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Cognitivist, Constructivist and Postmodern Models

Edward Thorndike

Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory (also known as Social Cognitive Theory) is the idea that

 people learn by watching what others do and that human thought processes are central to

understanding personality.

The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing

and modeling the behaviors attitudes and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (!"##)

states$ %&earning would be e'ceedingly laborious not to mention hazardous if people

had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do.

ortunately most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling$ from

observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed and on later 

occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.% (p). Social learning

theory e'plains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between

cognitive behavioral an environmental influences.

The component processes underlying observational learning are$

(!) *ttention including modeled events (distinctiveness affective valencecomple'ity prevalence functional value) and observer characteristics (sensory capacities

arousal level perceptual set past reinforcement)

() +etention including symbolic coding cognitive organization symbolic

rehearsal motor rehearsal)

(,) -otor +eproduction including physical capabilities selfobservation of reproduction accuracy of feedback and

(/) -otivation including e'ternal vicarious and self reinforcement.

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Because it encompasses attention memory and motivation social learning theory

spans both cognitive and behavioral frameworks. Bandura0s theory improves upon the

strictly behavioral interpretation of modeling provided by -iller 1 2ollard (!"/!).

 Bandura3s work is related to the theories of 4ygotsky and &ave which also emphasize the

central role of social learning.

5n the book %6ducational 7sychology$ 2eveloping &earners% (88,) author 9eanne

6llis :rmrod lists the main principles of social learning theory$

!. 7eople learn by observing others.

. &earning is an internal process that may or may not change behavior.

,. 7eople behave in certain ways to reach goals.

/. Behavior is selfdirected (as opposed to the behaviorist thought that behavior is

determined by environment.)

;. +einforcement and punishment have unpredictable and indirect effects on both

 behavior and learning.

Problem-based Learning 

7roblembased learning thus has several distinct characteristics that may be

identified and used in designing such curriculum. These are$

!. +eliance on problems to drive the curriculum the problems do not test skills<

they assist in development of the skills themselves.

. The problems are truly illstructured there is not meant to be one solution and as

new information is gathered in a reiterative process perception of the problem

and thus the solution changes.

,. Students solve the problems teachers are coaches and facilitators.

/. Students are only given guidelines for how to approach problems there is no one

formula for student approaches to the problem.

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;. *uthentic performancebased assessment is a seamless part and end of the

instruction.

Cognitive Fleibility Theory 

Cognitive fle'ibility theory focuses on the nature of learning in comple' and ill

structured domains. Spiro 1 9ehng (!""8 p. !=;) state$ %By cognitive fle'ibility we

mean the ability to spontaneously restructure one0s knowledge in many ways in adaptiveresponse to radically changing situational demands...This is a function of both the way

knowledge is represented (e.g. along multiple rather single conceptual dimensions) and

the processes that operate on those mental representations (e.g. processes of schemaassembly rather than intact schema retrieval).%

The theory is largely concerned with transfer of knowledge and skills beyondtheir initial learning situation. or this reason emphasis is placed upon the presentation

of information from multiple perspectives and use of many case studies that presentdiverse e'amples. The theory also asserts that effective learning is conte'tdependent so

instruction needs to be very specific. 5n addition the theory stresses the importance of

constructed knowledge< learners must be given an opportunity to develop their ownrepresentations of information in order to properly learn.

Cognitive fle'ibility theory builds upon other constructivist theories (e.g. Bruner 

*usubel 7iaget) and is related to the work of Salomon in terms of media and learning

interaction.

7rinciples$

!. &earning activities must provide multiple representations of content.

. 5nstructional materials should avoid oversimplifying the content domain and support

conte'tdependent knowledge.

,. 5nstruction should be casebased and emphasize knowledge construction nottransmission of information.

/. >nowledge sources should be highly interconnected rather than compartmentalized.

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!e"erences#

+etrieved from$

!. http$??tip.psychology.org?spiro.html on !, September 88".

. http$??www.innovativelearning.com?teaching?social@learning@theory.html on !,

September 88".

,. http$??www.ed.psu.edu?nasa?probt't.html on !, September 88".

/. http$??home.sprynet.com?Agkearsley?tip?bandura.html on !, September 88".