MODULE 2

Learning Theories and their Impact to EPP Teaching

A. Objectives
A. The students can explain and be guided by the different learning theories needed in
EPP

B. The students can identify and used appropriate method/approach/technique in

teaching specific knowedge and skill

B. Discussion

Lesson 1

Theories of Entrepreneurship
It is a universal fact that entrepreneurship is an important factor in economic development.
An Entrepreneur is the risk bearer and works under uncertainty. But no attempts were made
by economists for formulating systematic theory of entrepreneurship.

Economic entrepreneurship theories date back to the first half of the 1700s with the
work of Richard Cantillon, who introduced the idea of entrepreneurs as risk takers. The
classic, neoclassical and Austrian Market process schools of thought all pose
explanations for entrepreneurship that focus, for the most part, on economic
conditions and the opportunities they create,

1.1. Classical Theory

The classical theory extolled the virtues of free trade, specialization, and competition
(Ricardo, 1817; Smith, 1776). The theory was the result of Britain's industrial revolution which
took place in the mid-1700 and lasted until the 1830s. The classical movement described the
directing role of the entrepreneur in the context of production and distribution of goods in a
competitive marketplace (Say, 1803). Classical theorists articulated three modes of
production: land; capital; and labor.
1.2 Neo-Classical Theory
The neo-classical model emerged from the criticisms of the classical model and indicated that
economic phenomena could be relegated to instances of pure exchange, reflect an optimal
ratio, and transpire in an economic system that was basically closed. The economic system
consisted of exchange participants, exchange occurrences, and the impact of results of the
exchange on other market actors. The importance of exchange coupled with diminishing
marginal utility created enough impetus for entrepreneurship in the neoclassical movement
(Murphy, Liao &WeIsch, 2006).
I .3 Austrian Market Process (AMP)
These unanswered questions of the neo-classical movement led to a new movement which
became known as the Austrian Market process (AMP). The AMP, a model influenced by
Joseph Aloi Schumpeter (1934) concentrated on human action in the context of an economy
of knowledge. Schumpeter (1934) described entrepreneurship as a driver of market-based
systems. In other words, an important function of an enterprise was to create something new
which resulted in processes that served as impulses for the motion of market economy,

Economic theories of entrepreneurship tend to receive significant criticism for failing to

recognize the dynamic, open nature of market systems, ignoring the unique nature of
entrepreneurial activity and downplaying the diverse contexts in which entrepreneurship
occurs.

The sociological theory centers its explanation for entrepreneurship on the various
social contexts that enable the opportunities entrepreneur's leverage. Paul D.
Reynolds, a George Washington University research professor, singles out four such
contexts: social networks, a desire for a meaningful life, ethnic identification and
social-political environment factors.

The anthropological model approaches the question of entrepreneurship by placing it

within the context of culture and examining how cultural forces, such as social
attitudes, shape both the perception of entrepreneurship and the behaviors of
entrepreneurs

Psychological theories of entrepreneurship focus on the individual and the mental or

emotional elements that drive entrepreneurial individuals. A theory put forward by
psychologist David Mc CLeIland, a Harvard emeritus professor, offers that
entrepreneurs possess a need for achievement that drives their activity. Julian Rotter,
professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, put forward a locus of control
theory. Rotter's theory holds that people With a Strong internal locus Of control
believe their actions can influence the extemal world and research suggests most
entrepreneurs possess trait. A final approach, though unsupported by research,
suggests personality traits ranging from creativity and resilience to optimism drive
entrepreneurial behavior.
Plants are autotrophic and therefore they fix the energy of the sun and manufacture
food from simple inorganic substances for almost all other organisms through
photosynthesis. Crop plants have a wide range of development and growth responses
to sunlight, day length, temperature, nutrients, and water supply. Farmers do not,
however, choose plants as crops for optimum adaptation to individual environments,
but those that are preferred food, as in developing countries, or to meet market
requirements, including global trade. In consequence, crops are managed to withstand
environmental stresses. Socioeconomic forces drive change in agriculture that is
currently challenged to increase production by 70% to feed 9.2 billion by 2050.
Green plants occupy a special place among all living things on earth, the biosphere,
because, uniquely, through their greenness, they connect earth to an external source
Of energy, the sun. They •pack' this energy into sugars or carbohydrates (CHOs) that
become the basis of all other living things, except for some chemoautotrophic
organisms, principally bacteria. This puts them at first position on the food chain that
includes all other organisms: humans, camivorous and omnivorous creatures, and
decomposers. The carbon-based organic compounds that plants accumulate in
vegetative structures and storage organs are, directly or indirectly, food for the vast
majority of organisms in the biosphere. Plants alone are independent of other
organisms by fixing carbon (C) from atmospheric carbon dioxide (C02) and producing
oxygen (02) as well as carbohydrates (CHOs). They are dependent only on mineral
nutrients and water they absorb from soil for the internal chemistry of their
metabolism. The unique process by which plants fix solar energy that then moves
through the entire food chain until the C is retumed as C02 to the atmosphere is called
photosynthesis.
Crop production is a common agricultural practice followed by worldwide farmers to
grow and produce crops to use as food and fibre. This practice includes all the feed
sources that are required to maintain and produce crops. Listed below are few
practices used during crop production.

Preparation of Soil.
Sowing Of Seeds.
Irrigation.
Application of manure, pesticides, and fertilizers to the crops.
Protecting and Harvesting Crops.
Storage and Preserving the produced Crops.

Prolific business management author, professor and corporate consultant, Peter

Drucker put forward an opportunity-based theory. Drucker contends that
entrepreneurs excel at seeing and taking advantage of possibilities created by social,
technological and cultural changes.
For example, where a business that caters to senior citizens might view a
sudden influx of younger residents to a neighborhood as a potential death stroke, an
entrepreneur might see it as a chance to open a new club.

The Resource-based theory of entrepreneurship argues that access to resources by

founders is an important predictor of opportunity based entrepreneurship and new
 venture growth (Alvarez & Busenitz, 2001 ).This theory stresses the importance of
financial, social and human resources (Aldrich, 1999). Thus, access to Honing,
2003). Financial, social and human capital represents three classes of theories
under the resource — based entrepreneurship theories.

I.FinanciaI Capital/Liquidity Theory

Empirical research has showed that the founding of new firms is more common
when people have access to financial capital (Blanchflower et al, 2001 , Evans &
Jovanovic, 1989, and Holtz-Eakin et al, 1994). By implication this theory suggests that
people with financial capital are more able to acquire resources to effectively exploit
entrepreneurial opportunities, and set up a firm to do so (Clausen, 2006).
2. Social Capital or Social Network Theory
Entrepreneurs are embedded in a larger social network structure that constitutes a
significant proportion of their opportunity structure (Clausen, 2006). Shane and
Eckhardt (2003) says "an individual may have the ability to recognize that a given
entrepreneurial opportunity exist, but might lack the social connections to
transform the opportunity into a business startup. It is thought that access to a
larger social network might help overcome this problem" (pp.333).
3. Human Capital Entrepreneurship Theory
Underlying the human capital entrepreneurship theory are two factors, education and
experience (Becker, 1975).The knowledge gained from education and experience
represents a resource that is heterogeneously distributed across individuals and in
effect central to understanding differences in opportunity identification and
exploitation (Anderson & Miller, 2003, Chandler & Hanks, 1998, Gartner et al, 2005,
Shane & Venkataraman, 2000).

Resource-based theories focus on the way individuals leverage different types of

resources to get entrepreneurial efforts off the ground. Access to capital improves the
chances of getting a new venture off the ground, but entrepreneurs often start
ventures with little ready capital.

Other types of resources entrepreneurs might leverage include social networks and the
information they provide, as well as human resources, such as education. In some
cases, the intangible elements of leadership the entrepreneur adds to the mix operate
as resource that a business cannot replace.
LESSON 2
Learning Theories and Their Impact to EPP Teaching
Introduction:
Learning theory describes how students receive, process, and retain knowledge during
learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all
play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed and knowledge
and skills retained.

Learning design should be based on learning theories because:

Theories provide a basis to understand how people learn and a way to explain, describe,
analyze and predict learning. In that sense, a theory helps us make more informed decisions
around the design, development and delivery of learning.

There are different learning theories (behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism,

connectivism, etc.). These theorists have thought deeply about learning and contemplated
and researched it extensively. Leaming designers can leverage this knowledge to think
critically about learning and education.
Learning theories offer frameworks that help understand how information is used, how
knowledge is created and how learning takes place. Learning designers can apply these
frameworks according to different learning and learner needs and make more informed
decisions about choosing the right instructional practices.

There is no one 'best' learning theory because:

Each theory offers a different way to look at leaming and the essential ingredients that
make learning happen. Using these theories as lenses, learning designers can understand and
describe the role of the learner, role of the instructor/teacher/facilitator and how learning
happens in different ways. Each theory has influenced and shaped instructional practices and
methods and all new theories will continue to do so.
Different theories provide the context of leaming, underlying motivation and methods of
teaching and these have implications for designing and delivering instruction. Also, different
theories are best suited to different learning outcomes and different audience profiles.
Since each theory comprises of facts and assumptions, learning designers must begin the
design of training by first identifying the goal of training and then select the right
theoretical framework that can help achieve those learning outcomes.

LEARNING THEORIES
Behaviorism
is a worldview that assumes a leamer 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. 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.
 The theory of behaviorism focuses on the study of observable and measurable
behavior. It emphasizes that behavior is mostly learned through conditioning and
reinforcement (rewards and punishment). It does not give much attention to the mind
and the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind. Contributions in the
development of the behaviorist theory largely came from Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike
and Skinner.

There is no one 'best' learning theory because:

Each theory Offers a different way to look at learning and the essential ingredients that
make learning happen. Using these theories as lenses, leaming designers can understand
and describe the role of the leamer, role of the instructor/teacher/facilitator and how
learning happens in different ways. Each theory has influenced and shaped instructional
practices and methods and all new theories will continue to do so.
Different theories provide the context of leaming, underlying motivation and methods of
teaching and these have implications for designing and delivering instruction. Also, different
theories are best suited to different learning outcomes and different audience profiles.
Since each theory comprises of facts and assumptions, learning designers must begin the
design of training by first identifying the goal of training and then select the right
theoretical framework that can help achieve those learning outcomes.
There are different learning theories (behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism,
connectivism, etc.). These theorists have thought deeply about learning and contemplated
and researched
it extensively.
Learning
designers can
leverage this
knowledge to
think critically
about learning
and education.

Learning
theories offer frameworks that help understand how information is used, how
knowledge is created and how learning takes place. Learning designers can apply these
frameworks according to different learning and learner needs and make more informed
decisions about choosing the right instructional practices.
Operant Conditioning

( Skinner)

Primary Laws
Reinforcement

Law of Effect Shaping Of Behavior

 Law of Exercise

Law of Readiness

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, is well known for his work

in classical conditioning or stimulus substitution. Pavlov's most
renowned experiment involved meat, a dog and a bell. Initially,
Pavlov was measuring the dog's salivation in order to study
digestion. This is when he stumbled upon classical conditioning.
Pavlov's Experiment. Before conditioning, ringing the bell
(neutral stimulus) caused no response from the dog. Placing food
(unconditioned stimulus) in front of the dog initiated salivation
(unconditional response). During conditioning, the bell was rung
a few seconds before the dog was presented with food. After conditioning, the ringing of
the bell (Conditioned stimulus) alone produced salivation (conditioned response). This is
classical conditioning.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Stage I- Before Conditioning

Bell
No Response
Neutral Stimulus
Stage 2 — During Conditoning

Bell
Neutral Stimulus

paired with

Meat Salivation
( Uncondition stimulus) (Uncondition Response)
Stage 3- After Conditioning

Bell Salivation

( Condition Stimulus) (Condition Response)

Somehow you were conditioned to associate particular objects with your teacher. So at
present, when you encounter the objects, you are also reminded of your teacher. This is an
example of classical conditioning.
Pavlov also had the following findings:
Stimulus Generalization. Once the dog has learned to salivate at the sound of the bell, it will
salivate at other similar sounds.
Extinction. If you stop pairing the bell with the food, salivation will eventually cease in
response to the bell.
Spontaneous Recovery. Extinguished responses can be "recovered" after an elapsed time,
but will soon extinguish again if the dog is not presented with food.
Discrimination. The dog could learn to discriminate between similar bells (stimuli) and
discern which bell would result in the presentation of food and which would not.
Higher-Order Conditioning. Once the dog has been conditioned to associate the bell with
food, another unconditioned stimulus, such as a light may be flashed at the same time that
the bell is rung. Eventually, the dog will salivate at the flash of the light without the sound of
the bell.

Edward Thorndike's Connectionism theory gave us the original R

framework of behavioral psychology. More than a hundred years
ago he wrote a textbook entitled, Educational Psychology. He was
the first one to use this term. He explained that learning is the
result associations forming between stimuli (S) and responses (R).
Such associations or "habits" become strengthened or weakened
by the nature and frequency Of the S-R pairings. The model for S-R
theory was trial and error learning in which certain responses came
to be repeated more than others because Of rewards. The main
of
principle connectionism (like all behavioral theory) was that
leaming could be adequately explained without considering any unobservable internal states.

Thorndike's theory on connectionism, states that learning has taken place when a
strong connection or bond between stimulus and response is formed. He came up with
three primary laws:
Law of Effect. The law of effect states that a connection between a stimulus and response is
strengthened when the consequence to positive (reward) and the connection between the
stimulus and the response is weakened when the consequence is negative. Thorndike
response is weakened when the consequence is negative. Thorndike later on, revised this
"law" when he found that negative rewards (punishment) do not necessarily weaken bonds,
and that some seemingly pleasurable consequences do not necessarily motivate
performance.
Law of Exercise. This tells us that the more an S-R (stimulus-response) bond is practiced the
stronger it will become. "Practice makes perfect" seem to be associated with this. However,
like the law of effect, the law of exercise also had to be revised when Thorndike found that
practice without feedback does not necessarily enhance performance.
Law of Readiness. This states that the more readiness the learner has to respond to the
stimulus, the stronger will be the bond between them. When a person is ready to respond to
a stimulus and is not made to respond, it becomes annoying to the person. For example, if
the teacher says, "Okay we will now watch the movie (stimulus) you've been waiting for." And
suddenly the power goes off. The students will feel frustrated because they were ready to
respond to the stimulus but was prevented from doing so. Likewise, if the person is not at all
ready to respond to stimuli and is asked to respond, that also becomes annoying. For
instance, the teacher calls a student to stand up and recite, and then the teacher asks the
question and expects the student to respond right away when he is still not ready. This will be
annoying to the student. That is why teachers should remember to say the question first, and
wait for a few seconds before calling on anyone to answer.
Principles Derived from Thorndike's Connectionism:
I. Learning requires both practice and rewards (law of effect/exercise).
2. A series of S-R connections can be chained together if they belong to the same action
sequence (law of readiness).
3. Transfer of leaming occurs because of previously encountered situations.
4. Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned.
John B. Watson was the first American psychologist to work with Pavlov's ideas. He too was
initially involved in animal studies, then later became involved in
human behavior research. He considered that humans are born
with a few reflexes and the emotional reactions of love and rage.
All other behavior is learned through stimulus-response
associations through conditioning. He believed in the power of
conditioning so much that he said that if he is given a dozen
healthy infants he can make them into anything you want them to
be, basically through making stimulus- response connections
through conditioning. Experiment on Albert
Watson applied classical conditioning in his experiment
concerning Albert, a young child and a white rat. In the beginning,
Albert was not afraid of the rat; but Watson made a sudden noise
each time Albert touched the rat. Because Albert was frightened by the loud noise, he
soon became conditioned fear and avoid the rat. Later, the child's response was
generalized to other small animals. Now, he was also afraid of small animals. Watson then
"extinguished" or made the child "unlearn" fear by showing the rat without the loud noise.
Surely, Watson's research methods would be questioned today, nevertheless, his work did
clearly show the role of conditioning in the development of
emotional responses to certain stimuli. This may help us
understand the fears, phobias, and prejudices that o le
develop.
Burrhus Frederick Skinner
Like Pavlov, Watson and Thorndike, Skinner believed in the
stimulus-response pattern of conditioned behavior. His theory
zeroed in only on changes in observable behavior, excluding
any likelihood of any processes taking place in the mind.
Skinner's 1948 book, Walden Two, is about a utopian society
based in operant conditioning. He also wrote, Science and
Human Behavior, (1953) in which he pointed out how the
principles of operant conditioning function in social institutions
such as government, law, religion, economics and education.
Skinner's work differs from that of the three behaviorists before him in that he studied
operant behavior (voluntary behaviors used in operating on the environment).

Thus, his theory came to be known as Operant Conditioning.

Operant Conditioning is based upon the notion that learning is a result of change in overt
behavior Changes in behavior are the result of an individual's response to events (stimuli)
that occur in the environment. A response produces a consequence such as defining a word,
hitting a ball, or solving a math problem. When a particular Stimulus-Response (S-R) pattern is
reinforced (rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond.
Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner's S-R theory. A reinforcer is anything that
strengthens the desired response. There is a positive reinforcer and a negative reinforcer.
A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that is given or added to increase the response. An
example of positive reinforcement is when a teacher promises extra time in the play area to
children who behave well during the lesson. Another is a mother who promises a new
cellphone for her son who gets good grades. Still, other examples include verbal phrases, star
stamps, and stickers.

A negative reinforce is any stimulus that results in the increased frequency Of a response
when it is withdrawn or removed. A negative reinforce is not a punishment, in fact it is a
reward. For instance, a teacher announces that a student who gets an average grade of 1.5
for the two grading periods will no longer take the final examination, the negative reinforce is
"removing" the final exam, which we realize is a form of reward for working hard and getting
an average grade of 1.5.
A negative reinforce is different from a punishment because a punishment is a consequence
intended to result in reduced responses. An example would be a student who always comes
late is not allowed to join a group work that has already began (punishment) and therefore,
loses points for that activity. The punishment was done to reduce the response of repeatedly
coming to class late.
Skinner also looked into extinction or non-reinforcement: Responses that are not reinforced
are not likely to be repeated. For example, ignoring a student's misbehavior may extinguish
that behavior.

Shaping of Behavior. An animal on a cage may take a very long time to figure out that
pressing a lever will produce food. To accomplish such behavior, successive approximations of
the behavior are rewarded until the animal learns the association between the lever and the
food reward. To begin shaping, the animal may be rewarded for simply turning in the
direction of the lever, then for moving toward the lever, for brushing against the lever, and
finally for pressing the lever.

Behavioral chaining comes about when a series Of steps are needed to be learned. The
animal would master each step in sequence until the entire sequence is learned. This can be
applied to a child being taught to tie a shoelace. The child can be given reinforcement
(rewards) until the entire process of tying the shoelace is learned.
Reinforcement Schedules. Once the desired behavioral response is accomplished,
reinforcement does not have to be 100%; in fact, it can be maintained more successfully
through what Skinner referred to as partial reinforcement schedules. Partial reinforcement
schedules include interval schedules and ratio schedules.
Fixed Interval Schedules. The target response is reinforced after a fixed amount of time has
passed since the last reinforcement. Example, the bird in a cage is given food (reinforce)
every 10 minutes, regardless of how many tirnes it presses the bar.
Variable Interval Schedules. This is similar to fixed interval schedules but the amount of time
that must pass between reinforcement varies. Example, the bird may receive food (reinforce)
different intervals, not every ten minutes.
Fixed Ratio Schedules. A fixed number of correct responses must occur before reinforcement
may recur. Example, the bird will be given food (reinforce) everytime it presses the bar 5
times. Variable Ratio Schedules. The number Of correct repetitions of the correct response
for reinforcement varies, example, the bird is given food (reinforcer) after it presses the bar 3
times, then after 10 times, then after 4 times. So the bird will not be able to predict how
many times it needs to press the bar before it gets food again.
Variable interval and especially, variable ratio schedules produce steadier and more
persistent rates of response because the learners cannot predict when the reinforcement will
come although they know that they will eventually succeed. An example of this is why people
continue to buy lotto tickets even when an almost negligible percentage of people actually
win. While it is true that very rarely there is a big winner, but once in a while somebody hits
the jackpot (reinforcement). People cannot predict when the jackpot can be gotten (variable
interval) so they continue to buy tickets (repetition of response).

Implication of Operant Conditioning. These implications are given for programmed

instruction.
I. Practice should take the form of question (stimulus) — answer (response) frames which
expose the student to the subject in gradual steps.
2. Require that the learner makes a response for every frame and receives immediate
feedback.
3. Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions so the response is always correct and
hence, a positive reinforcement.
4. Ensure that good performance in the lesson is paired with secondary reinforcers
such as verbal praise, prizes and good grades.

Principles Derived from Skinner's Operant Conditioning

I. Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur; intermittent reinforcement is particularly
effective.
2. Information should be presented in small amounts so that responses can be reinforced
("shaping").
3. Reinforcements will generalize across similar stimuli ("stimulus generalization")
producing secondary conditioning.

Neo Behaviorism: Tolman and Bandura

With new researchers, explanations provided by the basic principles of behaviorism appeared
not to satisfy all leaming scenarios. New theories came into view which maintained some of
the behaviorist concepts but excluded others, and added new ideas which later came to be
associated with the cognitive views of learning. The neo-behaviorists, then, were a
transitional group, bridging the gap between behaviorism and cognitive theories of learning.
Tolman's Purposive Behaviorism
Purposive behaviorism has also been referred to as Sign Learning Theory and is often
seen as the link between behaviorism and cognitive theory. Tolman's theory was
founded on two psychological views: those of the Gestalt psychologists and those of
John Watson, the behaviorist.
Tolman believed that learning is a cognitive process. Leaming involves forming believes
and obtaining knowledge about the environment and then revealing that knowledge
through purposeful and goal-directed behavior.
Tolman stated in his sign theory that an organism learns by pursuing signs to a goal.
i.e., learning is acquired through meaningful behavior. He stressed the organized
aspect of learning: "The stimuli which are allowed in are not connected by just simple
one-toone switches to the outgoing responses. Rather the incoming impulses are
usually worked over and elaborated in the central control room into a tentative
cognitive-like map of the environment. And it is this tentative map, indicating routes
and paths and environmental relationships, which finally determines what responses,
if any, the animal will finally make."
Tolman's form of behaviorism stressed the relationships between stimuli rather than
stimulus-response. Tolman said that the new stimulus (the sign) becomes associated
with already meaningful stimulus (the significate) through a series of pairings; there is
no need for reinforcement in order to establish leaming.

Tolman's Key Concepts

+ Learning is always purposive and goal-directed. Tolman asserted that learning
is always purposive and goal-directed. He held the notion that an organism
acted or responded for some adaptive purpose. He believed individuals do
more than merely responded to stimuli; they act on beliefs, attitudes,
changing conditions, and they strive toward goals. Tolman saw behavior as
holistic, purposive and cognitive.
+ Cognitive Maps in rats. In his most famous experiment, one group of rats was
placed at random starting locations in a maze but the food was always in the
same location. Another group of rats had the food placed in different
locations which always required exactly the same pattern of turns from their
starting location. The group that had the food in the same location
performed much better than the group, supposedly demonstrating that they
had learned the location rather than a specific sequence of turns. This is
tendency to "learn location" signified that rats somehow formed cognitive
maps that help them perform well on the maze. He also found out that
organisms will select the shortest or easiest path to achieve a goal.
2
 Applied in human learning, since student passes by the same route going to
school every day, he acquires a cognitive map of the location of his school. So
when the transportation re-routing is done, he can still figure out what turns to
make to get to school the shortest or easiest way.
+ Latent Learning is a kind of leaming that remains or stays with the individual until
needed. It is learning that is not outwardly manifested at once. According to
Tolman it can exist even without reinforcement. He demonstrated this in his rat
experiments wherein rats apparently "learned the maze" by forming cognitive
maps of the maze, but manifested this knowledge of the maze only when they
needed to.
Applied in human learning, a two-year old always sees her dad operate the t.v.
remote control and observes how the t.v. is turned on or how channel is
changed, and volume adjusted. After sometime, the parents are surprised that
on the first time that their daughter holds the remote control, she already
knows which buttons to press for what function. Through latent learning, the
child knew the skills beforehand, even though she has never done them before.
The concept of intervening variable. Intervening variables are variables that are
not readily seen but serve as determinants of behavior. Tolman believed that
learning is mediated or is influenced by expectations, perceptions,
representations, needs and other internal or environmental variables. Example,
in his experiments with rats he found out that hunger was an intervening
variable.
+ Reinforcement not essential for learning. Tolman concluded that reinforcement is
not essential for leaning, although it provides an incentive for performance. In
his studies, he observed that a rat was able to acquire knowledge.

SOCIAL LEARNING
Albert Bandura's Social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a
social context. It considers that people leam from one another, including such concepts
as observational learning, imitation and modeling. The ten-year old boy Sergio Pelico
did watch Saddam's execution on TV and then must have imitated it.
Among others, Albert Bandura is considered the leading proponent of this theory.
General principles of social learning theory
I. People can learn by observing the behavior of others and the outcomes of those
behaviors.
2. Leaming can occur without a change in behavior. Behaviorism say that learning
has to be represented by a permanent change in behavior, in contrast social learning
theorists say that because people can learn through observation alone, their learning
may not necessarily be shown in their performance, Learning may or may not
result in a behavior change.
3. Cognition plays a role in learning. Over the last 30 years, social learning theory
has become increasingly cognitive in its interpretation of human learning. Awareness
and expectations of future reinforcements or punishments can have a major effect on
the behaviors that people exhibit.
4. Social learning theory can be considered a bridge or a transition between
behaviorist leaming theories and cognitive learning theories.

How the environment reinforces and punishes modeling

People are often reinforced for modeling the behavior Of others. Bandura
suggested that the environment also reinforces modeling. This is in several
possible ways:
I. The observer is reinforced by the model. For examples a student who changes dress
to fit in with a certain group of students has a strong likelihood of being accepted and
thus reinforced by that group.
2. The observer is reinforced by a third person. The observer might be modeling
the actions of someone else, for example, an outstanding class leader or student. The
teacher notices this and compliments and praises the observer for modeling such
behavior thus reinforcing that behavior.
3. The initiated behavior itself leads to reinforcing consequences. Many behaviors
that we learn from others produce satisfying or reinforcing results. For example, a
student in my multimedia class could observe how the extra work a classmate does is
fun. This student in turn would do the same extra work and also experience
enjoyment.

4. Consequences of the model's behavior affect the observer's behavior

vicariously. This is known as vicarious reinforcement. This is where the model is
reinforced for a response and then the observer shows an increase in that same
response. Bandura illustrated this by having students watch a film of a model hitting
an inflated clown doll. One group of children saw the model being praised for such
action. Without being reinforced, the group of children began to also hit the doll.
Contemporary social learning perspective of reinforcement and punishment I.
Contemporary theory proposes that both reinforcement and punishment have
indirect effects on learning. They are not the sole or main cause.
2. Reinforcement and punishment influence the extent to which an individual
exhibits a behavior that has been learned.
3. The expectation of reinforcement influences cognitive processes that promote
leaming. Therefore, attentions pays a critical role in learning, and attention is
influenced by the expectation of reinforcement. An example would be, when the
teacher tells a group of students that what they will study next is not on the test.
Students will not pay attention because they do not expect to know the information
for a test.
Cognitive factors in social learning
Social learning theory has cognitive factors as well as behaviorist factors (actually
operant factors)
I. Leaming without performance: Bandura makes a distinction between learning
through observation and the actual imitation of what has been learned. This is similar
to Tolman's latent learning.

2. Cognitive processing during learning: Social learning theorists content that

attention is a critical factor in learning.

3. Expectations: As a result of being reinforced, people form expectations about

the consequences that future behaviors are likely to bring. They expect certain
behaviors to bring reinforcements and others to bring punishment. The learner needs
to be aware, however, of the response reinforcements and response punishment.
Reinforcement increases a response only when the leamer is aware of that connection.

4. Reciprocal causation: bandura proposed that behavior can influence both the
environment and the person, in fat each of these three variables, the person, the
behavior, and the environment can have an influence on each other.

5. Modeling: There are different types of models. There is the live model, an actual
person demonstrating the behavior. There can also be a symbolic model, which can be
a person or action portrayed in some other medium, such as television, videotape,
computer programs.

Behaviors that can be learned through modeling

Many behaviors can be learned, at least partly, through modeling. Examples that can
be cited are, students can watch parents read, students can watch the demonstrations
of mathematics problems, or see someone act bravely in a fearful situation. Aggression
can be learned through models. Research indicates that children become more
aggressive when they observed aggressive or violent models, Moral thin king and
moral behavior are influenced by observation and modeling. This includes moral
judgments regarding right and wrong which can, in part, develop through modeling.

Conditions necessary for effective modeling to occur

Bandura mentions four conditions that are necessary before an individual can
successfully model the behavior of someone else.
Attention — the person must first pay attention to the model.

2. Retention — the observer must be able to remember the behavior that has been
observed. One way of increasing this is using the technique of rehearsal.
3.Motor reproduction — the third condition is the ability to replicate the behavior that
the model has just demonstrated. This means that the observer has to be able to
replicate the action, which could be a problem with a learner who is not ready
developmentally to replicate the action. For example, little children have difficulty
doing complex physical motion.
 4.Motivation — the final necessary ingredient for modeling to occur is
motivation, leamers must want to demonstrate what they have learned.
Remember that since these four conditions vary among individuals, different
people will reproduce the same behavior differently.

CONTRUCTIVISM
What is meant by constructivism? The term refers to the idea that learners construct
knowledge for learner individually (and socially) constructs
he or she learns. Constructing meaning is learning; there is no other kind. The dramatic
consequences of this view are twofold;
I ) We have to focus on the learner in thinking about learning (not on the
subject/lesson to be taught):
2) There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to experience
(constructed) by the learner, or community of learners

In this quotation, "filling up the pail" is more linked to rote learning and behaviorism. It
connotes that teaching is dominated by the
teacher and the learners are passive receivers
of knowledge. "Lighting the fire" is related to
the cognitive perspective and constructivism. It
signifies that teaching involves giving
opportunities for learners to explore and
discover. Leamers construct their own
meaning. Learners generate insights and are
"enlightened".

Two Views of Constructivism

Individual Constructivism
This is also called cognitive constructivism. It emphasizes individual, internal
construction of knowledge. It is largely based on Piaget's theory. Proponents of
this type choose child-centered and discovery learning. They believe the
learners should be allowed to discover principles through their own exploration
rather than direct instruction by the teacher.
 Social Constructivism.
This view emphasizes that "knowledge exists in a social context and is
initially shared with others instead of being represented solely in the mind
of an individual." It is based on Vygotsky's theory. Here, construction of
knowledge is shared by two or more people. According to social
constructivists, the opportunity to interact and share among learners help
to shape and refine their knowledge construction becomes social, not
individual.

Characteristics of Constructivism
Whether one takes the individual or social view of constructivism, there are four
characteristics that these two views have in common. According to Eggen and Kauchak,
these are:

I. Learners construct understanding. As discussed earlier, constructivists do not view

learners as just empty vessels waiting to be filled up. They see leamers as active
thinkers who interpret new information based on what they already know. They
construct knowledge in a way that make sense to them.
2. New learning depends on current understanding. Background inform is very
important. It is through the present view or scheme that the leamer has that new
information will be interpreted.
3. Learning is facilitated by social interaction. Constructivists believe in creating a
"community of learners" within classrooms. Learning communities help leamers take
responsibility for their own learning. Learners have a lot of opportunities to cooperate
and collaborate to solve problems and discover things. Teachers play the role of a
facilitator rather than an expert who has all the knowledge.
4. Meaningful learning occurs within authentic learning tasks. An authentic task is
one that involves a leaming activity that involves constructing knowledge and
understanding that is so akin to the knowledge and understanding needed when
applied in the real world. Example, a writing activity where six-year olds prepare a
checklist of things they need to do in school is a more an authentic activity than for
them to be working only on tracing worksheets with dotted lines.

Organizing Knowledge
Concepts. A concept is a way of grouping or categorizing objects or events in our
mind. A concept of "teach" includes a group of tasks such as model, discuss,
illustrate, explain, assist, etc. In your life as a student you would learn thousands of
concepts, some simple ones, and other more complicated that may take you to leam
them more gradually. The concepts you learn are also revised as you leam more and
experience more.
 • Concepts as Feature Lists. Learning a concept involves learning specific
features that characterize positive instance of the concept. Included here are
defining features and correlational feature. A defining feature is a
characteristic present in ALL instances. Example, a triangle has three sides.
Having three sides is a defining feature of a triangle because ALL triangles
should have three sides. If one doesn't then it is not a triangle. A correlational
feature is one that is present in many positive instances but not essential for
concept membership. For example, a mother is loving. Being loving is a feature
commonly present in the concept of a mother. But a mother may not be
loving. So "being loving" is only a correlational feature, not a defining one.
• Concepts as Prototypes. A prototype is an idea or a visual image of a "typical"
example. It is usually formed based on the positive instances that learners
encounter most often. Example, close your eyes now and for a moment think
of a cat. Picture in mind what it looks like. You probably thought of an image of
the common car we see, rather than some rare breed or species. Once learners
have their own concept of prototypes, the new examples that they see are
checked against this existing prototype.
• Concepts as Exemplars. Exemplars represent a variety if examples. It allows
learners to know that an example under a concept may have variability.
Example, a learner's concept of vegetable may include a variety of different
examples like cauliflower, kangkong, cabbage, string beans, squash, corn,
potatoes. When he encounters a new type of vegetable like "bitsuelas", he
would search from the exemplars he knows and looks for one that is most
similar, like string beans.
Making Concept-learning Effective. As a future teacher, you can help students
learn concepts by doing the following:
• Provide a clear definition of the concept
• Make the definition features very concrete and prominent
• Give a variety of positive instances
• Give negative instances
• Cite a "best example" or a prototype
• Provide opportunity for learners to identify positive and negative instances
• Ask learners to think of their own example of the concept
• Point out how concepts can be related to each other
Schemas and scripts. A schema is an organized body of knowledge about something. It
is like a file of information you hold in your mind about something. Like a schema of
what a teacher is. A script is a schema that includes a series of predictable events
about a specific activity. Examples would include knowing the series of steps done
when we visit a doctor, or what transpires at the beginning of the class when the
teacher arrives. Your role as a teacher is to bring learners to construct their own
knowledge such that they have a well-organized set of concepts, aim to make clear
those concepts that are still vague for them, and to pave the way for them to
overcome misconceptions. It is important that you acquire skills on how to facilitate
concept formation and development. Constructivism can be an excellent guide for
you.
Applying constructivism in facilitating learning
• Provide lots of opportunities for quality interaction.
Applying constructivism in facilitating learning
• Provide lots of opportunities for quality interaction.

• Give varied examples.

• Relate your topic to real life situations.
• Do not depend on the explanation method all the time
• Aim to make learners understand a few key ideas in an in-depth manner,
rather than taking u so many topics superficially.
• Provide opportunities for experimentation.
• Have lots of hands-on activities.

COGNITIVISM focuses on the mind, and more specifically, mental proceses such as
thinking, knowing, memory, and problem-solving, with the goal of opening the
"black box" of the human mind, the process of which is deemed valuable and
necessary for learning to occur. Knowledge is approached as schema
constructions, and learning is viewed as a change in the learner's schemata, or
the redefining of prior knowledge.

Gestalt theory was the initial cognitive response to behaviorism. It emphasized the
importance Of sensory wholes and the dynamic nature of visual perception. The
term gestalt means "form" or "configuration." Psychologists Max Wertheimer,
Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka studied perception and concluded that perceivers
(or learners) are not passive, but rather active. They suggested that learners do not
just collect information as is but they actively process and restructure data in order
to understand it. This is the perceptual process. Certain factors impact on this
perceptual process. Factors like past experiences, needs, attitudes and one's present
situation can affect their perception.

ax Wertheimer
1880-1943
Gestalt Principles
Law of Proximity. Elements that are closer
together will be perceived as coherent objective.
On the left, there appears to be four columns,
while on the right, there appears to be four
horizontal rows. When objects we are perceiving
are near each other, we perceive
them as belonging together.

Similarity
Law of Similarity. Elements that look similar will be perceived as part of
the same form. There seems to be a triangle in
the square. We link similar elements together

Law of Closure. We tend to fill the gaps or

"close" the figures we perceive. We close a
space by completing a contour and ignoring
gaps in the figure.

Law of Good Continuation. Individuals have the tendency to continue

contours whenever the elements of the pattern
establish an implied direction. People tend to draw a
good continuous line.
Law of Good Pragnanz. The stimulus will be
organized into as good a figure as possible. In this
example, good refers to symmetry, simplicity and
regularity. Based on our experiences with
perception, we "expect" certain patterns and
therefore perceive that expected pattern.

Law of Figure/Ground. We tend to pay attention

and perceive things in the foreground first. A
stimulus will be perceived as separate from its
ground.

Insight Learning
Gestalt psychology adheres to the idea of learning taking place by discovery or insight.
The idea of insight learning was first developed by Wolfgang Kohler in which he
described experiments with apes where the apes could use boxes and sticks as tools
to solve problems. In the box problem, a banana is attached to the top of a
chimpanzee's cage. The banana is out of reach but can be reached by climbing on and
jumping from a box. Only one Kohler's apes (Sultan) could solve this problem. A much
more difficult problem which involved the stacking of boxes was introduced by Kohler.
This problem required the ape to stable stack. Kohler also gave the apes sticks which
they used to rake food into the cage. Sultan, Kohler's very intelligent ape, was able to
master a twostick problem by inserting one stick into the end of the other in order to
reach the food. In each of these problems, the important aspect of learning was not
reinforcement, but the coordination of thinking to create new organizations (of
materials). Kohler referred to this behavior as insight or discovery learning.
Gestalt Principles and the Teaching-Learning Process
The six gestalt principles not only influence perception but they also impact on
learning. Other psychologists like Kurt Lewin expounded on Gestalt psychology. His
theory focusing on "lifespace" adhered to gestalt psychology. He said that an individual
has inner and outer forces that affect his perceptions and also his learning. Inner forces
include his own motivation, attitudes, and feelings. Outer forces may include the
attitude and behavior of the teacher and classmates. All these forces interact and
impact on the person's learning.

EXPERENTIALISM
Learning by doing. This is the basis for the experiential learning theory. Experiential
learning focuses on the idea that the best ways to learn things is by actually having
experiences. Those experiences then stick out in your mind and help you retain
information and remember facts.
David Kolb is best known for his work on the experiential learning theory or ELT Kolb
published this model in 1984, getting his influence from other great theorists including
John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget. The experiential learning theory works in
four stages—concrete learning, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and
active experimentation. The first two stages of the cycle involve grasping an
experience, the second two focus on transforming an experience. Kolb argues that
effective learning is seen as the learner goes through the cycle, and that they can enter
into the cycle at any time.

Concrete learning is when a learner gets a new experience, or interprets a past

experience in a new way.

Reflective observation comes next, where the learner reflects on their

experience personally. They use the lens of their experience and understanding
to reflect on what this experience means.

Abstract conceptualization happens as the learner forms new ideas or adjusts

their thinking based on the experience and their reflection about it.

Active experimentation is where the learner applies the new ideas to the world
around them, to see if there are any modifications to be made. This process can
happen over a short period of time, or over a long span of time.
Kolb went on to explain that learners will have their own preferences for how they
enter the cycle of experiential learning, and that these preferences boil down to a
learning cycle.

Kolb's experiential learning cycle model.

The experiential learning cycle rests on the idea that each person has a specific type of
learning tendencies, and they are thus dominant in certain stages of experiential
learning. For example, some learners will be more dominant in concrete learning and
reflective observation, while others will be dominant in abstract conceptualization and
active experimentation.

The four learning styles are:

Diverging. The diverging learning style is full of learners who look at things with a
unique perspective. They want to watch instead of do, and they also have a strong
capacity to imagine. These learners usually prefer to work in groups, have broad
interests in cultures and people, and more. They usually focus on concrete leaming and
reflective observation, wanting to observe and see the situation before diving in. 2.
Assimilating. This learning style involves learners getting clear information. These
learners prefer concepts and abstracts to people, and explore using analytic models.
These learners focus on abstract conceptualization and reflective observation in the
experiential learning style.
3. Converging. Converging learners solve problems. They apply what they've
learned to practical issues, and prefer technical tasks. They are also known to
experiment with new ideas, and their learning focuses on abstract conceptualization
and active experimentation.
4. Accommodating: These learners prefer practicality. They enjoy new challenges
and use intuition to help solve problems. These learners utilize concrete learning and
active experimentation when they learn.

Experiential learning examples.

There are many ways that experiential learning is used every day. Some examples
include:
Going to the zoo to learn about animals through observation, instead of reading
about them.
Growing a garden to learn about photosynthesis instead of watching a movie about
it.
Hoping on a bicycle to try and learn to ride, instead of listening to your parent
explain the concept
Benefits of experiential learning.
There are many benefits of experiential learning for teachers and students, including:
A. Opportunity to immediately apply knowledge. Experiential learning can allow
students to immediately apply things they are learning to real-world experiences. This
helps them retain the information better.
B. Promotion of teamwork. Experiential learning often involves working in a team,
so learning in this setting allows students to practice teamwork.

C. Improved motivation, Students are more motivated and excited about learning
in experiential settings. Experiments are exciting and fun for students, and they will be
passionate about learning.
D. Opportunity for reflection. Students using the experiential model are able to
spend time reflecting about what they are experiencing and learning. This is valuable as
they are able to better retain information when they can think about what's happening
to them.
E. Real world practice. Students can greatly benefit from learning that helps them
prepare for the real world. Experiential learning is focused on using real situations to
help students learn, so they are then better prepared for their future.
 INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY:

Summarize the five (5) leaming theories and their impacts to EPP teaching
using the table below:
Behaviourism Constructivism Social Cognitivism Experientialism
Learnin
Focus of
learning
is on:
Learning
is:
EPP
teaching
impact's:
Choose 3 key concepts of Bandura's social learning theory then state how
you will apply these concepts when you teach.

4 Ke Conce ts of Albert Bandura How I will a it in teachin

m

2.
3.
4