Learning theories

 Are guidelines or principles that direct an

individual to understand the meaning of an
event or situation
 Theories provide basic knowledge that
underpin the teaching learning process.
 Theories and practice are interrelated.
They explain the relationship of each other
since without theories, there can be no
practice and practice can be irrelevant
without theories.
 Satisfying stimulus
If response to a stimulus is satisfying
to oneself, the tendency for this is to be
repeated under similar circumstances. The
behavior is reinforced, developed, and
internalized.
 Reinforcement
Immediate, positive, tangible, or
intangible reinforcement through praise,
reward, or recognition are major conditions
for successful behavioral change.
 Overlearning
This increases memory and improves
learning performance. Frequent application
of the learned principles into practice
strengthens the learning process.
 Verbal and non-verbal associations
A critical prerequisite to behavior
change is the establishment of verbal and
non-verbal associations. Knowledge put into
practice provides a significant meaning of
interrelationships between what is real and
what is ideal.
 Cognitive-perceptual readiness and
internal motivation
These are mandatory conditions for
behavioral change. The student who has
the desire to learn regarding the subject
matter makes comprehension and retention
easy, whereas , students who are not
interested to learn make teaching and
learning difficult.
 The ordering of information
This influences the ease with which
learning takes place. Systemic and dynamic
presentation of subject matter consistent
with student’s readiness to learn motivate
active and productive learning process.
 Stimulus-response associations and
discrimination abilities
These are prerequisites to chained
behaviors. Connection or association cannot
be established by mere repetition of a
response.
 Cognitive constructs
The cognitive constructs of perceptual
imagery and recognition of features, such
as form, spatial arrangement, texture and
so on are prerequisites to concept
formation.
 Multiple discrimination and generalization
responses
These can be done through active
sensory, cognitive and emotional
participation and direct physical
involvement in learning.
 Previous knowledge
Prerequisites to principles of learning
and perception are concept acquisition, and
recall of the subject matter previously
learned.
 Critical thinking skills
Some cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor behaviors can be acquired,
strengthened or weakened by observing
and imitating the actions of others.
 Flexibilty and adaptation
Developing general patterns of
personal, social, and emotional adjustment
include affecting, receiving, responding,
valuing, and organization responses.
 Feedback
Crucial conditions for behavioral change
include being assertive, sharing, active,
overt, short periods of practice and
periods of rest, positive reinforcement and
corrective feedback.
 Balanced growth and development
patterns
Learning can be enhanced by matching
learning activities the learner’s level of
development, cognition, abilities, styles,
strengths, modalities, and preferences.
 Learning is a treasure within
It stresses that each individual must be
equipped to seize learning opportunities
throughout life, both to broaden his knowledge,
skills and attitude, and adapt to a changing
complex and interdependent world.
 Learning how to know
This is less concerned with the acquisition of
structured knowledge but more with the mastery
of learning tools.
 Learning to do
Learning to do requires a skillfull, creative
and discerning application of knowledge. An
individual must learn how to think creatively,
critically, and holistically and how to deeply
understand the information received.
 Learning to live together in peace and
harmony
Learning is a dynamic, holistic and lifelong
process through which mutual respect,
understanding, caring and sharing, compassion,
social responsibility, solidarity, acceptance and
tolerance of diversity among individuals and
groups are internalized.
 Learning to be
The aim of education is the complete
development and fulfillment of man,
complexities of personality, expressions and
commitments as an individual, member of a
family and community, citizen and producer,
inventor of techniques and creative mentors.
 Learning is unitary and holistic
Learning is of special value to teachers
of nursing in understanding the unitary
characteristics of human behavior. The
teacher should understand that the learner
responds to the “whole” situation or total
pattern in a unified way.
 To make learning unitary and holistic, the
student must:
 Respond simultaneously intellectually,
emotionally, and physically
 React to the whole learning situation
rather than to a particular single stimulus.
 Unless interference occurs, the students
total reaction is coordinated and
integrated toward achievement of her
goals.
 Learning is individual and social
Learning is an entirely individual matter
for the simple reason that every behavior
has to do with her own learning. Each
student must learn using her own style of
learning.
Learning is social because it takes place
in a group as some type of response to the
social environment of the individual.
 Learning is self-active and self-initiating
Self-activity is a universal basic
principle of learning which states that an
individual can learn only through her own
reactions to situations based on her
capabilities to understand and internalize
such situations.
Learning is also a personal process. A
student draws inferences from factual
data through his senses.
 Learning is purposive and goal-oriented
Learning is both active and purposeful.
Goals and objectives should be set for every
learning situation. Goals are determined
directly by motives and indirectly by
incentives.
 Learning is selective and creative
Human learning is both selective and
creative. The decision of what is to be learned
is made by the learner in terms of how
important it is in her eyes and to others.
 Learning is influential and transferable
Transfer affects the extent of all
learning activities, meaning that whatever
is learned in one context or situation
applies or affects another context or
situation making learning broader and
expansive.
1. Ideational learning
Ideational learning is pursued in the
cognitive domain.
a. Cognition
Refers to processes through which an
individual obtains knowledge about
anything by perceiving, remembering,
discriminating, integrating, abstracting,
generalizing, evaluating, imagining,
thinking, problem-solving, and creating.
b. Perception
Refers to the source of all concepts which
initiates mental activity. It begins from
“sensation” of all the stimulus surrounding the
learner and the learning environment.
c. Concept
Refers to an idea or a mental image which
makes reflective thinking possible. It is a building
block of theories through which knowledge is
formed.
d. Principle
Is a form of generalization that implies
action. It is a statement that explains a large
number of related phenomena which may serve
as a guide to action.
2. Skills or psychomotor learning
Skill learning is pursued and developed in
the cognitive and psychomotor domain. It
refers to refined pattern of movement or
performance based on integrated perceived
demands of the situation.
3. Emotional learning
Refers to a mental state which is
characterized by certain feelings and emotions.
a. Emotion and will
Are the ability to accept and cope with
rejection and still continue performing tasks to
achieve a specific set of goals.
b. Attitudes
Refers to a disposition, readiness inclination,
or tendency to act toward a specific goal in a
particular way. Attitudes may be strong or weak,
for or against, depending on the pleasure or pain
reactions as a result of the stimulus.
c. Values in emotional learning
Values are learned through observations,
simulations and significant and reliable
information necessary for adaptation. These
are differentiated from other skills and
knowledge since it is concerned about the
appreciation of learning that is made to exist
in a given situation or experience.
 Appreciation – is a core value attached to
nature, material things, aspects of art,
processes, technics, conduct, and social
institutions among others.
d. Ideals in emotional learning
Ideals are attitudes which function as
driving forces in the realm of human conduct.
Ideals are formed from ideas or previous
knowledge learned. Ideals are standards that
are the object of desire.
Skill development- is a process requiring
indepth knowledge and appreciation
of what is learned.
1. Form- is the manner in which
movements are carried out. It can
be best learned by listening to
directions, explanations and reading
instructions or seeing
demonstrations.
2. Execution – is the actual performance of the
skill. This partly or entirely eliminates excess
movements, and emphasizes timing, force and
coordination.
 Accuracy and speed
As to form and execution of perceptual-
motor skills, it is of particular importance that
proper emphasis be placed on correct actions,
accuracy and speed.
 Practice
Practice is absolutely necessary in the
development of a skill. Practice alone, does not
make for perfection but it is the attitude of
the learner that can develop and improve the
skill and prevent errors. Practice reinforces
learning, but is not learning itself.
Gagne identifies five major categories of
learning as follows:
 Verbal information- the ability of the
student to express her ideas, thoughts or
actions.
 Intellectual skills- this includes learning to
analyze and synthesize situations in order
to plan for alternative solutions to
identifeid problems.
 Cognitive strategies- the student recognizes
learning experiences best suited to her own needs
and makes use of resources to strengthen and
develop thinking.
 Motor skills- these are actions done
corresponding to what is thought about and what
is learned.
 Attitudes, feelings and emotion- this is evoked
or facilitated by the learning stimuli that can
further help determine the significance and
meaningfulness of a learning situation.
 Divergers
Divergers look at things from different
perspectives. They prefer concrete experience
and reflective observations. They are sensitive,
and prefer to watch rather than do. They tend to
gather information and use imagination to solve
problems.
 Assimilators
Assimilators are learners who are more
concise and logical in their approach. They
prefer abstract conceptualization and
reflective observations. Ideas and concepts
for these learners are more important than
concrete situations. They require good clear
explanation rather than practical opportunity.
 Convergers
convergers are more concerned with
problem-solving and uses this learning style
in finding solutions to practical issues.
 Accommodators
accommodators have a ‘hands-on’
learning experience that relies on intuition
rather than logic. Learners use other
people’s analysis, and prefer to take a
practical, experiential approach.
 Law of readiness
The law of readiness states that in
order to learn, one must be physically
and mentally ready to receive a learning
stimuli.
 Law of exercise
The law of exercise stresses the
idea that repetition is basic to the
development of adequate responses
because things most often repeated are
easiest remembered and practiced.
 Law of effect
The law of effect involves the emotional
reaction of the learner which states that:
 Learning is more effective when a feeling of
satisfaction, pleasantness, or reward
accompanies the result of the learning
process.
 Learning is strengthened when accompanied by
a pleasant or satisfying feeling and that
weakened when associated with an unpleasant
experience.
 Law of primacy
The law of primacy states that being
first often creates a strong, almost
unshakeable impression. The first lesson
learned create a strong impact on the
learners memory and understanding.
 Law of intensity
The law of intensity states that if the
stimulus or experience is real, intense and
vivid, the more likely learning will occur.
 Law of recency
The law of recency states that
information or skills most recently learned
are best remembered, while the things
learned some time ago are less
remembered.
1. Stimulus response
a. Ivan Pavlov Classical Conditioning
Theory
in the 1900’s russian physiologist
Ivan Pavlov, was studying the saliva’s
role in the digestive tract with his
dogs to salivate, Pavlov presented
them with food.
 Factors Affecting the Conditioned
Stimulus and Response Relationship:
 Frequency of conditioned &
unconditioned stimulus pairings. Pavlov’s
bell which elicited salivation of the dog
was the conditioned stimulus.
 Timing of stimulus presentation. There
was salivation of the dog before the
food was presented.
 Similarities between one type of
conditioned stimulus and another.
b. Edward Thorndike’s Connectionism
Theory
American educational psychologist
Edward L. Thorndike posited the first
scientific theory of learning, his theory of
connectionism.
 Three major laws of learning:
1. The law of exercise or repetition
States that “the more often a
stimulus-induced response is repeated,
the longer will it be retained.”
2. The law of effect
States the pleasure-pain principle: A
response is strengthened if followed by
pleasure and weakened if followed by
displeasure.
3. The law of readiness
States that because of the
structure of the nervous system,
certain conduction units, in a given
situation, are more predisposed to
function than other parts of the body
system.
c. B.F. Skinner’s Theory of Operant
Conditioning
B.F. Skinner described the effects of
the consequences of a particular behavior
on the future occurrence of that behavior
as “operant conditioning”
 Four types of operant conditioning:
• Positive reinforcement- such as reward or
recognition strengthens behavior. A
student who is praised or rewarded with
high grades after doing very well in class
will perform better than those who are not
praised.
• Negative reinforcement- such as
punishment and extinction weakens
behavior. A student who is discouraged to
proceed in doing a new task will not develop
self-initiating activities.
• Punishment – weakens a particular behavior
through the consequence of experiencing a
negative condition.
• Extinction- weakens a particular behavior
through the consequence of not
experiencing either a positive or a negative
condition.
d. John Watson’s Behaviorism Theory
John B. Watson pioneered the
behaviorism theory. Behaviorism
originated in the field of psychology. Its
concepts and methods are used in
education.

 Concepts of behaviorism :
1. Behaviorism is naturalistic.
Behaviorism states that the material
world is the ultimate reality, and
everything can be explained in terms
of natural laws.
2. Man is nothing more than a machine.
States that man responds to
conditioning process and responds
accordingly the way the mind perceives the
stimulus.
3. Men are “biological machines” whose
minds do not have any influence on
their actions.
According to Skinner, the mind and
mental processes are “metaphors and
fictions” and that “behavior is simply part
of the biology of the organism”
4. Behaviorism teaches that we are not
responsible for our actions.
Since men are mere machines, then
anything done by men is inevitable.
5. Behaviorism is manipulative.
Behaviorism predicts and controls
human behavior by controlling rewards
and punishment. One can shape the
behavior of another individual.
e. Edwin Ray Guthrie’s Contiguity
Theory
Edwin Ray Guthrie’s law of contiguity
states that a combination of stimuli which
has accompanied a movement will on its
recurrence tends to be followed by that
movement.
According to Guthrie, learning was
based on a stimulus-response association.
He believed that movements were small
stimulus-response combinations and when
combined, would make up an action.
2.) Cognitive Theories on Learning
a.) Kohler’s Insight Theory – The
German- American psychologist Wolfgang
Kohler, argued that animals did not learn
everything through a gradual trial-and-
error process, or stimulus-response
association.
b.) Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory –
emphasized the explanation of human
behavior in terms of the forces and tension
that moved men to action in h is field
theory.
 c.) Jerome Brunner’s Discovery Theory
– His discovery learning theory is an
inquiry-based learning theory. This takes
place in problem solving situation where the
learner draws on her own past experiences
and existing knowledge to discover facts
and relationship and new truths to be
learned.
d.) Rumelhart’s Schema theory – “a
Schema theory is basically a theory about
knowledge. How is knowledge represented
and how that representation facilitates the
use of suck knowledge in certain ways.
 e.) David Ausubel’s Assimilation Theory –
focused on presentational methods of
teaching in the acquisition of subject matter in
the curriculum.

TYPES OF MEANINGFUL LEARNING

1.) Representational or Vocabulary Learning –
consist of learning single words or what is
represented by them.
2.) Concept Learning – defined as “object,
events, situation or properties that posses
common attributes and are designated by some
signs or symbols.”
3.) Propositional Learning – It is not simply
the meaning of single words that is learned,
but the meaning of sentences that contain
composite ideas. Syntax and gramatical
rules must also be understood.