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Gestalt Learning
Vergel John P. Ercia DDM
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Learning objectives
• At the end of the presentation, yoshold be able to – Discss the general processes of Gestalt
learning and their i!plications to healthsciences teaching
– Di"erentiate behavioris! and other
cognitive theories of learning fro!Gestalt learning
– E#plain the varios factors relating tolearning and training fro! a Gestalt
perspective
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GE$%AL% %&E'()$%$
MaxWertheimer
Wolfgang Köhler Kurt Koffka
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• Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt
Koffka, studied perception and concluded that
the ‘learners were not passive , but rather
active. !he" suggested that learners do not #ust collect information but the" activel"
process and restructure data in order to
understand it. !his is called $%&'%$!()*
$&+'%%. *ike past experience, needs,
attitudes and ones present situation can affect
his-her perception.
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estalt !heor" is based on the fact that
“!here are wholes, the behavior of which is not determined b" that
of their individual elements, but where the part/processes are
themselves determined be the intrinsic nature of the whole. 0t is
the hope of estalt theor" to determine the nature of suchwholes.1 Max Wertheimer ,2345
0n other words, the estaltists believed that phenomenological
experience should not be studied in parts but as a whole. !his is
because our brain processes the information received from oursenses organi6ing it in Gestalten 7meaningful wholes8.
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%he Gestalt theory proposes that learning consists of thegrasping of a strctral *hole and not jst a !echanisticresponse to a sti!ls.
GESTALT THEORY
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estalten
!he cognitive process that our brain exercises on the
sensor" stimulation simplifies, organi6es and adds
meaning to our ps"chological experience.
What the estalt ps"chologists stud" is humanperception. )nd according to them, our conscious
perception of sensorial elements is diverse to the
sensorial elements themselves, because we add a
meaning to it. !herefore, according to the estalt
ps"chologists 9!he Whole is more than the sum of itsparts1
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• :rain insists on finding patterns 7estalten8 wherever
possible.
• o it is not neutral and passive.
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What is this;
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What is this;
Children apparently get
this a lot faster than adults.
I wonder why?
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hat arethey-
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hat arethey-
Ship arriving too late to
save a drowning witch
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hat are
they-
Worm wriggling across
a razor blade
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hat are
they-Koala climbing a tree
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What are the";
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ensor" +rgani6ation
)ccording to K=hler, a general d"namic
interdependence exists in our sensor" field, although
d"namic factors operate towards a measure of
segregation.
0n most visual fields the contents of particular areas9belong together1 as circumscribed units which are
segregated from their surroundings.
!hese units ac>uire names and become richl" s"mbolic.
!his organi6ation into units is not present in the stimulithemselves, but a product of our neural functions.
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Gestalt
Principles
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Law of roximit!
ob#ects near each other or closer together
tend to be grouped together.
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rin"i#le of roximit!
We perceive sensorial elements that are close to each other as a
“whole” or Gestalt.
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Law of Similarit!• elements that look similar we perceived
as part of the same form.
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rin"i#le of Similarit! We perceive sensorial elements which share similar characteristics
as a “whole” or Gestalt.
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Law of $lo%ure
• objects groped together are seen asa *hole.
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rin"i#le of $lo%ureOur cognitive process completes incomplete sensorialelements, causing us to consciously perceive them as a
“whole” or gestalt.
EhrensteinKanizsa Triangle
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Law of Goo& $ontinuation
• connected by straight or crvinglines are seen in a *ay that thes!oothest path, rather than seeingseparate lines and angles, lines areseen belonging together.
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rin"i#le of $ontinuit!
If one sensorial element directs us to another we perceive both as a“whole” or Gestalt.
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Law of Goo& ragnan'
• the word pragnanz a erman term meaning9good figure1. !he law of pragnan6 is sometimes
referred to as law of good figure or law of
simplicit". !his hold that ob#ects in the
environment are seen in a wa" that makes themappear as simple as possible.
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rin"i#le of S!mmetr!
We perceive simple and regular “wholes” more readily than irregular
ones.
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Law of (igure)Groun&
we pa" attention and perceived things inthe foreground first. ) stimulus will be
perceived as separate from its ground.
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rin"i#le of (igure)Groun&We separate whole figures from their backgrounds based on one or
more of a number of possible variables.
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0f we?re thinking about
the perils of growingold, we?ll on average
see the old woman.
:ut if we?re focused on
the #o"s of "outh andbeaut", it?s the "oung
woman that will appear.
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aces or Vase-
This is the classic figure!ground"
issue studied by the #estalt
pioneers.
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The appearance and
disappearance of the blac$
dots may represent the
brain%s search for pattern...
Th % b th th
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Which circle in the middle is
bigger;
They%re both the same.
&'easure them( )ut we are
influenced by context
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0nsight *earning
• Wolfgang Kohler was the first ps"chologist
who developed the insight learning in which he
described an experiments with apes could use
boxes and sticks as tools to solve problem.
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K=hlers
chimps 2
Such insight may reasonably
be inferred to be
demonstrated by one of
Kohler%s apes deliberately
piling up bo*es to get atout!of!reach bananas
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/0hler1s chi!ps345267
+r this one, using shorter
stic$s to get a longer one
to reach the fruit.
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:ett" the crow
Crow bending a wire into
a hoo$ to fish food out of a tumbler.
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• The im#ortant a%#e"t of
learning wa% notreinfor"ement* +ut the
"oor&ination of thinking to"reate new organi'ation%,
Kohler referre& to thi%
+eha-ior a% in%ight or
&i%"o-er! learning,
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• 'ant leave min& out of it.
• Min& make% meaning
–earch for patterns 7estalt8
• 9!rial and error1 can take place in apurel" mental form
• @eed to stud" mental processes
–
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Ge%talt rin"i#le% an& Tea"hing)
Learning ro"e%%
• six estalt $rinciples not onl" influence
perception but also the" impact on
learning.
A Kurt *ewin
• his theor" focusing on 9life space
adhered to gestalt ps"cholog".
• an individual has inner and outer forces
that affect his perception and also his
learning.
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• 0nner Borces
include his own motivation,
attitudes and feelings.
• +uter Borces include the attitude and
behavior of the teacher and
classmates.
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0nterdisciplinar" learning and topic work
Learning beyond subject boundaries
Based upon experiences and outcomes drawn from different
curriculum areas or subjects within them
Provides relevant, challenging and enjoyable learning experiences
and stimulating contexts to meet the varied needs of children
Revisiting a concept or skill from different perspectives deepens
understanding and can also make the curriculum more coherent
and meaningful from the learner’s point of view.
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'ross 'urricular *earning
'ross curricular learning gives children the
notion that things are connected and topics
are not isolated facts with no link to realit".
'hildren have the opportunit" to appl" theirknowledge and skills in a wider variet" of
fields
C!he coherence of the curriculum can be
strengthened b" combining aspects of onesub#ect with those of anotherC
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'ontextuali6ed *earning
)ccording to Dull?s 7233E8 definition of contextual learning, learningoccurs onl" when learners connect information to their own
frame of referenceF
C)ccording to contextual learning theor", learning occurs
onl" when students 7learners8 process new information
or knowledge in such a wa" that it makes sense to themin their frame of reference 7their own inner world of
memor", experience, and response8. !his approach to
learning and teaching assumes that the mind naturall"
seeks meaning in context//that is, in the environment
where the person is located//and that it does so throughsearching for relationships that make sense and appear
useful.C
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'riticismsestalt theories of perception are critici6ed for
being descriptive rather than eplanatory in nature.
Bor this reason, the" are viewed b" some as
redundant or uninformative. Bor example, :ruce,
reen G eorgeson conclude the following regarding
estalt theor"?s influence on the stud" of visual
perception.
:ruce, H., reen, $. G eorgeson, M. 7233I8. !isual
perception" #hysiology, psychology and ecology 7Erd
ed.8. *%). pp. 22J.
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'riticism
) general criticism of estalt theor" has been that it
does not provide an explanation of emotion and
personalit".
!he $hilosophical review, Holume 5 :" Lacob ould
churman, Lames %dwin 'reighton, Brank !hill",
age chool of $hilosoph", ustavus Watts'unningham
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Incrementals$illac-uisition
ennydropping"
/cademicstudy
0.
)ehavioural ?
#estalt ?
Cognitive ? ? 0. What $ind of theory is best
for illuminating what
$ind of learning?
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%&A8/ 9':