GOOD MORNING

Learning
• Very familiar with the term learning
• One of the most important characteristics of human
beings is their capacity to learn.
• An individual starts learning immediately after his birth
• Our personality- our habits, skills, knowledge,
attitudes, interests and character is largely the result of
learning.
• Learning is a change in behavior or in potential
behavior that occurs as a result of experience. 
• Learning occurs most rapidly on a schedule of
continuous reinforcement.
• Learning is acquiring new, or modifying and
reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviors, skills,
values, or preferences and may involve
synthesizing different types of information.
• Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.
• Learning is not compulsory; it is contextual.
• To that end, learning may be viewed as a process,
rather than a collection of factual and procedural
knowledge.
• It is the central process to all our behavior.
• There is learning while we do various activities like
speaking, writing, thinking, playing etc.
• Our attitudes and emotional expressions are also
learned behaviors.
• All our adaptive as well as un-adaptive, cognitive as
well as affective (emotional) behaviors are formed by
learning processes.
• These are of vital importance in helping the person to
adapt to his changing environment.
• Learning is a goal-directed act.
• Learning produces changes in the organism
and the changes produced are relatively
permanent.
 Definition

• According to Gates and others “learning is the

modification of behavior through experience
and training.”
• According to G.D. Boaz “Learning is the
process by which the individual acquires
various habits, knowledge and attitudes that
are necessary to meet the demand of life in
general”.
 Learning is:

• “a persisting change in human performance or

performance potential . . . (brought) about as a result of
the learner’s interaction with the environment”
(Driscoll, 1994)
• “the relatively permanent change in a person’s knowledge
or behavior due to experience” (Mayer, 1982, ).
• “an enduring (continuing and permanent) change in
behavior, or in the capacity to behave in a given fashion,
which results from practice or other forms of
experience” (Shuell,).
• According to Crow and Crow “Learning is the
acquisition (gaining) of habits, knowledge and
attitudes. It involves new ways of doing things
and it operates in an individual’s attempt to
overcome obstacles or to adjust to new
situations.”
• According to Murthy, Gates and others,
“Learning is any relatively permanent change
or modification of behavior that results as a
result of experience or reinforced practice”.
• Learning can be defined as the mental activity
by means of which knowledge, skills, attitudes,
appreciations, and ideals are acquired,
resulting in the modification of behaviour.
Learning has three main basic components which are given below:

Learning is a change in behavior.

• The change may be positive (e.g. learning to
swim) or negative (e.g. learning to smoke).
• In other words change in behavior may be
better/improved or worse.
It is a change that takes place through practice
and experience.
• The changes in behaviors that are the result of
growth, maturation, instincts, fatigue, illness
and drugs are not learning.
 Before it can be called learning, the change
must be relatively permanent;
• it must last a fairly long time, although how
long a change must last cannot be specified.
 
 Types of learning

• Cognitive learning
• Affective learning
• Psychomotor learning
 Cognitive learning

• The learning is concerned with knowledge

outcomes and intellectual abilities and skills.
• In other words, the activities that are
concerned with the intellectual or thinking
process fall into this learning type.
• It includes learning of concepts, principles,
comprehension, application, generalization,
analysis, synthesis and problem solving etc.
 Affective learning

The affective learning relates to ethics,

standards or principles of moral actions, moral
judgment; the reasoning compatible/well
match with standards of right behaviour; value
indicators such as developing attitudes,
interest, beliefs , habits and goals.
 
 Psychomotor learning

• The psychomotor learning is concerned with the

development of motor skills.
• Therefore the psychomotor learning emphasize
on motor skill, manipulation of materials and
objects or some acts which require a
neuromuscular coordination such as walking,
dancing, typing, inserting catheter, doing
operation, taking vital signs and suturing etc.
 
 Types of Learning Styles:

1) There are three main types of learning styles:

auditory, visual, and kinesthetic/ “hands-on”.
• Most people learn best through a combination
of the three types of learning styles, but
everybody is different.
 Auditory Learners: Hear

• Retains information through hearing and

speaking
• Notices different aspects of speaking
• Other noises may become a distraction
resulting in a need for a relatively quiet place.
 Visual Learners: See
• Visual learners learn best by looking at graphics,
watching a demonstration, or reading.
• Can read body language well
• For them, it’s easy to look at charts and graphs.
• Able to memorize and recall various information
• Learns better in lectures by watching them
 Kinesthetic Learners: Touch
• Kinesthetic learners process information best
through a “hands-on” experience.
• Actually doing an activity can be the easiest
way for them to learn.
• Is generally good in math and science
 Characteristics of learning

Learning is unitary:
• a learner responds to total learning situation in
his visual field- learning field organized as a
whole unit- rather than to a single stimulus, to
which the learner also responds as a whole
person- physically, psychologically, emotionally ,
intellectually and spiritually to acquire an
insightful learning.
• (Having the indivisible character of a unit; whole.)
Learning is individual:
• Each learner is unique according to their physical,
mental and emotional make up and needs.
 
Learning is purposeful:
• Learning is always purposeful and goal directed.
• Unless there is a goal it does not direct or motivate
the learner to learn new habits.
 
Learning is self active:
• An individual learner cannot learn unless he/
she reacts to the learning situation.
• Since learning is an individual process, each
individual learner must make individual effort
to seek for the learning opportunity in his/ her
learning situation.
Learning is creative:
• During learning, an individual receives the
information not only as presented to him /
her, but through his / her creative thinking
looks for new relationships to describe and
interpret the nature of things, events and
situation, that cannot be prescribed by any
rules or thumb.
 Learning is transferable:

• learning involves developing insight or understanding

by relating new ideas or mental states to a store of old
ones.
• The generalization of this understanding of the
relationship can be transferred from earlier situation
to other new situations, is called transform of
learning.
• In the same way, what is learned in one situation or
context will be applied to another situation or context.
 Process of learning

• Learning process is concerned with the dynamic

of learning and the sequence and the process of
change in behaviour of the individual learner and
the group of learners.
• In other words, learning process concerns itself
with creating the learning situation and the
organization of learning situation.
• The modern point of view looks at learning as a
complex process- information processing – taking
place in learner’s mind.
 Steps in learning

• As stated earlier, learning is the change in

behaviors that results from the experience
gained by a person by responding or interacting
with to his/ her environment.
• Learning is therefore a process not the product
and goes through certain steps.
• For a better understanding of student’s learning
a teacher has to be well aware of these steps of
learning process.
 Goal

• The drives and urges which create need

deficits, act as motivate to interact with
environment to reach the goal i.e. to gain the
satisfaction through the need fulfillment.
• In a learning situation the learner wishes to
learn those new response patterns or abilities
(learn new behavior) which will be required to
reach some desired consequences or end
results that he/she wants to attain.
• In other words, if learning is goal oriented for
present of future purpose it will direct the
learner to face the stimuli (bring changes or
modifications in his/ her behaviour).
• In other words, unlike involved in automatic
machine like responses, the learner has to be
well acquainted (familiar) with the specific
aims and purposes of the learning.
 Stimuli

• A person is presented with various stimuli in

the form of object or person or symbol to
which he attends or responds selectively
through his/ her various sensory organs such
as ear, nose, eyes, tongue and skins etc.
• Guide him / her to choose which stimuli to
respond to or which new behaviour to learn.
• The process of choosing certain stimuli for further
processing is the ‘selection’.
• Individual cannot assimilate (understand) all that they
respond to observe so they prefer to respond to certain
stimuli that are most relevant (applicable) to him/ her.
• The type, size, intensity, and mobility of the stimuli
motives (drives and urges) of the person, his readiness
of mind and interest and attention of the person, etc.
affect this process of ‘selection’.
 
 Perception

• The environment around people is always full of stimuli but

many are not aware of all of those.
• Unless (except) the subconscious mind becomes aware or
conscious of the stimuli by appraising (valuing) the
situation and relating to the past experience people cannot
interact with the environment.
• Even if people are aware of those stimuli, everybody does
not view them the same way as their perceptions differ
individually this is why as all do not have the same view of
the world.
• The perception, one of the important
cognitive factors in human being, is the
process whereby people select, organize and
interpret sensory stimulation and obtain
meaning from it.
• In other words the process of assimilating
stimuli in a meaningful and organized way is
known as ‘perceiving’.
• After the selection of relevant stimuli, a person
organizes the stimuli received into groups on the
basis of similarity or proximity basis so as to
make it more meaningful and understandable.
• With the process of association and
differentiation which helps in clarification and
decreasing of irrelevant information, a mental
picture is formed and integrated as the concept.
• In the act of responding to the stimuli- objects or
events or ideas and relating it with the existing concept
or mental picture helps to identify it.
• This process of assimilating new responses with
previously made responses and then relating the new
response with the cold one is called integration.
• Then the learner interprets the perceived events or
concepts to give it a meaning.
• The manner in which a person perceives the
environment affects his/ her behaviour.
 Factors affecting learning
Motivation:
• The role of motivation in learning is very important.
• Motivation is the heart of the learning process.
• All learning is not the same; it differs according to the level
of motivation.
• The stronger and clearer the motive in learning anything,
the greater will be effort and interest shown by the learner
in learning it.
• The direction of learning will depend upon the individual to
act.
• The result is greater and more permanent learning if there is
present of motivation.
 
Physical maturation:
• It is also necessary for effective learning.
• Maturation helps in the process of learning.
• For e.g. a child cannot learn to write unless he
has developed the neuro- muscular co-
ordination for learning.
 
Intelligence:
• intelligence enables us to understand things,
to see the relationship between things, to
reason and judge correctly and critically.
• Learning cannot take place effectively without
intelligence.
Physical condition of the learner:
• physical condition of the learner is an important factor.
• An unhealthy person lacks energy which is very
important for effective learning.
• The people with abnormalities in their brain are found
to have low learning capacity.
• Similarly poor health, sensory defects hinder effective
learning.
 
Good working condition:
• Favorable environment such as fresh air, light,
comfortable surroundings, equable
temperature, absence or distractions like
noise etc. are great aid in learning effectively.
 
Mental health of the learner:
• Experiments have shown that worries fears,
persistent day-dreams, feeling of loneliness, and
inferiority complex etc. militates (To have force
or influence; bring about an effect or a change)
against learning.
• If the learner has no self- confidence, self
reliance or self respect due to the attitudes of
the teachers and others, it is very difficult for
him or her to learn well.
• Interest and curiosity: Anything which arouses
curiosity or increase interest is likely to facilitate
learning.
• Interest and curiosity are increased if the study
is related to our own personal lives or it has
direct application to everyday life.
• If the learning is happened with the high
interest and high curiosity, the learning
occurred more effective.
Associating things as parts of a total situation:
• All related material which has been learned
previously should be associated with new learning.
• This means that different aspects of the learning
situation should be connected.
• For e.g. while learning a new nursing procedure, a
student nurse should see its connections with
anatomy, physiology, chemistry etc. that had
already been discussed.
Length of the working period:
• the periods of work should neither be too long
nor be too short.
• There might be tendency to forget if the
learning period is too short.
• While after the learner has worked for a fairly
longer period, fatigue sets in and reduces the
effectiveness of learning.
Classroom Environment
• Maintaining a good classroom environment is a critical
factor for effective learning.
• If students aren't in the right frame of mind, they
aren't likely to learn very much.
• The best teachers are able to skillfully control the
atmosphere in a classroom, maintaining discipline and
positivity.
• This comes naturally to some teachers, while others
may have to learn from experience
Understanding level of learners
• Learners are all different, and the mix of abilities in a
given classroom can be extremely diverse.
• For example, some students are better at reading, while
others have a talent for math or have difficulty focusing.
• Good teachers can identify and provide to different
learning styles so that every student gets an effective
lesson.
• These teachers will be able to zero in on the students
who need more help, and provide that help in an
effective way.
Incentives and Disincentives
• One of the most important factors in effective
learning is getting students motivated to learn.
• Teachers may provide incentives for students who
do well and disincentives for those who don't try.
• It's usually a bad idea to punish failure in cases
where students are simply lacking a talent for the
subject, but lack of effort should be strongly
discouraged.
• Rewards can be immaterial things like praise
or special privileges.
• Disincentives can be things like constructive
criticism, or requiring students to use
recreational time for extra studies.
 Knowledge

• It's important for teachers to have a good knowledge of

the subject they are teaching.
• In fact, in public schools through high school, some
teachers have only a basic grasp of the subjects they
teach, and may be very reliant on textbooks and other
teaching materials.
• These teachers might have trouble answering students'
questions, or helping them overcome difficulties.
• But even teachers with very basic knowledge can get by
if they follow their lesson guidelines.
 Proper Materials

• The course materials and curriculum that a teacher

uses are very important factors in learning.
• Teachers using books with limited or outdated
information can do everything else right and still
end up with poor results.
• It will generally depend on the finances of the
school to buy the best materials available, and the
wisdom of school administrators to make good
decisions regarding curriculum.
 Others

Nature of the learner

• Perception:
• Organic defects:
• Fatigue:
• Age:
• The level of intelligence:
• The need, interest, and level of maturation
• Pace (velocity) of learning:
Nature of the material and environment
• Learning materials/resources
• Learning environment / experience/ methods
of learning
• nature of the text to be learned
 Principles of learning

• The principles of learning based on different

theories of learning that explain how learning
takes place, is connected with how to help the
learners to learn best are given below:
 Principle of readiness: -

• Readiness implies a degree of concentration

and eagerness.
• Learning takes place best when a person is
ready to learn so Individuals learn best when
they are physically, mentally, and emotionally
ready to learn.
• "When a bond is ready to act, act gives
satisfaction and not to act gives annoyance
(irritation).
• When a bond which is not ready to act, is made to
act, annoyance (irritation) is caused."
• If students have a strong purpose, a clear objective,
and a definite reason for learning something, they
make more progress than if they lack motivation.
• Getting students ready to learn, creating interest by
showing the value of the subject matter, and
providing continuous mental or physical challenge,
is usually the instructor’s responsibility.
• Some kind of preparatory attitude or a mindset is
necessary to start learning.
• The learner should be stimulated to learn new things
in such way that he obtains satisfaction out of learning
that.
• If the teacher teaches his students when their minds
are set, learning will take place.
• Otherwise all his teaching will fall flat. Since learning
is an active process, students must have adequate
rest, health, and physical ability.
• Basic needs of students must be satisfied
before they are ready or capable of learning.
• Students who are exhausted or in ill health
cannot learn much.
 Principle of exercise: -

• The principle of exercise states that those

things most often repeated are best
remembered.
• It is the basis of drill and practice.
• It has been proven that students learn best
and retain information longer when they have
meaningful practice and repetition.
• According to Thorndike this Law has two
aspects
• (i) Law of Use and (ii) Law of Disuse.
• The Law of Use states, "When a modifiable
connection is made between a situation and a
response, that connection's strength is, other
things being equal increased."
• Similarly, the Law of Disuse states, "When a
modifiable connection is not made between a
situation and response, over a length of time,
which connection's strength is decreased."
• It is our experience that whenever any action is
repeated, it becomes easy and prompts.
• We read and reread lessons a number of times to
master them.
• We play and replay a musical tune a number of
times to be able to play it easily and accurately.
• Repetitions of activities fix knowledge and skills to be
learned.
• Practice makes perfect.
• Lack of practice weakens our memory and skills. It may
be said that longer is the period of disuse, greater is the
loss of memory as well as weakening of skills.
• Words which are spelled by us frequently are
remembered very well.
• The words which are frequently used by us in writing
and conversation are not easily forgotten.
• Exercise or drilling is found more effective
when it is associated with pleasure and
purpose.
• The teacher should therefore make the
practices purposeful and interesting in order
to ensure better learning.
 Principle of effect:-

 
• The principle of effect is based on the emotional
reaction of the student.
• According-to Thorndike, the principle of effect is the
fundamental law of learning.
• It has a direct relationship to motivation.
• The principle of effect is that learning is strengthened
when accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying feeling,
and that learning is weakened when associated with an
unpleasant feeling.
• An action which brings a feeling of pleasure is more
effectively learnt, whereas an action which brings a
feeling of displeasure is not properly learned.
• When an action is associated with a feeling of the
annoyance the individual tends to avoid it.
• If the child succeeds in doing a thing, in solving
problem, in working out a sum, he is pleased about
his achievement and this feeling of satisfaction
motivates him to do better and make further
efforts.
• Success leads to further success and failure leads to
further failures.
• Repetition or practice without satisfaction is of no use.
• We do a thing again and again but we will not learn it if
does yield satisfaction or pleasure.
• Every learning experience does not have to be entirely
successful, nor does the student have to master each
lesson completely.
• However, every learning experience should contain
elements that leave the student with some good feelings.
 Principle of relevancy:

• The meaning of relevancy is the relation of

something to the matter at hand.
• If the learner is well familiar (acquainted) with
the aims and purposes of learning and if he /
she finds what is being planned as the learning
experience is relevant or meaningful to his
present goal as well as future task, it will
arouse his interest and motivate him to learn.
• Similarly, learners understand and remember
better, if they can fit their learning into their
ultimate goal.
• The implication here for the teacher is that
those learning experiences selected for
learner must relate to his present purpose and
be meaningful for his future tasks.
 Principle of sequence:

• Learning is a continuous process.

• We build on our knowledge by adding to what
we already know.
• Learner will comprehend better if the learning
experiences are sequenced in coherent (logical)
rational orders that enables to bring the required
change in his cognitive structure- acquire new
insight or bring change in the old one.
•
The following sequential framework is
recommended for effective learning:
• Learning from known to unknown
• Learning from simple to complex
• Learning from examples to principles
• Learning from concrete experience to abstract
concept
• Apart from the individual difference, the rate of
expected learning differences, the rate of expected
learning is related to the complexity of the content.
• The learning that is organized in such a way as to
start from facts and knowledge and then move to
concept formation, principles and eventually to
highest intellectual levels like problem solving,
predictions and inferences will result in meaningful
learning.
 Principle of repetition

• Learning is a required changing in one’s

cognitive structure and this change may occur
better with repetition.
• In the same way, a few repeated exposure of
the learner to the learning situation is more
likely to bring the required changes in his
cognitive structure.
• If the learner is exposed repetitively to gain
same response in variety of stimulus situation,
learning is more likely to occur.
• For example, reading, writing and using audio-
visual aids to illustrate the same information
would help in better learning but establishing
and strengthening the connection between
stimuli and response.
 Principle of active participation

• The active involvement of learner in the

learning process through interactive
discussion, question and answers, home
assignment, individual / group presentation
will help him/her in achieving learning better
by arousing his/ her interest in learning.
• The development of attitude, interest in skill is
only possible through active participation by
the learner
• such as practice in a real situation will help
better in developing teaching skills than simply
learning through the books how to teach.
• In health professional education, following the
initial learning period, the students must be
given opportunity to apply the theoretical
knowledge through interaction with learning
environment where they are going to practice
after the completion of course.
• This is essential not only for developing the
skill competencies, but also for developing a
healthy and positive attitude in them.
• Moreover, transfer of learning becomes easy
if learners get opportunity to apply the
principles in real situation during the learning
period.
• So, we can conclude that the maximum is that
in learning, active participation.
 Principle of reinforcement

• As we know that learning is a process of acquiring new

habits, knowledge and skills which together enables
the leaner to do something that he/ she could not do
before.
• Therefore the learners have right to know about the
results of their learning performance.
• So, they must be told about their learning
achievements by giving feedback on their
performance.
• A positive reward for learner’s each correct
performance will bring him/ her sense
achievement and satisfaction which will help
in retaining what has been learnt and will
motivate him/ her for further achievement.
• So, feedback for correct behaviour serves to
reinforce or strength the learned skill or
knowledge or attitude.
• The reinforcement can be given during the act of
learning or at the end of learning as the feedback
on their performance information both on his / her
mistakes as well as successful results.
• If the feedback is for incorrect behaviour, it must
not only point out the mistakes, but must also not
only point out the mistakes, but must also provide
guidance for further learning efforts to correct the
performance or modify the incorrect behaviour.
• A reinforce is the stimulus, the presentation or
removal of which increases the probability of
response being repeated.
• In order to enhance learning, a teacher
therefore has to add the positive reinforce to
the learning situation and remove the
negative reinforcer like humiliation from the
learning situation.
 Principle of Primacy

• Primacy, the state of being first, often creates a

strong, almost constant, impression.
• Things learned first create a strong impression in
the mind that is difficult to erase.
• Learning should be done correctly for the first
time since it is difficult to “unlearn” or change an
incorrectly learned material.
• For the instructor, this means that what is taught
must be right the first time.
• For the student, it means that learning must
be right.
• “Unteaching” wrong first impressions is
harder than teaching them right the first time.
• If, for example, a student learns a faulty
technique, the instructor will have a difficult
task correcting bad habits and “reteaching”
correct ones.
• The student's first experience should be
positive, functional, and lay the foundation for
all that is to follow.
• What the student learns must be procedurally
correct and applied the very first time.
• The instructor must present subject matter in a
logical order, step by step, making sure the
students have already learned the preceding
step.
 Principle of Recency

• The principle of recency states that things most recently

learned are best remembered.
• Conversely, the further a student is removed time-wise
from a new fact or understanding, the more difficult it is to
remember.
• For example, it is fairly easy to recall a telephone number
dialed a few minutes ago, but it is usually impossible to
recall a new number dialed last week.
• The closer the training or learning time is to the time of
actual need to apply the training, the more apt the learner
will be to perform successfully.
• Information acquired last generally is remembered best;
frequent review and summarization help fix in the mind
the material covered.
• Instructors recognize the principle of recency when they
carefully plan a summary for a lesson or learning situation.
• The instructor repeats, restates, or reemphasizes
important points at the end of a lesson to help the student
remember them.
• The principle of recency often determines the sequence of
lectures within a course of instruction.
 Learning theories

• All theories of learning are rested upon the

concept of man and his behaviour.
• They deal with such questions as how does a
person learn a set of facts, figures,
interactions, attitudes and habits and skills in
doing a particular thing and similar other
things in his/ her life?
• And what goes into the process of learning of
these cognitive, psychomotor and affective
skills.
• In other words learning theories attempt to
explain the mechanism involved in the
learning process.
Q: How do people learn?
A: Nobody really knows.
But the psychologists have come up with
number of theories to explain which are given
below:
• Theory of mental discipline or faculty theory
• Behaviorist theory of learning
• Cognitive theory of learning
Theory of mental discipline or faculty theory

• The term mental discipline refers to the

ability to recognize and respond wisely to
thoughts and feelings occurring within the
mind and body.
• This is the oldest theories (also known as the
Faculty Theory).
• This theory assumes that the mind is
composed of so many independent faculties,
e.g. memory, attention, imagination, reasoning
and judgment.
• These faculties, according to this theory, are
nothing but the “muscles of the mind” and
like muscles of the body, can be strengthened
or improved through exercise (practice and
use).
• In this way, such properly strengthened or improved
faculties later on function automatically in all the
situations and areas in which they are involved. 
• For example, if the memory of a person is
strengthened or improved, to a great extent,
through memorization of long and difficult
passages, then it can prove useful in memorizing
dates, names, formulae, figures and, in fact,
anything and everything that involves memory.
• According to this model, the mind (and particularly the
intellect) was considered somewhat similar to a muscle,
and the role of education was to exercise and
strengthen the intellect to the point where it could
control the will and emotions.
• The corresponding educational model, called "
mental discipline," held that the best way to strengthen
the minds of younger students was through tedious
(dull) drill and repetition of what we might now call the
basic skills in order to cultivate the memory.
• For older students, the curriculum focused on
the study of abstract subjects such as
classical philosophy, literature, and
languages, as well as advanced mathematics.
• The most popular form of this theory held
that the mind consisted of three separate
powers: the will, the emotions, and the
intellect (Rippa, 1971).
• In the same way, propagators (idea) of
the theory claim that reasoning and imaginative
powers developed through the study of geometrical
positions can be used in solving various problems in
life which demand a good deal of reasoning and
imagination.
• Approximately two thousand years ago, Greek
philosophers like Plato and Aristotle had come up
with what we know as the Theory of Mental
Discipline.
• According to Plato (427-347 BC), to initiate learning
in a person, the 'mental nerves' must undergo a
training associated with what is going to be learned.
• According to Plato, an effective training would
ensure a perfect learning.
• In short, the Theory of Mental Discipline
emphasizes on learning activities that need the
mind of the learners to be disciplined and trained
effectively.
• According to researches on Plato's theory, the
following three philosophies may wrap up the whole
ideas that underlie the theory of Mental Discipline:
• Learning would not occur by itself; it has to be
forced.
• To ensure learning occurs effectively, strict control
must be enforced upon the learner.
• The perfect learning outcome may only be achieved
through mental discipline by rigid training and
practices.
• Therefore, the perennaialists were of the
opinion that the rules of grammar, reading
and rhetoric (public speech), logic and
mathematics should be included as the
subjects of childhood education both
elementary and secondary education as the
permanent studies to cultivate intellectual
virtues (quality) by sharpening the brain
faculties.
• According to Hutchins, “grammar disciplines
the mind and develops the logical faculty
corresponds in thinking may be more directly
and permanently taught through mathematics
than any other way”.
• The theory of mental disciplines assumes that
transfer is automatic and gives little
importance to motivation.
2. Behaviorism/ behavioral theory of learning

• Behaviorism is a learning theory that only focuses

on objectively observable behaviors and behavior
is acquired through conditioning.
• Or It is a method of studying behaviour focused its
attention totally on the overt or observable
behavior which is Measures by a learners’
response to stimuli .
• Behavior is the response of an organism to stimuli
• Behavioral theory seeks to explain human
behavior by analyzing the previous circumstances
and consequences present in the individual's
environment and the learned associations he or
she has acquired through previous experience.
• Learners’ response to stimuli can be reinforced
using positive or negative feedback.
• Reinforcement, positive or negative increases the
possibility of an event happening again.
• Punishment, both positive and negative,
decreases the possibility of an event happening
again.
• Behavior theorists define learning as nothing
more than the acquisition of new behavior
based on environmental conditions.
• According to this theory, learning is in terms of
connection or association between stimulus
and response (S-R).
• This theory views that man as a collection of
responses to specific stimuli and each specific
reaction is an exact response to specific
stimuli also called stimulus – response theory
• They propound that learning can be made
effective by strengthening the S-R bond
through conditioning the response, which acts
as motivation to learn the behavior.
Stimulus response

Stimulus response

Conditioning
There are three types of behavioral learning
theories:
• Contiguity theory
• Classical or respondent conditioning theory
• Operant or instrumental conditioning theory
IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN BEHAVIORISM
 Throndike‘s theory of “trial and error”.

Best Known For:

• The Law of Effect
• Often called the father of modern
educational psychology
• Animal research
• Trial-and-error theory of learning
Ivan Pavlov (also Pavlovian conditioning
or respondent conditioning)

• Classical conditioning was the first type of

learning to be discovered and studied within
the behaviorist tradition (hence the name
classical).
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) was a Russian
psychologist who discovered this classical
conditioning theory of learning after
experimenting with the functioning of the
digestive system with a dog.
• Pavlov was studying the digestive system of
dogs and became intrigued with his
observation that dogs deprived of food began
to salivate when one of his assistants walked
into the room.
• He began to investigate this phenomena and
established the laws of classical conditioning.
• Classic conditioning occurs when a natural
reflex responds to a stimulus.
• It is a type of learning through which an
initially neutral stimulus comes to elicit (bring
out) a particular response as a consequence of
being repeatedly paired with an
unconditioned stimulus.
• In other word it is a process in which an organism
learns to respond in a particular way to a stimulus
that previously did not produce that response.
• This type of learning is also called stimulus
response(S-R) type of learning because the
organism (or individual) is considered to be
passive in learning process i.e. organism responds
according to nature of stimulus.
•  
Pavlov’s experiment
• In one of his experiments, Pavlov kept a hungry
dog for a few days and tied to an experimental
table that was fitted with certain mechanically
controlled devices.
• The dog was made comfortable and distractions
were excluded as far as it was possible to do.
• The observer kept himself hidden from view of
the dog but was able to view the experiment by
means of a set of mirrors.
• Arrangement was made to give food to the
dog through automatic devices.
• Every time a bell was rung before the food
was presented to the dog.
• The dog salivated at the sight of food and
saliva was collected and measured.
• The salivation was dog’s natural response (NR)
to food- the natural stimulus (NS).
• This act of ringing the bell and giving food was
repeated several times.
• Next time only bell was rung and the dog was
given food. After hearing the bell ring, the dug
was salivated even without a food in sight.
• This time salivation was dog’s conditioned
response (CR) to bell as a conditioned stimulus
(CS).
This condition of behavior can be explained as following table:
 
 
 Before conditioning
Condition –I Natural /
Unconditioned / natural stimulus unconditioned
(U.C.S.) i.e. food response
(U.C.R.)
i.e. salivation  

Condition –II No response

Condition stimulus i.e. no
i.e. bell salivation  
 During conditioning

Condition –III U.C.R.

Natural stimulus /conditioned i.e. salivation
stimulus (C.S. + U.C.S.)
i.e. bell and food  

Condition III is repeated for several trials until an association is

established between C.S. and U.C.S. i. e. bell and food
 After conditioning

Condition IV C.R. i.e.

C.S. i.e. bell salivation
Basic terminology of classical conditioning

Unconditioned stimulus (U.C.S.)

• Unconditioned stimulus is a type of stimulus
that can always produce (or evoke) a response
in an organism.
• This stimulus is capable to produce the
response without any learning or elicit
response without learning.
• In Pavlov’s experiment, food was
unconditioned stimulus because it could
always produce saliva in dog.
Unconditioned response (UCR)
• It is an unlearned, inborn or natural response
to unconditioned stimulus.
• In Pavlov’s experiment, salivation was
unconditioned response.
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
• It is originally natural stimulus that will
produce a response only when it is repeatedly
paired with unconditioned stimulus.
• In Pavlov’s experiment, bell was conditioned
stimulus.
Conditioned response (CR)
• It is the learned response to the conditioned
stimulus or the response given to conditioned
stimulus.
• In Pavlov’s experiment, salivation to bell is
conditioned response.
Classical Conditioning in Humans: The Little Albert Experiment

• Pavlov demonstrated conditioning on dogs, but

American psychologist John Watson wanted to
prove that it happens in humans, too.
• The Little Albert experiment was a case study
showing empirical evidence of classical conditioning
in humans.
• He took a 9-month-old boy named Albert and
showed him several items, including a white rat.
Albert didn't seem scared of any of them.
• This study was also an example of
stimulus generalization.
• As an adaptive mechanism, conditioning helps
shield an individual from harm or prepare them for
important biological events, such as sexual activity.
• Classical conditioning is effective in a number of
therapeutic treatments in humans, such as
aversion therapy, systematic desensitization, and
flooding.
• Classical conditioning is used not only in
therapeutic interventions, but in everyday life as
well, such as by advertising agencies. 
 Elements of classical conditioning learning of theory:

• Behaviorists have described a number of

different phenomena associated with classical
conditioning.
• Some of these elements involve the initial
establishment of the response, while others
describe the disappearance of a response.
• These elements are important in understanding
the classical conditioning process:
Acquisition
• Acquisition is the initial stage of learning when
a response is first established and gradually
strengthened.
• For example, imagine that you are conditioning
a dog to salivate in response to the sound of a
bell. You repeatedly pair the presentation of
food with the sound of the bell.
• You can say the response has been acquired as
soon as the dog begins to salivate in response
to the bell tone.
• Once the response has been acquired, you
can gradually reinforce the salivation response
to make sure the behavior is well learned.
Spontaneous Recovery
• Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance of
the conditioned response after a rest period
or period of lessened response.
• If the conditioned stimulus and
unconditioned stimulus are no longer
associated, extinction will occur very rapidly
after a spontaneous recovery.
Extinction
• Extinction is when the occurrences of a
conditioned response decrease or disappear.
• In classical conditioning, this happens when a
conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with
an unconditioned stimulus.
• For example, if the smell of food (the
unconditioned stimulus) had been paired with
the sound of a whistle (the conditioned stimulus),
it would eventually come to evoke the
conditioned response of hunger.
• However, if the unconditioned stimulus (the smell
of food) were no longer paired with the
conditioned stimulus (the whistle), eventually the
conditioned response (hunger) would disappear.
Stimulus Generalization
• Stimulus Generalization is the tendency for the
conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses
after the response has been conditioned.
• For example, if a child has been conditioned to
fear a stuffed white rabbit, the child will exhibit
fear of objects similar to the conditioned
stimulus.
Discrimination
• Discrimination is the ability to differentiate
between a conditioned stimulus and other
stimuli that have not been paired with an
unconditioned stimulus.
• For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned
stimulus, discrimination would involve being
able to tell the difference between the bell tone
and other similar sounds.
Implication of Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning in learning

Learner learns through conditioning:

• Learners learn through conditioning.
• The term conditioning is used for the modification of
natural response.
 
The learner should be rewarded for their correct
behavior but not for others:
• Following of the conditioned stimulus by unconditioned
(natural) stimulus refers to the term reinforcement.
• For example, food is unconditioned stimulus and
the bell is conditioned stimulus in Pavlov’s
experiment.
• Those conditioned responses, not rewarded by
reinforcement, will finally go extinct (died out).
• Such as if the sound of bell is not followed by
food (natural stimulus), the salivation of dog
that followed the ringing of bell (conditioned
stimulus) will stop at some stage.
• However, after extinction, when conditioned
response is no longer evident, the behavior
can reappears spontaneously but with lesser
intensity.
• However, as time passes, the spontaneous
recovery would no longer be possible.
The learner should be rewarded in optimum
time differences:
• There should be optimal time difference
between the presentation of conditioned
stimulus and unconditioned stimulus
(reinforcement), because if time period
between the performance and the positive
reward is increased, the reinforcement
becomes ineffective.
Developing habits and attitudes:
• The principles of classical learning are much
helpful in developing habits and attitudes, so
it can be used developing good habits and
discouraging bad habits in children such as
controlling of bed wetting in normal children
and treatment of phobia etc.
 2. Learning theory of connectionism

• Edward L. Throndike (1874-1949), an American

psychologist, is the chief exponent (promoter)
of this theory.
• Thorndike is known for his development of the
law of effect, a theory regarding the effects of
reward and punishment on learning.
• In his school of thought, learning is interpreted
in terms of connection or association between
stimulus and response.
• The mind is man’s connection system, and learning
is caused by the formulation of connection in the
nervous system between stimuli and response.
• He believed that there was a definite association
among sense, impression, impulses and action.
• This association was named a bond or connection.
• Thorndike's connectionism states that behavior is
a product of the connection of numerous neural
and psychological processes.
• He also argued that learning is specific rather than a
matter of mental discipline.
• He propounded the Theory of Trial and Error” on the
basis of experiment conducted on different animals.
• Thorndike originally believed that reward and
punishment were equal in terms of effect, but he
eventually determined that reward was far more
effective and that punishment may actually lead to
the repetition of an undesired behavior.
• To study the learning process, Thorndike
conducted a series of experiments involving
animals and problem boxes and mazes.
• His subjects were rewarded when they were able
to push a lever and escape, which they were able
to do with increasing rapidity upon repetition.
• Thus, Thorndike concluded that the learning
process was enhanced by the learner’s response
to stimulus.
Thorndike identified three specific factors that benefit learning and result in maximum outcomes:

• The law of effect is determined by

consequence.
• The law of recency requires that recurrence is
determined by the most recent response.
• The law of exercise states that when a
stimulus is administered upon response, each
subsequent response is strengthened. 
Experiment of Thorndike
• His classic (typical) experiment used a hungry
cat as the subject, a piece of fish as the
reward, and a puzzle box as the instrument for
studying trial-and-error learning.
 
• In this typical experiment, a hungry cat was
placed inside the puzzle box, and a piece of
fish was kept outside the box.
• The cat could not reach the fish unless it opened
the door.
• In order to escape from the box, the cat had to
perform a simple action as required by the
experimenter.
• The cat had to pull a loop or press a lever in
order to open the door.
• Once the door was opened, the cat could escape
and get the fish as a reward. 
 First Trial:

• Hungry cat is placed inside the box.

• Fish kept outside the box work as a motive.
• Cat started doing random movements for
getting food.
• Cat squeeze through opening, claws ( tear)
and bites at the bars of wires, thrust (push) its
paws through any opening.
•
• All the irrelevant responses continued for
several minutes until the cat hit upon the
correct response, by chance.
• Hungry cat came out and got its reward i.e.
fish.
 Second Trial:

• Hungry cat placed in a puzzle box.

• Fish kept outside the box worked as a motive.
• To get out of the box cat again did random
movements.
• But cat took less time to come out from the
box. 
• With increasing trials, the time taken to pull
the loop decreased.
• The wrong responses (errors) that the cat was
showing also decreased, as trials increased.
• Finally, the cat learned the trick. As soon as it
was put in the box, it pulled the loop to
escape for a well-deserved reward.
• The name, trial-and-error learning comes
from the fact that errors decreased over trials.
• The cat learned from its errors.
 Experiment sums up the following stages in
the process of learning:
• Trial & Error is based on random activities to
reach the goal.
• Random activities are block or
hindrances(obstacles) drive, goal, random
movements, multiple response, chance,
success, selection and fixation.
• Drive: Hungry cat intensified by the sight of
the food.
• Goal: To get food by getting out of the box.
• Block: The cat was confined (restricted) in the
box with a closed door.
• Random movements: The cat persistently
tried to come out of the box without knowing
how.
• Chance success: Striving (pushy) and random
movements the cat by chance succeeded in
opening the door.
• Selection (of proper movement): Gradually cat
recognized the correct way to manipulate the
handle.
• Fixation: At last cat learned the proper way to
open the door by eliminating all the incorrect
responses &    fixing only the right response.
 According to this theory leaning: (main assumption)

Learning involves trial and error or selection and

connection:
• In trying to find the correct solution, the cat made
many false attempts before it made the correct
move.
Learning is the result of the formation of connections:
• According to Thorndike learning is the result of the
formation of a correction in the nervous system
between the stimuli and the response.
 Learning is incremental, not insightful (perceptive):

• As we go on increasing the number of trials or

practice, our performance gradually improves.
• Thorndike termed such improvement in
performance as incremental and so concluded
that learning is always incremental.
• It occurs a little bit at a time rather than all at
once as in the case in the process of learning
explained by the theory of insightful learning.
Learning is direct not mediated by ideas:

• According to Thorndike learning is direct and

is not mediated by thinking, reasoning or
other such mental function.
• He stated that learning is simple, semi-
mechanical phenomenon, a process of
establishing a simple connection between
sensory stimuli and the appropriate
responses.
 Thorndike Laws of Learning

The law of readiness: -

• learning takes place best when a person is ready
to learn.
• If a person is ready to act, acting gives him
satisfaction.
• If he is not ready to act it is annoying for him to
act.
• Some sort of preparatory attitude or a mindset is
necessary to start learning.
• The learner should be stimulated to learn new things in
such way that he obtains satisfaction out of learning
that.
• For example, if the child is ready to learn, he can learn
quickly.
• If the child is not ready to learn, he cannot learn
effectively.
• If the teacher teaches his students when their minds
are set, learning will take place.
• Otherwise all his teaching will fall flat.
The law of exercise: -
• It is our experience that whenever any action is
repeated, it becomes easy and prompts.
• We read and reread lessons a number of times to
master them.
• We play and replay a musical tune a number of times to
be able to play it easily and accurately.
• Repetitions of activities fix knowledge and skills to be
learned.
• Practice makes perfect.
• Lack of practice weakens our memory and skills.
• It may be said that longer is the period of disuse, greater
is the loss of memory as well as weakening of skills.
• Words which are spelled by us frequently are
remembered very well.
• The words which are frequently used by us in writing and
conversation are not easily forgotten. That is we
remember by use and forget by disuse.
• In education the doctrines of use and disuse are very
familiar.
• We learn and retain through use or exercise and
we unlearn and forget through disuse or lack of
exercise.
• Exercise or drilling is found more effective when
it is associated with pleasure and purpose.
• The teacher should therefore make the
practices purposeful and interesting in order to
ensure better learning.
The law of effect:-
• According-to Thorndike, the principle of effect is the
fundamental law of learning.
• The law states that "When pleasant or satisfying
consequences follow or attend a response, the latter
tends to be repeated.
• When painful or annoying consequences attend a
response it tends to be eliminated.“
• That is the bond between the situation and response
strengthens with satisfying results and weakens-with the
displeasure and discomfort.
• An action which brings a feeling of pleasure is more
effectively learnt, whereas an action which brings a
feeling of displeasure is not properly learned.
• When an action is associated with a feeling of the
annoyance the individual tends to avoid it.
• If the child succeeds in doing a thing, in solving
problem, in working out a sum, he is pleased about
his achievement and this feeling of satisfaction
motivates him to do better and make further efforts.
• Success leads to further success and failure
leads to further failures.
• Repetition or practice without satisfaction is
of no use.
• We do a thing again and again but we will not
learn it if does yield satisfaction or pleasure.
Implications of Thorndike’s theory in learning

• The learner should prepare herself/himself by

understanding the importance of what she/he wants to
learn.
• The teacher must try to prepare the learner by bringing the
mechanism of motivation into play.
• Whatever we want to learn or teach, we must first identify
the aspects which are to be remembered and those which
may be forgotten.
• Then we must try to strength the connection between
stimuli and responses of those things which are to be
remembered through repetition, drill and reward.
• What is being taught or learnt should be linked
with the past experiences and learning and also
with the future learning, in order to benefit from
the mechanism of association, connection or
bonds in the process of learning.
• The learner should be encouraged to do his task
independently. He/she must try various solutions
of the problem before arriving at the correction.
Operant conditioning learning (also instrumental conditioning)

• Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to

as instrumental conditioning) is a method of
learning that occurs through rewards and
punishments for behavior.
• Through operant conditioning, an association
is made between a behavior and a
consequence for that behavior.
• Operant conditioning was coined by behaviorist
B.F. Skinner, which is why you may occasionally hear it
referred to as Skinnerian conditioning.
• As a behaviorist, Skinner believed that internal thoughts
and motivations could not be used to explain behavior.
• Instead, he suggested, we should look only at the
external, observable causes of human behavior.
• This involves conditioning voluntary, controllable
behaviors, not the automatic physiological responses in
Classical Conditioning
• Skinner used the term operant to refer to any
"active behavior that operates (function) upon the
environment to generate consequences" (1953).
• In other words, Skinner's theory explained how
we acquire the range of learned behaviors we
exhibit each and every day.
• With Operant Conditioning the Response comes
before the Stimulus (the opposite of CC)
R S
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

Positive Presence of Pleasant

Reinforcement Stimulus Behavior
Increases
Negative Absence of Unpleasant
Reinforcement Stimulus

Presence of Behavior
Punishment Unpleasant Stimulus Decreases
 Consequences for Behaviors
• Positive Reinforcement – You behave in a certain
way that results in a reward, and as a result, you are
more likely to repeat that behavior

• Negative Reinforcement – You behave in a certain

way that results in the removal of something
unpleasant, and as a result you are more likely to
repeat that behavior (ex: doing a paper early)
– In both cases, something happened that you saw as
“good” and as a result, you exhibited the behavior more.
 Consequences for Behaviors
• Punishment – A consequence that follows a
behavior so that you do the behavior less
often in the future.
– Punishment can involve adding something
(paying a fine, staying after school) or involve
removing something you like (losing recess
time, leaving your friends)
– In both cases, adding something or removing
something, you perceive it as “bad” and as a
result, you exhibit the behavior less.
Differences Between Negative
Reinforcement & Punishment
• Negative reinforcement: Something
unpleasant is removed & as a result you are
more likely to do it again
– Something happened that was “good”
• Punishment: A consequence happens that
you don’t like and you are less likely to do it
again. The punishment can add something
or take something away.
– Something happened that was “bad”
Experiment
• The apparatus used for experiments in operant
conditioning was the ‘skinner box’, a kind of
puzzle box containing something that the
animal has to manipulate in order to obtain a
reward.
• Skinner took a box with in it, a food plate was
placed that would be filled with the food by
pressing down the lever attached in the bar.
• A hungry rat was put inside the box.
• The rat wandered (travel without destination) from
time to time over the bar before he could get to know
how to press the lever.
• Food bits fell over the plate when the bar was pressed
down.
• Rat carried this task of pressing the bar more
frequently when it saw that this response was
reinforced (rewarded) by food.
• In the first stage, rat learnt a simple task that food will
be supplied when the lever bar is pressed down.
• In the second stage, Skinner modified this behavior by
adding a sound of tone as a condition.
• Now the food bits would fall into the plate only when
tone accompanied the pressing of the lever bar, but
not in other condition.
• The rat generalized this and pushed the lever down
when tone was sounded.
• At this stage, rat’s operant behavior (task of pulling
down the lever bar) was reinforced with operant
conditioning- the sound of tone.
The results of this experiment indicate that:

• The response or behavior is not necessarily

contingent (depended) upon specific known
stimuli, but more in its consequences (rewards).
• Environment plays a significant role in shaping
and modifying the behavior of an organism.
• Desirable change can be brought by modifying or
shaping the behavior through the use of selective
operant conditioning.
• Learning can be generalized.
Five major phenomena of operant conditioning

Positive reinforcement (Reinforcement):

• It occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a
stimulus that is appetitive or rewarding, increasing
the frequency of that behavior.
• In the Skinner box experiment, a stimulus such as
food or a sugar solution can be delivered when the rat
engages in a target behavior, such as pressing a lever.
• This procedure is usually called simply reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement (Escape):
• It occurs when a behavior (response) is followed
by the removal of an aversive (dislike) stimulus,
thereby increasing that behavior's frequency.
• In the Skinner box experiment, negative
reinforcement can be a loud noise continuously
sounding inside the rat's cage until it engages in
the target behavior, such as pressing a lever,
upon which the loud noise is removed.
• Positive punishment (Punishment) (also called
"Punishment by contingent {(dependent)
stimulation"}:
• It occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a
stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise,
resulting in a decrease in that behavior.
• Positive punishment is sometimes a confusing term, as
it denotes the "addition" of a stimulus or increase in
the intensity of a stimulus that is aversive (such as
spanking or an electric shock).
• This procedure is usually called simply
punishment.
• Such as wandering the wall of the box the bell
was sounded even though the rat was not
hungry.
• Until the lever was not pressed the sound was
sounded and thus the wandering functions
was decrease in this experiment.
• Negative punishment (Penalty) (also called
"Punishment by contingent withdrawal"):
• It occurs when a behavior (response) is
followed by the removal of a stimulus, such as
taking away a child's toy following an
undesired behavior, resulting in a decrease in
that behavior.
• Extinction:
• Occurs when a behavior (response) that had
previously been reinforced is no longer effective.
For example, a rat is first given food many times
for lever presses.
• Then, in "extinction", no food is given. Typically
the rat continues to press more and more slowly
and eventually stops, at which time lever
pressing is said to be "extinguished."
 Assumption of this theory

• Learning may largely take place by trial and error

method until the correct behavior is learnt.
• Motivation plays an important role in learning,
therefore, the correct behavior should be reinforced
• Learning can be controlled by rewards and
punishments , therefore as B.F. Skinner puts it,
“teaching is simply rearrangement of contingencies of
reinforcement”
• Learning can be transferred provided the conditions
are similar.
Implications of operant conditioning’s theory in learning

• Learning objective should be defined clearly as the

achievement of which, seen as reward by the learner,
will act as operant conditioning.
• The learning materials selected and arranged should
increase learner’s chance to succeed- arrange them
from simple to complex and from known to
unknown.
• Use of reinforces like, grades, and praise motivates
students to learn. Therefore, rewards should be
given soon after the correct performance.
• Use of positive as well as negative gestures
during teaching – learning interactive serves
as reinforces to shape learner’s behavior.
• Periodical use of reinforcers reduces the
possibility of extinction of desired behavior.
• The fact that each student has different pace
to learn must be considered while organizing
the learning experience.
 Cognitive theory of learning

• Cognitivism focuses on an unobservable change in

mental knowledge.
• A person's cognition, the environment and behavior play
important roles in learning new knowledge and skills.

• Cognitive learning theory theorists stress the importance

of what goes on inside the learner.
• They believe that the key to learning and changing is the
individual’s cognition- perception, thought, memory and
ways of processing and structuring information.
• Cognitive learning, a highly active process and largely
directed by the individual, involves perceiving the
information, interpreting it based on what is already
known and then reorganizing the information into
new insights or understanding. (Bandura, 2001;
Hunt, Ellis & Ellis, 2004).
• Cognitivism came about as a rejection of the
behaviorist views.
• Psychologists believed that mental events, or
cognitivism, could no longer be ignored.
• Cognitive theories believe that reward is not
necessary for learning.
• Most important are learner’s goals and
expectations which create imbalance and
tension that motivate them to act.
Basis and Focus Basis:
• Basis: Principles of cognitive psychology and
• Focus: Role of cognitive processes in learning.
The mental processes involved in learning:
Observing, categorizing, forming
generalizations to make sense of the
information provided.
 Main Assumptions

• Some learning processes may be unique to human

beings.
• Cognitive processes are the focus of study.
• Objective, systematic observations of people's
behavior should be the focus of scientific inquiry,
however, inferences about unobservable mental
processes can often be drawn from such behavior.
• Individuals are actively involved in the learning
process.
• Learning involves the formation of menatal assocaitions
that are not necessarily reflected in overt behavior
changes.
• Knowledge is organized.
• Learning is a process of relating new information to
previously learned innformation.
• Learning takes learner’s intelligence, socio- cultural
environment and the previous experience into account in
determining what and how the learner responds to, and
what meaning he gives to that what he/ she perceives-
selectivity and valuation of stimuli.
• Learning is for a social (common) purpose;
therefore, continuity of learning is essential to
maturity.
• Motivation is essential for learning as it attracts
to goals.
• All learning responses in effect are transferable
(movable). On other words, learning gained in
one situation helps the learner to react
insightfully in other identical (same) situation.
General Educational Implications of Cognitive Theories:

• Cognitive processes influence learning.

• As children grow, they become capable of
increasingly more sophisticated thought.
• People organize the things they learn.
• New information is most easily acquired when
people can associate it with things they have
already learned.
• People control their own learning.
• Jeann Piaget, Kurt Lewin, Albert Bandura, are
pioneers of this learning theorist focused on
different cognitive conditions that impact on
learning.
 1. Jean Piaget

• Jean Piaget (9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a

Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher
known for his epistemological (episteme meaning
"knowledge, understanding", and , logos, meaning
"study of") studies with children.
• Piaget placed great importance on the education of
children.
• Piaget Constructed models of child development and the
learning process identified 4 developmental stages and
the cognitive processes associated with each of them.
 Major Concepts:

1. Intelligence:
• According to Piaget, an intelligent act is one
that causes an approximation (estimate) to
the condition optimal for an organism’s
survival.
• In other words, intelligence allows an
organism to deal effectively with its
environment.
• Because both the environment and the
organism are changing constantly, an
‘intelligent’ interaction between the two must
also change constantly (continuation).
• For Piaget, intelligence is a dynamic trait
because what is available as an intelligent act
will change as the organism matures
biologically and it gain experience.
2. Schemata:
•  A schema describes both the mental and physical
actions involved in understanding and knowing.
• Schemas are categories of knowledge that help us
to interpret and understand the world.
• It can also be described as a mental structure of
preconceived (fixed) ideas, a framework
representing some aspect of the world, or a system
of organizing and perceiving new information.
• A schema is the basic building block of intelligent
behaviour, a form of organizing information that a
person uses to interpret the things he or she sees,
hears, smell, and touches (Singer & Revenson,
1997.
• Schemata have a tendency to remain unchanged,
even in the face of contradictory information.
• Schemata can help in understanding the world
and the rapidly changing environment. 
• People can organize new perceptions into
schemata quickly as most situations do not
require complex thought when using schema,
since automatic thought is all that is required.
• The potential to act in a certain way was
labeled schema (plural- schemata). E.g. are
sucking, looking, reaching, grasping etc.
• The grasping schema refers to the general
ability to grasp things.
• This schema can be thought of as the cognitive structure
that makes all acts of grasping problem.
• For new organism-environment interactions to occur,
the schemata available to the child must change.
• In Piaget's view, a schema includes both a category of
knowledge and the process of obtaining that knowledge.
• As experiences happen, this new information is used to
modify, add to, or change previously existing schemas.
• For example, a child may have a schema about a type of
animal, such as a dog.
• If the child's sole experience has been with small
dogs, a child might believe that all dogs are small,
furry( covered with hair), and have four legs.
Suppose then that the child encounters a very large
dog. The child will take in this new information,
modifying the previously existing schema to include
these new observations.
• The dual processes of assimilation and
accommodation (described below) are the building
blocks to forming a schema.
3.Assimilation and accomodation
• The number of schemata available to an organism at
any given time constitutes the organism’s cognitive
structure.
• Assimilation refers to a kind of matching between the
already existing cognitive structures and the
environmental needs as they arise.
• Or The process by which new knowledge is changed /
modified / merged in our minds to fit into what we
already know.
• Or The process of taking in new information
into our previously existing schemas is known
as assimilation. In the example above, seeing a
dog and labeling it "dog" is an example of
assimilating the animal into the child's dog
schema.
• Accommodation: The process by which we
modify what we already know to take into
account the new information.
• Another part of adaptation involves changing or altering
our existing schemas in light of new information, a
process known as accommodation.
• This happens when the existing schema (knowledge)
does not work, and needs to be changed to deal with a
new object or situation.
• Accommodation involves altering existing schemas, or
ideas, as a result of new information or new experiences.
• New schemas may also be developed during this process.
• In a situation where a 6 month old infant is given a new
toy, it is likely to respond by putting the toy in mouth.
• This is assimilation, as what the child was to
assimilated, incorporated or fit ideas about the new toy
into already existing cognitive structures about old toys.
• Now in a case the new toy is too big to be picked up
and placed in the mouth, it will certainly need a change
or modification in the already existing cognitive
structure.
• The child will have to change his old ways of
thinking and behaving in order to adapt or
adjust to new situation.
• Consequently, now instead of sucking, the child
may respond by pushing or grasping the toy.
• In the process of accommodation one has to
learn new ways of thinking and behaving by
making changes or modifications in one’s
existing cognitive structure.
4. Equilibration:
• Piaget believed that all children try to strike a
balance between assimilation and
accommodation, which is achieved through a
mechanism Piaget called equilibration.
• It means the balance between what is known
and what is currently being processed,
mastery of the new material.
• Piaget assumed that all organisms have an innate
tendency to create a harmonious relationship
between them and their environment.
• As children progress through the stages of
cognitive development, it is important to
maintain a balance between applying previous
knowledge (assimilation) and changing behavior
to account for new knowledge (accommodation).
• Equilibration helps explain how children are
able to move from one stage of thought into
the next.
• Equilibration is this innate tendency to
organize one’s experiences to ensure maximal
adoption.
• Equilibration is defined as the continuous
drive towards equilibrium or balance.
• Final Thoughts
• One of the most important elements to remember of Piaget's
theory is that it takes the view that the creation of knowledge
and intelligence is an inherently active process.
• "I find myself opposed to the view of knowledge as a passive
copy of reality," Piaget explained.
• "I believe that knowing an object means acting upon it,
constructing the systems of transformations that can on or with
this object.
• Knowing reality means constructing systems of transformations
that correspond, more or less adequately, to reality."
 Contribution to Education/learning

• Piaget’s theory has highlighted the importance of

drives and motivation in the field of learning and
development.
• Piaget’s theory provides valuable information and
advice on curriculum planning and structuring the
schemes of studies.
• An ideal curriculum should provide the appropriate
experiences at the proper time.
• Curriculum should match the cognitive development
of the learners and the needs of the study.
• Piaget’s theory may give ideas to the parents and
teachers in dealing with the children and planning
training and education.
• According to the Piaget’s theory, for acquiring
learning it is essential that experiences or material
presented to the learner and somewhat new and
moderately challenging to initiate the phenomena of
accommodation but at the same time these
experiences should be linked and related with one’s
old learning. (assimilation +accommodation)
• This theory places a major responsibility on parents,
teachers and others who are connected with
education and welfare of children to arrange for the
most appropriate and stimulating environment for
children.
• It emphasizes on the individualization of education.
• It has advocated the need of child-centered
education. Tailoring the education of a child according
to the level of functioning of his cognitive structure.
• This theory stresses the importance of the variety of
aid material other than verbal communication and
concreted object.
 2. Kurt Lewin (Kurt lewin’s change theory)

• Kurt Lewin is also associated with cognitive theory of

learning called ‘Lewin Field Theory’ in the earliest 20th
century.
• Perception plays a critical role in his theory.
• He proposed that human behavior is a function of
both the person and the environment in which the
behavior takes place, including the social parameters
(norms, values).
• He assumed that needs organize perception of the
field and acting within the field.
• He understood a dynamic interaction of elements in the
field.
• He believed behavior was purposeful and visualized the
individual as existing in a field of forces which included
+valence forces (the goals which he is seeking) which
attract people, and -valence forces (the goals he is
avoiding) which repel (Keep away) people, the barriers
that restrict the individual’s movement, and the path to
reach his goals.
• The blending (combination) of these fields produced an
approach dynamic /avoidance dynamic.
• According to Lewin's theory, learning is essential
to coping with these opposing force fields.
• Changes in values are important to the learner's
ability to deal with ongoing situations.
• Lewin also believed that a holistic investigation
of human behavior and learning must include the
environment in which the learning is taking
place, including the psychological environment of
the learner and others with whom he interacts. 
His theory consists of three distinct and vital
stages:
• Unfreezing
• Moving to a new level or Changing
• Refreezing
Unfreezing
• It involves finding a method of making it
possible for people to let go of (to) an old
pattern that was counterproductive in some
way.
• Before a change can be implemented, it must
go through the initial step of unfreezing.
 Moving to a new level or Changing

• Now that the people are 'unfrozen' they can begin to

move.
• Lewin recognized that change is a process where the
organization must transition or move into this new state
of being.
• This changing step, also referred to as 'transitioning' or
'moving,' is marked by the implementation of the change.
• It involves a process of change in thoughts, feeling,
behavior, or all three, that is in some way more liberating
(beneficial) or more productive.
• Positive rewards and acknowledgment of
individualized efforts are often used to
reinforce the new state because it is believed
that positively reinforced behavior will likely
be repeated.
Kurt Lewin's Educational Implications
• For effective learning, the teacher has to provide
suitable psychological environment to the changing
needs of the student.
• The teacher has to help in setting the goals depending
upon the individual's capacity and activities.
• The teacher has to guide the individual effectively if the
aim of the goal is attainable (possible), to enable the
individual to cross the difficulties and barriers easily.
• If the problem of the whole situation is more
clear and understandable there will be better
motivation to learn.
• Help the students to release their tension. Then
only they will be able to learn the situations.
• The teacher should make use of reward and
punishment based upon the need of the
student.
 3. Albert Bandura

• Albert Bandura was born December 4, 1925 in

Canada. He introduced the social-cognitive
theory or social learning theory.
• He mapped out a perspective (view point) on
learning that includes consideration of the
personal characteristics of the learner,
behavior patterns, and the environment.
• Initially developed with an emphasis on the
acquisition of social behaviors, SCT continues
to emphasize that learning occurs in a social
context and that much of what is learned is
gained through observation.
• SCT has been applied broadly to such diverse
areas of human functioning as career choice,
organizational behavior, athletics, and mental
and physical health.
• The theory has gone through several shifts.
• For almost six decades, he has been
responsible for contributions to many fields of
psychology, including social cognitive theory,
therapy and personality psychology, and was
also influential in the transition between
behaviorism and cognitive psychology.
• Bandura's social learning theory stresses the
importance of observational learning,
imitation and modeling.
• His theory integrates a continuous interaction
between behaviors, personal factors -
including cognition - and the environment
referred to as reciprocal causation model.
• However, Bandura does not suggest that the
three factors in the triadic model make equal
contributions to behavior.
• The influence of behavior, environment and
person depends on which factor is strongest at
any particular moment.
• In the model, B, or behavior, refers to things
like complexity, duration, skill, etc.
• The E stands for environment, and it's
comprised of the situation, roles, models and
relationships. P, or person, is comprised
mainly of cognition but also other personal
factors such as self-efficacy, motives and
personality.
Bandura outlined a 4-step process that directs social learning

• Attentional phase: it is the first phase, which

is a necessary condition for any learning to
occur. Research indicates that role of models
with high status and competence is more
likely to be observed.
• Retention phase: it is the 2nd phase, which
involves storage and rescue (save) of what was
observed.
• Reproduction phase: it is the third phase, where
the learner copies the observed behavior.
• Motivational phase: it is the fourth and last
phase, which focuses on whether the learner is
motivated to perform a certain type of behavior.
Reinforcement or punishment for a role model’s
behavior, the learning situation and the
appropriateness of subsequent situations all
affect the learner’s performance.
 Implication to Learning

Based on this theory, steps involved in learning

are:
• Attending to and perceiving the behavior: In
this step the learner is made to observe the
behavior of the person acting as a model. This
step attracts close attention of the learner.
• Remembering the behavior: In this step, what
the learner observes is filed away in this
memory in the form of mental images.
• Converting the memory into action: The
behavior observed and remembered by the
learner is now analyzed to the demands of his
life and environment. It is transferred into
action by the learner.
• Reinforcement for the imitated behavior: In
this final step, the behavior imitated by the
learner is reinforced for proper adoption and
further continuance.
 Gestalt theory

• One of the oldest psychological theories in

cognitive learning is gestalt perspective, which
emphasizes the importance of perception in
learning.
• Gestalt is a German word which means
‘pattern’ or ‘configuration’ (arrangement of
parts: the way the parts of something are
arranged and fit together) or Gestalt – "shape
of an entity's complete form”.
• Gestalt was a holistic approach and rejected
the mechanistic perspectives of the stimulus -
response models.
• The Gestalt theory proposes that learning
consists of the grasping of a structural whole
and not just a mechanistic response to a
stimulus.