This document discusses various theories of learning and how they can be applied to designing effective training programs. It covers reinforcement theory, social learning theory, goal theories, need theories, expectancy theory, and information processing theory. For each theory, it describes key concepts and implications for instructional design. It also discusses best practices for instruction, practice, feedback, communities of practice, the learning environment, and lesson planning. The overall summary is that applying principles from learning theories can help optimize the learning process and achieve desired training outcomes.

1. Chapter 4
Learning: Theories and Program Design
Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin

2. What is Learning? What is
Learned?
Learning - a relatively permanent
change in human capabilities that is not a
result of growth processes.
These capabilities are related to specific
learning outcomes.

3. Table 4.1 – Learning Outcomes

4. Reinforcement Theory Social Learning Theory
Goal Theories
Need Theories
Expectancy Theory
Adult Learning Theory
Information Processing
Theory
Learning Theories

5. • Reinforcement theory - emphasizes that
people are motivated to perform or avoid
certain behaviors because of past outcomes
that have resulted from those behaviors.
– Several processes in reinforcement theory are
positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement,
extinction, and punishment.
Learning Theories (cont.)

6. • Reinforcement theory
– The trainer needs to identify what outcomes the
learner finds most positive and negative.
– Trainers then need to link these outcomes to
learners acquiring knowledge, skills, or changing
behaviors.
– Trainers can withhold or provide job-related,
personal, and career-related benefits to learners
who master program content.
Learning Theories (cont.)

7. • Social learning theory - emphasizes that
people learn by observing other persons
(models) whom they believe are credible and
knowledgeable.
• The theory recognizes that behavior that is
reinforced or rewarded tends to be repeated.
Learning Theories (cont.)

8. • Social learning theory
– Learning new skills or behavior comes from:
• directly experiencing the consequences of using a
behavior or skill, or
• the process of observing others and seeing the
consequences of their behavior.
Learning Theories (cont.)

9. • Social learning theory
– Learning is also influenced by a person’s self-
efficacy, which is a person’s judgment about
whether he or she can successfully learn
knowledge and skills.
– A person’s self-efficacy can be increased using
several methods: verbal persuasion, logical
verification, observation of others (modeling), and
past accomplishments.
Learning Theories (cont.)

10. Figure 4.1 - Processes of Social
Learning Theory

11. • Goal theories
– Goal setting theory - assumes that behavior
results from a person’s conscious goals and
intentions.
– Goals influence a person’s behavior by:
• directing energy and attention.
• sustaining effort over time.
• motivating the person to develop strategies for goal
attainment.
Learning Theories (cont.)

12. • Goal theories
– Goal setting theory
• It is used in training program design.
• It suggests that learning can be facilitated by providing
trainees with specific challenging goals and objectives.
• The influence of goal setting theory can be seen in the
development of training lesson plans.
Learning Theories (cont.)

13. • Goal theories
– Goal orientation - the goals held by a trainee in a
learning situation.
• It includes learning and performance orientation.
• Learning orientation - trying to increase ability or
competence in a task.
• Performance orientation - learners who focus on task
performance and how they compare to others.
Learning Theories (cont.)

14. • Goal theories
– Goal orientation
• It affects the amount of effort a trainee will expend in
learning (motivation to learn).
• Learners with a high learning orientation will direct
greater attention to the task and learn for the sake of
learning in comparison to learners with a performance
orientation.
• Learners with a performance orientation will direct
more attention to performing well and less effort to
learning.
Learning Theories (cont.)

15. Learning Theories (cont.)
• Need theories
– Helps to explain the value that a person places on
certain outcomes.
– Need - a deficiency that a person is experiencing
at any point in time.
– Maslow’s and Alderfer’s need theories focused on
physiological needs, relatedness needs, and
growth needs.

16. Learning Theories (cont.)
• Need theories
– The major difference between Alderfer’s and
Maslow’s hierarchies of needs is that Alderfer
allows the possibility that if higher-level needs are
not satisfied, employees will refocus on lower-
level needs.
– McClelland’s need theory focused primarily on
needs for achievement, affiliation, and power.

17. Learning Theories (cont.)
• Need theories
– Suggest that to motivate learning, trainers should
identify trainees’ needs and communicate how
training program content relates to fulfilling these
needs.
• If certain basic needs of trainees are not met, they are
unlikely to be motivated to learn.

18. Learning Theories (cont.)
• Expectancy theory
– It suggests that a person’s behavior is based on
three factors:
• Expectancies - the link between trying to perform a
behavior and actually performing well.
• Instrumentality - a belief that performing a given
behavior is associated with a particular outcome.
• Valence - the value that a person places on an
outcome.

19. Figure 4.2 - Expectancy Theory of
Motivation

20. Table 4.3 - Implications of
Adult Learning Theory for Training

21. Learning Theories (cont.)
• Information processing theory
– It gives more emphasis to the internal processes
that occur when training content is learned and
retained.
– It highlights how external events influence
learning, which include:
• Changes in the intensity or frequency of the stimulus
that affect attention.
• Informing the learner of the objectives to establish an
expectation.
• Enhancing perceptual features of the material
(stimulus), drawing the attention of the learner to
certain features.

22. Learning Theories (cont.)
• Information processing theory
– It highlights how external events influence
learning, which include:
• Verbal instructions, pictures, diagrams, and maps
suggesting ways to code the training content so that it
can be stored in memory.
• Meaningful learning context (examples, problems)
creating cues that facilitate coding.
• Demonstration or verbal instructions helping to
organize the learner’s response as well as facilitating
the selection of the correct response.

23. Figure 4.3 – A Model of Human
Information Processing

24. Table 4.4- The Relationship among Learning Processes,
Instructional Events, and Forms of Instruction

25. The Learning Process
• The learning cycle involves four stages:
– Concrete experience
– Reflective observation
– Abstract conceptualization
– Active experimentation

26. Table 4.5 – Learning Styles

27. • Age influences on learning
– Trainers need to be aware of trainees’ ages to
create a learning environment and develop
materials that meet their preferences.
– According to some trainers, there are four
generations of employees with distinct attitudes
toward work and preferred ways to learn—
Millenniums (or nexters), Gen Xers, baby
boomers, and traditionalists.
The Learning Process (cont.)

28. The Learning Process (cont.)
• Instruction - trainer’s manipulation of the
environment in order to help trainees learn.
• The training context - the physical,
intellectual, and emotional environment in
which training occurs.
• Practice - physical or mental rehearsal of a
task, knowledge, or skill to achieve proficiency
in performing the task or skill or
demonstrating the knowledge.

29. Table 4.6 - Features of Good
Instruction That Facilitate Learning

30. Table 4.8 - Characteristics of Good
Training Objectives

31. The Learning Process (cont.)
• Metacognition - individual control over one’s
thinking.
– Two ways that individuals engage in
metacognition are monitoring and control.
• Advance organizers - outlines, texts, diagrams,
and graphs that help trainees organize the
information that will be presented and
practiced.

32. The Learning Process (cont.)
• Overlearning - Continuing to practice even
after being able to perform the objective
several times.
• Error management training - giving trainees
opportunities to make errors during training;
provides the opportunity for trainees to
engage in metacognition.

33. The Learning Process (cont.)
• Practice can be massed, spaced, in whole, or
in part.
• It must be related to the training objectives.
• Feedback is information about how well
people are meeting the training objectives,
and should be provided as soon as possible
after the trainees’ behavior.

34. The Learning Process (cont.)
• Employees learn through observation,
experience, and interacting with others.
• Communities of practice - groups of
employees who work together, learn from
each other, and develop a common
understanding of how to get work
accomplished.

35. Table 4.11 - Internal and External Conditions Necessary for
Learning Outcomes

36. Table 4.12 - Details to Consider When
Evaluating a Training Room

37. Figure 4.4 - Examples of Seating
Arrangements

38. Table 4.14 - Examples of how to get
Trainees Involved

39. Table 4.18 - Features of an Effective
Lesson Plan