education class 528

EDU 528 Week 1: Learning Theory and Adult Learning Theory

EDU 528 Week 1: Learning Theory and Adult Learning Theory

Slide NoTopic Narration

1Introduction

Welcome to Methods of Teaching in Adult Education. In this lesson, we will look at learning theory and adult learning theory. Please go to the next slide.

2Objectives

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:Compare and contrast learning theory with adult learning theory.

Please go to the next slide.

3Supporting TopicSpecifically, we will discuss:

The various definitions of learning and the theorists contributions to the definitions;

Elemental model of development; and Holistic model of development.


4Definition of Learning

Historically, learning theorists have provided what they consider to be a definition of learning. The various components of these definitions include change, filling a need, learning as product, learning as process, learning as function, natural growth, development of competencies, fulfillment of potential, personal involvement, self-initiated, learner-evaluated, and independent learning.

Learning certainly involves change. Once an individual acquires habits, knowledge, and attitudes, they are then able to make personal and social adjustments. Thus any change in behavior implies that learning is taking place or has taken place. The author contends that when learning occurs during this process of change, then the concept can be referred to as the learning process or the learning experience as some referenced by some authors.

Learning as product emphasizes the end result or outcome of this learning experience. When taking a dance class not too long ago, my husband and I continued to practice, practice, practice on this particular dance that we both loved so much. When it was time for us to perform in front of our instructor, we were a bit nervous but we were sure that the product was good. In other words, our dance classes, the learning process had resulted in a successful product, which was the dance step.

Lastly, learning as function emphasizes certain critical aspects of learning such as motivation, retention, and transfer which make changes in behavior relative to learning possible. We were motivated to take the dance classes because we were told that it was fun, it was good exercise, it brings couples closer, and it was something different to do other than movies, dinner, and shopping. We were also motivated because we had been invited to one of the citys biggest balls and we wanted to look good on the dance floor. All of these reasons not only motivated us but kept us coming to the class until we accomplished our goal.

While there is naturally some overlap in the terminology used, Knowles uses these components as the foundation for his definition of learning which is the process of gaining knowledge and-or expertise.


5Elemental Worldview

Lets look at two models of development: the elemental and holistic worldviews. These models were valuable in enhancing an understanding of learning and ultimately provided theorists with a foundation to build their theories. The elemental worldview, the basic metaphor of which is the machine represents the world as a system composed of different pieces operating in a spatio-temporal field, in other words operating in some relevance of space and time. When these pieces are placed in motion, all other more complex phenomena are reduced. A sequence of events begin to occur which makes complete prediction possible. One writer contends that when the universe is represented this way, it becomes easy to quantify. Thus, easy to adapt and react to.


6Check Your Understanding

7Theories Based on the Elemental Model

Theorists such as Watson, Thorndike, Pavlov, Skinner, and Hull contributed to Knowles development of the Androgogical Theory of Adult Learning in a variety of ways. John Watson is considered the father of behaviorism but Edward Thorndike conducted the first investigations in the United States relative to learning. This study was relative to learning in animals. Thorndike believed that inexperienced learners responded to stimuli randomly and automatically. More specifically, a response is connected to a stimulus when it is rewarded. You may hear Thorndikes system referred to as bond psychology or connectionism.

Three laws were developed by Thorndike that governed the learning of animals and human beings:

The law of readiness circumstances under which a learner tends to be satisfied or annoyed, to welcome or to reject. For example, a teacher giving a pop quiz to students can be annoying or satisfying depending on whether the student feels prepared to take the quiz

The law of exercise strengthening of connections with practice; for example, a student learns more about the subject matter when it is practiced/read/studied

The law of effect strengthening or weakening of a connection as a result of its consequences; for example a student that fails the quiz could become discouraged and thus intimidated by the subject matter or encouraged to study harder to perform better the next time

Pavolov on the other hand experimented with the concept of conditioned responses. In an example cited in the text using a dog; an unconditioned stimulus such as food and an unconditioned response such as saliva is changed by a repeated conditioned stimulus such as light, which results in a conditioned response of saliva each time the light comes on absent the food. Pavlovs system was eventually named classical conditioning and consisted of concepts such as reinforcement, extinction, generalization, and differentiation.

Reinforcement is when a conditioned response becomes fixed by providing the conditioned stimulus and repeatedly following it with the unconditioned stimulus and response at appropriate time intervals.

Extinction happens when reinforcement is discontinued and the conditioned stimulus is presented alone and not accompanied by the unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned response eventually disappearsbecomes extinct.

Generalization means that a conditioned response attached to one stimulus can also be evoked by other stimuli different than the first.

Differentiation means that the initial generalization is overcome by contrasts, vis a vis, one pair of stimuli is consistently reinforced and the other is not; eventually the conditioned response occurs only to the reinforced stimulus and not the non-reinforced stimulus.


8Theories Based on the Elemental Model, continued

Skinners work resulted in the educational technology of programmed instruction and teaching machines which became very popular in the 1960s. This was considered a major advance in behaviorist psychology.

Lastly, Hull was considered a descendant of Thorndike in that he used reinforcement as a necessary attribute of learning. Hull developed a mathematico-deductive theory focusing on the idea that there are overriding variables in the organism that affect what response will occur following the beginning of a stimulus. For example, he created 16 assumptions regarding the function of the variables and presented them in such exact terms that they were easily subjected to quantitative testing.


8Theories Based on the Holistic Model

The next model we will discuss is the Holistic Model or Worldview which parallels the Elemental Model.

John Deweys work falls more in the category of educational philosophy but there was a lot of emphasis placed on interest and effort as well as the childs motivation to solve their own problems. This line of theorizing was given the name functionalism which became the basis for progressive education and according to one writer, when effectively practiced, provides an environment for considerable growth toward a childs independence and self-control.

The next theorists, Edward Tolman, has been considered to represent a bridge between the elemental and holistic models. He viewed behavior as being purposive. He believed that it is the route to the goal that is learned; an individual is capable of recognizing and learning the relationship between the sign and the desired goal. For example, if a student earns good grades, then the end result is to pass the course. The grades are the signs and passing the course is the goal.

Breaking totally from behaviorism were German theorists Wertheimer, Koffka, and Kohler who proposed that stimuli be perceived in wholes and not parts in order for learning to occur. The theorists believed that a learner will organize this whole or total pattern according to four laws:

The law of proximity The parts of a stimulus pattern that are close together tend to be perceived in groups; thus the closeness of the parts in time and space affects the learners organization of the field.

The law of similarity and familiarity Objects that are similar in form, shape, color, or size tend to be grouped in perception; familiarity with an object results in the learner establishing a figure-ground pattern.The law of closure Learners try to achieve a satisfying final state of equilibrium; incomplete shapes, missing parts, and gaps in information are filled in by the perceiver.And the law of continuation Organization in perception tends to occur in such a manner that a straight line appears to continue as a straight line, a part circle as a circle, and a three-sided square as a complete square.


9Theories Based on the Holistic Model, continued

In continuing the discussion along the lines of space and time, spatio-temporal, Kurt Lewin viewed individuals as existing in a life space where many forces are operating such as material objects encountered and manipulated, people met, private thoughts, tensions, goals, and fantasies. Learning thus occurs by a change in two types of forces:

One. Change in the structure of the cognitive field itself; orTwo. Change in the internal needs or motivation of the individual.Other labels for the field-theoretical approach include phenomenological psychology, perceptual psychology, humanistic psychology, and third-force psychology which all focus on the study of the progressive development of the mind, vis a vis, humans constantly seeking greater personal efficacy. Thus, the driving force motivating all human behavior is the urge for self-actualization.

Lastly, Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, contemporary psychologists, focus on cognition and theory of instruction. Piaget views the process of learning and thought in evolutionary stages. In other words behavior begins with organizing sensory-motor reactions and intelligence increases as coordination between the reactions to objects become more interrelated and complex. Think about when you learned how to ride a bike. You saw others riding the bike and it probably looked relatively easy. Then you got on the bike and tried to mimic what you saw but certainly fell several times. Your teacher, whether it was your parent, sibling, or friend had to show you different methods for learning to ride as well as all of the parts of the bike so that you would understand how the bike worked such as the handle bar, the brakes, and other relative parts.

Another cognitive theorist, Jerome Bruner, expressed interest in the process of intellectual growth by structuring and sequencing knowledge into a theory of instruction which includes three simultaneous processes:

One. Acquisition of new information;

Two. Transformation or changing knowledge to make it fit new tasks; and Three. Evaluation.

Piaget, Bruner and other cognitive theorists have been criticized for their over emphasis on cognitive skills at the expense of emotional development.

10Check Your Understanding

10SummaryWe have now reached the end of this lesson. Lets take a look at what weve covered.

We first looked at the complexities of defining learning.

Next, we covered the elemental model and the theories that were based on these views such as behaviorism, classical conditioning, programmed instruction, and systematic behavior theory. In comparison, we looked at the holistic model of learning and the various theories that were based on this view. These theories consisted of functionalism, purposive behaviorism, Gestalt theories developed by a group of Germans, field theory and lastly cognition and the theory of instruction.

This completes this lesson.

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