DITeLearning/Learning Theories

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Introduction
This wiki project can be considered as a laboratory for several learning theories, especially those most relevant to adult learners. The Learning Theories section will give you a short brief review of these theories and summarize the characteristics of each to allow you to reflect on the way that learning theory has been an essential underpinning for development of this project.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter the learner will be able to:
 * 1) Understand which learning theories are most relevant to adult learners.
 * 2) Understand what the main characteristics of each of these theories.
 * 3) Understand why the knowledge of the learning theories is essential for development of a learning object.
 * 4) Understand which learning theories that most influenced the instructional design concept.



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Overview
The major theme of Vygotsky's theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky (1978) states:
 * "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (inter-psychological) and then inside the child (intra-psychological). 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." (Vogotsky, 1962).

A second aspect of Vygotsky's theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development depends upon the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD): a level of development attained when children engage in social behaviour. Full development of the ZPD depends upon full social interaction. The range of skill that can be developed with adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what can be attained alone.

Vygotsky's theory was an attempt to explain consciousness as the end product of socialization. For example, in the learning of language, our first utterances with peers or adults are for the purpose of communication but once mastered they become internalized and allow "inner speech".

Scope/Application
This is a general theory of cognitive development. Most of the original work was done in the context of language learning in children (Vygotsky, 1962), although later applications of the framework have been broader (see Wertsch, 1985).


 * Example:
 * Vygotsky (1978, p56) provides the example of pointing a finger. Initially, this behavior begins as a meaningless grasping motion; however, as people react to the gesture, it becomes a movement that has meaning. In particular, the pointing gesture represents an interpersonal connection between individuals.

Principles

 * Cognitive development is limited to a certain range at any given age.
 * Full cognitive development requires social interaction.

Overview
This theory stipulates that there are several different types or levels of learning. The significance of these classifications is that each different type requires different types of instruction. Gagne identifies five major categories of learning: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills and attitudes. Different internal and external conditions are necessary for each type of learning. For example, for cognitive strategies to be learned, there must be a chance to practice developing new solutions to problems; to learn attitudes, the learner must be exposed to a credible role model or persuasive arguments.

Gagne suggests that learning tasks for intellectual skills can be organized in a hierarchy according to complexity: stimulus recognition, response generation, procedure following, use of terminology, discriminations, concept formation, rule application, and problem solving. The primary significance of the hierarchy is to identify prerequisites that should be completed to facilitate learning at each level. Prerequisites are identified by doing a task analysis of a learning/training task. Learning hierarchies provide a basis for the sequencing of instruction.

In addition, the theory outlines nine instructional events and corresponding cognitive processes. These events should satisfy or provide the necessary conditions for learning and serve as the basis for designing instruction and selecting appropriate media (Gagne, Briggs & Wager, 1992).

Scope/Application
While the nine instructional events covers all aspects of learning, the focus of the theory is on intellectual skills. The theory has been applied to the design of instruction in all domains (Gagne & Driscoll, 1988). In its original formulation (Gagne, 1962), special attention was given to military training settings. Gagne (1987) addresses the role of instructional technology in learning.


 * Example:
 * The following example illustrates a teaching sequence corresponding to the nine instructional events for the objective, Recognize an equilateral triangle:
 * Gain attention - show variety of computer generated triangles
 * Identify objective - pose question: "What is an equilateral triangle?"
 * Recall prior learning - review definitions of triangles
 * Present stimulus - give definition of equilateral triangle
 * Guide learning- show example of how to create equilateral
 * Elicit performance - ask students to create 5 different examples
 * Provide feedback - check all examples as correct/incorrect
 * Assess performance- provide scores and remediation
 * Enhance retention/transfer - show pictures of objects and ask students to identify equilaterals (1985, chapter 12) provides examples of events for each category of learning outcomes.

Principles

 * Different instruction is required for different learning outcomes.
 * Events of learning operate on the learner in ways that constitute the conditions of learning.
 * The specific operations that constitute instructional events are different for each different type of learning outcome.
 * Learning hierarchies define what intellectual skills are to be learned and a sequence of instruction.

Overview
A major theme in the theoretical framework of Bruner is that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the information given".

As far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage students to discover principles by themselves. The instructor and student should engage in an active dialogue (i.e., Socratic learning). The task of the instructor is to translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner's current state of understanding. Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds upon what they have already learned.

Bruner (1966) states that a theory of instruction should address four major aspects:
 * Predisposition towards learning
 * The ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be most readily grasped by the learner
 * The most effective sequences in which to present material
 * The nature and pacing of rewards and punishments. Good methods for structuring knowledge should result in simplifying, generating new propositions, and increasing the manipulation of information.

In his more recent work, Bruner (1986, 1990, 1996) has expanded his theoretical framework to encompass the social and cultural aspects of learning as well as the practice of law.

Scope/Application
Bruner's constructivist theory is a general framework for instruction based upon the study of cognition. Much of the theory is linked to child development research (especially Piaget). The ideas outlined in Bruner (1960) originated from a conference focused on science and maths learning. Bruner illustrated his theory in the context of mathematics and social science programs for young children (see Bruner, 1973). The original development of the framework for reasoning processes is described in Bruner, Goodnow & Austin (1951). Bruner (1983) focuses on language learning in young children. Note that Constructivism is a very broad conceptual framework in philosophy and science and Bruner's theory represents one particular perspective.


 * Example:
 * This example is taken from Bruner (1973):
 * "The concept of prime numbers appears to be more readily grasped when the child, through construction, discovers that certain handfuls of beans cannot be laid out in completed rows and columns. Such quantities have either to be laid out in a single file or in an incomplete row-column design in which there is always one extra or one too few to fill the pattern. These patterns, the child learns, happen to be called prime. It is easy for the child to go from this step to the recognition that a multiple table, so called, is a record sheet of quantities in completed multiple rows and columns. Here is factoring, multiplication and primes in a construction that can be visualized."

Principles

 * Instruction must be concerned with the experiences and contexts that make the student willing and able to learn (readiness).
 * Instruction must be structured so that it can be easily grasped by the student (spiral organization).
 * Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the gaps (going beyond the information given).

Overview
The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modelling the behaviours, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977) states: "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action." (p22). Social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioural, and environmental influences.

The component processes underlying observational learning are:
 * Attention, including modelled events (distinctiveness, affective valence, complexity, prevalence, functional value) and observer characteristics (sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past reinforcement)
 * Retention, including symbolic coding, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal)
 * Motor Reproduction, including physical capabilities, self-observation of reproduction, accuracy of feedback
 * Motivation, including external, vicarious and self reinforcement.

Because it encompasses attention, memory and motivation, social learning theory spans both cognitive and behavioural frameworks. Bandura's theory improves upon the strictly behavioural interpretation of modelling provided by Miller & Dollard (1941). Bandura’s work is related to the theories of Vygotsky and Lave which also emphasize the central role of social learning.

Scope/Application
Social learning theory has been applied extensively to the understanding of aggression (Bandura, 1973) and psychological disorders, particularly in the context of behaviouur modification (Bandura, 1969). It is also the theoretical foundation for the technique of behaviour modelling which is widely used in training programs. In recent years, Bandura has focused his work on the concept of self-efficacy in a variety of contexts (e.g., Bandura, 1997).


 * Example:
 * The most common (and pervasive) examples of social learning situations are television commercials. Commercials suggest that drinking a certain beverage or using a particular hair shampoo will make us popular and win the admiration of attractive people. Depending upon the component processes involved (such as attention or motivation), we may model the behaviour shown in the commercial and buy the product being advertised.

Principles

 * The highest level of observational learning is achieved by first organizing and rehearsing the modelled behaviour symbolically and then enacting it overtly. Coding modelled behaviour into words, labels or images results in better retention than simply observing.
 * Individuals are more likely to adopt a modelled behaviour if it results in outcomes they value.
 * Individuals are more likely to adopt a modelled behaviour if the model is similar to the observer and has admired status and the behavior has functional value.

Overview
This theory suggests that learning happens best under conditions that are aligned with human cognitive architecture. The structure of human cognitive architecture, while not known precisely, is discernible through the results of experimental research. Recognizing George Miller's research showing that short term memory is limited in the number of elements it can contain simultaneously, Sweller builds a theory that treats schemas, or combinations of elements, as the cognitive structures that make up an individual's knowledge base. (Sweller, 1988)

The contents of long term memory are "sophisticated structures that permit us to perceive, think, and solve problems," rather than a group of rote learned facts. These structures, known as schemas, are what permit us to treat multiple elements as a single element. They are the cognitive structures that make up the knowledge base (Sweller, 1988). Schemas are acquired over a lifetime of learning, and may have other schemas contained within themselves.

The difference between an expert and a novice is that a novice hasn't acquired the schemas of an expert. Learning requires a change in the schematic structures of long term memory and is demonstrated by performance that progresses from clumsy, error-prone, slow and difficult to smooth and effortless. The change in performance occurs because as the learner becomes increasingly familiar with the material, the cognitive characteristics associated with the material are altered so that it can be handled more efficiently by working memory.

From an instructional perspective, information contained in instructional material must first be processed by working memory. For schema acquisition to occur, instruction should be designed to reduce working memory load. Cognitive load theory is concerned with techniques for reducing working memory load in order to facilitate the changes in long term memory associated with schema acquisition.

Scope/Application
Sweller's theories are best applied in the area of instructional design of cognitively complex or technically challenging material. His concentration is on the reasons that people have difficulty learning material of this nature. Cognitive load theory has many implications in the design of learning materials which must, if they are to be effective, keep cognitive load of learners at a minimum during the learning process. While in the past the theory has been applied primarily to technical areas, it is now being applied to more language-based discursive areas.


 * Example:
 * In combining an illustration of blood flow through the heart with text and labels, the separation of the text from the illustration forces the learner to look back and forth between the specified parts of the illustration and the text. If the diagram is self-explanatory, research data indicates that processing the text unnecessarily increases working memory load. If the information could be replaced with numbered arrows in the labeled illustration, the learner could concentrate better on learning the content from the illustration alone. Alternatively, if the text is essential to intelligibility, placing it on the diagram rather than separated will reduce cognitive load associated with searching for relations between the text and the diagram (Sweller, 1999).

Principles
Specific recommendations relative to the design of instructional material include:


 * Change problem solving methods to avoid means-ends approaches that impose a heavy working memory load, by using goal-free problems or worked examples.
 * Eliminate the working memory load associated with having to mentally integrate several sources of information by physically integrating those sources of information.
 * Eliminate the working memory load associated with unnecessarily processing repetitive information by reducing redundancy.
 * Increase working memory capacity by using auditory as well as visual information under conditions where both sources of information are essential (i.e. non-redundant) to understanding.

Overview
When preparing eLearning materials, you should consider how users like to take in and process information (learning styles). Learning style inventories are related to personality indicators derived by Jung. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is a psychometric questionnaire developed during WWII by designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The initial questionnaire grew into the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which was first published in 1962. The classic learning styles inventories are based on Kolb’s Learning Inventory which flows from Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. These essentially have two components, an active experimentation (AC) - reflective observation (RO) continuum and a concrete experience (CE) - abstract conceptualisation (AC) continuum leading to four poles of learning preferences.
 * AC-RO Assimilating
 * AC-AE Converging
 * CE –AE Accommodating
 * CE-RO Diverging