Learning Principles and

Theories in HC Practice
LEARNING
a permanent change in mental
processing, emotional functioning or
behavior as a result of experience.
 HOW DOES LEARNING
OCCUR?
Individual interacts with his
environment
Incorporates/applies the new
information
 Factors affects
Learning
Society and culture
Structure or pattern of the stimuli
Effectiveness of role models and
reinforcement
 Factors Affecting
Learning
Feedback for correct
and incorrect responses
 Factors Affecting
Learning
Opportunities to
process or apply
learning to new
situations
 Factors Affecting
Learning
Learning styles
 Factors Affecting
Learning
Type, nature of
learners and
motivation.
 What Kind of Experiences facilitate or
Hinder the LEARNING PROCESS?
Selection of learning theories and the type of
learning experience.
Teacher’s knowledge of the nature of the
learner.
The materials to be learned
Teaching methods and communication skills
Ability to motivate the learners
What Kind of Experiences facilitate or
hinder the LEARNING PROCESS?
The teacher’s ability to relate new
knowledge to previous experiences,
values
Self-perception and the learner’s
readiness to learn
 Types of Learning (Gagne
1970)
Signal Learning
Conditioned response
The person develops a general
diffuse reaction to a stimulus.
Example
A nursing aid may feel fear every time
the term skill test is mentioned
because he or she felt fear whenever
an actual skill test was taken.
 Stimulus Response
Learning
Involves a voluntary response to a specific stimulus
or a combination of stimuli.
Example: The nursing student learning to monitor
an IV infusion. Initially, the instructor may tell the
learner, “If you see that an IV infusion is not
dripping, first open the clamp further. Eventually the
learner response automatically to an IV line that is
not running by opening the clamp before doing
anything else.
 CHAINING
The acquisition of series of related conditioned
responses or stimulus response connections.
EX: After learning to open the clamp farther if
an IV line is not dripping, the nursing student is
taught that if opening the clamp is not
successful, checking the line for a return of
blood is in order, this second step becomes
another automatic response in a chain of
responses.
 VERBAL
ASSOCIATION
A type of chaining and easily recognized in
the process of learning medical terminology.
Example: A nurse knows that the word
thermal refers to temperature. The instructor
introduces the word Hyperthermia and its
definition. The nurse recognizes that the
syllable therm connects the words and find it
easier to learn the new term.
 Discrimination
Learning
The more new chains are learned, the
easier it is to forget previous chains.
To learn and retain large numbers of
chains, the person has to be able to
discriminate among them.
Discrimination Learning
Example: A nurse practitioner student tries
to learn a long list of drugs and their
actions. Halfway down the list, the learning
of new chains interferes with the memory
of old ones. If the NP can find a means of
discriminating between the drugs, maybe
finding something unique or noteworthy
about each, retention will be increase.
 CONCEPT
LEARNING
Learned how to classify stimuli into
groups represented by a common
concept.
RULE LEARNING 10.
Is considered a chain of concepts or
relationship between concepts
PROBLEM SOLVING 9
The learner must have a clear idea of the
problem or goal being sought and must be
able to recall and apply the previously
learned rules that relate to the situation
 Principles of Learning
11-20
1. Use several senses
2. Actively involve the patients or
clients in the learning process.
3. Provide an environment
conducive to learning.
4. Assess the extent to which
the learner is ready to learn.
5. Determine the relevance
of the information.
 Principles of Learning
6.Repeat the information
7. Generalize information
8. Make learning a pleasant experience
9. Begin with what is known; move toward
the unknown
10. Present information at an appropriate
rate.
To ensure that learning becomes
relatively permanent?
Organize the learning experience and
present the information
Practicing or rehearsing new information
mentally or physically.
Applying reinforcement through rewards or
recognition
Assessing or evaluating whether learning
has taken place
 LEARNING THEORY
a coherent framework and set of
integrated constructs and principles that
describe, explain or predict how people
learn, how learning occurs and what
motivates people to learn and change.
 BEHAVIORIST THEORIES
OF LEARNING
Stimulus-
Response Theory
 Stimulus-Response
Theory.
John B. Watson and Pavlov
•Learning is a result of the conditions or stimuli
(S) in the environment and the learner’s
responses (R) that follow.
•Hypothesized behavior is a result of a series of
conditioned reflexes and all emotions and
thoughts are results of behavior learned through
conditioning.
ILLUSTRATION
Belle, 3 year old accidentally touched the
FLAME (NS) of the candle. She felt intense
PAIN (UCS) and quickly withdrew her hand
(UCR). Two days later, the same experience
happened and part of her finger was
burned. Consequently, the FLAME of the
candle (NS) came to be associated with the
PAIN (UCS) that even in its absence, just the
SIGHT of the flame makes her withdraw her
hand.
 OPERANT CONDITIONING
Developed by Skinner and Thorndike
Reinforcement theorist
Stimuli-response bonds are strengthened by
reinforcement such as reward and punishment
Focuses on the BEHAVIOR of the organism and
the reinforcement that follows after the response.
 Consideration in Positive
Reinforcement
Consequence of behavior
TIMING
Consistency
 WAYS OF EMPLOYING
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
1. Verbal ways
2. Non-verbal ways
3. Citing in class or publishing on the
bulletin board exceptional works or
outputs.
 COGNITIVE LEARNING
THEORY
GESTALT Learning Theory
Emphasizes the importance of
PERCEPTION in learning which focuses on
the configuration or organization of pattern
or stimulus.
 COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
JEAN PIAGET
FOCUSES on qualitative changes
in perceiving, thinking, and
reasoning as individuals grow and
mature.
 4 Stages of Cognitive
Development
1. Sensorimotor stage
 birth up to 2 years old
Based on actual perception of the senses
(external or physical factors)
Intelligence is non-verbal or non symbolic
He learn through VISUAL pursuits at the
beginning
Later be known as “Object permanence”.
 Sensorimotor Stage (Birth-2 yrs)

OBJECT PERMANENCE 
It requires the ability to
form a mental representation
(i.e. a schema) of the object.
 Preoperational Stage
(2-7 years)
SYMBOLICALLY THINKING
the ability to make one thing or an object
stand for something other than itself.
Ability to represent objects and events.
Egocentric
The tendency of the child to only see his
point of view.
 CENTRATION
Refers to the tendency of the child to
focus on one aspect of a thing or event
and exclude other aspects. 36
IRREVERSIBILITY
Inability to reverse their thinking.
ANIMISM
The tendency of children to attribute
human like traits or characteristics to
inanimate objects. 37
TRANSDUCTIVE REASONING
Type of reasoning that is neither inductive
or deductive
Reasoning appears to be particular to
general.
 Concrete Operational Stage
(7-11 years)
Logical or operational thought.
This means the child can work things
out internally in their head (rather
than physically try things out in the
real world).
Characteristics
DECENTERING
the ability of the child to perceive the
different features of objects and
situation
- no longer focused or limited to one
aspect or dimension
Characteristics

REVERSIBILITY
THE child can now follow simple
operations can follow certain
operations can be done in reverse.
Conservation
The ability to know certain properties
do not change even if there is a change
in appearance.
the understanding that something
stays the same in quantity even though
its appearance changes
SERIATION
Refers to the ability to order or
arrange things in a series based on one
dimension such as weight, volume, or
size.
 Formal Operational Stage
(12 years and over)
The formal operational stage begins
at approximately age 12 and lasts into
adulthood.
People develop the ability to think
about abstract concepts, and logically 
test hypotheses.
 Characteristics
Hypothetical reasoning
ability to come up with different
hypothesis about a problem and to
gather or weigh data
Analogical reasoning
Ability to perceive the relationship in
one instance and use that relationship
to narrow down possible answers in
another similar situation
 DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
Ability to think logically by
applying general rule to a
particular situation.
 Abstract thinking
Logical thinking is more
systematic;
and use scientific method
 HUMANISTIC THEORY
OF LEARNING
Maslow’s Theory of Motivation
Physiologic needs are meet first
before his/ her need for
information or instruction.
LEARNING STYLES
are ways in which an individual
processes information or different
approaches or methods of
learning.
 Benefits of Knowing the Learning
Styles
The teacher can adapt
techniques or strategy suited to
the student’s learning style
Enhance the effectiveness of
learning by improving the teaching
strategies and the instructional
materials to be used.
 LEARNING STYLE MODELS

KOLB’s MODEL/ Cycle of Learning

David Kolb
Believes that the learner is not a blank slate 43.
Learning is a continuous process as a cumulative
result of previous or past experiences, heredity,
and interaction with the environment.
 Learning Style as a combination of
Four Basic Learning abilities/Modes
•Concrete experience (CE) abilities :
•Reflective observation (RO) abilities :
•Abstract conceptualization (AC)
abilities :
•Active experimentation (AE)
abilities :44-50
Kolb Four Learning Styles and their
corresponding characteristics
1. CONVERGER
learn by AC and AE
Good at decision making, problem solving and prefers
dealing with technical work than interpersonal
relationships;
Learning Methods: learn best through demonstrations
return demonstrations method assisted by handouts,
diagrams, charts, illustrations.
2. Diverger
stresses CE and RO
People and feeing oriented and likes to
work in groups
Learning Methods: :learn best through
group discussions and brain storming
sessions;
3. Accommodator
relies heavily on CE and AE
impatient with other people; a risk taker,
often using trial-and error methods of
solving problems;
Learning Methods:
 enjoys role-playing,
gaming and
computer stimulations
 4.Assimilator
emphasizes AC and RO
More concerned with abstract ideas than people;
Learning Methods:
best through lectures,
one to one instructions, and
self instruction methods with ample reading
materials
 
 GARDENER’S SEVEN (7) TYPES OF
Multiple INTELLIGENCE
1. Verbal/Linguistic
deals with written and
spoken words or language;
the use and meaning of
language
2.Logical/mathematical
abstraction and
discernment of
numerical patterns;
Refers to inductive
to deductive reasoning
Both sides of the
brain
 3. Spatial/visual
involves the ability to
visualize object or to
create internal or mental
images;
 4.Musical/rhythmic-
sensitivity to rhythm
and beat, recognition of
tonal
 patterns & pitch,
appreciation of musical
expression;
 5.Bodily/kinesthetic
 learning is
accomplished through
the use of body language
or physical movements;
 6. Interpersonal
intelligence
emphasis on
communication
and interpersonal
relationships
 7. Intrapersonal
Intelligence
includes knowledge in spiritual
development and self –
knowledge.