writing paper

Within schedules of reinforcement there are two discussed variables; timing (intermittent/variable v constant/fixed) and source (ratio/internal v interval/external). A ratio reinforcement is based on the number of times a behaviour occurs, and is considered to be internal to the behaviour. That is, if we wish to reinforce the eating of fruit we may choose to reward the person after they have 5 pieces of fruit. An interval reinforcement is after a pre-determined period of time and is external to the behaviour. Using the example above we may reward every 15 minutes if a piece of fruit has been eaten. An examination of schedules of reinforcement, begun by Skinner in the 1950s, suggests that variable reinforcement is more beneficial than constant reinforcement where behaviour has been established. However, constant reinforcement is beneficial when first teaching behaviour.

Schedules of reinforcement can be observed in the programming of poker/slot machines. The reward to the player comes at random points of activity and remains unknown. This creates a sense of achievement when the reward does come. It can be observed that when a player makes a jackpot they take note of what they were doing at the time and tend to repeat this behaviour. For example, a player may have been holding a red handkerchief at the time of the jackpot so they continue to hold it as they come to believe that this behaviour is what determines the luck of the jackpot. If there is a constant reinforcement of success whilst holding the red handkerchief the player comes to believe that this brings them some form of luck and reward. Once established, this belief and behaviour no longer requires the same reinforcement to perpetuate the idea. Reinforced over time, this behaviour becomes a superstition, whereby the player must always have the red handkerchief or they will not be lucky or successful. Despite this not actually always being the case, the reinforcement occurs often enough to perpetuate this belief.

These principles can be applied in the classroom. Some teachers ignore undesirable behaviour and reinforce desirable behaviour to handle problems. Other teachers use "Time Out" to weaken undesirable behaviour, which works by temporarily removing the person from reinforcing aspects of the environment. Likewise, within schools we have a range of punishments and rewards that aim to shape behaviour, such as tokens, certificates, detentions, and general praise by the teacher. Schedules of reinforcement have largely shaped teaching practices and responses to student conduct.

Reading 4.3

Text: Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching, 169-183.

In this topic you should develop an understanding of:

· Bandura’s theories of learning and self-efficacy

· Humanist approaches and understandings of learning and development

· Ecological systems theory and how this can be used to better understand learners.

This topic focuses on the area of learning theories that can be broadly categorised as social theories. This is not an entirely accurate description as theories discussed in this topic find origin in a number of other approaches. For example Bandura’s work originates from behaviourism, whilst Bronfenbrenner builds on socio-cultural and cognitive learning approaches, and humanist theories, whilst acknowledging the social, come from a different approach all together. The common thread across these theories, and why they are presented as part of the one topic, is that they all acknowledge that learning is not something that just occurs within the individual. Instead each theory considers the learner as part of a broader social network that shapes and influences their learning.

Behaviourism, as expressed by Skinner, involved the direct relationship between a stimulus and behaviour, whereby the stimulus was something that directly related to the individual; for example, rewarding a child with a lolly for doing something good. However, this positioned the individual as somehow removed from the rest of society and solely motivated by personal benefit and gain. Albert Bandura (Bandura, Ross & Ross 1961, 1963a, 1963b) found that observing another person can also lead to a learned response; we will name this the Social Learning Theory (as opposed to social theories of learning, which is a more general term). That is we can learn behaviours not by personal reward or punishment but vicariously through observing others. For example, in a classroom a group of students are being disruptive and the teacher corrects one individual student identifying a punishment for that student. The other students also correct their behaviour by observing the outcomes for the other. This is also seen when a teacher says to one student to sit up straight and others, who were not spoken to, do so as well.

Bandura’s research involved children acquiring behaviour through watching a clown. They found that children were more aggressive after watching an aggressive clown playing with a toy, a film of an aggressive model or a cartoon depicting violence, than they were when viewing a non-aggressive model or no model at all. Zimmerman and Blotner (1979) found that children will persist longer with solving puzzles if they see a model work longer. Bandura & Menlove (1968) found that children can overcome fears (e.g. of dogs), by seeing other children play without fear.

Reading 5.1

Grusec, J. E. (1992) Social learning theory and developmental psychology: The legacies of Robert Sears and Albert Bandura. Developmental Psychology, 28(5) 776-786.

Due to Copyright Licensing restrictions a print copy of this ejournal article cannot be supplied. A link is available on your course site.

Observational learning is not so much a process of learning but an outcome of the combination of 4 key elements: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. Social learning theory suggests through a combination of these elements people come to learn how to act and behave in particular contexts.

Attention

People like to imitate distinctive behaviour, or competence, or people of high status (e.g. being influenced by seeing a pop star, politician or wealthy individual smoke). We become attentive to the actions of the those around us, and that which we deem to be successful. For example, people dressing the same as the manager as they aspire to be accepted into that social space.

Retention

Behaviour and, possibly, why, how, when something is done is encoded. Encoding of behaviour may be visual or verbal. For example encoding a scene in a high class bar where well dressed high status people smoke as they drink cocktails; or encoding fun at the beach while drinking Coca Cola. Through this we come to learn appropriate and successful behaviour.

Reproduction

Reproduction is the capacity to repeat, and refine, appropriate behaviours in contexts. Much has been written in the area of reproduction theory, particularly work by Bourdieu, who argues that we come to learn the ‘rules of the game’ (i.e. how to act in society), and through reproducing these rules we can either succeed or fail in our ability to be part of the larger group. The challenge is that the rules are not perfect statements of success, so we need to refine behaviours based on feedback and responses.

Motivation

Motivation is a necessary component of learning as learning is effortful and requires energy to change. Motivation, within this theory, is supported by reinforcement and reward. Reinforcement may be direct, vicarious, or from oneself:

Weblink

The video at this link presents Bandura talking about one of his key experiments using a doll and modelling to observe children’s attitudes towards aggression and violence.

The other important aspect of the Social Learning Theory is the concept of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is related to, but different from, self-esteeem. Self-efficacy is the personal belief in being able to achieve and perform certain behaviours and tasks. Self-efficacy varies across contexts and experiences. So a person may have a strong self-efficacy in being able to perform well at studies in History or English, but not so in Mathematics and Science. It is often argued that we come to develop beliefs in our abilities that are reinforced over time, which prevent us from being able to perform in certain situations. For example, children who are not successful at school, as measured by the assessment pieces and reinforcement by teachers, can develop a belief that cannot succeed in formal education of any sort. Therefore, they do not undertake further study, react poorly to formalised training programs and claim that they only learn in particular ways. Their actual ability to succeed in the classroom may be hidden behind a belief of failure. Bandura argues that self-efficacy is an important aspect of a student’s capacity to learn and perform.

Reading 5.2

Bandura, A. (1977) Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioural change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215.

Due to Copyright Licensing restrictions a print copy of this ejournal article cannot be supplied. A link is available on yourcourse site.

Humanistic theories are concerned with the need to focus on the social and emotional development of learners and not just on their cognitive development. In thinking about humanistic theories you might consider the following questions:

· Should teaching and learning be concerned only with behaviour or should it also be concerned with emotions, personality, feelings, desires, individual needs and attitudes?

· What kinds of goals and needs do humans have and what are the relationships among them?

· How does individual learning relate to these goals and needs?

· How does teaching in schools and other settings relate to these goals and needs?

· What are the implications for teaching and learning in your area?

The principles underlying the humanist tradition in education come from work in the area of clinical psychology and counselling. It is called humanist because its primary focus is the inner thoughts, feelings, psychological needs and emotions of the individual learner. Consider Maslow’s hierarchy of psychological needs as in the diagram below.

At the bottom of the hierarchy are basic needs for food, shelter and security; at the top are cognitive, aesthetic and self-fulfilment needs. The theory proposes that we have to meet our needs at any one of the lower levels before we become interested in meeting our needs at higher levels. For example, in wartime, we are more concerned about shelter and food than about opera. When our meta-needs are met, the need for higher levels of self-fulfilment grows stronger (e.g. the more knowledge we have, the more we want). Unlike Freud, Maslow believed that the direction of our energy is not simply to satisfy our basic needs (Id), but a striving for "self-actualisation".

Weblink

Maslow wrote about his theory of needs, as points of motivation to learn, in 1943. The following link is to a reproduction of Maslow’s original work that provides insight into this theoretical position.

Humanism is concerned with how affective (emotional and interpersonal) aspects of behaviour influence learning. Rogers (1983) argued that too many students, in conventional school classes, have learned:

1. There is no place for restless energy in class.

2. One must conform or suffer unpleasant consequences.

3. Submission to rules is expected.

4. Making a mistake is bad.

5. Punishment for mistakes is humiliating.

6. Spontaneous interest does not belong in school.

7. Teacher and disciplinarian are synonymous.

8. School on the whole is unpleasant.

9. Most textbooks are boring.

10. It is not safe to differ from teachers.

11. There are many ways to get by without studying.

12. It is OK to cheat.

13. Daydreams and fantasies make the day pass quickly.

14. Peers frown on hard study to get good grades.

15. Most life-relevant learning occurs outside school.

16. Original ideas have no place in school.

17. Exams and grades are the most important aspects of education.

18. Most teachers (at least in class) are impersonal and boring.

In seeking to redress these beliefs, Rogers (1979, 1983) proposed 10 principles:

1. Humans have a natural propensity for learning.

2. Significant learning occurs when students perceive subject matter relevant to their own purposes.

3. Learning which changes self perception is threatening and tends to be resisted.

4. Self-threatening learnings are more easily perceived and assimilated when there are minimal external threats.

5. When self-threat is low, experience can be perceived in a differentiated fashion and learning can proceed.

6. Much significant learning occurs through doing.

7. Learning is facilitated when the student participates responsibly in learning process.

8. Self-initiated learning that involves the whole person (feelings as well as intellect) is the most lasting and pervasive.

9. Independence, creativity and self-reliance are facilitated when self-criticism and self-evaluation are basic, and evaluation by others is of secondary importance.

10. Most socially useful learning in the modern world is learning of the process of learning, continuing openness to experience, and incorporation into oneself of the process of change.

Reading 5.3

Text: Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching, pp236-260.

Self-direction

· Learning occurs only if it satisfies some need, want, curiosity, fantasy.

· Learning is best developed from intrinsic motivation, exploratory drive, or curiosity.

· Teachers should shift the burden of pursuing one's own education to the individual (but rote learning works).

· Assigning grades is irrelevant and humiliating; and causes children to work for grades.

· Students should take responsibility for setting criteria and goals, and assessing progress toward them.

· One should avoid psychological violence (Turning away from feelings, emotions, and fantasy to pursue "knowledge").

· Learners should personally discover meaning - personal meanings and feelings about objects, events, and knowledge.

· Learning settings should not humiliate, ridicule, devalue, scorn, or involve contempt.

Ecological systems theory is based on the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner who proposed the idea of considering human development as being the result of complex relationships with systems of society and humanity. His theory has origins in concepts of socio-cultural learning theory, but he extends these concepts to framing the human as being surrounded by multiple systems of influence. Most closely related to the individual is the microsystem. Within this system as relationships and interactions that are immediate and familiar with the individual; for example, family, school, and friends. Relationships can exist between these immediate agents, such as parents with school, friends associated with other friends, and these relationships can shape the individual. This system of interactions between the agents in the microsystem is known as the mesosystem.

These agents (family, friends, etc) also exist in other systems (e.g. parents work, friends have their own families), and these systems have a bearing on how these agents interact with the individual (e.g. a parent’s work may prevent them spending time with their children). This system of ‘secondary’ interactions (as viewed by the individual) is referred to as the exosystem. The exosystem is shaped by a further external system, the macrosystem, which structures society at large. Within the macrosystem cultural institutions such as government, churches, and society, create the domains in which the other activities exist. Laws made about workplaces impact on the capacity of a parent to work and what impact this has on the development of the child. This model is located in and changes with time. The laws and customs that existed a generation ago are different to what we experience now. So the complex relationships across the systems need to be considered also across time, this layer of relationship is known as the chronosystem.

Such a model challenges the teacher to consider the multiple influences on a child and to position themselves alongside these influences. It also advocates for teachers to be active in shaping the other systems so as to have more positive impacts on the learner.

Source: Berk & Roberts (2009)

Reading 5.4

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977) Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513-531.

Due to Copyright Licensing restrictions a print copy of this ejournal article cannot be supplied. A link is available on your course site.

Activity

In this topic you should develop an understanding of:

· Principles and critiques of adult learning theory

· The application of theories of learning and development to adult learners

· Implications of learning theories on approaches to adult learning

The characteristics of adult learners and the ways in which effective learning strategies may differ between adolescents and adult learners are outlined in this material. There are views that adults learn in different ways from children and young adolescents. However, our understanding of how adults learn is far from complete and there is a variety of theoretical perspectives. Nevertheless, there is sufficient agreement to be able to summarise general characteristics of adult learners and to begin considering the instructional implications for vocational and community education and training, although, as Tennant (1986) advocates, we need to keep our perspectives under review through critical reflection.

When considering adult learning within this topic a broad understanding of this idea is adopted. Adults learn in a variety of settings and experiences which span across the workplace, formal educational settings and in every-day life. Adult learning is different to lifelong learning; however there is some overlap in these ideas. Life-long learning is an argued idea that asserts learning is found in all forms of life and that over our entire lifespan we learn and develop in myriad of ways. This concept challenges the construct of learning being located within just the formalised experience of the classroom, contesting that in a range of other ways, especially in the practices of life and the workplace, learning can also occur. There is some distinction that should also be made between ‘emerging’ adults and ‘experienced’ adults. The following section explains this distinction further, but aids in developing a better understanding of the application of adult learning ideas.

Within the law, education, health and other parts of society much debate is had around when a person becomes an adult. Under law the definition, in most parts of Australia, is that a person becomes an adult at 18 years of age. However, such an age boundary is arbitrary. Legally there has been the development of the idea of a ‘young person’ who is neither a child nor an adult. An application of Piaget’s stages contests that a person becomes an adult learner much earlier than 18 years of age, but others suggest that adolescence extends beyond this age. Arnett (2000, p. 470) argues that there is a distinct stage of development between 18 and 25, which he calls ‘ emerging adulthood’. He relates this to Erikson’s (1968) ideas of prolonged adolescence and the ‘ psychosocial moratorium’ granted to young people in such societies “during which the young adult through free role experimentation may find a niche in some section of [their] society” (p.156)’. He argues that such a stage can be supported by its distinctiveness, emographically, subjectively and in terms of identity explorations. He relates his conception of this stage to the situation of young people in contemporary society. Such an idea is also supported by biological evidence[footnoteRef:1] that suggests that pubescant changes do not complete until into the early 20’s, with, for example, the brain not being fully developed as an adult brain until this age period. Research suggests, therefore, that there may exist a period of learning and development that cannot be classed as either child or adult. This is of particular interest to teachers involved in higher and vocational education where there is involvement of large numbers of students that fall within the period of development referred to as ‘emerging adulthood’. [1: http://hrweb.mit.edu/worklife/youngadult/brain.html]

Some of the literature on adult learning suggests that adults learn in different ways from students in school and are motivated by different factors. Knowles (1970, 1975) takes a humanist orientation in adult learning. He holds the view that adults prefer more self-directedness in their learning and learn more efficiently through experimental techniques. Knowles drew attention particularly to the pro-active role of the adult learner and the importance of self-esteem, self-directedness and self-control for adult learners. As such, Knowles’ theory can been seen as a stage theory, albeit one based on a difference in social experience and expectation─ that is, differences in preferences and a basis for autonomous activities between children and adults.

Knowles (1970, 1975, and 1980) differentiated pedagogy from andragogy by referring to pedagogy (concerned with children’s learning) as a content model of learning and andragogy (concerned with adult’s learning) as a process model (see Table Models of Learning –Assumptions below). Knowles himself recognised that andragogy and pedagogy were not child/adult dichotomies, but drew attention particularly to the prior knowledge and pro-active role of the adult learner and the need for learning processes to facilitate this.