Study Guide

Study Guide LEARNING PERSPECTIVES LEON 611 HonsBEd ËDI401.4´¸µº´ºÎ ADMINISTRATED BY LEARNING PERSPECTIVES STUDY GUIDE FOR LEON 6 11 EB *LEON611EB* FACULTY OF EDUCATION SCIENCES Study guide compiled by: Prof JL de K Monteith Edited date nn. Page layout by Marijke Reyneke, graphikos. Printing arrangements and distribution by Department Logistics (Distribution Centre). Printed by The Platinum Press (018) 299 4226. Copyright  2009 edition. Date of revision 2009. North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. ii MODULE CONTENTS A word of welcome ............................................................................................................... vi Rationale for this module ...................................................................................................... vi Outcomes for this module ..................................................................................................... vii Approach/Orientation ............................................................................................................ vii How to learn or study ........................................................................................................... viii Reading ................................................................................................................................ ix Main ideas ............................................................................................................................. x Text mapping or mind maps.................................................................................................. xi How to study for this module ................................................................................................. xii Study partner(s) and support group ..................................................................................... xiv Study icons .......................................................................................................................... xiv Themes................................................................................................................................ xv Evaluation ............................................................................................................................ xvi Admission to the examination and proof of participation ...................................................... xix Calculation of module mark.................................................................................................. xx Examination ......................................................................................................................... xx Test ................................................................................................................................... xxiii Study material for this module ............................................................................................ xxiii Warning against plagiarism ................................................................................................ xxiv Study unit 1 The study of learning ........................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 1.2 Definitions of learning............................................................................. 4 1.3 Approaches to the study of learning ....................................................... 5 1.4 Implications of the different views on learning for instruction .................. 9 1.4.1 Behavioural theories .............................................................................. 9 1.4.2 Cognitive theories .................................................................................. 9 1.4.3 Constructivist theories .......................................................................... 10 1.5 Types of learning explained by the different theories ........................... 11 1.6 Learning theories and research............................................................ 12 1.6.1 Functions of a theory............................................................................ 12 1.6.2 Research paradigms ............................................................................ 13 Study unit 2 Behavioural learning theories ........................................................... 21 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 21 2.2 Basic assumptions of behaviourism ..................................................... 25 2.3 Behavioural theories ............................................................................ 29 iii 2.3.1 Classical conditioning ........................................................................... 29 2.3.2 Contiguity learning ............................................................................... 33 2.3.3 Operant conditioning ............................................................................ 35 2.4 Contrasting classical and operant conditioning ..................................... 42 2.5 Ethical issues and limits of the behavioural theories............................. 43 Study unit 3 Social cognitive theory ...................................................................... 47 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 47 3.2 Observational learning ......................................................................... 50 3.3 Basic assumptions of social cognitive theory........................................ 51 3.4 How learning occurs through observation ............................................ 54 3.5 A social-learning analysis of observational learning ............................. 58 3.5.1 The attentional phase........................................................................... 58 3.5.2 The retention phase ............................................................................. 60 3.5.3 The reproduction phase ....................................................................... 61 3.5.4 The motivational phase ........................................................................ 62 3.6 Reinforcement...................................................................................... 63 3.7 Factors that influence observational learning ....................................... 64 3.8 Observational learning in teaching ....................................................... 65 3.9 Vicarious learning................................................................................. 68 Study unit 4 Cognitive theories of learning ........................................................... 71 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 71 4.2 Basic assumptions of cognitive psychology .......................................... 74 4.3 Information processing ......................................................................... 78 4.3.1 Sensory memory .................................................................................. 78 4.3.2 The short-term memory ........................................................................ 82 4.3.3 The long-term memory ......................................................................... 88 4.4 Interference .......................................................................................... 90 4.4.1 Retroactive inhibition ............................................................................ 91 4.4.2 Proactive inhibition ............................................................................... 93 Study unit 5 The constructivist view of learning................................................... 97 5.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 97 5.2 Basic assumptions of constructivist theories of learning ..................... 101 5.3 Historical roots of constructivism ........................................................ 102 iv 5.3.1 Piaget's theory of cognitive development ........................................... 102 5.3.2 Piaget’s stages of cognitive development ........................................... 105 5.3.3 Vygotsky’s socio-cultural view of cognitive development .................... 107 5.4 Types of constructivism...................................................................... 115 5.4.1 Exogenous constructivism ................................................................. 116 5.4.2 Endogenous constructivism ............................................................... 116 5.4.3 Dialectical constructivism ................................................................... 117 5.5 Knowledge: Accuracy versus usefulness ........................................... 118 5.6 Situated learning ................................................................................ 119 5.7 Comparison of different views of learning........................................... 121 Study unit 6 Strategic learning and the variables that influence learning ........ 123 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 123 6.2 How the theories of learning view the variables that influence learning .............................................................................................. 125 6.2.1 Learner and environmental variables ................................................. 126 6.2.2 The role of motivation......................................................................... 126 6.2.3 The role of memory ............................................................................ 127 6.3 The strategic learner .......................................................................... 128 6.3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 128 6.3.2 Characteristics of strategic learners ................................................... 128 v A WORD OF WELCOME Welcome to this module! It will be a privilege to share my knowledge of learning with you and to learn from your teaching experience. Kindly note that this is an 8-credit module that requires 80 notional learning hours to complete. RATIONALE FOR THIS MODULE Our ultimate aim with LEON 611 (Learning Perspectives) and LEON 621 (Strategic Learning and Motivation) is for you to be able to demonstrate an understanding of learning, more specifically strategic learning and motivation on completion of the two modules. With such knowledge you will not only be able to the learners in your class or school to develop into strategic learners, but you yourself will also develop into a strategic and self-regulated learner, given that you are not one already. Those of you who have to complete only this module (LEON 611) should, on completion of the module, be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the different perspectives on learning. This implies that you should be able to identify these perspectives whenever you listen to someone speaking about learning, or when you have to evaluate a programme that is to be implemented in your school with the purpose of improving the academic achievement of the learners in your school. As this module is generic (i.e. compulsory), it stands to reason that not all of you are interested in the study of learning. I want to assure those who are more interested in other areas of specialisation, such as Educational Management or Educational Law, that with the necessary motivation, this module will have much value for you as an educational manager. Although the primary interests and goals of a learning or teaching specialist and those of a school principal differ, they have one mutual goal. They all are interested in the well being (or if you want to be more specific, the learning progress) of the learner in class. As one can’t be a learning specialist without a thorough and in depth knowledge of learning, so one can’t be a teaching specialist without a thorough understanding of learning as well. A school principal should have knowledge of what is required to ensure effective learning and teaching so that s/he can manage a school so that those requirements are met, and the learner (the primary reason for the existence of schools!) can learn effectively. To learn effectively does not require spending many hours with books. To learn effectively does not require only knowledge of the variables that affect learning either, but also knowledge of how and when to use such knowledge. To learn effectively thus, requires strategic or self-regulated learning. Strategic or self-regulated learning may have special value in a school system with overcrowded classes. The larger the classes, the more difficult it is to provide in the demand for instructional and learning needs of individual learners, especially in the needs of ineffective or slow learners. If more learners can learn strategically, more time can be spent on the slow learners in class. vi OUTCOMES FOR THIS MODULE On completion of this module you should be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of behaviourist, social cognitive, information processing and constructivist paradigms of learning in order to • • • • • evaluate each of these paradigms from an anthropological and epistemological perspective; be knowledgeable on all perspectives of learning; evaluate the positive and negative aspects of each of these perspectives or paradigms; reflect your understanding of the variables that affect learning by suggesting a programme to improve learning ability according to each of these paradigms; and give a broad outline of a programme, given the opportunity, you would like to implement to enable the learners in your school or class to learn more effectively. APPROACH/ORIENTATION In this section the approach to studying this module is outlined and the different roles of the student and of the instructor are explained. The view of learning that forms the basis of the approach to learning in this as well as the other modules in Teaching and Learning, is that learning is an active, constructive, cumulative and goal-oriented process1. It is expected that you will apply this approach to yourself when studying. According to Shuell (1988:277) learning is active in that you must do certain things while processing incoming information in order to learn the material in a meaningful manner. It is constructive in that new information must be elaborated and related to other information in order to retain simple information and understand complex material. It is cumulative in that new learning builds upon your prior knowledge in ways that determine what and how much are learned. It is goal-oriented in that learning is most likely to be successful if you are aware of the goal toward which you are working and have expectations that are appropriate for attaining your goal. This view of learning requires a process-oriented2 as opposed to a product-oriented approach to instruction and learning. With a product-oriented approach to instruction and learning the focus is on the end product of learning. The amount of knowledge, which the student3 possesses after instruction and learning, is of paramount interest. The emphasis is on what the student knows (inter alia. What or how much has he or she learned? How many facts can the student retain?). With this approach it is not important how the student learns. The role of the student is reduced to that of a passive recipient or receiver of information "transferred" by a teacher or instructor. With this approach it is the task of the instructor to manage the student in a structured and controlled environment and to transfer knowledge, which the student has to memorise or rote learn. Learning is reduced to a mechanical stimulus-response (S-R) process. The role of the student is reduced to nothing more than that of a passive member or spectator in the instruction-learning chain of events. The behaviourist theories thus best describe this approach. 1 Students are strongly advised to read the following article: SHUELL, T.J. 1988. The role of the student in learning from instruction. Contemporary educational psychology, 13:276-295. Note that this article forms part of the prescribed module work. 2 Note that this approach to learning is referred to as the constructive approach, which will be discussed in Study unit 5 of this module. 3 The concepts student and learner are used interchangeably, though the concept learner more readily reflects the constructivist approach. vii We though, live in what is called an information age. It is said that information is produced at such a tempo that some people speak of an information revolution that surpasses the industrial revolution of the previous century in magnitude. It is claimed that information doubles every 20 months at present. If you surf the Internet you’ll become aware of the magnitude of information and the tempo at which new information is generated. From this it is clear that it is an impossible task to instruct the learner in all the information needed to cope in the world today and to expect the learner to memorise all this information. This implies that, although the product-oriented approach to learning has value, this approach cannot answer to the needs of the present situation, as is the case with a process-oriented approach. With a process-oriented approach the outcome of learning is still important, although the emphasis is on the how of learning, on what the learner does during learning. Thus, on what happens between the S and the R. It is therefore important to teach you how to learn. The assumption is that if you know how to learn, you will accept more/greater responsibility for your own learning. With a process-oriented approach to learning more emphasis is laid on your personal involvement and commitment during learning. The cognitive theories, especially constructivism, best describe this approach. The process-oriented approach to learning assigns certain responsibilities to both the instructor and the learner. The role of the instructor changes from that of a transmitter or someone who recites knowledge to that of a guide (or facilitator) who presents the learners with opportunities to develop their learning potential and to develop into strategic and selfregulated learners. As learning is viewed as an active, constructive, cumulative and goal-oriented process, the role of the student changes from that of a passive recipient of information and/or one who merely memorises information, to that of a learner who actively processes information into knowledge. A mature or self-regulated learning approach to learning is therefore expected from each of you. You must be well prepared when you come to contact sessions. This means that you should have completed all exercises and self-evaluations. Check (i.e. monitor or evaluate) your level of outcomes achievement by referring to outcomes whenever the study guide requires you to do so and by using feedback effectively. Putting energy in all endeavours will definitely support your participation in group/peer discussions and will enable you to share your learning experiences. When the study guide requires you to discuss with your study partner or in your study group or evaluate the outcomes of an exercise you had to complete, you should do so. These activities have special value as they are intended to assist you in achieving the outcomes and in developing your critical thinking skills. When you have to evaluate a group member’s work, try to identify the strong and weak points and make suggestions on how to improve on the weak points. HOW TO LEARN OR STUDY As this module is about learning, it is important not only to learn about the theory of learning, but also to apply what you learn in this module. It is not enough to learn what learning is; you also have to know how to teach a class in order to enhance their learning. Only by knowing the what, how and when of (strategic) learning will your knowledge of learning have value for you as well as for your students. You are therefore strongly advised to put into practice constantly what you learn in this module by applying it to your own learning and studying. As we progress through this module, you’ll not only gain sufficient theoretical knowledge of learning, but will also develop viii learning and study skills that will empower you to become an effective and life-long learner and problem solver. To achieve this goal you have to give attention to a number of skills that are important for effective academic studying. These skills are reading, identifying the main idea in a paragraph and text mapping. READING If you take stock of everything you have to read for this module, for other modules, as well as what you have to read every day, it may seem like climbing Mount Everest. To enable you to conquer your Everest this year, it is important to take cognisance of some reading techniques that will help you to become a tough customer when it comes to reading and to develop into a competent reader4. As a competent reader you’ll • • remember important information correctly; • completing a reading task successfully without wasting time and effort, and • undertake reading tasks with confidence; and • read efficiently by • selecting and applying suitable reading techniques; continuously evaluate whether you understand what you read. There are four reading techniques you have to acquire to become a competent reader. These are speed-reading, skimming, scanning, and study reading. Speed-reading Speed-reading (or extensive reading) is a fast way of reading, without skipping any words, and without worrying about words or sentences you don’t understand. Speed-reading is used to gain a preliminary understanding of the text before studying it in depth. Skimming Skimming is a faster way of reading, because you intentionally skip or leave out parts of the text you read. The purpose of skimming is to obtain the main idea of a text or to check the important main points. Skimming can be used to preview and survey what you have to read and review what you have read. • Preview With previewing you look over the material quickly before reading it properly to determine whether it relates to the topic you are studying. • Survey When surveying, you look over the reading material to obtain an overall picture or mental outline of the text or material you have to study carefully. • Review When skimming to review, you re-read the material you have just studied. You do so quickly, concentrating on the key points and omitting the unimportant material. 4 Du Toit, P., Heese, M. & Orr, M. 1995. Practical guide to reading, thinking and writing skills. Halfway House: Southern. ix Scanning Scanning is the fastest kind of reading one can do. When scanning you leave things out and only pay attention to that specific information you have a particular interest in, such as the information you need to solve a specific problem or to answer a specific question. All other information is ignored. Study-reading (Active reading or reading with comprehension) Study-reading (or intensive reading) is the slowest kind of reading, since when study-reading you have to read very carefully, thoroughly and thoughtfully, stopping frequently to check whether you understand and remember what you are reading. To be a competent reader you must learn to distinguish between important information and less important information, as not all information is equally important. This ability will help you to: • • read better; • understand better; • write better assignments; and • study better; write better exams. To separate important from less important information you have to develop the skill of identifying main ideas or topic sentences. MAIN IDEAS A paragraph is usually made up of two parts. A sentence called the main idea or topic sentences, and the other sentences in the paragraph, which contain specific information that support or develop the main idea sentence. The main idea of a paragraph is usually stated in one of the sentences of which it is composed. This sentence is called the topic sentence. The most common position for this sentence in a paragraph is at the beginning of the paragraph, although this is not always the case. The topic sentence may also be the second or a later sentence. You will read more effectively if you actively think about the main ideas rather than paying attention to every detail. Kindly note that those of you who underline or highlight important information (words or sentences) in the text, should keep in mind that only key words and sentences should be underlined. You therefore should learn to underline only key words and sentences. A good rule is to underline or highlight no more than 20 to 25 percent of a page. All the words and sentences are not important. Learn to underline only the important information. Thus, learn to distinguish between important and less important information. It is also good practice not to underline any information when you read a chapter, etc. for the first time. What initially may seem to be important may not be important with an in depth reading. If you underline or highlight with the first reading and the second or third reading reveals that it is not important, you have to underline or highlight with another colour. In the end nearly all the information on a page may be underlined or highlighted, leaving you with the problem of having to decide what is important or not. x TEXT MAPPING OR MIND MAPS An important study technique or skill you have to develop, is text mapping or the skill to draw mind maps. A text or mind map is like an ordinary map that gives a visual representation of something you have read. It also emphasises important elements and shows how they are linked or related. Text maps increase understanding and help you to remember what you have studied. Highlighting and underlining are two examples of text mapping you may be using already. Another method is drawing mind maps. Text or mind maps can be either sequential (describing a number of events in a specific sequence) or linear (describing progression in a straight line from beginning to end - such as the instructions for doing an experiment), or they can express the relationships between concepts by interlinking them into a specific structure of concepts, etc. Steps to draw a mind map: Write the main topic in the centre of the map. Example: Learning strategies Think about the more important aspects that relate to the main topic and add these to the map. Use lines or arrows to show that they belong to the main topic. Example: Rehearsal Elaboration Learning strategies Organisation Affective strategies Comprehension monitoring xi Very briefly state the nature of the relationships on the connecting lines or arrows. Example: to acquire Learning strategies Affective strategies Elaboration information To create a climate for learning Information on each of the more important aspects can be added if necessary. Example: HOW TO STUDY FOR THIS MODULE Before you read further, speed-read the contents of all the Study units in this module. Do this speed-reading to form an idea of the contents of this module and to obtain a preliminary understanding of the contents of the module. On the basis of this preliminary understanding of the contents, complete the following sentence by filling in the goal you want to attain with this module: Given my circumstances (responsibilities at work, home and in the community, etc.) and the time available, I, ............................................................(write your name) want to achieve a mark of ... % in this module. With each Study unit a number of questions will be given. The purpose of these questions is to help you to monitor your level of knowledge and understanding of each Study unit. By answering these questions you not only monitor your progress towards the attainment of the goal you have set for yourself, but also enable yourself to achieve the outcomes for this module. xii Kindly note that answering these questions are not compulsory. You therefore needn’t answer them. If you don’t answer them, however, the question is how are you going to evaluate your level of knowledge and understanding of this module? Effective learners will answer these questions to monitor and evaluate their progress. These learners will use these questions and others they formulate themselves to determine which sections of a module or Study unit they don’t understand as well as they would like to. They can then go back and study those sections again to make sure that they understand the work. In this way they make sure that they are prepared better for their exams in this module. If you don’t answer these questions, in the exam room you may experience that you actually don’t understand the work you have prepared as well as you would like to understand it. This is typical of ineffective learners! The first time ineffective learners monitor their knowledge and understanding is during the exams, when it is too late to do anything about it. Many students only realise in the exam room that, although they may have studied hard, they haven’t achieved the outcomes set for the module. They then realise that, although they have studied hard, they used the wrong study strategies. To study or prepare for this module it is suggested thatt you follow the following steps for each Study unit: • • • • • • • • • • • • • Before starting on a Study unit, page through the Study unit to familiarise you with its appearance. Read the specific outcomes given with each Study unit. Rephrase the outcomes as questions and try to answer these questions on the basis of your present knowledge. This step serves to bring to mind what you may already know about something and makes it easier to integrate new information with what you already know, i.e. with your prior knowledge. Read only the paragraph headings of each Study unit. Survey each Study unit by skimming its contents. Rephrase each paragraph heading as a question and try to answer it in writing and in your own words. For example, in Study unit 1 one of the first paragraph headings is Definition of learning. If you change this heading into a question it may be phrased as How is learning defined? You then answer this question on the basis of what you presently know about learning and without reading the contents of the paragraph. Only after having answered the question on the basis of your present knowledge you read the paragraph to check whether your definition is acceptable. Study read each section (i.e. all the contents under a level 1 heading) until you are sure that you understand the section. Review each main section to make sure that you know each section. Only move on to a next section if you are satisfied that you know the one you have just studied. Construct a mind map of each Study unit that summarises that Study unit, and Also serves as an evaluation of your knowledge and understanding of a particular Study unit. Lastly, to serve as a final check on how well you have studied a Study unit, again rephrase each specific outcome as a question and answer it in writing. Additional help for studying effectively, is to pose questions and identify problems continuously and then to try to solve them . xiii You are advised to use a note- or workbook. Do all the exercises given in this study-guide and self-evaluative questions where these are given in writing. Make notes of the contents which are of special importance to you, and do your mind maps in your workbook . The using of a workbook develops your writing skills and enables you to express your thoughts in writing. Studying each Study unit in this way, may seem to be an unnecessarily long and tedious way of learning or studying this module, but you can be sure that you will know this module very well if you follow the steps above. May I also remind you of the following? When the going gets tough, the tough gets going! and No guts, no glory! STUDY PARTNER(S) AND SUPPORT GROUP Although individual effort is stressed in this study guide, you are advised to choose at least one other student who is also taking this module to be your study partner. You may also form a study or support group to discuss any questions and other problems you may encounter during this module and to make sure that you attain the outcomes of this module. Make sure that you get the telephone and/or e-mail numbers of the members of your support group and use these facilities to communicate on a regular basis. Do not only discuss problems. Get to know the members of your group (i.e. your study partners) and support one another by sharing progress, study strategies that you find effective, etc. You will find that a study partner can be of much value in the process of studying. STUDY ICONS Test your current knowledge / insight. Important information. xiv Individual exercise. Prepare yourself for participation in the group meeting / contact session on this issue. It is a good example of an examination question. Take your answers with you to the contact session / group meeting for discussion. Practical example. Introductory statements. General overview. Study the following section / explanation / discussion, attentively. Study the indicated material(s) in the textbook / article, etc. Preparation for contact session / group meeting. Outcomes. Answers/solutions. Summary of main learning points. Approximate study time. Case study. THEMES The following themes (together with the notional learning hours for each theme) will be covered in this module: Study unit Theme Approximate notional learning hours* 1 The study of learning 7* 2 Behavioural theories 9* 3 Social cognitive theory 7* 4 Cognitive theories: Information processing 9* 5 Constructivist theories 9* 6 Variables that influence learning 8* Assignment 29 Examination 2 Total notional learning hours 80 The notional learning hours include your preparation for the test and the exams. xv EVALUATION FORMS OF EVALUATION The main, and to my mind, the most important form of evaluation is self-evaluation. I therefore expect you to apply self-evaluation throughout this module, in fact throughout the whole B.Ed. Honours course! It is your responsibility to make sure that you know and understand the work. Apart from self-evaluation the following forms of evaluation will be used during this module: Nature of assignment Value Main assignment (See the appendix) 100 Exam paper 100 COGNITIVE SKILLS TO BE EVALUATED During this module different cognitive skills will be evaluated. These skills lie on different cognitive levels, with knowledge at the lowest and evaluation at the highest level. A deep knowledge and the ability to analyse, synthesise and evaluate are expected from students at B. Ed. honours-level. These abilities are all prerequisite for the solution of concrete and abstract problems. In assignments and test/exam questions action verbs instruct you what to do. It is therefore very important that you understand the differences between the instructions given by different action verbs. The following general definitions of commonly given instructions, with the cognitive level required by each, may help you understand what you have to do when you have to answer a question or complete an assignment: Cognitive level 1 (The lowest cognitive level): Knowledge Knowledge includes those outcomes that require remembering or recognition of information (facts, ideas or phenomena) without requiring that such information should also be understood or applied. Learning at this level is nothing more than rote learning of information. Although memory is engaged in all six categories, memory (i.e. remembering) on the knowledge level is the main cognitive operation, while it only forms part of more complex operations in the other categories. Action verbs requiring knowledge Define To define requires that a brief, clear and specific description of the exact meaning of a term or concept should be given. This meaning should refer to that particular term or concept and to no other. Describe A description requires that nothing more than relevant facts or features should be given, including any discussion of such features or facts. Nothing more than a clear and systematic explanation of the features is required. The description should contain the relevant facts, and exclude any other facts or further comments. List/Name Simply make or give a list of the required features, facts or items, as is done when describing or defining xvi Examples of knowledge questions Describe how information is processed into knowledge. Name the characteristics of the short-term memory. Which criteria will you use to evaluate an hypothesis? Define the concepts learning, self-efficacy and attributions. Cognitive level 2: Comprehension Comprehension includes those outcomes, behaviours or responses, which represent or require comprehension of the literal message of a communication. Comprehension requires that contents or information should be understood so as to enable the learner to rephrase the information in his/her own words, to summarise, to explain or to interpret without having to apply what is known. Action verbs requiring comprehension Illustrate To describe something by means of examples. Explain Explanation requires that reasons be given for a particular case, phenomenon or finding. Where possible, examples should be given to illustrate the explanation. With an explanation you have to prove that you understand the contents, phenomenon or topic you are explaining. Distinguish To indicate the similarities, as well as differences between two views or perspectives. Summarise To summarise essential information concisely and systematically. Give a structured overview of the key (i.e. the most important) aspects of a topic. Examples of questions that require comprehension Explain the relationship between the learner’s epistemological beliefs and the time the learner is willing to study. Explain how you will guide a learner to become a self-regulated learner. Distinguish between different learning styles. Summarise strategic learning in not more than 15 sentences. Illustrate by means of suitable (own or original) examples how you will motivate a learner to learn. Give examples of how a teacher can discriminate against learners whom s/he dislikes. Cognitive level 3: Application Application requires that the learner must be able to apply what has already been learned in a new situation. For example to use knowledge of a rule, concept, principle, strategy, etc. to solve a problem. Action verbs requiring application Illustrate/ Give an example/ apply Illustration on the level of application requires that you not only have to describe something by means of examples, but also have to apply it to new situations. Use your own (original) examples and indicate how a particular method or strategy should/could be used to solve a problem. Examples of questions that require application xvii Which procedure/method will you use to solve the following problem? Illustrate how you will use your knowledge of the attribution theory to motivate a learner with negative attributional patterns to learn. Give examples of ineffective learning. Cognitive level 4: Analysis Analysis requires the ability to break up or dissect learning contents (e.g. a problem) intoparts that constitute the problem, to recognise the relationships between the parts and to identify the way the parts are organised. Discuss Discussion requires that you comment on something in your own words. It often requires for two or more points of view to be debated in an orderly fashion, such as to examine, analyse and approach an issue from different points of view. Analyse To analyse a problem, theme, argument, etc., it should be divided into smaller components and studied. The various elements or components that it constitutes should not only be identified, but more or less important elements should be differentiated and commented upon in your own words. Examples of questions that require analysis Analyse the causes and outcomes of negative self-efficacy beliefs. Analyse the following relationships: ... How does the behaviourist view of learning differ from the social cognitive view? What are the similarities and differences between learning styles and cognitive styles? Cognitive level 5: Synthesis Synthesis requires the ability to synthesise isolated elements or parts to form a new meaningful whole (pattern or structure) that did not exist previously. Creativity, originality, the ability to plan, to co-ordinate and to formulate are stressed. Action verbs requiring synthesis Compare A comparison requires that the similarities and differences between different ideas and perspectives are pointed out and each is discussed in a systematic way (i.e. first discuss one aspect before moving on to the next). Summarise or Construct A large body of knowledge should be summarised and organised logically and systematically while the essence of the matter is retained. Examples of questions that require synthesis On the basis of your knowledge of learning and motivation, develop a program to improve grade 8 learners’ strategic learning abilities. Compare the following two learning theories: ... Construct a mind map that ... Cognitive level 6 (The highest cognitive level): Evaluate Evaluation requires that certain criteria, values, principles, etc. are used for making value judgements about views, theories, judgements, solutions to problems, methods, etc. Evaluation includes the use of criteria as well as standards to determine whether information xviii is correct, effective, economic or satisfactory or not. The judgements may be quantitative or qualitative and the learner may apply either his/her own criteria or criteria which are given. The learner should therefore analyse a problem into its parts or components, make a value judgement of each component, and summarise the outcomes through synthesis into a comprehensive and purposeful value judgement. Action verbs that require evaluation Evaluate To evaluate requires an assessment or appraisal of the value of a particular issue, argument or statement. Criticise Write an essay in which you criticise the behaviourist approach to learning. Examples of questions that require evaluation Criticise inclusive education What do you think of Outcomes Based Education? Evaluate the internal and external validity of the following experiment ... In addition to action words there are phrases that qualify how you should do something, such as “explain/describe in your own words”, “in two paragraphs” or “in two pages”. Kindly note that you may be required to summarise a Study unit in either 10 or 2 pages, in which case two different capabilities or skills are required. With the former (a summary of 10 pages) you have to give supporting information, while with the latter the skill to identify the core elements is required. ADMISSION TO THE EXAMINATION AND PROOF OF PARTICIPATION A proof of participation is required to write the examination in this module. A proof of participation will only be issued after you have proved that you have participated in the teaching-learning activities as required to attain the outcomes as set for this module. To attain a proof of participation in this module you have to 1. complete the assignment within the time limits set for the assignment and submit the assignment for evaluation 2. write the test as scheduled in this study guide, and 3. attend the majority of scheduled contact sessions on the Potchefstroom campus or 4. attend the vacation school if you are an OLA learner. Kindly note that only those learners who have obtained a proof of participation will be allowed to write the examination in this module. Without a proof of participation you will not be allowed to write the examination. Apart from a proof of participation you have to obtain a participation mark. Your participation mark will consist of the mark you get for your assignment: Assignment 100 xix CALCULATION OF MODULE MARK Your module mark is calculated by taking into consideration your participation mark and the marks you get in the examination. The participation and examination marks carry equal weights in the ratio: 1:1. Thus your participation and exam marks each contributes 50% to your module mark. Kindly note that the • • minimum mark you should get in the exam is 40%; and that a module mark of at least 50% is required to pass the examination in this module. EXAMINATION Guidelines for the examination When you prepare for the group meetings you should start preparing for the exam as well. Change all learning outcomes into questions and answer these questions in writing. This will not only provide you with the opportunity of summarising your work, but will also provide feedback on your level of learning, comprehension, and achievement of outcomes. Marking scheme The essay questions in the exam will be evaluated according to the following scheme: Clarity of expression Structure (Headings, subheadings, numbering, etc.) (All essays must include a numbered scheme or outline. If you don’t include a scheme or outline and if this scheme or outline has no numerical indications, you’ll be penalised by 10 percent of the marks you get for the relevant questiont. Alphabetical indications of sub-sections will not be accepted.) Integration and presentation of facts Innovative perspectives and own examples ≈10% ≈10% ≈60% ≈20% (No credit will be given for examples used in this study guide or for those used during group meetings by the instructor.) Total 100% Examples of exam questions Kindly note that with all paragraph and essay questions you have to give practical examples from your daily experience in school that illustrate the concepts, variables, principles, assumptions, etc. that you discuss. Paragraph questions Kindly note that some of the important action verbs are typed in bold to remind you of which cognitive skill is to be evaluated. 1. Write a paragraph on the different approaches to learning in which you compare the following views on learning: Ε xx Learning as a change in behaviour. Ε Learning as a change in mental behaviour 2. Briefly discuss the assumptions of behaviourism / social-cognitive theories / etc. 3. Explain the concept classical conditioning / operant conditioning and illustrate your explanation with relevant examples. 4. Distinguish between the processes in classical conditioning. 5. How does operant conditioning differ from classical conditioning? 6. Explain the conditions for operant conditioning. 7. Explain the concept observational learning. 8. Explain how learning occurs through observational learning. 9. Write a paragraph in which you discuss the following phase of observational learning: Ε Ε Attention phase Retention phase, etc. 10. Briefly explain how social-cognitive theory views the role of reinforcement in learning. 11. How does the social-cognitive view of reinforcement differ from behavioural view ? 12. Define learning from a behavioural / social-cognitive / constructivist perspective. 13. First define learning and then analyse your definition of learning. 14. Write a paragraph on the short-term (or the long-term) memory in which you explain how the characteristics of the short-term (or the long-term) memory affect learning and instruction. 15. Explain the role of perception and attention in the sensory memory. 16. What should a learner do to lengthen the period during which information is kept in STM? 17. Explain the process by which the capacity of STM can be enlarged. 18. Distinguish between the components of LTM. 19. What are the similarities and differences between retroactive and proactive inhibition? 20. What are the similarities and differences between retroactive and proactive facilitation? (These two questions require the ability to make a comparison.) 21. Write a paragraph on retroactive inhibition / proactive inhibition. 22. Illustrate retroactive and proactive inhibition with a personal example. 23. Define learning from a constructivist perspective. 24. How does learning from a constructivist perspective differ from learning from a ... perspective? 25. Can a teacher transfer knowledge to a learner? (Answer this question from a constructivist perspective / cognitive perspective. 26. Which traditional assumptions of learning are questioned by constructivism? 27. Analyse the assumptions basic to the constructivist view of learning. 28. Distinguish by means of examples between assimilation and accommodation. 29. Explain the concept zone of proximal development. 30. How should you use your knowledge of the zone of proximal development when you have to teach a lesson? xxi 31. Compare the different categories of constructivism. 32. Which type of constructivism do you prefer? Motivate your choice. 33. Discuss the concept situated learning. 34. Discuss the following characteristics of strategic learning: ... 35. How do learners differ in the reasons they give for their successes or failures? 36. Distinguish between learning and performance goals. 37. Which of learning or performance goals characterise effective learners. 38. Explain the concept epistemological beliefs epistemological beliefs affect his/her learning. and discuss how a learner’s Essay questions 1. Write an essay in which you discuss the evolution in learning theories. 2. Write an essay in which you discuss the different paradigms. 3. Write an essay on operant conditioning. 4. Write an essay on reinforcement. 5. Discuss the issues related to operant conditioning. 6. Explain how learning occurs through observation. 7. From a social-cognitive perspective discuss the different phases of learning from models. 8. Write an essay in which you discuss social-cognitive theory. 9. Analyse the assumptions basic to cognitive psychology / behavioural theories / socialcognitive theories. 10. Analyse the characteristics of the short-term memory / long-term memory and explain how a teacher should base a lesson on his/her knowledge of these characteristics to enhance learning. 11. Summarise the behavioural / cognitive / social-cognitive theories of learning. 12. Explain how the constructivist view of learning differs from the behavioural / socialcognitive / cognitive view of learning. 13. Write an essay in which you discuss the historical roots of constructivism. 14. Write an essay on Piaget’s / Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development. 15. Explain how and why a teacher should base lessons or assignments on the characteristics of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. 16. Use examples of your own to illustrate the key principles derived from Vygotsky’s ideas. 17. Write an essay in which you discuss the practical implications of Vygotsky’s view of cognitive development for teaching and learning. 18. How do the different theories of learning differ in their perceptions of the variables that affect learning and academic achievement? 19. Evaluate the ................... view of learning. xxii Mind maps 1. Construct a mind map that summarises the different views on learning. 2. Construct a mind map that summarises the behavioural / social-cognitive / cognitive / constructivist theories of / perspectives on learning. 3. Construct a mind map that summarises Piaget’s / Vygotsky’s view of cognitive development. 4. Construct a mind map that illustrates that and how you understand the constructivist view of learning. 5. Construct a mind map that explains strategic learning. TEST During the second period of the scheduled group meetings (either on campus or during the vacation schools) a test will be written on the following Study units: 1 The study of learning 4 Cognitive theories: Information processing 5 Constructivist theories 6 Variables that influence learning The test will consist of questions, which require single sentence answers, short paragraphs and mind maps. There will be no supplementary tests! STUDY MATERIAL FOR THIS MODULE You don’t have to buy any textbooks for this module. The material, which you have to study, is integrated with each Study unit. xxiii WARNING AGAINST PLAGIARISM ASSIGNMENTS ARE INDIVIDUAL TASKS AND NOT GROUP ACTIVITIES. (UNLESS EXPLICITLY INDICATED AS GROUP ACTIVITIES) Copying of text from other learners or from other sources (for instance the study guide, prescribed material or directly from the internet) is not allowed – only brief quotations are allowed and then only if indicated as such. You should reformulate existing text and use your own words to explain what you have read. It is not acceptable to retype existing text and just acknowledge the source in a footnote – you should be able to relate the idea or concept, without repeating the original author to the letter. The aim of the assignments is not the reproduction of existing material, but to ascertain whether you have the ability to integrate existing texts, add your own interpretation and/or critique of the texts and offer a creative solution to existing problems. Be warned: students who submit copied text will obtain a mark of zero for the assignment and disciplinary steps may be taken by the Faculty and/or University. It is also unacceptable to do somebody else’s work, to lend your work to them or to make your work available to them to copy – be careful and do not make your work available to anyone! xxiv Study unit 1 1 THE STUDY OF LEARNING You ought to complete this Study unit in 7 hours. 1.1 INTRODUCTION To understand the concept learning, it is important to take cognisance of the different perspectives from which learning can be viewed. On the basis of a deep understanding of the different ways learning can be viewed, one can form an own informed concept of learning and knowledge. As one’s concept of learning and knowledge is one of the important variables that determine how one teaches, it is important to develop a good understanding of learning. With this unit we are starting with a study of learning which will hopefully enable you to develop a deep understanding of learning. This unit deals with: 1. how learning can be defined; 2. different approaches to studying learning; 3. how learning theories evolved; 4, the implications of ones concept of learning for instruction or teaching; 5. the types of learning that are best explained by the different theories of learning; and 6. how one can learn more about learning through research. 1 Study unit 1 Kindly note that the following encompasses only a brief look at learning. As this is an introductory module, we can’t study learning in depth. Those of you who have registered for the programme in General learning and teaching will study themes introduced in this module in depth in later modules. After completing this unit you should be able to: • • • • • • define the concept learning from the perspectives of different viewpoints; distinguish between the main approaches to the study of learning; reflect an understanding that learning is a complex phenomenon which can’t be fully explained by a single theory of learning; reflect an understanding that one’s goal to know more about learning, determines the type of research one has to do to attain one’s goal; analyse cases regarding learning as a phenomenon; and identify what the learner’s responsibility or contribution to learning is, as seen from the perspective of different views on learning. Before you read any further briefly explain or define the concept learning on the basis of what you already know about learning. Write this explanation or definition in the workbook. Now read the following case study from Ormrod (2000:220): Case Study 1.1 Darren’s day at school At the dinner table one night, Darren's mother asks him, "How was your day at school?" Darren shrugs, thinks for a moment, and says, "Okay, I guess." "What did you learn?" his father asks. "Nothing much," Darren replies. 2 Study unit 1 Nothing much, indeed! Let's look at several slices of Darren's School day and see how much he actually did learn. During his daily maths lesson, Darren is studying the multiplication table for the number 9. He finds that some multiplication facts are easy to learn because he can relate them to things he already knows; for example, 9 X 2 = 18 is like adding 9 plus 9, and 9 X 5 = 45 can be derived from counting by fives. Others, such as 9 X 4 = 36 and 9 X 8 = 72, are more difficult because he can't connect them to any facts about numbers he has learned before. When Ms. Caffarella finds Darren and a few of his classmates struggling, she teaches the class two tricks for learning the nines multiplication table: The first digit in the product is 1 less than by which 9 is being multiplied. For 9 X 6, the first digit in the product must be 6 – 1, or 5. The two digits of the product, when added together, equal nine. Because 5 plus 4 equals 9, the product of 9 X 6 must be 54. With these two tricks, Darren discovers a pattern in the nine table that helps him recite the table correctly. During a geography lesson, Ms. Caffarella describes the trip she took to Greece last summer. She holds up a picture postcard of the Parthenon and explains that the building is constructed entirely of marble. Darren is sitting near the back of the room and can't see the picture very clearly; he envisions a building made entirely of marbles and silently wonders how the ancient Greeks managed to glue them all together. In physical education, Darren's class has begun a unit on soccer. Darren has never played soccer before, and his first attempts to move and control the ball with his feet are clumsy and inept. His teacher watches his footwork closely, praising him when he moves his feet appropriately, and eventually Darren is dribbling and passing the ball successfully to his classmates. In the afternoon's art lesson, Darren's class is making paper-maché masks. His friend Carla gives her mask a very large nose by adding a crumpled wad of paper below the eyeholes and then covering and shaping the wad with several pieces of glued paper. Darren watches her closely throughout the process and then makes his own mask's nose in a similar fashion. Darren obviously learned something in school. What do you think he learned in the following classes: maths, geography, physical education, and art? How would you describe or define the learning that took place in each of these classes? The answers to these questions are not going to be given now. Keep your answers for purposes of discussion during the group meeting. What is obvious from the case study is that not all the activities contributed to effective learning in Darren’s case. 3 Study unit 1 Despite his apparent amnesia at the dinner table, Darren has clearly learned a number of things at school that day. Apart from other things, he learned the nine- multiplication table, the “fact" that the Parthenon was made from marbles, some rudimentary techniques for moving a soccer ball, and a strategy for sculpting with paper-maché (Ormrod, 2000:221). 1.2 DEFINITIONS OF LEARNING Exactly what do we mean by the word learning? Consider the following two perspectives on learning: Definition 1: Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience (Ormrod, 2000:221). Definition 2: Learning is a relatively permanent change in mental associations due to experience (Ormrod, 2000:221). How do these two definitions concur and also how do they differ from one another? • Similarities You may notice two similarities in the definitions. First, both describe learning as a relatively permanent change - something that lasts for a period of time. Second, the change is due to experience. It results from specific experiences that students have had - perhaps a lesson in multiplication, a teacher's description of the Parthenon, soccer instruction, or the opportunity to watch a classmate work with paper-maché (Ormrod, 2000:221). 4 • Study unit 1 Differences But now look at how our two definitions differ. The first one describes learning as a change in behaviour, the second one as a change in mental associations. In Darren's day at school, we see several examples of learning as a change in behaviour. Darren recites the nine-table correctly for the first time, shows improvement in his ability to dribble a soccer ball, and tries a new way of shaping paper-maché. We also see several examples of learning as a change in mental associations. Darren relates 9 X 2 = 18 to 9 + 9 = 18, relates the marble in the Parthenon to the marbles he has at home, and remembers the steps that his friend Carla has used to make a nose (Ormrod, 2000:221). Now go back to your own definition of learning. How does your definition of learning differ from the two you have just studied? Make a list the similarities and differences between your definition and the generally accepted definitions. 1.3 APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF LEARNING Some learning theories focus on how people's behaviours change over time and on the environmental conditions that bring about such changes. Other theories focus more on internal mental processes - on thinking - than on observable behaviours (Ormrod, 2000:221). Let's look briefly at each of these approaches to learning. What do you think learning as a change in behaviour means? A problem we encounter when we study "thinking" is that we can never actually see thought processes. All we can really observe is behaviour: what people do and say. For example, we can't really observe Karl "remember"; we can only hear him say, "Oh, yes, now I remember ... the capital of Spain is Madrid." We can't truly determine whether Karen is "paying attention"; we can only see whether she is focusing her eyes on the teacher (Ormrod, 2000:221). Before the turn of the century, many psychologists attempted to study thinking and learning through a method known as introspection: They asked people to "look" inside their own 5 Study unit 1 minds and describe what they were "thinking." But beginning in the early 1900s, some psychologists began to criticise the introspective approach for its lack of objectivity or scientific rigor. They proposed that, to study learning in an objective, scientific manner, theorists must focus on two things that can be observed: people's behaviours (responses) and the environmental events (stimuli) that precede and follow those responses. Since then, many psychologists have attempted to describe and understand learning through an analysis of stimulus-response relationships. Such psychologists are called behaviourists, and their theories of learning are collectively known as behaviourism (Ormrod, 2000:221). Behavioural theories view learning as a change in the rate, frequency of occurrence, or form of behaviour or response, which occurs primarily as a result of environmental factors. Behaviourism explains learning in terms of observable phenomena. Behavioural theorists contend that explanations for learning need not include internal events such as thoughts and feelings, not because these internal events do not exist (because they do), but rather because the causes of learning are observable in the environment (Schunk, 2000:11). Can you give an example of behaviourist learning from Darren’s first day at school? We see an example of the behaviourist perspective in action in Darren's physical education class. The teacher watches Darren's footwork (his responses) and gives him praise (a stimulus) when he makes the right moves. Rather than worry about what Darren might be thinking about soccer, the teacher focuses exclusively on Darren's behaviour and provides a desirable consequence when it shows improvement. The teacher is applying a simple behaviourist principle: A response that is followed by a desired (reinforcing) stimulus is more likely to occur again (Ormrod, 2000:222). Study unit 2 focuses on behaviourist learning theories. What do you think learning as a change in mental associations means? 6 Study unit 1 During the first half of the twentieth century, many psychologists adhered to the behaviourist perspective, especially in North America. As the years went by, however, it became increasingly clear that behaviourism alone could not give us a complete picture of learning. For example, early behaviourists believed that learning could occur only when learners actually behaved in some way - perhaps when they made a response and experienced the consequences of that response. But in the 1940s, some psychologists proposed that people could also learn a new behaviour simply by watching and imitating what other people did. This idea of modelling provided the impetus for an alternative perspective that considers how people learn from observing those around them. Originally called social learning theory, this perspective has increasingly incorporated cognitive processes into its explanations of learning; it is now more commonly called social cognitive theory (Ormrod, 2000:222). Can you give an example of modelling from Darren’s first day at school? We find an example of modelling in Darren's experience with the paper-maché masks. Darren watches Carla as she makes a nose for her mask; after she finishes, he follows the same steps. Notice that Darren imitates what Carla has done only after she has already completed her nose; hence, he makes his nose by using his memory of what he has previously observed Carla do. According to social cognitive theorists, learning itself occurs at the time that observation takes place; a behaviour change as a result of that learning may or may not occur. For example, Darren might possibly watch Carla and remember what she has done, yet choose not to make his nose in the same way (Ormrod, 2000:222). Unit 3 covers the role of modelling in learning. By the 1960s, many learning theorists were beginning to realise that they could not completely understand learning unless they considered thinking as well as behaviour, and they began to conceptualise learning as a mental change rather than a behavioural one. These psychologists shifted their attention away from a detailed analysis of stimulusresponse relationships and focused more on the thought processes involved in learning new knowledge and skills. A perspective known as cognitive psychology - addressing such mental phenomena as memory, attention, concept learning, problem solving, and reasoning soon emerged (see Study unit 4). Some cognitive psychologists have incorporated the ideas of such early theorists as Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky into their explanations of how 7 Study unit 1 people learn. One of these explanations is the constructivist view of learning, which will be discussed in Study unit 5. To make sure that you understand this whole process of how the different theories developed or emerged, you should study the accompanying Figure 1.1 for Ormrod’s (2000:222) view of the evolution of learning theories. Keep in mind that because behaviourism, social cognitive theory, and cognitive psychology encompass different views of fundamental issues, each perspective will take us in a somewhat different direction as we explore the nature of human learning. You should also keep in mind that no single theoretical orientation can give us a complete picture of how people learn. All three perspectives offer valuable lessons for helping students achieve in the classroom (Ormrod, 2000:223). Figure 1.1 8 The evolution of learning theories (Ormrod, 2000:223) Study unit 1 1.4 IMPLICATIONS OF THE DIFFERENT VIEWS ON LEARNING FOR INSTRUCTION The conceptualisations of learning have important implications for educational practice in terms of the • • • • Behavioural Social cognitivist Cognitivist and Constructivist theories of learning 1.4.1 Be h a vio u ra l Th e o rie s Behavioural theories view learning as a change in the form or frequency of behaviour. With a behavioural approach, learners' behaviours are assessed to determine when to begin instruction. Learning requires arranging stimuli in the environment so that learners can make the proper responses and be reinforced (Schunk, 2000:23). Behavioural theories focus on changing the environment in order to influence learning (e.g. by providing reinforcement when the appropriate response is made) (Shuell, 1986:413). The goal of behavioural instruction is to have learners respond correctly to a stimulus. Instruction requires establishing cues to which learners respond, and dividing material to be learned into small steps that can be mastered sequentially. Frequent responding by learners is necessary, as is feedback concerning accuracy of responses (Schunk, 2000:23). Behavioural principles of instruction clearly have a close relation to learning because the goal of instruction is to produce a change in behaviour. Nonetheless, behavioural theories neglect the powerful influences of observational learning and of cognitive principles necessary to explain problem solving and complex learning. Cognitive theories are better suited for these purposes (Schunk, 2000:24). 1.4.2 Co g n itive Th e o rie s Cognitive theories focus more on changing the learner e.g. by encouraging the person to use appropriate learning strategies (Shuell, 1986:413). Cognitive theories explain how learners receive, process, store, and retrieve information in memory. There is less concern with what learners do (the behavioural focus) and more concern with what learners know and the way they come to know it. Although cognitive perspectives include some behavioural principles - 9 Study unit 1 including the importance of practice and feedback and of establishing appropriate cues in the environment to which learners can attend - a primary difference is the cognitive emphasis on the thinking processes that produce the behaviour, rather than on the behaviour itself (Schunk, 2000:24). What do you think do behavioural and cognitive theories have in common? Behavioural and cognitive theories are objective in that they assume the external world is real and thus the goal of instruction is to have learners acquire responses and knowledge that exist in the world. In contrast, constructivist approaches to learning assume that subjectivity is critical because learners take in information and cognitively process it in ways that reflect their needs, dispositions, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. Constructivism assumes that meaning is created through experience (Schunk, 2000:24). 1.4.3 Co n s tru c tivis t The o rie s Constructivists believe that instruction depends on learners and learning environments, but constructivism stresses the interaction between these influences more than other views do. Learning must occur embedded in the context in which it occurs. Cognition is situated in contexts, and instruction must be presented in those contexts (Schunk, 2000:25). Constructivist instructional designers determine which teaching methods and strategies will help learners actively explore topics and advance their thinking. Learners are encouraged to develop and reflect their own understandings of knowledge. This does not negate the role of practice and feedback, but rather allows learners more latitude and results in developing knowledge structures (Schunk, 2000:25). Constructivist approaches share some commonalities with behavioural and cognitive theories in that these three approaches actively involve learners in learning and structure knowledge frameworks so that learners can extract maximal amounts of data; however, as has been indicated, constructivist models generally encourage more latitude in learning. Thus, a learner in an apprentice role will learn from the superior but still have the freedom to construct knowledge differently. Constructivist approaches often emphasise the social context of learning through peer collaborative groups, apprenticeships, and social models, underpinning the forming of knowledge frameworks. Although constructivist principles are vague at times and often do not clarify how to design instruction, the general framework is useful and emphasises a wide range of learner cognitions and beliefs (Schunk, 2000:25). 10 Study unit 1 How do the theories differ in their views as to how teaching and learning should occur? 1.5 TYPES OF LEARNING EXPLAINED BY THE DIFFERENT THEORIES Theories attempt to explain various types of learning but differ in their ability to do so. Behavioural theories emphasise the formation of associations between stimuli and responses through selective reinforcement of correct responses . Behavioural theories therefore seem best suited to explain simpler forms of learning that involve associations, such as multiplication facts, foreign language word meanings, and state capital cities (Schunk, 2000:25). Cognitive theories, on the other hand, explain learning in terms of factors such as information processing, memory networks, and student perceptions and interpretations of classroom variables (e.g., teachers, peers, materials, organisation, instruction). Cognitive theories appear to be more appropriate for explaining complex forms of learning; for example, solving mathematical word problems, drawing inferences from text, and writing essays (Schunk, 2000:15). This is not to suggest that the various forms of learning do not have things in common . Learning to read is fundamentally different from learning to play the violin, but both benefit from attention, effort, and persistence. Learning to write term papers and learning to throw the javelin may not appear to be similar, but both are promoted by goal setting, selfmonitoring of progress, corrective feedback from teachers and coaches, and feelings of intrinsic motivation (Schunk, 2000:15). Effective teaching requires that we determine the best theoretical perspectives for the types of learning we deal with and draw on those perspectives for instructional suggestions. When reinforced practice is important for learning or reaching learning outcomes, then teachers should schedule it. When learning problem-solving strategies is important, then we should study the implications of information processing theory. A continuing challenge for research is to specify similarities and differences among types of learning and identify effective instructional approaches for each (Schunk, 2000:15). In the last paragraph a sentence is printed in bold face. Analyse the principle implied by this sentence and discuss it with your study partner(s). Come to a consensus and prepare a joint answer to be presented during the group meeting. 11 Study unit 1 1.6 LEARNING THEORIES AND RESEARCH Research forms an important component of your B.Ed honours programme. Between 24-32 of the 128 credits for the B.Ed. honours programme are allocated to training in research methodology. It is therefore important that we take cognisance of different research paradigms and how each paradigm influences our research focus. It is also necessary to become aware of the role theory plays in research. 1.6.1 Fu n c tio n s o f a The o ry How would you explain the concept theory to a grade 10 class? And to the teachers in your school? A theory is a scientifically acceptable set of principles offered to explain a phenomenon. Theories provide frameworks for interpreting environmental observations and serve as bridges between research and education. Research findings can be organised and systematically linked to theories. Without theories, research findings would be disorganised collections of data because researchers and practitioners would have no overarching frameworks to which to link . Even when researchers obtain findings that do not seem to link to theories directly, they must still attempt to make sense of data and determine whether any theories are applicable (Schunk, 2000:3). Theories reflect environmental phenomena and generate new research through the formulation of hypotheses, or assumptions that can be empirically tested. Hypotheses can often be cast as if-then statements: "If I do X, then Y should occur," where X and Y might be such events as "praise students for their progress in learning" and "raise their self-confidence and achievement," respectively. Thus, we might test the hypothesis, “If we praise students when they make progress in learning then they should display higher self-confidence and achievement than students who are not praised for their progress." A theory is strengthened when hypotheses are supported by data. Theories may require revision if data do not support hypotheses (Schunk, 2000:3). 12 Study unit 1 Start constructing a mind map of learning theories and research. Work on this mind map as you progress through this section. Use a double page for this mind map as you are going to elaborate on it. 1.6.2 Re s e a rc h P a ra dig m s Research studies that explore learning employ various types of paradigms (models). See Table 1.1 for these paradigms and the main qualities that distinguish them from others (Schunk, 2000:4). 1.6.2.1 Correlational Research. Correlational research attempts to determine whether, and to what degree, a relationship exists between two or more variables. The purpose of a correlational study is to establish a relationship (or lack of it) or to use relationships to make predictions. A correlation is a quantitative measure of the degree of correspondence between two or more variables. For example, one collects measures (or data) on at least two variables for the same group of subjects and then calculate a coefficient of correlation between the measures. A correlation coefficient (r) is an index of the direction and magnitude of the relationship. The correlation coefficient (r) is a number between +1.00 and –1.00. When two variables are correlated perfectly, r equals +1.00 or –1.00.If the variables are unrelated r is close to 0.00. A correlation that is positive means that as one variable increases, the other variable also increases. A correlation that is negative means that when one variable increases the other variable decreases (Gay and Airasian, 2000:12; Leedy, 1997:224). A researcher might hypothesise that self-efficacy is positively correlated with (related to) achievement such that the higher the students' self-efficacy the higher they achieve. To test this relation the researcher might measure students' self-efficacy for solving mathematical problems and then assess how well they actually solve the problems. The researcher could statistically correlate the self-efficacy and achievement scores to determine the direction of the relation (positive, negative) and its strength (high, medium, low) (Schunk, 2000:4). 13 Study unit 1 Correlational findings often suggest directions for further research. If the researcher were to obtain a, high positive correlation between self-efficacy and achievement, the next study might be an experiment that attempted to raise students' self-efficacy for learning and determine whether such an increase produced higher achievement (Schunk, 2000:5). It is important to note that correlational research does not establish causal relations between variables. Correlational research helps to clarify relations among variables. A positive correlation between self-efficacy and achievement could mean that (a) self-efficacy influences achievement, (b) achievement influences self-efficacy, (c) self-efficacy and achievement influence each other, or (d) self-efficacy and achievement are influenced by other, non-measured variables (e.g., parents, teachers). To determine cause and effect an experimental study is necessary (Schunk, 2000:5). Explain the concept in your own words and give a personal example that illustrates your understanding of this concept. Discuss your example with your study partner and come to a consensus, which you can present at the group meeting. Table 1.1 Learning research paradigms Type Qualities Correlational Examines relations between variables Experimental One or more variables are altered and the effects on other variables are assessed Qualitative Concerned with detailed description of events and interpretation of meanings Laboratory Project conducted in a controlled setting Field Project conducted in a natural setting (school, home, work environment) (Schunk, 2000:4) 1.6.2.2 Experimental Research What does the concept experiment mean to you? 14 Study unit 1 With experimental research the researcher addresses questions concerning relationships among variables over which the researcher can have control. In experimental research the researcher manipulates the independent variable (the “cause”) while controlling other variables and observe any subsequent changes in the dependent variable (the “effect”) (Ary, Jacobs & Razavieh, 1990:45). The researcher in our example could form two groups of students, systematically alter perceptions of self-efficacy among students in one group and not among students in the other group, and assess achievement in the two groups. If the first group performs better the researcher might conclude that self-efficacy influences achievement. While the researcher alters variables to determine their effects on outcomes, the researcher must hold constant other variables that potentially can affect outcomes (e.g., learning conditions) (Schunk, 2000:5). Experimental research can clarify cause-effect relations, which helps us understand the nature of learning. At the same time, experimental research often is narrow in scope. Researchers typically study only a few variables and try to minimise effects of others, which is difficult to do and somewhat unrealistic. Classrooms and other learning settings are complex environments where many factors operate at once. To say that one or two variables cause outcomes may overemphasise their importance. Replicating experiments and examining other variables to understand effects better is necessary (Schunk, 2000:5). Give an example from your teaching experience that explains the concept cause-effect relation. 1.6.2.3 Qualitative Research Qualitative research is a generic term for a variety of approaches to educational research and evaluation. The theories and methods used are referred to under various labels including qualitative, ethnographic, participant observation, phenomenological, constructivist, and interpretative. These approaches differ but are characterised by intensive study, descriptions of events, and interpretation of meanings (Schunk, 2000:5). Qualitative research seeks to probe deeply into the research setting in order to obtain understandings about the way things are, why they are that way, and how the participants in the context perceive them. Qualitative research is especially useful when researchers are interested in the structure of events rather than their overall distributions, when the meanings and perspectives of individuals are important, when actual experiments are impractical or unethical, and when a desire to search for new potential causal linkages that have not been discovered by experimental methods exists (Gay & Airasian, 2000:16; Schunk, 2000:5). 15 Study unit 1 Qualitative research is quite varied and can range from analyses of verbal and non-verbal interactions within single lessons to in-depth observations and interviews over longer periods. Methods may include observations, use of existing records, interviews, and thinkaloud protocols (i.e., participants talk aloud while performing tasks). It is not the choice of method that characterises this approach - all of the aforementioned methods could be used in correlational or experimental studies - but rather the depth and quality of data analysis and interpretation (Schunk, 2000:5). The researcher in our example might be curious about the way self-efficacy contributes to the development of skills over time. She or he might work with a small group of students for several months. Through observations, interviews, and other forms of data collection the researcher might examine how students' self-efficacy for learning relates to skill refinement in reading, writing, and mathematics (Schunk, 2000:6). Qualitative research yields rich sources of data, which are more intensive and thorough than those typically obtained in correlational or experimental research. This paradigm can also raise new questions and fresh perspectives on old questions that often are missed by traditional methods. A potential limitation is that because studies typically include only few participants, they may not be representative of a larger population of students or teachers, which limits generalisation of findings. Another concern is that if researchers do not interpret data in light of a theory, then findings may seem disjointed and interpretation is problematic. Nonetheless, as a research model this paradigm offers a useful approach for obtaining data typically not collected with other methods (Schunk, 2000:6). See Table 1.2 for the distinguishing characteristics of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Table 1.2 Distinguishing Characteristics of Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches Quantitative Purpose Qualitative To: To: explain and predict describe and explain multiple realities confirm and validate test theory establish facts test hypotheses Outcome-oriented explore and interpret develop deep understanding capture everyday life and human perspectives build theory Process-oriented Nature of the research process Methods of data collection Focused Holistic Isolates variables Unknown variables Static design Emergent design Context-free Context-bound Detached view Personal view Uses representative, large samples Informative, small sample Is often anonymous to participants Collects data face-to-face from participants e.g. focus groups Standardised instruments Interacts with participants Observations, interviews 16 Study unit 1 Form of reasoning used in analysis Deductive analysis Inductive analysis Communication of findings Mainly statistical Mainly interpretive Quantitative Descriptive Numbers Words Statistics, aggregated data Narratives, individual quotes Formal voice, scientific style Personal voice, literary style (Leedy, 1997: 106; Gay & Airasian, 2000:10) 1.6.2.4 Laboratory and Field Research What do you think the difference is between laboratory and field research? Experiments in education may be conducted in either a laboratory or in a field setting. Laboratory studies are conducted in controlled settings, whereas field studies are conducted where participants live, work, or attend school. During the first half of the twentieth century most learning research was conducted on animals - dogs, cats, rats - in laboratories. Today most learning research is conducted with people, and much is done in field settings. Any of the preceding research models (experimental, correlational, and qualitative) can be applied in the laboratory or the field (Schunk, 2000:6). Laboratories offer a high degree of control over extraneous factors that can affect results, such as telephones ringing, people talking, windows to look out of, and other persons in the room who are not part of the study. Light, sound, and temperature can be regulated. Laboratories also allow researchers to leave their equipment set up over lengthy periods and have all materials at their immediate disposal (Schunk, 2000:6). Such control is not possible in the field. Schools are noisy and finding space to work is often difficult. Numerous distractions exist: Students and teachers walk by, bells ring, announcements are made over the intercom system. Rooms may be too bright or dark, too cold or warm, and used for other purposes so researchers have to set up equipment each time they work. Interpreting results in light of these distractions can be a problem (Schunk, 2000:6). An advantage of field research is that results are highly generalisable to other similar settings because studies are conducted where people typically learn. In contrast, generalisation of laboratory findings to the field is done with less confidence. Laboratory research has yielded many important insights on learning and researchers often attempt to replicate laboratory findings in the field (Schunk, 2000:6). Whether we choose the laboratory or the field depends on factors such as the purpose of the research, availability of subjects, costs, and how we will use the results. If we choose the 17 Study unit 1 laboratory, we gain control but lose some generalisability, and vice versa if we choose the field. In the field, researchers try to minimise extraneous influences so that they can be more confident that their results are due to the factors they are studying (Schunk, 2000:6). Now that you have completed this unit, go back to your definition of learning. Are you still satisfied with that definition or do you want to change it? Do you want to take something away from it or do you want to add something? Why do you want to do this? If you want to change your definition, write your definition of learning, as you understand learning at this stage of the module, in the space provided. Construct a detailed mind map in your workbook that summarises the contents of this Study unit. Compare your mind map with those of your study partners and discuss the differences with them. Reflect on the following: • • What is your personal view or definition of a learner? • How do you define the concept knowledge? • How would you describe the learners in your class? • Can one distinguish between true and false knowledge? 18 What is the difference between true and false knowledge? Study unit 1 Without rereading the contents of this unit, answer the following questions in writing in your workbook: 1. Explain in your own words the differences between the two approaches to the study of learning. 2. Design a diagram that illustrates the evolution of learning theories. 3. What are the major differences between the different theories? 4. Why is it necessary to do research on learning? 5. Which different learning paradigms can be used to study learning? 6. How does qualitative research differ from quantitative research? Kindly note that you may either check your answers directly after having answered a question, or you may wait until you have answered all the questions. If you prefer the latter practice you are advised to answer the questions in writing. Without a written copy of an answer it will be difficult to remember all the answers when you have to check them. Written copies will also enable you to correct your answers, with the further advantage that you have a written answer when you have to prepare for a group discussion or exam. Re fe re n c e s Ary, D., Jacobs, L.C. & Razavieh, A. 1990. Introduction to research in education. Chicago: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Du Toit, P., Heese, M. & Orr, M. 1995. Practical guide to reading, thinking and writing skills. Halfway House: Southern. Gay, L.R. & Airasian, P. 2000. Educational research. Competencies for analysis and application. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Leedy, P.H. 1997. Practical research. Planning and design. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Schunk, D.H. 2000. Learning theories. An educational perspective. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Shuell, T.J. 1986. Cognitive conceptions of learning. Review of educational research, 56:411-436. 19 Study unit 1 20 Study unit 2 2 BEHAVIOURAL LEARNING THEORIES It ought to take you about 9 hours to study this unit. 2.1 INTRODUCTION As we saw in Study unit 1 behavioural theories (see Figure 2.1) view learning as a change in the form or frequency of behaviour. With a behavioural approach, learners' behaviours are assessed to determine when to begin instruction. For learning to occur stimuli in the environment should be arranged so that the learners can make the proper responses and be reinforced (Schunk, 2000:23). The goal of behavioural instruction is to have learners respond correctly to a stimulus. Instruction requires establishing cues to which learners respond, and dividing material to be learned into small steps that can be mastered sequentially. Frequent responding by learners is necessary, as is feedback concerning accuracy of responses (Schunk, 2000:23). Behavioural theories thus focus on changing the environment in order to influence learning (e.g. by providing reinforcement when the appropriate response is made) (Shuell, 1986:413). The environment is changed by arranging stimuli in the environment so that the learners can make the proper responses. When they make the proper responses they are reinforced so that the proper responses will come easier next time around. 21 Study unit 2 Figure 2.1 The position of behavioural theories within the evolution of learning theories. After completing this module you should be able to: • • • • • • • • demonstrate your understanding of the assumptions basic to behaviourism; reflect your understanding of how learners’ behaviour is influenced by their experiences; discuss the educational implications of the assumptions of behaviourism; distinguish between classical and operant conditioning; apply the conditions characteristic of operant conditioning to change a learner’s behaviour; distinguish between different types of reinforcers; evaluate the classroom uses of reinforcers; and evaluate the ethical issues and limitations of the behaviourist theories. Read Case Study 2.1 for a brief view on how subtly behaviourism affects life in the classroom: Case Study 2.1 Julia Esteban, first-grade teacher at Tanner Elementary School, was trying to teach her students appropriate classroom behaviour. 22 Study unit 2 “Children,” she said one day, “we are having a problem in this class that I’d like to discuss with you. Whenever I ask a question, many of you shout out your answers instead of raising your hand and waiting to be called on. Can anyone tell me what you should do when I ask the class a question?” Rebecca’s hand shot into the air. “I know, I know!” she said. “Raise your hand and wait quietly!” Ms. Esteban sighed to herself. She tried to ignore Rebecca, who was doing exactly what she had been told not to do, but Rebecca was the only student with her hand up, and the longer she delayed, the more frantically Rebecca waved her hand and shouted her answer. “All right, Rebecca. What are you supposed to do?” “We’re supposed to raise our hands and wait quietly for you to call on us.” “If you know the rule, why were you shouting out your answer before I called on you?” “I guess I forgot.” “All right. Can anyone remind the class of our rule about talking out of turn?” Four children raised their hands and shouted together. “One at a time!” “Take turns!” “Don’t talk when someone else is talking!” Ms. Esteban called for order. “You kids are going to drive me crazy!” she said. “Didn’t we just talk about how to raise your hands and wait for me to call on you? ”But Ms. Esteban,” said Stephen without even raising his hand. “You called on Rebecca and she wasn’t quiet!” (Slavin, 2000:139). What do we learn from this case study? We learn that children are excellent learners. What they learn, however, may not always be what we intend to teach. Ms. Esteban is trying to teach her students how to behave in class, but by paying attention to Rebecca’s outburst, she is actually teaching the opposite of what she intends to teach. Rebecca craves her teacher’s attention, so being called on (even in an exasperated tone of voice) rewards her for calling out her answer. Not only does Ms. Esteban’s response increase the chances that Rebecca will call out answers again, but Rebecca now serves as a model for her classmates’ own calling out. What Ms. Esteban says is less important than her actual response to her students’ behaviour (Slavin, 2000:140). Read Case Study 2.2 23 Study unit 2 Case Study 2.2 James is the sixth child in a family of nine children. He likes many things; for example, he likes rock music, comic books, basketball, and strawberry ice cream. But more than anything else, James likes attention. James is a skilful attention getter. He gets his teacher’s attention by blurting answers out in class, throwing paper clips and erasers in the teacher’s direction, and refusing to turn in classroom assignments. He gets the attention of classmates by teasing them, poking them, or writing obscenities on the restroom walls. By the middle of the school year, James is getting an extra bonus as well: His antics send him to the main office often enough that he has the school principal’s attention at least once a week. It’s true that the attention James gets is often in the form of a teacher’s scolding, a classmate’s angry retort, or the principal’s admonishment that “We can’t have any more of this behaviour, young man.” But after all – attention is attention. (Ormrod, 2000:395) Anser the following questions in writing in you workbook: 1. Why do you think James chooses such inappropriate behaviours (rather than more appropriate ones) as a way of getting the attention of others? Can you speculate on possible reasons? 2. Exactly what has James learned? 3. Can you derive a principle of learning from James’ attention-getting behaviour? This unit deals with: • • the basic assumptions of behaviourism; • contiguity learning; • the essential conditions for operant conditioning; • the classroom uses of reinforcement; and • classical conditioning; • operant conditioning; • the types of reinforcers one can use; 24 the ethical issues and limits of the behavioural learning theories. Study unit 2 2.2 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF BEHAVIOURISM As you consider James' situation, think back to your own experiences as a student in elementary and secondary school. Which students received the most attention, those who behaved appropriately or those who behaved inappropriately? Chances are that it was the misbehaving students to whom your teachers and classmates paid the most attention. James has undoubtedly learned that if he wants to be noticed - if he wants to stand out in a crowd then he must behave in ways that other students are not (Ormrod, 2000:396). The two case studies illustrate a basic assumption of behaviourism: People's behaviour is largely the result of their experiences with environmental stimuli. Several key assumptions that underpin behaviourist views of learning are as follows (see Table 2.1 for a summary of these assumptions): • The first assumption is that people's behaviours are largely the result of their experiences with environmental stimuli. Many behaviourists believe that, with the exception of a few simple reflexes, a person is born as a "blank slate" (sometimes referred to by the Latin term tabula rasa), with no inherited tendency to behave one way or another. Over the years, the environment "writes" on this slate, slowly moulding, or conditioning, the individual into an adult who has unique characteristics and ways of behaving (Ormrod, 2000:396). As teachers, we must keep in mind the very significant effect that students' past and present environments are likely to have on the behaviours they exhibit. We can use this basic principle to our advantage: By changing the environmental events that our students experience, we may also be able to change their behaviours (Ormrod, 2000:396). (See Table 2.1 [below] for a summary of this assumption.) 25 Study unit 2 • The second assumption is that learning can be described in terms of relationships among observable events - that is, relationships among stimuli and responses. Behaviourists have traditionally believed that the processes that occur inside a person (thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, etc.) cannot be observed and so cannot be studied scientifically. Many behaviourists describe a person as a "black box” - something that cannot be opened for inspection. Psychological inquiry should instead focus on things that can be observed and studied objectively; more specifically, it should focus on the responses that learners make (symbolised as Rs) and the environmental stimuli (Ss) that bring those responses about (Ormrod, 2000:396). Not all behaviourists hold firmly to the black box assumption, however. In recent years, some have begun to incorporate cognitive processes into their theoretical explanations. It is becoming increasingly evident, even to behaviourists, just how difficult it is to omit thought from our explanations of learning and behaviour (Ormrod, 2000:396). (See Table 2.1 [below] for a summary of this assumption.) • The third assumption is that learning involves a behaviour change. From a behaviourist perspective, learning itself should be defined as something that can be observed and documented; in other words, it should be defined as a change in behaviour. This definition can be especially useful for us as teachers. To illustrate, consider this scenario (Ormrod, 2000:396): Your students look at you attentively as you explain a difficult concept. When you finish, you ask, 'Any questions?" You look around the room, and not a single hand is raised. "Good," you think, "they all understand." (Ormrod, 2000:397) But do your students understand? On the basis of what you've just observed, you really have no idea whether they do or not. Only observable behaviour changes - perhaps an 26 Study unit 2 improvement in test scores, a greater frequency of independent reading, or a reduction in hitting and kicking - can ultimately tell us that learning has occurred (Ormrod, 2000:398). (See Table 2.1 [below] for a summary of this assumption.) • The fourth assumption is that learning is most likely to take place when stimuli and responses occur close together in time. For stimulus-response relationships to develop, certain events must occur in conjunction with other events. When two events occur at more or less the same time, we say that there is contiguity between them. The following two examples illustrate contiguity: One of your instructors scowls at you as she hands back the exam paper she has just corrected. You discover that you have received a D- on the exam, and you get an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach. The next time your instructor scowls at you, that same uncomfortable feeling returns (Ormrod, 2000:398). Another instructor smiles and calls on you every time you raise your hand. Although you are fairly quiet in your other classes, you find yourself raising your hand and speaking up more and more frequently in this one (Ormrod, 2000:398). In the first situation, the instructor's scowl and the D- on your exam are presented more or less simultaneously; here we see contiguity between two stimuli. In the second situation, the instructor’s smile and his calling follow your response of raising your hand immediately. In this case, we see contiguity between a response and two stimuli (although smiling and calling on you are responses that the instructor makes, they are stimuli for you). In both situations, your behaviour has changed: You've learned to respond with an unpleasant feeling in your stomach every time a particular instructor scowls, and you've learned to raise your hand and speak up more frequently in another instructor's class (Ormrod, 2000:398). • The last assumption is that many species of animals, including humans, learn in similar ways. Behaviourists are well known for their experiments with such animals as rats and pigeons. They assume that many species share similar learning processes; hence, they apply the learning principles that they derive from observing one species to their understanding of how many other species (including humans) learn (Ormrod, 2000:398). 27 Study unit 2 (See Table 2.1 [below] for a summary of this assumption.) Students sometimes resent having their own learning compared to the learning of rats and pigeons. But the fact is that behaviourist theories, developed from the study of non-human animals, often do explain human behaviour. In the pages that follow, we will focus on two behaviourist theories - classical conditioning and operant conditioning - that have been derived largely from animal research, yet can nevertheless help us understand many aspects of human learning and behaviour (Ormrod, 2000:398). Table 2.1 Basic assumptions of behaviourism and their educational implications Assumption Educational implication Example Influence of the environment. Develop a classroom environment that fosters desirable student behaviours. When a student often has trouble, working independently, inconspicuously praise her every time she completes an assignment without having to be prompted. Focus on observable events (stimuli and responses). Identify specific stimuli (including your own behaviours) that may be influencing the behaviours that students exhibit. If a student frequently engages in disruptive classroom behaviour, consider whether you might be encouraging such behaviour by giving the student attention every time it occurs. Learning as a change in behaviour. Do not assume that learning has occurred unless students exhibit a change in classroom performance. Look for concrete evidence that learning has taken place, rather than assume that students have learned simply because they say they understand what they are studying. Contiguity of events. If you want students to associate two events (stimuli and/or responses) with each other, make sure the events occur close together in time. Include enjoyable yet educational activities in each day's schedule as a way of helping students associate school subject matter with pleasurable feelings. Similarity of learning principles across species. Remember that research with non-human species has some relevance for classroom practice. Reinforce a hyperactive student for sitting quietly for successively longer periods of time – a shaping process based on early research studies with rats and pigeons. (Ormrod, 2000:397) 28 Study unit 2 2.3 BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES Behavioural psychologists have put forth three relatively distinct theories to describe how we learn. All three theories have applications to learning in schools. 2.3.1 Cla s s ic a l Co n d ition in g Consider the following situation (adapted from Ormrod, 2000:398): Case Study 2.3 Ben has always loved playing cricket. In a game last year, he was bowled against the head when he couldn’t get out of the way of a fast ball. Although he still plays cricket, he gets anxious whenever it is his turn to bat, to the point where he often backs away from a fast ball instead of playing it. Answer the following questions in writing in your workbook: 1. How would you explain Ben’s behaviour? 2. What reasons can you write down for Ben’s behaviour? A possible explanation for Ben’s learning is classical conditioning. A theory that explains how we sometimes learn responses as a result of two stimuli (in this case, the sight of a fast ball coming toward him and the pain of the ball’s impact) being present at the same time. Ben’s current responses to a fast ball – anxiety and backing away – are ones that he didn’t exhibit before his painful experience with a cricket ball; thus learning has occurred (Ormrod, 2000:398). Classical conditioning, so termed because it was the first of the modern behavioural learning theories, focuses on changes in muscular or glandular responses. It has never accounted very well for cognitive kinds of learning. Some of the clearest examples of classical conditioning are studies by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. A review of the procedures he used in his historic studies can help clarify some terminology (Gage & Berliner, 1998:209). 29 Study unit 2 A dog is given some meat and starts salivating as it eats. The meat is called an unconditioned stimulus (US), and the act of salivating is called an unconditioned response (UR). This particular stimulus (meat) elicits this particular response (salivating). Another name for classical conditioning is respondent conditioning, because the responses to certain stimuli are already present. They are “wired in”; they do not need to be learned (Gage & Berliner, 1998:209). Now suppose we turn on a light in the presence of the dog. Turning on the light (stimulus) has at this stage a minimal effect on the dog's salivating (response), e.g. But what if the light is turn on and then the dog is quickly given some meat (US)? If this procedure is repeated several times, the dog will salivate every time. The dog is demonstrating something that it already knows how to do – salivate to meat – so it has not yet learned anything new. Pavlov’s second observation can be symbolised as: If we repeated this action a number of times and then, on a particular trial, do not give the dog any meat, we would still notice the salivating response. The light, after several associations with the meat elicits a response very similar to the one given when meat is presented, e.g. Conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus – one that doesn’t elicit any particular response – is presented immediately before the unconditioned stimulus. In the case of Pavlov’s dog, a light is presented immediately before the meat; in the case of Ben, a cricket ball is bowled fast immediately before the painful hit. Conditioning is especially likely to occur when both stimuli are presented together on several occasions and when the neutral stimulus occurs only when the unconditioned stimulus is about to follow (Ormrod, 2000:399). Before long, the new stimulus also elicits a response, usually one very similar to the unconditioned response. The neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus (CS), and the response to it is called a conditioned response (CR). For example, Pavlov’s dog acquires a conditioned response of salivation to a new conditioned stimulus – the light. Likewise, Ben acquires a conditioned response of anxiety and backing away to a fast ball. Like the unconditioned response, the conditioned response is an involuntary one; it occurs automatically every time the conditioned stimulus is presented (Ormrod, 2000:399). In summary, by using these three elements - the food, the salivation, and the light - Pavlov demonstrated that a dog could be conditioned to salivate after seeing the light. He did this by contiguous pairing of the light with food. At the beginning of the experiment, he flashed the light and then quickly fed the dog. After Pavlov repeated this several times, the dog began to salivate after seeing the light but before receiving the food. Now the light had become a conditioned stimulus (CS) that could bring forth salivation by itself. The response of salivating after the light was now a conditioned response (CR) (Woolfolk, 1998: 208). 30 Study unit 2 How would you use classical conditioning to explain Ben’s behaviour? Important processes in classical conditioning Pavlov's work identified three other processes in classical conditioning. These processes are: • • • generalisation, discrimination, and extinction. By using a tune fork Pavlov demonstrated that after the dogs have learned to salivate in response to hearing a particular tone, they would also salivate after hearing similar tones that were slightly higher or lower. This process is called generalisation because the conditioned response of salivating generalised or occurred in the presence of similar stimuli. Pavlov could also teach the dogs discrimination - to respond to one tone of a tune fork but not to others that are similar - by making sure that food always followed only one tone, not any others. Extinction occurs when a conditioned stimulus (a particular tone) is presented repeatedly but is not followed by the unconditioned stimulus (food). The conditioned response (salivating) gradually fades away and is finally "extinguished" it disappears altogether (Woolfolk, 1998:208). Why did the dog’s behaviour change? Behaviour changed as a result of experience. Learning took place. Now let's move from dogs to people and use this model of learning in a more general form. The unconditioned stimulus-response linkage is operating whenever a stimulus (the US) elicits an instinctive or emotional reaction (the UR), such as salivating, fear, anger, vomiting, revulsion, joy, pleasure, happiness, or ecstasy. Pairing the conditioned stimulus, a previously 31 Study unit 2 neutral stimulus, with the unconditioned stimulus leads to a conditioned response (such as fear or joy) to that conditioned stimulus. Imagine a five-year-old girl going to school for the first time. She meets her teacher and receives a smile, a hug, and a compliment. In a few days, she begins leaving for school earlier than necessary and tells her mother that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. In this case the teacher's smile, hug and compliments can be interpreted as the unconditioned stimulus. They elicit in the child feelings of pleasure, which can be interpreted as the unconditioned response. The previously neutral teacher, the conditioned stimulus, is associated with the unconditioned stimulus (hugging. etc.) and soon come to elicit the same feelings of pleasure (now, a conditioned response) (Gage & Berliner, 1998:210). But what if this child had come to school and found the teacher threatening, the routine rigid, or the remarks of other children hurtful? The classical conditioning model still helps explain what might happen. The school and all its components – teachers, books, and students - might in time come to elicit feelings of fear or revulsion because they have been connected in time and space with the stimuli that induced these feelings. The negative feeling toward traditional schooling held by many students from ethnic and cultural minorities and economically disadvantaged families, may have its roots in their perceptions of teachers, schools, and other students as threatening. Teachers must be sensitive to the special needs of these students (Gage & Berliner, 1998:212). Some students experience nausea as a direct result of test anxiety. Early in their school careers these children learned the linkage between the test result and feelings of failure, real or imagined. They have come to expect disappointment from their teachers and parents, or ridicule from other children. The conditioned stimulus, the announcement of a test, elicits the conditioned response - anxiety (Gage & Berliner, 1998:212). Virtually anything in the environment can be paired with a stimulus that elicits emotional responses. A teacher's kind or harsh words can elicit feelings of happiness or fear. Associated stimuli for example, mathematics, the gym, the principal, or the school eventually may elicit a response similar to the unconditioned response simply by closely preceding the unconditioned stimulus. 32 Study unit 2 Remember that conditioning often occurs without the student's awareness, making it very hard for the learner to understand how his or her responses were acquired. If you can examine the learning environment with the respondent-conditioning model in mind, you may be able to intentionally condition your students to respond positively to school activities. You may also prevent them from learning unwanted negative conditioned responses (Gage & Berliner, 1998:212). 1. Define or explain the following concepts in your own words: unconditioned stimulus (US) unconditioned response (UR conditioned response (CR) generalisation discrimination and extinction. 2. Work out your own example for explaining classical conditioning. Discuss your examples in your study group. 2.3.2 Co n tig u ity Le a rn in g You should be aware that an unconditioned stimulus-response connection is not always necessary to change behaviour. The pairing of an unconditioned stimulus and a conditioned stimulus is part of the requirement for classical conditioning. Some learning theorists pointed out that for most 33 Study unit 2 animals the simple pairing of events, any events, could result in learning. Simple contiguous (close together in time or space) association of a stimulus and a response can thus lead to a change in behaviour. How does contiguous learning work? Look at these incomplete statements: Don’t make a mountain out of a … He's crazy as a … May the force be with … Nine times five is … By filling in the words molehill, loon, you and forty-five, we demonstrate that we learn things simply because events or stimuli occur close together in time. Sometimes repetition is necessary, but sometimes such learning takes place in a single trial. People change as a result of experiencing events that occur together (Gage & Berliner, 1998:212). In school situations contiguity learning is used in drill. From repeated pairing, students learn that “2 + 2” on a flash card means “4” and that the written word cat is pronounced “cat.” A good deal of foreign-language vocabulary is learned this way. Instruction by means of drill, although often tedious, can be an efficient means of learning rote responses to simple questions. And we can make this kind of learning more efficient and less tedious by using contingent reinforcement (for example, giving gold stars, or points that can be used to get some prize, for correct responses) or by building more activity into the learning situation (using games and team competition for learning spelling or mathematical facts) (Gage & Berliner, 1998:212). 34 Study unit 2 2.3.3 Op e ra n t Co n d ition in g Read Case Study 2.3: Case Study 2.3 Mark is a student in Ms. Ferguson’s geography class. This is what happens to Mark during the first week in October: Monday: Ms. Ferguson asks the class to locate Colombia on the globe. Mark knows where Colombia is, and he sits smiling, with his hands in his lap, hoping that Ms. Ferguson will call on him. Instead, Ms. Ferguson calls on another student. Tuesday: Ms. Ferguson asks the class where Colombia got its name. Mark knows that Colombia is named after Columbus, so he raises his hand a few inches. Ms. Ferguson calls on another student. Wednesday: Ms. Ferguson asks the class why people in Colombia speak Spanish, rather than English or French. Mark knows that Colombians speak Spanish because the country’s European settlers came from Spain. He raises his hand high in the air. Ms. Ferguson calls on another student. Thursday: Ms. Ferguson asks the class why Colombians grow coffee but Canada does not. Mark knows that coffee can only be grown in certain climates. He raises his hand high and waves it wildly back and forth. Ms. Ferguson calls on him. Friday: Whenever Ms. Ferguson asks a question that Mark can answer, Mark raises his hand high and waves it wildly about. (Ormrod, 2000:402) What did Mark learn in Ms. Ferguson’s class? Notice how several of Mark’s behaviours in geography class, such as sitting quietly, smiling, and raising his hand politely, bring no results. But waving his hand wildly does bring Mark the 35 Study unit 2 result that he wants: his teacher’s attention. The response that has attracted Ms. Ferguson’s attention continues. Other responses disappear. The change in Mark’s behaviour illustrates operant conditioning, a form of learning based on the following principle: A response that is followed by a reinforcing stimulus (a reinforcer) is more likely to occur again (Ormrod, 2000:403). Ormrod (2000:206) defines a reinforcer as any consequence that increases the frequency of a particular behaviour. Whether other people find that consequence pleasant or not, is not important. The fact is, that different stimuli are reinforcing for different individuals, and therefore we must never make assumptions about what specific events are reinforcing for particular students (Ormrod, 2000:406). Operant conditioning is a form of learning where the behaviour of interest is emitted, more or less spontaneously, without being elicited by any known stimuli. In classical conditioning the UR is elicited by the US. In operant conditioning behaviour is emitted while the organism is “operating” on the environment. The consequence of that behaviour is the crucial variable in operant learning. The heart of the theory is that behaviour reinforced by consequences is strengthened, enhancing the frequency, magnitude, or probability of occurrence. Some emitted behaviour changes as a function of experience - the consequences associated with that behaviour (Gage & Berliner, 1998:213). B. F Skinner, a psychologist closely associated with this form of learning, provided the simplest example of operant conditioning. Imagine a rat in a small enclosure, empty except for a food tray and a lever. When a hungry rat is first placed in the box, it emits a wide variety of responses, or operants - getting up on its hind legs, sniffing around, and trying to climb the walls. Eventually, more or less by accident, it presses the lever. Later it presses it again. Then again. The frequency with which it presses the lever under these conditions, where nothing reinforcing happens as a result of the lever pressing, provides a baseline called the operant level - the frequency of this kind of behaviour before conditioning (Gage & Berliner, 1998:213). Now suppose the experimenter delivers a pellet of food into the food tray as soon as the rat presses the lever. The rat, of course, will sniff the food and eat it. Sooner or later, the rat will 36 Study unit 2 press the lever again, and again food will drop into the tray. Each time it presses the lever, the rat gets another pellet of food. The reinforcement is contingent on pressing the lever. The rate of the rat's lever-pressing response increases. The rat has been conditioned to press the lever by contingent reinforcement with food. In terms of our definition of learning, we see that a change in behaviour, an increased rate of lever pressing, has taken place as a result of experience - the contingent availability of food (Gage & Berliner, 1998:213). The same model applies to humans as well as rats. All of the infinite variety of human behaviour or human responses can be made more or less frequent or probable by the use or non-use of reinforcement, contingent on some response. The response may be anything - an action, a statement, or even inaction. For example, the response may be volunteering to answer a teacher's question or the answer itself. Or the response may be a student's sitting quietly and apparently doing nothing (Gage & Berliner, 1998:213). If the response is volunteering to answer a question, being called on by the teacher is one likely reinforcer of that response. If the response is the answer to the question itself, the reinforcer is likely to be the teacher saying “Right” or “Correct” or “That’s good.” If the response is sitting still and doing nothing, a reinforcer might be the teacher’s approval, either in words or by means of a smile. Or it might be relief from the anxiety of being called on and possibly giving a wrong answer (Gage & Berliner, 1998:214). Ormrod (2000:404) points out that, as teachers, we should be sure to reinforce the behaviours we want our students to learn. If we want students to read frequently, to volunteer in class, to demonstrate good form in dribbling and passing a soccer ball, or to work cooperatively with their classmates, we should reinforce such behaviours as they occur. At the same time, we should be careful not to reinforce any inappropriate and counterproductive behaviours that students exhibit. If we repeatedly allow Jane to turn in assignments late because she tells us she forgot her homework and if we often let Thabo get his way by bullying his classmates on the playground, then we are reinforcing (and hence increasing) Jane’s excuse-making and Thabo’s aggressiveness (Ormrod, 2000:404). 2.3.3.1 Essential Conditions for Operant Conditioning According to Ormrod (2000:404-5) operant conditioning can occur only under three conditions: • The individual must make a response. To learn, the learner must first make a response. Behaviourists believe that little is accomplished by having students sit quietly and listen passively to their teacher. Instead, students are more likely to learn when they are making active, overt responses in the classroom. 37 Study unit 2 • A reinforcer must follow the response. Operant conditioning occurs only when a reinforcer comes after a response. A teacher who gives students several minutes of free time after they have completed an assignment or who lets students go to lunch only after they have cleaned their desks is following this principle. A teacher who gives students five minutes of free time before they begin working on an assignment or who tells his students that they must clean up their mess after they come back from lunch has things in the wrong order. To be more effective, reinforcement should occur immediately after a desired response has occurred; in other words, the response and the reinforcing stimulus should occur in close contiguity. If students find the country of Colombia on the globe, they should experience some form of immediate reinforcement – perhaps a smile or words of praise. The more closely a reinforcer follows a response, the more effective it is likely to be. Delayed reinforcers sometimes have an effect on behaviour, but they are most likely to be effective with older learners, and especially with learners who immediately realise that a particular behaviour will eventually lead to reinforcement. • • The reinforcer must be presented only when the response has occurred. For successful operant conditioning, the reinforcer should occur only after a particular response has occurred; it should never occur in the absence of that response. In other words, the reinforcer must be contingent on the desired behaviour. A teacher who praises students only when they behave appropriately is making reinforcement contingent on desired responses. In contrast, the teacher who laughs at the antics of a chronically misbehaving student is providing reinforcement even when an acceptable response hasn’t occurred, so the student’s behaviour is unlikely to improve (Ormrod, 2000:405). • Explain each of the three conditions in your own words. • A reinforcer must follow the response. • 38 The individual must make a response. The reinforcer must be presented only when the response has occurred. Study unit 2 2.3.3.2 Kinds or Types of Reinforcers A distinction is made between primary and secondary reinforcers and between positive and negative reinforcers. Primary and Secondary Reinforcers Primary reinforcers satisfy basic human needs. Some examples are food, water, security, warmth, and other events that satisfy physiological needs. Secondary reinforcers are reinforcers that acquire their value by being associated with primary reinforcers or wellestablished secondary reinforces. For example money has no value to a young child until that money can be used to buy things that are themselves primary or secondary reinforcers. Grades have little value to students unless their parents notice and value good grades, and parents’ praise is of value because it is associated with love, warmth, security, and other reinforcers. Money and grades are examples of secondary reinforcers because they have no value in themselves but have been associated with primary reinforcers or other wellestablished secondary reinforcers (Slavin, 2000:146). Secondary reinforcers are far more common in classrooms than primary reinforcers. But we must remember that secondary reinforcers are learned reinforcers, and not everyone has come to appreciate them. Although most students will probably respond positively to such consequences as praise or a good grade, a few students may not (Ormrod, 2000:406). Positive and Negative Reinforcers So far we have described reinforcement as the presentation of a particular reinforcing stimulus. But in some cases, we can also reinforce behaviour through the removal of a stimulus. Operant conditioning theorists distinguish between these two situations by using the terms positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement (Ormrod, 2000:407). Whenever a particular stimulus is presented after a behaviour, and the behaviour increases as a result, positive reinforcement has occurred. A variety of positive reinforcers can increase the frequency of desired student behaviours. Ormrod (2000:407-408) discusses the following positive reinforcers: • Concrete reinforcers. A concrete reinforcer is an actual object – something that can be touched. Snacks, stickers, and toys are examples of concrete reinforcers. Such reinforcers are especially likely to be effective with young children. 39 Study unit 2 • Social reinforcers. A social reinforcer is a gesture or sign that one person gives another regarding a recently performed response. Smiles, a hug, attention, praise, and “thank you” are examples of social reinforcers. Coming from a teacher, they are often effective reinforcers for students. The approval of a student’s friends and classmates can also be reinforcing. As teachers, we can often use simple social gestures – smiles, compliments, nods of approval, and expressions of appreciation – as classroom reinforcers. When Ms. Esteban recognised Rebecca, she was inadvertently giving Rebecca a social reinforcer: her own attention. We can also provide opportunities for students to reinforce one another for desirable academic and social behaviours. • Activity reinforcers. An activity reinforcer is an opportunity to engage in a favourite activity. Students will often do one thing – perhaps something they don’t like to do – if doing so allows them to do something they do enjoy. This phenomenon is sometimes called the Premack principle, or “Grandma’s rule” from the age-old statement “Eat your vegetables, and then you may play” (Slavin, 2000:147). Teachers can use the Premack principle by alternating more enjoyable activities with less enjoyable ones and making participation in the enjoyable activities dependent on the successful completion of the less enjoyable ones. • Group contingencies. A group contingency is a situation in which students are reinforced only when everyone in a particular group achieves at a certain level or behaves in an appropriate fashion. Group contingencies are clearly effective in approving academic achievement and classroom behaviour, provided that every one in the group is capable of making the desired response. Group contingencies are effective for at least two reasons. One reason may be peer pressure: Students encourage their classmates to achieve and to behave themselves, and then reinforce those classmates for doing so. Furthermore, students begin to tutor one another in academic subjects, a practice that enhances achievement. Group contingencies play an important role in co-operative learning. • Positive feedback. Sometimes the simple message that an answer is correct or that a task has been done well – positive feedback – is reinforcement enough. Many students want to do well in school, so feedback that they have been successful may be a sufficient consequence to increased classroom behaviour. Feedback is most effective when it tells students in explicit terms what they are doing well and what they can do to improve their performance even further. • Intrinsic reinforcers. Until now, we have been talking about extrinsic reinforcers, reinforcers provided by the external environment (often by other people). In contrast, intrinsic reinforcers are supplied by learners themselves or inherent in the task being performed. Students engage in some activities simply because they enjoy those activities or because they like to feel competent and successful. When students perform certain behaviours in the absence of any observable reinforcers – when they read an entire book without putting it down, when they do extra classwork without being asked – they are probably working for the intrinsic reinforcement that such behaviours yield (Ormrod, 2000:409). 40 Study unit 2 Write an example that illustrates each of the following extrinsic reinforcers: • • Concrete reinforcers • Activity reinforcers • Social reinforcers • Group contingencies Positive feedback Give your own example to illustrate intrinsic reinforcement. Discuss your examples with your study partner and report back at the group meeting. 2.3.3.3 Classroom Uses of Reinforcement The behavioural learning principle most useful for classroom practice is also the simplest: Reinforce behaviours you wish to see repeated. This principle may seem obvious, but in practice it is not as easy as it appears. For example, some teachers take the attitude that reinforcement is unnecessary, reasoning, "Why should 1 reinforce them? They're just doing what they're supposed to do! " According to Slavin (2000:148) the main guidelines for the use of reinforcement to increase desired behaviour in the classroom are as follows: 1. Decide what behaviours you want from students, and reinforce these behaviours when they occur. For example, praise or reward good work. Do not praise or reward work that is not up to students’ capabilities. As students begin a new task, they will need to be reinforced at every step along the way. Close approximations of what you hope to accomplish as a final product, must receive positive feedback. Break down new behaviours (classroom assignments) into smaller parts and provide adequate rewards along the way (Slavin, 2000:148). 41 Study unit 2 2. Tell students what behaviours you want; also, when they exhibit the desired behaviours and you reinforce them, tell them why. Present students with a rubric that itemises the criteria you will use when evaluating their work and include the point value for each criterion. Students then will be able to distinguish between their own strengths and weaknesses from the feedback they receive from you (Slavin, 2000:148). 3. Reinforce appropriate behaviour as soon as possible after it occurs. Delayed reinforcement is less effective than immediate reinforcement. When you are grading an assignment, present feedback to the students as soon as possible. It is important that students know how they are doing in class; so don't delay with their grades. When constructing an assignment, you should always consider the grading scheme that you will use and how long it will take you to provide the intended feedback (Slavin, 2000:148). 2.4 CONTRASTING CLASSICAL AND OPERANT CONDITIONING Like classical conditioning, operant conditioning involves both a stimulus and a response. But operant conditioning is different from classical conditioning in two important ways: • The order of the stimulus and response. In classical conditioning, certain stimuli lead to certain responses, like this: S→R But in operant conditioning, the response comes first, followed by a reinforcing consequence. The reinforcing consequence is actually a stimulus, so we will use the notation SRF. We can symbolise the relationship between stimulus and response this way: • 42 S → SRF The nature of the response. In classical conditioning, a response occurs as a result of a particular stimulus; in other words, the stimulus elicits the response. The learner has little or no control over whether the response occurs. But in operant conditioning, the response is usually a voluntary one: The learner can control whether or not it occurs. As an example, consider James (Case Study 2). Several of James’ responses, such as blurting out answers, throwing erasers across the room, and teasing classmates, increased as a result of the attention (a stimulus) that such responses brought. Yet James willingly made these responses, no particular stimulus forced him to do so (Ormrod, 2000:404). Study unit 2 2.5 ETHICAL ISSUES AND LIMITS OF THE BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES Educational psychologists know that people learn through operant conditioning. But is the process ethical? Some people charge that conditioning techniques are manipulative and controlling. Others insist that it is the teacher's function to arrange and manipulate the environment to bring about learning (Gage & Berliner, 1998:231). For many kinds of learning, objections to the use of conditioning methods seem unjustified. When a child is cured through conditioning procedures of bed-wetting, excessive withdrawal, fighting in nursery school, or stuttering, hardly anyone objects that the child's behaviour has been manipulated. When conditioning techniques are used to reduce a child's hyperactivity so that he stays in his seat longer and learns more, almost everyone would agree that the techniques are justified means toward a proper end. But when the techniques are misused say, to reduce the normal activity levels of children because they make the teacher “nervous” - there is valid reason for complaint (Gage & Berliner, 1998:231). The greatest objection to conditioning techniques comes when they are used to change attitudes, values, beliefs, and knowledge that should be based on rational, intellectual processes. The process by which a person becomes either liberal or conservative should stem from logic applied to relevant and correct information, not operant conditioning. We shudder at the thought of a person's political views being 'shaped' by conditioning processes that the individual is not aware of and cannot control. Such processes smack of brainwashing. Any method, conditioning or others should not teach unwanted behaviour. And even certain wanted behaviours should not be fostered through conditioning processes. Why? What criteria do we use to make decisions concerning conditioning techniques? Gage and Berliner (1998:231) use the following criteria: • • • Whenever behaviour or an attitude can in principle be learned through rational processes, these processes should be used. Conditioning procedures should not be used when students are unaware of the conditioning procedures. Conditioning methods should rely on intrinsic rewards and incentives. Let us discuss these criteria. 43 Study unit 2 The first criterion is that whenever a behaviour or attitude can in principle be learned through rational processes, these processes should be used. Certainly teachers can condition children to say, 'One of the angles in a right triangle equals ninety degrees' or 'Democracy is the best system of government.' But instead we should present information and instruction that lead children to understand the defining characteristics of right triangles and what democracy means. These teaching and learning processes, sometimes called reflective thinking, are based on the assumptions that human beings are rational and that it is immoral to treat them irrationally. To be moral, the teacher must engage a student's reason; a simple change in behaviour is not enough. The change must be brought about intentionally on the part of both teacher and student, and it must be based on rational processes. By this model, “the teacher's prime task is to ensure that when a change occurs in the beliefs or behaviour of the students, it occurs for reasons which the student himself accepts” (Nuthall & Snook, 1973, quoted by Gage & Berliner, 1998:232). Teaching, then, is different from training and conditioning, which focus on performance, not belief and rational action. We do not want students to be patriotic, altruistic, and democratic because they have been conditioned to be so. We want them to arrive at these objectives by considering the issues and reflecting on their meaning. The second criterion for determining when the ends do not justify conditioning procedures is the degree to which students are aware of the procedures. To be ethical, conditioning must have student co-operation in and awareness of its use to change behaviour. (In many instances, effective conditioning actually requires students' willing co-operation.) Of course we assume here that students are capable of understanding conditioning procedures. For young children or those who are mentally retarded, others must decide on the ethics of using conditioning methods (Gage & Berliner, 1998:232). Behavioural and humanistic concerns can be merged. Operant techniques are used to develop self-regulatory mechanisms in people whose freedom of choice has been limited by self-impairing behaviour. Bad 'habits' that are eliminated through conditioning procedures free people to participate in society more fully. Further more, when individuals are fully aware of the procedures being used on them they can learn to apply the procedures to themselves. That is, they can learn to self-reinforce and self-punish. So conditioning procedures can indeed be applied in humanistic ways - ways that respect human welfare, values, and dignity (Gage & Berliner, 1998:232). The third criterion for some is that conditioning methods should rely on intrinsic rewards and incentives. Rewards are intrinsic when they arise in a way that is naturally a part of the learning activity itself. If a student gets the right answer to an arithmetic problem, the intrinsic reward is a feeling of satisfaction at having applied the principles of arithmetic correctly. Many educators argue that intrinsic rewards are better than extrinsic rewards (praise, gold stars, money, and high grades) and that extrinsic rewards debase learning. But most proponents of conditioning believe that intrinsic rewards are often inaccessible to students in the early stages of the learning process. Intrinsic rewards do not occur simply because, in many situations, learners cannot make the appropriate response. Should these students go un-reinforced? Or should teachers give them an extrinsic reinforcer that will induce them to continue responding, thereby changing their responses in the wanted ways? The answer here depends on what works. Certainly we should not insist on intrinsic reinforcement to the point where students experience prolonged frustration and failure. If intrinsic reinforcers work, fine. If not, use extrinsic rewards (Gage & Berliner, 1998:232). 44 Study unit 2 Some educators claim that the use of positive extrinsic reinforcers is a form of bribery. But bribery means using rewards to get a person to do something dishonest or unfair. When positive extrinsic reinforcement is used to promote honest and wanted behaviour, with the student's awareness and co-operation, it cannot be considered bribery, anymore than are wages earned for an honest day's work (Gage & Berliner, 1998:233). Another objection to operant conditioning is that it makes students dependent on others, or subverts their independence. But students can learn to reinforce themselves, to become independent of an external agent. They can also be weaned away from dependence on reinforcers of any given kind (for example. approval by the teacher) by having different reinforcers (approval by their peers) substituted. Finally, students can learn to respond on a very low ratio of reinforcers to responses (Gage & Berliner, 1998:233). In short, although the issues are complex and not all educators and psychologists agree, we believe that conditioning procedures can be used ethically in educational settings. These procedures offer teachers effective and humane methods for changing student behaviour in desirable ways (Gage & Berliner, 1998:233). Having said this, however, we must add that the operant-conditioning model of learning has distinct limitations. With its focus on how the environment affects the behaviour emitted, and its concern with increasing, eliminating, shaping, and improving behaviour, this model assumes that no learning takes place without reinforcement or punishment. Can that be true? Don't people learn how to act at a restaurant, airport, hockey game, or wedding without first emitting behaviour and then getting reinforced or punished? Didn't you learn to drive a car more by watching other people than by having your behaviour “shaped”? How do operant conditioning theorists explain such facts? They try, but we think their explanations are inadequate (Gage & Berliner, 1998:233). (Self-evaluation questions to be done in your workbook) Without rereading the contents, answer the following questions: 1. What are the basic assumptions of behaviourism? 2. What are the educational implications of these assumptions? 3. What is the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning? 45 Study unit 2 4. Give your own examples that illustrate generalisation, discrimination and extinction. 5. Define the concept reinforcer in your own words. 6. Give your own example of classical conditioning. 7. What are the conditions for classical conditioning? 8. Does your example of classical conditioning comply with these conditions? 9. What is the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers? 10. What should you do if you want to use reinforcement to change a learner’s behaviour in class? 11. What are the ethical issues of behaviourist theories? The learning facilitators will conduct discussions on the following questions during the group meetings: 1. How would you define effective learning from a behaviourist perspective? 2. Which variables influence effective learning from a behaviourist perspective? 3. Which variables, according to behaviourist theories of learning, are to be singled out as important variables that influence (1) behaviour in general and (2) academic learning? Also reflect on the following: Considering your view of the child, would you apply behaviourist principles in your education of the child? Motivate your answer. Re fe re n c e s Gage, N.L. & Berliner, D.C. 1998. Educational Psychology. 6th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Ormrod, J. E. 2000. Educational Psychology. Developing learners. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merril. Slavin, R. E. 2000. Educational Psychology. Theory and practice. 6th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Woolfolk, A. E. 1998. Educational Psychology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 46 Study unit 3 3 SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY You ought to cover this Study unit in 7 hours 3.1 INTRODUCTION This module will focus on the social cognitive theory of learning. This perspective was originally called social learning theory. Social cognitive theory accepts most of the principles of behavioural theories such as reinforcement. Since this perspective increasingly incorporated cognitive processes to explain learning, it is now commonly known as social cognitive theory (Gage & Berliner, 1998: 208; Ormrod, 2000:222; Slavin, 2000:162). See Figure 3.1 for the position of social learning theory and social cognitive theory within the evolution of learning theories. Figure 3.1 The position of social cognitive theory within the evolution of learning theories. 47 Study unit 3 After completing this unit you should be able to: • • discuss the assumptions basic to social cognitive theory; • explain how learning occurs through observation; • explain the concept observation learning; • analyse observational learning from a social learning perspective; • discuss how and why each of these variables influence observational learning; and • identify the variables that influence observational learning; discuss the possible outcomes of observational learning. Read Case Study 3.1 (Woolfolk, 1998:205): Case Study 3.1 Elizabeth’s first day at school Elizabeth was beginning her first day of solo teaching. After weeks of working with her cooperating teacher in an eighth-grade social studies class, she was ready to take over. As she moved from behind the desk to the front of the room, she saw another adult approach the classroom door. It was Mr. Ross, her supervisor from college. Elizabeth's neck and facial muscles suddenly became very tense and her hands trembled. "I've stopped by to observe your teaching," Mr. Ross said. "This will be my first of six visits. I tried to reach you last night to tell you." Elizabeth tried to hide her reaction, but her hands trembled as she gathered the notes for the lesson. "Let's start today with a kind of game. I will say some words, then I want you to tell me the first words you can think of. Don't bother to raise your hands, just say the words out loud, and I will write them on the board. Don't all speak at once, though. Wait until someone else has finished saying the word. Okay, here is the first word: Slavery." “Civil War.” 'Lincoln." "Freedom." "Emancipation Proclamation.” The answers came very quickly, and Elizabeth was relieved to see that the students understood the game. "All right, very good," she said. "Now try another one: South." "South Carolina." "South Dakota." "South Street Seaport," "No, the Confederacy, you dummy.” "Gone with the Wind." "Clark Gable." With this last answer, a ripple of laughter moved across the room. "Clark Gable!" Elizabeth sighed dreamily. “Gone with the Wind was on television last month." Then she laughed too. Soon all the students were laughing. "Okay, settle down," Elizabeth said. "Here is another word: North." 48 Study unit 3 “Blue bellies." The students continued to laugh. "Yellow bellies." "Belly-dancers." More laughter and a few appropriate gestures. "Just a minute," Elizabeth pleaded. "These ideas are getting a little off base!" "Off base? Baseball," shouted the boy who had first mentioned Clark Gable. He stood up and started throwing balls of paper to a friend in the back of the room, simulating the style of Roger Clemens. "The Atlanta Braves." "No, the Mets." "Shea Stadium." "Hot dogs." "Pop-corn." "Home videos." "Gone with the Wind." 'Clark Gable." The responses now came too fast for Elizabeth to stop them. For some reason, the Clark Gable line got an even bigger laugh the second time around, and Elizabeth suddenly realised she had lost the class. What do you think of Elizabeth’s class? What did the students learn? What we see in Elizabeth’s class is that learning is not always what it seems. It appears, on the surface at least, that very little learning of any sort was taking place in Elizabeth's classroom. In fact, Elizabeth had some good ideas; but she also made some mistakes in her application of learning principles. If we analyse this episode four events can be singled out, each possibly related to a different learning process (Woolfolk, 1998:205). Which four events can be singled out? First, Elizabeth's hands trembled when her college supervisor entered the room. Second, the students were able to associate the words Carolina and Dakota with the word South. Third, one student continued to disrupt the class with inappropriate responses. And fourth, after Elizabeth laughed at a student’s comment, the class joined in her laughter. The four learning processes represented are classical conditioning, contiguity, operant conditioning (which were discussed in unit 2), and observational learning (which we will discuss in this unit) (Woolfolk, 1998:205). 49 Study unit 3 3.2 OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING What message did Elizabeth give the class when she laughed? When Elizabeth laughed at the "Clark Gable" comment in class, she communicated that laughing was appropriate in this situation. Soon all the students were laughing along with her, and she did not try to stop them until it was too late. They were learning through modelling or observation, even though this was not the type of learning Elizabeth had intended. Elizabeth, through her behaviour, provided a model for her students to imitate. Through modelling we learn not only how to perform a behaviour but also what will happen to us in specific situations if we do perform that behaviour (Woolfolk, 1998:226). There are two main modes of observational learning. First, observational learning can take place through vicarious reinforcement. This happens when we see others being rewarded or punished for particular actions and then modify our behaviour as if we had received the consequences ourselves. For example, if you compliment two students on the attractive illustrations in the assignments you gave them for homework, other students who observe your compliments may turn in illustrated assignments next time. This demonstrates vicarious reinforcement. Punishment can also be vicarious: you may slow down on a stretch of highway after seeing several people get speeding tickets (Woolfolk, 1998:226). In the second kind of observational learning, the observer imitates the behaviour of a model even though the model receives no reinforcement or punishment while the observer is watching. Often the model is demonstrating something the observer wants to learn and expects to be reinforced for mastering; for example, the proper way to position hands while playing a piano or the correct way to assemble laboratory equipment. But imitation can also occur when the observer simply wants to become more like an admired or high-status model. Models need not be real people. We may also use fictional characters or stereotypical images as models and try to behave as we imagine the model would (Woolfolk, 1998:226). Explain the two modes of observational learning in your own words. 50 Study unit 3 3.3 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY Social cognitive theory has its roots in behaviourism, but over the past few decades it has increasingly incorporated cognitive processes into its explanations of learning; it now provides a nice blend of ideas from behaviourism and cognitive psychology. It has developed in large part through the research efforts of Albert Bandura at Stanford University and others who built on his ideas (e.g., Dale Schunk, Barry Zimmerman) (Ormrod, 2000:436). In our case study we can see one basic assumption underlying social cognitive theory: People can learn from observing others. This and several other assumptions are summarised in Table 3.1 (below). Let's look at them more closely: • Firstly, people can learn by observing others. In our discussion of operant conditioning in unit 2, we found that learning is sometimes a process of trial and error: People try many different responses, increasing the ones that bring about desirable consequences and eliminating the unproductive ones. Social cognitive theorists contend that people don't always have to "experiment" in this way; instead, they can acquire many new responses simply by observing the behaviours of the people around them. For example, a student might learn how to solve a long division problem, spell the word synonym correctly, or mouth off at the teacher simply by watching someone else do these things first (Ormrod, 2000:436). See Table 3.1 for the basic assumptions of social cognitive theory and their educational implications. • Secondly, learning is an internal process that may or may not result in a behaviour change. Some of the things people learn appear in their behaviour immediately, other things affect their behaviour at a later point in time, and still others may never influence their behaviour at all. 51 Study unit 3 For example, you might attempt to swing a tennis racket as soon as you learn the correct form. But you probably won't demonstrate that you have learned how to apologise tactfully until some time later when an apology is necessary. And you might never walk barefoot over hot coals, no matter how many times you see someone else do it. Social cognitive theory, like cognitive psychology, defines learning as an internal mental process that may or may not be reflected in the learner's behaviour (Ormrod, 2000:436). See Table 3.1 for the basic assumptions of social cognitive theory and their educational implications. • Thirdly, behaviour is directed toward particular goals. Because you are reading this study guide, you probably want to become a better teacher, and you are taking a learning and teaching class to help you attain that goal. Social cognitive theorists propose that people often set goals for themselves and direct their behaviour accordingly. Students are likely to have a variety of goals – perhaps a high grade point average, popularity with their classmates, or a reputation as the clown or tough guy of the class. See Table 3.1 for the basic assumptions of social cognitive theory and their educational implications. • Fourthly, behaviour eventually becomes self-regulated. From a behaviourist perspective, people's behaviours are governed largely by the things that happen to them - the stimuli they encounter, the reinforcers that follow their behaviours, and so on. In contrast, social cognitive theorists believe that people eventually begin to regulate their own learning and behaviour. As an example, let's consider John, a third grader who is learning to write in cursive. A traditional behaviourist might tell us that John can best learn cursive if his teacher reinforces him for increasingly more appropriate responses, thereby shaping skilful penmanship over a period of several weeks or months. But a social cognitive theorist might suggest that John can learn to write cursive letters just as easily by looking carefully at the examples his teacher has written on the chalkboard, copying those letters as closely as possible, and then comparing the letters he has written with those on the board. If he is happy with his work, he will give himself a mental pat on the back; if he is not, he may continue to practise until his 52 Study unit 3 letters are comparable with those of the teacher. From the social cognitive perspective, people often set their own standards for acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and then strive to behave in accordance with those standards (Ormrod, 2000:438). See Table 3.1 for the basic assumptions of social cognitive theory and their educational implications. • Fifthly, reinforcement and punishment have several indirect effects (rather than a direct effect) on learning and behaviour. Operant conditioning theorists believe that reinforcement is necessary for learning, because responses increase only when they are reinforced. Some behaviourists have also argued that punishment is an effective counterpart to reinforcement, decreasing the frequency of a behaviour it follows. Implied in the behaviourist perspective is the idea that reinforcement and punishment are directly responsible for the behaviour changes we see (Ormrod, 2000:438). See Table 3.1 for the basic assumptions of social cognitive theory and their educational implications. Reinforcement and punishment are less critical in social cognitive theory, but they have several indirect effects on learning and behaviour (Ormrod, 2000:438). Table 3.1 Basic assumptions of the social cognitive theory and their educational implications Assumption Educational implication Example Learning by observation Help students acquire new behaviours more quickly by demonstrating those behaviours yourself Demonstrate appropriate ways to deal with and resolve interpersonal conflicts. Then ask students to role-play conflict resolution in small groups, and commend those who use prosocial strategies Learning as an internal process that may or may not be reflected in behaviour Remember that learning does not always appear immediately, but may instead be reflected in students' later behaviours When one student engages in disruptive classroom behaviour, take appropriate steps to discourage it. Otherwise, classmates who have witnessed the misbehaviour may be similarly disruptive on future occasions 53 Study unit 3 Goal-directed behaviour Encourage students to set goals for themselves, especially goals that are challenging yet achievable When teaching American Sign Language to students to help them communicate with a classmate who is deaf, ask them to predict how many new words and phrases they can learn each week Self-regulation of behaviour Teach students strategies for helping themselves learn effectively and behave appropriately Give students some concrete suggestions about how they can remind themselves to bring needed supplies to school each day Indirect effects of reinforcement and punishment Ensure that the consequences that students experience for various responses communicate the right messages as to which behaviours are and are not acceptable in the classroom To encourage students to speak in German, respond to questions only if students make a reasonable attempt to ask the questions in German (Ormrod, 2000:437) In your workbook, write your own examples that illustrate each of these assumptions. 3.4 HOW LEARNING OCCURS THROUGH OBSERVATION We also learn from observing others in our social world. We acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes, and culturally appropriate behaviour more efficiently and with fewer mistakes when we observe the behaviours and the consequences of those behaviours for parents, friends, and teachers. 54 Study unit 3 If you received a doll or a baseball bat as a child, you probably held it by the correct end, and handled it the way mothers handle babies or baseball players swing bats, right from the beginning. When you first learned to drive a car, most likely you knew where and how to sit and, by observing your instructor, what you had to do to start the car and drive. If you ever go to a formal dinner, replete with extra spoons, forks, and glasses, you will probably wait until some knowledgeable person begins to eat and use that person’s behaviour to guide your own. These are examples of how we depend on observational learning. Behaviour models - mothers, baseball players, drivers, and people with social graces - guide our behaviour. And because our observations change our behaviour, we learn through them (Gage & Berliner, 1998:234). In a classic study, Bandura (1963, quoted by Gage & Berliner, 1998:234) illustrated the impact of and conditions for observational learning. He assigned nursery school children to one of five treatments. These treatments are: • • • • • In treatment 1, children watched a human adult model that physically and verbally attacked a large, inflated soft-plastic doll, called a “Bobo” doll. In treatment 2, children saw a film of the same event. In treatment 3, children saw a cartoon character carrying out the same aggressive actions. The children in treatment 4 - the control group-had none of these experiences. Those in treatment 5 saw a human model of subdued temperament, one that was inhibited and non-aggressive toward the Bobo doll. After exposure to one of these five treatments, each child was left alone for a few minutes in a room with the Bobo doll. Through a one-way mirror, observers counted each child's aggressive verbal and physical acts. All groups that saw an aggressive model made more aggressive responses than did the control group. The group that saw the inhibited, nonaggressive model made fewer aggressive responses than did the control group. Clearly, observing the model affected behaviour. 55 Study unit 3 This and other studies (Bandura, 1969) have demonstrated that exposure to a model can affect a person’s behaviour in at least three ways: (1) learning new behaviour, (2) facilitating already learned behaviour, and (3) inhibiting or disinhibiting already learned behaviour. Let us look at the ways a model can affect a person’s behaviour. 1. Learning new behaviour. An observer can learn new behaviour from a model. In the Bandura study, the children often said things like “Pow” or “Sock 'em,” (Gage & Berliner, 1998:234), repeating verbatim the aggressive model's unusual language, as they hit the Bobo doll (Gage & Berliner, 1998:234). 2. Facilitating already learned behaviour. A model can also facilitate the expression of behaviour that already exists in the learner's response repertoire. When the model's behaviour resembles behaviour the learner has previously mastered, the model's performance may simply elicit a previously learned response. For example, aggressive responses appeared in the control group (treatment 4) when these children were confronted with the large, air-filled Bobo doll that seemed to beg to be pushed and pounded. Clearly these aggressive responses were well established and of high frequency. The even higher frequency of aggressive responses by children in treatments 1, 2, and 3 shows that a model, in addition to teaching new behaviours, can elicit more of the behaviour that learners already have in their repertoire. These behaviours might not have been performed as frequently had not the model been observed (Gage & Berliner, 1998:235). 3. Inhibiting or disinhibiting already learned behaviour. Exposure to a model can inhibit or disinhibit an observer's responses. To inhibit is to restrain a response or make it less frequent, to disinhibit is to free from restraint and allow a response to occur. Inhibitory and disinhibitory effects are most pronounced when an observer sees the consequences of a model's actions. The model's punishment or reinforcement of the behaviour affects the observer's own activities greatly. A comparison of the treatment-5 group with the control group shows that models can inhibit responses. Group 5 made fewer aggressive responses than the control group. Observing the model treating the Bobo doll nicely apparently inhibited the aggressive responses the children were known to possess (Gage & Berliner, 1998:235). In treatments 1, 2, and 3 (above), children watched aggressive behaviour that had no unpleasant consequences. The increased frequency of aggressive responses demonstrated by these children (in comparison to the control group) was due, at least in part, to disinhibition. The absence of any constraints apparently removed inhibitions. So it appears that well-established aggressive behaviours are partially held in check by the many constraints imposed by the environment. A particularly forceful constraint on aggressive 56 Study unit 3 behaviour is the consequence of that behaviour when parents or teachers are present . Usually parents and teachers act to extinguish this kind of behaviour. When these constraints are absent, as appeared to be the case when the model was not punished for his activities, the inhibitions against aggressive behaviour are removed (Gage & Berliner, 1998:236). One interesting aspect of observational learning is that it is no-trial learning. That is, a response does not have to be made by the learner as is necessary in classical and operant forms of learning. The most likely mechanism by which people acquire behaviour through observation is the immediate association of the model's behaviour with (1) a cognitive event, say, a sensory event (a visual coding of model, doll, and hitting behaviour, for example) or (2) a symbolic response (a verbal coding of the propositions “doll = hitting behaviour = okay to do”). The observer records and stores the sensory event or symbolic response at the time of the model's performance. These sensory events or responses serve as cues for later performance, when the learner is called on to make an overt response (Gage & Berliner, 1998:236). In addition, reward or punishment of behaviour can be vicarious, i.e., observed when another person receives it. Vicariously experienced consequences influence us because we have the ability to mentally substitute ourselves for someone else, experiencing what they experience, which we often do when we see what consequences occur as a function of a model's behaviour. But whether through direct or vicarious experience, reward and punishment markedly affect the performance of behaviour; they do not seem to affect the acquisition of behaviour. Complex behaviour repertoires can be acquired by simply observing another person. The learner need only pay attention to the model's activities - and the model must be credible - but beyond these variables, no others need be offered to account for observational learning (Gage & Berliner, 1998:236). Studies of observational learning demonstrate that people often learn to do what they see others doing. So teachers need to provide students with models of wanted behaviour and reduce their exposure to models of unwanted behaviour. Three sources of the latter appear to be television, movies, and video games. Students in recent years have been exposed to many more aggressive and violent models than they were a few decades ago (Gage & Berliner, 1998:236). Explain in your own words how learning occurs through the observation of models. To understand how observational learning in social situations occurs, you should study the next section. 57 Study unit 3 3.5 A SOCIAL-LEARNING ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING From a social-learning perspective Bandura (1986, quoted by Ormrod, 2000:226) states that there are four phases of learning from models: • • an attentional phase, • a reproduction phase, and a retention phase, • a motivational phase (see Figure 3.2) (Gage & Berliner, 1998:237). Figure 3.2 Modelled Event Analysis of observational learning  Attentional phase  Retention phase  Reproduction phase  Motivation al phase  Matching Performances Before you read any further, explain in writing what you think each of the following phases mean: • • Modelled event • Attentional phase • Reproduction phase • Retention phase Motivational phase 3.5.1 Th e Atte n tio n a l P h a s e Study the following section very carefully and compare your view of the different phases with what you are about to read. In order to learn through observation we have to pay attention. Attention is a necessary condition of observational learning in social settings. We typically pay attention to people who are attractive, popular, competent, or admired. Research shows that people pay attention to models with high status, high competence, and expertise - attributes that teachers are often thought to have. Consequently, students are likely to pay attention when a teacher solves a two-column addition problem, decodes a word phonetically, demonstrates a field hockey 58 Study unit 3 pass, lists the steps required to identify a wildflower, or dissects a frog. A good deal of what students learn in school they learn by watching their teachers. But more generally, young people also learn in churches, synagogues, and mosques; in shopping malls and at sporting events; and at restaurants and family parties - through what is called legitimate peripheral participation. That is, just by hanging around and taking it all in, both in and outside of school, the young learn complex social behaviour (Gage & Berliner, 1998:237; Woolfolk, 1998:226). Students' own characteristics - their dependency needs, self-esteem, and perceptions of their own competence - determine to some extent the likelihood of their paying attention to a model. But often overriding the model's attributes and the students' characteristics as determiners of attending are the incentives for attending. Teachers control rewards and punishments for attending or non-attending. When a teacher says, “This will be in the test,” and proceeds to demonstrate how to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius and vice versa, he or she is manipulating the incentives for attention. Making the incentives obvious can override other factors that might lessen attending (Gage & Berliner, 1998:237). Finally, the distinctiveness, rate, and complexity of the stimuli that students have to attend to affect whether or not they can maintain attention or not. Teachers who hold their students' attention can make imitation easier by clearly drawing attention to important clues. (For example. “Now notice how I am changing the sign, and taking the numerator and denominator of this fraction and reversing them.”) (Gage & Berliner, 1998:237). The models' identification of important aspects of the instruction can greatly facilitate imitative learning. So can repetition. This kind of help is especially important when working with very young children or those with retardation or learning disabilities, which have limited capacity for attention (Gage & Berliner, 1998:238). When teaching, you will have to ensure that students give attention to the critical features of the lesson by making clear presentations and highlighting important points. In demonstrating a skill (for example, threading a sewing machine or operating a lathe), you may need to have students look over your shoulder as you work. Seeing your hands from the same perspective as they see their own directs their attention to the right features of the situation and makes observational learning easier (Woolfolk, 1998:226). Take two A4 pages and paste or stick them together. Construct a mind map that summarises observational learning. Plot the different phases on the paper as illustrated. 59 Study unit 3 Leave room to add information to each phase as you progress through this section on the social analysis of observational learning. After you have completed this section you should have a detailed mind map of observational learning, which you can study for the exam. 3.5.2 Th e Re te n tio n P ha s e Gage and Berliner (1998:238) state that observational learning take place through contiguity. The two contiguous events that are necessary are (1) attention to the model's performance and (2) the representation of that performance in the learner's memory. In order to imitate the behaviour of another person you have to remember it. This involves mentally representing the model’s actions in the same way (Woolfolk, 1998:227). If someone is motivated to learn while observing the dismantling of an engine in an automobile shop, the solving of a problem in algebra, or the attempt to figure out how to obtain food in the cafeteria, he or she must represent in memory what is observed. Verbal or visual mnemonics (memory aids) and schemata (the mental structures that allow people to learn) must be developed by the observer at the same time that the observer watches how a model takes apart an engine, divides polynomials, or obtains food. These mnemonics and schemata are recalled at a later time, when newly learned behaviour is enacted (Gage & Berliner, 1998:238). We retain material to be learned better when we rehearse it overtly (For example: “All together now, the four phases of observational learning are _, _, _ and _“). Rehearsal need not always be overt, however. 60 Study unit 3 For example, student teachers preparing their first lesson or lesson segment often use covert rehearsal to practise what they have learned through observation (Gage & Berliner, 1998:238). You also see an example of covert rehearsal when a high jump athlete mentally goes through the steps of crossing the bar, before actually attempting to do so. Have you added information to the retention phase to the mind map? 3.5.3 Th e Re p ro d u c tio n P h a s e Once we "know" how behaviour should look and remember the elements or steps, we still may not perform it smoothly. Sometimes we need a great deal of practice, feedback, and coaching about subtle points before we can reproduce the behaviour of the model. In the reproduction phase, practice makes the behaviour smoother and more expert (Woolfolk, 1998:227). A study by Schunk, in which long division was taught to children who had difficulties in learning mathematics, illustrates this point. Modelling was used during instruction and again during the reproduction phase if students made any errors. Compared with a group that had no exposure to models during instruction, the students who learned from models showed greatly improved achievement. They also showed increased persistence and self-confidence when tackling long-division problems (Gage & Berliner, 1998:238). 61 Study unit 3 Note here the importance of corrective feedback for shaping wanted behaviour. Knowledge of results - simple feedback - has a strong effect on subsequent behaviour. Letting learners know quickly about incorrect or inappropriate responses - before they develop bad habits - is sound instructional practice. This kind of corrective feedback is not punishment. It is crucial in the development of skilled performance. When we tell students to hold their pencils tighter when they write, to remember to count the number of lines in their sonnets, or to jump higher off the board when they dive, we are giving them helpful information (Gage & Berliner, 1998:238). Have you added information to the reproduction phase to the mind map? 3.5.4 Th e Mo tiva tio n a l P h a s e We may acquire a new skill or behaviour through observation, but we may not perform that behaviour until there is some motivation or incentive to do so. If it is punishing to perform the behaviour, it does not usually occur. In this sense, social-learning theory and operant conditioning are alike (Gage & Berliner, 1998:238). Both recognise how reinforcement and punishment can shape and maintain behaviour. But in observational learning, reinforcement and punishment are seen as affecting the learner's motivation to perform; they do not account for the learning itself (Gage & Berliner, 1998:239). Reinforcement can play several roles in observational learning. If we anticipate being reinforced for imitating the actions of a model, we may be more motivated to pay attention, remember, and reproduce the behaviours. In addition, reinforcement is important in maintaining learning. A person who tries a new behaviour is unlikely to persist without reinforcement. For example, if an unpopular student adopted the dress of the "in" group but was greeted with teasing and ridicule, it is unlikely that the imitation would continue (Woolfolk, 1998:227). The social-learning view recognises the importance of covert cognitive activity, not just overt behaviour. So the social-learning theorist believes that vicarious reinforcement and punishment - observing the consequences of the behaviour of others - can also shape and maintain behaviour. When an older sibling is praised for receiving a good report card or sent away from the dinner table for using a vulgar word, the younger ones are often affected as much as if they themselves were being reinforced or punished (Gage & Berliner, 1998:239). 62 Study unit 3 Bandura's experiments showed that learning can occur without any overt responding by the learner. Observing and coding behaviour in memory are sufficient to ensure its being learned. The learners’ overt performance of what has been learned may occur only when the appropriate environment is encountered later. In social-learning theory, the positive or negative consequences of behaviour, then, are not factors in learning, as claimed by adherents of operant-conditioning theory, but motivators of performance (Gage & Berliner, 1998:239). Are you satisfied that you have included sufficient information in your mind map? 3.6 REINFORCEMENT Bandura identified three forms of reinforcement that can encourage observational learning: First, the observer may reproduce the behaviours of the model and receive direct reinforcement, as when a gymnast successfully executes a front flip/round-off combination and the coach/model says, "Excellent!" Second, the reinforcement need not be direct - it may be vicarious or indirect. The observer may simply see others reinforced for a particular behaviour and then increase his or her production of that behaviour. Most TV ads hope for this kind of effect. People in commercials become deliriously happy when they drive a particular car or drink a specific juice, and the viewer is supposed to do the same; the viewer's behaviour is reinforced vicariously by the actor’s obvious pleasure. The final form of reinforcement is self-reinforcement, or controlling your own reinforcers. This sort of reinforcement is important for both students and teachers. We want our students to improve not because it leads to external rewards but because the students value and enjoy their growing competence. And as a teacher, sometimes self-reinforcement is all that keep you going (Woolfolk, 1998:227). Construct a mind map that explains observational learning and compare it with those of your study partners. How and why do they differ? Be prepared to discuss how behavioural theories and the social cognitive view differ with reference to how they interpret and use reinforcement. 63 Study unit 3 3.7 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING What causes an individual to learn and perform modelled behaviours and skills? Several factors play a role, as shown in Table 3.2 First, the developmental level of the observer makes a difference in learning. As children grow older, they are able to focus attention for longer periods of time, use memory strategies to retain information, and motivate themselves to practise. A second influence is the status of the model. Children are more likely to imitate the actions of others that seem competent, powerful, and prestigious - so parents, teachers, older siblings, athletes, action heroes, rock stars, or film personalities may serve as models, depending on the age and interests of the child. Third, by watching others, we learn which behaviours are appropriate for people like ourselves; so models that are seen as similar are more readily imitated. All students need to see successful, capable models that look and sound like them, no matter what their ethnicity, socio-economic status, or sex (Woolfolk, 1998:228). The last three influences involve goals and expectations. If observers expect that certain actions of models will lead to particular outcomes (such as particular practice regimens leading to improved athletic performance) and the observers value those outcomes or goals, then the observers are more likely to pay attention to the models and try to reproduce their behaviours. Finally, observers are more likely to learn from models if the observers have a high level of self- efficacy - that is, if they believe they are capable of doing the actions needed to reach the goals, or at least of learning how to do so (Woolfolk, 1998:228). Table 3.2 Factors That Affect Observational Learning Characteristic Effects on Modelling Developmental status Improvements with development include longer attention and increased capacity to process information, use strategies, compare performances with memorial representations, and adopt intrinsic motivators. Model prestige and competence Observers pay greater attention to competent, high-status models. Consequences of modelled behaviours convey information about functional value. Observers attempt to learn actions they believe they will need to perform. 64 Study unit 3 Vicarious consequences Consequences to models convey information about behavioural appropriateness and likely outcomes of actions. Valued consequences motivate observers. Similarity in attributes or competence signals appropriateness and heightens motivation. Outcome expectations Observers are more likely to perform modelled actions they believe are appropriate and will result in rewarding outcomes. Goal setting Observers are likely to attend to models that demonstrate behaviours that help observers attain goals. Self-efficacy Observers attend to models when they believe they are capable of learning or performing the modelled behaviour. Observation of similar models affects self-efficacy ("if they can do it, I can too"). (Schunk, 2000:95) Based on your experience as a teacher, identify examples that illustrate each of the following characteristics of observational learning: • • Developmental status • Model prestige and competence • Outcome expectations • Vicarious consequences • Goal setting 3.8 Self-efficacy OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING IN TEACHING There are five possible outcomes of observational learning: teaching new behaviours and attitudes, encouraging existing behaviours, changing inhibitions, directing attention, and arousing emotions. Let's look at each of these as they occur in classrooms (Woolfolk, 1998:228). • Teaching New Behaviours. Modelling has long been used, of course, to teach dance, sports, and crafts, as well as skills in subjects such as home economics, and chemistry. Modelling can also be applied 65 Study unit 3 deliberately in the classroom to teach mental skills and to broaden horizons - to teach new ways of thinking. Teachers serve as models for a vast range of behaviours, from pronouncing vocabulary words, to reacting to the seizure of an epileptic student, to being enthusiastic about learning. For example, a teacher might model sound critical thinking skills by thinking "out loud" about a student's question. Or a high school teacher concerned about girls who seem to have stereotyped ideas about careers might invite women with nontraditional jobs to speak to the class (Woolfolk, 1998:229). Modelling, when applied deliberately, can be an effective and efficient means of teaching new behaviour. Studies indicate that modelling can be most effective when the teacher makes use of all the elements of observational learning described in the previous section, especially reinforcement and practice (Woolfolk, 1998:229). Models who are the same age as the students may be particularly effective. For example, Schunk and Hanson (1985, quoted by Woolfolk, 1998:230) compared two methods for teaching subtraction to second graders who had difficulties learning this skill. One group of students observed other second graders learning the procedures, and then participated in an instructional program on subtraction. Another group of students watched a teacher's demonstration, and then participated in the same instructional program. Of the two groups, the students who observed peer models learning not only scored higher on tests of subtraction after instruction, but also gained more confidence in their own ability to learn. For students who doubt their own abilities, a good model is a low-achieving student who keeps trying and finally masters the material (Woolfolk, 1998:230). • Encouraging Already-Learned Behaviours. All of us have had the experience of looking for cues from other people when we find ourselves in unfamiliar situations. Observing the behaviour of others tells us which of our already-learned behaviours to use: the proper fork for eating the salad, when to leave a gathering, what kind of language is appropriate, and so on. Adopting the dress and grooming styles of TV idols is another example of this kind of effect (Woolfolk, 1998:230). 66 • Study unit 3 Strengthening or Weakening Inhibitions. If class members witness one student breaking a class rule and getting away with it, they may learn that undesirable consequences do not always follow rule breaking. The class may be less inhibited in the future about breaking this rule. If the rule breaker is a well liked, highstatus class leader, the effect of the modelling may be even more pronounced. One psychologist has called this phenomenon the ripple effect (Kounin, 1970, quoted by Woolfolk, 1998:230). The ripple effect can work for the teacher's benefit. When the teacher deals effectively with a rule breaker, especially a class leader, the idea of breaking this rule may be inhibited for the other students viewing the interaction. This does not mean that teachers must reprimand each student who breaks a rule, but once a teacher has called for a particular action, following through is an important part of capitalising on the ripple effect (Woolfolk, 1998:230). • Directing Attention. By observing others, we not only learn about actions, we also notice the objects involved in the actions. For example, in a pre-school class, when one child plays enthusiastically with a toy that has been ignored for days, many other children may want to have the toy, even if they play with it in different ways or simply carry it around. This happens, in part, because the children's attention has been drawn to that particular toy (Woolfolk, 1998:230). • Arousing Emotion. Finally, through observational learning people may develop emotional reactions to situations they themselves have never experienced, such as flying or driving. A child who watches a friend fall from a swing and break an arm may become fearful of swings. Students may he anxious when they are assigned to a certain teacher because they've heard frightening stories about how "mean" that teacher is. Note that hearing and reading about a situation are also forms of observation (Woolfolk, 1998:230). 67 Study unit 3 3.9 VICARIOUS LEARNING Learning occurs either enactively through actual doing or vicariously by observing models perform. What do you think is the difference between enactive and vicarious learning? Enactive learning involves learning from the consequences of one’s actions, while vicarious learning occurs without overt performance by the learner at the time of learning. According to Schunk (2000:81) enactive learning involves learning from the consequences of one’s actions. Behaviours that result in successful consequences are retained, and those that lead to failures are refined or discarded. According to operant conditioning theory people learn by doing, but social cognitive theory provides a different explanation. Skinner noted that cognition may accompany behavioural change but do not influence it. Social cognitive theory contends that consequences of behaviour, rather than strengthening behaviours as postulated in operant theory, serve as sources of information and motivation. The consequences of behaviour inform people of the accuracy or appropriateness of their behaviour. People who succeed at a task or are rewarded understand that they are performing well. When people fail or are punished they know that they are doing something wrong and may try to correct the problem. The consequences of behaviour also motivate people. People strive to learn behaviours they value and believe will have desirable consequences, whereas they avoid learning behaviours that are punished or otherwise not satisfying. Thus according to social cognitive theory people’s cognitions, rather than consequences, affect learning. Much human learning occurs vicariously, or without overt performance by the learner at the time of learning. Common sources of vicarious learning are observing or listening to models who are live (i.e. models who appear in person), symbolic or non-human (e.g. televised talking animals, cartoon characters), on electronic sources (e.g. TV, computer, videotape), or in printed materials (books, magazines). Vicarious sources accelerate learning more than would be possible if people had to perform every behaviour before learning could occur. Vicarious sources also save people from personally experiencing negative consequences. We learn that poisonous snakes are dangerous through teaching by others, reading books, 68 Study unit 3 watching films, and so forth, rather than by experiencing the unpleasant consequences of their bites. Learning complex skills typically occurs through action and observation. Students first observe models explain and demonstrate skills, then practise them. Aspiring golfers, for example, do not simply watch professionals; rather, they engage in much practice and receive corrective feedback from their coaches. Students observe teachers explain and demonstrate skills. Through observation, students often learn some components of a complex skill and not others. Practice gives teachers the opportunity to provide corrective feedback to help students perfect their skills. As with enactive learning, the consequences of responses from vicarious sources inform and motivate observers. Observers are more apt to learn modelled behaviours leading to successes than those resulting in failures. When people believe that modelled behaviours are useful, they attend carefully to models and mentally rehearse the behaviours. Without rereading the contents, answer the following questions in writing in your workbook to see how well you have studied this unit: 1. What is the difference between the two main modes of observational learning? (par. 3.2) 2. What are the basic assumptions of social cognitive theory? 3. Give an educational implication of each of these assumptions. 4. Make a list of the ways you as a model can affect the behaviours of the learners in your class. (par.3.4) 5. Explain the following characteristic of observational learning in your own words: 6. Observational learning is no-trial learning (par. 3.4). 7. Explain the phases of observational learning in your own words. 8. Can you make a list of the variables that affect the attention we pay to models? (par. 3.5) 8. How does memory influence observational learning? (See par. 3.5, attention phase) 9. Which three forms of reinforcement that influence observational learning did Bandura identify? (3.5, motivational phase) 10. How do the following affect observational learning? - model competence, - goal setting, - vicarious consequences, and - outcome expectations. 11. How would you employ teaching or instruction as a method for teaching students new behaviour? (par. 3.7) 12. Explain vicarious learning in your own words. 13. How does vicarious learning differ from enactive learning? 69 Study unit 3 The paragraphs where the answers to the questions can be found are given in parentheses. Where no paragraphs are give the questions are considered to be easy, thus answering them should not be a problem. In your workbook: 1. Make a list of the variables that according to social cognitive theory influence learning and compare your list with those of your study partners. 2. Be prepared to explain how you would help students to learn from models. Re fe re n c e s Gage, N.L. & Berliner, D.C. 1998. Educational Psychology. 6 th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Ormrod, J. E. 2000. Educational Psychology. Developing learners. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merril. Slavin, R. E. 2000. Educational Psychology. Theory and practice. 6 th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Woolfolk, A. E. 1998. Educational Psychology. 7 th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 70 Study unit 4 4 COGNITIVE THEORIES OF LEARNING It ought to take you 9 hours to study this unit 4.1 INTRODUCTION In this unit the cognitive theories of learning will be the focus of our attention. To remind you of where these theories fit in with the evolution of learning theories see Figure 4.1. We are going to study two cognitive theories of learning. This unit deals with the information processing theories, while Study unit 5 deals with constructivist theories of learning. Figure 4.1 The position of cognitive theory and information processing theory within the evolution of learning theories. 71 Study unit 4 After completing this unit you should be able to: • • • • • • define learning from a cognitive perspective; discuss the basic assumptions of cognitive psychology: discuss the characteristics of the different components of the information processing system; explain how each component of memory influences information processing; explain the implications of the characteristics of each component of memory for instruction and learning; and apply your knowledge of interference to explain why people forget. People agree that learning is important, but they have different views of the causes, processes, and consequences of learning. Universally, theorists, researchers, and practitioners accept no one definition of learning (Schunk, 2000:2). From a cognitive perspective Shuell (1986:412) defines learning as an enduring change in behaviour or in the capacity to behave in a given way, which results from practice or other forms of experience. Three criteria can be deduced from this definition. These criteria are: 1. There must be a change in behaviour or capacity to behave in a given way. The term learning is used when people become capable of doing something differently from how they did it before. Learning involves developing new actions or modifying existing ones. Cognitive and social cognitive theorists propose that by observing people’s responses to various stimuli, it is possible to draw inferences – to make educated guesses – about the internal events that probably underpin those responses (Ormrod, 2000: 222). Thus, from a cognitive perspective we say that learning is inferential; that is, we do not observe it directly but only its outcomes. Learning is assessed based on what people say, write, and do. Learning involves a changed capacity to behave in a given fashion because people often learn skills, knowledge, beliefs, or behaviours without demonstrating them at the time learning occurs (Schunk, 2000:2). 2. The change must result from experience. Behavioural changes that are temporary (e.g., slurred speech) brought about by such factors as drugs, alcohol, and fatigue, are thus excluded. Changes are temporary when behaviour returns to its original state when the cause is removed. At the same time, learning may not last forever since forgetting may occur (Schunk, 2000:2). 72 Study unit 4 3. The change must endure over time. This criterion excludes behavioural changes that seem to be determined by heredity, such as maturational changes in children (e.g., crawling, standing). Read Case Study 1.1 from Study unit 1 again: Darren's day at school At the dinner table one night, Darren's mother asks him, "How was your day at school?" Darren shrugs, thinks for a moment, and says, "Okay, I guess." "What did you learn?" his father asks. "Nothing much," Darren replies. Nothing much, indeed! Let's look at several slices of Darren's School day and see how much he actually did learn. During his daily math lesson, Darren is studying the multiplication table for the number 9. He finds that some multiplication facts are easy to learn because he can relate them to things he already knows; for example, 9 X 2 = 18 is like adding 9 plus 9, and 9 X 5 = 45 can be derived from counting by fives. Others, such as 9 X 4 = 36 and 9 X 8 = 72, are more difficult because he can't connect them to any number facts he has learned before. When Ms. Caffarella finds Darren and a few of his classmates struggling, she teaches the class two tricks for learning the nines multiplication table: The first digit in the product is 1 less than by which 9 is being multiplied. For 9 X 6, the first digit in the product must be 6 – 1, or 5. The two digits of the product, when added together equal nine. Because 5 plus 4 equals 9, the product of 9 X 6 must be 54. With these two tricks, Darren discovers a pattern in the nines table that helps him recite the table correctly. During a geography lesson, Ms. Caffarella describes the trip she took to Greece last summer. She holds up a picture postcard of the Parthenon and explains that the building is constructed entirely of marble. Darren is sitting near the back of the room and can't see the picture very clearly; he envisions a building made entirely of marbles and silently wonders how the ancient Greeks managed to glue them all together. In physical education, Darren's class has begun a unit on soccer. Darren has never played soccer before, and his first attempts to move and control the ball with his feet are clumsy and inept. His teacher watches his footwork closely, praising him when he moves his feet appropriately, and eventually Darren is dribbling and passing the ball successfully to his classmates. In the afternoon's art lesson, Darren's class is making paper-maché masks. His friend Carla gives her mask a very large nose by adding a crumpled wad of paper below the eye holes and then covering and shaping the wad with several pieces of glued paper. Darren watches her closely throughout the process and then makes his own mask's nose in a similar fashion. 73 Study unit 4 What has Darren learned during his math, geography, physical education, and art lessons? Can you identify one or more principles of learning that might describe what has happened in each situation? You’ll find the answer to this question in this Study unit. 4.2 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Underlying cognitive psychology are several basic assumptions about how people learn. These assumptions, summarised in Table 4.1 (below), are as follows: • The first assumption is that cognitive processes influence the nature of what is learned. As noted earlier, cognitive psychologists view learning as an internal mental phenomenon, not an external behaviour change. Furthermore, how people think about and interpret their experiences determine what they learn from those experiences. Cognitive psychologists have offered numerous explanations for how people mentally process information; many of these theories are collectively known as information processing theory (Ormrod, 2000:224). As an illustration of the role that cognitive processes play, consider how Darren relates 9 X 2 = 18 to 9 + 9 = 18 and relates 9 X 5 = 45 to counting by fives (Ormrod, 2000:224). Consider, too, how the teacher's description of a pattern in the nines table helps Darren remember more difficult facts such as 9 X 8 = 72. These two examples illustrate two principles from cognitive psychology: (1) People learn new information more easily when they can relate it to something they already know, and (2) People learn several pieces of new information more easily when they can relate them to an overall organisational structure (Ormrod, 2000:224). This focus on the nature of cognitive processes can be extremely helpful to us as teachers. We must consider not only what we want our students to learn but also how they can learn it most effectively. See Table 4.1 (below) for a summary of the basic assumptions of cognitive psychology and their educational implications. 74 • Study unit 4 The second assumption is that people are selective about what they process and learn. People are constantly bombarded with information. Consider the various stimuli that you are encountering at this very moment. How many separate stimuli appear on this page? How many objects do you see right now in addition to your study guide? How many sounds are reaching your ears? How many objects do you feel - objects on your fingertips, on your toes, at your back, around your waist, and so on? I suspect that you have been ignoring most of these stimuli until just now; you hadn’t processed them until I asked you to do so. People can handle only so much information at a given time, and so they must be selective: They focus on what they think is important and ignore everything else (Ormrod, 2000:225). As an analogy, consider the hundreds of items a typical household receives in the mail each year - packages, letters, bills, brochures, catalogues, fliers, advertisements, requests for donations, and sweepstakes announcements. Do you open, examine, and respond to all the mail you receive? Probably not. If you're like me, then you "process” only a few key items (e.g., packages, letters, bills, and a few miscellaneous things that happen to catch your eye). You may inspect other items long enough to know that you don't need them; you may even discard some items without opening them at all (Ormrod, 2000:225). In much the same way, our students will encounter a great deal of new information every day - information delivered by way of teacher instruction, textbooks, worksheets, classroom bulletin boards, classmates' behaviours, and so on. They will inevitably make choices as to which pieces of information are most important. They will select a few stimuli to examine and respond to in depth, give other stimuli just a cursory glance, and ignore other stimuli altogether. As teachers, we must help our students make wise decisions about the pieces of information they choose to attend to, process, and save (Ormrod, 2000:226). See Table 4.1 (below) for a summary of the basic assumptions of cognitive psychology and their educational implications. • The third assumption is that meaning is constructed by the learner, rather than derived directly from the environment. The process of construction lies at the core of many cognitive theories of learning: People take many separate pieces of information and 75 Study unit 4 use them to create an understanding or interpretation of the world around them (Ormrod, 2000:226). We see the process of construction in the case study on Darren. Ms. Cafarella describes the Parthenon as being made of marble. Darren envisions a building made of marbles similar to the ones he has at home. He combines new information with what he already knows to construct meaning (Ormrod, 2000:226). This action by Darren illustrates how learning occurs. Some cognitive theories focus primarily on the ways that learners construct knowledge. These theories are collectively know as constructivism which will be discussed in Study unit 5. As teachers we must remember that our students won’t necessarily learn information exactly as we present it to them; in fact, they will each interpret classroom subject matter in their own, idiosyncratic ways. In some cases our students, like Darren, may even learn misinformation. Accordingly, we should frequently monitor students’ understanding by asking question, encouraging dialogue, and listening carefully to students’ ideas and explanations (Ormrod, 2000:227). See Table 4.1 (below) for a summary of the basic assumptions of cognitive psychology and their educational implications. • The fourth assumption is that prior knowledge and beliefs play a major role in the meanings that people construct. Perhaps the major reason that different students in the same classroom learn different things is that they have different bodies of knowledge and beliefs from which to draw as they interpret new information and events. Students all have their own personal histories, and they are likely to come from a wide variety of neighbourhoods and cultural backgrounds. Most cognitive psychologists believe that existing understandings of the world have a major influence on what and how effectively people can learn from their experience (Ormrod, 2000:227). See Table 4.1 for a summary of the basic assumptions of cognitive psychology and their educational implications. • 76 The fifth assumption is that people are actively involved in their own learning. As should be clear by now, cognitive psychologists do not believe that people simply “absorb” knowledge from their surroundings. Instead, people are, and in fact must be, active participants in their own learning. Cognitive processing and knowledge construction requires a certain amount of mental “work” (Ormrod, 2000:227). This phenomenon complies with the initial definition of learning. Study unit 4 Table 4.1 Basic assumptions of cognitive psychology and their educational implications Assumption Educational implication Example Influence of cognitive processes Encourage students to think about class material in ways that will help them remember it. When introducing the concept mammal, ask students to identify numerous examples. Selectivity about what is learned Help students identify the most important things for them to learn. Also help them understand why these things are important. Give students questions that they should try to answer as they read their textbooks. Include questions that ask them to apply what they read to their own lives. Construction of meaning Provide experiences that will help students make sense of the topics they are studying. When studying Nathaniel Hawthorne's The scarlet letter, ask students to get together in small groups to discuss why Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale refuses to acknowledge that he is the father of Hester Prynne's baby. Role of prior knowledge and beliefs Relate new ideas to what students already know and believe about the world. When introducing the vocabulary word debut to Mexican American students, relate it to quinceaniera, a coming-out party that many Hispanic families hold for their 15-year-old daughters. Active involvement in learning Plan classroom activities that get students actively thinking about and using subject contents. To help students understand latitude and longitude, ask them to track the path of a hurricane using a series of latitudelongitude co-ordinates that they obtain from the Internet. (Ormrod, 2000:225) Give your own school related examples that will illustrate each assumption. 77 Study unit 4 4.3 INFORMATION PROCESSING To understand information processing, it is important to understand how our memory functions. Before you start studying information processing, take a page and divide it into three columns and write the following headings at the top of each column: Sensory Memory, ShortTerm Memory, Long-Term Memory. Example: Sensory Memory Short-Term Memory Long-Term Memory As you study each component of memory, write its characteristics in the appropriate column. Make sure that you make a complete list of each component’s characteristics. 4.3.1 S e n s o ry Me m ory The first component of the memory system that accepts incoming information is the sensory register (see Figure 4.2 below). Stimuli from the environment (sights, sounds, smells, etc.) constantly bombard our receptors. Receptors are the body's mechanisms for seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling. The sensory memory, also called the sensory register or sensory information store, holds all these sensations - very briefly (Woolfolk, 1998:250). How much information and for how long can such information be held in the sensory memory? The capacity, duration, and contents of sensory memory provide the answer to this question. 78 Study unit 4 Figure 4.2 4.3.1.1 The structure of the Memory System (Adapted from Gage & Berliner, 1998:258; Woolfolk, 1998:256) The Capacity, Duration, and Contents of Sensory Memory The capacity of sensory memory is very large, more information than we can possibly handle at once. But this vast amount of sensory information is fragile in duration. It lasts between one and three seconds. You can experience this brief holding of sensory information in your own sensory register. Wave a pencil (or your finger) back and forth before your eyes while you stare straight ahead. See the shadowy image that trails behind the object? The sensory input remains very briefly after the stimulus has left. You can see a trace of the pencil after the actual stimulus has been removed. The content of sensory memory resembles the sensations from the original stimulus. The sensory register codes visual sensations briefly, almost like photographs. Auditory sensations are coded as sound patterns. The other senses may also have their own codes. Thus, for a second or so, a wealth of data from sensory experience remains intact. In these moments, we have a chance to select and organise information for further processing. Perception and attention are critical to this stage of sensory memory processing (Woolfolk, 1998:251). 79 Study unit 4 4.3.1.2 Perception The meaning we attach to the raw information received through our senses is called perception. This meaning is constructed based on both objective reality and our existing knowledge. For example, consider these marks: 13. If asked what the letter is, you would say "B." If asked what the number is, you would say "13." The actual marks remain the same; the perception of them - their meaning - changes in keeping with your expectation to recognise a number or a letter. To a child without appropriate knowledge to perceive either a number or a letter, the marks would probably be meaningless (Woolfolk, 1998:251). There are two explanations in information processing theory for how we recognise patterns and give meaning to sensory events. The first is called feature analysis or bottom-up processing because the stimulus must be analysed into features or components and assembled into a meaningful pattern "from the bottom up." For example, a capital letter A consists of two relatively straight lines joined at a 45-degree angle (/\) and a horizontal line (-) through the middle. Whenever we see these features, or anything close enough, including A, e.g. A, A, and A, we recognise an A. This explains how we are able to read words written in other people's handwriting (Woolfolk, 1998:251). If all perception relied on feature analysis, learning would be very slow. Luckily, humans are capable of another type of perception, based on knowledge and expectation often called topdown processing. To recognise patterns rapidly, in addition to noting features, we use what we already know about the situation - what we know about words or pictures or the way the world generally operates. For example, you would not have seen the marks above as the letter B if you had no knowledge of the Roman alphabet. So what you know also affects what you are able to perceive. If you catch only a fleeting glimpse of a medium-sized, four-legged animal being led down a city street on a leash, you are likely to perceive a dog, based on what you know about dogs (their size and number of legs) and cities (the kinds of animals on leashes in cities). Of course you may be wrong, but not very often (Woolfolk, 1998:251). 80 Study unit 4 Explain in writing the concept perception in processing information. 4.3.1.3 The Role of Attention If every variation in colour, movement, sound, smell, temperature, and so on had to be perceived, life would be impossible. By paying attention to certain stimuli and ignoring others, we select from all the possibilities only those stimuli, which we will process. But attention is a very limited resource. We can pay attention to only one demanding task at a time (Woolfolk, 1995:245). For example, there was a time when you were learning to drive a car when you couldn't listen to the radio and drive at the same time. After some practice, you could listen, but you had to turn the radio off when traffic was heavy. After years of practice, you can plan a class or talk on the phone as you drive. This is because many processes that initially require attention and concentration become automatic with practice. Actually, automaticity is probably a matter of degree - we are not completely automatic but rather more or less automatic in our performances depending on how much practice we have had (Woolfolk, 1998:252). 4.3.1.4 Attention and Teaching The first step in learning is paying attention. Students cannot process something that they do not recognise or perceive. Many factors in the classroom influence student attention. Eyecatching or startling displays or actions can draw attention at the beginning of a lesson. A teacher might begin a science lesson on air pressure by blowing up a balloon until it pops. Bright colours, underlining, highlighting of written or spoken words, surprise events, and 81 Study unit 4 changes in voice level, lighting, or pacing can all he used to gain attention (Woolfolk, 1998:253). Have you written the characteristics of the sensory memory in the appropriate column? If not, do so now before you move on to the short-term memory. 4.3.2 Th e S h o rt-Te rm Me m o ry Once transformed into patterns of images or sounds (or perhaps other types of sensory codes), the information in sensory memory is available for further processing in the shortterm memory (STM) system or working memory (WM) – the workbench of the memory system. The working memory is the component of the memory system where new information is held temporarily and combined with knowledge from the long-term memory (LTM). The working memory is like the screen of a computer – its content is activated information – the information you are thinking about at this moment (Woolfolk, 1998:254). 4.3.2.1 The Capacity, Duration, and Contents of Short-Term Memory You now know what the capacity, duration and contents of the sensory memory are. What do you think is the capacity, duration and contents of the short-term memory? The short-term memory is sometimes known as the working memory because its content is activated information - what you are thinking about at the moment. This activated information may be knowledge from long-term memory that you are currently thinking about or 82 Study unit 4 something new you have just encountered. For this reason, some psychologists consider the working memory to be synonymous with "consciousness” (Woolfolk, 1998: 255). The number of “bits” of information that can be held at one time limits short-term memory capacity. In experimental situations based on the information-processing model, it appears that the capacity of the short-term memory is limited. This limitation holds true to some degree in everyday life. It is quite common to remember a new phone number after looking it up, as you walk across the room to make the call. But what if you have two phone calls to make in succession? Two new phone numbers (i.e. 14 digits) probably cannot be stored simultaneously (Woolfolk, 1998:254). Working memory is believed to have a capacity of five to nine bits of information (Miller, 1956, quoted by Slavin, 2000:178). That is, we can think about only five to nine distinct things at a time. However, any particular bit may itself contain a great deal of information. For example, think how difficult it would be to memorise the following shopping list: Flour Coca Cola orange juice parsley pepper cake Mustard Butter Relish mayonnaise oregano Canned tomatoes Potatoes milk lettuce Syrup Hamburger tomato paste hot dogs apples eggs spaghetti Onions Buns This list has too many bits of information to remember easily. All 24 food items would not fit into working memory in random order. However, you could easily memorise the list by organising it according to familiar patterns. As shown in Table 4.1, you might mentally create 83 Study unit 4 three separate memory files: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In each, you expect to find food and beverages; in the lunch and dinner files, you expect to find dessert as well. You can then think through the recipes for each item on the menus. In this way, you can recall what you have to buy and need maintain only a few bits of information in your working memory. When you enter the store, you are thinking, "I need food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." First, you bring the breakfast file out of your long-term memory. It contains food (pancakes) and beverage (orange juice). You might think through how you make pancakes step by step and buy each ingredient, plus orange juice as a beverage. When you have done this, you can discard breakfast from your working memory and replace it with the lunch file and then the dinner file, going through the same processes. Note that all you did was to replace 24 little bits of information with three big bits that you could then separate into their components (Slavin, 2000:179). Table 4.1 Example of Organisation of Information to Facilitate Memory A 24-item shopping list that would be very hard to remember in a random order can be organised into a smaller number of familiar categories, making the list easier to recall. BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER Pancakes: Hot Dogs: Spaghetti: Flour Hot dogs Spaghetti Milk Buns Onions Eggs Relish Hamburger Butter Mustard Syrup Potato Salad Beverage: Orange juice Potatoes Oregano Mayonnaise Pepper Parsley Salad: Lettuce Beverage: Coca Cola Beverage: Milk Dessert: Cake Dessert: Apple - Canned tom atoes or tom ato paste (Slavin, 2000:179) Remember - put in your short-term memory - that we are discussing the recall of new information. In daily life we can certainly hold more than five to nine bits of information at once. While you are dialling that seven-digit phone number you just looked up, you are bound to have other things “on your mind" – i.e. in your memory - such as how to use a telephone, whom you are calling, and why. You don't have to pay attention to these things; they are not new knowledge. Some of the processes, such as dialling the phone, have become automatic. However, because of the short-term memory's limitations, if you were in a foreign country 84 Study unit 4 and were attempting to use an unfamiliar telephone system, you might very well have trouble remembering the phone number because you were trying to figure out the phone system at the same time (Woolfolk, 1998: 254). Working memory can be thought of as a bottleneck through which information from the environment reaches long-term memory. The limited capacity of working memory is one aspect of information processing that has important implications for the design and practice of instruction. For example, you cannot present students with many ideas at once, unless the ideas are so well organised and well connected to information already in the students' longterm memories that their working memories (with assistance from their long-term memories) can accommodate them, as in the case of the shopping list just discussed. (Slavin, 2000:179). The duration of information in short-term memory, as in sensory memory, is short, about 20 to 30 seconds at the most. This is why it is called short-term memory. You may think that a memory system with a 20-second time limit is not very useful. But without this system, you would already have forgotten what you read in the first part of this sentence before you came to these last few words. This would clearly make understanding sentences difficult (Woolfolk, 1998: 255). 4.3.2.2 Retaining Information in Short-Term Memory What do you think should be done to retain information in the short-term memory? One way to hold information in working memory is to think about it or say it over and over. You have probably used this strategy to remember a phone number for a short time. This process of maintaining an item in working memory by repetition is called rehearsal. Rehearsal is important in learning because the longer an item remains in working memory, the greater the chance that it will be transferred to long-term memory. Without rehearsal, items will probably not stay in working memory for more than about 30 seconds. Because working memory has a limited capacity, information can also be lost from it by being forced out by other information. You have probably had the experience of looking up a telephone number, being interrupted briefly, and finding that you had forgotten the number (Slavin, 2000:178). Teachers must allocate time for rehearsal during instruction. Teaching too much information too rapidly is likely to be ineffective, because unless students are given time to mentally rehearse each new piece of information, later information is likely to drive it out of their working memories. When teachers stop a lesson to ask students whether they have any questions, they are also giving students a few moments to think over and mentally rehearse what they have just learned. This helps students to process information in working memory and thereby to establish it in long-term memory. This mental work is critical when students are learning new, difficult material (Slavin, 2000:17). Because information in short-term memory is fragile and easily lost, it must be kept activated to be retained. Activation is high as long as you are focusing on information, but activation 85 Study unit 4 decays or fades quickly when attention shifts away. When activation fades, forgetting follows. To keep information activated in short-term memory for longer than 20 seconds, most people rehearse the information mentally (Woolfolk, 1998: 255). There are two types of rehearsal: maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal. Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating the information in your mind. As long as you repeat the information, it can be maintained in short-term memory indefinitely. Maintenance rehearsal is useful for retaining something you plan to use and then forget, like a phone number (Woolfolk, 1998: 256). Elaborative rehearsal involves associating the information you are trying to remember with something you already know, with information from long-term memory. For example, if you meet someone at a party whose name is the same as your brother's, you don't have to repeat the name to keep it in memory, you just have to make the association. This kind of rehearsal not only retains information in working memory, but helps move information from short-term to long-term memory. Rehearsal is thus an “executive control process" that affects the flow of information through the information processing system (Woolfolk, 1998: 256). A problem all learners face is that they have to keep information longer in the short-term memory, but also have to keep more information in the short-term-memory. What should they do to keep information longer in the short-term memory, and what should they do to keep more information in the short-term memory? The two types of rehearsal can be used to keep information longer in the short-term memory. A process called chunking can be used to keep more information in the short-term memory. 86 Study unit 4 Because the number of bits of information, not the size of each bit, is the limitation for working memory, one can retain more information if one can group individual bits of information. Grouping individual bits of information into larger segments of information is called chunking. For example, if you have to remember the six digits 3, 5, 4, 8, 7, & 0, it is easier to put them together into three chunks of two digits each (35, 48, 70) or two chunks of three digits each (354, 870). With these changes, there are only two or three bits of information rather than six to hold at one time. Chunking helps you to remember a telephone number or your identity number (Woolfolk, 1998:256). The limited capacity of the STM can thus be somewhat circumvented by the control process of chunking. Have you written the characteristics of the sensory memory in the appropriate column? Answer the following question in writing before you go on to long-term memory: What is the difference between elaborative rehearsal and maintenance rehearsal? 87 Study unit 4 4.3.3 Th e Lo n g -Te rm Me m o ry Before you read any further, explain how you think the long-term memory differs from SM and STM on the basis of your knowledge of sensory memory (SM) and short-term memory (STM). Long-term memory is that part of our memory system where we keep information for long periods of time. Long-term memory is thought to be a very large-capacity, very long-term memory store. In fact, many theorists believe that we may never forget information in longterm memory; rather, we may just lose the ability to find the information within our memory. For this reason, some theorists use the term permanent memory. We do not live long enough to fill up our long-term memory. The differences among sensory registers, working memory, and long-term memory are summarised in Table 6.2 of Study unit 6 (Slavin, 2000:180). Ericsson and Kintsch (1995, quoted by Slavin, 2000:180) hypothesise that people store not only information but also learning strategies in long-term memory for easy access. This capacity, which Ericsson and Kintsch call long-term working memory, accounts for the extraordinary skills of experts (such as medical diagnosticians) who must match current information with a vast array of patterns held in their long-term memories. Theorists divide long-term memory into at least three parts: episodic memory, semantic memory, and procedural memory. Episodic memory is our memory of personal experiences, a mental movie of things we saw or heard. When you remember what you had for dinner last night or what happened at your high school prom, you are recalling information stored in your long-term episodic memory. Long-term semantic memory contains the facts and generalised information that we know; concepts, principles, or rules and how to use them; and our problem-solving skills and learning strategies. Most things that are learned in class lessons are retained in semantic memory. Procedural memory refers to "knowing how" in contrast to "knowing that". The abilities to drive, type, and ride a bicycle are examples of skills that are retained in procedural memory (Slavin, 2000:181). The episodic, semantic, and procedural memory stores each stores and organises information in different ways. Information in episodic memory is stored in the form of images that are organised on the basis of when and where events happened. Information in semantic memory is organised in the form of networks of ideas. Information in procedural memory is stored as a complex of stimulus-response pairings. Recent brain studies have suggested that operations relating to each of these types of long-term memory take place in different parts of the brain (Slavin, 2000:181). 88 Study unit 4 Now that you have studied the different components of the memory and have completed the table in which you have written the characteristics of each component, compare the characteristics you have identified with those in Table 4.2. Indicate how your table differs from Table 4.2. Table 4.2 Differences among the Three Components of Memory The three basic components of memory differ in function, capacity, and organisation Feature Sensory Register Working or ShortTerm Memory Long-Term Memory Entry of information Preattentive Requires attention Rehearsal Maintenance of information Not possible Continued attention Repetition Rehearsal Organisation Format of information Literal copy of input Phonemic Largely semantic Probably visual Some auditory and visual Possibly semantic Capacity Large Small No known limit Information loss Decay Displacement Possibly no loss Possibly decay Loss of accessibility by interference Trace duration ¼ to 2 seconds Up to 30 seconds Minutes to years Retrieval Readout Probably automatic Retrieval cues Items in consciousness Possibly search process Temporal/phonemic cues (Slavin, 2000:180) Why do we remember some things and forget others? Why can we sometimes remember trivial things that happened years ago but not important things that happened yesterday? 89 Study unit 4 Most forgetting occurs because information in working memory was never transferred to long-term memory. However, it can also occur because we have lost our ability to recall information that is in long-term memory (Slavin, 2000:187). Over the years, researchers have identified several factors that make it easier or harder to remember information. One of these factors is interference. 4.4 INTERFERENCE Before you read any further, first explain the concept interference as you understand it. One important reason people forget is interference. Interference happens when information gets mixed up with, or is pushed aside by, other information. One form of interference occurs when people are prevented from mentally rehearsing newly learned information. In one classic experiment, Peterson and Peterson (1959) gave students a simple task: the memorisation of sets of three nonsense letters (such as FQB). The students were then immediately asked to count backward by 3’s from a three-digit number (e.g. 287, 284, 281, etc.) for up to 18 seconds. At the end of that time the students were asked to recall the letters. They had forgotten far more of them than had students who had learned the letters and then simply waited for 18 seconds to repeat them (Slavin, 2000:187). The reason for this is that the students who were told to count backward were deprived of the opportunity to rehearse the letters mentally to establish them in their working memories. As 90 Study unit 4 was noted earlier, teachers must take into account the limited capacity of working memory by allowing students time to absorb or practise (that is, mentally rehearse) new information before giving them additional instruction (Slavin, 2000:188 4.4.1 Re tro a c tive In h ib itio n One form of interference is called retroactive inhibition. This occurs when previously learned information is lost because it is mixed up with new and somewhat similar information. For example, young students may have no trouble recognising the letter b until they are taught the letter d. Because these letters are similar, students often confuse them. Learning the letter d thus interferes with the previously learned recognition of b. In the same way, a traveller may know how to get around in a particular airport but then lose that skill to some extent after visiting many similar airports (Slavin, 2000:188). Of all the reasons for forgetting, retroactive inhibition is probably the most important. This phenomenon explains, for example, why we have trouble remembering frequently repeated episodes, such as what we had for dinner a week ago. Last night's dinner will be forgotten because memories of dinners that come after it will interfere, unless something remarkable happens to clearly distinguish last night's dinner from the dinners that will follow (Slavin, 2000:188). How do you think a teacher can reduce retroactive inhibition? There are two ways to reduce retroactive inhibition. The first is by not teaching similar and confusing concepts too closely in time. The second is to use different methods to teach similar concepts. The first way to reduce retroactive inhibition implies that one of several confusing or similar concepts should be taught thoroughly before the next is introduced. 91 Study unit 4 For example, students should be completely able to recognise the letter b before the letter d is introduced. If these letters are introduced at close to the same time, learning of one may inhibit learning of the other. When the new letter is introduced, the teacher must carefully point out the differences between b and d, and students must practise discriminating between the two until they can unerringly say which is which (Slavin, 2000:189). The second way to reduce retroactive inhibition is to use different methods to teach similar concepts or to vary other aspects of instruction for each concept. For example, Andre (1973, quoted by Slavin, 2000:189) had students study two descriptions of African tribes. For some students the two passages were organised and printed in the same way. For others the second passage was organised differently from the first and printed on different-coloured paper. Students who were given the second procedure showed less confusion between the two passages on a later test. Researchers also found that when students were asked to memorise two lists, those who used the same memorisation strategy for both forgot more than did those who used a different strategy for each. These and other research findings imply that teachers can help students to retain information and avoid confusion by varying their presentation strategies for different material. For example, a teacher might teach about Spain by using lectures and discussion, about France by using group projects, and about Italy by using films. This would help students avoid confusing information about one country with information about the others (Slavin, 2000:189). Most things that are forgotten were never firmly learned in the first place. The best way to ensure long-term retention of material taught in school is to make certain that students have mastered the essential features of the material. This means assessing students' understanding frequently and re-teaching if it turns out that students have not achieved adequate levels of understanding (Slavin, 2000:189). 92 Study unit 4 4.4.2 P ro a c tive In h ib ition How do you think the concept proactive differs from the concept retroactive? Retroactive inhibition occurs when previously learned information is lost because it is mixed up with new and somewhat similar information, while proactive inhibition occurs when learning one set of information interferes with learning later information – In school it frequently happen that you first teach and the learners in your class first learn about topic A and after you have finished with topic A, you then teach topic B and the learners learn about topic B. Retroactive inhibition occurs if you give a test on topic A, but instead of giving answers related to what they have learned with topic A, the learners give answers related to topic B. Their knowledge of B thus have interfered (retroactively) with their knowledge of A. If the test is on topic B, proactive inhibition will occur if the learners give answers related to topic A instead of answers related to B. Their knowledge of A interferes with their knowledge of B. A classic example of proactive inhibition is that of a North American learning to drive on the left side of the road in England. It may be easier for a North American non-driver to learn to drive in England than for an experienced North American driver, because the latter has so thoroughly learned to stay to the right, which is a potentially fatal error in England (Slavin, 2000:189). It should also be noted that learning one thing could often help a person learn similar information. For example, learning Spanish first may help an English-speaking student learn Italian, a similar language. This would be a case of proactive facilitation. Learning a second language can also help with an already established language. It is often the case, for example, that English-speaking students find that the study of Latin helps them understand their native language better. This would be retroactive facilitation. (Slavin, 2000:190). 93 Study unit 4 For another example, consider teaching. We often have the experience that learning to teach a subject helps us understand the subject better. Because later learning (e.g., learning to teach addition of fractions) increases our understanding of previously learned information (addition of fractions); this is a prime example of retroactive facilitation. Table 4.4 summarises the relationships among retroactive and proactive inhibition (Slavin, 2000:190). Table 4.4 Summary of the Effects on Memory of Retroactive and Proactive Inhibition EFFECT ON LEARNING EFFECT ON MEMORY lnhibition (Negative) Facilitation (Positive) Later learning affects earlier learning Retroactive inhibition (Example: Learning d interferes with learning b.) Retroactive facilitation (Example: Learning to teach math helps with previously learned math skills.) Earlier learning affects later learning Proactive inhibition (Example: Learning to drive in the U.S. interferes with learning to drive in the U.K.) Proactive facilitation (Example: Learning Spanish helps with later learning of Italian.) (Slavin, 2000:190) Construct a mind map in your workbook or on a separate page that summarises Study unit 4. Without looking at the text again, see how well you studied this unit by answering the following questions in writing in your workbook. 1. Which two tricks (or principles from cognitive psychology) for learning the nines multiplication table did the teacher teach Darren? (Par. 3.1) 2. What are the basic assumptions of cognitive learning theories? 3. Give your own example to illustrate each of these assumptions. 4. Draw a diagram that explains the information processing system. 5. What is the advantage or value of top-down processing? (Par. 3.3.2) 6. What is the value of attention in short-term memory? (Par. 3.3.3) 7. What are the two main characteristics of the short-term memory? 8. How can information be retained longer in STM? 94 Study unit 4 9. What is the difference between maintenance and elaborative rehearsal? 10. What is stored in LTM apart from information? (Par. 3.35) 11. Explain the difference between the three parts of the LTM. 12. What accounts for the extraordinary skills of experts? 13. How does interference account for forgetting? 14. What is the difference between retroactive and proactive inhibition? 15. How can retroactive inhibition be reduced? 1. Which variables affect learning from a cognitive perspective? 2. Considering the variables that affect information processing, how should a teacher instruct learners to learn effectively? Re fe re n c e s Gage, N.L. & Berliner, D.C. 1998. Educational Psychology. 6th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Ormrod, J. E. 2000. Educational Psychology. Developing learners. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merril. Schunk, D.H. 2000. Learning theories. An educational perspective. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Shuell, T.J. 1986. Cognitive conceptions of learning. Review of educational research, 56:411-436. Slavin, R. E. 2000. Educational Psychology. Theory and practice. 6th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Woolfolk, A. E. 1998. Educational Psychology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 95 Study unit 4 96 Study unit 5 5 THE CONSTRUCTIVIST VIEW OF LEARNING It ought to take you 9 hours to study this unit. 5.1 INTRODUCTION The information processing perspectives share several features, even if they differ in their views of memory. All of these approaches regard the human mind as a symbol-processing system that converts sensory input into symbol structures (propositions, images, or schemas), and then processes those symbol structures so knowledge can be held in memory and retrieved. Learning leads to modifications in the internal symbol structures. The outside world is seen as a source of input, but once the sensations are perceived and enter working memory, the important work is assumed to be happening "inside the head" of the individual (Woolfolk, 1998:277). Today, these points of view and the assumptions, on which they are based, are being questioned. Some of the assumptions that are being questioned are that: 1. thinking resides in the mind rather than in interaction with persons and situations; 2. processes of learning and thinking are relatively uniform across persons and some situations foster higher-order thinking better than others; and 3. thinking derives from knowledge and skills developed in formal instructional settings more than from general conceptual competencies that result from one's experiences and innate abilities (Greeno, 1989, quoted by Schunk, 2000:229). Two major criticisms levied at these assumptions based on theory and research are those that: 1. thinking takes place in contexts, and 2. cognition is largely constructed by individuals as a function of their experiences in situations. 97 Study unit 5 One of the most important principles of educational psychology is that teachers cannot simply give students knowledge. Students must construct knowledge in their own minds. The teacher can facilitate this process by teaching in ways that make information meaningful and relevant to students, by giving students opportunities to discover or apply ideas themselves, and by teaching students to be aware of and consciously use their own strategies for learning. Teachers can give students ladders that lead to higher understanding, yet the students themselves must climb these ladders (Slavin, 2000:256). According to Slavin (2000:256) a revolution is taking place in educational psychology. Although this revolution goes by many names, the name that is most frequently used is constructivist theories of learning. See Figure 5.1 (below) for the position of the constructivist theories of learning within the evolution of learning theories. The essence of the constructivist theories is the idea that learners must individually discover and transform complex information if they are to make it their own. Constructivist accounts of learning highlight the contributions individuals make to what is being learned. Social constructivist models further emphasise the importance of social interactions in acquisition of skills and knowledge (Schunk, 2000:229; Slavin, 2000:256). The constructivist theories see learners as constantly checking new information against old rules and then revising rules when they no longer work. This view has profound implications for teaching, as it suggests a far more active role for students in their own learning than is typical in many classrooms. Because of the emphasis on students as active learners, constructivist strategies are often called student-centred instruction. In a student-centred classroom the teacher becomes the "guide on the side" instead of the "sage on the stage," helping students to discover their own meaning instead of lecturing and controlling all classroom activities (Slavin, 2000:256). 98 Study unit 5 Figure 5.1 The position of the constructivist theories of learning within the evolution of learning theories. After completing this unit you should be able to: • • distinguish clearly between the constructivist and, what could be called, the traditional learning theories (e.g. behaviourist and information processing theories); • discuss the basic assumptions of the constructivist theories; • Vygotsky’s view of cognitive development; and • distinguish between different types of constructivism; • explain Piaget’s theory; and • indicate the influence of these views on the constructivist theories; • explain situated learning; and compare and understand the behavioural and constructivist theories of learning. The following case study from Slavin (2000:255) illustrates the application of constructivist principles in the classroom: 99 Study unit 5 Case Study 5.1 "You'll all recall," began Mr. Dunbar, "how last week we figured out how to compute the area of a circle and the volume of a cube. Today you're going to have a chance to discover how to compute the volume of a cylinder. This time, you're really going to be on your own. At each of your lab stations you have five unmarked cylinders of different sizes. You also have a metric ruler and a calculator, and you may use water from your sink. The most important resources you'll have to use, however, are your minds and your partners. Remember, at the end of this activity, everyone in every group must be able to explain not only the formula for volume of a cylinder, but also precisely how you derived it. Any questions? You may begin! " The students in Mr. Dunbar's middle school math/science class got right to work. They were seated around lab tables in groups of four. One of the groups, the Master Minds, started off by filling all its cylinders with water. "OK," said Miguel, "we've fined all of our cylinders. "What do we do next?" "Let's measure them," suggested Margarite. She took the ruler and asked Dave to write down her measurements. "The water in this little one is 36 millimetres high and ... just a sec . . .. 42 millimetres across the bottom." "So what?" asked Yolanda. "We can't figure out the volume this way. Let's do a little thinking before we start measuring everything." "Yolanda's right," said Dave. "We'd better work out a plan." "I know," said Miguel, "let's make a hypo, hypotha, what's it called?" "Hypothesis," said Yolanda. "Yeah! Let's guess what we think the solution is." "Remember how Mr. Dunbar reminded us about the area of a circle and the volume of a cube? I'll bet that's an important clue." "You're right, Miguel," said Mr. Dunbar, who happened to be passing by. "But what are you guys going to do with that information?" The Master Minds were quiet for a few moments. "Let's try figuring out the area of the bottom of one of these cylinders," ventured Dave. "Remember that Margarite said the bottom of the little one was 42 millimetres? Give me the calculator ... now how do we get the area?" Yolanda said, "I think it was pi times the radius squared." “That sounds right. So 42 squared ... ” "Not 42; 21 squared," interrupted Margarite. "If the diameter is 42, the radius is 21." "OK, OK, I would have remembered. Now, 21 squared is ... 441, and pi is about 3.14, so my handy dandy calculator says ... 13,847." "Can't be," said Miguel. "Four hundred times three is twelve hundred, so 441 times 3.14 can't be thirteen thousand. I think you did something wrong." "Let me do it again ... 441 times 3.14 ... you're right. Now it's about 9,385." "So what?" said Yolanda. "That doesn't tell us how to figure the volume!" Margarite jumped in excitedly. "Just hang on for a minute, Yolanda. Now, think we should multiply the area of the bottom by the height of the water." "But why?" asked Miguel. 100 Study unit 5 “Well," said Margarite, "when we did the volume of a cube, we multiplied length times width times height. Length times width is the area of the bottom. I'll bet we could do the same with a cylinder!" “The girl's brilliant! " said Miguel. "Sounds good to me. But how could we prove it?" "I’ve got an idea," said Yolanda. She emptied the water out of all the cylinders and filled the smallest one to the top. "This is my idea. We don't know what the volume of this cylinder is, but we do know that it's always the same. If we pour the same amounts of water into all four cylinders and use our formula it should always come out to the same amount!" “Let's try it!" said Miguel. He poured the water from the small cylinder into a larger one, refined it, and poured it into another of a different shape. The Master Minds measured the bases and the heights of the water in their cylinders, wrote down the measurements, and tried out their formula. Sure enough, their formula always gave the same answer for the same volume of water. In great excitement they called Mr. Dunbar to come see what they were doing. Mr. Dunbar asked each of the students to explain what they had done. "Terrific!" he said. "Not only did you figure out a solution, but everyone in the group participated and understood what you did. Now I'd like you to help me out. I've got a couple of groups that are really stumped. Do you suppose you could help them? Don't give them the answer, but help them get on track. How about Yolanda and Miguel helping with the Brainiacs, and Dave and Margarite help with the Dream Team. OK? Thanks!" (Slavin, 2000:255) • • • 5.2 How would you describe Mr. Dunbar’s method of teaching? Prepare to discuss why this method of teaching worked so well for Mr. Dunbar. How does this method of teaching differ from (1) the behaviourist and cognitive methods, and (2) the one you usually use in class? BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORIES OF LEARNING From a constructivist perspective, teachers do not teach in the traditional sense of delivering instruction to a group of students. Rather, they use materials with which learners become actively involved through manipulation or social interaction. Activities stress observing, collecting data, generating and testing hypotheses, and working collaboratively with others. The class visits sites outside of the classroom. Teachers from different disciplines plan the curriculum together. Students are taught to be self-regulated and take an active role in their learning by setting goals, monitoring and evaluating progress, and going beyond basic requirements by exploring interests (Schunk, 2000:230). This means that: 101 Study unit 5 • • Individuals form or construct much of what they learn and understand. Constructivism highlights the interaction of persons and situations in the acquisition and refinement of skills and knowledge. Constructivist views contrast with behavioural views of learning that stress the influence of the environment on the person, and also with classical information processing theory that places the locus of learning within the mind with little attention to the context in which it occurs. It shares with social cognitive theory the assumption that persons, behaviours, and environments interact in reciprocal fashion (Schunk, 2000:230). People are active learners and must construct knowledge for themselves. To understand material well, learners must rediscover for themselves the basic principles. Constructivists differ in the extent to which they ascribe this function entirely to learners. Some believe that mental structures come to reflect reality, whereas others (radical constructivists) believe that no reality exists outside of the individual's mental world. Constructivists also differ in how much they ascribe the construction of knowledge to social interactions with teachers, peers, parents, and others (Schunk, 2000:230). Be prepared to discuss the similarities between the constructivist view of learning and OBE. 5.3 HISTORICAL ROOTS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM The constructivist revolution has deep roots in the history of education. It draws heavily on the work of Piaget and Vygotsky, both of whom emphasised that cognitive change takes place only when previous conceptions go through a process of disequilibration in light of new information. Piaget and Vygotsky also emphasised the social nature of learning, and both suggested the use of mixed-ability learning groups to promote conceptual change (Slavin, 2000:256). A brief overview of Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s views is given. 5.3.1 P ia g e t's Th e o ry o f Co g n itive De ve lo p m e n t Piaget's theory of cognitive development is based on the assumption that people try to make sense of the world and actively create their knowledge through direct experience with objects, people, and ideas. Cognitive development depends on four factors: biological maturation, experience with the physical environment (i.e. physical activity), experience with the social environment 102 Study unit 5 or social transmission, and equilibration. In response to these influences, according to Piaget's theory, thinking processes and knowledge develop through adaptation (including the complementary processes of assimilation and accommodation) and changes in the organisation of thought (Woolfolk, 1998:60). Organisation refers to people’s tendency to organise their thinking processes into psychological structures. These psychological structures are our systems for understanding and interacting with the world. Simple structures are continually combined and co-ordinated to become more sophisticated and thus more effective. Piaget called these structures schemes (Woolfolk, 1998:60). The first three factors (biological maturation, activity or experience with the physical environment, and experience with the social environment or social transmission) are selfexplanatory, but their effects depend on the fourth, equilibration. Equilibration refers to a biological drive to produce an optimal state of equilibrium (or adaptation) between cognitive structures and the environment. Equilibration is the central factor and the motivating force behind cognitive development. It co-ordinates the actions of the other three factors and makes internal mental structures and external environmental reality consistent with each other (Schunk, 2000:233; Woolfolk, 1998:60). Explain the following in your own words: Equilibration is the central factor and the motivating force behind cognitive development. Equilibration is also the process, which brings assimilation and accommodation into equilibrium. Assimilation involves trying to understand something new by fitting it into what we already know. At times, we may have to distort the new information to make it fit. Accommodation occurs when a person must change existing schemes to respond to a new situation. We adjust our thinking to fit the new information, instead of adjusting the information to fit our thinking. To illustrate the role of equilibration, Schunk (2000233) sketches the following scene: Consider six-year-old Allison riding in a car with her father. They are going at 120 km/h, and about 100 meters in front of them is a car. They have been following this car for quite some time, and the distance between them stays the same. Her dad points out the car to Allison and asks, "Who's going faster, us or them, or are we going at the same speed?" Allison replies that the other car is going faster. When her dad asks why, she replies, "Because it's in front of us." If her dad then said, "We're actually going the same speed," this would create a conflict for Allison. She believes the other car is going faster, but she has received conflicting environmental input. 103 Study unit 5 How can Allison solve the conflict? To resolve this conflict, Allison can use one of the two component processes of equilibration: assimilation and accommodation. Keep in mind that assimilation refers to the process of fitting external reality to the existing cognitive structure, while accommodation refers to the process of changing internal structures to provide consistency with external reality. When we interpret, construe, and frame, we alter the nature of reality to make it fit our cognitive structure. When we alter the nature of reality to make it fit our cognitive structure, we apply assimilation. We accommodate when we adjust our ideas to make sense of reality (Schunk, 2000:234). Equilibration is an internal property. As such, cognitive development can occur only when disequilibrium or cognitive conflict exists. Thus, an event occurs that produces a disturbance in the child's internal structures (schemata) so that the child's beliefs do not match the observed reality. Equilibration seeks to resolve the conflict through assimilation and accommodation (Schunk, 2000:236). Piaget felt that development would proceed naturally through regular interactions with the physical and social environments. The impetus for developmental change is internal. Environmental factors are extrinsic; they can influence development but not direct it. This point has profound implications for education because it seems to suggest that teaching may have little impact on development. Teachers can arrange the environment to cause conflict, but how any particular child resolves the conflict is not predictable (Schunk, 2000:236). 104 Study unit 5 Learning occurs, then, when children experience cognitive conflict and engage in assimilation or accommodation to construct or alter internal structures. It is important, however, that the conflict should not be too great because this will not trigger equilibration. Learning should be optimal when the conflict is small and especially when children are in transition between stages. Information must be partially understood (assimilated) before it can promote structural change (accommodation). Environmental stimulation to facilitate change should have negligible effect unless the critical stage transitions have begun so that the conflict can be successfully resolved via equilibration (Schunk, 2000:236). Piaget's theory is constructivistic because it assumes that children impose their concepts on the world to make sense of it. Children make sense of their environments and construct reality based on their capabilities at the present time. In turn, these basic concepts develop into more sophisticated views with increasing experience (Schunk, 2000:237). 5.3.2 P ia g e t’s s ta g e s o f c o g n itive d e ve lo p m e n t Piaget believed that young people pass through a fixed sequence of four stages as their thinking develop. These stages are the • • sensorimotor stage, • concrete-operational stage, and the • preoperational stage, stage of formal-operational thinking. See Table 5.1 for a summary of the characteristics of these stages. 105 Study unit 5 Table 5.1 Stage Sensorimotor Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Approximate Age Birth to 2 years Characteristics Actions are spontaneous and represent an attempt to understand the world. Understanding is rooted in present action, for example, a ball is for throwing and a bottle for sucking. Begin to make use of imitation, memory and thought. Formation of concept of “object permanence” (Recognise that objects do not cease to exist when they are hidden.) Preoperational 2 to 7 years Gradual progression from reflexive behaviour to goaldirected behaviour. Rapidly develops use of language. Development of the ability to use symbols to represent objects in the world. Ability to think operations through logically in one direction. Unable to think in more than one dimension at a time. (e.g. if they focus on length they are apt to think a longer object is bigger than a shorter one even when the shorter one is taller and deeper.) Thinking is irreversible, that is, once things are done they cannot be changed (e.g., the box flattened cannot again he made into a box). Difficulties in distinguishing fantasy from reality. Cartoon characters appear as real as people do. Thinking remains egocentric and centred. (Has difficulties in seeing another person’s point of view.) Concrete operational 7 to 11 years Display less egocentric thought and language increasingly becomes social. Reversibility in thinking is acquired along with classification and seriation - concepts essential for the acquisition of mathematical skills. Thinking is no longer dominated by perception; children draw on their experiences and are not always swayed by what they perceive. Ability to solve concrete (hands-on) problems in logical fashion. Understands laws of conservation and is able to classify and seriate. New abilities include the use of operations that are reversible. (Understand reversibility.) Thinking is decentred. Abstract thinking is not possible. 106 Study unit 5 Formal operational 11 years to adulthood Abstract and purely symbolic thinking possible. Reasoning capabilities improve, and children can think about multiple dimensions and abstract properties. Egocentrism emerges in adolescents' comparing reality to the ideal; thus, they often show idealistic thinking. Becomes more scientific in thinking. Problems can be solved through the use of systematic experimentation. Children are able to think about hypothetical situations. Develops concerns about social issues, and identity. (Schunk, 2000:235; Slavin, 2000:32; Woolfolk, 1998:30). Construct a mind map in your workbooks that summarises Piaget’s view of cognitive development. Be prepared to discuss the implications of the characteristics of each stage for instruction and learning. 5.3.3 Vyg o ts ky’s s o c io -c u ltu ra l view of c og n itive d e ve lo p m e n t Vygotsky's socio-cultural view asserts that cognitive development hinges on social interaction and the development of language. Vygotsky considered the social environment critical for learning and thought the integration of social factors with personal factors produced learning. Social activity is a phenomenon that helps explain changes in consciousness and establishes a psychological theory that unifies behaviour and mind (Schunk, 2000:243; Woolfolk, 1998:60). Vygotsky's position is therefore a form of dialectical constructivism because it emphasises the interaction between persons and their environments. 107 Study unit 5 The social environment influences cognition through its "tools"; that is, its cultural objects (e.g., cars, machines, information technology), mathematics systems and its language and social institutions (e.g., churches and schools). Adults teach these tools to children in the course of their joint activity, the children internalise them, and these tools then function as mediators of the children's more advanced psychological processes. Cognitive change results from using such cultural tools in social interactions and from internalising and mentally transforming these interactions (Schunk, 2000:243). Explain the concept cultural tools in your own words. Vygotsky's most controversial contention was that all higher mental functions originated in the social environment. This is a very powerful claim that has a good degree of truth to it. Perhaps the most influential process involved is language. Vygotsky thought that a critical component of psychological development was mastering the external process of transmitting cultural development and thinking through symbols such as language, counting, and writing. Once this process was mastered, the next step involved using these symbols to influence and self-regulate thoughts and actions. Self-regulation uses the important function of private speech or self-directed talk (Schunk, 2000:243). As an example, Vygotsky describes the role of children's self-directed talk in guiding and monitoring thinking and problem solving. Vygotsky, more than Piaget, emphasised the significant role played by adults and more able peers in children's learning. This adult assistance provides early support while students build the understanding necessary to solve problems on their own later (Woolfolk, 1998:60). Vygotsky proposed the concept of a zone of proximal development, in which children in challenging situations can develop their own thinking abilities through timely, appropriate guidance and support from teachers or peers, called scaffolding. Assisted learning is the process of providing appropriate scaffolding within the student's zone of proximal development. Assessment procedures designed to analyse a student's zone of proximal 108 Study unit 5 development can be applied to plan instructional groupings, learning tasks, and so on. Vygotsky's work implies that students should be given opportunities for co-operative learning and should be encouraged to use language to organise their thinking (Woolfolk, 1998:60). Modern constructivist thought draws most heavily on Vygotsky's theories, which have been used to support classroom instructional methods that emphasise co-operative learning, project-based learning, and discovery (Slavin, 2000:256). 5.3.3.1 Principles derived from Vygotsky’s view The following four key principles derived from Vygotsky's ideas play an important role in explaining cognitive development and learning: 1. The social nature of learning should be emphasised. 2. Children learn best the concepts that are in their zone of proximal development. 3. A learner gradually acquires expertise through cognitive apprenticeship. 4. Scaffolding, or mediated learning, is important. • Social Learning Vygotsky proposed that children learn through joint interactions with adults and more capable peers. In co-operative projects, like the one in Mr. Dunbar's class, children are exposed to their peers' thinking processes; this method not only makes the learning outcome available to all students, but also makes other students' thinking processes available to all. Vygotsky noted that successful problem solvers talk themselves through difficult problems. In cooperative groups, children can hear this inner speech out loud and can learn how successful problem solvers are thinking through their approaches (Slavin, 2000:256). • Zone Of Proximal Development A second key concept is the idea that children learn best the concepts that are in their zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is defined as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or that of more capable peers". Children are working within their zone of proximal development when they are engaged in tasks that they could not do alone but can do with the assistance of peers or adults. 109 Study unit 5 For example, if a child cannot find the median of a set of numbers by himself but can do so with some assistance from his teacher, then finding medians is probably in his zone of proximal development. When children are working together, each child is likely to have a peer performing a given task at a slightly higher cognitive level, exactly within the child's zone of proximal development. The ZPD is largely a test of a student's developmental readiness or intellectual level in a specific domain, and can be viewed as an alternative to the conception of intelligence. In the ZPD, a teacher and learner work together on a task that the learner could not perform independently because of the difficulty level (Schunk, 2000:244; Slavin, 2000:256). Cognitive change occurs in the ZPD as teacher and learner share cultural tools, and this culturally mediated interaction produces cognitive change when it is internalised in the learner. Working in the ZPD requires a good deal of guided participation; however, children do not acquire cultural knowledge passively from these interactions, nor is what they learn necessarily an automatic or accurate reflection of events. Rather, learners bring their own understandings to social interactions and construct meanings by integrating those understandings with their experiences in the context. The learning often is sudden, in the Gestalt sense of insight, rather than reflecting a gradual accretion of knowledge (Schunk, 2000:244). Schunk (2000:244) illustrates the concept of ZPD through the following example: Assume that a teacher (Trudy) and a child (Laura) will work on a task (making a picture of mom, dad, and Laura doing something together at home). Laura brings to the task her understandings of what the people and the home look like and of the types of things they might work on, combined with knowledge of how to draw and make pictures. Trudy brings the same understandings plus knowledge of conditions necessary to work on various tasks. Suppose they decide to make a picture of the three working in the yard. Laura might draw a picture of dad cutting grass, mom trimming shrubs, and Laura raking the lawn. If Laura were to draw herself in front of dad, Trudy would explain that Laura must be behind dad to rake up the grass left behind by dad's cutting. During the interaction, Laura modifies her beliefs about working in the yard based on her current understanding and on the new knowledge she constructs. 110 Study unit 5 Explain the concept zone of proximal development in your own words. Be prepared to discuss how you would apply your knowledge of the zone of proximal development in class. • Cognitive Apprenticeship Another concept derived from Vygotsky's emphasis both on the social nature of learning and on the zone of proximal development, is cognitive apprenticeship. Cognitive apprenticeship refers to the process by which a learner gradually acquires expertise through interaction with an expert, either an adult or an older or more advanced peer. In many occupations, new workers (novices) learn their jobs through a process of apprenticeship, in which a new worker works closely with an expert, who provides a model, gives feedback to the less experienced worker, and gradually socialises the new worker into the norms and behaviours of the profession (Schunk, 2000:246; Slavin, 2000:257). Apprentices, thus operate within a ZPD because they often work on tasks beyond their capabilities. By working with experts, novices develop a shared understanding of important processes and integrate this with their current understandings. Apprenticeships represent a type of dialectical constructivism that depends heavily on social interactions (Schunk, 2000:246). Student teaching is a form of apprenticeship. Constructivist theorists suggest that teachers transfer this long-standing and highly effective model of teaching and learning to day-to-day activities in classrooms, both by engaging students in complex tasks and helping them through these tasks (as a master electrician would help an apprentice rewire a house), and by engaging students in heterogeneous, co-operative learning groups in which more advanced students help less advanced ones through complex tasks (Slavin, 2000:257). Explain the concept cognitive apprenticeship in your own words. 111 Study unit 5 Be prepared to explain how you would use cognitive apprenticeship in class. • Mediated Learning Finally, Vygotsky's emphasis on scaffolding, or mediated learning, is important in modern constructivist thought. Current interpretations of Vygotsky's ideas emphasise the idea that students should be given complex, difficult, realistic tasks and then be given enough help to achieve these tasks (rather than being taught little bits of knowledge that are expected someday to build up to complex tasks). This principle is used to support the classroom use of projects, simulations, explorations in the community, writing for real audiences, and other authentic tasks. The term situated learning is used to describe learning that takes place in real-life, authentic tasks (Slavin, 2000:257). Explain the concept scaffolding in your own words. 5.3.3.2 Practical Implications of Vygotsky’s views Study the following educational applications of Vygotsky's ideas (Schunk, 2000:244). • Top-Down Processing Constructivist approaches to teaching emphasise top-down rather than bottom-up instruction. The term top-down means that students begin with complex problems to solve and then work out or discover (with the teacher's guidance) the basic skills required. For example, students might be asked to write compositions and only later learn about spelling, grammar, and punctuation. This top-down processing approach is contrasted with the traditional bottom-up strategy, in which basic skills are gradually built into more complex skills. In top-down teaching, the tasks students begin with are complex, complete, and authentic, meaning that they are not parts or simplifications of the tasks that students are ultimately expected to 112 Study unit 5 perform but are the actual tasks. As one instance of a constructivist approach to mathematics teaching, consider an example from Lampert (1986, quoted by Slavin, 2000:257). The traditional, bottom-up approach to teaching the multiplication of two-digit numbers by one- digit numbers (e.g., 4 x 12 = 48) is to teach students a step-by-step procedure to get the right answer. Only after students have mastered this basic skill are they given simple application problems, such as "Sandra saw some pencils that cost 12 cents each. How much money would she need to buy four of them?" (Slavin, 2000:257). The constructivist approach works in exactly the opposite order, beginning with problems (often proposed by the students themselves) and then helping students figure out how to do the operations. For example, in our case study Mr. Dunbar used co-operative groups to help students derive a formula for the volume of a cylinder. Recall how the Master Minds bounced ideas off of each other, tried out and discarded false leads, and ultimately came up with a solution and a way to prove that their solution was correct. None of the students could have solved the problem alone, so the group work was helpful in arriving at a solution. More important, the experience of hearing others' ideas, trying out and receiving immediate feedback on proposed solutions, and arguing about different ways to proceed gave the Master Minds the cognitive scaffolding that Vygotsky, Bruner, and other constructivists hold to be essential to higher-order learning. (Slavin, 2000:259). • Instructional Scaffolding Helping students acquire cognitive mediators (e.g., signs and symbols) through the social environment can be accomplished in many ways. A common application involves the concept of instructional scaffolding, which refers to the process of controlling task elements that are beyond the learners' capabilities so that they can focus on and master those features of the task that they can grasp quickly. To use an analogy of scaffolding employed in construction projects, instructional scaffolding has five major functions: provide support, function as a tool, extend the range of the learner, permit the attainment of tasks not otherwise possible, and use selectively only as needed (Schunk, 2000:244). In a learning situation, a teacher initially might do most of the work, after which the teacher and the learners share responsibility. As learners become more competent, the teacher gradually withdraws the scaffolding so learners can perform independently. The key is to ensure that the scaffolding keeps learners in the ZPD, which is altered as they develop capabilities. Students are challenged to learn within the bounds of the ZPD (Schunk, 2000:245). 113 Study unit 5 The use of scaffolding is appropriate when a teacher wants to provide students with some information or to complete parts of tasks for them so that they can concentrate on the part of the task they are attempting to master. Thus, if Kathy Stone were working with her thirdgrade children on organising sentences in a paragraph to express ideas in a logical order, she might assist the students by initially giving them the sentences with word meanings and spellings so these would not interfere with their primary task. As they became more competent in sequencing ideas, she might have students compose their own paragraphs while still assisting with word meanings and spellings. Eventually students will assume responsibility for these functions (Schunk, 2000:246). Give your own example of instructional scaffolding. • Reciprocal Teaching Another area of application is reciprocal teaching. Reciprocal teaching involves an interactive dialogue between a teacher and a small group of students. Initially the teacher models the activities, after which teacher and students take turns being the teacher. If students are learning to ask questions during reading comprehension, the instructional sequence might include the teacher modelling a question-asking strategy to include checking on his or her own level of understanding. From a Vygotskian perspective, reciprocal teaching stresses social interaction and scaffolding as students gradually develop skills (Schunk, 2000:246). • Co-operative Learning Constructivist approaches to teaching typically make extensive use of co-operative learning, on the theory that students will more easily discover and comprehend difficult concepts if they talk with each other while solving problems co-operatively. Research shows that cooperative groups are most effective when each student has assigned responsibilities and all must attain competence before any are allowed to progress. The current emphasis on using peer groups for learning in fields such as mathematics, science, and language arts, attests to the recognised impact of the social environment during learning (Schunk, 2000:246; Slavin, 2000:259). 114 • Study unit 5 Discovery Learning Discovery learning is an important component of modern constructivist approaches that has a long history in education innovation. In discovery learning, students are encouraged to learn largely on their own through active involvement with concepts and principles. Teachers encourage students to have experiences and conduct experiments that permit them to discover principles for themselves. Bruner (1966, quoted by Slavin, 2000:260), an advocate of discovery learning, put it this way: “We teach a subject not to produce little living libraries on that subject, but rather to get a student to think, to consider matters as an historian does, to take part in the process of knowledge-getting. Knowing is a process, not a product”. Discovery learning has several advantages. It arouses students’ curiosity, motivating them to continue to work until they find answers. Students also learn independent problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, because they must analyse and manipulate information (Slavin, 2000:260). Construct a mind map in your workbooks that summarises Vygotsky’s view of cognitive development. 5.4 TYPES OF CONSTRUCTIVISM As with information processing views, there is no one constructivist theory of learning. For example, there are constructivist approaches in science and mathematics education, in educational psychology and anthropology, and in computer-based education. Some constructivist views emphasise the shared, social construction of knowledge; others see social forces as less important (Schunk, 2000:230); Woolfolk, 1998:277). 115 Study unit 5 Constructivism is not a unified perspective, but is expressed in many forms or approaches, which can be organised into three categories of exogenous, endogenous, and dialectical constructivism. 5.4.1 Exo g e n o u s Co n s tru c tivis m Exogenous constructivism holds that the acquisition of knowledge represents a reconstruction of structures that exist in the external world. Exogenous constructivism focuses on the ways that individuals reconstruct outside reality by building accurate mental representations such as propositional networks, schemes, and condition-action production rules. Thus, in exogenous constructivism, learning is building accurate mental structures that reflect "the way things really are” in the world. (Think of exo as reflecting the external world) (Schunk, 2000:230; Woolfolk, 1998:277). This view posits a strong influence of the external world on knowledge construction, such as by experiences, teaching, and exposure to models. Knowledge is accurate to the extent it reflects reality. Contemporary information processing theories reflect this notion in concepts such as schemata, productions, and memory networks. Many aspects of information processing are therefore consistent with exogenous constructivism (Schunk, 2000:230; Woolfolk, 1998:277). 5.4.2 En d o g e n o u s Co n s tru c tivis m At the other extreme, endogenous constructivism emphasises the co-ordination of cognitive actions. Endogenous constructivism assumes that new knowledge is abstracted from old knowledge. Knowledge is not shaped by accurately mapping the outside world. Knowledge structures are created out of earlier structures, not directly from environmental information; therefore, knowledge is not a mirror of the external world acquired through experiences, teaching, or social interactions. Knowledge develops through the cognitive activity of abstraction and follows a generally predictable sequence. Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development is an example of endogenous constructivism (Schunk, 2000:230; Woolfolk, 1998:277). 116 Study unit 5 5.4.3 Dia le c tic a l Co n s tru c tivis m Between the extremes of exogenous constructivism and endogenous constructivism lies dialectical constructivism, which suggests that knowledge grows through the interactions of internal (cognitive) and external (environmental and social) factors. Constructions are not invariably bound to the external world nor are they wholly the result of the workings of the mind; rather, they reflect the outcomes of mental contradictions that result from interactions with the environment. This perspective has become closely aligned with many contemporary theories. For example, it is compatible with Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory with its emphasis on the reciprocal interactions between people, behaviours, and environment. Vygotsky's description of cognitive development through the internalisation and use of cultural tools such as language, is an example of dialectical constructivism (Schunk, 2000:230; Woolfolk, 1998:278). Table 5.2 summarises the three kinds of constructivism. Which one of these perspectives do you think should be used by teachers? Why do you think so? Each of these perspectives has merit and is potentially useful for research and teaching. Exogenous views are appropriate when we are interested in determining how accurately learners perceive the structure of knowledge within a domain. The endogenous perspective is relevant to explore how learners develop from novices through greater levels of competence. The dialectical view is useful for designing interventions to challenge children's thinking and for research aimed at exploring the effectiveness of social influences such as exposure to models and peer collaboration (Schunk, 2000:230). Table 5.2 Three Types of Constructivism Example Theories Type Assumptions about Learning and Knowledge Exogenous Knowledge is acquired by constructing a representation Information of the outside world. Direct teaching, feedback, and Processing explanation affect learning. Knowledge is accurate to the extent that it reflects the 'way things really are" in the outside world. Endogenous Knowledge is constructed by transforming, organising, Piaget and reorganising previous knowledge. Knowledge is not a mirror of the external world, even though experience 117 Study unit 5 influences thinking and thinking influences knowledge. Exploration and discovery are more important than teaching. Dialectical Knowledge is constructed based on social interactions Vygotsky and experience. Knowledge reflects the outside world as filtered through and influenced by culture, language, beliefs, interactions with others, direct teaching, and modelling. Guided discovery, teaching, models, and coaching as well as the individual's prior knowledge, beliefs, and thinking affect learning. (Woolfolk, 1998:279) Are you applying the principles of constructivism when you teach? If yes, which type of constructivism explains best how you teach? 5.5 KNOWLEDGE: ACCURACY VERSUS USEFULNESS As you can see from Table 5.2, a fundamental difference between exogenous and other constructivists is that exogenous theorists assume the world is knowable; there is an objective reality “out there,” and an individual can understand it. The understanding may be more or less accurate - knowledge constructions may be filled with misconceptions about how the world operates. For example, young children sometimes construct a subtraction procedure that says, "subtract the smaller number from the larger number, no matter which number in a problem is on top." Many of the more extreme constructivist perspectives, on the other hand, do not assume that the world is knowable. They suggest that all knowledge is constructed and based not only on prior knowledge, but also the cultural and social context. They point out that what is true in one time and place - such as the "fact" before Columbus's time that the earth was flat becomes false in another time and place. These constructivists are not concerned with accurate, “true" representations of the world, but only with useful constructions (Woolfolk, 1998:278). Radical constructivists hold that we live in a relativistic world that can only be understood from individually unique perspectives, which are constructed through experimental activity in the social-physical world. No individual's viewpoint thus constructed should he viewed as inherently distorted or less correct than another's, although it is certainly true that one individual perspective can be more useful than another (Derry, 1992, quoted by Woolfolk, 1998:279). Particular ideas may be useful within a specific community of practice, such as fifteenth century navigation, but useless outside that community. What counts as new knowledge is determined in part by how well the new idea fits with current accepted practice. Over time, the current practice may be questioned and even overthrown, but until such major shifts occur, current practice will shape what is considered useful (Woolfolk, 1998:279). 118 Study unit 5 The idea of a community of practice brings us to another, related view of learning that is increasingly influential in teaching - situated learning (Woolfolk, 1998:279). 5.6 SITUATED LEARNING Information processing, as well as some constructivist perspectives such as that of Piaget, tends to focus on the individual information processor as he or she tries to make sense of the world. Thus, cognitive psychologists study individual and developmental differences, but may ignore the social situation in which learning occurs. In contrast, psychologists who emphasise the social construction of knowledge and situated learning affirm Vygotsky's notion that learning is inherently social and embedded in a particular cultural setting. Learning in the real world is not like studying in school. It is more like an apprenticeship where novices, with the support of an expert guide and model, take on more and more responsibility until they are able to function independently. For those who take a situated learning view, this explains learning in factories, around the dinner table, in high school halls, in street gangs, in the business office, and on the playground (Woolfolk, 1998:280). Situated learning is often described as “enculturation," or adopting the norms, behaviours, skills, beliefs, language, and attitudes of a particular community. The community might be mathematicians or gang members or readers or teachers or students in your eighth-grade class or Republicans - any group that has particular ways of thinking and doing. Knowledge is seen not as individual cognitive structures but as a creation of the community over time. The practices of the community - the ways of interacting and getting things done, as well as the tools the community has created - constitute the knowledge of that community. Learning means becoming more able to participate in those practices and use the tools (Woolfolk, 1998:280). At the most basic level, "situated learning ... emphasises the idea that much of what is learned is specific to the situation in which it is learned" (Anderson, Reder, & Simon, 1996, quoted by Woolfolk, 1998:280). Thus, some would argue, learning to do calculations in school may help students do more school calculations, but may not help them balance a chequebook, because the skills can be applied only in the context in which they were learned, namely school. 119 Study unit 5 One implication is that students should learn skills and knowledge in meaningful contexts, with connections to the "real-life" situations in which the knowledge and skills will he useful (Woolfolk, 1998:280). There is evidence that much learning is tied to the situation in which it was learned. But it also appears that knowledge and skills can be applied across contexts that were not part of the initial learning situation, as when you use your ability to read and calculate to do your income taxes, even though income tax forms were not part of your high school curriculum (Woolfolk, 1998:280). Many of the efforts to reform and restructure schools are attempts to apply constructivist perspectives on teaching and learning to the curriculum and organisation of entire schools. As a summary of the different perspectives on learning, Table 5.3 (below) presents the behavioural perspective and selected constructivist perspectives on learning (Woolfolk, 1998:280). Educators and psychologists who take constructivist and situated approaches are among the strongest voices speaking in favour of student-centred teaching. They emphasise the importance of students' construction of knowledge and the difficulty of transferring learning from the situation in which it was learned to new applications. Constructivist approaches to teaching recommend: complex, challenging learning environments; social negotiation and shared responsibility as part of learning; multiple representations of content; understanding that knowledge is constructed; and student-centred instruction. Inquiry, group work and cooperative learning, instructional conversations, and cognitive apprenticeships are examples of teaching approaches based on constructivist and situated theories of learning. These methods make minimal use of rote memorisation. An important part of many of the approaches is student discussion - asking questions and giving explanations. Co-operative learning is a potentially valuable approach, if groups are carefully planned and monitored and if students are taught how to co-operate for productive learning (Woolfolk, 2000:366). 120 Study unit 5 5.7 COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT VIEWS OF LEARNING See Table 5.3 for a comparison of behavioural and constructivist theories of leaning. Table 5.3 Four Views of Learning Behavioural Exogenous Constructivism Endogenous Constructivism Dialectical Constructivism/ Situated learning Skinner J Anderson Piaget Vygotsky Fixed body of knowledge to acquire Fixed body of knowledge to acquire Changing body of knowledge, individually constructed in social world Socially constructed knowledge Stimulated from outside Stimulated from outside. Prior knowledge influences how information is processed Built on what learner brings Built on what participants contribute, construct together Acquisition of facts, skills, concepts Acquisition of facts, skills, concepts, and strategies Active construction, restructuring prior knowledge Collaborative construction of socially defined knowledge and values Occurs through drill, guided practice Occurs through the effective application of strategies Occurs through multiple opportunities and diverse processes to connect to what is already known Occurs through socially constructed opportunities Transmission Transmission Challenge, guide thinking toward more complete understanding Co-construct knowledge with students Presentation (Telling) Guide students toward more accurate and complete knowledge Manager, supervisor Teach and model effective strategies Facilitator, guide Facilitator, guide Correct wrong answers Correct misconceptions Listen for student's current conceptions, ideas, thinking Co-construct different interpretation of knowledge; listen to socially constructed conceptions Role of peers Not usually considered Not necessary but can influence information processing Not necessary but can stimulate thinking, raise questions Ordinary part of process of knowledge construction Role of student Passive reception of information Active processor of information, strategy user Active construction (within mind) Active co-construction with others and self Active listener, directionfollower Organiser and reorganiser of information Active thinker, explainer, interpreter, questioner Active thinker, explainer, interpreter, questioner Knowledge Learning Teaching Role of Teacher Rememberer Co-participant Active social participator (Woolfolk, 1998:281). 121 Study unit 5 Write a summary of this unit that can be used as an example of an answer to an exam question such as Write an essay on the constructivist view of learning. Without looking at the text again, see how well you studied this unit by answering the following questions in writing in your workbook: 1. What is one of the most important principles of educational psychology? (par. 4.1) 2. How can you as a teacher help the learners in your class to construct knowledge in their own minds? (par. 4.1) 3. What is the essence of the constructivist theory of learning? 4. What are the basic assumptions of constructivist theory? 5. Consider the different grades you teach. What are the cognitive characteristics of the learners in these grades according to Piaget’s view of cognitive development? 6. Which four principles have been derived from Vygotsky’s view of cognitive development that should guide instruction and learning? 7. What are the practical implications of Vygotsky’s view of cognitive development? 8. Distinguish between the different types of constructivism. 9. What is situated learning? 10 Which variables, according to the constructivist views of learning, have the most important influence on learning? Explain to your group why teachers should adopt the constructivist approach to instruction and learning. Re fe re n c e s Schunk, D.H. 2000. Learning theories. An educational perspective. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merril. Slavin, R. E. 2000. Educational Psychology. Theory and practice. 6 th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Woolfolk, A. E. 1998. Educational Psychology. 7 th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 122 Study unit 6 6 STRATEGIC LEARNING AND THE VARIABLES THAT INFLUENCE LEARNING It ought to take you 8 hours to study this unit. 6.1 INTRODUCTION We now know how different theories of learning view learning and we have identified the variables we think affect learning from the perspectives of each of these theories. In this Study unit we are going to examine the variables that influence learning in depth. If we know which variables have a pronounced effect on learning and how they affect learning, we can develop a concept of an effective or successful learner. On the basis of our concept of an effective learner we then base our approach to teaching and our teaching strategies. In this Study unit we are not only going to look at the variables that influence learning, we are also going to look at the effective learner. Some of you may prefer the concept effective learning, however. If you review the literature on the effective learner/learning, you’ll find the following related concepts: • • Autonomous learner/learning. • Self-regulated learner/learning. • Independent learner/learning. • Expert learner/learning. Strategic learner/learning. Although related, they differ from one another because they view effective learning from different perspectives. In this module we are going to deal with effective learning from the perspective of the strategic learner or if you prefer, from the perspective of strategic learning. 123 Study unit 6 On completion of this Study unit you should be able to • • • distinguish clearly between how the different theories of learning view the variables that influence learning; analyse the characteristics of strategic learner; and discuss how epistemological beliefs influence learning. A whole variety of variables exist that influence learning. These variables can be divided into different categories. Categories of learning can focus on the social and physical environment (e.g. the home and the school), the teacher (personality and instructional skills), and the learner (goal orientation, prior knowledge, time on learning, learning strategies, etc.). Draw a table in your workbook, similar to Table 6.1, and in each column write the variables you think influence learning in that category. Also return to each of units 2-5 where you identified the variables that affect learning according to each of the perspectives or learning theories and copy those variables into Table 6.1 if they have not been included. Table 6.1 Variables that Influence Learning Environmental Variables Home 124 School Teacher Variables Learner Variables Study unit 6 1. Which of these variables, according to your point of view, have the most important influence on learning? 2. Motivate your choice of variables. Compare your categories and list of variables with those of the other students in your group. What are the similarities and differences between your lists? Can you attain consensus as far as the really important variables are concerned? Since it is not always easy to categorise variables, you may find that there are variables that do not allow you to divide them into clear-cut categories. How one categorises variables depends on one’s view of learning. In this Study unit we are going to focus on learner variables that influence learning not that the other variables are not important; they will be discussed in other modules, namely: LEON 612 Teaching Perspectives LEON 614 Classroom Communication LEON 613 The OBE Curriculum The learner variables influencing learning will not be studied in isolation, however, but within the context of the effective or strategic learner. This will enable us to identify the most important variables that influence learning in the actual classroom. Before we focus on the strategic learner it is important to first take cognisance of how the different theories of learning view the variables that influence learning. 6.2 HOW THE THEORIES OF LEARNING VIEW THE VARIABLES THAT INFLUENCE LEARNING One’s view of learning determines how one approaches learning, as well as one’s conception of which variables have the most pronounced impact on learning. 125 Study unit 6 6.2.1 Le a rn e r a n d En viro n m e n ta l Va ria b le s Behavioural and cognitive theories agree that differences both among learners and in the environment can affect learning, but they diverge in the relative emphasis given to these two groups of variables. Behavioural theories stress the role of the environment; specifically, how stimuli are arranged and presented and how responses are reinforced. Behavioural theories assign less importance to learner differences than do cognitive theories. Two learner variables that behavioural theories do consider are prior reinforcement history (the extent to which the individual was reinforced in the past for performing the same or similar behaviour) and developmental status (what the individual is capable of doing given his or her present physical and mental development). Thus, mental limitations will hinder learning of complex skills, and physical disabilities may preclude acquisition of motor behaviours (Schunk, 2000:12). Cognitive theories acknowledge the role of environmental conditions as facilitators of learning. Teachers' explanations and demonstrations of concepts serve as environmental inputs for students. Student practice of skills, combined with corrective feedback as needed, promotes learning. At the same time, cognitive theories contend that instructional factors alone do not fully account for students' learning. What students do with information - how they attend to, rehearse, transform, code, store, and retrieve it - is critically important. How learners process information determines what, when, and how they learn, as well as what use they will make of the learning (Schunk, 2000:12). Cognitive theories emphasise the role of learners' thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and values. For example, learners who doubt their capabilities to learn may not properly attend to the task or may work half-heartedly on it, which retards learning. Learner thoughts such as "Why is this important?' or "How well am I doing?" can affect learning. Teachers need to attend to these thoughts in their lesson planning. Behavioural theories do not deny that these mental activities exist, but rather contend that they are not necessary to explain learning (Schunk, 2000:12). Explain how behavioural and cognitive theories of learning differ in how they view learner and environmental variables. 6.2.2 Th e Ro le o f Mo tiva tio n Theories of learning diverge in the role they assign to motivation. Behavioural theories define motivation as an increased rate or probability of occurrence of behaviour, which results from repeating behaviours in response to stimuli or as a consequence of reinforcement. Skinner's operant conditioning theory contains no new principles to account for motivation: Motivated 126 Study unit 6 behaviour is increased or continued responding produced by effective reinforcement. Students motivated to learn choose a task, persist at it, and expend effort to succeed, all of which are behaviours. Internal processes such as needs, cognitions, and emotions are not necessary to explain motivated behaviour. Students display motivated behaviour because they previously were reinforced for it and because effective reinforcers are present. Thus, behavioural theories do not distinguish motivation from learning but rather use the same principles to explain all behaviour (Schunk, 2000:12). In contrast, cognitive theories view motivation and learning as related but not identical. Another point is that although reinforcement can motivate students, its effects on behaviour are not automatic but instead depend on how students interpret it. Students engage in activities they believe will be reinforced. When reinforcement history (what one has been reinforced for doing in the past) conflicts with present beliefs, people are more likely to act based on their beliefs. Research has identified many cognitive processes that motivate students; for example, goals, social comparisons, self-efficacy. By ignoring such processes behavioural theories cannot fully account for the complexity of human motivation (Schunk, 2000:12). 1. Explain how behavioural theories distinguish motivation from learning. 2. How do cognitive theories view reinforcement? 6.2.3 Th e Ro le o f Me m ory Learning theories differ in the role they assign to memory. Little behavioural research exists on the role of memory. Some behavioural theories conceive of memory in terms of neurological connections established as a function of behaviours being associated with external stimuli. More commonly, theorists discuss the formation of habitual ways of responding with little attention to how these behavioural patterns are retained in memory and activated by external events. Most behavioural theories view forgetting as caused by lack of responding over time (Schunk, 2000:13). Cognitive theories assign a prominent role to memory. Information processing theories equate learning with encoding, or storing knowledge in memory in an organised, meaningful fashion. Information is retrieved from memory in response to relevant cues that activate the appropriate memory structures. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information from memory caused by interference, memory loss, or inadequate cues to access information. Thus, memory is critical for learning and how information is learned determines how it is stored in and retrieved from memory (Schunk, 2000:13). One’s perspective on the role of memory has important implications for teaching. Behavioural theories posit that periodic, spaced reviews maintain responses' strength in learners' repertoires. Cognitive theories place greater emphasis on presenting material so that learners can organise it, relate it to what they know, and remember it in a meaningful fashion (Schunk, 2000:13). 127 Study unit 6 Cognitive theories emphasise that motivation can help to direct attention and influence how information is processed. Social cognitive theory contends that motivation affects observational learning - a key form of human learning - and operates largely through such mechanisms as goal setting, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations (Schunk, 2000:14). How does one’s perspective on the role of memory affects one’s teaching? 6.3 THE STRATEGIC LEARNER Define or explain the concept effective learning from your point of view at this stage. 6.3.1 In tro d u c tio n Strategic learners are expert learners that possess a variety of different types of knowledge. They have knowledge about themselves as learners, of different types of academic tasks and of what is required to complete different tasks successfully. They possess prior knowledge, knowledge of learning strategies, and know how to use such knowledge to set realistic learning goals. Strategic learners monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their attempts to attain their learning goals and are able to make the necessary adjustments if they judge that they are not going to attain their goals (Weinstein & Meyer, 1994:3326). Strategic learners not only possess the above-mentioned knowledge bases and the ability to use such knowledge, but are also motivated to attain their learning goals. Strategic learners are also willing to accept responsibility for their own learning (Zimmerman, 1990). 6.3.2 Ch a ra c te ris tic s o f S tra te gic Le a rn e rs Skim through paragraph 6.3 to get an idea of the characteristics of the strategic learner. After having skimmed the section, take a blank page on which you can construct a mind map of the strategic learner. As you study each of the characteristics of the strategic learner, construct a detailed mind map of the strategic learner in your workbook, which you can use as a summary of this unit. 128 Study unit 6 6.3.2.1 Goal Setting Strategic learners are learners who set goals, which they work with diligence to attain. They know how to set and use realistic, yet challenging, learning goals. Goals help to give direction to their study and learning activities by serving as standards or criteria for the evaluation of the effectiveness of their learning. Without a goal one does not know what one is striving towards and it is impossible to map out a route or strategy. Goals vary according to their properties of specificity, proximity, challenge, commitment, difficulty, and goal orientation. Specific goals boost performance through the greater specification of the amount of effort required for success and the self-satisfaction anticipated (Schunk, 1990:74). On the basis of how far they extend into the future, a distinction is made between proximal and distant goals. Proximal goals refer to goals, which are closer at hand than distant goals, which lie further into the future (Bandura & Schunk, 1981:587). It is easier to gauge progress towards a proximal goal than towards a distant goal. Proximal goals result in greater motivation and enhance achievement as they convey more reliable information about one’s capabilities, knowledge and skills than distant goals (Schunk, 1991:97). Goal difficulty can be defined as the level of task proficiency required when assessed against a standard (Schunk, 1991:92). The effort learners expend to attain a goal depends on the level at which it is set. Students expend greater effort to attain a difficult goal than when the standard is lower (Covington, 1984:80). Although learners initially may doubt their abilities to attain difficult goals, making progress towards difficult goals can build a strong sense of (self-) efficacy, because progress towards goal attainment confirms that they possess the necessary skills to overcome obstacles (Schunk, 1991:92). Goal-orientation refers to a student’s reasons for engaging in a task. Goal-orientation distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic-orientated students. Intrinsic-orientated students offer various reasons for learning such as mastery, challenge, learning, and curiosity. Extrinsic-orientated students are more orientated to extrinsic reasons such as grades, rewards, and approval from others (Pintrich & Schrauben, 1992:155). Intrinsic-orientated students approach a task with a focus on learning and mastery, while extrinsic-orientated students are assumed to approach a task with a focus on performance or to please others. The former students use deeper processing strategies, while the latter use surface processing strategies (Pintrich and Schrauben, 1992:156). 129 Study unit 6 Goals do not automatically affect performances. Goals do not influence behaviour when students do not commit themselves to attain them (Schunk, 1991:92). Goal-commitment determines the amount of effort expended on a learning task (Bandura, 1986:478). It is important to help students to set and use learning goals to help them become more selfregulated, strategic learners. How would you explain the properties of effective goals to the students in your class to help them to set realistic and effective goals? Students do not merely set goals and achieve them. To set realistic goals requires knowledge. To become a strategic learner, a student needs at least the following different kinds of knowledge or knowledge bases: knowledge about themselves as learners; knowledge about learning tasks; knowledge about learning strategies, and prior knowledge. 6.3.2.2 Strategic Learners Know Themselves as Learners Knowing about how one learns is concerned with students’ awareness of themselves as learners, that is, how reflective they are about themselves as learners and how tuned in they are to themselves as learners. To be effective students need to be aware of themselves as learners. Successful students know which learning style they prefer, which subjects are easier or more difficult for them to learn, and what the best and worst times of the day are for them to study (Shute, 1994:3326; Weinstein & Meyer, 1991:19). Such knowledge helps students to set realistic, yet challenging goals, to schedule their study activities and to determine the kinds of resources or assistance they will need to accomplish their learning goals (Weinstein, In press; Weinstein, 1987:593). 130 Study unit 6 6.3.2.3 Strategic Learners have Knowledge about Learning Tasks Along with knowing about themselves as learners, students also need to know about the characteristics of the subjects they take and the variety of learning tasks they will encounter in these subjects (Blumenfeld, Mergendoller & Swarthout, 1987:136; Paris & Newman, 1990:91). To learn effectively students need to know about the tasks they will have to perform as well as the desired outcomes. Students’ perceptions of the specific abilities different learning tasks require, not only influence their approach towards, but also their cognitions and behaviours while working on their tasks (Blumenfeld et al., 1987:136; Weinstein & Meyer, 1991:19). The nature of a task organises and guides information processing as the task determines the cognitive and metacognitive strategies that are required for successful performance on the task (Pintrich, 1989:136). Blumenfeld et al. (1987:136) assert that students ask themselves questions such as “What do I have to do?”, “Can I do it?” and “Do I want to do it?” when they have to perform a task. The answers to these questions influence the students’ perceptions of the purpose of the task, their understanding of the procedures to be followed, their perceptions of the taskspecific abilities required to perform a task, and their interest in completing the task. Doyle (1987: quoted by Blumenfeld et al., 1987:136) differentiates between the content and the form of a task (See Figure 6.1). Task content includes the outcomes students are expected to attain as well as the actual material or subject matter they have to learn. Both objectives and subject matter vary in the difficulties they present for students. Different learning objectives not only require different levels of cognitive processing, but also different prerequisite skills, while the difficulty of the content of a task affects students’ use of learning strategies as well as their perceptions of efficacy and expectancies (Blumenfeld et al., 1987:137; Pintrich, 1989:137). Students’ reactions to content are also influenced by their beliefs about its inherent appeal, its difficulty, and their familiarity with the topic (Pintrich, 1989:125). Tasks can also be characterised according to their form irrespective of their content. The forms of tasks differ in their purposes, the complexity of their procedures, the social organisation in which they are carried out, and the products that result (Blumenfeld et al., 1987:138). 131 Study unit 6 Figure 6.1 The elements of a learning task (Blumenfeld et al., 1987:138) Although it is the content of a task that determines the cognitive operations that are required to attain the learning objectives, it is the complexity of the form of a task, its procedures, the product, and social organisation that affect how students will approach a task, how they will think and how they will work (Blumenfeld et al., 1987:140). Pintrich (1989:139) discusses two dimensions of the classroom context, i.e. the reward structure and the goal structure, that contribute to how a task is experienced by students. These dimensions help to define the social and interactive relationships among students concerning their independence or interdependence. Reward structure refers to how rewards are distributed among students while goal structure refers to how a task is designed to be accomplished by students (Pintrich, 1989:140). To be strategic, learners need to understand the nature of each of the tasks they will encounter in school. They need to understand the characteristics of each task; what is required to complete individual tasks; what standards of performance are required; and what they will need to do to demonstrate that they have learned something. Without such knowledge they are unlikely to plan effectively to reach their learning goals. Be prepared to explain how you would teach the learners in your class how to analyse a learning task or an assignment they have to complete. 132 Study unit 6 6.3.2.4 Strategic Learners have Knowledge About Learning Strategies A core component op strategic learning is students’ repertoire of cognitive learning strategies. Strategic learners not only know about and how to use a variety of study skills and learning strategies for different learning goals, but also know which learning strategies are appropriate to attain specific goals. Learning strategies can be defined as the behaviours and thoughts that learners engage in either prior to, during, or after performance of a learning task. These learning strategies are intended to facilitate information processing, i.e. the integration of new information with existing or prior knowledge to facilitate understanding, and the acquisition of knowledge and skills to help reach a learning goal (Alexander & Judy, 1988:376; Klauer, 1988:355; Weinstein & Mayer, 1986:315; Mayer, 1988:11). Alexander, Schallert & Hare (1991:333) define such knowledge as strategic knowledge, i.e. knowledge of those processes that are consciously invoked to facilitate the acquisition and utilisation of knowledge. Strategic knowledge is necessary for the efficient and effective learning of content knowledge (Alexander & Judy, 1988:388). Strategic knowledge includes knowledge of cognitive and metacognitive strategies (Alexander et al., 1991:329). Knowledge of strategies in itself though is not sufficient to ensure effective and efficient learning. A learner also needs to know how to use each of the different cognitive learning strategies, as well as knowing when it is appropriate to use each of them (Paris, Lipson & Wixson, 1983:302). Students thus need to have declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge of learning strategies to become strategic learners (Paris et al., 1983:302). Declarative knowledge about learning strategies includes students’ knowledge of the variety of learning strategies that can be used to accomplish learning tasks, and knowledge that different tasks and learning goals require different learning strategies. Procedural knowledge about learning strategies includes knowledge about how each of the learning strategies operates. Conditional knowledge about learning strategies includes knowing when and why a particular learning strategy, and not a different one, should be used. A wide variety of learning strategies exist. These strategies can be categorised into cognitive learning strategies, comprehension-monitoring or metacognitive strategies, affective strategies, and resource management strategies (Weinstein & Mayer, 1986:317; Pintrich, 1989:130; Pintrich & Schrauben, 1991:159). 133 Study unit 6 • Cognitive learning strategies Cognitive learning strategies involve the plans or techniques that learners employ to generate meaningful connections between the new information that they are trying to learn, and knowledge already organised in their memory (i.e. prior knowledge). The more connections that can be generated during learning, the more meaning will be created for new information to be learned, thus the deeper the level of processing and comprehension (Weinstein, 1988:293). • Metacognitive or comprehension monitoring strategies Metacognitive or comprehension monitoring strategies are concerned with the individual’s knowledge about his cognitive processes, as well as his ability to control such processes through planning, monitoring, regulating, and modifying them as a function of learning outcomes (Weinstein, 1987:592). • Affective strategies Affective strategies include those methods students use to help create and maintain climates conducive to effective learning. The use of these strategies helps to focus attention and eliminate internal and external distractions that can adversely affect concentration while completing a task (Weinstein, 1987:592). • Resource management strategies Resource management refers to all the sources a student can use to make learning easier. Resource management strategies are designed to assist students in managing such resources in terms of effort and persistence. They are aimed at helping students to manage the time they have available for a given task, their study environment, seeking social assistance in the form of help from either their teachers or class friends, and to manage their effort as they attempt learning tasks. Resource management strategies, thus, are concerned with the strategies students can use to manage their environment and the resources they can use to facilitate their learning (Pintrich, 1989:133; Pintrich & Schrauben, 1991:162). In summary, to select strategies that will help students meet their learning goals; they must not only have knowledge about learning strategies, but must also know themselves as learners, and know about the characteristics of the tasks they are to perform. Students’ knowledge about their own strengths and weaknesses as learners, and what they know about the nature and requirements for the different tasks they have to perform, interacts with their knowledge of learning strategies, to help them select and use appropriate strategies both effectively and efficiently. 134 Study unit 6 6.3.2.5 Strategic Learners Apply Prior Knowledge2 Students' ability to learn new material is not only influenced by strategic knowledge, i.e. their knowledge of and ability to apply learning strategies, but also by their prior knowledge. Prior knowledge, defined as the sum of what a learner knows (Alexander, Schallert & Hare, 1991:333), includes a student's history of cognitive functioning and academic outcomes. What learners already know (i.e. prior knowledge) exerts a powerful influence on what they come to know (Alexander et al., 1994:314). A basis of prior knowledge is an important prerequisite for the efficient and effective utilisation of strategic knowledge (Alexander & Judy, 1988:384). Strategic learners understand the role of relevant prior knowledge and can use this knowledge to help them learn things (Alexander and Judy, 1988:384). Lacking a sufficient knowledge base on which to build new learning makes learning a difficult task. Relevant knowledge not only strengthens new learning by generating meaningful relations to new information, but adds organisation and elaboration. Without relevant prior knowledge, a learner will find it difficult to effectively and efficiently apply elaboration and organisation strategies as both these kinds of learning strategies build upon prior knowledge. Be prepared to explain how a teacher should base a lesson on students’ prior knowledge. 6.3.2.6 Strategic Learners are Metacognitively Aware and Possess Metacognitive Knowledge To learn effectively a student needs more than attaining a learning goal and knowledge about him/herself as learner, the learning task, learning strategies, and about the variables that affect learning. A student also needs to know how to use such knowledge. Such knowledge should be evaluated and the outcomes of such evaluations should guide a student’s future learning activities. Students’ knowledge about their cognitive processes, the variables that affect learning and their ability to control their cognitive processes and use such knowledge is referred to as metacognition. Following Jacobs & Paris (1987:258), metacognition refers to the selfappraisal or knowledge of cognition and the self-management or control of cognition. 2 Background knowledge, knowledge of course contents (Alexander & Judy, 1988:381), domain knowledge, and prior knowledge all refer to the same construct (Alexander, Schallert & Hare, 1991:320). The term prior knowledge will be used in this Study unit. 135 Study unit 6 • • Knowledge of cognition refers to what a student knows about the variables that affect learning and involves three subcategories of knowledge, i.e. declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge. Self-management or the control of cognition refers to the dynamic aspects of translating one’s declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge into action by planning, monitoring or evaluating, and regulating the process of learning (Jacobs & Paris, 1987:259). According to Paris and Winograd (1990:29) effective learners engage in more planning activities than poor learners. Explain the concept metacognition in your own words. 6.3.2.7 Strategic Learners Want to Learn Strategic learners not only know a lot about learning, but are also motivated to be effective learners. There two motivational variables are considered to be of utmost importance for strategic learning, i.e. self-efficacy and attributions. • Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is defined as a student’s personal beliefs about his capabilities to organise and implement the actions necessary to attain designated performance levels or outcomes (Schunk, 1994:84). Self-efficacy is not concerned with the skills one has but with one’s judgements of what one can do with whatever skills one possesses (Bandura, 1986:391). Self-efficacy is hypothesised to influence students’ choice of learning activities, the effort they are willing to expend, and their persistence during task completion. Bandura (1986:391) distinguishes between efficacy and outcome expectations. Efficacy and outcome expectations are differentiated because learners may believe that a certain course of action will produce a certain outcome (i.e. outcome expectations), but may not act on those outcome beliefs because they doubt their capabilities (i.e. efficacy expectations) to execute such actions (Bandura, 1986:392). The strength of students’ convictions about their own effectiveness (i.e. self-efficacy) determines whether they will try to cope with difficult tasks or not. 136 Study unit 6 What example would you use to illustrate the difference between efficacy and outcome expectations? • Attributions What was the biggest success you experienced last year? Did you experience any unexpected failures? What was your biggest failure last year? To what do you attribute (1) your biggest successes and (2) your biggest failures last year? Copy the following table and write the reasons for your successes and failures in the appropriate columns. The reasons for My biggest successes last year My biggest failures last year Now analyse these reasons by using the following questions: 1. Which of these reasons are fixed or stable and can’t be changed? 2. Which of these reasons can be controlled? 3. Which of these reasons are internal (i.e. reside within you)? Do you feel that you are in charge of yourself and what happens to you? If not, do you feel that outside forces beyond your control are in charge of your life? The reasons people give to explain their successes and failures are called attributions. Thus, instead of asking someone what the reason for failing a test is, one may ask to what the failure is attributed. 137 Study unit 6 Attributions are defined as a student’s interpretation of the causes of his successes and failures, or his endeavour to understand the environment and himself (Weiner, 1985:548). Such understanding is functional, since it enables a student to determine whether s/he her/himself or external causes have been instrumental in causing the results. Strategic learning depends on students making attributions that enhance motivation. There are an infinite number of reasons or attributions that students can use to explain their successes and failures. Students’ (prior) knowledge about the variables that affect their learning outcomes is an important source of information that guides the attributions they make. On the basis of their past performance in a subject or course, students form perceptions of their effectiveness as students, thus whether they are good or poor students. They know how much they usually put in when studying, what their aptitude is for specific subjects or courses, as well as for the different components of courses that constitute a specific course, or for the different tasks they have to complete in a course. They also know which courses or types of tasks are difficult or not, and how strict a teacher is when evaluating assignments and tests. On the basis of such information they make attributions that will influence their future performance. These diverse reasons or attributions can be grouped along three basic dimensions of locus, stability, and controllability. The stability dimension, which ranges from fixed or stable to variable or unstable, concerns the changeability of a cause over time and across different situations. The locus dimension refers to causes that can be classified as either internal or external to the individual. The locus dimension thus relates to the influence of personal and environmental factors on a learner’s behaviour. Internal control students believe that their grades depend on their own ability, skills, or effort, whereas external control students believe that their grades are a function of luck or some external factor (Pintrich & Schunk, 1996:130). The control dimension involves the perception of how much control one has over a module and refers to causes that can be controlled or causes that cannot be controlled (Weiner, 1985:548; 1986:44,112). See figure 6.2 for a classification by locus, stability, and controllability of achievement attributions. Locus Stability Internal Controllable Uncontrollable Controllable Uncontrollable Long-term effort Aptitude Instructor bias/favouritism Ease/difficulty of school or course requirements Skills/ knowledge Health on the day of the exam Help from friends/teacher Chance Stable Unstable External Temporary or situation effort for an exam Mood Figure 6.2 Achievement attributions classified by locus, stability, and controllability (Pintrich & Schunk, 1996:134) 138 Study unit 6 Now go back to the reasons you gave for your successes and failures. Analyse these reasons and plot them on figure 6.2. If you were again asked the question of whether you are in charge of your life or not, how would you answer the question now? 6.3.2.8 Goal Orientation Another variable that influences how a learner learns is the learner’s goal orientation. Goal orientation theories were developed specifically for explaining achievement behaviour. (i.e. to explain learning and performance on academic tasks and in school settings.) As such, they are the most relevant and applicable goal theory for understanding and improving learning and instruction. Pintrich and Schunk (1996:234) define goal orientation as the purposes for engaging in achievement behaviour. Goal orientation represents an integrated pattern of beliefs that leads to different ways of approaching, engaging in, and responding to achievement situations. Although there may be a number of different goal orientations, the two that are always represented in the different goal orientation theories have been labelled learning and performance goals, or task-involved and ego-involved goals, or task-focused and abilityfocused goals (Pintrich & Schunk, 1996:234). Before you read further, how would you explain the difference between learning and performance goals? Students with a learning goal orientation are focused on learning, mastering a task according to self-set standards, developing new skills, improving their competence, trying to accomplish something challenging, and trying to gain understanding or insight. A performance goal orientation, in contrast to a learning orientation, represents a focus on relative ability and how ability will be judged, for example, trying to surpass normative standards, attempting to best others’ performance, and seeking public recognition of this performance level (Pintrich &Schunk, 1996:234). 139 Study unit 6 Study Table 6.2 for a comparison between students with a learning and students with a performance goal orientation. Table 6.2 Learning Versus Performance Goals Students with Learning Goals Students with Performance Goals Believe that competence develops over time through practice and effort. Believe that competence is a stable characteristic; people either have talent or they don’t. Choose tasks that maximise opportunities for learning. Choose tasks that maximise opportunities for demonstrating competence; avoid tasks and actions (e.g., asking for help) that make them look incompetent. Like problems that they will learn something from, even if they try hard but still get it wrong. Like problems that aren’t too hard, so they don’t have too many wrong. React to easy tasks with feelings of boredom or disappointment. React to easy tasks with feelings of pride or relief. Feel successful when they learn something interesting. Feel successful when they don’t have to try hard. View effort as something necessary to improve competence. View effort as a sign of low competence; think that competent people shouldn’t have to try very hard. Do school work because they like to learn. Do school work because they get grades. Are more likely to be intrinsically motivated to learn course material. Are more likely to be extrinsically motivated – that is, by expectations of external reinforcement and punishment – and are more likely to cheat to obtain good grades. Exhibit more self-regulated learning and behaviour. Exhibit less self-regulation. Use learning strategies that promote true comprehension of course material (e.g., meaningful learning, elaboration, comprehension monitoring. Use learning strategies that promote only rote learning (e.g., repetition, copying, word-forword memorisation). Evaluate their own performance in terms of the progress they make. Evaluate their own performance in terms of how they compare with others. View errors as a normal and useful part of the learning process; use errors to help improve performance. View errors as a sign of failure and incompetence. Are satisfied with their performance if they try hard, even if their efforts result in failure. Are satisfied with their performance only if they succeed. Interpret failure as a sign that they need to exert more effort. Interpret failure as a sign of low ability and therefore predictive of continuing failure in the 140 Study unit 6 future. View their teacher as a resource and guide to help them learn. View their teacher as a judge and as a rewarder or punisher. (Ormrod, 2000:482; Pintrich & Schunk, 1996:235). An analysis of Table 6.2 indicates that students with learning goals tend to engage in the very activities that will help them to learn. They pay attention in class, process information in ways that promote effective long-term memory storage; and learn from their mistakes. They have a healthy perspective about learning, effort, and failure. They realise that learning is a process of trying hard and continuing to persevere even in the face of temporary setbacks. Consequently, it is usually these students who benefit the most from their classroom experiences (Ormrod, 2000:484). In contrast, students with performance goals may avoid some of the very tasks that, because of their challenging nature, would do the most to help them master new skills. Furthermore, because these students exert only the minimal effort necessary to achieve desired performance outcomes, they may learn only a fraction of what their teachers have to offer them (Ormrod, 2000:484). 6.3.2.9 Epistemological Beliefs Answer the following questions? 1. Is learning a quick process or not? 2. What do you think of your learning ability if you don’t understand a chapter in a book the first time you read it? 3. Is knowledge certain or not? 4. Is knowledge fixed and stable? 5. How often do you question the source of knowledge? 6. Do you usually criticise what you read in a book or do you take it for granted that the book is correct or that what you read is the truth? The answers to these questions relate to what is called your epistemological beliefs. 141 Study unit 6 A learner’s epistemological beliefs are also important variables that influence learning (Cole, Goetz & Wilson, 1997). Epistemological beliefs refer to learners’ beliefs about how knowledge is acquired, their theories and beliefs of what knowledge is, and the way such epistemological beliefs influence their learning, thinking and reasoning (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997). Schommer (1990) developed a questionnaire to assess the epistemological beliefs of students, consisting of 12 subsets of items surveying students’ preferences for statements about knowledge and learning. A factor analysis of the questionnaire yielded a four-factor structure with factors reflecting beliefs (stated from a naive perspective) in simple knowledge, certain knowledge, the ability to learn is innate, and learning is quick. According to Jehng the epistemological beliefs of students vary along different dimensions, ranging on a continuum from naive (which does not facilitate learning) to sophisticated (which does facilitate learning). Within these dimensions, the nature of knowledge ranges from the belief that knowledge is simple to the belief that it is complex. The ability to learn ranges from the belief that the ability to learn is innate to the belief that it can be acquired. The certainty of knowledge ranges from the belief that knowledge is absolute to knowledge is tentative. The speed of learning ranges from the belief that knowledge is acquired quickly or not-at-all. Belief in quick learning predicts comprehension monitoring, quality of summarising, and test performance for social science and physical science passages in a negative way (Schommer, 1990). Belief in certain knowledge predicts that learners will interpret tentative information as certain (Schommer, 1990). Belief in simple knowledge predicts that learners with such beliefs will not monitor their comprehension of for example mathematical passages (Schommer et al., 1992), while belief in learning as a fixed ability predicts that in the case of a difficult task learners will not persist (Schommer, 1990). The continuum that varies from naive to sophisticated calls to mind the difference between surface and deep learning, thus between rote learning and meaningful learning. Learners with a naive view of learning will be inclined to surface learning, while learners with a sophisticated view of learning will be inclined to deep learning or learning to understand. Thus, learners who believe that knowledge is simple and certain, that the ability to learn is innate, and that learning is quick will be inclined to surface learning. What a learner believes about knowledge and learning affects the learner’s approach to learning and, ultimately, to what will be learned and how it will be learned. A learner’s epistemological beliefs can thus be linked to the learner’s perspective on the nature of and approach to learning. Now go back to the questions you answered before you studied this section on epistemological beliefs and evaluate your answers. How would you describe your view on or beliefs about knowledge and learning? Are you a naive or sophisticated learner? 142 Study unit 6 Be prepared to discuss how learners’ beliefs about knowledge and learning influence their learning and academic achievement. Without looking at the text again, see how well you studied this unit by answering the following questions in writing in your workbooks: 1. How do behavioural and cognitive theories differ in their views of how the following influence learning? - environmental variables, - motivation, - and memory 2. Explain the concept strategic learning. 3, Explain the properties of effective (or “good”) learning goals. 4. Explain the concept goal-orientation. 5. What kinds of knowledge are prerequisites for strategic or effective learning? 6. How does the content of a learning task differ from the form of a learning task? 7. What is the difference between declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge? 8. What is a learning strategy? 9. Why is prior knowledge such an important variable that affects academic learning? 10. Explain the concept metacognition. 11. What is the difference between self-efficacy and attributions? 12. How do these variables (self-efficacy and attributions) influence learning? Construct a detailed mind map that summarises this Study unit. 1. Explain to your group which two variables you consider to have the most pronounced effect on learning and explain why you consider these two variables the most important. 143 Study unit 6 2. Explain to the group how you are going to apply your knowledge of strategic learning to teach your specific subject. Re fe re n c e s Alexander, P.A. & Judy, J.E. 1988. 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