LEARNING THEORIES

Ausubel's Learning Theory

David Paul Ausubel was an American psychologist whose most significant contribut
ion to
the fields of educational psychology, cognitive science, and science education.
Ausubel
believed that understanding concepts, principles, and ideas are achieved through
deductive
reasoning. Similarly, he believed in the idea of meaningful learning as opposed
to rote
memorization. The most important single factor influencing learning is what the
learner
already knows. This led Ausubel to develop an interesting theory of meaningful l
earning
and advance organizers.
Learning Theory
Ausubel's believes that learning of new knowledge relies on what is already know
n. That is,
construction of knowledge begins with our observation and recognition of events
and objects
through concepts we already have. We learn by constructing a network of concepts
and
adding to them.

Ausubel also stresses the importance of reception rather than discovery learning
, and
meaningful rather than rote learning. He declares that his theory applies only t
o reception
learning in school settings. He didn t say, however, that discovery learning doesn t
work; but
rather that it was not efficient. In other words, Ausubel believed that understa
nding concepts,
principles, and ideas are achieved through deductive reasoning
Ausubel was influenced by the teachings of Jean Piaget. Similar to Piaget s ideas
of
conceptual schemes, Ausubel related this to his explanation of how people acquir
e
knowledge.
Meaningful learning
Ausebel s theory also focuses on meaningful learning. According to his theory, to
learn
meaningfully, individuals must relate new knowledge to relevant concepts they al
ready
know. New knowledge must interact with the learner s knowledge structure.
Meaningful learning can be contrasted with rote learning. he believed in the ide
a
of meaningful learning as opposed to rote memorization. The latter can also inco
rporate new
information into the pre-existing knowledge structure but without interaction. R
ote memory

is used to recall sequences of objects, such as phone numbers. However, it is of

no use to the
learner in understanding the relationships between the objects.

Because meaningful learning involves a recognition of the links between concepts

, it has the
privilege of being transferred to long-term memory. The most crucial element in
meaningful
learning is how the new information is integrated into the old knowledge structu
re.
Accordingly, Ausubel believes that knowledge is hierarchically organized; that n
ew
information is meaningful to the extent that it can be related (attached, anchor
ed) to what is
already known.

The rote-meaningful learning continium showing the requirements of meaningful

learning
Advance Organizers
Ausubel advocates the use of advance organizers as a mechanism to help to link n
ew learning
material with existing related ideas. Advance organizers are helpful in the way
that they help
the process of learning when difficult and complex material are introduced. This
is satisfied
through two conditions:
1. The student must process and understand the information presented in the orga
nizer-- this
increases the effectiveness of the organizer itself.

2. The organizer must indicate the relations among the basic concepts and terms
that will be
used
Ausubel s theory of advance organizers fall into two categories: comparative and e
xpository
Comparative Organizers
The main goal of comparative organizers is to activate existing schemas and is u
sed as
reminders to bring into the working memory of what you may not realize is releva
nt. A
comparative Organizer is also used both to integrate as well as discriminate. It
integrates
new ideas with basically similar concepts in cognitive structure, as well as inc
rease
discriminability between new and existing ideas which are essentially different
but
confusably similar
Expository Organizers
In contrast, expository organizers provide new knowledge that students will need
to
understand the upcoming information . Expository organizers are often used when th
e new
learning material is unfamiliar to the learner. They often relate what the learn
er already
knows with the new and unfamiliar material this in turn is aimed to make the unfam
iliar
material more plausible to the learner.
Ausubel Learning Model
Ausubel believed that learning proceeds in a top-down or deductive manner. Ausub
el's theory
consists of of three phases. The main elements of ausubel teaching method are sh
own below
in the table
Ausubel s Model of Meaningful Learning
Phase One
Advance Organizer
Phase Two
Presentation of Learning task or
Material
Phase Three
Strengthening Cognitive
Organization
Clarify aim of the lesson

Make the organization of the new

material explicit
Relate new information
to advance organizer
Present the lesson

Make logical order of learning material

explicit
Promote active reception
learning.
Relate organizer to
students prior knowledge
Present material in terms of basic
similarities and differences by using
examples, and engage students in
meaningful learning activities

Gagne Learning Theory

Robert Gagn is one of the behaviorist theorists. He is also known as a bridge the
orist
because he took the best of both worlds, behaviorism and cognitivism, to create
his view of
instruction and its design. Gagn believes that learning results in behavior chang
es that are
observable. He called these changes in behavior outcomes. Outcomes, according to
Gagn,
are descriptions of educational goals in terms of what is to be accomplished thr
ough the
prescribed learning activities.
Gagn also maintains a cognitive perspective in which learning was recognized as a
result of
an individual's cognitive efforts to construct his or her personal knowledge. In
his work, he
focuses on memory and how to plan curriculum in chunks so as not to overload mem
ory. His
instructional design models reflect this emphasis on thinking and remembering. B
ecause of
the importance he assigns to mental processes in his theory while recognizing th
e
significance of targeted behaviors, he bridges the gap from behaviorism to cogni
tivism.
Gagne had clearly established an interest in a desire to apply theory to practic
e, use research
and theory to solve practical problems. Interested in examining the larger issue
of applying
theory to training, teaching and learning with the eventual objective of enhanci
ng both their
effectiveness and efficiency. Unlike many other s Gagne's theory approaches lear
ning from
the view point of the instruction. The theory differs in that it covers the enti
re learning
process from design to assessment and application while other theories tend to b
e useful for
certain aspects of learning , for example behaviorist for class room management
and
cognitive for information processing.
The theory divided into three elements
. taxonomy of learning out comes
. conditions necessary to achieve the learning outcomes
. and nine events of instruction designed to guide the teacher
through the process of designing for learning
The conditions of learning reflecting the behaviorist thought process was create
d by Gagne,
who identified five categories of learning . He was a leader in developing instr
uctional guide
lines for directed instruction that combine the behavioral and information proce
ssing learning
theories. His instructional theory tends to side with behaviorists principles (t
eacher centered

approach).

He believes that the results of learning are measurable through testing and that
drill, practice,
immediate feedback or effective
His theory defines five major categories of learning that each require a differe
nt type of
instruction in order for learning to occur verbal information, intellectual skil
ls, cognitive
strategies , motor skills and attitudes (Taxonomy of Human learning capabilities
)
Types of
Human
Capabilities
Conditions
Principles for Instructional
Events
Verbal
Information
Retrieving stored information: the internal
conditions to support this learning include
. Preexisting of organized knowledge
. Strategies for processing the new
information
. Provide meaningful context of
information for encoding
. Provide elaborations, imagery, or
other encoding cues
. Organize information so that it can
be learned in chunks
Intellectual
Skills
Metal operations that permits individuals to
respond to conceptualizations of the environment:
. Discrimination
. Concrete and defined concepts
. Rule using
. Problem solving: combining subordinate
rules in order to solve a problem
The internal conditions to facilitate this type of
learning include:
. Recalling prerequisite skills
. Interacting in a variety of ways with the
new learning
. Applying the new skills to range and

variety of different situations and

contexts
. Provide varied concrete examples
and rules
. Provide opportunities for
interacting with examples in
different ways
. Assess learners in new situations
Cognitive
Strategies
An internal process by which the learners plans,
controls, and monitors his/her won ways of
thinking and learning, including
. Task specific
. General
. Executive
. If task-specific, describe the
strategy; if task general,
demonstrate the strategy.
. Provide opportunities for strategy
specific practice with support and
feedback
Attitude
An internal state, i.e. predisposition that affects an
individual choice of action
. Provide respected models who
enact positive behavior and
reinforce the model
. When learner enacts the behavior,
provide reinforcement
Motor Skills
Capability to perform a sequence of physical
movements. It involves three stages:
. Learning the sequence of the movement
. Practicing the movement
. Refining the movement from the
feedback from the environment
. Establish executive subroutine and
provide for mental rehearsal.
. Arrange several repetitions of
skills with correct feedback

The objectives are then categorized into one of the five domains of learning out
comes ( each
learning outcome must have- pre-requisite knowledge or skills must be identified
). The
instructor then uses the conditions of learning for the particular learning outc
omes to
determine the conditions necessary for learning . He is best known for his learn
ing out comes
, learning conditions and nine events of instruction . He focuses on out comes /
behaviors that
result from instruction .Different internal and external conditions are necessar
y for each type
of learning.
According to Gagne the teacher must accomplish at least three tasks
. assure pre requisite skills
. supply instructional conditions
. determine the type of learning
According to Gagne the eight different classes of levels in which human beings l
earn are as
follow:
. Signal Learning, the individual learns to make a general response to a signal
(involuntary).
. Stimulus Response learning, the individual learns to make a precise response t
o a
stimulus (voluntary).
. Chaining, the individual connects two or more stimulus.
. Verbal Association, the individual learns the chains that are verbal.
. Multiple Discrimination, the individual learns to make different responses to
different
stimuli.
. Concept Learning, the individual learns to make a common response to a class o
f
stimuli.
. Rule Learning (Principle Learning), the individual learns to make a chain of t
wo or
more concepts (rule).
. Problem Solving, the individual learns to think
Each new stages or level in learning is dependent upon the possession of prerequ
isite
knowledge, skills and strategies at lower levels.
Gagne's learning Theory is summarized in the figure below

Motor skills
.Gaining attention
.Informing learners of
objectives
.Stimulating recall of
prior learning.
.Presenting the stimulus
.Providing learning
guidance
.Eliciting performance
.Providing feedback
.Assessing performance
.Enhancing retention
and transfer
are
Gagne's theory of instruction
is made up of three
components
Conditions
of learning
Nine events of
learning
Taxonomy of learning
outcomes
Cognitive domain
Cognitive
strategies
,intellectual skills,
verbal
information
Affective
Domain
Attitudes
Psychomotor
Domain

Figure: Summary of Gagne's Learning Theory

GAGNE's LEARNING MODEL

His model is objective that can be easily evaluated as the required learning is
observable and
can be measured, task -focused models. He proposed that the information processi
ng model
of learning could be combined with behaviorist concepts . Gagne translated the i
nformational
processing model into an instructional model called phases of learning that is t
he nine events
are broken down into three phases
. the pre-instructional phase,
. the instructional phase and
. the post instructional phase

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

in pre-instructional phase
gain attention
inform learners of the objectives
stimulate recall prior learning
instructional phase
present the stimulus
provide learning guidance
elicit student performance
provide feedback( reinforcement)
post instructional phase
asses performance
enhance retention
transfer (generalization)
Piaget learning theory

Piaget's work led to the cognitive constructivist theory. Piaget believed that c
ognitive
development occurs through a sequence of successive qualitative changes in cogni
tive
structures. His theory has two main parts: "an ages and stages component that pr
edicts what children
can and cannot understand at different ages, and a theory of development that de
scribes how children
develop cognitive abilities"

Piaget theory of cognitive development suggested that human's unable automatical

ly
understand and use information that they have been given because they need to co
nstruct
their prior knowledge through prior personal experiences to enable them to creat
e mental
images. He says that humans learn by constructing their own knowledge. The prima
ry role of
teacher should be to motivate the children to create their own knowledge through
their
personal experiences. Teachers are merely facilitators who support learners in t
he learning process.
Learners should take control in making decisions in line with their needs and co
gnitive state.
Piaget advocated non intervention saying that everything one teaches a child pre
vents him
from inventing or discovering.

He believed that children develop knowledge through active participation in thei

r learning
Learners will build their own knowledge through experience. This experience will
help them build
mental models which they will further develop through assimilation and accommoda
tion. He
believed that cognitive development was a product of the mind achieved through o
bservation

Concept Application Phase

Students Apply Information
to New Situation
Concept Introduction Phase
Naming Of Objects And /Or
Events
Evaluation
and discussion
Exploration Phase
Students Interaction
With Materials and Each
Other
and experimentation. For Piaget learning is cyclical. Piaget's learning cycle in
cludes an
exploration, concept introduction and concept application phase

Piaget's Learning Cycle

He identified several discrete phases children under go as they grow. Very young
children are
only able to process concrete operational information they are unable to think a
bstractly,
reflect on the past or project into the future. Older children develop these abi
lities over time.

Learning is not so much a process of acquiring new knowledge, but of reconstruct

ing our
existing schemas. Children are active and motivated learners. Through their acti
on, they
construct schemas (mental concept). Every Schema is coordinated with other schem
ata. New
information is integrated and interrelated with the knowledge structure that alr
eady exists in
the mind of child.
Learning occurs not by passive reception of transmitted information, but by acti

ve interaction
with objects and ideas. The nature of this interaction is an adaptation involvin
g three mental
processes described by Piaget.
1. Assimilation - integrating new information with existing knowledge is a cogni
tive
process(making information to fit)
2. accommodation- the change that occurs in the mental structure of the child (c
hanging
information to fit). The process of cognitive development is the result of a ser
ies of
related assimilations and accommodations.
3. Equilibrium - mental balance of information
He felt that a child passes through a series of stages of cognitive development:
. Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years): children explore world around them thro
ugh
their senses;

. Preoperational stage (2 to about 7): abilities to communicate through speech,

develop
numerical abilities, increase level of self control but unable to do conservation
tasks
(e.g. realize that shape is not related to quantity);
. Concrete operational stage( 7 to about) : increase in abstract reasoning, can
do
conservation tasks;
. Formal operations stage (about 12 to 15): can form and test hypotheses, organi
ze
information and reason scientifically, can show result of abstract thinking
(writing, drama).
Piaget's Learning Model
Piaget's Learning Model is one of the more profound models for learning that has
yet been
proposed.
His model of child development and learning suggests that children, depending of
their level
of development, create mental maps or cognitive structures that enable them to u
nderstand
their environment. If new information is presented that fits into existing struc
tures, the child
incorporates (assimilates) the information. If it does not fit into a structure,
the child
accommodates it, that is, constructs new mental structures into which it fits. I
n doing so, the
child continually constructs his or her understanding of the world around him or
her. In terms
of learning, application of Piaget's theories requires, first, that educators te
ach content for
which the child is developmentally ready and second, that educators use children
s previous
knowledge to help them assimilate or accommodate new information. Piaget's work
laid the
foundation for subsequent constructivist theory.

http://web.mnstate.edu/smithb/psych_tl/hd/lesson1/PsychTopics/lesson1.gif
Criticisms of Piaget s Theory
. Children s thinking is not as consistent as the stages suggest.
. Infants and young children are more competent than Piaget recognized.
. Piaget understates the social components of cognitive development. over looks
influences of cultural and social groups
. Piaget was better at describing processes than explaining how they operate.
. Piaget s theory has been criticized because of his suggestion of fixed sequentia
l
developmental stages.
. underestimate children's abilities

Piaget learning theory

Piaget's work led to the cognitive constructivist theory. Piaget believed that c
ognitive
development occurs through a sequence of successive qualitative changes in cogni
tive
structures. His theory has two main parts: "an ages and stages component that pr
edicts what children
can and cannot understand at different ages, and a theory of development that de
scribes how children
develop cognitive abilities"

Concept Application Phase

Students Apply Information
to New Situation
Concept Introduction Phase
Naming Of Objects And /Or
Events
Evaluation
and discussion
Exploration Phase
Students Interaction
With Materials and Each
Other
Piaget theory of cognitive development suggested that human's unable automatical
ly
understand and use information that they have been given because they need to co
nstruct
their prior knowledge through prior personal experiences to enable them to creat
e mental
images. He says that humans learn by constructing their own knowledge. The prima
ry role of
teacher should be to motivate the children to create their own knowledge through
their
personal experiences. Teachers are merely facilitators who support learners in t
he learning process.
Learners should take control in making decisions in line with their needs and co
gnitive state.
Piaget advocated nonintervention saying that everything one teaches a child prev
ents him
from inventing or discovering.

He believed that children develop knowledge through active participation in thei

r learning
Learners will build their own knowledge through experience. This experience will
help them build
mental models which they will further develop through assimilation and accommoda
tion. He
believed that cognitive development was a product of the mind achieved through o
bservation
and experimentation. For Piaget learning is cyclical. Piaget's learning cycle in
cludes an
exploration, concept introduction and concept application phase

Piaget's Learning Cycle

He identified several discrete phases children under go as they grow. Very young
children are
only able to process concrete operational information they are unable to think a
bstractly,
reflect on the past or project into the future. Older children develop these abi
lities over time.

Learning is not so much a process of acquiring new knowledge, but of reconstruct

ing our
existing schemas. Children are active and motivated learners. Through their acti
on, they

construct schemas (mental concept). Every Schema is coordinated with other schem
ata. New
information is integrated and interrelated with the knowledge structure that alr
eady exists in
the mind of child.
Learning occurs not by passive reception of transmitted information, but by acti
ve interaction
with objects and ideas. The nature of this interaction is an adaptation involvin
g three mental
processes described by Piaget.
4. Assimilation - integrating new information with existing knowledge is a cogni
tive
process(making information to fit)
5. Accommodation- the change that occurs in the mental structure of the child (c
hanging
information to fit). The process of cognitive development is the result of a ser
ies of
related assimilations and accommodations.
6. Equilibrium - mental balance of information
He felt that a child passes through a series of stages of cognitive development:
. Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years): children explore world around them thro
ugh
their senses;
. Preoperational stage (2 to about 7): abilities to communicate through speech,
develop
numerical abilities, increase level of self control but unable to do conservation
tasks
(e.g. realize that shape is not related to quantity);
. Concrete operational stage( 7 to about) : increase in abstract reasoning, can
do
conservation tasks;
. Formal operations stage (about 12 to 15): can form and test hypotheses, organi
ze
information and reason scientifically, can show result of abstract thinking
(writing, drama).
Piaget's Learning Model
Piaget's Learning Model is one of the more profound models for learning that has
yet been
proposed.
His model of child development and learning suggests that children, depending of
their level
of development, create mental maps or cognitive structures that enable them to u
nderstand
their environment. If new information is presented that fits into existing struc
tures, the child
incorporates (assimilates) the information. If it does not fit into a structure,
the child
accommodates it, that is, constructs new mental structures into which it fits. I
n doing so, the

child continually constructs his or her understanding of the world around him or
her. In terms

http://web.mnstate.edu/smithb/psych_tl/hd/lesson1/PsychTopics/lesson1.gif
of learning, application of Piaget's theories requires, first, that educators te
ach content for
which the child is developmentally ready and second, that educators use children
s previous
knowledge to help them assimilate or accommodate new information. Piaget's work
laid the
foundation for subsequent constructivist theory.

Criticisms of Piaget s Theory

. Children s thinking is not as consistent as the stages suggest.
. Infants and young children are more competent than Piaget recognized.
. Piaget understates the social components of cognitive development. over looks
influences of cultural and social groups
. Piaget was better at describing processes than explaining how they operate.
. Piaget s theory has been criticized because of his suggestion of fixed sequentia
l
developmental stages.
. underestimate children's abilities

Differences and Similarities of Piaget s, Gagne's and Ausubel s Learning Theories

For David Ausubel direct didactic instruction is the best way to teach concepts.
Old cognitive
structures are modified to accept new concepts (the new concepts are assimilated
with the
old). Reception learning- concept labels and the regularities they represent are
explicitly
taught by the teacher in contrast to discovery learning (regularities are discov
ered by the
students themselves). New knowledge is associated with ideas or concepts in the
learner's
cognitive structure.
Ausubel's theory is different from Piaget's in that an older child has a more el
aborate
cognitive structure than a younger one and this is not a "unique cognitive abili
ty" determines
why the older child is capable of higher level thought.
Ausubel advocates direct teaching of concepts. Ausubel believes that eventually
the use of
physical, concrete objects in teaching should be eliminated in favour of verbal
instruction.
Ausubel accepts the ideas of assimilation and accommodation without accepting th
e full
implications of Piaget stage theory. In terms of readiness Ausubel's view is clo
sed to that of
Gagne than that of Piaget. Ausubel distinctly contrasting explanations of cognit
ive
development. He is more explicit in the recommendation for teaching than Piaget.
For Piaget
children and adults use mental schemes to guide behaviour or cognition and inter
pret new
material to be assimilated. For meaningful learning information is stored in net
works of
connected facts or concepts referred to as schemata. For Paiget learning content
out to be
organized according to the children level of cognitive development.
. from concrete to abstract
. from nearby to distant
. from existing experience to new experience
. from elementary to complex according to the individuals physical and mental
development
. learning is change in behaviour
For Piaget cognitive development is a function of four processes
1)
2)
3)
4)

physiological development
personal interaction with the environment
social transmission or direct instruction
"self-regulation"

Ausubel uses inductive approach to guide pupils so as to derive generalization

concept,
principles or laws.
Gagne concerns about how people obtain information during learning process and
looked at
the steps or events in learning. Ausubel emphasized reception of information and
the need to
link that prior learning. So that Ausubel is in fundamental agreement with Gagne
in that the
key to readiness is prerequisite knowledge. For Gagne the acquisition of specifi
cally learned
rule is a cumulative process and systems of individualized instruction based on
mastery of a
sequence of performance objectives. He believes that knowledge has separate real
existence
of its own outside the human mind and learning happens when this knowledge is tr
ansmitted
to the learner. For Piaget children construct knowledge in their minds so that l
earning
happens when a learner constructs both mechanisms for learning and his or her ow
n unique
version of knowledge. In general differences and similarities of Piaget s, Gagne's
and
Ausubel's learning theories are summarized in the table below
Relationships among the learning theories of Piaget, Gagne and Ausubel
Terms
Gagne
Piaget
Ausubel
Epistemology
Finite nature of Knowledge (
knowledge transfer )
Knowledge structure
appropriate for stage of
development and nature of
knowledge constructed and
based on experience
Knowledge structure
appropriate for stage
of development
Origin of
Learning Goals
Goals prescribed
. Subject matter and stage of
development determine
goals

. Determined by task
Subject matter and
stage of development
determine goals
Motivation
Extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation
Intrinsic motivation
Importance of
external stimulus
Stimulus required
No stimulus required
(Stimulus required task/
problem
No stimulus required
Theory
More of Behaviorist
/cognitivist
Constructivist ( coginitivist
and activist)
Cognitivist
Learning
teaching
approach
Seriallist
Holist ,collaborative
Holist

Importance of
Environment
Environment is more
significant than heredity
Interaction with environment
is more important
Environment and

heredity equally
significant

Terms
Gagne
Piaget
Ausubel
Methods of
learning
Stimulus response is required
for learning to occur
. Learner takes passive role
. Teacher takes an active
role
Subject provides its own
structures and procedures for
learning , need to learn is
driven by activity and
interaction with world -action
learning
Subject provides its
own structures and
procedures for
learning
Dependency
Student depend on teacher
Team dependent, Student
subject guided discover
Student subject
guided discover
Pedagogical
Approach
Teacher centred
Student centred , practice
centred
Student centred
Learning
approach
. Presentation ( passive)
. Systematic instruction
Provide organized

opportunities for insight to

occur,
Unstructured learning
Provide organized
opportunities for
insight to occur
Thinking process
Deductive
Deductive and inductive (
complexity)
deductive
Type of learning
Individual
Individual and group,
distributed and situated team
and group learning
Individual and group
Type of model
Objective model ( behaviourist
model) or transmission model
Process model( capability
model), information process
model, activity model ,
generative learning model
Process model(
capability model),
information process
model, activity model
Metaphor for
learning
Learning as
.
.
.
.

Acquisition
Reproduction
Imitation
Modelling

Learning as
.
.
.
.

Understanding
Inquiry
Co-creation
Communal constructivism

. Co-generative
Learning as
. Understanding
. Inquiry