Theories On How People Learn

This unit aims to enable learners to understand the learning process and to give them the skills they need to

Learning, as defined by Slavin (2012), is “a change in an individual caused by experience” (p. 116). Learning can occur intentionally or unintentionally. All learning, however, is stimulated by something that is the learner (student) has encountered. As an instructor, your goal every day is to use the right stimuli to capture the student’s attention so they can absorb the knowledge you are trying to share.

Observational learning is simply learning by observing the behavior of other people called models (Bandura 1997,1986,1989 2000,2006). Bandura sees observational learning as one of the most important mechanism through which humans behavior changes. Cady watched how “the plastics”acted and that is why she eventually became one. This type of learning is more cognitive than conditioning because people have to pay attention to how the person acted at a particular time and make mental pictures to use them later on.

Definitions of learning vary drastically. This is primarily due to the differing conceptions of what learning actually is. Saljo (1979) identified five categories of learning. It is suggested that the five categories: “…increase in

Have you ever wondered how the brain develops while we learn? Dr. Rita Smilkstein’s research on The Natural Human Learning Process was interesting. I now know the parts of the brain and how they work. I know now how we learn and how emotions have an impact on how we learn. As college students, we need to understand how our brains work and how emotions can help us learn successfully, since all college students should want to become successful people in their lives during college and throughout their lives.

Simulationists argue that a compelling case can be made against the theory theory. I do not discuss that case here. Instead I address an issue which, although crucial to the outcome of the debate, has not yet been examined. This issue concerns the nature of the commonsense psychological explanations produced by the mechanism whose functioning both theories claim to describe.

“Bandura analyzed the nature of observational learning and found it to be governed by four related mechanisms: attentional processes, retention processes, production processes, and incentive and motivational processes” (Schultz & Schultz, 2013, p. 335). First, there are various changing forces that can effect attentional processes (Schultz & Schultz, 2013). According to Bandura, “observational learning or modeling will not occur unless the subject pays attention to the model” (Schultz & Schultz, 2013). For example, even though Antwone was not raised by his biological parents, he had several influences in his life.

We all use observation to a certain extent in our day to day lives. As human beings, one of the many stimuli that we use is sight, therefore one of the ways we learn about our surroundings is through observation. Many great characters from fictious literature and pop culture, such as Arthur Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” and Psych’s “Shawn Spencer”. While this level of observation may be unrealistic, the uses and benefits that come from it are still incredible. So, is one just simply born with these elevated levels of focus and mental capacity? Many don’t understand that much like playing the piano or painting a picture, observation is an art and skill in its own right. A skill that can be taught, acquired, and applied.

Learning by definition is any relatively permanent change in behavior that is brought on by experience or practice. The “Relatively Permanent” part of the definition refers to the fact that when people learn anything, some part of their brain is physically changed to record what they have learned. (Farmer et., 2013; Loftus & Loftus, 1980). This is actually a process of memory, for without the ability to remember what happens people cannot learn anything. It is thought that once a person learns something it is present somewhere in their brain in physical form even if they cant get to it. As for the inclusion of experience or practice in the definition of learning this is seen in the fact that if we do something and have a negative experience such as pain we are likely not to do it again where as if we have a positive outcome after doing something we are more likely to do it again. Other changes in the brain are caused by growing. This is controlled by our genetic blueprint. This is called maturation.

Observational occurs through observing the behavior of others in your environment. While in battle Jim observes the terror and fear of others when a bomb is fired in his squad. The loud noise produced by the bomb being fired triggers a sense of fear among his unit and reminds them that a battle is in the process. When Jim looks beside himself at the faces of his members in his unit he is learning by observing his surroundings adding to his own sense of anguish. By learning from others in his unit or his environment Jim now correlates loud noises with fear due to his remembrance of the expression on other people’s faces, and how they are acting once a bomb is fired. Observational learning relies on what we perceive and who we are observing. An individual is more likely to observe and take into account the behavior of someone he or she respects and trusts rather than a random person. In Jim’s case members of your units are like your brothers, which further propel Jims fear by seeing it in the people’s faces that he respects and trusts. A common factor which increases the likelihood of imitation is if the situation in ambiguous and unfamiliar. When Jim first started out while in battle he looked at the faces of his comrades as he was perplexed and confused for the first time in a pressuring situation. He noticed that they were also very perplexed which perpetuated the same

Production : Observers must be physically and/intellectually capable of producing the act. In many cases the observer possesses the necessary responses. But sometimes, reproducing the model 's actions may involve skills the observer has not yet acquired. It is one thing to carefully watch a circus juggler, but it is quite another to go home and repeat those acts.

     Observational learning occurs when a person or an animal uses observation of another’s actions and their consequences to guide their own future actions. The person being observed is referred to as a model. For this reason observational learning is also referred to as modeling. Observational learning involves four stages, attention, retention, reproduction and motivation-reinforcement. Attention is when the learner observers the actions of the model (The higher the status of the model the more attention the learner will pay and the closer their imitations will be to the models actions). Retention is when the learner retains in their memory what they have just observed. Reproduction is when the learner will reproduce or imitate the actions of the model that they have just observed. Reproduction is when the learner reproduces or imitates what they have just observed. Motivation-reinforcement can come in various ways. External reinforcement, through praise for doing something well, self-reinforcement, through the

In “How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom,” M. Suzanne Donovan and John D. Bransford open the chapter by saying “Many of us learned science in school by studying textbooks that reported the conclusions of what scientists have learned over the decades” I related most to this text because mostly everything that I’ve learned was from studying a textbook ever since seventh grade and till this day. The quote above is especially true when you enter college level sciences, for example, my college professor for my introduction to Biology would lecture briefly about one chapter up until the exam. Only to find out that chapter is not on the exam, and in order to get the good grades on the exams students sort of had to

Learning is a multifaceted perception unique to each individual. In looking to address the intricacies of learning, there have been a multitude of learning theories established over the centuries. To this day new theories are developed and traditional theories continue to be developed and expanded upon. (Swinburne Online, 2016)

Learning is the relatively permanent change in behavior (Burns, 1995), and can come in the form of observable activities and internal processes. Explanations of what happens when these actions occur are known as learning theories. These theories include behaviorist, cognitivist, humanist, social learning and constructivist. In this essay behaviorist and cognitivists will be described, compared and contrasted in order to truly understand their approache.