Theories of Learning

&

Instructional Design
SPPP1042 : EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Department of Science and Mathematics Education and Creative Multimedia

School of Education
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
If we wish to know how to teach, we first must understand how
people learn. Only then can we understand both how we should
conduct instruction and why.

….we believe the art of teaching should also be informed by a

robust understanding of the learning sciences so that teachers
can align their decisions with our profession's best understanding
of how students learn..

How instructors view the role of media and technology in the

classroom depends very much on their beliefs about how people
learn.

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LEARNING THEORIES
 Learning Theories

Learning Theories are conceptual frameworks that

describe the manner in which the information is
absorbed, processed and retained during learning.
Often, the same content can be presented in different
ways. Learning Theories provide a framework for such
learning solutions.

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 LEARNING THEORIES
three basic components of learning theory

The inputs : What

triggers the The results : What are
processes to occur? these changes in
What are the performance to be
resources or explained by the
experiences that theory?
form the basis for
learning?

The means : What are the

processes by which the
results are brought about
(including any hypothesized
structures that these
processes are assumed to
operate on)?

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 LEARNING THEORIES

There are three main theories used in the field of Instructional

Design as guidelines for understanding how to develop instruction.

1. Behaviourism

2. Cognitivism

3. Constructivism
 LEARNING THEORIES : BEHAVIORISM

Behaviorism

Based on behavioral changes. Focuses on a new behavioral

pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic

A theory that equates that learning with changes in observable

behavior
 LEARNING THEORIES : BEHAVIORISM

Pavlov (1849- Thorndike (1874- Watson (1878- Skinner (1904-

1936) 1949) 1958) 1990)
Conducted Studied human Behaviour is Developed the
experiments psychology and established principles of
involved food, a developed through stimulus- operant
dog and a bell. Connectionism response conditioning
Known for his theory (where associations function including
work in classical learning was the through positive
conditioning or formation of a conditioning. reinforcement
stimulus connection Conducted (reward), negative
substitution. between stimulus experiment using reinforcement,
and responses) a young boy and a non-
rat. reinforcement
(extinction) and
punishment
LEARNING THEORIES : BEHAVIORISM

BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE

• B. F. Skinner
• Observable behavior
• Reinforcement or rewards
• Foundation for computer assisted
instruction
• Does not reinforce higher-level skills
• Basic knowledge or skills

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LEARNING THEORIES : BEHAVIORISM

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LEARNING THEORIES : COGNITIVISM

Cognitivism
Cognitivism is based on the thought process
behind the behaviour. Changes in behaviour
are observed, but only as an indicator to what
is going on in the learner's head.

Key players :
Jean Piaget, and Miller and Brunner.
 LEARNING THEORIES : COGNITIVISM

COGNITIVIST PERSPECTIVE

• Jean Piaget
• How learners receive, process, and manipulate
information
• Mental models
• Cognitive strategies
• Independent learners
• Compromise between teaching the required
standards and the metacognitive approach to
teaching the 21st century learner

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 LEARNING THEORIES : COGNITIVISM
Key concepts of Cognitive Theory

Three-Stage
Schema Information Mnemonic Effects
Processing Model
• The mental • Input first enters a • Mnemonics are
structures by which sensory register, strategies used by
individuals organise then is processed in learners to organize
their perceived short-term memory, relatively
environment - an and then is meaningless input
internal knowledge transferred to long- into more
structure. New term memory for meaningful images
information is storage and or semantic contexts
compared to retrieval.
existing cognitive
structures called
"schema“.
LEARNING THEORIES : COGNITIVISM

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 LEARNING THEORIES : COGNITIVISM

Key concepts of Cognitive Theory –cont.

• Assimilation
• Accommodation
• Meaningful Effects
• Serial Position Effects
• Transfer Effects
• Levels of Processing Effects
• Schema Effects
• etc
 LEARNING THEORIES : CONSTRUCTIVISM

Constructivism

Learners are active creators of

knowledge who learn by
observing, manipulating,
interpreting the world around
them

This is because knowledge is not

received from outside, instead, we
construct knowledge in our head
 LEARNING THEORIES : CONSTRUCTIVISM

CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVE

• Engagement of students in meaningful experiences

• Active problem solving and discovery
• Interpret information for their own understanding
• Authentic tasks
• Use of knowledge to facilitate thinking in real life
• 21st century learners will need solve problems and
seek information or skills to finding effective
solutions

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 LEARNING THEORIES : CONSTRUCTIVISM

In creating educational environment, constructivist educators suggest designers

should facilitate the construction of knowledge.

Emphasise learning Emphasis active Use discovery or guided

rather than teaching learning discovery

Encourage learners
Support learners’ construction of
reflections information and projects
 LEARNING THEORIES : CONSTRUCTIVISM

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

• Robert Slavin
• cooperative learning
• Social organization of the classroom
• independent study
• small groups
• whole group
• Student control
• Reward structure
• 21st century learners arrive with skills developed from
technology-based social networking

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 LEARNING THEORIES

But remember

In reality, those who cling to a single approach (behavioral,

cognitive, or constructivist) are relatively few, and the
majority of learning psychologists, educators and
instructional designers prefer to merge various principles of
behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist paradigm into one
integrated approach (Alessi and Trollip, 2001).

• Good site to visit :

https://sites.google.com/site/2012ide621disun/home
Instructional Design

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 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Instructional Design is the science of

Instructional Design is defined as “a
systematic process that is employed
to develop education and training
programs in a consistent and
reliable fashion” (Reiser, Dempsey,
2007).
creating detailed specifications for
the development, implementation,
evaluation, and maintenance of
situations that facilitate the learning
of both large and small units of
subject matter at all levels of
complexity.

Instructional Design is the systematic development of instructional

specifications using learning and instructional theory to ensure the quality
of instruction. It is the entire process of analysis of learning needs and
goals and the development of a delivery system to meet those needs. It
includes development of instructional materials and activities; and tryout
and evaluation of all instruction and learner activities.
Source: www.umich.edu

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 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Why do we have to Design the Instruction?

To increase and enhance the possibility of learning

To make the acquisition of knowledge and skill more

efficient, effective, and appealing

To encourage the engagement of learners so that

they learn faster and gain deeper levels of
understanding

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 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
Instructional design (ID) is based on three psychological
principles of learning: behavioral, cognitive and
constructivist.
Behavioral psychology
• advocates repetition and reinforcement in learning material to
create a “behavior” in the learner

Cognitive psychology
• focuses on engaging the learner’s senses to create a learning
process,

Constructivism
• emphasizes the learner’s own experience and personal
interpretation.
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 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN MODELS

WHAT IS AN INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN (ID) MODEL?

• An Instructional design model is a method, for example, a

general design rule on how to teach/bring to learn.
• Usually restricted to a given class of subjects and contexts.
• Instructional design models usually have a stronger focus on
learning theory than instructional design methods.
 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN MODELS

There have been multiple instructional design models developed and

implemented over the years. For example:

• ASSURE model
• Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction
• ADDIE Model
• ARCS
• Kemp
• Dick & Carey
• ….

• .
• .
 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN MODELS

ASSURE’S MODEL
(Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, D. J., & Smaldino, E. S., (2002))
 ASSURE MODELS

Analyse Learners
•The audience can be analyzed in terms of their general characteristics (grade level, age) and specific entry competencies
(prior knowledge, skills, and attitudes about the topic, and learning styles).

State Standards and Objectives

•State the objectives for the lesson or presentation. Objectives must be stated in terms of what the learner will do (stated
in behavioral terms) as the result of instruction, the conditions under which the performance will be observed, and the
degree to which the new knowledge or skills must be mastered (ABCD of objective)

Select Strategies, Technology, Media and Materials

•Choose strategies, technology, and media, and materials to achieve the objectives You may select available materials,
modify existing materials, or design new materials to help accomplish this task.

Utilise Technology, Media and Materials

•Decide how the materials will be used by the students; Preview the technology, media, and materials; Prepare the
technology, media, and materials; Prepare the environment; Prepare the learners; and Provide the learning experience

Require Learner Participation

•Learners need to practice what they have learned. Describe how the learners will actively use the materials you have
selected. Provide feedback before any type of evaluation is administered.

Evaluate and Revise

•After instruction, evaluate the entire instructional process.
•Did the learners meet the objectives? Did the media/materials assist the learners in reaching those objectives?
•If there are discrepancies between what you intended and what actually happened during the lesson, make appropriate
revisions
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 ID MODEL : ASSURE MODEL

GAGNE’S 9 EVENTS OF INSTRUCTIONS

 Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction

1 • Gain Attention

2 • Inform learners of objectives

3 • Stimulate recall of prior learning

4 • Present the content

5 • Provide “learning guidance”

6 • Elicit performance (practice)

7 • Provide feedback

8 • Assess performance

9 • Enhance retention and transfer to the job

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 ID MODELS : GAGNE’S 9 EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

Gain Attention
• Obtain students’ attention so that they will watch and listen while the
instructor presents the learning content.
• e.g. present a good problem, a new situation, use a multimedia
advertisement, ask questions.
• This helps to ground the lesson, and to motivate

Inform learner of objectives

• e.g. state what students will be able to accomplish and how they will be able
to use the knowledge, give a demonstration if appropriate.
• Allows students to frame information, i.e. treat it better.

Stimulate recall of prior learning

• e.g. remind the student of prior knowledge relevant to the current lesson
(facts, rules, procedures or skills). Show how knowledge is connected,
provide the student with a framework that helps learning and remembering.
Tests can be included.
 ID MODELS : GAGNE’S 9 EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

Provide the Content

• Utilize a variety of methods including lecture, readings, activities, projects,
multimedia, and others

Provide learning guidance

• Provide students with instructions on how to learn, such as guided activities. With
learning guidance, the rate of learning increases because students are less likely
to lose time or become frustrated by basing performance on incorrect facts or
poorly understood concepts.
• e.g. presentation of content is different from instructions on how to learn. Use of
different channel (e.g. side-boxes)

Elicit performance
• Allow students to apply knowledge and skills learned.
• let the learner do something with the newly acquired behaviour, practice skills or
apply knowledge.
 ID MODELS : GAGNE’S 9 EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION
.
Provide feedback
• Allow students to receive feedback on individualized tasks, thereby
correcting isolated problems rather than having little idea of where
problems and inconsistencies in learning are occurring.show
correctness of the trainee's response, analyse learner's behaviour,
maybe present a good (step-by-step) solution of the problem

Assess performance
• Allow students to see content areas that they have not mastered.
• if the lesson has been learned. Also give sometimes general
progress information

Enhance retention & transfer

• Allow students to apply information to personal contexts. This
increases retention by personalizing information.
• e.g. inform the learner about similar problem situations, provide
additional practice. Put the learner in a transfer situation. Maybe let
the learner review the lesson.
 ID MODELS : ADDIE

ADDIE’S MODEL
 ID MODELS : ADDIE

Analysis

Implementation Design

Design Develop

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 ID MODELS : ADDIE

Analysis Phase

• Analysis phase is where you will gather all of the

information you have at the outset of the project to
define your approach. This information includes:
• Instructional objectives, or what you wish to teach to
the students
• Who the learners are, their abilities and circumstances
• The setting and model of information delivery (online,
classroom, workplace?)
• Teaching considerations and barriers to learning
• The timeline you’re working with

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 ID MODELS : ADDIE

Design

• Design is a systematic method for putting various teaching tools in

place to create an overall approach to individual lessons and subject
matter as a whole. In the ADDIE model design phase, you will begin
to define concrete components of the instruction you will develop.
• These include:
• Learning objectives: detail what the student should learn rather
than what the materials should teach
• Assessment instruments, or what you will use to ensure student
learning is on track (i.e. written tests, reflections, performance
tests)
• Content and exercises
• Lesson planning
• Media selection, or how you will get the information to the student

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 ID MODELS : ADDIE

Development
• Development phase builds on the design step , Developers will build out
the prototype, creating actual materials as planned in the previous phase.
If instructional designers fail to create appropriate materials for students
to use and learn from, they may fail in meeting their learning objectives.
Even if a design reads fabulously on paper unless it is executed well, the
entire training process may flop. ADDIE development includes:
• Creating the actual content that learners will receive throughout the
course of instruction
• Creating storyboards of how content will be presented
• Building out exercises and other materials that students will use to aid in
their learning
• Creating e-learning materials, if distance or online learning is involved
• Building the technological platforms that will be used
• Planning for and integrating all technology intended for inclusion in the
training program

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 ID MODELS : ADDIE

Implementation

• Implementation is the phase in which learners actually receive

the instruction and materials prepared for them throughout the
previous three steps of the ADDIE model.
• the most important step because it is where the learning actually
occurs

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 ID MODELS : ADDIE

Evaluation

• Evaluation happens in many ways throughout the course

of this model, and not just in the final stage. 2 types of
evaluation
• Formative evaluation happens in every step. This is
where you ask questions related to the content you’re
developing with the goal of ensuring that it is meeting
your objectives and building successfully on previous
steps.
• Summative ADDIE evaluation is more formal, and it can
really help you see where your process needs more
work.

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 ID MODELS : ADDIE

ADDIE Model, Diagram by: Steven J. McGriff,

Instructional Systems, College of Education, Penn State University
 Conclusion
• In order to teach we need to know how
people learn – we need to know learning
theories
• To create effective instruction, the instruction
should be planned and designed
• There models that can be used as guide to
design instruction

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 Take home task :
Find out about ARCS Model and discuss it in
E-Learning

What is?
Implications on teaching and learning?
etc…..

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THANK YOU

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• Behaviorism is a worldview that assumes a learner is
essentially passive, responding to environmental stimuli. The
learner starts off as a clean slate (i.e. tabula rasa) and
behavior is shaped through positive reinforcement or negative
reinforcement[2]. Both positive reinforcement and negative
reinforcement increase the probability that the antecedent
behavior will happen again. In contrast, punishment (both
positive and negative) decreases the likelihood that the
antecedent behavior will happen again. Positive indicates the
application of a stimulus; Negative indicates the withholding
of a stimulus. Learning is therefore defined as a change in
behavior in the learner. Lots of (early) behaviorist work was
done with animals (e.g. Pavlov’s dogs) and generalized to
humans[3]. 47
• The cognitivist revolution replaced behaviorism in 1960s as the dominant
paradigm. Cognitivism focuses on the inner mental activities – opening the “black
box” of the human mind is valuable and necessary for understanding how people
learn. Mental processes such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving
need to be explored. Knowledge can be seen as schema or symbolic mental
constructions. Learning is defined as change in a learner’s schemata[1][2].

• A response to behaviorism, people are not “programmed animals” that merely

respond to environmental stimuli; people are rational beings that require active
participation in order to learn, and whose actions are a consequence of thinking.
Changes in behavior are observed, but only as an indication of what is occurring in
the learner’s head. Cognitivism uses the metaphor of the mind as computer:
information comes in, is being processed, and leads to certain outcomes.

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 Constructivism
• A reaction to didactic approaches such as behaviorism and programmed
instruction, constructivism states that learning is an active, contextualized process
of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring it. Knowledge is constructed
based on personal experiences and hypotheses of the environment. Learners
continuously test these hypotheses through social negotiation. Each person has a
different interpretation and construction of knowledge process. The learner is not
a blank slate (tabula rasa) but brings past experiences and cultural factors to a
situation[3][4].

• NOTE: A common misunderstanding regarding constructivism is that instructors

should never tell students anything directly but, instead, should always allow them
to construct knowledge for themselves. This is actually confusing a theory of
pedagogy (teaching) with a theory of knowing. Constructivism assumes that all
knowledge is constructed from the learner’s previous knowledge, regardless of
how one is taught. Thus, even listening to a lecture involves active attempts to
construct new knowledge.

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