Overview of Learning Theories

Although there are many different approaches to learning, there are three basic types
of learning theory: behaviorist, cognitive constructivist, and social constructivist. This
section provides a brief introduction to each type of learning theory. The theories are
treated in four parts: a short historical introduction, a discussion of the view of
knowledge presupposed by the theory, an account of how the theory treats learning
and student motivation, and finally, an overview of some of the instructional methods
promoted by the theory is presented.

Behaviorism

Cognitive Constructivism

Social
Constructivism

View of
knowledge

Knowledge is a
repertoire of
behavioral
responses to
environmental
stimuli.

Knowledge systems of
cognitive structures are
actively constructed by
learners based on preexisting cognitive
structures.

Knowledge is
constructed within
social contexts
through interactions
with a knowledge
community.

View of
learning

Passive absorption
of a predefined
body of knowledge
by the learner.
Promoted by
repetition and
positive
reinforcement.

Active assimilation and

accommodation of new
information to existing
cognitive structures.
Discovery by learners.

Integration of
students into a
knowledge
community.
Collaborative
assimilation and
accommodation of
new information.

View of
motivation

Extrinsic, involving Intrinsic; learners set their

positive and
own goals and motivate
negative
themselves to learn.
reinforcement.

Implication Correct behavioral

s for
responses are
Teaching
transmitted by the
teacher and
absorbed by the
students.

The teacher facilitates

learning by providing an
environment that promotes
discovery and
assimilation/accommodatio
n.

Intrinsic and
extrinsic. Learning
goals and motives
are determined both
by learners and
extrinsic rewards
provided by the
knowledge
community.
Collaborative
learning is
facilitated and
guided by the
teacher. Group
work.

http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/learningoverview/

Behaviorism
Behaviorist teaching methods have proven most successful in areas
where there is a correct response or easily memorized material.
Background
View of Knowledge
View of Learning
View of Motivation
Implications for Teaching

Background
Methodological behaviorism began as a reaction against the introspective psychology
that dominated the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Introspective psychologists such
as Wilhelm Wundt maintained that the study of consciousness was the primary object
of psychology. Their methodology was primarily introspective, relying heavily on firstperson reports of sensations and the constituents of immediate experiences.
Behaviorists such as J. B. Watson and B. F. Skinner rejected introspectionist methods
as being subjective and unquantifiable. Instead, they focused on objectively
observable, quantifiable events and behavior. They argued that since it is not possible
to observe objectively or to quantify what occurs in the mind, scientific theories should
take into account only observable indicators such as stimulus-response sequences.
According to Skinner (1976, 23),

The mentalistic problem can be avoided by going directly to the prior physical
causes while bypassing intermediate feelings or states of mind. The quickest
way to do this is to consider only those facts which can be objectively observed
in the behavior of one person in its relation to his [or her] prior environmental
history.

Radical behaviorists such as Skinner also made the ontological claim that facts about
mental states are reducible to facts about behavioral dispositions.

View of Knowledge
Behaviorists such as Watson and Skinner construe knowledge as a repertoire of
behaviors. Skinner argues that it is not the case that we use knowledge to guide our
action; rather knowledge is action, or at least rules for action (152). It is a set of
passive, largely mechanical responses to environmental stimuli. So, for instance, the

behaviorist would argue that to say that that someone knows Shakespeare is to say
that they have a certain behavioral repertoire with respect to Shakespeare (152).
Knowledge that is not actively expressed in behavior can be explained as behavioral
capacities. For example, I know a bluebird when I see one can be seen as effectively
equivalent to I have the capacity to identify a bluebird although I am not now doing so
(154). If knowledge is construed as a repertoire of behaviors, someone can be said to
understand something if they possess the appropriate repertoire. No mention of
cognitive processes is necessary (15657).

View of Learning
From a behaviorist perspective, the transmission of information from teacher to learner
is essentially the transmission of the response appropriate to a certain stimulus. Thus,
the point of education is to present the student with the appropriate repertoire of
behavioral responses to specific stimuli and to reinforce those responses through an
effective reinforcement schedule (161). An effective reinforcement schedule requires
consistent repetition of the material; small, progressive sequences of tasks; and
continuous positive reinforcement. Without positive reinforcement, learned responses
will quickly become extinct. This is because learners will continue to modify their
behavior until they receive some positive reinforcement.

View of Motivation
Behaviorists explain motivation in terms of schedules of positive and negative
reinforcement. Just as receiving food pellets each time it pecks at a button teaches a
pigeon to peck the button, pleasant experiences cause human learners to make the
desired connections between specific stimuli and the appropriate responses. For
example, a student who receives verbal praise and good grades for correct answers
(positive reinforcement) is likely to learn those answers effectively; one who receives
little or no positive feedback for the same answers (negative reinforcement) is less
likely to learn them as effectively. Likewise, human learners tend to avoid responses
that are associated with punishment or unpleasant consequences such as poor grades
or adverse feedback.

Implications for Teaching

Behaviorist teaching methods tend to rely on so-called skill and drill exercises to
provide the consistent repetition necessary for effective reinforcement of response
patterns. Other methods include question (stimulus) and answer (response)
frameworks in which questions are of gradually increasing difficulty; guided practice;
and regular reviews of material. Behaviorist methods also typically rely heavily on the
use of positive reinforcements such as verbal praise, good grades, and prizes.
Behaviorists assess the degree of learning using methods that measure observable

behavior such as exam performance. Behaviorist teaching methods have proven most
successful in areas where there is a correct response or easily memorized material.
For example, while behaviorist methods have proven to be successful in teaching
structured material such as facts and formulae, scientific concepts, and foreign
language vocabulary, their efficacy in teaching comprehension, composition, and
analytical abilities is questionable.

Reference
Skinner, B. F. (1976). About Behaviorism. New York: Vintage Books

Cognitive Constructivism
Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist students in assimilating new
information to existing knowledge, and enabling them to make the
appropriate modifications to their existing intellectual framework to
accommodate that information.
Background
View of Knowledge
View of Learning
View of Motivation
Implications for Teaching
Jean Piaget
William G. Perry
References

Background
Dissatisfaction with behaviorisms strict focus on observable behavior led educational
psychologists such as Jean Piaget and William Perry to demand an approach to
learning theory that paid more attention to what went on inside the learners head.
They developed a cognitive approach that focused on mental processes rather than
observable behavior. Common to most cognitivist approaches is the idea that
knowledge comprises symbolic mental representations, such as propositions and
images, together with a mechanism that operates on those representations. Knowledge
is seen as something that is actively constructed by learners based on their existing
cognitive structures. Therefore, learning is relative to their stage of cognitive
development; understanding the learners existing intellectual framework is central to
understanding the learning process.

View of Knowledge
While behaviorists maintain that knowledge is a passively absorbed behavioral
repertoire, cognitive constructivists argue instead that knowledge is actively
constructed by learners and that any account of knowledge makes essential references
to cognitive structures. Knowledge comprises active systems of intentional mental
representations derived from past learning experiences. Each learner interprets
experiences and information in the light of their extant knowledge, their stage of
cognitive development, their cultural background, their personal history, and so forth.
Learners use these factors to organize their experience and to select and transform
new information. Knowledge is therefore actively constructed by the learner rather than
passively absorbed; it is essentially dependent on the standpoint from which the
learner approaches it.

View of Learning
Because knowledge is actively constructed, learning is presented as a process of
active discovery. The role of the instructor is not to drill knowledge into students
through consistent repetition, or to goad them into learning through carefully employed
rewards and punishments. Rather, the role of the teacher is to facilitate discovery by
providing the necessary resources and by guiding learners as they attempt to
assimilate new knowledge to old and to modify the old to accommodate the new.
Teachers must thus take into account the knowledge that the learner currently
possesses when deciding how to construct the curriculum and to present, sequence,
and structure new material.

View of Motivation
Unlike behaviorist learning theory, where learners are thought to be motivated by
extrinsic factors such as rewards and punishment, cognitive learning theory sees
motivation as largely intrinsic. Because it involves significant restructuring of existing
cognitive structures, successful learning requires a major personal investment on the
part of the learner (Perry 1999, 54). Learners must face up to the limitations of their
existing knowledge and accept the need to modify or abandon existing beliefs. Without
some kind of internal drive on the part of the learner to do so, external rewards and
punishments such as grades are unlikely to be sufficient.

Implications for Teaching

Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist students in assimilating new information to
existing knowledge, and enabling them to make the appropriate modifications to their
existing intellectual framework to accommodate that information. Thus, while
cognitivists allow for the use of skill and drill exercises in the memorization of facts,

formulae, and lists, they place greater importance on strategies that help students to
actively assimilate and accommodate new material. For instance, asking students to
explain new material in their own words can assist them in assimilating it by forcing
them to re-express the new ideas in their existing vocabulary. Likewise, providing
students with sets of questions to structure their reading makes it easier for them to
relate it to previous material by highlighting certain parts and to accommodate the new
material by providing a clear organizational structure. Because learning is largely selfmotivated in the cognitivist framework, cognitivists such as A. L. Brown and J. D.
Ferrara have also suggested methods which require students to monitor their own
learning. For instance, the use of ungraded tests and study questions enables students
to monitor their own understanding of the material. Other methods that have been
suggested include the use of learning journals by students to monitor progress and
highlight any recurring difficulties, and to analyze study habits.

Jean Piaget
The most influential exponent of cognitivism was Swiss child psychologist Jean Piaget.
Piaget rejected the idea that learning was the passive assimilation of given knowledge.
Instead, he proposed that learning is a dynamic process comprising successive stages
of adaption to reality during which learners actively construct knowledge by creating
and testing their own theories of the world (1968, 8). Piagets theory has two main
strands: first, an account of the mechanisms by which cognitive development takes
place; and second, an account of the four main stages of cognitive development
through which children pass.
The basic principle underlying Piagets theory is the principle of equilibration: all
cognitive development (including both intellectual and affective development)
progresses towards increasingly complex and stable levels of organization.
Equilibration takes place through a process of adaption, that is, assimilation of new
information to existing cognitive structures and the accommodation of that information
through the formation of new cognitive structures. For example, learners who already
have the cognitive structures necessary to solve percentage problems in mathematics
will have some of the structures necessary to solve time-rate-distance problems, but
they will need to modify their existing structures to accommodate the newly acquired
information to solve the new type of problem. Thus, learners adapt and develop by
assimilating and accommodating new information into existing cognitive structures.
Piaget suggested that there are four main stages in the cognitive development of
children. In the first two years, children pass through a sensorimotor stage during which
they progress from cognitive structures dominated by instinctual drives and
undifferentiated emotions to more organized systems of concrete concepts,
differentiated emotions, and their first external affective fixations. At this stage,
childrens outlook is essentially egocentric in the sense that they are unable to take into
account others points of view. The second stage of development lasts until around

seven years of age. Children begin to use language to make sense of reality. They
learn to classify objects using different criteria and to manipulate numbers. Childrens
increasing linguistic skills open the way for greater socialization of action and
communication with others. From the ages of seven to twelve years, children begin to
develop logic, although they can only perform logical operations on concrete objects
and events. In adolescence, children enter the formal operational stage, which
continues throughout the rest of their lives. Children develop the ability to perform
abstract intellectual operations, and reach affective and intellectual maturity. They learn
how to formulate and test abstract hypotheses without referring to concrete objects.
Most importantly, children develop the capacity to appreciate others points of view as
well as their own.
Piagets theory was widely accepted from the 1950s until the 1970s. Although the
theory is not now as widely accepted, it has had a significant influence on later theories
of cognitive development. For instance, the idea of adaption through assimilation and
accommodation is still widely accepted.

William G. Perry
William G. Perry, an educational researcher at Harvard University, developed an
account of the cognitive and intellectual development of college-age students through a
fifteen-year study of students at Harvard and Radcliffe in the 1950s and 1960s. Perry
generalized that study to give a more detailed account of post-adolescent development
than did Piaget. He also introduces the concept of positionality and develops a less
static view of developmental transitions.
The sequence of cognitive structures that make up the developmental process may be
described in terms of cross-sections of cognitive structures representative of different
stages in the developmental sequence. Each stage is construed as a relatively stable,
enduring cognitive structure, which includes and builds upon past structures. Stages
are characterized by the coherence and consistency of the structures that compose
them. The transition between stages is mediated by less stable, less consistent
transitional structures. Freud, Whitehead, and Piaget all use the notion of a stage in
this way. Perry rejects the notion of a stage. He argues that construing development in
terms of a sequence of stable stages in which students are imprisoned is too static
(Perry 1999, xii). Instead, he introduces the notion of a position. Perry accepted
Piagets claim that learners adapt and develop by assimilating and accommodating
new information into existing cognitive structures. He also accepted Piagets claim that
the sequence of cognitive structures that constitute the developmental process are
both logically and hierarchically related, insofar as each builds upon and thus
presupposes the previous structure. However, he laid far greater emphasis on the idea
that learners approach knowledge from a variety of different standpoints. Thus,
according to Perry, gender, race, culture, and socioeconomic class influence our
approach to learning just as much as our stage of cognitive development (xii). We each

interpret the world from a different position (46) and each person may occupy several
positions simultaneously with respect to different subjects and experiences (xii). The
developmental process is a constantly changing series of transitions between various
positions.
Perry provides the following illustration different types of position (1999, 2):
a lecturer announces that today he will consider three theories explanatory of
____________.
Student A has always taken it for granted that knowledge consists of correct answers, that
there is one right answer per problem, and that teachers explain these answers for students
to learn. He therefore listens for the lecturer to state which theory to learn.
Student B makes the same general assumptions but with an elaboration to the effect that
teachers sometimes present problems and procedures, rather than answers, so that we can
learn to find the right answer on our own
Student C assumes that an answer can be called right only in the light of its context, and
that contexts or frames of reference differ
Whatever the lecturer then proceeds to do, these three students will make meaning of the
experience in different ways which will involve different assessments of their own choices
and responsibilities.

References
Perry, William G. (1999). Forms of Ethical and Intellectual Development in the College
Years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Piaget, Jean (1968). Six Psychological Studies. Anita Tenzer (Trans.), New York:
Vintage Books.

Social Constructivism
The level of potential development is the level at which learning takes
place. It comprises cognitive structures that are still in the process of
maturing, but which can only mature under the guidance of or in
collaboration with others.
Background
View of Knowledge
View of Learning
View of Motivation

Implications for Teaching

Reference

Background
Social constructivism is a variety of cognitive constructivism that emphasizes the
collaborative nature of much learning. Social constructivism was developed by postrevolutionary Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky was a cognitivist, but
rejected the assumption made by cognitivists such as Piaget and Perry that it was
possible to separate learning from its social context. He argued that all cognitive
functions originate in, and must therefore be explained as products of social
interactions and that learning was not simply the assimilation and accommodation of
new knowledge by learners; it was the process by which learners were integrated into a
knowledge community. According to Vygotsky (1978, 57),
Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and, later
on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child
(intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the
formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between
individuals.Vygotskys theory of social learning has been expanded upon by numerous later theorists
and researchers.

View of Knowledge
Cognitivists such as Piaget and Perry see knowledge as actively constructed by
learners in response to interactions with environmental stimuli. Vygotsky emphasized
the role of language and culture in cognitive development. According to Vygotsky,
language and culture play essential roles both in human intellectual development and
in how humans perceive the world. Humans linguistic abilities enable them to
overcome the natural limitations of their perceptual field by imposing culturally defined
sense and meaning on the world. Language and culture are the frameworks through
which humans experience, communicate, and understand reality. Vygotsky states
(1968, 39),
A special feature of human perception is the perception of real objects I do not see the world
simply in color and shape but also as a world with sense and meaning. I do not merely see
something round and black with two hands; I see a clock

Language and the conceptual schemes that are transmitted by means of language are
essentially social phenomena. As a result, human cognitive structures are, Vygotsky
believed, essentially socially constructed. Knowledge is not simply constructed, it is coconstructed.

View of Learning
Vygotsky accepted Piagets claim that learners respond not to external stimuli but to
their interpretation of those stimuli. However, he argued that cognitivists such as Piaget
had overlooked the essentially social nature of language. As a result, he claimed they
had failed to understand that learning is a collaborative process. Vygotsky
distinguished between two developmental levels (85):
The level of actual development is the level of development that the learner has already reached,
and is the level at which the learner is capable of solving problems independently. The level
of potential development (the zone of proximal development) is the level of development that the
learner is capable of reaching under the guidance of teachers or in collaboration with peers. The
learner is capable of solving problems and understanding material at this level that they are not
capable of solving or understanding at their level of actual development; the level of potential
development is the level at which learning takes place. It comprises cognitive structures that are still
in the process of maturing, but which can only mature under the guidance of or in collaboration with
others.

View of Motivation
Behavioral motivation is essentially extrinsic a reaction to positive and negative
reinforcements. Cognitive motivation is essentially intrinsic based on the learners
internal drive. Social constructivists see motivation as both extrinsic and intrinsic.
Because learning is essentially a social phenomenon, learners are partially motivated
by rewards provided by the knowledge community. However, because knowledge is
actively constructed by the learner, learning also depends to a significant extent on the
learners internal drive to understand and promote the learning process.

Implications for Teaching

Collaborative learning methods require learners to develop teamwork skills and to see
individual learning as essentially related to the success of group learning. The optimal
size for group learning is four or five people. Since the average section size is ten to
fifteen people, collaborative learning methods often require GSIs to break students into
smaller groups, although discussion sections are essentially collaborative learning
environments. For instance, in group investigations, students may be split into groups
that are then required to choose and research a topic from a limited area. They are
then held responsible for researching the topic and presenting their findings to the
class. More generally, collaborative learning should be seen as a process of peer
interaction that is mediated and structured by the teacher. Discussion can be promoted
by the presentation of specific concepts, problems, or scenarios; it is guided by means
of effectively directed questions, the introduction and clarification of concepts and

information, and references to previously learned material. Some more specific

techniques are suggested in the Teaching Guide pages on Discussion Sections.

Reference
Vygotsky, Lev (1978). Mind in Society. London: Harvard University Press.

FAQs

About Us

Neuroscience and How Students Learn

This article is based on a talk by Daniela Kaufer, associate professor in the Integrative
Biology department, for the GSI Centers How Students Learn series in Spring 2011.
On this page:
Key Learning Principles
Neuroscience Fundamentals
Applications to Teaching
Further Reading
Also available:
Video and full summary of the talk What can Neuroscience Research Teach Us
about Teaching?

Key learning principles

From the point of view of neurobiology, learning involves changing the brain.

Moderate stress is beneficial for learning, while mild and extreme stress are
detrimental to learning.

Adequate sleep, nutrition, and exercise encourage robust learning.

Active learning takes advantage of processes that stimulate multiple neural

connections in the brain and promote memory.

Neuroscience fundamentals
Changing the brain: For optimal learning to occur, the brain needs conditions under
which it is able to change in response to stimuli (neuroplasticity) and able to produce
new neurons (neurogenesis).
The most effective learning involves recruiting multiple regions of the brain for the
learning task. These regions are associated with such functions as memory, the various
senses, volitional control, and higher levels of cognitive functioning.

Moderate stress: Stress and

performance are related in an inverted U curve (see right). Stimulation to learn
requires a moderate amount of stress (measured in the level of cortisol). A low degree
of stress is associated with low performance, as is high stress, which can set the
system into fight-or-flight mode so there is less brain activity in the cortical areas where
higher-level learning happens. Moderate levels of cortisol tend to correlate with the
highest performance on tasks of any type. We can therefore conclude that moderate
stress is beneficial for learning, while mild and extreme stress are both detrimental to
learning.
Moderate stress can be introduced in many ways: by playing unfamiliar music before
class, for example, or changing up the format of discussion, or any learning activity that
requires individual participation or movement. However, people do not all react the
same way to an event. The production of cortisol in response to an event varies
significantly between individuals; what constitutes moderate stress for one person
might constitute mild or extreme stress for another. So, for example, cold-calling on
individual students in a large-group setting might introduce just the right amount of
stress to increase some students performance, but it might produce excessive stress
and anxiety for other students, so their performance is below the level you know they
are capable of. Any group dynamic that tends to stereotype or exclude some students
also adds stress for them.

Adequate sleep, good nutrition, and regular exercise: These common-sense

healthy habits promote optimal learning performance in two ways. First, they promote
neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Second, they keep cortisol and dopamine (stress
and happiness hormones, respectively) at appropriate levels. All-night cramming
sessions, skipped meals, and skipped exercise can actually reduce the brains capacity
for high academic performance. (This is true for instructors as well as students.)

Active learning: Cognitive functions

associated with the lower levels of Blooms taxonomy (see diagram at left) such as
understanding and remembering, are associated with the hippocampus (the area of the
brain responsible for memory and spatial awareness). The higher-level cognitive
functions of Blooms taxonomy, such as creating, evaluating, analyzing, and applying,
involve the cortical areas responsible for decision-making, association, and motivation.
More complex thought processes are more beneficial for learning because they involve
a greater number of neural connections and more neurological cross-talk. Active
learningtakes advantage of this cross-talk, stimulating a variety of areas of the brain
and promoting memory.

Applications to Teaching
Classroom Activities from the Teaching Guide for GSIs
Some Basic Active Learning Strategies from the University of Minnesota Center for
Teaching and Learning

Further Reading
Please note that some links may require Library proxy access. Please see the
Librarys page Connecting from Off Campus.
Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne and Uta Frith (2005). The Learning Brain: Lessons for
Education. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Felder, Richard M. and Rebecca Brent(1996). Navigating the Bumpy Road to

Student-Centered Instruction. An abridged version of this article was published
inCollege Teaching 44: 4347.
Tokuhama-Espinosa, Tracey (2011). Mind, Brain, and Education Science: A
Comprehensive Guide to the New Brain-Based Teaching. New York: W. W. Norton.
Walker, J. D., et al. (2008). A Delicate Balance: Integrating Active Learning Into a
Large Lecture Course. CBE Life Sciences Education 7.4: 361367.
Winter, Dale, et al. (2001). Novice Instructors and Student-Centered Instruction:
Identifying and Addressing Obstacles to Learning in the College Science
Laboratory. The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 2.1: 1442.

Most influential theories of learning

Learning is defined as a process that brings together personal and environmental experiences and influences for
acquiring, enriching or modifying ones knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, behaviour and world views. Learning
theories develop hypotheses that describe how this process takes place. The scientific study of learning started
in earnest at the dawn of the 20th century. The major concepts and theories of learning include behaviourist
theories, cognitive psychology, constructivism, social constructivism, experiential learning, multiple intelligence,
and situated learning theory and community of practice.
Behaviourism
The behaviourist perspectives of learning originated in the early 1900s, and became dominant in early 20th
century. The basic idea of behaviourism is that learning consists of a change in behaviour due to the acquisition,
reinforcement and application of associations between stimuli from the environment and observable responses of
the individual. Behaviourists are interested in measurable changes in behaviour. Thorndike, one major
behaviourist theorist, put forward that (1) a response to a stimulus is reinforced when followed by a positive
rewarding effect, and (2) a response to a stimulus becomes stronger by exercise and repetition. This view of
learning is akin to the drill-and-practice programmes. Skinner, another influential behaviourist, proposed his
variant of behaviourism called operant conditioning. In his view, rewarding the right parts of the more complex
behaviour reinforces it, and encourages its recurrence. Therefore, reinforcers control the occurrence of the
desired partial behaviours. Learning is understood as the step-by-step or successive approximation of the
intended partial behaviours through the use of reward and punishment. The best known application of Skinners
theory is programmed instruction whereby the right sequence of the partial behaviours to be learned is
specified by elaborated task analysis.
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology was initiated in the late 1950s, and contributed to the move away from behaviourism.
People are no longer viewed as collections of responses to external stimuli, as understood by behaviourists, but
information processors. Cognitive psychology paid attention to complex mental phenomena, ignored by
behaviourists, and was influenced by the emergence of the computer as an information-processing device, which
became analogous to the human mind. In cognitive psychology, learning is understood as the acquisition of
knowledge: the learner is an information-processor who absorbs information, undertakes cognitive operations on
it, and stocks it in memory. Therefore, its preferred methods of instruction are lecturing and reading textbooks;
and, at its most extreme, the learner is a passive recipient of knowledge by the teacher.
Constructivism
Constructivism emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, giving rise to the idea that learners are not passive recipients of
information, but that they actively construct their knowledge in interaction with the environment and through the

reorganization of their mental structures. Learners are therefore viewed as sense-makers, not simply recording
given information but interpreting it. This view of learning led to the shift from the knowledge-acquisition to
knowledge-construction metaphor. The growing evidence in support of the constructive nature of learning was
also in line with and backed by the earlier work of influential theorists such as Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner.
While there are different versions of constructivism, what is found in common is the learner-centred approach
whereby the teacher becomes a cognitive guide of learners learning and not a knowledge transmitter.
Social learning theory
A well-known social learning theory has been developed by Albert Bandura, who works within both cognitive and
behavioural frameworks that embrace attention, memory and motivation. His theory of learning suggests that
people learn within a social context, and that learning is facilitated through concepts such as modeling,
observational learning and imitation. Bandura put forward reciprocal determininsm that holds the view that a
persons behavior, environment and personal qualities all reciprocally influence each others. He argues that
children learn from observing others as well as from model behaviour, which are processes involving attention,
retention, reproduction and motivation. The importance of positive role modeling on learning is well documented.
Socio-constructivism
In the late 20th century, the constructivist view of learning was further changed by the rise of the perspective of
situated cognition and learning that emphasized the significant role of context, particularly social interaction.
Criticism against the information-processing constructivist approach to cognition and learning became stronger
as the pioneer work of Vygotsky as well as anthropological and ethnographic research by scholars like Rogoff
and Lave came to the fore and gathered support. The essence of this criticism was that the informationprocessing constructivism saw cognition and learning as processes occurring within the mind in isolation from the
surrounding and interaction with it. Knowledge was considered as self-sufficient and independent of the contexts
in which it finds itself. In the new view, cognition and learning are understood as interactions between the
individual and a situation; knowledge is considered as situated and is a product of the activity, context and culture
in which it is formed and utilized. This gave way to a new metaphor for learning as participation and social
negotiation.
Experiential learning
Experiential learning theories build on social and constructivist theories of learning, but situate experience at the
core of the learning process. They aim to understand the manners in which experiences whether first or second
hand motivate learners and promote their learning. Therefore, learning is about meaningful experiences in
everyday life that lead to a change in an individuals knowledge and behaviours. Carl Rogers is an influential
proponent of these theories, suggesting that experiential learning is self-initiated learning as people have a
natural inclination to learn; and that they learn when they are fully involved in the learning process. Rogers put
forward the following insight: (1) learning can only be facilitated: we cannot teach another person directly, (2)
learners become more rigid under threat, (3) significant learning occurs in an environment where threat to the
learner is reduced to a minimum, (4) learning is most likely to occur and to last when it is self-initiated (Office of
Learning and Teaching, 2005, p. 9). He supports a dynamic, continuous process of change where new learning
results in and affects learning environments. This dynamic process of change is often considered in literatures on
organizational learning.
Multiple intelligences
Challenging the assumption in many of the learning theories that learning is a universal human process that all
individuals experience according to the same principles, Howard Gardner elaborated his theory of multiple
intelligences in 1983. His theory also challenges the understanding of intelligence as dominated by a single
general ability. Gardner argues that every persons level of intelligence actually consists of many distinct
intelligences. These intelligences include: (1) logical-mathematical, (2) linguistic, (3) spatial, (4) musical, (5)
bodily-kinesthetic, (6) interpersonal, and (7) intrapersonal. Although his work is speculative, his theory is
appreciated by teachers in broadening their conceptual framework beyond the traditional confines of skilling,
curriculum and testing. The recognition of multiple intelligences, for Gardner, is a means to achieving educational
goals rather than an educational goal in and of itself.
Situated learning theory and community of practice

Situated learning theory and community of practice draw many of the ideas of the learning theories
considered above. They are developed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. Situated learning theory recognizes
that there is no learning which is not situated, and emphasizes the relational and negotiated character of
knowledge and learning as well as the engaged nature of learning activity for the individuals involved. According
to the theory, it is within communities that learning occurs most effectively. Interactions taking place within a
community of practice e.g. cooperation, problem solving, building trust, understanding and relations have the
potential to foster community social capital that enhances the community members wellbeing. Thomas
Sergiovanni reinforces the idea that learning is most effective when it takes place in communities. He argues that
academic and social outcomes will improve only when classrooms become learning communities, and teaching
becomes learner-centered. Communities of practice are of course not confined to schools but cover other
settings such as workplace and organizations.
21st century learning or skills
Exploration of 21st century learning or skills has emerged from the concern about transforming the goals and
daily practice of learning to meet the new demands of the 21st century, which is characterized as knowledgeand technologically driven. The current discussion about 21st century skills leads classrooms and other learning
environments to encourage the development of core subject knowledge as well as new media literacies, critical
and systems thinking, interpersonal and self-directional skills. For example, the Partnership for 21st Century
Skills (P21) defines the following as key: core subjects (e.g. English, math, geography, history, civics) and 21st
century themes (global awareness, civic literacy, health literacy, environmental literacy, financial, business and
entrepreneurial literacy); learning and innovation skills (creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem
solving, communication and collaboration); information, media and technology skills (e.g. ICT literacy, media
literacy); and life and career skills (flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural
skills, productivity and accountability, leadership and responsibility). One main learning method that supports the
learning of such skills and knowledge is group learning or thematic projects, which involves an inquiry-based
collaborative work that addresses real-world issues and questions.
Source: The Office of Learning and Teaching, 2004. Melbourne: Department of Education and Training; OECD,
2010. Nature of Learning, Paris: Author;http://www.p21.org/

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-educationsystems/quality-framework/technical-notes/influential-theories-of-learning/