SMB 3004

Practical approaches to
developing learning
By Wan Hendra Wan Hamzah
 The Learning Cycle

Set (new goals)

Review progress Plan to

achieve goals

Implement the plan

 Set goals (Start)

- Identify the aim of the learning

activity, that is, to identify what
they want to achieve.
- emphasis is on specific goals.
- Once the specific goals are
developed, learners will go on to
set specific objectives. Objectives
are things that will be carried out
to help achieve the specific goals
 Plan to achieve goals

 make plans of how to carry out

their learning
 Details plan.
 Implement the plan
 Once all the plans have been made
it is time for implementation.
Whatever is planned is now carried
out and all the resources that were
identified are now used.
 Learners must now participate
actively in the learning and they
must produce the outcome of the
learning that is they must
demonstrate the skills acquired
 Review progress
 The implementation of the plans
will be followed by a review
process. Here learners will reflect
on the goals achieved, whether
they are effective or not.
 Learners will also have to identify
reasons for under-achievement. To
do this learners will have to reflect
on the learning process that they
went through.
 Learning cycles

 Lewis and Allan have described the stages

and activities in learning cycles as follow:
 Individual level
-learning to use new software package.
-chairing a meeting
-giving difficult feedback.
 Team level
-completing a project
-achievement of monthly targets
-development of goals for next year
 Whole organisation level
-development of 3 year plan.
-analysis of sources of income for
previous month
-review of the staff development
process
 Learning Styles
 Different people learn in different
ways
 Learning style is the way or method
by which a person prefers to learn
and remember what he or she has
learnt
 In an organization it is very
important to know the preferred
learning style of the members in a
learning project because it will
make them be involved actively in
the learning and to keep them from
abandoning the learning.
 Three primary learning styles
existed. The three styles are:
 Visual-A visual learner is a person
who learns and remembers best by
seeing.
 Auditory-An auditory learners is
someone who learns best by
listening.
 Kinesthetic-A kinesthetic learner
learns by doing or using his or her
sense of touch.
 Honey and Mumford four learning styles:
b) Activists – Become fully involved in new
experiences,living for the here and now
and trying anything once.Like to learn by
doing things.
c) Reflectors – Stand back from action and
observe from variety of angles before
coming to conclusions.Like to learn by
bringing together lots of ideas and
theories and weighing up the best
approach.Enjoy sitting and listening to
ideas and stories.
c) Theorist – Are logical,developing sound
and complex theories from their
observations.Prefer objectives than
subjective judgments.Like to collect
information.Unhappy about acting without
sufficient information.
d) Pragmatists – Like to try out things to see
if they work in practice. They want to put
new ideas into immediate practice.
 According to Kolb, learning styles could be
seen on a continuum running from:
• Concrete experience: being involved in a
new experience
• Reflective observation: watching others
or developing observations about own
experience
• Abstract conceptualization: Creating
theories to explain observations
• Active experimentation: using theories to
solve problems, make decisions
 Hartman (1995) took Kolb's learning
styles and gave examples of how one
might teach to each of them:
• for the concrete experience - offer
laboratories, field work, observations or
trigger films
• for the reflective observer - use logs,
journals or brainstorming
• for the abstract conceptualizer - lectures,
papers and analogies work well
• for the active experimenter - prefer
simulations, case studies and homework
 Litzinger and Osif (1992) break it down
into several process of cognition,
conceptualization and affective.
 Cognition is how one acquires knowledge.
 Conceptualization is how one process
information like looking for connections
among unrelated events or events
triggering a multitude of ideas.
 Affective is people's motivation, decision-
making styles, values and emotional
preferences. All these will help to define a
person's learning styles.
 Single and Double Loop Learning

 In single loop learning, the learning

cycle is used as a means of
improving current activities and
perhaps organization procedures as
well.
 In double loop learning the
situation is more complex. Double
loop learning involves thinking and
challenging accepted practices and
strategies.
 The Learning Theory

1.Anchored instructions
-become an important paradigm for
technology-based learning that has
been developed by the Cognition &
Technology Group at Vanderbilt
(CTGV) under the leadership of
John Bransford. The video materials
serve as `anchors' (macro-
contexts) for all subsequent
learning and instruction
 The Learning Theory
2. Contiguity theory
-E. Guthrie originated the contiguity theory.
Contiguity theory specifies that `a combination of
stimuli which has accompanied a movement will
on its recurrence tend to be followed by that
movement'.
-Contiguity theory further suggests that forgetting
is due to interference rather than the passage of
time; stimuli become associated with new
responses and old responses become
`unlearned'.
- In this theory, the role of motivation is to create a
state of arousal and activity that produces
responses that can be conditioned.
 The Learning Theory

2.Constructivist theory
-developed by Bruner is that learning is an active
process in which learners construct new ideas
or concepts based upon their current/past
knowledge.
-Cognitive structure (i.e. schema, mental models)
provides meaning and organization to
experiences and allows the individual to `go
beyond the information given'.
-teacher should try and encourage students to
discover principles by themselves. The teacher
and student should engage in an active dialog
(i.e. socratic learning);
-Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner
so that the student continually builds upon what
they have already learned.
 The Learning Theory
3.Conditions of learning
-Conditions of learning were developed by R. Gagne.
His theory stipulates that there are several
different types or levels of learning.
-The significance of these classifications is that
different types of learning require different types
of instruction. Gagne identifies five major
categories of learning:
 Verbal information,
 Intellectual skills,
 Cognitive strategies,
 Motor skills and
 Attitudes.
 The Learning Theory
5. Dual coding theory
-Proposed by Paivio attempts to give equal weight
to verbal and non-verbal processing.
-The theory assumes that there are two cognitive
subsystems, one specialized for the
representation and processing of nonverbal
objects/events (i.e. imagery), and the other
specialized for dealing with language.
-Dual Coding theory identified three types of
processing: (1) representational, the direct
activation of verbal or non-verbal
representations, (2) referential, the activation of
the verbal system by the nonverbal system or
vice-versa, and (3) associative processing, the
activation of representations within the same
verbal or nonverbal system.
 The Learning Theory
6.Experiential learning
-C. Rogers distinguished two types of
learning: cognitive (meaningless) and
experiential (significant).
-Rogers lists these qualities of experiential
learning as:
 Personal involvement
 Learner-initiated
 Evaluated by learner
 Pervasive effects on learner
-To Rogers, experiential learning is
equivalent to personal change and
growth.
 The Learning Theory
7.Genetic Epistemology
-Jean Piaget conducted a program of naturalistic
research that has profoundly affected our
understanding of child development.
-The concept of cognitive structure is central to his
theory. Cognitive structures are patterns of
physical or mental action that underlie specific
acts of intelligence and correspond to stages of
child development. There are four primary
cognitive structures (i.e. development stages)
according to Piaget: Four Primary Cognitive
Structures
• Sensorimotor
• Preoperations
• Concrete operations
• Formal operation
 The Learning Theory

8.Information Processing Theory

-George A. Miller has provided two theoretical ideas
that are fundamental to the information
processing framework.
-The first concept is `chunking' and the capacity of
short term (working) memory.
-A chunk could refer to digits, words, chess
positions, or people's faces.
-The second concept, that of information processing,
uses the computer as a model for human learning.
The Learning Theory
9.Lateral thinking
-Edward de Bono has written extensively about the
process of lateral thinking.
-The point of lateral thinking is that many problems
require a different perspective to solve
successfully.
-De Bono identifies four critical factors associated
with lateral thinking.Thinking
• Recognize dominant ideas that polarize the perception
of a problem

• Searching for differ ways of looking at things

• Relaxation of rigid control of thinking

• Use of chance to encourage other ideas

The Learning Theory
10.Multiple Intelligences.
-Was popularized by Howard Gardner. Multiple
Intelligences theory is a pluralized way of
understanding the intellect.
-Howard Gardner has identified seven such faculties,
which he labels as `intelligences':
 Musical Intelligence
 Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
 Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
 Linguistic Intelligence
 Spatial Intelligence
 Interpersonal Intelligence
 Intrapersonal Intelligence
The Learning Theory
11.Operant Conditioning
-The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea
that learning is a function of change in overt
behavior.
-Changes in behavior are the result of an individual's
response to events (stimuli) that occur in the
environment.
-Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner's S-R
theory. A reinforcer is anything that strengthens
the desired response.
The Learning Theory
12.Situated Learning
-J. Lave argues that learning as it normally occurs is
a function of the activity, context and culture in
which it occurs (i.e. it is situated).
-This contrasts with traditional classroom learning
activities which involve knowledge which is often
presented in an abstract form and out of context.
-Social interaction (Social Development Theory) is a
critical component of situated learning--learners
become involved in a `community of practice'
which embodies certain beliefs and behaviors to
be acquired.
 The Learning Theory

13.Social Development Theory

-The major theme of L. Vygotsky's theoretical
framework is that social interaction plays a
fundamental role in the development of cognition.
-Second aspect of Vygotsky's theory is the idea that
the potential for cognitive development is limited
to a certain time span, which he calls the `zone of
proximal development' (ZPD).
-Vygotsky's theory is a key component of situated
learning theory and anchored instruction. Because
Vygotsky's focus was on cognitive development
The End
Thank You