Learning

Perspectives
A beginners guide to behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist
perspectives.
By: Matthew Allison

Behavioral Views of
Learning

The behavioral approach to learning was developed by

Skinner and others who define learning as a change in
behavior brought about by experience, with little
concern for the mental or internal aspects of learning.
(Hoy and Hoy, Instructional Leadership, pg 94).

Think A-B-C

Antecedent

Behavior

Consequence

Consequences

Can strengthen or weaken behaviors.

Reinforcement Consequences: Any consequence that strengthens the

behavior it follows.

Positive Reinforcement: Occurs when a behavior produces a new stimulus. e.g.

Student that consistently gets sent to the principals office for misbehaving to get
away from work.
Negative Reinforcement: Occurs when a behavior causes the disappearance of a
stimulus. e.g. Seat belt buckle buzzer. We buckle up immediately to avoid hearing
the buzzer.

Punishment: Is the decreasing or suppression of a behavior.

Presentation Punishment: When the presentation of a stimulus following the

behavior suppresses or decreases the behavior. e.g. Giving after school detention
for an inappropriate behavior.

Removal Punishment: Taking away privileges because of a behavior. e.g. no recess

for two days.

Hoy and Hoy, Instructional Leadership, pgs 96-97

Antecedents

Are events that precede behaviors.

Cueing: Act of of providing an antecedent stimulus just before a

particular behavior is to take place. e.g. There have been a string of
locker thefts during passing period. The principal standing in the
hallway during passing period is a cue for the students to think
about the consequences if they engage in the behavior.

Prompting: Providing an additional cue following the first. e.g.

providing students a checklist of the correct way to write a research
paper. Writing the research paper is the first cue, providing the
checklist is the prompt. After students learn how to write a research
paper, the checklist can be removed.

Hoy and Hoy, Instructional Leadership, pgs 97-99

Behavioral Views of
Learning
Strengths

Giving Positive reinforcement

to all students can decrease
unwanted behaviors.
Positive reinforcement for
wanted behaviors can cause an
increase in those behaviors.
Cueing and prompting can stop
unwanted or promote wanted
behavior before that behavior
has started.

Weaknesses

A positive reinforcement
can actually increase the
behavior inadvertently.

Using the wrong type of

punishment for a
behavior can cause a
snowball effect.

Cognitive Views of
Learning

Knowledge and learning: What we already know determines to a great extent what
we will pay attention to, perceive, learn, remember, and forget (Bransford, Brown, &
Cocking, 2002; Bransford, Derry, Berliner, & Hammerness, 2005.)

Types of knowledge:

Domain-Specific

Declarative

Procedural

Self-Regulatory

Types of Memory:
Sensory
Working

Long Term

Types of Knowledge

Domain-Specific: Knowledge that pertains to a particular task or subject.

e.g. Knowing that a goalie in soccer is the only player that can use his
hands inside the goal box, is specific to the domain of soccer.

Declarative: Can be articulated through words and symbols systems,

knowing that something is the case. e.g. In music, knowing that the
symbol means to make a pitch flat or lower by step.

Procedural: Must be demonstrated Knowing how to do something. e.g.

Students translating a passage of Spanish literature into English.

Self-Regulatory: The ability to manage your learning by knowing how and

when to use your declarative and procedural knowledge. e.g. Knowing
when to use the pathagreom theorem for finding a length of a triangle
instead of the formula for finding the area.

Hoy and Hoy, Instructional Leadership, pgs 104-105

Types of Memory

Sensory: Processing of incoming stimuli (sights, sounds,

smells,) into information so we can make sense of them.

Requires attention on the material being learned.
Working: The interface where new information is held

temporarily and combined with knowledge from longterm memory to solve problems. Refers to what you are
thinking about at the moment.
Long-Term: Holds information that is well learned. e.g.

Dialing telephone numbers you already know.

Hoy and Hoy, Instructional Leadership, pgs 104-114

Cognitive Views of
Learning
Strengths

Weaknesses

Students must be
focused on the
information given. The
ability to recall
information later is
dependent on how it is
learned the first time.

Must have background

knowledge of content in
order to process new
information.

Good learning strategies

help students learn and
retain information in
long-term memory.

Constructivist Views on
Learning
Most constructivist theories focus on two central

ideas:

Learners are active in constructing their own

knowledge

Social interactions are important in this knowledge

construction process.

Elements of Constructivist

Authentic Tasks: Learning by complex situations and ill-structured

problems. The world does not present basic skill drills so our tasks
should be as complex as the real world.

Social Negotiation: Collaboration is key, students must talk and listen

to each other.

Multiple Representation: Providing the same information at different

times, in different ways will allow the learner to truly learn the
information.

Student-Centered Instruction: Instruction is done with guidance from

the teacher. Students are teaching themselves through interactions
with others and problem solving techniques. e.g. cooperative learning.

Hoy and Hoy, Instructional Leadership, pgs 120-134

Constructivist Views of
Learning
Strengths

The quality of discussions

among students when
learning through each other
can enhance learning for all
involved when the quality is
high. All parties involved
must do their part and the
teacher must be there to
guide the students in the
correct way.

TheWeaknesses
quality of
discussions among
students when learning
through each other has
to be high in order for
students to learn.

Constructivist learning
does not always follow
the district and state
views on learning. Will
students learn what is
needed for college in
Hoy and Hoy, Instructional Leadership, pg 135
this type of learning.