Learning Theories

The focus on process obviously takes us into the realm of learning theories - ideas about how or why change occurs.

• Behaviourist
• Cognitive
• Constructivist

Behaviourism was the predominant school of thought in learning theory in the 1950s and 1960s. This theory defines learning as the changes that take place in the observable behaviour of a learner in terms of stimulus-response processes. Behaviourists were not interested in internal mental states, but concentrated their attention on what was observable and therefore external.

During the 50s and 60s many psychologists became dissatisfied with the behaviourist approach due to its failure to incorporate mental events in the study of learning. Cognitivism countered the behaviourist perspective with a view of knowledge acquisition as a symbolic, mental construction in the mind of individuals and as the outcome of learning. Thus, they see learners understanding new relations among the parts of a problem by acquiring and reorganizing information into understandable cognitive structures or ‘schema’.

The shift in emphasis from teacher-centred to learner-centred education is further developed in the work of the Constructivists. Constructivism views learning as a process where the learner actively constructs new ideas or concepts based on his current and past experiences. Learning therefore is a personal endeavour. According to Bruner and other constructivists, the role of the teacher is now one of facilitator who helps the students to discover principles for themselves by working on real-world problems, on their own or in collaboration with their peers.

A related learning model, Social Constructivism, places a strong emphasis on the paramount role of social-cultural context and interactions in the development of cognition. In social constructivist terms, knowledge has a social nature and it is the result of social interaction and the use of language. Social constructivists recognize the context in which learning takes place and the social context that the learner brings to the learning environments as paramount in facilitating meaning construction.

One of the main exponents of Social Constructivist theory was Lev Vygotsky who perceived human development in a broad social context. He asserted that individual mental processes stem from social processes. Furthermore, he highlighted language as a paramount tool in social development since it allows the learner to detach him/herself from the limitations of the immediate environment in which he/she is immersed.

This brief survey of learning theories demonstrates the shift in emphasis in learning from a passive state where learning is broken down into discrete bits to be absorbed by the student to an active process where the student is personally involved in developing his own understanding of real-world issues.

• What is Learning?

• Learning & Assessment

• Assessment For Learning

• Learning Theories

Introduction
Pedagogical Background

• Learning Preferences

• Reflective Learners