1. LEARNING THEORIES
• Overview
• A theory of learning is a collection of
principles and evidence based facts of how
information is percieved,absorbed and
processed by an individual.
• This is achieved through observation,
reflection and experimentation on the
subject of interest
2. Behaviorism
• This theory of learning places the
environment at the centre of learning .
• It asserts that all learning is as a result of
interaction of the organism with the
environment.
• It therefore emphasizes the impact of
nurture over nature
3. Theorists
• The first theoretical contribution to
behavioral science was by Ivan Pavlov ,later
developed by J B Watson ,Guthrie and
ROBERT Rescoria.
This came to be known as the classical
conditioning model.
B.F SKINNER and Edward L Thorndike later
developed the operant conditioning model
4. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Classical conditioning is a process of behavior
modification in which an innate response to
a potent biological stimulus becomes
expressed in response to a previously neutral
stimulus
• This is achieved by the sequential occurrence
of both the neutral and potent stimuli in close
proximity
• It was on the basis of classical conditioning
that the school of behaviorism was founded
5. Pavlov’s experiment
• Ivan Pavlov observed that his dogs
salivated in the presence of the technician
who fed them even when there was no
food to be served .
• He developed a procedure that enabled to
study the digestive process in dogs .
• He redirected the animals digestive fluids
outside the body where he would measure
them
6. • Pavlov rang a bell each time before the
food was served .
• After continued repetition the dogs could
salivate by just hearing the bell
• Pavlov called the food the unconditioned
stimulus and the sound of the bell the
conditioned stimulus.
7.
8. Derived principles
• Contiguity
• Although Pavlov's results show that repeated
pairings were necessary for a conditioned response
to emerge , many conditioned responses can be
learnt after a single occurrence for example in fear
conditioning .
• The primary requirement in classical conditioning is
that both the un conditioned stimulus and
conditioned stimulus occur in close proximity .
• This sequential occurrence is referred to as
contiguity
9. Implication
• The school should offer a favorable
environment for the learner
• Any unpleasant experiences for example
teasing , being bullied greatly impacts on the
learners attitude towards learning
• In addition learning responses should be
corrected instantly to enable learners make
meaningful association, positive reinforcement
should instantly follow the desired response
10. Principles contd
• Extinction
• This occurs when repeated presentation of
the conditioned stimulus in absence of the
unconditioned stimulus is done
• The result is the fading of the conditioned
response
12. Recovery from extinction
• Extinction does not completely eliminate the
effect of conditioning .
• The organism can recover through ;
reacquisition , which happens much faster than
the fast one .
Spontaneous recovery which occurs after a
rest period.
External inhibition
reinstatement and renewal
13. implication
• Behaviour can be learnt as well as unlearnt
• Avoid prejudice and preconceived notions
• ALL behaviour is modifiable
14. • Stimulus generalization
• Another conditioned stimulus may be used
to elicit the same conditioned response as
the original conditioned stimulus eg
beating a drum instead of a bell
• Note
• The more the test stimulus differs from
the original stimulus, the more the
conditioned response also differs
15. implication
• Show implication and relevancy of learning in
real life
• Highlight cross cutting issues and help learners
to identify relationships
16. • Higher order conditioning
• This is the ability of a conditioned response
to cause subsequent conditioning to another
neutral stimulus for example if the dog
learns to respond to the bell and in
addition to the bell a lamp is lit, the dog
shall consequently learn to respond to the
sight of light
17. Implication
• Teaching from known to unknown
• Organization of content from simple to
complex
• Learning tasks should be broken down into
smaller manageable parts, one thing at a time
18. Principles contd
• Experimental neurosis
• This is a behavior disorder that results in
permanent breakdown of the association
between stimulus and response
• It results when an organism is tasked with
making a discrimination of extreme
difficulty
19. Operant conditioning
• This is a process of behavior modification that
results from the consequence of the response .
• The operant conditioning model to
behaviorism was first developed by Jerzy
Kornoski however it was B.F Skinner who first
used the term operant conditioning
• Edward Thorndike was the first to
experimentally investigate the operant
conditioning model
20. • The basic principle behind operant
conditioning is that when a person makes a
voluntary response of any kind, if it is followed
fairly quickly by some form of reinforcement,
the person is likely to make that response
again under the same or similar
environmental conditions. Phenomena that
often serve as positive reinforcers include
attention, praise, and money.
21. • Voluntary behaviour occurs for the very first
time through one of three processes.
• Randomly or accidentally
• Trial and error
• imitation
22. Thorndike’s work
• Thorndike used a box with a maze in which he
confined a cat .
• He observed that if the cat managed to find
away out of the BOX, it could easily get out if
it were to be confined again .
• In 1905 he announced the law of effect
which stated that;
• When a modifiable connection exists between
a stimulus and response, it is strengthened if
it leads to satisfaction and weakened if it
leads to annoyance
23. Thorndike's laws
• He later stated two other laws
• The law of readiness
• When an organism is ready to perform an
activity , to do so is satisfying and not to do
so is annoying
• The law of exercise (use and disuse)
• The more a modifiable connection between
stimulus and response is made, the stronger it
becomes and the less frequent it occurs , the
weaker it becomes
25. Skinner’s work
• B .F Skinner built on Thorndike's work by
• Providing a more practical approach to the study of
behavior
• He expelled such theoretical phenomena such as
satisfaction and suggested an empirical approach
that was based on the cause and consequence of
behavior .
• He also invented the cumulative recorder that he
used to quantify the extent of behavior
modification by frequency
• This formed the basis of what skinner referred to as
reinforcement schedules
28. • What can you see ?
• What do you think is happening?
29. • B .F Skinner invented the skinner box in
which he systematically investigated the
modification of behavior in rats pigeons ,
and other birds.
• In one experiment , he confined a rat in a
box that was kept free from external
stimuli .
• Inside the box he placed a food source to
which he connected to a lever .
30. • He then generated a sound that was heard
by the rat through the loud speaker .
• This caused discomfort to the rat and it
started moving around .
• When it stepped on the lever , food was
released from the source .
• The rat then stepped on the lever
whenever it needed to feed
31. • In a control experiment , one side of the
floor was electrified and whenever the rat
would step there ,it was shocked .
• It was observed that the rat avoided that
spot
32. schedule of reinforcement
• Continuous reinforcement
• occurs each time the person emits a particular response.
Intermittent reinforcement
• occurs only some of the time the person emits the response.
• Regular intermittent reinforcement
• occurs either at the end of a particular interval of time in which the
person emitted the response such as monthly payment of
salary(fixed interval) or in ratio to a specific number of times the
person emitted the response such as a salesperson getting a bonus
for every tenth sale,(fixed ratio)
• Irregular intermittent reinforcement occurs at irregular times, a
schedule of reinforcement that results in the most frequent and
long-lasting response pattern (as seen with gambling, in which the
gambler persists in gambling despite winning only some of the time
and usually unpredictably).
33. GUESS!!!
• When in doubt, never
hesitate to guess. The
worst that can happen is
that you will be wrong.
Furthermore, even when
you are wrong, correcting
your mistakes in itself
often suggests new
answers. The worst thing
you can do is to do
nothing at all.
34. Classical vs operant conditioning
• Classical conditioning involves associating between an involuntary
response and a stimulus, while operant conditioning is about
associating between a voluntary behaviour and a consequence
• In operant conditioning, the learner is also rewarded with
incentives, while classical conditioning involves no such
enticements.
• classical conditioning is passive on the part of the learner, while
operant conditioning requires the learner to actively participate and
perform some type of action in order to be rewarded or punished.
• For operant conditioning to work, the subject must first display a
behaviour which can then be either rewarded or punished. Classical
conditioning, on the other hand, involves forming an association
with some sort of already naturally occurring event
35. conditioning
• Today, both classical and operant conditioning are utilized for a
variety of purposes by teachers, parents, psychologists, animal
trainers, and many others. In animal conditioning, a trainer might
utilize classical conditioning by repeatedly pairing the sound of a
clicker with the taste of food. Eventually, the sound of the clicker
alone will begin to produce the same response that the taste of
food would.
• In a classroom setting, a teacher might utilize operant conditioning
by offering tokens as rewards for good behavior. Students can then
turn in these tokens to receive some type of reward such as a treat
or extra play time. In each of these instances, the goal of
conditioning is to produce some sort of change in behavior.
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