can also approach infinity (unlimited). For example, given a
random seven-digit number, we may remember it for only a few seconds before
forgetting, suggesting it was stored in our short-term memory. On the other hand, we can
remember telephone numbers for many years through repetition; this information is said
to be stored in long term memory. While short term memory encodes information
acoustically, long term memory encodes it semantically: Baddeley (1966) discovered that
after 20 minutes, test subjects had the least difficulty recalling a collection of words that
had similar meanings (e.g. big, large, great, huge).

Short term memory is supported by transient patterns of neuronal communication,

dependent on regions of the frontal lobe and the parietal lobe. Long term memories, on
the other hand, are maintained by more stable and permanent changes in neural
connections widely spread throughout the brain. The hippocampus is essential (for
learning new information) to the consolidation of information from short-term to . long
term memory, although it does not seem to store information itself. Without the
hippocampus, new memories are unable to be stored into long term memory, and there
will be a very short attention span. Furthermore, it may be involved in changing neural
connections for a period of three months or more after the initial learning. One of the
primary functions of sleep is improving consolidation of information, as it can be shown
that memory depends on getting sufficient sleep between training and test, and that the
hippocampus replays activity from the current day while sleeping.

There are two types of long-term memory: Declarative and Procedural. Declarative
memory deals with facts and is further divided into episodic and semantic memory.
Episodic memory represents our memory of events and experiences in a serial form. It is
from this memory that we can reconstruct the actual events that took place at a given
point in our lives. Semantic memory, on the other end, is a structured record of facts,
concepts and skills that we have acquired. The information in semantic memory is
derived from that in our own episodic memory, such that we can learn new facts or
concepts from our experiences. Procedural memory deals mainly with psychomotor
skills such as riding a bicycle or playing a guitar.

* Read more about the structure of the long-term memory

How can students enhance their memory?

Long term memory processes

There are three main activities related to long term memory: storage, deletion and
retrieval.

Information from short term memory is stored in long term memory by rehearsal. The
repeated exposure to a stimulus or the rehearsal of a piece of information transfers it into
long term memory. Experiments also suggest that learning time is most effective if it is
distributed over time. Deletion is mainly caused by decay and interference. Emotional
factors also affect long term memory. However, it is debatable whether we actually ever
forget anything or whether it becomes increasingly difficult to access certain items from
memory. Having forgotten something may just be caused by not being able to retrieve it!
Information may not be recalled sometimes but may be recognized, or may be recalled
only with prompting. This leads us to the third process of memory: information retrieval.

There are two types of information retrieval: recall and recognition. In recall, the
information is reproduced from memory. In recognition the presentation of the in-
formation provides the knowledge that the information has been seen before. Rec-
ognition is of lesser complexity, as the information is provided as a cue. However, the
recall can be assisted by the provision of retrieval cues, which enable the subject to
quickly access the information in memory.

Written Exercise 8

1. Give four reasons that lead to differences in memory among

learners. (8 marks) .

2. Discuss the three main memory storage showing how each one of
them affects learning. (12 marks)

Disorders of memory

Much of the current knowledge of memory has come from studying memory disorders.
Loss of memory is known as amnesia. There are many sorts of amnesia, and by studying
their different forms, it has become possible to observe apparent defects in individual
sub-systems of the brain’s memory systems, and thus hypothesize their function in the
normally working brain. Other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease can
also affect memory and cognition. Hyperthymesia is a disorder which affects an
individual’s autobiographical memory, essentially meaning that they cannot forget small
details that otherwise would not be stored. Korsakoff s psychosis, is an organic brain
disease that adversely affects memory.

Memorization

Memorization is a method of learning that allows an individual to recall information

verbatim. Rote learning is the method most often used. Methods of memorizing things
have been the subject of much discussion over the years with some writers, such as
Cosmos Rossellius using visual alphabets. The spacing effect shows that an individual is
more likely to remember a list of items when rehearsal is spaced over an extended period
of time. In contrast to this is cramming which is intensive memorization in a short period
of time. Also relevant is the Zeigamik effect which states that people remember
uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.

At the Center for Cognitive Science at Ohio State University, researchers have found that
memory accuracy of adults is hurt by the fact that they know more than children and tend
to apply this knowledge when learning new information. The findings appeared in the
August 2004 edition of the journal Psychological Science.

Interference can hamper memorization and retrieval. There is retroactive interference

when learning new information causes you to forget old information and proactive
interference where learning one piece of information makes it harder to learn similar new
information.

Emotion can have a powerful impact on memory. Numerous studies have shown that
the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are
likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events.

What are some of the disorders of memory and how can they be prevented?

Improving memory

It is inconclusive that memory may be improved via simple lifestyle changes such as
undertaking memory exercises, eating healthily, engaging in moderate physical activity,
and reducing stress.

The International Longevity Center released in 2001 a report which includes in pages 14-
16 recommendations for keeping the mind in good functionality until advanced age.
Some of the recommendations are to stay intellectually active through learning, training
or reading, to keep physically active to promote blood circulation to the brain, to
socialize, to reduce stress, to keep sleep time regular, to avoid depression or emotional
instability and to observe good nutrition.

Memory tasks

• Paired associate learning - when one learns to associate one specific word with
another. For example when given a word such as “safe” one must learn to say
another specific word, such as “green”. This is stimulus and response.

• Free recall - during this task a subject would be asked to study a list of words
and then sometime later they will be asked to recall or write down as many words
that they can remember.

• Recognition - subjects are asked to remember a list of words or pictures, after

 which point they are asked to identify the previously presented words or pictures
from among a list of alternatives that were not presented in the original list.

Levels of processing

Craik and Lockhart (1972) proposed that it is the method and depth of processing that
affects how an experience is stored in memory, rather than rehearsal.

Organization - Mandler (1967) gave participants a pack of word cards and asked them to
sort them into any number of piles using any system of categorization they liked. When
they were later asked to recall as many of the words as they could, those who used more
categories remembered more words. This study suggested that the act of organizing
information makes it more memorable.

Distinctiveness - Eysenck and Eysenck (1980) asked participants to say words in a

distinctive way, e.g. spell the words out loud. Such participants recalled the words better
than those who simply read them off a list.

Effort - Tyler et al. (1979) had participants solve a series of anagrams, some easy
(FAHTER) and some difficult (HREFAT). The participants recalled the difficult
anagrams better, presumably because they put more effort into them.

Elaboration - Palmere et al. (1983) gave participants descriptive paragraphs of a

fictitious African nation. There were some short paragraphs and some with extra
sentences elaborating the main idea. Recall was higher for the ideas in the elaborated
paragraphs.

How to Improve Memory

Think of your brain as one of the most powerful muscles in your body, because in a
sense it is. It may be an organ however, without it, where would one be? People spend a
lot of money yearly to workout in gyms, go to spas for relaxing massages, and do
everything in their power to stay physically appearing young, however they fail to take
the same care and consideration to the most powerful part of their body, their brain.
Without exercising your brain, you will lose its powerful functioning that was the reason
behind your success to maintain the job that enabled you to hit the gyms, spas, and other
forms of treatments to stay looking young. That is your first tip in improving your
memory, work the brain, or lose it.

You can exercise your brain by stimulating it to new information, hobbies, and
knowledge. Other ways you can exercise your brain is by moving away from mindless
television and picking up a book, playing board games, memory games, doing crossword
puzzles and other types of puzzles that force you to think. Break away from normal
routines that become monotonous. How many times have you felt your car could drive
you home from work because you have never strayed from a beaten path? It is the same
way with your brain; if you do not give it new surroundings from time to time, it
becomes stale or stagnant. Do anything you can do to throw a little spice up into your
brain’s life.

That is just one tip that will help improve your memory, recall ability, and knowledge
base. Here are some other essential tips to help one improve their memory.

 Pay close attention to details in print or when someone is speaking to you. Many
times we assume we know where the conversation is leading so we tone out parts,
if not the majority of it. Learn to focus closer on conversations and details even if
you do not think they are pertinent. It takes eight seconds for your brain to
process a piece of information. Practicing focusing even with the most boring
conversation will help you drastically in improve your memory and recall skills.

 Know your learning style and try to take in new information in that style. It will
help your brain process the information quicker and even help cut down on study
time.

 Use as many styles of learning that are best suited for you. Try to utilize as many
senses in your learning styles as possible. The more styles utilized the more your
brain will absorb as well as you are giving your brain an excellent workout.

 Associate new information to information you have already learned previously or

have stored. This will help immensely with recall.

 When taking in new complex material, learn to repeat it back aloud in your own
words then write the information in your own words.

 Remember the days of spelling words and writing them repeatedly to memorize
them. It worked then and it will work still at the age of 30, 40 and 50 and up.

 Remind yourself frequently that you want to improve your memory. This alone
will help improve your memory up to 30% if done actively.

 Always try a different approach whenever you encounter memory failure.

 What techniques can be used to improve memory?

Forgetting
Forgetting (retention loss) refers to apparent loss of information already encoded and
stored in an individual’s long-term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in
which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage. It is subject to
delicately balanced optimization that ensures that relevant memories are recalled.
Forgetting can be reduced by repetition and/or more elaborate cognitive processing of
information. Reviewing information in ways that involve active retrieval seems to slow
the rate of forgetting.

Forgetting functions (amount remembered as a function of time since an event was first
experienced) have been extensively analyzed. The most recent evidence suggests that a
power function provides the closest mathematical fit to the forgetting function.

History

The German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus studied the mechanisms of forgetting.

Using himself as the sole subject in his experiment, he memorized lists of three letter
nonsense syllable words —two consonants and one vowel in the middle. He then
measured his own capacity to relearn a given list of words after a variety of given time
period. He found that forgetting occurs in a systematic manner, beginning rapidly and
then leveling off. Although his methods were primitive, his basic premises have held true
today and have been reaffirmed by more methodologically sound methods.

Theories of forgetting

The four main theories of forgetting apparent in the study of psychology are as follows:

1. Cue-dependent forgetting

Cue-dependent forgetting or retrieval failure, is the failure to recall a memory due to

missing stimuli or cues that were present at the time the memory was encoded. It is one
of five cognitive psychology theories of forgetting. It states that a memory is sometimes
temporarily forgotten purely because it cannot be retrieved, but the proper cue can bring
it to mind. A good metaphor for this is searching for a book in a library without the
reference number, title, author or even subject. The information still exists, but without
these cues retrieval is unlikely. Furthermore, a good retrieval cue must be consistent with
the original encoding of the information. If the sound of the word is emphasized during
the encoding process, the cue that should be used should also put emphasis on the
phonetic quality of the word. Information is available however, just not readily available
without these cues.

2. Trace decay

Trace decay focuses on the problem of availability caused when memories decay. Hebb
said that incoming information creates a pattern of neurons to create a neurological
memory trace in the brain which would fade with time. Repeated firing causes a
structural change in the synapses. Rehearsal of repeated firing maintains the memory in
STM until a structural change is made.

3. Organic causes

Forgetting that occurs through physiological damage or dilapidation to the brain are
referred to as organic causes of forgetting. These theories encompass the loss of
information already retained in long term memory or the inability to encode new
information again. Examples include Alzheimer’s, Amnesia, Dementia, consolidation
theory and the gradual slowing down of the central nervous system due to aging.

4. Interference theories

Interference theory refers to the idea that forgetting occurs because the recall of certain
items interferes with the’ recall of other items. In nature, the interfering items are said to
originate from an over stimulating environment. Interference theory exists in two
branches, Retroactive and Proactive inhibition each referring in contrast to the other.
Retroactive interference is when new information (memories) interferes with older
information. On the other hand, proactive interference is when old information interferes
with the retrieval of new information.

5. Decay theory

Decay theory states that when something new is learned, a neurochemical, physical
“memory trace” is formed in the brain and over time this trace tends to disintegrate,
unless it is occasionally used.

What are some of the causes of inefficient memory?

Definitions and Controversy

Forgetting can have very different causes than simply removal of stored content.
Forgetting can mean access problems, availability problems, or can have other reasons
such as amnesia by an accident.

A debatable yet popular concept is “trace decay”, which can occur in both short- and
long-term memory. This theory, applicable mostly to short term memory, is supposedly
contradicted by the fact that one is able to ride a bike even after not having done so of the
decades. “Flashbulb memories” are another piece of seemingly contradicting evidence.
It is believed that certain memories “trace decay” while others don’t Sleep is believed to
play a key role in halting trace decay although the exact mechanism of this is unknown.

Causes of forgetting

 Poor encoding

 Ineffective learning styles.

 Lack of interest in the learned information.

 Inattention during the learning process.

 Physical damage to the specific memory areas in the brain.

 Poor retrieval systems.

 Diseases affecting the nervous system.

 Use of drugs

 Cramming information instead of learning the concepts.

 Failure to share the acquired information with others.

Note: The brain is the master of all memory processes

Activity 2

1. Define the term memory

2. With the aid of a diagram explain the memory process
3. Discuss the factors that enhance memory among students.
4. Describe the factors that contribute to poor memory.
 Written Assignment

1. Define the following terminologies:

i) Memory
ii) Forgetting
iii) Sensation
iv) Perception
2. Explain any four elements of learning.
3. Analyse the factors necessary for learning.

4. Describe the memory process.

5. Explain how teachers can enhance students’ memory.

6. Discuss any one theory of forgetting

Factors that influence learning

1. Heredity – determine intellectual potential and abilities

2. Previous experiences

3. Maturation – certain behaviour and abilities are attained at a particular age e.g.
speaking, walking

4. Learning readiness- readiness is influenced by maturation experience and prior

learning.

5. Maturation e.g. praise, encouragement, approval

6. Remembering and forgetting

7. Social and physical environment of the learners’ factors in the family e.g.
poverty, dysfunctional families, nutrition, learning environment in school.
Introduction

This unit deals with selected theories and approaches to learning. It defines the term
theory and explains its importance to teachers. Behaviourist and cognitivist theories and
approaches to human learning are also discussed. Conditioning and social learning are
explained.
Specific Objectives

After studying this unit you should be able to:

1. Define key terminologies.

2. Distinguish between behaviourist

and cognitivist approaches to
learning.

3. Compare and contrast classical and

operant conditioning.

4. Explain the relevance of conditioning to

learning.

5. Discuss the educational implications of reinforcement in education.

A theory of learning is an attempt to explain and simplify the occurrence of events within
the learner’s environment and how such events influence his/her reaction to them. It is a
systematic interpretation of the observation made on the process of learning which tries
to explain the how and why of learning.

A theory of learning is useful to the teacher in that:

1. It makes clear to him/her the conditions, which are necessary for the prediction and
control of the learning process and for the successful achievement of set educational
objectives.

2. It enables him/her to generalize and simplify his/her teaching methods, content,

media and materials learned in one area to another.

3. It makes the teacher’s decision and actions sounder as they are based on proven
evidences rather than relying totally on his/her own whims. This contributes to the
teacher’s professional growth and also helps him/her in the choice and evaluation of
professional literature and the whole curriculum in general.

The following major theories will be discussed to elucidate on the process of learning:
 Behaviorist learning theories

1. The classical conditioning theory/ the respondent theory by Ivan

Pavlov.

2. Instrumental conditioning theory/ the Operant conditioning theory

by B. F. Skinner

3. The social learning theory by Albert Bandura.

Cognitive learning theories by:

1. Max Westheimer - Gestalt view of learning.

2. Bruner - Discovery learning, intuitive thinking, and theory of instruction.

3. Ausubel - Reception learning.

4. Gagne - Conditions of learning theory.

Behaviourist Theories

1. The Classical Conditioning Theory by Ivan Pavlov

In his experiments with dogs, Pavlov decided to pair a stimulus (meat

powder), that would elicit an unlearned response (salivation), with a
stimulus (bell) that did not elicit salivation and was thus neutral at the
beginning of the experiment.

Because no learning is required to make dogs salivate when they are given
meat powder, meat powder is referred to as an unconditioned stimulus (US)
and the reflex response of salivating is referred to as an unconditioned
response (UR).

Pavlov took the stimulus that did not cause salivation in dogs (bell) and
began to pair it systematically with the presentation of food. He would ring the bell,
immediately present the food (US) and observe the dog’s salivation (UR). After bell and
the meat powder had been paired or continuously associated, Pavlov was able to cause
salivation without giving the meat powder; ringing the bell was enough to elicit
salivation. The dog associated meat powder with the bell and would salivate.

The ringing bell had become a stimulus to which the dog responded in a predictable way.
For this reason, the bell is referred to as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response it
elicits is called a conditioned response (CR). See illustrations below.

Before conditioning

The unconditioned stimulus (meat powder) elicits salivation (unconditioned response).

The neutral stimulus (bell) elicits no response.

During conditioning

Neutral stimulus (bell) is paired with the unconditioned stimulus (meat powder), i.e. the
bell is rung followed closely by the presentation of meat powder. This elicits
unconditioned response (salivation). This process is repeated several times to condition
the dog to the ringing of the bell.

After conditioning

Conditioned stimulus (bell) elicits conditioned response (salivation) without the

presentation of the meat powder.

If the conditioned stimulus (bell) is followed by the unconditioned stimulus (meat

powder), over a period of time, the association between the bell and the meat powder
wanes and thus the bell on its own does not automatically elicit salivation. This is
referred to as extinction.

However, when "extinction has taken place (learning is at the zero level) the conditioned
stimulus could still elicit the conditioned response. This is referred to as spontaneous
recovery.

Application of the classical/ respondent theory to the learning process

Reinforcement

Reinforcement is any procedure that strengthens learning and makes the recurrence of a
response more probable.

If a teacher wants learners to learn a concept well, then the teacher should reinforce
positive efforts made by the learners towards learning the particular concept. This could
be done by:

 Using encouraging remarks such as: good, very good, excellent, correct, pre-
cisely, yes, good trial, etc.

 Giving rewards, e.g. books, sweets, pens, etc.

 Showing recognition to the learner.

 Drawing other learners’ attention to a correct answer given by the one of the
learners.

A teacher, too, can discourage or eliminate undesirable behaviours amongst learners by

withdrawing reinforcement or conditions associated with the undesirable behaviour.
Once the association between the reinforcement/ conditions and the undesirable
behaviour is broken, the undesirable behaviour becomes extinct. Parents and teachers
report drastic changes in their children’s behaviour when they ignore disruptive
behaviours and praise and attend to the child when he/she is quiet or playing
constructively.

Illustration of the relationship between behaviour and reinforcement

Behaviour
(Learning)

Increasing Reinforcement (+)

 Behaviour
(Learning)
Spontaneous
recovery

Extinction point

Decreasing Reinforcement (+)

What is the difference in cognitive and behavioural perspectives to human

learning?

Note: Continuous reinforcement leads to increase in the target behaviour while

withdrawal of reinforcement leads to extinction of the target behaviour. However, the
behaviour may in recur spontaneously in future.

Positive and negative reinforcement

 In positive reinforcement, respondent behaviour helps an organism obtain -

something pleasant whereas in negative reinforcement, respondent behaviour
helps an organism avoid or terminate something unpleasant or discomfort.

 Behaviour is strengthened both in positive reinforcement and in negative

reinforcement.
Punishment

Punishment occurs when a response is followed by an aversive stimulus/pain that

decreases the strength of the response or maintains it at a lower level than it had been
originally. As with reinforcement, it is an effect on behaviour. People are never
reinforced or punished; rather their experiences may strengthen some behaviour while
they weaken or eliminate others. Note that punishment decreases respondent behaviour.

Motivation

In the Pavlovian experiment, the dog was kept hungry for some time. Therefore, the dog
had the hunger drive which highly motivated its behaviours and responses. For effective
learning to take place, the learners must be driven by the desire to learn and be
interested, in the content. Objectives of the learning process and the expected outcomes
should be stated at the onset. The learning environment should be devoid of distracters.

Stimulus generalization

It is the process by which, once a stimulus has come to elicit a response, similar stimuli
may also elicit the response. The more alike the new stimuli are to the original, the more
likely they are to produce/evoke the conditioned response. E.g. a dog that learns to
salivate to the sound of a bell of a given sound or pitch associated with food will also
salivate to higher/or lower sounds or tunes without further conditioning. In school, you
teach the principles of simple equations in algebra. The teacher’s expectation in giving
more complex algebra is for them to generalize. Learning of grammar or mathematical
formulas best lend themselves to the concept of stimulus generalisation. For example:

1. Singular Plural

Desk Desks

Cat Cats

Dog Dogs
 There is the generalisation that plurality of words is derived by adding an ‘s’ at the
end of the word.

2. If the formula for the area of a triangle is half base times height, the formula can be
applied in the finding of areas of other triangles and even in deriving bases and
heights of triangles given the area.

3. The teacher creating good teacher-learner relationship, which will make the learners
like the teacher as a person and eventually like the subject, can make , stimulus
generalisation in the learning situation.

Stimulus discrimination

If a stimulus rather than the conditioned stimulus is used without associating

it with the unconditioned stimulus the dog does not salivate. The dog has
thus learned to discriminate between those stimuli associated with the
unconditioned stimulus and those, which are not. In the teaching of grammar,
even though some nouns such as cat, dog, door, etc. have their plural form
derived by adding an ‘s’ the child learns that not all nouns lend themselves to
that rule e.g. the plural of ‘sheep’ is ‘sheep’ and not ‘sheeps’.

This rule is a complementary one to generalization - as it is a reaction to

differences rather than to similarities to contrasts rather than sameness. It
comes through selective reinforcement and extinction.

Intensity of pitch — low and loud.

In small children — first there is generalization of the word daddy to all

adult men.

Through selective reinforcement and extinction it gets narrowed down to one

person - father only. It is a very useful principle in sorting, classifying,
seriating of objects in maths, science, building construction - both
generalization and discrimination help in the transfer of knowledge/skills.

Extinction and spontaneous recovery

In the Pavlovian experiment, when the bell sound (CS) is numerously not
followed with the meat powder (UC), the dog‘s salivation (CR) gradually
wanes and finally disappears. This is called extinction. It clearly explains why learners
forget a concept they have been taught especially when the teacher makes no effort to
encourage (reinforce) the learners’ efforts.

However, when Pavlov, after some period of time rang the bell, the dog whose sali vation
had suffered extinction, salivated. This is referred to as spontaneous recovery. This
means that the dog had not completely forgotten the previous association between the
bell and the meat powder. The concept of spontaneous recovery explains the principles
underlying the processes of remembering/ recall of a forgotten concept by learners.

Instrumental / Operant Conditioning Theory by B. F. Skinner

Skinner developed the operant conditioning theory by designing a box having the
following features:

 A hungry rat.

 A lever mechanism which if pressed could trigger dropping of food pellets.

 Food pellets attached to the lever mechanism but out of reach to the rat.

 A food tray on which food pellets could drop when the lever is pressed.

 The box had no exit point for the rat but was well ventilated.

Naturally, the rat started wandering around in the box in search of food or exit because it
was hungry. The rat moved from one comer of the box to another but it found neither
food nor exit. Accidentally, the rat pressed the lever bar and food pellets dropped on the
food tray placed on the floor of the cage box and the rat had food to eat. Further
wandering around did not lead to food dropping on the food tray. Food only dropped
when the rat pressed on the lever bar.

The rat started concentrating/focusing all its efforts on pressing the lever bar, which led
to the food pellets dropping. The rat had thus learned that it is only when pressing the
lever bar that food drops for its consumption. It stopped wandering carelessly. The rat
had learned to discriminate between its responses, which led to reinforcement/ reward,
and those, which did not.
 What is the difference between reinforcement and punishment?

Application of the instrumental theory to the learning process

The role of motivation

Skinner’s experiment involved a rat, which had been kept hungry for some time. The rat
was thus motivated by the hunger drive to move around in search of food. The rat would
not have moved around if it were satisfied. It therefore would not have learned about
pressing of the lever bar, which resulted to food droplets.

For the learning process to be effective, the learners involved must be highly motivated
to learn. This could be achieved by:

 Making the learners aware of the lesson objective! at the beginning so that they
focus towards the objectives.

 Make the learners expectant of positive outcomes of the learning process. No one
would put efforts in learning tasks whose outcomes are not useful.

 Ensuring that the learning environment is devoid of any distractions so that

learning goes on uninterrupted.

 For learning to be effective, the learner’s active participation could be achieved

by providing activities that sustain their interest such as: questions, discussions,
exercises, debates, etc.

 During assessment, the teacher should formulate questions in such a way that the
correct response is likely to occur.

Stimulus discrimination

The rat in the Skinnerian experiment learned that it was only by pressing the lever bar
that food pellets dropped on the food tray. The rat thus learned to concentrate on the
lever and minimized other fruitless movements within the box.

Meaningful learning takes place only when learners focus their efforts to those responses
leading to outcomes in tandem with the set objectives. Teachers should ensure that the
content is clear and in consonant with the objectives. Questions and exams given to the
students should test the achievement of the set objectives.

The role of reinforcement

The rat in the Skinner experiment made efforts of searching for food by wandering
around the box. Food only dropped when the rat pressed the lever bar. The more the rat
pressed the lever bar the more the food droplets fell on the food tray.

It should therefore be emphasized that no reinforcement/reward should be given to the

learners during the learning process if they have not successfully undertaken a learning
task. No positive efforts, no reinforcement/rewards! Reinforcement given could be in the
form of encouraging remarks or rewards. Reinforcement should be immediate and not
delayed for it to be effective. When learners have been assessed, feedback of their
performance should be given to them immediately.

Shaping behaviour

Skinner found out that even if the rat could not be able to learn to press the bar on its
own in order to get the food droplets, it (rat) could gradually be made to learn by
breaking the task into smaller but achievable tasks.

The teacher should, therefore, analyze thoroughly the subject matter*and subdivide the
content into meaningful segments of information. This information should then be
presented to the learners in an ascending order from the simple to the complex.

Operant extinction

If a learned response/behaviour is not reinforced, it gradually fades or is forgotten.

Operant extinction therefore refers to the same general concepts as extinction in classical
conditioning. Even after extinction seems complete, there may be a return of the
previously reinforced response (spontaneous recovery). Refer to the principles of
forgetting and remembering.

Activity 1

1. Visit a local primary and secondary school find out and compare the
methods used by teachers to motivate students to learn.

Similarities between classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning theories

 Both involve some kind of learning and association i.e. two things are related
together.
  In both such concepts as stimulus generalization and discrimination
are similar.

 Both involve basic forms of behavioral learning.

Factors that alter the effectiveness of consequences

When using consequences to modify a response, the effectiveness of a

consequence can be increased or decreased by various factors. These factors
can apply to either reinforcing or punishing consequences.

1. Satiation: The effectiveness of a consequence will be reduced if the

individual's “appetite” for that source of stimulation has been
satisfied. Inversely, the effectiveness of a consequence will increase
as the individual becomes deprived of that stimulus. If someone is
not hungry, food will not be an effective reinforcer for behaviour.
Satiation is generally only a potential problem with primary
reinforcers, those that do not need to be learned such as food and
water.

2. Immediacy: After a response, how immediately a consequence is

then felt determines the effectiveness of the consequence. More
immediate feedback will be more effective than less immediate
feedback. If someone’s license plate is caught by a traffic camera for
speeding and they receive a speeding ticket in the mail a week later,
this consequence will not be very effective against speeding. But if
someone is speeding and is caught in the act by an officer who pulls
them over, then their speeding behaviour is more likely to be
affected.

3. Contingency: If a consequence does not contingently (reliably, or

consistently) follow the target response, its effectiveness upon the
response is reduced. But if a consequence follows the response consistently after
successive instances, its ability to modify the response is increased. The schedule
of reinforcement, when consistent, leads to faster learning. When the schedule is
variable, the learning is slower. Extinction is more difficult when learning
 occurred during intermittent reinforcement and more easily extinguished when
learning occurred during a highly consistent schedule.

4. Size: This is a “cost-benefit” determinant of whether a consequence will be ef-

fective. If the size, or amount, of the consequence is large enough to be worth the
effort, the consequence will be more effective upon the behaviour. An unusually
large lottery jackpot, for example, might be enough to get someone to buy a one-
dollar lottery ticket (or even buying multiple tickets). But if a lottery jackpot is
small, the same person might not feel it to be worth the effort of driving out and
finding a place to buy a ticket. In this example, it is also useful to note that
“effort” is a punishing consequence. How these opposing expected consequences
(reinforcing and punishing) balance out will determine whether the behaviour is
performed or not.

Most of these factors exist for biological reasons. The biological purpose of the Principle
of Satiation is to maintain the organism’s homeostasis. When an organism has been
deprived of sugar, for example, the effectiveness of the taste of sugar as a reinforcer is
high. However, as the organism reaches or exceeds their optimum blood-sugar levels, the
taste of sugar becomes less effective, perhaps even aversive.

Differences between classical and instrumental conditioning

 Instrumental conditioning is based on voluntary response, while classical con-

ditioning is based on involuntary response.

 In instrumental conditioning, reinforcement is the pairing of the response with the

reinforcer while in classical conditioning reinforcement involves pairing of the
unconditioned stimulus (UCS) with a conditioned stimulus (CS).

 Response must occur first before reinforcement is given in instrumental

conditioning while in classical conditioning reinforcement occurs first followed
by the response.

 Delayed reinforcement can be effective in: instrumental conditioning while it is

less effective in classical conditioning.

 Behaviour/ response is emitted in instrumental conditioning while - it is elicited in

classical conditioning.
The Social Learning Theory by Albert Bandura

This theory states that people learn through observation of others’ behaviours. Simply
put:

‘People model their social behaviour (personality) according to their interpretations of

the behaviour of people they deem worthy of imitating.’

Bandura’s assertions were based on the following experiment:

1. Briefly explain Pavlov’s experiment. (8 marks)

2. Briefly analyze the factors that alter the effectiveness of
consequences of a reinforcer in a classroom situation.
(12 marks)

Bandura asked nursery-school children to observe an adult model striking a large inflated
Bobo doll with a mallet. The model also hit, kicked and sat on the doll. During the
assault, the model said a number of unusual sentences unlike any of the children had
heard before. Neither the model nor the observing children was directly involved at any
time during the session.

Later after the model had gone, the children were secretly observed as they played in a
toy-filled room with the Bobo doll. For comparison, other children who had not seen the
model’s behaviour were also allowed to interact with the doll.

The results of the experiment clearly demonstrated that the children who had observed
the model were far more likely to be aggressive in imitation of the model’s behaviour
than other children who did not observe the model. Another experiment performed by
Bandura indicated that social learning could be reinforced.

The following educational conclusions can be derived from Bandura’s experiment:

 One’s personality is learned majorly through observation and imitation. Thus,

people learn judgmental orientations; linguistic styles, conceptual schemes and
standards of conduct through constant exposures to and observation of significant
others.
  Social learning is a function of model strength. From whom one learns and how
much one learns depends on the prestige or the strength of the individual who is
the model.

 Behaviour patterns are learned in context. For instance, an adult, (male or female)
reacts one way with men and another with women

 Behaviour can be modified via symbols. Social learning theory places special
emphasis on the symbolic environment. Most of our actions are based on our
images of reality, which are largely derived from symbolic media.

 Observation/ imitation functions effectively when it is combined with

reinforcement.

Written Exercise 9

Briefly explain Pavlov’s experiment. (8 marks)

1. Briefly analyze the factors that alter the effectiveness of consequences of a

reinforcer in a classroom situation.(12 marks)

The Cognitive Theories of Learning

While the behavioural view of learning places emphasis on the stimulus-response (S-R)
model on the importance of reinforcement for learning to occur, the cognitive view of
learning emphasises insights, thinking, meaningfulness and organisation of information
as being essential for learning to occur. The cognitive view maintains that a learner is
capable of controlling his/her learning activity and organising his/ her field of operation
and has an inherent capacity to learn.

Concepts of cognitive psychology as discussed below draw a lot from the contributions
of Jerome Bruner, David Ausubel and Robert Gagne.

Discovery learning

 According to Bruner (1971), discovery learning involves a pupil’s discovery of

what he/she is capable of doing and thinking of himself/herself.

 It involves rearranging evidence so as to obtain new information or insights.

 A child is capable of discovering new information independently.

  To encourage discovery, Bruner proposes the provision of learners with
opportunities to engage in thinking insights and problem solving as an integral
part of their education.

 Instead of revealing to the pupils the major concepts and principles they are ex-
pected to learn from a lesson, a teacher should give pupils the opportunity of
discovering them for themselves.

 Discovery learning calls for active participation on the part of the pupils. It is a
beneficial approach because pupils are able to retain information longer.

Intuitive thinking

• Bruner also advocates the importance of intuitive thinking to the education of the
children.

• That scientific reasoning which starts with speculation is similar to intuitive thinking.

• Bruner emphasises that the teacher must match the curriculum to the pupils needs
rather than vice-versa. Pupils’ readiness for a curriculum is essential.

• He argues in favour of a spiral curriculum in which the same subject is .presented

repeatedly but in hierarchical manner beginning from simpler to complex.

• Bruner believes that discovery learning is advantageous in a number of ways:

• It increases the ability of the learners to learn related materials.

• It increases the learner’s interest in the task in which he/she is involved in.

• It contributes to lasting retention of information

• It makes transfer of learning more probable.

• It develops initiative in dealing with similar problems.

• It trains students in important thinking operations e.g. comparing, summarising,

interpreting and criticising.

Theory of instruction

Bruner’s (1966) theory of instruction comprises the following principles: Motivation

 The child must be predisposed to learn for any effective learning to take
 place.

 Teachers should foster the child’s intellectual growth and should exploit the
child’s curiosity and strong desire to explore and learn.

Structure

• What is taught should be in keeping with the learner’s cognitive structure and
understanding. .

• As far as possible, new material should have a bearing on what the learner already
knows.

Sequence

• If the content of a given subject is arranged sequentially, it will be easier for the
learner to comprehend what is being taught.

Relatively difficult subjects requiring more concentration and a high level of arousal
should be scheduled during the early hours of the day.

Reinforcement

The use of reinforcement encourages and sustains desirable and academic and social;
behaviour. This includes feedback, smiles, compliments and high marks.

Reception learning theory

 This theory was developed by David Ausubel (1978). It is also referred to as

meaningful learning or subsumption theory.

 Reception learning involves the presentation of all possible information on a

given topic in its final form.

 Ausubel refers to this theory as verbal learning because most of what is learned in
the classroom is based on the use of language as a means of communication.

 Learning is called meaningful because what is being learned is based on what the
students already know.

 By assumption, it is meant that new materials are incorporated into the existing
information structure of the learner. This theory is summed up as follows:
  ‘That learning which occurs as a result of whatever a student learns being in
some way related to what he already knows,’ Ausubel (1978).

 According to this theory, a learner is in a better position to learn, understand and

recall a body of information if it is related to what he/she already knows.

 For meaningful learning to occur, the learners attention can be drawn to the
related information and relating it to new information.

 Whatever new information is acquired is incorporated to the existing cognitive

structure, the new being married to the old, so that the new is understood in the
context of what the learner already knows.

 Teachers would therefore have to begin with the most broad and general concepts
before proceeding to specific and differentiated topics. The advantages of
pursuing this approach are the following:

o New material is easily understood by associating it with both familiar and

meaningful concepts

o High retention is realized

• According to Ausubel, a new topic can be linked to old information by means of

advanced organisers, which may be in the form of an overview of the lesson or
relating the known to the unknown.

• Rote learning should be discouraged in preference for meaningful learning.

Educational implications of meaningful learning

 Assessing readiness- all that can be known about pupils with regard to their age,
level of capability, previous performance should be investigated to establish the
entrance behaviour.

 Selecting material - when preparing a lesson on what he/she knows about the
class, the teacher should concentrate on major points and outlines them as clearly
as possible.

 Identifying organising principles - the major concepts to be presented must be

determined since these will serve as the foundation upon which detailed infor-
 mation, which will be remembered, can be built.

 Presenting an overview - Ausubel stresses the significance of the presentation of

a preliminary overview of the lesson containing the major or general concepts.

 Stressing principles and concepts - it is important that the teacher stresses prin-
ciples and concepts, otherwise pupils will be tempted to resort to rote learning.

 Focusing on relationships - wherever possible, pupils’ attention should be drawn

to the relationship between what they were taught previously and what they are
currently being taught, between what is being taught in one subject and another
subject.

What are the educational implications of social learning

theory?

The conditions of learning theory

Robert Gagne (1985) is responsible for developing this theory which has the fob lowing-
features:

Types of learning

Gagne identified five forms of learning, which may be influenced by conditions existing
within the learner or outside his/her environment or both. The different types of learning
are arranged in a hierarchical order so that lower types have to be acquired before .the
higher ones can be.

The eight types of learning as proposed by Gagne are:

• Signal learning - This is automatic learning and may be based on reflex actions e.g.
eye blink.

• S-R learning - This may be a voluntary or specific skills response e.g. a smile being
reciprocated with a smile, a red traffic signal causing one to stop one’s vehicle.

• Simple chaining - This learning may involve motor skills such as touching, a stick
holds it and then tick, learning how to use it.

• Verbal association - This involves linking one word with another e.g. hot- cold, son-
father, or simply naming, memorising passages or acquiring vocabulary.
• Learning discrimination - This means learning how to discriminate or distinguish
one object from another even though they could be similar in nature.

• Concept learning - This involves learning how to sort objects on the basis of their
similarity or commonality and distinguishing between part and whole.

• Rule learning - This entails using different concepts to arrive at a conclusion and
being able to make a hypothesis regarding certain problems. E.g. when an object is
thrown up it will fall down, when a seed is planted, it will germinate.

• Problem-solving - This calls for the use of one’s acquired knowledge of rules. The
rules can be used for solving many problems.

Aspects of the learning theory

Gagne’s theory centers on three aspects of learning, namely:

Outcomes of learning

According to Gagne, there are five learning outcomes or objectives the acquisition of
which places a learner in a position of strength. The major objectives of learning are:

 Verbal information.

 Intellectual skills.

 Cognitive strategies

 Attitudes.

 Motor skills.

Processes of learning

A person is exposed to a given stimulus, which triggers the sensory receptors. The
receptors store the information briefly then passes it to the short term memory and finally
to the long term memory for future retrieval.

The conditions of learning

These may be internal or external. Internal conditions involve the learner’s personality as
well as past experiences and personal cues for processing of new information. External
conditions include other factors that motivate the learner to remember earlier
information.

Educational implications

• Lessons should be prepared such that pupils are only introduced to concepts they are
able to comprehend at a particular stage.

• To facilitate recall of information, frequent discussions, revision and relevant

assignments should be encouraged.

• Verbal learning can be encouraged through reading, teaching, observation and group
discussion.

Written Exercise 10

1. Explain how any four of Gagne’s types of learning can be applied by

teachers to improve learning motivation. (8 marks)

2. Discuss the educational implications of Ausubel’s theory of

meaningful learning. (12 marks)

Gestalt View of Learning

Gestalt theory was developed by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Kofka.

Gestalt psychologists are interested in perception and behaviour as a whole. In their

view; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Gestalts argue that a given object is
understood not by separately analysing each individual aspect at a time, but by having a
wholesome picture of it. E.g. a series of dots is seen not as dots but as a pattern or
configuration.

They argue that before an organism arrives at an insight regarding a particular problem;
it cognitively formulates a number of hypotheses as to how the problem may be solved
before acting.

Gestalt laws

1. The law of proximity - according to this law parts that are close in time or in a
space or both tend to be perceived together. E.g. the circles below are seen as
 being three rows rather than columns.

00000

00000

2. The law of similarity - This law states that similar parts are seen together as
forming a group e.g. in the figure below, the symbols @ and # appear to belong
together and for this reason, they are perceived as columns instead of rows.

@#@#@#@#

@#@#@#@#

@#@#@#@#

3. The law of closure - People have a perceptual tendency to complete incomplete

figures. In the figure below, we see three dotted lines and not just dots

…………………………………

…………………………………

…………………………………

3. The law of continuity - This law states that figures and drawings will be completed in
the same manner in which they are presented. In the figure below, the brackets, dots
and letter ‘o’ tend to be seen as a shape and not as separate unrelated entities.

(. .)

(o)

What influence do Gestalt laws have in teaching and learning?

Educational implications

 Pupils should be encouraged to look at the situation as a whole before attempting

to find a solution to a problem.

 Classroom exercises should be organized into wholes.

 Pupils should be encouraged to learn through insight and not through mechanical
drill and rote learning.
  The behavior of a person is determined by his/her life space, which is a com-
posite of many interacting variables.

 Schools should provide learners with adequate information regarding decision -

making.

 An appropriate environment is necessary for developing desirable behaviors.

Activity 2

1. Distinguish between behaviorist and cognitivist theories of learning.

2. Explain the differences between classical and operant conditioning. ,

3. Describe the four schedules of reinforcement.

4. Discuss educational implications of meaningful learning.

5. Identify the roles of teachers and student in effective learning processes.

Written Assignment:

1. Define the following terminologies:

i) Motivation

ii) Reinforcement

iii) Stimulus

iv) Punishment

2. Distinguish between cognitive and behavioural approaches to learning.

3. State the differences between classical and operant conditioning.

4. Describe how teachers can help learners develop meaningful other than rote learning
skills.

5. List the advantages of Gestalt approach to teaching.