My Personal Theory of Learning Starr 1

Meghan Starr

CEP 800

Brandon and Thomas

6/18/2019

My Personal Theory of Learning

From the day we are born we are learning. Even though our first lessons are in tasks that

help us to survive, it is evident that the desire to learn is apart of our being from birth. Learning

is a journey that starts small and grows upon itself as we grow and develop. My personal theory

of learning is based in person growth that starts with our prior knowledge and is built by social

interactions and the meaningful connections with develop over time I always think of learning

as the construction of a skyscraper. Our skyscraper must have a strong foundation and as we

continue to add to our tower the tower gets larger and more complex. By the time we reach

the end of our life, our tower is complete with decorations, thousands of people, a parking lot,

and an amazing view of the world from the top floor.

Every learner comes into their learning environment with their prior knowledge, or

existing points of view (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 2000). I recently sat through a

professional development by Dr. Jay Marks who is the Oakland Schools’ Diversity and Equity

Consultant. Dr. Marks who described prior knowledge as students and learners entering into

the learning environment with a “backpack”. This “backpack” is not just full of books, but full

of things such as their cultural background, future goals, family problems, learning disabilities,

and even personal emotions. Bransford highlights this point when mentioning that culture can

impact our prior knowledge as learners may see social roles, morals, etc. very differently than

their peers (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 2000). In other words, prior knowledge can often
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make it difficult for learners to learn new information as they may have contradicting schemas

already developed (Cherry, 2019). For example, someone who has racial prejudice may have

difficulty accepting positive information about the group that their prejudice is focused on. In

addition, lack of prior knowledge can make it difficult for us to interpret and then transfer

information into new contexts as our schema is not fully developed (Bransford, Brown, and

Cocking, 2000). Such as a roofer will struggle to work on a roof with unfamiliar roof tiles if they

have not mastered the skills to construct a roof with their initial training materials. Finally,

learners must be willing to learn and feel connected to the task at hand if they are going to be

successful (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 2000). Without motivation, the task will become

burdensome and unsuccessful for the learner. A learner’s prior knowledge or “backpack” can

be seen as the ground in which the skyscraper is built. If that ground is shaky then this could

lead to future cracks in the foundation.

The best way to combat misconceptions in prior knowledge is to make learning visible,

which can be best done by discussion, open communication and support from others

(Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 2000). Socially shared environments are key in almost all

learning situations that occur outside of the classroom (Resnick, 1987, pg 13) as they assist us in

trying to process and make sense of the world (Putnam and Borke, pg 5).Learning does not

have to be a one person sport. Even if we think of popular sports where the athlete performs

by themselves they are constantly supported by those around them. For example, figure

skaters are nurtured by their coach, family, friends, and even fellow athletes. Vygotsky’s Social

Development Theory emphasizes social learning as so important that it comes before

development (McLeod, 2018). This mindset would lead one to hypothesize that without the

support of the figure skater’s surrounding group, success would not be possible. Additionally,

groups that learners participate in can often highlight the significance of modeling in learning.
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In Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment, children showcased aggressive behavior towards the bobo

doll after witnessing an adult be aggressive towards the doll (McLeod, 2014). In a modern

environment, if learners witness peers, adults, etc. modeling positive and productive studying

practices, learners will be more likely to follow suit. Finally, it is imperative to receive

reinforcement by peers or teachers if behaviors or learning is to occur. Skinner’s Theory of

Operant Conditioning is highlighted by conditioned (trained) responses based off positive or

negative reinforcement (Goldman, 2012). Reinforcement done by social interaction is a

powerful tool to give learners the necessary motivation to accomplish a learning goal. It is

essential to have the support beams in place in our skyscraper if we ever expect for it to not

fall, which can be accomplished by participating in socially shared environments.

By using learners’ prior knowledge and socially shared environments, learners have the

base to develop meaningful connections to what they are learning. So often learning is

associated with memorizing, however, when we memorize information we do not comprehend

those facts or figures in a deep meaningful way (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 2000) At the

core, learners have to be able to understand when information can be useful (conditionalized

knowledge), which can not happen if memorizing is the only type of learning happening

(Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 2000). In order to make meaningful connections, we must

begin my making meaningful chunks or schemas as our brains are always looking for ways to

save effort (Duhigg, 2014, pg 6). This organization will allow us to more readily use what we

have learned in other contexts to push our learning forward (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking,

2000). Once we have this base we can be readily available to utilize authentic activities, or

learning situations or activities that are similar to what professionals would do in the field

(Putnam and Borke, pg 4). Brown emphasizes to not, “separate what is learned from how it is

learned” (Brown, pg. 32). As mentioned above, motivation can inhibit our motivation to learn
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and if we do not see a purpose in our learning it may be more difficult for any learner to latch

on to the intended learning goal (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 2000). Finally, to make

meaningful connections learners need to give themselves time with small gaps in order to

reach full comprehension (Dunlosky, 2013, pgs 35-38). As the popular phrase states, “Rome

was not built in a day” and neither is personal learning. We need to give ourselves the grace to

discover ideas over time and give space in between periods of learning to be most successful.

Meaningful learning, ultimately, gives our skyscraper the “final touches” or aspects such as

interior design or paint color.

When I reach the end of my life, I hope that my skyscraper will be the epitome of

modern design. It will have the core strength of the Freedom Tower in New York and the

elegance of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. My tower and all towers are built by our prior knowledge,

social interaction, and meaningful connections ultimately made.. Our biggest task throughout

our life is embrace the excitement of the construction of our learning skyscraper and be willing

to take a minute to enjoy the view.

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References

Bransford, J. L., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind,

experience, and school (Expanded Edition). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Brown, John Seely., et al. Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Vol. 18.

Cherry, Kendra. “What Role Do Schemas Play in the Learning Process?” Verywell Mind,

Verywell Mind, 9 May 2019, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-schema-2795873.

Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Anchor

Canada, 2014.

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving

Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From

Cognitive and Educational Psychology.

Goldman, Jason G. “What Is Operant Conditioning? (and How Does It Explain Driving Dogs?).”

Scientific American Blog Network, 13 Dec. 2012,

blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/what-is-operant-conditioning

-and-how-does-it-explain-driving-dogs/.

McLeod, S. A. (2016, Feb 05). Bandura - social learning theory. Retrieved from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html
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McLeod, S. A. (2014, Feb 05). Bobo doll experiment. Retrieved from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html

Mcleod, Saul. “Vygotsky - Social Development Theory.” Vygotsky | Simply Psychology, Simply

Psychology, 5 Aug. 2018, www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html.

Putnam, Ralph T, and Hilda Borke. What Do New Views of Knowledge and Thinking Have to

Say About Research on Teacher Learning? Vol. 29.

Lauren, Resnick B. “Learning In School and Out.” Educational Researcher, vol. 16, no. 9, Dec.

1987, pp. 13–20.