Prepared by: Leila M.

Collantes
E-mail Address: leilacollantes@clsu.edu.ph

Central Luzon State University

Science City of Muñoz 3120
Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Instructional Module for the Course

ED 2100- The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles

Module 5: Behavioral Learning Theories

and Approaches in Learning

Overview

In this module, you will have an in-depth understanding on

the process of learning, how people learn, how they acquire
information, how they store and process information or knowledge.
The different approaches of learning and its application to
classroom situations will be discussed comprehensively, the
behaviorism theory such as connectionism, conditioning theories,
gestalt theory and experiential learning theory will also be
presented.
You are expected to come up with your own words on how
learning takes place and analyze what learning approach and
specific theory is applied in every situation in the classroom,
particularly how your students learn.

Time Allotment (3 Weeks)

 SED 2100 The Child and Adolescent Learner and Learning Principles

I. Objectives

After studying this module, the student should be able to:

1. Come up with own definition of learning

2. Differentiate classical conditioning from operant conditioning
3. Compare and contrast various approaches to learning and describe how it
is manifested in the classrooms
4. Apply behavior analysis in teaching child and adolescent learners across
curriculum areas

5. Explain the 24 principles

6. Advocate for the use of the 14 principles in the teaching-learning process.
7. Identify ways on how to apply the 14 principles in instruction as a future
teacher
8. Make connections using knowledge on current research literature,
between behavioral learning theories and developmentally appropriate
teaching approaches suited to learner’s gender, needs, strengths,
interests and experiences.

II. Learning Activities

Discussion

A. What is Learning?

Learning can be defined as a relatively permanent influence on behavior,

knowledge, thinking skills, which comes about through experience.

B. Approaches to Learning

Teachers not only need to understand the basic principles of

learning but must also know how to use them to meet diverse learning
goals in contexts where students’ needs differ (Bransford & other, 2005;
Yasnitsky & Vander Veer, 2016).
Below are two approaches in learning the behaviorism and cognitive,
under the cognitive there are four theories such as,

1. Behavioral Approach

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The view that behavior should be explained by observable

experiences, not by mental processes. The behavioral approaches
emphasize the importance of children making connections between
experiences and behavior. The first behavioral approach is classical
conditioning.

Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism

learns to connect, or associate, stimuli. In classical conditioning, a
neutral stimulus (such as the sight of a person) becomes associated
with a meaningful stimulus (such as food) and acquires the capacity to
elicit a similar response.

- Classical conditioning was the brainchild of Ivan Pavlov (1927). To

fully understand Pavlov’v theory of classical conditioning, we need to
understand two types of stimuli and two types of responses:
unconditioned stimulus (UCS), unconditioned response (UCR),
conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned response (CR).

An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is a stimulus that automatically

produces a response without any prior learning. Food was the UCS in
Pavlov’s experiments. An unconditioned response (UCR) is a unlearned
response that is automatically elicited by the UCS. In Pavlov’s
experiments, the dog’s salivation in response to food was the UCR. A
conditioned stimulus (CS) is a previously neutral stimulus that
eventually elicits a conditioned response after being associated with
the UCS. Among the conditioned stimuli in Pavlov’s experiments were
various sights and sounds that occurred prior to the dog’s actually
eating the food, such as the sound of the door closing before the food
was placed in the dog’s dish. A conditioned response (CR) is a learned
response to the conditioned stimulus that occurs after UCS-CS pairing.

Classical conditioning can be involved in both positive and negative

experiences of children in the classroom. Among the things in the
child’s schooling that produce pleasure because they have become
classically conditioned are a favorite song and feelings that the
classroom is a safe and fun place to be. For example, a song could be
neutral for the child until the child joins in with other classmates to
sing it with accompanying positive feelings.

Children can develop fear of the classroom if they associate the

classroom with criticism, so the criticism becomes a CS for fear.
Classical conditioning also can be involved in test anxiety. For example,
a child fails and is criticized, which produces anxiety; thereafter, the

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child associates test with anxiety, so they can become a CS for

anxiety.

- Some children’s health problems also might involve classical

conditioning (Chance , 2014). Certain physical complaints-asthma,
headaches, and high blood pressure – might be partly due to classical
conditioning. We usually say that such health problems can be caused
by stress. Often what happens, though, is that certain stimuli, such as
parent’s or teacher’s heavy criticism, are conditioned stimuli for
physiological responses. Over time, the frequency of the physiological
response can produce a health problem. A teacher’s persistent criticism
of a student can cause the student to develop headaches, muscle
tension, and so on. Anything associated with the teacher, such as
classroom learning exercises and homework , might trigger the
student’s stress and subsequently be linked with headache or other
physiological responses.

Generalization, Discrimination and Extinction

In studying a dog’s response to various stimuli. Pavlov rang a bell

before giving meat powder to the dog. Be being paired with the UCS
(meat), the bell became a CS and elicited the dog’s salivation. After a
time, Pavlov found that the dog also responded to other sounds, such
as whistle. The more bell-like the noise, the stronger the dog’s
response. Generalization in classical conditioning involves the tendency
of a new stimulus similar to the original conditioned stimulus to
produce a similar response. Lets consider a classroom example. A
student is criticized for poor performance on a biology test. When the
student begins to prepare for a chemistry test, she also becomes very
nervous because these two subjects are closely related in the sciences.
Thus, the student’s anxiety generalizes from taking a test in one
subject to taking a test in another.

Discrimination in classical conditioning occurs when the organisms

responds to certain stimuli but not others. To produce discrimination,
Pavlov gave food to the dog only after ringing the bell, not after any
sounds. Subsequently, the dog responded only to the bell. In the case
of the student taking tests in different classes, she doesn’t become
nearly as nervous about taking an English test or a history test
because they are very different subject.

Extinction in classical conditioning involves the weakening of the

conditioned response (CR) in the absence of the unconditioned
stimulus (UCS). In one session, Pavlov rang the bell repeatedly but did

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not give the dog any food. Eventually the dog stopped salivating at the
sound of the bell. Similarly, if the student who gets nervous while
taking test begins to do much better on tests, her anxiety will fade.

Systematic Desensitization. Sometimes the anxiety and stress

associated with negative events can be eliminated by classical
conditioning. Systematic desensitization is a method based on classical
conditioning that reduces anxiety be getting the individual to associate
deep relaxation with successive visualization of increasingly anxiety-
producing situations. Imagine that you have a student in your class
who is extremely nervous about talking in front of the class. The goal
of systematic desensitization is to get the student to associate public
speaking with relaxation, such as walking on a quiet beach, rather
than anxiety. Using successive visualizations, the student might
practice systematic desensitization two weeks before the talk, then a
week before, four days before, the day before, the morning of the talk,
on entering the room where the talk to be given, on the way to the
podium, and during the talk.

Operant Conditioning (also called instrumental

conditioning) is a form of learning in which the consequences of
behavior produce changes in the probability that the behavior will
occur. Operant conditioning is at the heart of B.F. Skinner’s (1938)
behavioral view. Consequences-reward and punishments-are
contingent on the organism’s behavior.
- Reinforcement and Punishment. Reinforcement (reward) is a
consequence that increases the probability that a behavior will occur.
In contrast, punishment is a consequence that decreases the
probability a behavior will occur. For example, you might tell one of
your students, “Congratulations, I’m really proud of the story that you
wrote.” If the students works harder and writes an even better story
the next time, your positive comments are said to reinforce, reward,
the student’s writing behavior. If you frown at a student for talking in
class and the student’s talking decreases, your frown is said to punish
the student’s talking.
- To reinforce behavior means to strengthen the behavior (Domjan,
2015). Two forms of reinforcement are positive reinforcement and
negative reinforcement. In positive reinforcement, the frequency of a
response increases because it is followed by a rewarding stimulus, as
in the example in which the teacher’s positive comments increased the
student’s writing behavior. Similarly, complimenting parents on being
at a parent-teacher conference might encourage them to come back
again.

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- Conversely, in negative reinforcement, the frequency of a

response increases because it is followed by the removal of an
aversive (unpleasant) stimulus. For example, a father nags at his own
son to do his homework. The son’s response (doing his homework)
removed the unpleasant stimulus (nagging).
- One way to remember the distinction between positive and
negative reinforcement is that in positive reinforcement something is
added. In negative reinforcement, something is subtracted or remove.
It is easy to confuse negative reinforcement and punishment. To keep
these terms straight, remember that negative reinforcement increases
the probability that a response will occur, whereas punishment
decreases the probability that it will occur.

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction.

Generalization in operant conditioning means giving the same to
similar stimuli. Example, if a teacher praises the student for asking
good questions related to English, will this generalize to harder work in
history. Math, and other subjects?
Discrimination in operant conditioning involves differentiating
among stimuli or environmental events. For example, a student knows
that the ray on the teacher’s desk labeled “Math” is where she is
supposed to place today’s math work, whereas another tray labeled
“English” is where today’s English assignments are to be put. This
might sound overly simple, but it is important because student’s worlds
are filled with such discriminative stimuli. Around school these
discriminative stimuli might include signs that say “Stay Out,” “Form a
Line Here”, and so on
Extinction in operant conditioning occurs when a previously
reinforced response is no longer reinforced and the response
decreases. In the classroom, the most common use of extinction is for
the teacher to withdraw attention from a behavior that the attention is
maintaining. For example, in some cases a teacher’s attention
inadvertently reinforces a student’s disruptive behavior, as when a
student pinches another student and the teacher immediately talks
with the perpetrator. If this happens on a regular basis, the student
might learn that pinching other students is a good way to get the
teacher’s attention. If the teacher withdraws his or her attention, the
pinching might extinguish.

2. Social Cognitive Approach

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Emphasizes how behavior, environment and person (cognitive) factors

interact to influence learning.

Social Cognitive theory states that social and cognitive factors,

as well as behavior, play important roles in learning. Cognitive factors
might involve the student’s expectations for success; social factors
might include students’ observing their parents achievement behavior.
Social cognitive theory is an increasingly important source of classroom
applications(Schunk, 2016)
Albert Bandura ( 1986, 1997, 2001, 2009, 2012, 2015) is the main
architect of social cognitive theory. He says that when students learn,
they can cognitively represent or transform their experiences.
Bandura developed a reciprocal determinism model that consists of
three main factor: behavior, person/cognitive and environment. These
factors can interact to influence learning: Environmental factors
influence behavior, behavior affects the environment, person
(cognitive) factors influence behavior, and so on. Bandura uses the
term person, but Santrock modified it to person/cognitive because so
many person factors he describes are cognitive.
Bandura’s model in the case of achievement behavior of a high
school student he calls Sondra.

- Cognition influence behavior. Sondra develops cognitive strategies

to think more deeply and logically about how to solve problems.
The cognitive strategies improve her achievement behavior.
- Behavior influence cognition. Sondra’s studying (behavior) has led
her to achieve good grades, which in turn produces positive
expectancies about her abilities and give her self-confident
(cognition)
- Environmental influences behavior. The school Sondra attends
recently developed a pilot study-skills program to help students
learn how to take Envrinotes, manage their time, and take tests
more effectively. The study-skills program improves Sondra’s
achievement behavior.
- Behavior influences environment. The study-skills program is
successful in improving the achievement behavior of many students
in Sondra’s class. The student’s improved achievement behavior
stimulates the school to expand the program so that all students in
the high school participate in it.
- Cognition influences environment. The expectations and planning
of the school’s principal and teachers made the study-skills
program in the first place.

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- Environmental influences cognition. The school establishes a

resource center where students and parents can go to check out
books and materials on improving study skills. The resource center
also makes study-skills tutoring services available to students.
Sondra and her parents take advantage of the center’s resources
and tutoring. These resources and services improve Sondra’s
thinking skills.
Observational Learning
Observational learning is learning that involves acquiring
skills, strategies, and belief by observing others. Observational learning
involves imitation but is not limited to it. What is learned typically is
not an exact copy of what is modeled but rather a general form or
strategy that observers often apply in creative ways. The capacity to
learn behavior patterns by observation eliminates tedious trial-and-
error learning. In many instances, observational learning takes less
time than operant conditioning.
Processes in Observational Learning. Bandura (1986) describes four
key processes in observational learning: attention, retention,
production, and motivation.
Attention – Before students can produce a model’s actions, they
must attend to what the model is doing or saying. Attention to the
model is influenced by a host of characteristics. For example, warm,
powerful, atypical people command more attention than do cold,
weak, typical people. Students are more likely to be attentive to high-
status models than to low-status models. In most cases, teachers are
high-status models for student.
Retention- To reproduce a model’s action, students must code the
information and keep it in memory so that they can retrieve it. A
simple verbal description or a vivid message of what the model did
assists students’ retention. For example, the teacher might say.
“I’m showing the correct way to do this. You have to do this step first,
this step second, and this step third.” S she models how to solve a
math problem. A video with a colorful character demonstrating the
importance of considering other students’ feelings might be
remembered better than if the teacher just tells the students to do this
. Such colorful characters are at the heart of the popularity of Sesame
Street wit children. Students’ retention will be improved when teachers
give vivid, logical and clear demonstrations.
Production- Children might attend to a model and code in memory
what they have seen – but, because of limitations in their motor
ability, not be able to reproduce the model’s behavior. A 13-year-old
might watch basketball player Lebron James and golfer Michelle Wie
execute their athletic skills to perfection, or observe a famous pianist

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or artist, but not be able to reproduce their motor actions. Teaching,

coaching, and practice can help children improve their motor
performance.
Motivation – Often children attend to what a model says or does,
retain the information in memory, and possess the motor skills to
perform the action but are not motivated to perform the modeled
behavior. This was demonstrated in Bandura’s (1965) classic Bobo doll
study when children who saw the model being punished did not
reproduce the punished model’s aggressive actions. However, when
they subsequently were given a reinforcement or incentive (stickers or
fruit juice), they did imitate the model’s behavior.

3. Information processing Approach

- Focuses on how children process information through attention,

memory, thinking and other cognitive processes (Siegler, 2016a, b).

- The information processing approach emphasizes that children

manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it. Central to
this approach are cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and
thinking (Bauer & Larkina).

- According to information processing approach, children develop a

gradually increasingly complex knowledge and skills (Mayer &
Alexander, 2017; Sieger, 2016a, Siegler & Braithwaite, 2017)

Cognitive Resources
refers to the increase abilities in the capacity and speed of
processing of children.

Mechanism of Change in the Information Processing theory

Encoding is the process by which information gets stored in

memory. Changes in children’s cognitive skills depend on increased skill at
encoding relevant information and ignoring irrelevant information.
Automaticity refers to the ability to process information with little or
no effort. Practice allows children to encode increasing amounts of
information automatically.
Strategy construction is the creation of new procedures for
processing information. Developing an effective repertoire of strategies
and selecting the best one to use on a learning task is a critical aspect of
becoming an effective learner.

Attention

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Attention is the focusing of mental resources. Attention improves

cognitive processing for many tasks, from hitting a baseball to reading a
book or adding numbers (Rothbart & Posner, 2015).
Types of Attention
a. Selective attention is focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is
relevant while ignoring others that are irrelevant. Focusing on one
voice among many in a crowded room or a noisy restaurant is an
example of selective attention.
b. Divided attention involves concentrating on more than one activity at
the same time. If you are listening to music while you are reading this,
you are engaging in divided attention.
c. Sustained attention is the ability to maintain attention over an
extended period of time. Sustained attention is also called vigilance.
d. Executive attention involves planning actions, allocating attention to
goals, detecting and compensating for errors, monitoring progress on
tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances.
Memory
is the retention of information over time.

Encoding is the process by which information gets into memory.

Rehearsal is the conscious repetition of information over time to
increase the length of time information stays in memory. Rehearsal works
best when you need to encode and remember a list of items for a brief
period of time.
Deep processing states that the processing of memory occurs on a
continuum from shallow to deep, with deeper processing producing better
memory. Shallow processing means analyzing the sensory, or physical,
features of a stimulus at a shallow level.
Elaboration is the extensiveness of information processing involved
in encoding.
Constructing Images constructing an image of something
Chunking is a beneficial organizational memory strategy that
involves grouping or “packing”, information into “higher-order” units that
can be remembered as single units. Chunking works by making large
amounts of information more manageable and more meaningful.

Storage is the retention of information over time.

Sensory memory holds information from the world in its original
sensory form for only an instant, not much longer that the brief time a
student is exposes to the visual, auditory, and other sensations.
Short-Term memory is limited capacity memory system in which
information is retained for as long as 30 seconds, unless the information is

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rehearse or otherwise processed further, in which case in can be retained

longer.
Long-Term memory is a type of memory that holds enormous
amount of information for a long period of time in a relatively permanent
fashion. A typical human’s long-term memory capacity is staggering, and
the efficiency with which individuals can retrieve information is impressive.
It often takes only a moment to search through this vast storehouse to
find the information we want.

RETRIEVAL AND FORGETTING

Serial position effect the principle that recall is better for items at
the beginning and at the end of a list then for items in the middle.
Encoding specificity principle states that associations formed at the
time of encoding or learning tend to be effective retrieval cues.
Types of Forgetting
Cue-dependent forgetting is retrieval failure caused by a lack of
effective retrieval cues. The notion of cue-dependent forgetting can
explain why a student might fail to retrieve a needed fact even when he is
sure he “knows” the information.
Interference theory states that we forget not because we actually
lose memories from storage but rather because other information gets in
the way of what we are trying to remember.
Decay theory new learning involves the creation of a neurochemical
“memory trace”, which will eventually disintegrate. This theory suggests
that the passage of time is responsible for forgetting.

Retrieval means taking information out of storage.

4. Cognitive constructivist

Cognitive constructivism owes its genesis largely to Piaget and is

concerned with thinking and learning. Emphasizes the child’s cognitive
construction of knowledge and understanding ( Grenell & Carlson,
2016; Casey& others; Reynold & Romano, 2016).
According to the information-processing approach, children develop
gradually increasing capacity for processing information, which allows
them to acquire increasingly complex knowledge and skills (Mayer &
Alexander, 2017; Sieger, 2016a, b; Sieger & Braithware, 2017)

Characteristics of Cognitive Constructivism

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 Pupils construct their own knowledge of the world.

 Knowledge and understanding are constructed internally by the
learner rather than transmitted from an external source such as the
teacher.
 What someone knows is not passively received but actively
assembled by the learner.
 Learners continuously organize, reorganize, structure and
restructure new experiences to fit them to existing schemata,
knowledge and conceptual structure through an adaptation process
of assimilation (taking in knowledge and incorporating it into
existing knowledge structures) and accommodation (changing ways
of thinking as a result of learning and new knowledge structures)
and accommodation (changing ways of thinking as a result of
learning and new knowledge) to accord with new views of reality;
in striving for homeostasis (equilibrium) – the balance between
assimilation and accommodation.
 Learning is a search for meaning, looking for whole as well as
parts.
 Learning is self-directed and active.
 Learning derives from experiences.
 Learning takes time.
 Learning involves language,
 Learning involves higher order thinking.
 Leaning is and individual and a social activity.
 Learning is self- regulated.
 Learning is, in part, or organizational process t make sense of the
world.
 Learning is marked by the learner’s capacities to explore and
experiment.
 Motivation is critical to effective learning.
 Knowledge is uncertain, evolutionary, pragmatic and tentative,
 Knowledge is socially and culturally mediated and located.
 People generated their own mental models to make sense of their
experience.
 Knowledge is creative, individual and personal.
 Intelligent thought involves metacognition
 To teach well, we have to understand what pupils are thinking.
 Standardised curricula are antithetical to constructivism.

5. Social constructivist Approach

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Social constructivism owes much of its pedigree to Vygotsyky.

Emphasizes the social contexts of learning and say that knowledge is
mutually built and constructed. Involvement with others creates
opportunities for students to evaluate and refine their understanding
as they are exposed to the thinking of others and as they participate in
creating shared understanding.
Focuses on collaboration with others to produce knowledge and
understanding (Gauvain, 2016).

Vygotsky model is social child embedded in sociohistorical context.

Vygotsky’s social constructivist approach emphasizes that students
construct knowledge through social interaction with others. The
content of this knowledge is influenced by the culture in which the
student lives, which includes language, beliefs, and skills (Yasnitsky &
Van der Veer, 2016). Vygotsky emphasize the importance of culture in
learning – for example, culture can determine what skills are important
(such as computer skills, communication skills, teamwork skills)
(Gauvain, 2016).

Situated Cognition
Refers to the idea that thinking is located (situated) in social and
physical contexts, not within an individual’s mind. In other words,
knowledge is embedded in, and connected to the contexts in which the
knowledge developed (Gomez & Lee, 2015; Malinin, 2016).

Four Tools for Social Constructivist Approach

Scaffolding as the technique of changing the level of support over the

course of a teaching session; a more-skilled person adjusts the amount
of guidance to fit the student’s current performance.

Cognitive Apprenticeship a technique which an expert stretches and

supports a novice’s understanding and use of a culture’s skills. The
term apprenticeships underscores the importance of active learning
and highlights the situated nature of learning (Peters-Burtong &
others, 2015). In this tool, teachers often model strategies for
students. Teachers or more pre-skilled peers support students’ efforts
at doing task. They encourage students to continue their work
independently.

Tutoring is basically cognitive apprenticeship between an expert and a

novice. Tutoring can take place between and adult and a child or
between a more-skilled child and a less-skilled child. Individual tutoring

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is an effective strategy that benefits many students, especially those

who are not doing well in a subject (Slaving & others, 2009).

Cooperative learning occurs when students work in small groups to

help each other learn. Cooperative learning groups vary in size,
although four is a typical number of students. In some cases,
cooperative learning is done in dyads (two students).

In the constructivist classroom, the focus tends to shift from the teacher to the
students. The classroom is no longer a place where the teacher ("expert") pours
knowledge into passive students, who wait like empty vessels to be filled. In the
constructivist model, the students are urged to be actively involved in their own
process of learning.

In the constructivist classroom, both teacher and students think of knowledge as a

dynamic, ever-changing view of the world we live in and the ability to successfully
stretch and explore that view - not as inert factoids to be memorized.

Key assumptions of this perspective include:

1. What the student currently believes, whether correct or incorrect, is important.
2. Despite having the same learning experience, each individual will base their
learning on the understanding and meaning personal to them.
3. Understanding or constructing a meaning is an active and continuous process..
4. Learning may involve some conceptual changes.
5. When students construct a new meaning, they may not believe it but may give it
provisional acceptance or even rejection.
6. Learning is an active, not a passive, process and depends on the students taking
responsibility to learn.

The main activity in a constructivist classroom is solving problems. Students use

inquiry methods to ask questions, investigate a topic, and use a variety of resources
to find solutions and answers. As students explore the topic, they draw conclusions,
and, as exploration continues, they revisit those conclusions. Exploration of
questions leads to more questions.

There is a great deal of overlap between a constructivist and social constructivist

classroom, with the exception of the greater emphasis placed on learning through
social interaction, and the value placed on cultural background. For Vygotsky, culture
gives the child the cognitive tools needed for development. Adults in the learner’s
environment are conduits for the tools of the culture, which include language,
cultural history, social context, and more recently, electronic forms of information
access.

In social constructivist classrooms collaborative learning is a process of peer

interaction that is mediated and structured by the teacher. Discussion can be

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promoted by the presentation of specific concepts, problems or scenarios, and is

guided by means of effectively directed questions, the introduction and clarification
of concepts and information, and references to previously learned material.

Role of the teacher

Constructivist teachers do not take the role of the "sage on the stage." Instead,
teachers act as a "guide on the side" providing students with opportunities to test
the adequacy of their current understandings

Implication for
Theory
classroom

The educator should consider the knowledge and

experiences students bring to class

Learners construct their knowledge through a process of

active enquiry

‘Discovery’ is facilitated by providing the necessary

resources

Knowledge is actively constructed & learning is presented

as a process of active discovery

Provide assistance with assimilation of new and old

knowledge

Learning programme should be sufficiently flexible to

permit development along lines of student enquiry

Due to its interpretivist nature, each student will interpret

information in different ways

Create situations where the students feel safe questioning

and reflecting on their own processes

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Present authentic tasks to contextualize learning through

real-world, case-based learning environments

Support collaboration in constructing knowledge, not

competition

Encourage development through Intersubjectivity

Providing Scaffolding at the right time and the right level

Provide opportunities for more expert and less expert

participants to learn from each other

Role of the student

The expectation within a constructivist learning environment is that the students
plays a more active role in, and accepts more responsibility for their own learning.

Implication for
Theory
classroom

The role of the student to actively participate in their own

education

Students have to accommodate & assimilate new

information with their current understanding

One important aspect of controlling their own learning

process is reflecting on their experiences

Students begin their study with pre-conceived notions

Students are very reluctant to give up their established

schema/idea & may reject new information that challenges
prior knowledge

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Students may not be aware of the reasons they hold such

strong ideas/schemata

Learners need to use and test ideas, skills, and information

through relevant activities

Students need to know how to learn or change their

thinking/learning style

Because knowledge is so communally-based, learners

deserve access to knowledge of different communities

For students to learn they need to receive different 'lenses'

to see things in new ways.

Learners need guidance through the ZDP

In social constructivism tutors and peers play a vital role in

learning

Social Constructivism in the classroom

Reciprocal Teaching

Where a teacher and 2 to 4 students form a collaborative group and take turns
leading dialogues on a topic. Within the dialogues, group members apply four
cognitive strategies:
1. Questioning
2. Summarizing
3. Clarifying
4. Predicting

This creates a ZPD in which students gradually assume more responsibility for the
material, and through collaboratation, forge group expectations for high-level
thinking, and acquire skills vital for learning and success in everyday life.

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Cooperative Learning

More expert peers can also spur children’s development along as long as they adjust
the help they provide to fit the less mature child’s ZPD.

Situated Learning

As early as 1929 concern was raised (Whitehead) that the way students learned in
school resulted in a limited, ‘inert’ form of knowledge, useful only for passing
examinations. More recently several theorists have argued that for knowledge to be
active it should be learned:
 In a meaningful context
 Through active learning

The general term for this type of learning activity is situated learning. Situated
learning proponents argue that knowledge cannot be taught in an abstract manner,
and that to be useful, it must be situated in a relevant or "authentic" context
(Maddux, Johnson, & Willis, 1997).

Anchored Instruction

The anchored instruction approach is an attempt to help students become more

actively engaged in learning by situating or anchoring instruction around an
interesting topic. The learning environments are designed to provoke the kinds of
thoughtful engagement that helps students develop effective thinking skills and
attitudes that contribute to effective problem solving and critical thinking.

Anchored instruction emphasizes the need to provide students with opportunities to

think about and work on problems and emphasizes group or collaborative problem
solving.

Other things you can do:

 Encourage team working and collaboration
 Promote discussion or debates
 Set up study groups for peer learning
 Allocate a small proportion of grades for peer assessment and train students in
the process and criteria
 Show students models of good practice in essay writing and project work
 Be aware of your own role as a model of ‘the way things are done...’be explicit
about your professional values and the ethical dimensions of your subject

Assessment
Constructivists believe that assessment should be used as a tool to enhance both the
student's learning and the teacher's understanding of student's progress. It should
not be used as an accountability tool that serves to stress or demoralise students.

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Types of assessment aligned to this epistemological position include reflective

journals/portfolios, case studies, group-based projects, presentations (verbal or
poster), debates, role playing etc.

Within social constructivism particularly there is greater scope for involving students
in the entire process:
1. Criteria
2. Method
3. Marking
4. Feedback

Brooks and Brooks (1993) state that rather than saying "No" when a student does
not give the exact answer being sought, the constructivist teacher attempts to
understand the student's current thinking about the topic. Through nonjudgmental
questioning, the teacher leads the student to construct new understanding and
acquire new skills.

Selected Bibliography
Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction. Allyn & Bacon, Boston: MA

Hill, W.F. (2002) Learning: A survey of psychological interpretation (7th ed), Allyn
and Bacon, Boston, MA.

Jordan, A., Carlile, O., & Stack, A. (2008). Approaches to learning: A guide for
teachers. McGraw-Hill, Open University Press: Berkshire.

Ormrod, J.E. (1995). Human Learning (2nd ed.). New Jersey, Prentice Hall.

Ryder, M (2009) Instructional Design Models. Downloaded

from http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/idmodels.html on 30
March 2009)

Selected Resources
List of learning theories and how they apply to practice:
http://icebreakerideas.com/learning-theories/

List of models and good info on each:

http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/idmodels.html

Outline of learning theories:

http://www.learning-theories.com/

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http://www.ucdoer.ie/index.php/Education_Theory/
Constructivism_and_Social_Constructivism_in_the_Classroom

C. Connectionism

It was Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949), a prominent U.S.

psychology was the one who formulated the theory of learning-
connectionism. This theory was dominant in the United States during the
first half of the twentieth century (Mayer,2003).

Unlike many early psychologist, he was interested in education and

especially learning, transfer, individual differences, and intelligence
(Hilgard, 1996; McKeachi, 1990). He applied an experimental approach
when measuring students’ achievement outcomes. His impact on
education is reflected in the Thorndike Award, the highest honor given by
the Division of Educational Psychology of the American Psychological
Association for distinguished contributions to educational psychology.

Thorndike’s major work is the three-volume series Educational

Psychology (Thorndike, 1913a,1913b,1914). He postulated that the most
fundamental type of learning involves the forming of associations
(connections) between sensory experiences (perceptions of stimuli or
events) and neural impulses (responses) that manifest themselves
behaviorally. He believed that learning often occurs by trial and error
(selecting and connecting). This connection is called the S-R bond

Basic ideas about learning of Thorndike:

a. Law of exercise has two parts: The law of Use – a response to a

stimulus strengthens their connection; the Law of Disuse –
when a response is not made to a stimulus, the connection’s
strength is weakened (forgotten). The longer the time interval
before a response is made, the greater is the decline in the
connection’s strength.

b. Law of effect is central to Thorndike’s theory. It emphasizes the

consequences of behavior: Responses resulting in satisfying
(rewarding) consequences are learned; responses producing
annoying (punishing) consequences are not learned. This is
functional account of learning because satisfiers allow
individuals to adapt to their environments. Thorndike concluded

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the idea that satisfying (correct) stimulus-response connections

are strengthened and annoying (incorrect) ones are weakened.
c. Law of Readiness which states that when one is prepared
(ready) to act, to do so is rewarding and not to do so is
punishing. Applying this idea to learning, we might say that
when students are ready to learn a particular action (in terms of
developmental level or prior skill acquisition), then behaviors
that foster this learning will be rewarding. When students are
not ready to learn or do not possess prerequisite skills, then
attempting to learn is punishing and a waste of time.

D. Conditioning

1. Classical

Pavlov’s legacy to learning theory was his work on classical

conditioning. Pavlov was the director of the physiological laboratory at
the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Petrograd. Classical
conditioning is a multistep procedure that initially involves presenting
an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), which elicits an unconditioned
response (UCR). Pavlov presented a hungry dog with meat powder
(UCS), which he would cause the dog to salivate (UCR).
To condition the animal requires repeatedly presenting an initially
neutral stimulus for a brief period before presenting the UCS. Pavlov
uses a ticking metronome as the neutral stimulus. In the early trials,
the ticking of the metronome produced no salivation. Eventually, the
dog salivated in response to the ticking metronome prior to the
presentation of the meat powder. The metronome fad become a
conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicited a conditioned response (CR)
similar to the original UCR. Repeated noreinforced presentation of the
CS (i.e., without the UCS) casuse the CR ot diminish in intensity and
disapper; a phenomenon known as extinction ( Larrauri & Schmajuk,
2008; Pavlov, 1932b).
Spontaneous recovery occurs after a time lapse in which the CS is
not presented and the CR presumably extinguishes. If the CS then is
presented and the CR returns, we say that CR spontaneously
recovered from extinction. A CR that recovers will not endure unless
the CS is presented again. Pairings of the CS with the UCS restore the
CR to full strength. The fact the CS-CR pairings can be instated
without great difficult suggests that extinction does not involve
unlearning of the associations (Redish, Jensen, Johnson, & Kurth-
Nelson, 2007).

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Generalization means that the CR occurs to stimuli similar to the

CS. Once a dog is conditioned to salivate in response to a metronome
tickings at 70 beats per minute, it also may salivate in response to a
metronome ticking faster or slower, as well as to ticking clocks or
timers. The more dissimilar the new stimulus is to the CS or the fewer
elements that they share, the less generalization occurs (Harris, 2006).
Discrimination is the complementary process that occurs when the
dog learns to respond to the CS but not to other, similar stimuli. To
train discrimination, an experimenter might pair the CS with the UCS
and alos present other, similar stimuli without the UCS. If the CS is a
metronome ticking at 70 beats per minuter, it is presented with the
UCS, whereas other cadence ae presented but not paired with the
UCS. Once a stimulus becomes conditioned, it can function as a UCS
and higher-order conditioning can occur (Pavlov, 1927). If a dog has
been conditioned to salivate at the sound of a metronome ticking at
70 beats per minute, the ticking metronome can function as UCS for
higher-order conditioning. A new neural stimulus can be sounded for a
few seconds, followed by the ticking metronome. If, after a few trials,
the dog begins to salivate at the sound of the buzzer, the buzzer has
become a second-order CS. Conditioning of the third order involves the
second-order CS serving as the UCS and a new neutral stimulus being
paired with it.

2. Contiguous

Edwin R Guthrie (1886-1959) postulated learning principles based on

associations (Guthri, 1940). For Guthrie, the key behaviors were acts
and movements.

Acts and Movements

Guthrie’s basic principles reflect the idea of contiguity of stimuli and

responses. A combination of stimuli which has accomplished a
movement will on its recurrence tend to be followed by that movement
(Guthrie, 1952,p23) and alternatively, stimulus patterns which are
active at the time of response tend, on being repeated, to elicit that
response. (Guthrie, 1938,p 37).

Acts and Movements

Movements are discrete behaviors that result from muscle
contractions. Guthrie distinguished movements from acts, or large-
scale classes of movements that produce an outcome. Contiguity
leaning implies that a behavior in a situation will be repeated when
that situation recurs (Guthrie, 1959); however, contiguity learning is

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selective. At any given moment, a person is confronted with many

stimuli, and associations cannot be made to all of them. Rather, only a
small number of stimuli are selected, and associations are formed
between them and response. The contiguity principle also applies to
memory. Verbal cues are associated with stimulus conditions or events
at the time of learning (Guthrie, 1952). Forgetting involves new
learning and is due to interference in which an alternative response is
made to an old stimulus.
Associative Strength
Guthrie’s theory contends that learning occurs through pairing of
stimulus and response. Guthrie (1942) also discussed the strength of
the pairing, or associative strength.
He rejected the notion of associations through frequency, as
embodied in Thorndike’s original law of exercise (Guthrie, 1930).
Although Guthrie, did not suggest that people learn compels behaviors
by performing them once, he believed that initially one or more
movements become associated. Repetition of a situation adds
movements, combines movements into acts, and establishes the act
under different environmental conditions.

3. Operant Conditioning

It is formulated by Burrhus Frederic Skinner ( 1904-1990). Considered

the best-known conditioning theory. His work is summarized in his
influential book, The Behavior Organisms (Skinner, 1938).
Skinner (1953) refers conditioning as to the strengthening of
behavior which results from reinforcement.
Two types of conditioning:
a. Type S is Pavlovian conditioning, characterized by the pairing of
the reinforcing (unconditioned) stimulus with another
(conditioned) stimulus. The S calls attention to the importance
of the stimulus in eliciting response from the organism. The
response made to the eliciting stimulus is known as respondent
behavior.
b. Type R Responses are controlled by their consequences, not by
antecedent stimuli. This type of behavior emphasize the
response aspect in operant behavior because it operates on the
environment to produce an effect.
Basic Processes
Reinforcement is responsible for response strengthening –
increasing the rate of responding or making responses more likely to

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occur. A reinforce ( or reinforcing stimulus) is any stimulus or event

following response that leads to response strengthening. Reinforcers
(rewards) are defined based on their effects, which do not depend upon
mental processes such as consciousness, intentions, or goals (Schultz,
2006).
A discriminative stimulus sets the occasion for a response to be
emitted which is followed by a reinforcing stimulus. The reinforcing
stimulus is any stimulus that increase the probability the response wil be
emitted in the future when the discriminative stimulus is present.
Positive reinforcement involves presenting a stimulus or adding
something to a situation, following a response, which increases the future
likelihood of the response occurring in that situation. A positive reinforce
is a stimulus that, when presented following a response, increases the
future likelihood of the response occurring in that situation.
Negative reinforcement involves removing a stimulus, or taking
something away from a situation following a response, which increases
the future likelihood that the response will occur in that situation. A
negative reinforce is a stimulus that, when removed by a response,
increases the future likelihood of the response occurring in that situation.
Some stimuli that often function as negative reinforcers bright lights, loud
noises, criticism, annoying people and low grades, because behaviors that
remove them ten to be reinforcing, Positive and negative reinforcement
have the same effect: They increase the likelihood that the response will
be made in the future in the presence of the stimulus.
Extinction involves decline of response strength due to
nonreinforcement. Student who raise their hands in class but never get
called on may stop raising their hands. People who send many e-mail
messages to the same individual but never receive a reply eventually may
quit sending messages to that person.
Primary and Secondary Reinforcers Stimuli such as food, water, and
shelter are called primary reinforcers because they are necessary from
survival. Secondary reinforcers are stimuli that become conditioned
through their association with primary reinforcers. A generalized reinforcer
are by product of secondary reinforcers that are paired with more than
one primary reinforce.
Premack principle says that the opportunity to engage in a more
valued activity reinforcers engaging in a less valued activity, where value
is defined in terms of the amount of responding or time spent on the
activity in the absence of reinforcement. If contingency is arranged such
that the value of the second (contigent) event is higher than the value of
the first (instrumental) event, an increase will be expected in the
probability of occurrence of the first event (the reward assumption)

E. Gestalt-Insight Learning Theory

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Wolfgang Kohler, Marx Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka in 1921

focused their study on perception and concluded that
perceivers(learners) were not passive, but rather active.
Gestalt theory was the initial cognitive response to behaviorism. It
emphasized the importance of sensory wholes and the dynamic nature of
visual perception. The term gestalt, means “form” or “configuration”.
Their studies led to the principles or laws that govern how people
assign meanings to visual stimuli.
a. Law of Continuity/Good Continuation – this law states the
perceptual organization tends to preserve smooth continuities
rather than abrupt changes. Individuals have the tendency to
continue contours whenever the elements of pattern establish an
implied direction. People tend to draw a good continuous line.

b. Law of Closure- this law states that incomplete figures tend to be

seen as complete. Individuals tend to fill the gaps or “close” the
figures they perceive. They enclose a space by completing a
contour and ignoring the gaps in the figure.

c. Law of proximity this law holds that things close together are
grouped together in perception. Elements that are close together
will be perceived as a coherent objects.

d. Law of similarity – this law refers to the perception of similar

objects that tend to be related. Elements that look similar will be
perceived as part of the same form.

e. Law of pragnanz – this law came about as an overarching

principle of Gestalt psychology. Developed by Koffka (1933), it
states that of all the possible organization that could be
perceived from a visual stimulus, the one that will most likely
occur is the one that possesses the best, simplest, and most
stable form.

f. Law of Figure/Ground – Individuals tend to pay attention and

perceive things in the foreground first. A stimulus will be
perceived as separate from its ground.

F. Learner-Centered Psychological Principles (LCP)

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The learner is the center of instruction the world of instruction revolves

around the learner. This module introduces you to the fourteen (14) learner-
centered principles which shall be used throughout this module as a guide in
determining appropriate pedagogy for learners at different life stages

Advance Organizer

Cognitive and Motivational and

Metacognitive Factors Affective Factors (3
(6 principles) principles)

14 Learner-Centered
Principles

Developmental and
Social Factors (2 Individual Difference
principles) Factors (3 principles)

DISCUSSION

LEARNER-CENTERED PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

The Learner-Centered Psychological Principles were put together by the

American Psychological Association. The following 14 psychological principles
pertain to the learner and the learning process. The 14 psychological principles
have the following aspects:
 They focus on psychological factors that are primarily internal to and
under the control of the learner rather than conditioned habits or
physiological factors. However, the principles also attempt to acknowledge
external environment or contextual factors that interact with these
internal factors.
 The principles are intended to deal holistically with learners in the context
of real-world learning situations. Thus, they are best understood as an
organized set of principles; no principle should be viewed in isolation.
 The 14 principles are divided into those referring to (1) cognitive and
metacognitive, (2) motivational and affective, (3) developmental and
social, and (4) individual difference factors influencing learners and
learning.

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 Finally, the principles are intended to apply to all learners- from children,
to teachers, to administrators, to parents, and to community members
involved in our educational system.
Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors
1. Nature of the learning process
The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it
is an intentional process of constructing meaning from
information and experience.
 There are different types of learning process, for example, habit
information in motor learning; and learning that involves the
generation of knowledge, or cognitive skills and learning strategies.
 Learning in schools emphasizes the use of intentional processes
that students can use to construct meaning from information,
experiences, and their own thoughts and beliefs.
 Successful learners are active, goal-directed, self-regulating, and
assume personal responsibility for contributing to their own
learning.

2. Goals of the learning process

The successful learner, over time and with support and
instructional guidance, can create meaningful coherent
representations of knowledge
 The strategic nature of learning requires students to be goal-
directed.
 To construct useful representations of knowledge and to acquire
the thinking and learning strategies necessary for continued
learning success across the life span, students must generate and
pursue personally relevant goals. Initially, students’’ short term
goals and learning may be sketchy in an area, but over time their
understanding can be refined by filling gaps, resolving
inconsistencies, and deepening their understanding of the subject
matter so that they can reach loner-term goals.
 Educators can assist learners in creating meaningful learning goals
that are consistent with both personal and educational aspirations
and interests.

3. Construction of knowledge
The successful learner can link new information with existing
knowledge in meaningful ways.

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 Knowledge widens and deepens as students continue to build links

between new information and experiences and their existing
knowledge. The nature of these links can take variety of forms,
such as adding to, modifying, or reorganizing existing knowledge or
skills. How these links are made or develop may vary in different
subject areas, and among students with varying talents, interests,
and abilities. However, unless new knowledge becomes integrated
with the learner’s prior knowledge and understanding, this new
knowledge remains isolated, cannot be used most effectively in
new tasks, and does not transfer readily to new situations.
 Educators can assist learners in acquiring and integrating
knowledge by a number of strategies that have been shown to be
effective with learners of varying abilities, such as concept mapping
and thematic organization or categorizing.

4. Strategic thinking
The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking
and reasoning strategies to achieve complex learning goals.
 Successful learners use strategic thinking in their approach to
learning, reasoning, problem solving, and concept learning.
 They understand and can use a variety of strategies to help them
reach learning and performance goals, and to apply their
knowledge in novel situations.
 They also continue to expand their repertoire of strategies by
reflecting on the methods they use to see which work well for
them, by receiving guided instruction and feedback, and by
observing or interacting with appropriate models.
 Learning outcomes can be enhanced if educators assist learners in
developing, applying, and assessing their strategic learning skills.

5. Thinking about thinking

Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental
operations facilitate creative and critical thinking.
 Successful learners can reflect on how they think and learn, set
reasonable learning or performance goals, select potentially
appropriate learning strategies or methods, and monitor their
progress toward these goals.
 In addition, successful learners know what to do if a problem
occurs or if they are not making sufficient or timely progress

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toward a goal. They can generate alternative methods to reach

their goal (or reassess the appropriateness and utility of the goal).
 Instructional methods that focus on helping learners develop these
higher order (metacognitive) strategies can enhance student
learning and personal responsibility for learning.

6. Context of learning
Learning is influences by environmental factors, including
culture, technology, and the instructional practices.
 Learning does not occur in a vacuum. Teachers play a major
interactive role with both the learner and the learning environment.
 Cultural or group influences on students can impact many
educationally relevant variables, such as motivation, orientation
toward learning, and ways of thinking.
 Technologies and instructional practices must be appropriate for
learners’ level of prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and their
learning and thinking strategies.
 The classroom environment, particularly the degree to which it is
nurturing or not, can also have significant impacts on student
learning.

Motivational and Affective Factors

7. Motivational and emotional influences on learning
What and how much is learned is influences by the learner’s
motivation. Motivation to learn, in turn, is influenced by the
individual’s emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and
habits of thinking.
 The rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs, goals, and expectations
for success or failure can enhance or interfere with the learner’s
quality of thinking and information processing.
 Students’ beliefs about themselves as learners and the nature of
learning have a marked influence on motivation. Motivational and
emotional factors also influence both the quality of thinking and
information processing as well as an individual’s motivation to
learn.
 Positive emotions, such as curiosity, generally enhance motivation
and facilitate learning and performance. Mild anxiety can also
enhance learning and performance by focusing the learner’s
attention on a particular task. However, intense negative emotions
(e.g., anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related thoughts (e.g.,

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worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing

punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing labels) generally detract from
motivation, interfere with learning, and contribute to low
performance.

8. Intrinsic motivation to learn

The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural
curiosity all contribute to motivation to learn. Intrinsic
motivation is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty and
difficulty, relevant to personal interests, and providing for
personal choice and control.
 Curiosity, flexible and insightful thinking, and creativity are major
indicators of the learners’ intrinsic motivation to learn, which is in
large part a function of meeting basic needs to be competent and
to exercise personal control.
 Intrinsic motivation is facilitated on tasks that learners perceive as
interesting and personally relevant and meaningful, appropriate in
complexity and difficulty to the learners’ abilities, and on which
they believe they can succeed.
 Intrinsic motivation is also facilitated on tasks that are comparable
to real-world situations and meet needs for choice and control.
 Educators can encourage and support learners’ natural curiosity
and motivation to learn by attending to individual differences in
leaners’ perceptions of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevance and
personal choice and control.

9. Effects of motivation on effort

Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended
learner effort and guided practice. Without learner’s motivation
to learn, the willingness to exert this effort is unlikely without
coercion.
 Effort is another major indicator of motivation to learn. The
acquisition of complex knowledge and skills demands the
investment of considerable learner energy and strategic effort
along with persistence over time.
 Educators need to be concerned with facilitating motivation by
strategies that enhance learner effort and commitment to learning
and to achieving high standards of comprehension and
understanding.

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 Effective strategies include purposeful learning activities, guided by

practices that enhance positive emotions and intrinsic motivation to
learn, and methods that increase learners’ perceptions that a task
in interesting and personal relevant.

Developmental and Social Factors

10. Developmental influences on learning
As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and
constraints for learning. Learning is most effective when
differential development within and across physical, intellectual,
emotional, and social domains s taken into account.
 Individuals learn best when material is appropriate to their
developmental level and is presented in an enjoyable and
interesting way.
 Because individual development varies across intellectual, social,
emotional, and physical domains, achievement in different
instructional domains may also vary.
 Overemphasis on one type of developmental readiness – such as
reading readiness, for example – may preclude learners from
demonstrating that they are more capable in other areas of
performance.
 The cognitive, emotional, and social development of individual
learners and how they interpret life experiences are affected by
prior schooling, home, culture, and community factors.
 Early and continuing parental involvement in schooling, and the
quality of langue interactions and two –way communications
between adults and children can influence these developmental
areas.
 Awareness and understanding of developmental differences among
children with and without emotional, physical, or intellectual
disabilities can facilitate the creation of optimal learning contexts.

11. Social influences on learning.

Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal
relations, and communication with others.
 Learning can be enhanced when the learner has an opportunity to
interact and to collaborate with others on instructional tasks.
 Learning settings that allow for social interactions, and that respect
diversity, encourage flexible thinking and social competence.

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 In interactive and collaborative instructional contexts, individuals

have an opportunity for perspective taking and reflective thinking
that may lead to higher levels of cognitive, social, and moral
development, as well as self-esteem.
 Quality personal relationships that provide stability, trust, and
caring can increase learners’ sense of belonging, self-respect and
self-acceptance, and provide a positive climate for learning.
 Family influences, positive interpersonal support and instruction in
self-motivation strategies can offset factors that interfere with
optimal learning such as negative beliefs about competence in a
particular subject, high levels of test anxiety, negative sex role
expectations, and undue pressure to perform well.
 Positive learning climates can also help to establish the context for
healthier levels of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Such contexts
help learners feel safe to share ideas, actively participate in the
learning process, and create a learning community.

Individual Difference Factors

12. Individual differences in learning
Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities
for learning that are a function of prior experience and heredity.
 Individuals are born with and develop their own capabilities and
talents.
 In addition, through learning and social acculturation, they have
acquired their own preferences for how they like to learn and the
pace at which they learn. However, these preferences are not
always useful in helping learners reach their learning goals.
 Educators need to help students examine their learning preferences
and expand or modify them, if necessary.
 The interaction between learner differences and curricular and
environmental conditions is another key factor affecting learning
outcomes.
 Educators need to be sensitive to individual differences, in general.
They also need to attend to learner perceptions of the degree to
which these differences are accepted and adapted to by varying
instructional methods and materials.

13. Learning and diversity

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Learning is most effective when differences in learners’

linguistic, cultural, and social backgrounds are taken into
account.
 The same basic principles of learning, motivation, and effective
instruction apply to all leaners. However, language, ethnicity, race,
beliefs, and socioeconomic status all can influence learning. Careful
attention to these factors in the instructional setting enhances the
possibilities for designing and implementing appropriate learning
environments.
 When learners perceive that their individual differences in abilities,
background, cultures, and experiences are valued, respected, and
accommodated in learning tasks and contexts, levels of motivation
and achievement are enhanced.

14. Standards and assessment

Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and
assessing the learner as well as learning progress – including
diagnostic, process, and outcome assessment – are integral parts
of the learning process.
 Assessment provides important information to both the learner and
teacher at all stages of the learning process.
 Effective learning takes place when learners feel challenged to work
towards appropriately high goals; therefore, appraisal of the
learner’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, as well as current
knowledge and skills, is important for the selection of instructional
materials of an optimal degree of difficulty.
 Ongoing assessment of the learner’s understanding of the
curricular material can provide valuable feedback to both learners
and teachers about progress toward the learning goals.
 Standardized assessment of learner progress and outcomes
assessment provides one type of information about achievement
levels both within and across individuals that can inform various
types of programmatic decisions.
 Performance assessments can provide other sources of information
about the attainment of learning outcomes.
 Self-assessments of learning progress can also improve student’s
self-appraisal skills and enhance motivation and self-directed
learning.

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Alexander and Murphy gave a summary of the 14 principles and

distilled them into five areas:
1. The knowledge base. One’s existing knowledge serves as the
foundation of all future learning. The learner’s previous knowledge will
influence new learning specifically on how he represents new information,
makes associations and filters new experiences.
2. Strategic processing and control. Learners can develop skills to reflect
and regulate their thoughts and behaviors in order to learn more
effectively (metacognition).
3. Motivation and affect. Factors such as intrinsic motivation (from
within), reasons for wanting to learn, personal goals and enjoyment of
learning tasks all have a crucial role in the learning process.
4. Development and Individual Differences. Learning is a unique
journey for each person because each learner has his own unique
combination of genetic and environmental factors that influence him.
5. Situation or context. Learning happens in the context of a society as
well as within an individual.

References
Acero, VO et.al. Human Growth and Development and Learning: Rex
Bookstore
Bee, Helen. The Developing Child. Ninth Edition. A Pearson Education
Company. Copyright 2000 by Allyn and Bacon. Printed in the United State
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Berk, Laura E. Child Development, Ninth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2013
Bustos, AS, Malolos, NI, Ramirez, AE, Ramos, EC, & Bustos-Orosa, MA.
Introduction to Psycholoy, Katha Publishing, 1999
Bustos, AS and Espiritu, SC. Psychological, Anthropological and Sociological
Foundations of Education. Katha Publishing Co., Inc 1996
Coleman, JS. The Adolescent Society, The Free Press Corporation
Corpuz, BB, Lucas MD, Borabo, HG & Lucida, PI. The Child and Adolescent
Learners and Learning Principles. Lorimar Publishing Inc. Quezon City,
Philippines, 2018

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Corpuz,BB, Lucas MD, Borabo, HG & Lucida, PI. Child and Adolescent
Development. Lorimar Publishing Inc. Quezon City, Philippines, 2015
Hurlock. Elizabeth B. Developmental Psychology: A life Span Approach.,Fifth
Edition Mc Graw Hill Book Company, 1980
Jersild, AT. The Psychology of Adolescence, 2 nd Edition Teachers College
Columbia University
Lerner, RM and Hultsch DF.Human Development: A Life-Span Perspective,
McGraw Hiil Book Company
Lucas, MD. & Corpuz BB. Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive process.
Lorimar Publishing Inc. Quezon City, Philippines, 2014
Owens, Karen B. Child and Adolescent Development an Integrated Approach.
Thomson Asian Edition Copyright 2006
Papalia, ED and et.al. Human Development 9th and 10th Edition,Mc Graw Hill
2004
Santrock, John W. Educational Psychology: Theory and Application to Fitness
and Performance. 6th Edition. Published by McGraw-Hill Education. 2018
Schunck, Dale H. Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. Sixth
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Online References

E-book below
https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/child-growth-and-
development

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