THEORIES

OF

LEARNING Rosalina J. Villaneza, Ph.D.

Head, NEPP /MTB-MLE

DepED, Central Office

Email Add. rosevill62@yahoo.com

Cell. No. 09066781626

ANTICIPATION GUIDE

Directions:

Put a check mark (/) on the appropriate space for each statement to show if you

agree or disagree. Discuss your answers and come up with a response to each item.

AGREE DISAGREE

1. _______ Learning is merely a memorization of what the teacher _______

has taught.

2. _______ Learning theories helps us to understand why certain _______

approaches, practices need to be done and how to

develop appropriate learning activities for children in

our communities.

3. _______ The schema or background knowledge of the students _______

has nothing to do with the student’s learning in the

classroom.

4. _______ In the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) of _______

Vygotsky, he emphasizes the importance of the

teacher’s or any expert’s role in the child’s realization

of his/her full potential.

5. _______ Motivation is the only factor that contributes to learning. _______

Priming: Differentiated Chart

Directions:

• Divide the group into 10.

• Provide each group an activity chart to work on.

• Have the presentation of outputs after 5 minutes.

Group A – On the word THEORY (see attached activity sheet)

A.1 – Semantic Web

A.2 – Spider Web

A.3 – Know – What you want to know – What you learned (KWL)

A.4 – Thinking Chart

A.5 – Frayer Model

Group B – On the word LEARNING (see attached activity sheet)

B. 1 - Semantic Web

B. 2 - Spider Web

B. 3 - KWL

B. 4 - Thinking Chart

B. 5 - Frayer Model

Analysis:

1. What can you say about the

activity?

2. Did each group able to

develop the concept

(theory/learning)?

3. How did each group

develop the concept?

Activity:

Using the same grouping, have each group work on the

activity.

1. Have each group share their experiences on:

Group A – “Something learned successfully”.

Group B – “Something they failed to learn”.

2. Have them fill in the space provided for in the

chart.

3. Have them choose one experience to be shared

with the larger group after 10 mins.

Analysis:

Skills learned How did you know

that you develop

the skill/s?

What contributed

to your success?

What insights

have you learned

from the

experience?

What learning

theory/ies can be

attributed this

effect?

Skills learned How did you know

that you fail to

develop the

skill/s?

What contributed

to your failure?

What insights

have you learned

from the

experience?

What learning

theory/ies can be

attributed to this

effect?

Group A - Something learned successfully

Group B - Something you fail to learn

• What are the classroom implications of all these concepts?

• How can we make learning happen in the classroom?

• To what theory/ies of learning can you attribute the success or

failure of the activity/task ?

What is Learning Theory Good For?

Learning theory helps us to understand

our own personal learning history.

Learning theory helps us to

understand how to develop

appropriate learning activities

for children in our communities.

Learning Theories

1. Developmental Learning Theory (Piaget)

2. Schema Theory (Anderson)

3. Social Learning Theory (Bandura)

4. Sociocultural Learning Theory (Vygotsky)

1. Developmental Learning Theory

Jean Piaget, Swiss scientist

(1896-1980) noticed that children

who were the same age frequently

gave the same wrong answers to

questions.

Children learn by passing through a consistent

series of stages in cognitive development.

Four Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensory-motor stage (infancy)

Pre-operational stage

(toddler/early childhood)

Concrete operational stage

(primary/early adolescene)

Formal operatinal stage

(adolescence & adulthood)

Sensory-motor Stage (0-2)

Begins to make use of imitation,

memory, and thought.

Begins to recognize that objects

do not cease to exist when they

are hidden.

Moves from reflex actions to goal – directed

activity.

Preoperational Stage (2-5)

gradually develops use of language

and ability to think in symbolic form.

has difficulties seeing another

person’s point of view.

able to think operations through

logically in one directions.

Concrete Operationa (5-12)

able to solve concrete (hands-on)

problems in logical way.

understand laws of conservation:

the amount or number of something

does not change even if the

arrangement changes, provided

nothing is added or taken away.

Formal Operational, early

is able to group objects into

categories and to arrange

objects in sequential order

according to one aspect – (size,

weight, volume).

understands thinking backward,

from end to beginning (e.g. Counting

from 100 – 1; what happened before

all the houses fell down.

Formal Operational, later

able to solve abstract

problems in formal

logical fashion.

3x – 4

3x – 5x + 2

becomes more scientific

in thinking.

develops concerns about social

issues, identity.

9x – 6x + 4x

26x + 8x

(a) 1

3x +1

(b) 18x – 6x + 4x

30x +1x

Educational Research Implications

discovery learning

supports the developing interests of the child

encourages parents/teachers to challenge their

children... but not to present materials or

information that is too far beyond the child’s

level of ability.

encourages use of wide variety of experiences

to help children learn....

uses concrete objects (manipulatives)

encourages work groups in order to improve

ability to see things from another’s perspective;

engages in field trips, expriential learning, etc.

Constructivism & Piaget

Constructivism is a theory of knowledge.

It argue that human beings generate knowledge

and meaning from interaction between their

experiences and their ideas.... Piaget called

these schemas.

Piaget’s theory of constructivist learning has

had wide-ranging impact on learning theories

and teaching methods in education and is an

underlying theme of many education reform

movements.

Social constructivism has been criticized for

being a kind of behaviorism, which introduces

the individual to his or her social environment

2. Schema Theory of Learning

Submarine

Transportation

Bus

Land

Trycicle Jeep

Truck

Ship

Boat

Airplane

Multicub

Van Taxi

Water Air Raft

Pumpboat Speedboat

Jet

Helicopter

Rocket

R.C. Anderson, a

resepcted educational

psychologist.

views organized

knowledge as an

elaborate network of

abstract mental

structures which

represents one’s

understanding

of the world.

General Knowledge

Transportation

Bus

Land

Trycicle Jeep

Truck

Ship

Boat

Airplane

Multicub

Van Taxi

Water Air Raft

Pumpboat Speedboat

Jet

Helicopter

Rocket

it is important to teach

general knowledge and

generic concepts.

generic concepts can

explain many different

features of a particular

field of study.

a large proportion of

learned difficulties

can be traced to

insufficient general

knowledge, especially

in cross-cultural situations.

Submarine

Transportation

Bus

Land

Trycicle Jeep

Truck

Ship

Boat

Airplane

Multicub

Van Taxi

Water Air Raft

Pumpboat Speedboat

Jet

Helicopter

Rocket Submarine

Making Connections

teachers must help

learners to build

schemata and to make

connections between

ideas.

Techniques used to

strengthen connections:

o discussion, songs,

role play, illustrations,

visual aids, and

explanations of how

a piece of knowledge

applies.

Educational Implications

prior knowledge is essential for the comprehension

of new information, teachers either need to;

help students build the prerequisite knowledge, or

remind them of what they already know before

introducing new materials.

schemata grow and change as new information

is acquired.

schema research indicates that abstract concepts

are best understood after a foundation of concrete,

relevant information has been established.

Learners Conflict ...

learners feel internal conflict if they are trying

to assimilate schemate which contradict their

understanding of things. Teachers need to

understand and be symphatetic to this tension.

deep – seated schemata are hard to change. An

individual will often prefer to live with

inconsistencies than to change a deeply-held

value or belief.

Characteristics of Schema

Meaningful. Always organized meanifully.

Without meaningful connections, important

information can be easily lost.

Embedded. Each schema is embedded in other

schemata and itself contains sub – schema.

e.g.“Transportation” schema includes “motorbike”

which is it’s own schema. “Transportation” is

part of a “country infrastructure” schema.

Changing. Schema change moment by moment

as new information is received.

Moveable. Schema may also be reorganized

when incoming data reveals a need to change

or restructure the concept.

3. Social Theory of Learning

Albert Bandura asked the question,

“How are societies so successful in

transmitting their ideas of what is

good and bad behavior, of what is

valued, and of what skills are

most important?”

The learners in these societies often seem

unaware that they have been “taught” these

behaviors.

Key Findings ........

Much human learning is the result of observing

the behavior of other people;

We learn to imitate certain behaviors by being

reinforced (rewarded) for doing so; and

“Significant others” – parents, sports heroes,

mass media stars, teachers, spouses, friends –

wield powerful influence on the lives of others.

4. Sociocultural Theory of Learning

Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist

(1896 – 1934)

Missing in Piaget’s theory: the role

of the child’s cultural and social

group.

Underestimated in Piaget’s theory:

the role and importance of language.

Vygotskian Perspectives.........

Vygotdsky believed that all knowledge in

socially constructed, a product of dialogue

and interaction between thought and speech.

His emphasis on the social nature of learning

complements Piaget’s theory of the individual

passing through stages of cognitive development

in a set of sequence.

Key Vygotskian Concepts

Everything is

learned twice: first

socially (that is, with

the help of other human

beings), then privately.

(internalized)

All knowledge is socially

constructed; that is, all

learning is group learning

Thought and speech

are keys to human

consciousness (that

is, to the human

being’s

consciousness

of herself/himself

and others.

Thought is aided by

speech.

Zone of Proximal Development

Learning takes place when there is

some knowledge, understanding or

skill, beyond the grasp of the learner,

which the learner is “prepared” to

learn but cannot do so by herself.

The learner needs an older or more

knowledgeable or skilled person to

assist her/him in understanding/doing

the new concept/skill.

The more knowledgeable person helps

the learner in the process of acquiring

the knowledge until the learner is able

to understand or perform by

her/himself

The time period in which the two are

working together in what Vygotsky means

by “Zone of Proximal Development”

Implication for Education

If knowledge is socially constructed, then learners

need to converse, to exchange ideas, to interact

with their teacher and classmates.

If thought develops as people use speech, then the

act of speaking is as important as the act of

listening for learning new information, concepts,

and skills.

The role of the teacher or facilitator is to provide

opportunities for learners to dialogue.

Application

Formulate a teaching principle which

you can apply when you go back to your

school based on the four theories of

learning.

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