Reflection

Three Learning Theories

Learning theories explain how an individual acquire, retain and recall knowledge. The theories help us to understand how the learning process occurs. By understanding each theory, it can assist us in selecting the right technique, instructional tool and strategy, making the learning process better. 

1) Behaviorism 

    It is a theory that defines learning as the acquisition of a new behavior or change in behavior. The theory is that the learning process begins when a learner is presented with a stimulus in the environment and he reacts to it with a certain response. Then, when there is a change to a certain behavior, it is a sign that the learning process has occurred. The new behavioral pattern can be repeated so that the learner will stick to it, and eventually will behave as such automatically on cue. The behaviorists believe that learning occurs when a new behavior is acquired through the association between the stimuli and the responses. Therefore, to attain a desired behavior, it must have a consequence that will reinforce the behavior, such as studying hard (response) to get good marks (stimuli). This is a common practice among teachers, where they use reward and  punishment to reinforce a certain behavior in their students. 

     However, this method of learning does not prepare its learners with problem solving and creative thinking skills. This is because the learners acquired the knowledge, or a change in behavior through repetition or memorization, thus they only need to recall some basic facts, with no initiative in changing or improving things. They only do as they are told, so that they will get a certain reward or to avoid punishment. Behaviorism can be found in repetitive practices and participation points, to name a few. 

2) Cognitivism

    This theory focuses on the inner mental activities. It is also based on the belief that humans process the information they received, rather than merely responding to environmental stimuli. It is an opposed to the behaviorism theory. The cognitivists argued that not all learning processes can be acquired solely through conditioning. For example, when learning a language, you need to understand the language before you can practice speaking in that language. Learners that fall under cognitivism will use various strategies in order to construct understanding of the content they are exposed to. According to the cognitivists, the learners are considered as active participants in the learning process, thus they are not just the recipients that teachers fill in with knowledge. 

     Cognitive information processing is used when the learner needs to understand and process information that he or she receives and then relate it with the information that is already stored within the memory. The learning process involves the reorganization of experiences, either by attaining new insights or changing the old ones. Therefore, learning is a change in knowledge that is stored within the memory, and not just a change in behaviour. Cognitivism can be found in problem solving, discussions, classifying or chunking information, and any activity that is related to internal information processing. 

3) Constructivism

    This theory believes that we all construct our own perspective of the world, based on individual experience and internal knowledge. Learning is based on how an individual interprets an experience, thus making it unique and different for each person. This theory is used as a preparation for problem solving, therefore one needs a significant base of knowledge in interpreting and creating ideas. Moreover, outcomes are not predictable because learners construct their own knowledge. Thus, this theory will not work where a consistent result is needed. This theory is different from the concept of human as blank slate (tabula rasa), because a learner brings his past experiences and cultural factors to a situation, and then constructs his own understanding. 

      Therefore, it can be said that constructivism is a learning process where new knowledge is linked to prior knowledge in order to create an understanding to a certain concept or situation. Constructivists believe that learning is an active, contextualized process in constructing a knowledge rather than acquiring it. Knowledge is constructed based on personal experiences of an individual, hence the unpredictable outcomes. Examples for the applications of constructivism are research project, case studies and discovery learning. 

References: 

David L. (June 19, 2015). "Cognitivism," in Learning Theories. Retrieved from https://www.learning-theories.com/cognitivism.html. 

David L. (June 20, 2015).  "Constructivism," in Learning Theories. Retrieved from https://www.learning-theories.com/constructivism.html.

James Kelly ( September, 2012). Learning Theories. Retrieved from https://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/learning/theories/