Unit 4 Theories and Principles for Planning and Enabling Learning

Unit 4 Theories and principles for planning and enabling learning

Introduction
There are four main schools of thought around the concept of teaching and learning. This assignment aims to discuss what those schools are, how each of them are relevant to a teaching approach and how some of those theories relate to my own working practice.
Identify and discuss the significance of relevant theories and principles of learning and communication
The four schools which impact on learning are
Behaviourist
The premise behind this theory is that learning occurs because of an external stimulus. The teacher will impact on learning significantly and therefore learning will be a passive process.
Skinner (1904 – 1990) used a ‘skinner box’ to show that animals would repeat an action when rewarded either through positive or negative reinforcement. In the learning environment examples of this theory are when a learner is successful they may gain a certificate, verbal praise, longer break (positive reinforcement) or achieving a high grade allowing them to miss out additional pieces of coursework.(negative reinforcement)
E.L Thorndike (1874 – 1949) played a crucial role in determining key laws to learning from a behaviourist perspective. He argued that learning was a gradual process and certain conditions would encourage learning. These were:
a) The law of effect – learners are more likely to continue with a behaviour /learning if there is some sort of reward. Most commonly in the learning environment, a teacher will give verbal praise for success and positive efforts.
b) The law of recency – the most recent learning is most likely to be remembered and where a task has been completed and rewarded soon after will have most impact on a learner. A good example is in DTLLS, assignments and journals are read and feedback given very soon after it has been submitted. It helps learners to know that they have been successful and achieved.
c) The law of exercise – The more a task is completed the quicker it is achieved. The more a subject is visited the more likely it will be remembered. In a learning environment, teachers will use introductions, summaries, recaps and assignments to help reinforce new information until it is remembered.
In terms of promoting an inclusive learning environment behaviourist methods might be formulating compacts of expected behaviours between the teacher and the learner. Another example would be not enforcing punishment on negative behaviours. Quite often difficult behaviours can manifest themselves as a way of seeking attention. If a learner is repeatedly rewarded for turning up on time, handing in an assignment before the deadline and the more disruptive behaviours ignored, then they will learn that to gain attention, positive behaviours will cause that to happen. (www.projects.coe.uga.edu/)
Cognitivist
This is the approach which supports the concept that learners have a process of thought and are involved in that thought process as we learn, therefore can shape the way and level to which we comprehend new material. In order to gain meaning in what is being learnt a learner has to interpret that information and make sense of it.
Bloom (1956) recognised that learning occurs on many different levels and each level of learning has to be mastered before moving to the next level. He identified 3 different domains being cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling) and psychomotor (doing). Within those 3 domains there are 6 levels of learning development. Starting from the bottom, with the easiest level, to the top, which is the most complex level of learning and achieving a form of ‘mastery in a subject’. When looking at Blooms 3 dimensional pyramid, I would argue that the behaviourist schools of thought would only promote lower level learning purely because there is no encouragement to think outside of the box and have free reign to test out hypotheses and ideas.
Bloom taxonomy of learning has played a significant part in planning and enabling learning. The application of his theory helps teachers take an inclusive approach by being able to differentiate tasks to suit the learners’ abilities at that current time. It also means that whilst different levels of tasks are being set, all learners can grow at their own rate and feel fully valued in the process. We might be setting different learning goals with learners based on their current level of learning but with a view to helping them to grow towards the next level of learning in Blooms model. Therefore, Teachers should be focused on promoting a growth from surface learning or learning without understanding (Petty, G. Pg 11. 2004) to deep understanding where the learner is able to critically evaluate and dissect their own ideas and findings from their learning.
Gestalt theory is another important piece of theory that sits under the cognitivism framework. In particular the work of Max Wertheimer (1922) shaped the theory in learning. Gestalt means “whole” or “shape or pattern” (www.learningandteaching.info/). In contrast to Thorndike 's earlier concept that learning requires no insight, the Gestalt angle emphasises the importance of insight in learning. According to J. Atherton ‘it concentrates on the way in which the mind insists on finding patterns in things, and how this contributes to learning, especially the development of “insight”.’ (www.learningandteaching.info/) According to gestalt theory, the brain will eventually see a pattern in what a learner is studying and make sense of it before the learner fully understands what it is they really understand the concept in a stage by stage process... Once they have the ‘knack’, that learning becomes permanent.
Within the learning environment, when many learners are trying to learn new skills, they can experience frustration and anxiety. It is the job of the teacher to keep motivating and encouraging them to continue until they get the knack. Such an example might be a learner driver learning to pull off without stalling. It’s useful to consider the Gestalt approach when planning lessons because if the teacher has a structured and repeated method of doing things, the learners will recognise the pattern and find it easier to complete exercises and learn from those exercises.
Constructivism in learning
Constructivism sits under the umbrella of cognitivism. It’s best defined as
“People construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.” (www.thirteen.org ) This definition is crucial in understanding what a teacher is aiming for as a long term goal in their learners. The whole idea of expert learner stems from constructivism. The term “expert learner” describes:
“someone who takes increasing responsibility for their learning and the management of their journey, moving from “novice” to “expert” as they grow in experience and expertise.” (www.excellencegateway.co.uk)

The teacher should facilitate learning in such a way that over time, the learners become more autonomous in their ability to self discover. This may rely on the teacher having to have a certain set of skills. One in particular may be the use of Socratic questioning. This is where the teacher will ask the learners questions about the topic which requires the learners to think deeply about the subject and search within their own knowledge and constructs to respond. An example of a Socratic question might be “How would your teaching look, if you taught using only the behaviourist approach?”

One of the limitations potentially, of using the constructivist approach to teaching is that some learners may not have the same level of knowledge, cognition and experience as other learners. In order for the learning to remain inclusive, it is important that the teacher offers support to help guide and facilitate that learning without limiting the learning of others in the group. This concept is termed “scaffolding” by Wood, Brunar, and Ross (1976) who based their own theory on Vygostsky’s social development theory of learning. “Scaffolding allows students to perform tasks that would normally be slightly beyond their ability without that assistance and guidance from the teacher. Appropriate teacher support can allow students to function at the cutting edge of their individual development.” (http://www.ucs.mun.ca )

Humanist approach to learning

The humanist approach to learning centres along the belief that a person acts with intent and values. This is in direct contrast to the Behaviourist approach where behaviourists argue that consequential actions promote learning. (http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/affsys/humed )
According to humanists, in the learning environment, if conditions are right, a person will grow and motivation will increase enabling them to reach “self actualisation”; a concept that both Maslow and Rogers focus on when discussing learning and allowing individuals to reach their full potential. They argue that a teacher cannot focus on just learning but must consider the “whole” person.
In some respects the LLUK 's professional values mirror the principles of the humanistic approach to learning. For example value 3 "learning, it’s potential to benefit people, emotionally, intellectually, socially and economically...." (New overarching professional standards, LLUK 2010) is very much about the growth in a person whilst learning and considering more than just the content of what it is that is being learnt.
Sociological approach to learning
This really emphasizes that a lot of sublime messages and learning can take place because of the way we interact with one another, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) highlighted a type of ‘self fulfilling prophecy’ whereby people with poor expectations internalize their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed. This was further explored with an experiment by Jane Elliott (1968) who split a class into blue eyes and brown eyes. One day blue eyes were told they were superior, the other they were inferior. For both groups, they achieved better results in a spell test when in role as the superior group.

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