Chapter 2: Learning and Teaching

TalcottParsons:3levelsofstructureinorganizations
Technical
Managerial
Institutional

TechnicalCore:systemoforganizationalactivitywherethe
productoftheorganizationisproduced.
Inschools,theteachinglearningprocess,asthetechnical
core,shapesmanyadministrativedecisions.

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Learning Defined
Learning:experienceproducesastablechangein
someonesknowledgeorbehavior.
Changemustoccurbecauseofexperience,whetherornotthe
learningisintentionalorunintentional

Noonebestexplanationoflearning,butthreegeneral
theories:
Behavioraltheories:stressobservablechangesinbehaviors,skills,
andhabits
Cognitivetheories:stressinternalmentalactivitiessuchas
thinking,remembering,creating,andproblemsolving
Constructivisttheories:stresshowindividualsmakemeaningof
eventsandactivities.Learning=constructionofknowledge

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Behavioral Perspective on Learning

Behavioristsnotconcernedprimarilywithmentalor
internalprocesses,butratherwithchangesinbehavior
broughtaboutbyexperience.

B.F.Skinnerandhisfollowersemphasizeantecedentsand
consequencesasmechanismsforchangingbehavior.
Environmentalinfluences(antecedentsandconsequences)
shapeallbehavior,intheABCpattern:
Antecedentbehaviorconsequence:antecedentprecedesbehavior,
whichisfollowedbyaconsequence
ConsequencesofbehaviorbecomeantecedentsfornextABC
sequence
Changebehaviorbychangingantecedents,consequences,orboth

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Consequences
Earlybehavioralworkfocusedonconsequencesmorethan
antecedents.
Kindofconsequenceandtimingofconsequencewill
strengthenorweakenindividualspropensityforacertain
behavior.
Twokindsofconsequences:ReinforcementandPunishment

Theseareoftenconfused.
Reinforcementstrengthensorincreasesfrequencyofbehavior.
Punishmentweakensorsuppressesbehavior.
Becarefulnottoconfusepunishmentwithnegativereinforcement:
nomatterhowyoureinforce,ifyourereinforcingyoure
strengtheningbehavior.

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Reinforcement

Reinforcer:consequencethatstrengthensbehaviorthatit
follows.
Oneindividualsreinforcermightnotbeareinforcerfor
someoneelse:responsesarehighlyindividualized
Somepsychologistssayreinforcerssatisfyneeds;others
arguetheyreducetensionsorstimulateparticularpartsofthe
brain.
Strengthofreinforcementdependsuponindividuals
perceptionoftheevent,andthemeaningitholds.
Twomaintypesofreinforcement:positiveandnegative

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Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Positivereinforcement:occurswhenabehaviorproducesa
newstimulusormotivatingforce
Whenaconsequencestrengthensabehaviorbyaddingastimulus,
thebehaviorhasbeenpositivelyreinforced

Negativereinforcement:occurswhenabehaviorremoves
oreliminatesastimulus
Ifbehaviorresultsineliminationofanegativestimulus,itsmore
likelytoberepeated:thebehaviorhasbeennegativelyreinforced

Bothtypesofreinforcementstrengthenbehavior:positive
throughaddingstimuli;negativebysubtractingstimuli

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Punishment

Ifreinforcementstrengthensbehavior,punishmentsuppressesit:
behaviorfollowedbypunishmentislesslikelytoberepeated
Aswithreinforcers,punishmentssomewhatindividualized:whatpunishes
oneindividualmightnotbeperceivedaspunishmentbyanother

Twomaintypesofpunishment:
1.DirectPunishment(TypeI)
Directpunishment:appearanceofstimulusfollowingbehavior
suppressesorweakensbehavior.
2.RemovalPunishment(TypeII)
Removalpunishment:stimulusisremovedfollowingbehaviorinorderto
weakenorsuppressit.

Bothtypessuppressbehavior:directpunishmentbyaddingsomething
tostopit,andremovalpunishmentbywithholdingsomething

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Antecedents
Antecedentsprecedebehavior
Helpindividualsdistinguishbetweenbehaviorsthatleadtopositive
consequencesandbehaviorsthatleadtonegativeconsequences:
individuallearnstoreadtheantecedent.

Notalwaysthecasethatpeopleareconsciousofreadingthe
antecedent,butcuesandpromptscanbedeliberatelyusedto
influencebehavior.
Cueing:providinganantecedentjustpriortoaparticular
behavior.
Furnishesinformationaboutwhichbehaviorswillbepunishedand
whichreinforced.
Allowsteachers,parentstoreinforcebehaviorwithoutresortingto
punishment.

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Prompting
Prompting:providinganadditionalcueafterthefirstcue
Twoprinciplesforusingcuesandpromptseffectively:
Makesureenvironmentalstimulusyouwantasacueoccursright
beforeyourprompt
Fadethepromptassoonaspossible

Example:checklistwhenstudentsworkinpairsonpeer
tutoring
Graduallyremovethesupportofthechecklist,whichservesasa
prompt,whenstudentsinternalizeprocedures
Monitorprogress,reinforcegoodwork,correctmistakes

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Teaching Applications

Guidingprinciplesforteachingcontexts:

Clear,systematicpraiseforgenuineaccomplishments
Linksuccesstoeffortandabilityinordertobuildconfidence
Makesurereinforcersarethingsstudentsdovalue
Giveplentyofreinforcementwhenintroducingnewmaterial
Setclearandspecificgoalssoyouknowwhattoreinforce
Offeravarietyofreinforcersandallowstudentstochoose
Structuresituationaroundnegativereinforcementratherthanpunishment
Usecuestohelpestablishnewbehavior

Specificapproachesthatutilizebehavioralprinciples:learning
objectives,masterylearning,anddirectinstruction

Mostusefulwhenlearningnewbehaviorsorexplicitinformation,and
whenlearningissequentialorfactual

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Learning Objectives
Instructionalobjective:clearandunambiguousdescriptionofteachers
educationalaimsforstudents
RobertMager:objectivesshoulddescribewhatstudentswillbedoingto
demonstratetheirachievement,howteacherwillknowwhenstudentshave
succeeded
Threepartstogoodobjectives:
1.Intendedstudentbehavior:whatmuststudentdo?
2.Conditionsunderwhichbehavioroccurs:howwillbehaviorberecognizedortested?
3.Criteriaforacceptableperformance:howwellhasstudentdone?

Objectivesusefulundercertainspecificconditions:
Moresuccessfulinpromotinglearningwithlooselystructuredactivities
Usefulwhensignificanceofinformationisunclearfromlearningmaterialsand
activitiesthemselves,i.e.,objectiveshelpfocusstudentsattentiononlearninggoals

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Mastery Learning

Underlyingassumption:givenenoughtimeandproperinstruction,
moststudentscanmasteranylearningobjective
How?Teacherbreaksdownwhatmustbelearnedintosmallunits
ofstudy
Masterydefinedasascoreof8090%onassessment
Studentsrepeatunituntiltheyachievemastery,asmeasuredbyanother
formofunittest

Challenge:provideappropriatehelptostudentswhostruggleto
achievemastery
Mostusefulwhenpresentingfoundationalskillsorconceptsthose
necessaryforsubsequentlearning
Successfulwhenstudentsgetextratimeandsupporttheyneed
Hasnotclosedachievementgapsasmuchaswashopedsubjectto
individualstudentsmotivation,reactionstorecycling

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Direct Instruction

A.K.A.,explicitteachingoractiveteaching
Bestappliedtoteachingofbasicskills:sciencefacts,mathematical
computations,vocabularyandgrammarrules
Taughtstepbystep,assessedwithstandardizedtests

BarakRosenshine:SixTeachingFunctionsofeffectivedirectinstruction
1.Reviewandcheckpreviousdayswork
2.Presentnewmaterial
3.Provideguidedpractice
4.Givefeedbackandcorrectivesbasedonstudentanswers
5.Provideindependentpractice
6.Reviewweeklyandmonthly

OtherdirectinstructionapproachesHunter;Good,Grouws,and
Ebmeierdrawonsimilarelementsofeffectiveinstruction

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Cognitive Perspectives on Learning

Cognitivetheoristsfocusonthinking,learning,
conceptualization,andproblemsolving
Learningisanactivementalprocess:weplanour
responses,usesystemstohelpusremember,andorganize
materials
Putstheindividualbackinthelearningprocess:whatwe
bringtothelearningsituationhasahugeinfluenceonhow
andwhatwelearn

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Categorizing Knowledge
Knowledgeasbothmeansandend:existingknowledge
guidesnewlearningthescaffoldthatsupportsthe
constructionofallfuturelearning
Generalknowledgevs.Domainspecificknowledge:
General:appliestoavarietyofsituations
Domainspecific:relatestoparticulartaskorsubject

Alsocategorizeknowledgebyhowitsmanifested
Declarativeknowledge:canbedeclared,usuallyinwords
Proceduralknowledge:knowinghowtodosomething
knowledgethatisdemonstrated
Conditionalknowledge:knowingwhenandwhytoapply
declarativeandproceduralknowledge

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Information-Processing Model
Makesanalogybetweenmindandcomputer:information
storedinthreestoragesystems
Sensorymemory:holdingsystemthatmaintainsstimulisothat
perceptualanalysiscanoccur
Workingmemory:(shorttermmemory)holds59bitsofinfoata
timeforupto20seconds
Longtermmemory:storeshugeamountsofinfoforlongperiods
oftime;maybecodedverballyorvisuallyorboth

Memory=reconstruction:leadstoaccurate,partly
accurate,orinaccuraterecall
Accurateretrievaldependspartlyonhowinfowaslearned

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Sensory Memory
Sensorymemory=theinitialsystemthatbrieflyholds
stimuliweperceivethroughoursenses
Weattendtosomestimuliandnottoothersthisattention
isfirststepinlearning
Challengetoteachersistostructureclassroom
environmenttogetandkeepstudentattentionatoutsetof
lesson,keepthemfocusedthroughout

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Working Memory
Workingmemorydefined:wherenewinformationisheld
brieflyandcombinedwithknowledgefromlongterm
memory
Resemblesscreenofcomputercontentisactivated
information,inthemomentconsciousness
Capacity=59separatenewitemsatonce
Alternativetheoryofcapacity:amountofinfowecan
rehearseinabout1.5seconds
Recenttheories:twoworkingmemorysystemsonefor
languagebasedinformation,onefornonverbal,spatial,
visualinformation
Durationofinfoinworkingmemoryisshort:520seconds

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Retaining Info in Working Memory

Useitorloseit:ifinfoinworkingmemoryisnot
activated,itfades
Mostpeopleengageinspecificstrategiestokeepit
Rehearsal:2types
Maintenancerehearsalrepeatinginformationinyourmind
Elaborativerehearsalassociatingtheinfowithsomethingyou
alreadyknow(infoinlongtermmemory)

Notonlyimprovesworkingmemory,butalsohelps
channelinfofromshorttolongtermmemory
Chunking:grouporchunkindividualbitsofinformation
intomeaningfulunits(sizedoesntmatter,#ofbitsdoes)

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Long-Term Memory

Longtermmemoryholdsinformationthatwemovefromworking
memoryforindefinitestorage
Virtuallyunlimited,butnotalwayseasytoaccessspecificinformation
ifmuchisstoredoveralongtime
3mainkindsoflongtermmemory:
1.Episodic:associatedwithparticulartimesandplacespersonal
memoriesofeventsofyourownlife
2.Procedural:howtodothingsmaytakeawhile,butoncelearned,such
knowledgeisrememberedforalongtime
3.Semantic:memoryformeaning:generalconcepts,principles,andtheir
associations

2importantwaysofstoringsemanticmemory
Images:visualrepresentationsmindseye
Schemas:abstractstructures,patterns,systems,scripts

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Storage and Retrieval

Howinfoisprocessedinitiallyhasimpactonrecall
Morelikelytoremembernewmaterialifyouintegrateitwith
informationalreadystoredinlongtermmemory
3waystofacilitatethiskindofintegration:
1.Elaboration:addmeaningtonewinfobyconnectingittoexisting
knowledge(applyschemas,forinstance,ormakeanalogies)
Easiertorecallbecauseelaborationactslikerehearsalkeeps
memoryactivatedlongerinworkingmemory,whichdeepensits
imprintinlongtermmemory
2.Organization:structuringinformationhelpsyourememberbothgeneral
ideasandspecificexamples;structurehelpsmapyourwaybacktoinfo
whenyouneedit
3.Context:welearnphysicalandemotionalaspectsofcontextalongwith
theinformationweprocesswithinthatcontext;replicatingcontexthelps
recalltheinformation

Bottomline:themorecompletelyinformationisprocessedwhenwe
firstlearnit,thebetterourchancesofrememberingit

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Metacognition
Metacognition:individualsawarenessofhis/herown
cognitiveprocessesandhowtheywork
Canintentionallyusemetacognitiveunderstandingto
regulatelearning
Planning:decidinghowmuchtimetogivetoatask,whatstrategies
touse,howtobegin,etc.
Monitoring:awarenessofhowmuch,howwellImlearning
Evaluation:judgmentsaboutoutcomesofthinkingandlearning
effectivenessofstrategies,timeallocation,etc.

Metacognitiveskillsbegintodevelopatages5to7,and
generallyimprovethroughoutschool
Superiormetacognitiveskillscancompensateforlower
levelsofability,andcanbetaught

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Teaching Applications
Someguidingprinciplesforteaching:
Usepreviousknowledge,connectionstofocusattentionandaid
encoding
Helpstudentsorganizematerialinmeaningfulchunks
Providereview,repetition,andcontextualization
Exercisemetacognitiveskills

Commontechniquesconsistentwithcognitiveapproaches:

Underliningorhighlighting
Notetaking
Visualaids
Mnemonics

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Constructivist Perspectives on Learning

Ancestors:Dewey,Piaget,Vygotsky,Gestaltpsychology
Keyassumption:peoplecreateandconstructknowledge
ratherthaninternalizeitfromtheexternalenvironment
Severaldifferentapproachestoconstructivism:
Rational
Radical
Dialectical

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Rational Constructivism
Emphasizestheindividualsreconstructionofexternal
reality
Buildaccuraterepresentationsoftheoutsideworld,often
usingprocessesconsistentwithcognitiveperspectives
(schemas,forexample)
Knowledgeisacquiredbytransforming,organizing,and
reorganizingpreviousknowledge
Piagettypicalofrationalconstructivists
Constructionisarationalprocessgeneratingincreasingly
complexreasoningasinPiagetssequenceof
developmentalstages

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Radical Constructivism
Starkdeparturefromrationalconstructivism:information
processingdoesntgofarenoughtoexplainknowledge
construction
Knowledgeconstructedlargelybyinterpersonal
interactionsandconstraintsofcultureandideology
NOTamirrorofexternalworld,becauseofthese
interactionsandlimitations
Consistentwithpostmodernism,postmodernistcritiques
ofAmericaneducation

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Dialectical Constructivism
Mediatesbetweenrationalsandradicals
Assertsthatknowledgegrowsthroughinternaland
externalinteractions
Agreeswithradicals:knowledgeisconstructedinways
thatareinfluencedbysocialfactors
Agreeswithrationals:rationalityisintrinsictotheprocess
ofknowledgeconstructionjustnotnecessarilyina
universal,strictlylinearpath
Middleground:multipleconstructionsofknowledgeare
possible,butnotallconstructionsareequallywarranted
anddefensible

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Vygotsky as a Dialectical Constructivist

Exemplarofdialecticalapproach
Knowledgeissociallyconstructedbuiltuponwhat
participantscontributeandconstructtogether
Thus,culturalcontextswillinfluencedevelopment:
learningissituated
Universaldevelopmentalpathspossiblebutnotmore
importanttocognitionthansocialcontexts,northeonly
truedevelopmentalchangesavailable
Multipleconstructionsofrealitypossiblebutnotall
equallyrationalordefensibledifferentconstructionswill
workbetterindifferentsituations

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Situated Learning
DrawsonVygotskysnotionthatlearningisinherently
social,embeddedinculturalsetting
Describedasenculturation,oranormingprocess:
individualsadoptthenorms,behaviors,skills,beliefs,
language,andattitudesofacommunity
Learningpreparesforparticipationinthatcommunity,
whateveritmaybe
Emphasizesthatmuchoflearningissituationspecific;
therefore,studentslearnskillsandknowledgein
meaningfulcontextswithclearconnectionstoreallife
applications

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Teaching Applications

Someguidingprinciplesforteaching:

Employmultiplestrategies,diversecontextsforlearning
Embedproblemsinauthentictasksthatrequirestudentstoapplywhat
theyarelearning
Createenvironmentofthinking,problemsolving,dialogue,openness,and
tolerance
Keepstudentsideasandresponsesatthecenterofinstruction

Commontechniquesconsistentwithconstructivism:

Inquirylearning:teacherpresentspuzzlingproblemorquestionand
studentsorganizehypotheses,datacollectionandanalysis
Cognitiveapprenticeships:studentsobserveexperts,receivecoaching,
practicetogainproficiency,reflectonprogress,andexplorenew
approachestocognitivetasks
Cooperativelearning:workingwithothersenhanceslearningbyrequiring
studentstoelaborate,interpret,explain,argue,andcoordinateinformation
andprocedureswithothers(jigsawandscriptedcooperationaretwo
examplesofsuchtechniques

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