CHAPTER-III : LEARNING

CHAPTER-III

 LEARNING

INTRODUCTION

Dear students, what does the word “learning” bring to your mind? Learning to read, to ride a bicycle, to act, to use a computer, to play synthesizer etc. Each one of us learns something or the other intentionally or accidentally. Learning situations are most natural and common in our life. Every moment you learn something or the other because of the varied experience you have in life. In the educational process, the central idea is learning.

You are aware of a child learns right from his birth and goes on learning throughout his lifetime. An infant is quite helpless at birth, but slowly he learns to adopt himself to the environment around him.

E.g. A child approaches a burning matchstick; the child burns his hand and withdraws. Another time when he comes to a burning matchstick, he takes no time to withdraw himself away. He learns to avoid not only the burning matchstick but also all burning things.

When this happens, we say that the child has learned that if you touch a flame, you get burnt up. In this way, the change in the behavior of an individual occurs through direct or indirect experiences. This change in behavior brought about by experience is called as learning. This is a very simple explanation of the term learning. Now let us understand the meaning and definitions of learning.

CONCEPT OF LEARNING

Meaning and Definitions of learning

Learning, in psychology, the process by which a relatively lasting change in potential behavior occurs because of practice or experience. Learning is also a process of acquiring modifications in existing knowledge, skills, habits, or tendencies through experience, practice, or exercise.

Gates and others “Learning is the modification of behavior through experience”

Henry, P smith “Learning is the acquisition of new behavior or strengthening or weakening of old behavior as a result of experience”.

Crow and Crow “Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitudes. It involves new ways of doing things, and it operates in an individual’s attempt to overcome obstacles or to adjust to new situations.”

Skinner “Learning is the process of progressive behavior adaptation.”

Munn“To learn is to modify behavior and experience.”

M. L. Bigge “Learning may be considered to changes occur in human insights, behavior, perception, motivation or a combination of these.”

The above definitions emphasize four attributes of learning...

1.     The first is that learning is permanent change in behavior.

2.     It does not include change due to illness, fatigue, maturation and use of intoxicant.

3.     The learning is not directly observable but manifests in the activities of the individual.

4.     Learning depends on practice and experience.

Characteristics of Learning

Yoakum and Simpson have stated the following general characteristics of learning: Learning is growth, adjustment, organization of experience, purposeful, both individual and social, product of the environment.

According to W.R Mc law learning has the following characteristics.

1.     Learning is a continuous modification of behavior continues throughout life

2.     Learning is pervasive. It reaches into all aspects of human life.

3.     Learning involves the whole person, socially, emotionally and intellectually.

4.     Learning is often a change in the organization of behavior.

5.     Learning is developmental. Time is one of its dimensions.

6.     Learning is responsive to incentives. In most cases positive incentives such as rewards are most effective than negative incentives such as punishments.

7.     Learning is always concerned with goals. These goals can be expressed in terms of observable behavior.

8.     Interest and learning are positively related. The individual learns bet those things, which he is interested in learning. Most boys find learning to play football easier than learning to add fractions.

9.     Learning depends on maturation and motivation.

Types of Learning

Learning has been classified in many ways.

I. Informal, formal and non-formal learning: Depending on the way of acquiring it learning may be informal, formal or non-formal.

• Informal learning is incidental. It takes place throughout life. It is not planned.

• Formal learning is intentional and organized. It takes place in formal educational institution.

• Non-formal is also intentional and organized. It is flexible.

II. Individual or Group learning: Learning is called either individual or group learning depending upon the number of individuals involved in the learning process.

III. Another classification involves the types of activity involved

(a) Motor learning: - when learning involves primarily the use of muscles it is called as motor learning. e.g.: learning to walk, to operate a typewriter

(b) Discrimination learning: - Learning which involves the act of discrimination is called discrimination learning. E.g. infant discriminates between mother and aunt, milk and water.

(c) Verbal learning: - when learning involves the use of words it is called as verbal learning.

(d) Concept learning: - when learning involves the formation of concept it is called as concept learning.

(e) Sensory learning: - when learning is concerned with perception and sense it is sensory learning.

NATURE OF LEARNING

a. Learning is adaptation or adjustment: Friends, we all continuously interact with our environment. We often make adjustment and adapt to our social environment. Through a process of continuous learning, the individual prepares himself for necessary adjustment or adaptation. That is why learning is also described as a process of progressive adjustment to ever changing conditions, which one encounters.

b. Learning is improvement: Learning is often considered as a process of improvement with practice or training. We learn many things, which help us to improve our performance.

c. Learning is organizing experience: Learning is not mere addition of knowledge. It is the reorganization of experience.

d. Learning brings behavioral changes: Whatever the direction of the changes may be, learning brings progressive changes in the behavior of an individual. That is why he is able to adjust to changing situations.

e. Learning is active: Learning does not take place without a purpose and self-activity. In any teaching learning process, the activity of the learner counts more than the activity of a teacher.

f. Learning is goal directed: when the aim and purpose of learning is clear, an individual learns immediately. It is the purpose or goal, which determines what, the learner sees in the learning situations and how he acts. If there is no purpose or goal learning can hardly be seen.

g. Learning is universal and continuous: All living creatures learn. Every moment the individual engages himself to learn more and more. Right from the birth of a child till the death learning continues.

PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

The following list presents the basic principles that underlie effective learning. These principles are distilled from research from a variety of disciplines.

1.     Students’ prior knowledge can help or hinder learning.

Students come into our courses with knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes gained in other courses and through daily life. As students bring this knowledge to bear in our classrooms, it influences how they filter and interpret what they are learning. If students’ prior knowledge is robust and accurate and activated at the appropriate time, it provides a strong foundation for building new knowledge. However, when knowledge is inert, insufficient for the task, activated inappropriately, or inaccurate, it can interfere with or impede new learning.

2.     How students organize knowledge influences how they learn and apply what they know.

Students naturally make connections between pieces of knowledge. When those connections form knowledge structures that are accurately and meaningfully organized, students are better able to retrieve and apply their knowledge effectively and efficiently. In contrast, when knowledge is connected in inaccurate or random ways, students can fail to retrieve or apply it appropriately.

3.     Students’ motivation determines, directs, and sustains what they do to learn.

As students enter college and gain greater autonomy over what, when, and how they study and learn, motivation plays a critical role in guiding the direction, intensity, persistence, and quality of the learning behaviors in which they engage. When students find positive value in a learning goal or activity, expect to successfully achieve a desired learning outcome, and perceive support from their environment, they are likely to be strongly motivated to learn.

4.     To develop mastery, students must acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they have learned.

Students must develop not only the component skills and knowledge necessary to perform complex tasks, they must also practice combining and integrating them to develop greater fluency and automaticity. Finally, students must learn when and how to apply the skills and knowledge they learn. As instructors, it is important that we develop conscious awareness of these elements of mastery so as to help our students learn more effectively.

5.     Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback enhances the quality of students’ learning.

Learning and performance are best fostered when students engage in practice that focuses on a specific goal or criterion, targets an appropriate level of challenge, and is of sufficient quantity and frequency to meet the performance criteria. Practice must be coupled with feedback that explicitly communicates about some aspect(s) of students’ performance relative to specific target criteria, provides information to help students progress in meeting those criteria, and is given at a time and frequency that allows it to be useful.

6.     Students’ current level of development interacts with the social, emotional, and intellectual climate of the course to impact learning.

Students are not only intellectual but also social and emotional beings, and they are still developing the full range of intellectual, social, and emotional skills. While we cannot control the developmental process, we can shape the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical aspects of classroom climate in developmentally appropriate ways. In fact, many studies have shown that the climate we create has implications for our students. A negative climate may impede learning and performance, but a positive climate can energize students’ learning.

7.     To become self-directed learners, students must learn to monitor and adjust their approaches to learning.

Learners may engage in a variety of metacognitive processes to monitor and control their learning assessing the task at hand, evaluating their own strengths and weaknesses, planning their approach, applying and monitoring various strategies, and reflecting on the degree to which their current approach is working.  Unfortunately, students tend not to engage in these processes naturally. When students develop the skills to engage these processes, they gain intellectual habits that not only improve their performance but also their effectiveness as learners.

FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING

Introduction

Learning, as we know, can be considered as the process by which skills, attitudes, knowledge and concepts are acquired, understood, applied and extended. All human beings, engage in the process of learning, either consciously, sub-consciously or subliminally whether grownups or children. It is through learning that their competence and ability to function in their environment get enhanced. It is important to understand that while we learn some ideas and concepts through instruction or teaching, we also learn through our feelings and experiences. Feelings and experiences are a tangible part of our lives and these greatly influence what we learn, how we learn and why we learn.

Learning has been considered partly a cognitive process and partly a social and affective one. It qualifies as a cognitive process because it involves the functions of attention, perception, and reasoning, analysis, drawing of conclusions, making interpretations and giving meaning to the observed phenomena. All of these are mental processes, which relate to the intellectual functions of the individual. Learning is a social and affective process, as the societal and cultural context in which we function and the feelings and experiences which we have, greatly influence our ideas, concepts, images and understanding of the world. These constitute inner subjective interpretations and represent our own unique, personalized constructions of the specific universe of functioning.

Our knowledge, ideas, concepts, attitudes, beliefs and the skills, which we acquire, are a consequence of these combined processes. The process of learning involves cognition, feeling, experience and a context. Individuals vary greatly with regard to their ability, capacity and interest in learning. You must have noticed such variations among your friends and students. In any family, children of the same parents differ with respect to what they can learn and how well they can learn.

For example, a particular child may be very good at acquiring practical skills such as repairing electrical gadgets, shopping for the household etc., while his brother or sister may in contrast be very poor on these, and good at academic tasks, instead. Even for yourself, you may be perplexed why you can do some tasks well, but not others given the same competence level.

Maturation as Factor in Affecting Learning

Maturation is an important factor that affects our learning is defined as “growth that proceeds regularly within a wide range of environmental conditions.” Maturation is growth that takes place regularly in an individual without special condition of stimulation such as training and practice. Learning is possible only when a certain stage of maturation is also reached. Exercise and training becomes fruitful only when a certain stage of maturation is attained.

Maturation determines the readiness of the child for learning. Learning will be ineffective if the child has not attained the required level of maturity. There are individual differences in maturation. This means the rate of maturation varies with individuals. There are individual differences in the capacity to learn at the same age level. This is because of the difference of maturation level. Specific skills are learnt by children easily who mature earlier than others.

The 3R’s i.e., reading, writing and reckoning can be learn only after the maturation of muscular and brain capacities. Rate of learning ability is closely related to the maturation of the cerebral cortex. Deterioration of cortical tissues in old age brings about declination in the learning ability. So it can be said that learning is not independent of maturation, but must be based upon a sufficient stage of growth.

Learning is possible only when a certain stage of maturation is reached. However much we practice a six month old child with walking exercises, the infant cannot walk. The muscles have not matured enough for the infant to learn to walk. This particular learning is possible only when the nerves and the muscles have attained a particular stage of maturity and development. Practice is most productive when properly articulated with maturational level. It is very essential for the teachers to know the maturational level of the pupils.

Attention and Perception as Factor in Affecting Learning

Another factor, which affects learning, is attention. Attention is always present in conscious life and is common to all types of mental activity. It is the characteristics of all conscious life. Every activity of yours is based on interest and attention. You can succeed in achieving your goals only when your attention is directed towards learning.

Attention is defined as the act of selective consciousness-Ross

Dumville defined Attention as the concentration of consciousness upon one subject rather than another.

Characteristics of Attention

1.                 Attention is focusing consciousness on one object. One object is the focus of attention. All other objects are in the margin of attention. (Right now, what is the focus of your attention? What objects are in the margin of your attention?)

2.                 Attention is selective. We choose to attend to one object in preference to others.

3.                 Attention is constantly shifting from focus to margin

4.                 Attention is a state of preparedness where the muscles and sense organs ready themselves for attending

5.                 Attention cannot be divided between two mental tasks.

Types of Attention

• Voluntary attention: a person actively searches out information that has personal relevance

• Selective attention: a person selectively focuses attention on relevant information

• Involuntary attention: a person is exposed to something surprising, novel, threatening, or unexpected- e.g.: surprise, movement, unusual sounds, size of stimulus, contrast effects and color.

Several factors affect attention. These are factors inherent in the object of attention

1. Movement: An animated picture elicits more attention than a still picture

2. Size of an object: Large letters attract more attention than tiny font.

3. Contrast: Dark letters stand out against a light background.

4. Color: Colors, especially bright ones, gain more attention than drab colors

5. Novelty: A new gimmick in advertising is an instant hit

6. Change in stimuli: If the clock suddenly stops its ticking, it is likely to attract attention. If a teacher pauses in the midst of the lecture, the students are likely to pay more attention to the next few words

7. Intensity: A glaring light, sharp sound, fluorescent markers serve as attention grabbers.

8. Repetition: Words of a song that are repeated or words in a lecture that are repeated attract attention.

Significance of Attention

It is basic need for all types of learning. Every moment of yours is attracted by many stimuli of the environment. Your mind is not able to concentrate on all the stimuli at the same time. It is because of attention that you are able to concentrate on important aspect of a single object.

Consider a classroom, where there are lot of things like, desk, bench, chalk, black board, duster, fan and charts. When a teacher shows you a particular chart, you pay attention to that. It shifts the focus of learner to the chart this helps them to learn more about it.

Therefore, it can be said that attention helps you to clear the vivid objects.

·        It arouses interest in learners to learn a particular thing.

·        It increases efficiency of the learner

·        It motivates learners to learn more

·        It makes the learners ready to learn

·        It brings a state of alternates in learners for doing task

·        It helps the learner to perceive events or ideas.

Thus, attention is a necessary condition for any task in the classroom. It is the hub of entire learning process. It is essential for learning as well as understanding well. Attention is an essential factor for teachers as well as students. If you are attentive in classroom, you are fully prepared to receive any stimulus. It enables you to learn properly within a period. It helps you to achieve the target within short period and with reasonable amount of effort.

Perception

Perception is the process through which a person is exposed to information, attends to the information, and comprehends the information.

Exposure: a person receives information through his/her senses

Attention: a person allocates processing capacity to a stimulus

Comprehension: a person interprets the information to obtain meaning from it

Meaning: Perception is the mental process by which you get knowledge of external world. You receive innumerable impression through the sense organs. You select some of these and organize them into unit, which convey some meaning. The transformation of sensation into organized pattern is called as perception.

Perception = Sensation + Meaning

For E.g. Eyes react to light and give us the knowledge of brightness, nose reacts to smell and give us the knowledge of pleasant or unpleasant smell, ear react to the sound of barking and gives us the knowledge of presence of a dog. Perception is an active state of mind in which it reacts on sensation and interprets it. The basis of perception is sensation.

Importance of Perception in Learning

Learning depends on an individual’s precepts. If you are able to perceive a thing correctly then right learning will take place. Learning will proceed in a proper direction due to correct precepts. Both sensation and perception play an important role in you learning. Sensations are the first impression so it has to be absolutely clear. Sensations give rise to perception and on that basis you get a proper understanding of an object, idea or an experience. Learning depends upon accurate and efficient perception and perception depends upon the sensation, which depends on the normal functioning of the sense organs. Thus perception is important for proper learning and understanding.

Motivation as Factor in Affecting Learning

The knowledge of how to stimulate the students to participate meaningfully in classroom will go a long way in assisting the teachers. This chapter therefore provides the learners the opportunity to understand different theories of motivation and how to apply these theories to their day-to-day classroom teaching/learning activities.

Maslow (1970) believed that motivation leads to growth and development, and that need satisfaction is the most important sole factor underlying motivation. Maslow furthered explained that man is perpetually in needs and that the resources to satisfy those needs are limited. In view of this, many places his/her wants on the scale of preference, that he/she selects the most pressing need. After this need has been satisfied, it becomes less important, paving way for the next on the rank.

Motivation is defined as an inspiration that propels someone into an action. It is an internal state or condition that activates and gives direction to our thoughts, feelings, and actions (Lahey, 1995).

In the opinion of Oladele (1998), motivation is a process by which the learner’s internal energies are directed toward various goal objects in his/her environment. These energies or arousals push an individual in achieving his goals. An individual may be highly motivated to perform well in a task and completely unmotivated in another. This means that when people are motivated, they will work tirelessly to achieve their aspirations.

The needs of man may either be primary or secondary. Primary needs are the physiological wants of man. It may be the need for water, rest, sexual intercourse, hunger and thirst. Secondary needs are the desire for autonomy, affection, or the need for safety and security. For example, the desire of laborers to take a glass of water after thirst is a primary need. At the same time, craving of the students to stay in a serene classroom environment is a secondary need.

Types of Motivation

There are two types of motivation or arousals. They can either be internally or externally driven. The desire for food or sex arises from within us (intrinsic), while the yearning to obtain recognition or approval is influenced by the conditions in our environment (extrinsic). In view of the above explanation, motivation is divided into intrinsic and extrinsic.

1. Intrinsic Motivation:

Is an internal force or motive within the individual who drives him/her into emitting certain behavior? It is an innate or genetically predetermined disposition to behave in particular way when he/she faces a particular situation. This type of motivation can make an individual to have the feelings of self-confidence and competence (Deci and Ryan, 1985). A student who is intrinsically motivated may carry out a task because of the enjoyment he/she derives from such a task.

In another way, a dog that sees a bone and runs for it did that because of the satisfaction it derives from eating bone. This type of behavior does not require any prior learning. Sighting the bone changes the behavior of the dog and propels it to act.

2. Extrinsic Motivation:

Is the external or environmental factor, which sets the individual’s behavior into motion. The incentive/reinforce drives an individual’s behavior towards a goal. A student that is extrinsically motivated will execute an action in order to obtain some reward or avoid some sanctions. For example, a student who read hard for the examination did so because of the desire to obtain better grade. The case also goes for a runner who wants to win a prize; he/she will need constant practice than a person who wants to run for the fun of it. Extrinsic rewards should be used with caution because they have the potential for decreasing exiting intrinsic motivation.

For example extrinsic incentive may spur a student to actively participate in the task for which the student has no interest, but may undermine intrinsic and continuing motivation in him/her (Deci et al, 1985). Therefore, students’ motivation automatically has to do with the students’ desire to participate in the learning process. It also concerns the reasons or goals that underlie their involvement or non-involvement in academic activities.

Fatigue As Factor In Affecting Learning

It is quite essential to do away with fatigue in the process of learning as fatigue becomes an obstacle in the task to be performed or at least reduces its rate of progress. The truth of the matter is that the proportion in which the students become fatigued, his achievement curve shows a downward trend. Achievement decreases with the increase in fatigue. Hence, educational psychology makes a detailed study of the cause of fatigue and of the methods of alleviating it.

What is Fatigue?

Fatigue is the state of reduced interest and desire, and this constitutes psychological explanation. It is the state or condition in which the nerves do not react and mind becomes lax and inert. Evidently, fatigue is neither purely physical nor exclusively mental. It is a psychological state of exhaustion. Reduce efficiency or capacity of body as well as mind is implicit in this phenomenon.

Kinds of Fatigue

Fatigue is of many kinds just as capacity. However, it is generally believed to be of four kinds.

1. Mental Fatigue: Mental work or any kind of strain on the mind reduces the capacity of the mind for work and causes mental fatigue. Thus in mental fatigue, the mind tries or the capacity to its minute fibers for work is diminished.

2. Physical Fatigue: This type of fatigue results in the reduction in the capacity of the muscles of the body and a feeling of fatigue. In this way physical fatigue is brought about by physical exertion. Even though the body feels tired due to mental exertion which should normally result in mental fatigue, yet on account of close relation of the two, it also produces physical fatigue. Thus mental fatigue is unavoidable and it leads to physical fatigue.

3. Nervous Fatigue: The subconscious mind of man is extremely active and since in the process of its work it consumes energy, in due course of time it naturally produces a feeling of fatigue and depression. Nervous fatigue can also result in the subconscious is extremely tired due to mental conflict.

4. Boredom: Boredom and fatigue are not identical. Fatigue is the result of the use of energy but boredom is the feeling of tiredness due to an incomplete or improper expulsion of energy. If you go to a friend and he is busy in some work you become bored. Similarly, you get bored if a person persists in talking about the same thing day after. Boredom result in restlessness, a state induced by our inability to find proper use for our capacity for work.

Ways of Removing Fatigue

1. Sleep: Getting proper 8 hours of sleep is necessary.

2. Relaxation: sitting or lying in a relaxed position, doing activities which are favorites also eliminate fatigue.

3. Balance of work and rest

4. Change in the nature of work

5. Recreation

6. Change in Emotions

Reducing Fatigue in School and classroom

The following points can be kept in the view to fight fatigue in the classroom situation.

1. Satisfactory physical condition: the school and the classroom should be attractive and clean. The furniture must be quite comfortable.

2. Medical Check Up: Sick children are soon tired. Sometimes some children are healthy apparently but they may be suffering from some chronic ailments. They cannot carry on sustained activity for a long time. Weak eye-sight exhausts the individual very soon.

3. Mid-day Meals: Hungry stomachs invite fatigue during activity. Therefore, children should be providing with mid-day meals or other light refreshments in the school time.

4. Supply of fresh air: The rooms must be well ventilated for fresh air and light. Oxygen is a necessary thing to fight fatigue. There should be enough outdoor activities also.

5. Motivation: the lesson must be made quite interesting. Therefore, various teaching techniques should be implemented during teaching-learning process.

6. Co-curricular activities: Extracurricular activities prove very refreshing, interesting and instructive to the children. Therefore, there should be ample provisions of such activities in the school.

LEARNING THEORIES

Learning as a process focuses on what happens when the learning takes place. Explanations of what happens constitute learning theories. A learning theory is an attempt to describe how people and animals learn; thereby helping us understands the inherently complex process of learning. Learning theories have two chief values according to Hill (2002). One is in providing us with vocabulary and a conceptual framework for interpreting the examples of learning that we observe. The other is in suggesting where to look for solutions to practical problems. The theories do not give us solutions, but they do direct our attention to those variables that are crucial in finding solutions.

The three main categories or philosophical frameworks under which learning theories falls are behavioral, cognitive, and constructivism. Behaviorism focuses only on the objectively observable aspects of learning. Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning. In addition, constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts.

We will discuss the behavioral theories under two broad categories:

A.   S-R (Stimulus-Response) theory with reinforcement

v E.L Thorndike- Trial and Error theory.

v B.F Skinner- Operant Conditioning    

B.   S-R (Stimulus-Response) theory without reinforcement

v Pavlov- Classical Conditioning

S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) THEORY WITH REINFORCEMENT

A) E.L Thorndike- Trial and Error Theory of Learning:

Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949) was the first American psychologist who put forward the Trial and Error Theory of learning. According to Thorndike, all learning takes place because of formation of bond or connection between stimulus and response.

He further says that learning takes place through a process of approximation and correction. A person makes a number of trials, some responses do not give satisfaction to the individual but he goes on making further trials until he gets satisfactory responses.

Thorndike conducted a number of experiments on animals to explain the process of learning. His most widely quoted experiment is with a cat placed in a puzzle box. Thorndike put a hungry cat in a puzzle box. The box had one door, which could be opened by manipulating a latch of the door. A fish was placed outside the box. The cat being hungry had the motivation of eating fish outside the box. However, the obstacle was the latch on the door. The cat made random movements inside the box indicating trial and error type of behavior biting at the box, scratching the box, walking around, pulling and jumping etc. to come out to get the food. Now in the course of her movements, the latch was manipulated accidently and the cat came out to get the food. Over a series of successive trials, the cat took shorter and shorter time, committed less number of errors, and was in a position to manipulate the latch as soon as it was put in the box and learnt the art of opening the door.

Thorndike concluded that it was only after many random trials that the cat was able to hit upon the solutions. He named it as Trial and Error Learning. An analysis of the learning behavior of the cat in the box shows that besides trial and error the principles of goal, motivation, explanation and reinforcement are involved in the process of learning by Trial and Error.

Laws of Learning

Based on Trial and Error Learning Theory, Thorndike gave certain laws of Learning. We shall discuss three fundamental Laws of Learning in this section. These laws are:

1. Law of Readiness

This law refers to the fact that learning takes place only when the learner is prepared to learn. No amount of efforts can make the child learn if the child is not ready to learn. The dictum that ‘you can lead a horse to the pond but you can’t make it drink water unless it feels thirsty’ goes very well with this law. In other words, if the child is ready to learn, he/she learns more quickly, effectively and with greater satisfaction than if he/she is not ready to learn. In the words of Thorndike the three stages of this Law of Readiness are:

• For a conduction unit ready to conduct, to conduct is satisfying.

• For a conduction unit ready to conduct, not to conduct is annoying.

• For a conduction unit not ready to conduct, to conduct is annoying.

Thus, the Law of Readiness means mental preparation for action. It is not to force the child to learn if he is not ready. Learning failures are the result of forcing the learner to learn when he is not ready to learn something.

Educational Implications of Law of Readiness:

The law draws the attention of teacher to the motivation of the child. The teacher must consider the psycho-biological readiness of the students to ensure successful learning experiences. Curriculum / Learning experiences should be according to the mental level of maturity of the child. If this is not so, there will be poor comprehension and readiness may vanish.

2. Law of Exercise

This law explains the role of practice in learning. According to this law, learning becomes efficient through practice or exercise. The dictum ‘Practice makes a man perfect’ goes very well with this law. This law is further split into two parts — Law of use and Law of disuse. The law of use means that a connection between a stimulus and response is strengthened by its occurrence, its exercise or its use. In other words, the use of any response strengthens it, and makes it more prompt, easy and certain.

Regarding the law of disuse, it is said that when a modifiable connection is not made between a stimulus and a response over a length of time, the strength of that connection is decreased. This means that any act that is not practiced for some time gradually decays. Anything that is not used exercised or practiced for a certain period tends to be forgotten or becomes weak in strength, efficiency and promptness.

Educational Implications

Exercise occupies an important place in learning. Teacher must repeat, give sufficient drill in some subjects like mathematics, drawing, music or vocabulary for fixing material in the minds of the students. Thorndike later revised this law of exercise and accordingly it is accepted that practice does bring improvement in learning but it in itself is not sufficient. Always practice must be followed by some reward or satisfaction to the learner. The learner must be motivated to learn.

3. Law of Effect

This is most important of Thorndike’s laws, which state that when a connection between stimulus and response is accompanied by satisfying state, its strength is increased. On the other hand, when a connection is accompanied by an annoying state of affairs, its strength is reduced or weakened. The saying ‘nothing succeeds like success’ goes very well with this law. In other words, the responses that produce satisfaction or comfort for the learner are strengthened and responses that produce annoyance or discomfort for the learner are weakened.

Thorndike revised this law in 1930 and according to this revision, he stated that reward strengthened the response but punishment did not always weaken the response. Then he placed more emphasis on the reward aspect than on the punishment aspect of Law of Effect.

Educational Implications

This law signifies the use of reinforcement or feedback in learning. This implies that learning trials must be associated with satisfying consequences. The teacher can use rewards to strengthen certain responses and punishment to weaken others.

However, the use of reward is more desirable than the use of punishment in school learning. The teacher for motivating the students for learning situations can exploit the use of reward.

B) B.F.Skinners- Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.

Behaviorist B.F. Skinner coined the term operant conditioning, which is why it is also referred as Skinnerian conditioning. As a behaviorist, Skinner believed that internal thoughts and motivations could not be used to explain behavior.

Instead, he suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of human behavior. Skinner used the term operant to refer to any "active behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences" (1953). In other words, Skinner's theory explained how we acquire the range of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day.

Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, but his work was based on Thorndike’s law of effect. Skinner introduced a new term into the Law of Effect - Reinforcement. Behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated (i.e. strengthened); behavior that is not reinforced tends to die out-or be extinguished (i.e. weakened).

Skinner studied operant conditioning by conducting experiments using animals, which he placed in a “Skinner Box” which was similar to Thorndike’s puzzle box.

The Skinner box involved placing an animal (such as a rat or pigeon) into a sealed box with a lever that would release food when pressed. If food was released every time the rat pressed the lever, it would press it more and more because it learnt that doing so gives it food. Lever pressing is described as an operant behavior, because it is an action that results in a consequence. In other words, it operates on the environment and changes it in some way.

The food that is released as a result of pressing the lever is known as a reinforcer, because it causes the operant behavior (lever pressing) to increase. Food could also be described as a conditioned stimulus because it causes an effect to occur.

Note: There is an important difference between a reward and a reinforcer in operant conditioning.

• A reward is something, which has value to the person giving the reward, but may not necessarily be of value to the person receiving the reward.

• A reinforce is something, which benefits the person receiving it, and so results in an increase of a certain type of behavior.

Skinner identified three types of responses or operant that can follow behavior.

I.      Neutral operants: Responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated.

II. Reinforcers are any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of reinforcers.

1. Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward.

2. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant. In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.

III.Punishment is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows. Punishment weakens behavior. There are two kinds of punishment:

1. Positive punishment sometimes referred to as punishment by application, involves the presentation of an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows.

2. Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs. In both of these cases of punishment, the behavior decreases.

Schedules of Reinforcement:

v Intermittent reinforcement - reinforcement is given only part of the times the animal gives the desired response.

v Continuous reinforcement - reinforcement is given every time the animal gives the desired response.

v Ratio reinforcement - a pre-determined proportion of responses will be reinforced.

v Fixed ratio reinforcement - reinforcement is given on a regular ratio, such as every fifth time the desired behavior is produced.

v Variable (random) fixed reinforcement- reinforcement is given for a predetermined proportion of responses, but randomly instead of on a fixed schedule.

v Interval reinforcement- reinforcement is given after a predetermined period of time.

v Fixed interval reinforcement - reinforcement is given on a regular schedule, such as every five minutes.

v Variable interval reinforcement - reinforcement is given after random amounts of time have passed.

In animal studies, Skinner found that continuous reinforcement in the early stages of training seems to increase the rate of learning. Later, intermittent reinforcement keeps the response going longer and slows extinction.

Skinner specifically addressed the applications of behaviorism and operant conditioning to educational practice. He believed that the goal of education was to train learners in survival skills for self and society. The role of the teacher was to reinforce behaviors that contributed to survival skills, and extinguish behaviors that did not. Behaviorist views have shaped much of contemporary education in children and adult learning.

Implication of the theory of operant conditioning:

1. Conditioning study behavior: Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement, which expedite learning. For effective teaching teacher should arranged effective contingencies of reinforcement. Example: For Self learning of a student teacher should reinforce student behavior through variety of incentives such as prize, medal, smile, praise, affectionate patting on the back or by giving higher marks.

2. Conditioning and classroom behavior: During learning process child acquire unpleasant experiences also. This unpleasantness becomes conditioned to the teacher, subject and the classroom and learner dislikes the subject and a teacher.

Suitable behavioral contingencies, atmosphere of recognition, acceptance, affection and esteem helps child in approaching teacher and the subject. If student is not serious in study, teacher make use of negative reinforcement like showing negligence, criticizing student etc. but if student is serious in study, teacher make use of positive reinforcement like prize, medal, praise and smile.

3. Managing Problem Behavior: Two types of behavior are seen in the classroom via undesired behavior and problematic behavior. Operant conditioning is a behavior therapy technique that shape students behavior. For this teacher should admit positive contingencies like praise, encouragement etc. for learning. One should not admit negative contingencies. Example punishment (student will run away from the dull and dreary classes – escape stimulation.

4. Dealing with anxieties through conditioning: Through conditioning fear, anxieties, prejudices, attitudes, perceptual meaning develops. Examples of anxiety are signals on the road, siren blown during wartime, child receiving painful injection from a doctor. Anxiety is a generalized fear response. To break the habits of fear, a teacher should use desensitization techniques. Initially teacher should provide very weak form of conditioned stimulus. Gradually the strength of stimulus should be increased.

5. Conditioning group behavior: Conditioning makes entire group learn and complete change in behavior is seen due to reinforcement. It breaks undesired and unsocial behavior too.

Example: Putting questions or telling lie to teachers will make teachers annoyed in such circumstances students learn to keep mum in the class. Asking questions, active participation in class discussion will make the teacher feel happy – interaction will increase and teaching learning process becomes more effective.

6. Conditioning and Cognitive Processes: Reinforcement is given in different form, for the progress of knowledge and in the feedback form. When response is correct, positive reinforcement is given. Example: A student who stands first in the class in the month of January is rewarded in the month of December. To overcome this Programme instruction is used. In this subject matter is broken down into steps. Organizing in logical sequence helps in learning. Each step is built upon the preceding step. Progress is seen in the process of learning. Immediate reinforcement is given at each step.

7. Shaping Complex Behavior: Complex behavior exists in form of a chain of small behavior. Control is required for such kind of behavior. This extended form of learning is shaping technique. Smallest Behavior is controlled at initial stage. On behalf of different contingencies, next order of chain of behaviors is controlled. Example: Vocabulary in English. Teaching spelling is mainly a process of shaping complex form of behavior.

S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) THEORY WITHOUT REINFORCEMENT

Pavlov- Classical Conditioning (1849-1936)

Classical conditioning is a term used to describe learning which has been acquired through experience. One of the best-known examples of classical conditioning can be found with the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov and his experiments on dogs.

In these experiments, Pavlov trained his dogs to salivate when they heard a bell ring. In order to do this he first showed them food, the sight of which caused them to salivate.

Later Pavlov would ring a bell every time he would bring the food out, until eventually, he could get the dogs to salivate just by ringing the bell and without giving the dogs any food.

In this simple but ingenious experiment, Pavlov showed how a reflex (salivation, a natural bodily response) could become conditioned (modified) to an external stimulus (the bell) thereby creating a conditioned reflex/response.

Components Involved In Classical Conditioning

We can gain a better understanding of classical conditioning by looking at the various components involved in his experiment;

• The unconditioned stimulus. (UCS)

• The conditioned stimulus. (CS)

• The unconditioned reflex/response. (UCR)

• The conditioned reflex/response. (CR)

So let’s look at each of these classical conditioning components in more detail now.

Note: In its strictest definition classical conditioning is described as a previously neutral stimulus which causes a reflex (stimulus means something which causes a physical response).

The Unconditioned Stimulus (food): (UCS)

An unconditioned stimulus is anything, which can evoke a response without prior learning or conditioning.

For example, when a dog eats some food it causes his mouth to salivate. Therefore the food is an unconditioned stimulus, because it causes a reflex response (salivation) automatically and without the dog having to learn how to salivate.

Unconditioned Stimulus– This causes an automatic reflex response.

Conditioned Stimulus (bell): (CS)

The conditioned stimulus is created by learning, and therefore does not create a response without prior conditioning.

For example, when Pavlov rang a bell and caused the dogs to salivate, this was a conditioned stimulus because the dogs learnt to associate the bell with food. If they had not learnt to associate the bell with food, they would not have salivated when the bell was rung.

Conditioned Stimulus– You need to learn first before it creates a response. It is an acquired power to change something.

Unconditioned Reflex/Response (salivation): (UCR)

An unconditioned reflex is anything that happens automatically without you having to think about it, such as your mouth salivating when you eat.

Unconditioned Reflex – Reflex that happens automatically and you did not have to learn how to do it.

Conditioned Reflex (salivation in response to bell): (CR)

A conditioned reflex is a response which you have learnt to associate with something.

For example, the dogs salivated when Pavlov rang a bell, when previously (without conditioning) the bell would not cause the dogs to salivate.

Conditioned Reflex– A conditioned reflex that can evoked in response to a conditioned stimulus.

Basic concepts in classical conditioning:

There are several principles that are associated with classical conditioning, some of these are:

v Extinction: a conditioned response will disappear over time when the conditioned stimulus is no longer presented.

v Spontaneous recovery: sometimes there is the weak appearance of a previously extinguished response.

v Stimulus generalization: this is when individuals respond in this same way to experience stimuli. For example, all fuzzy animals scaring a young child instead of just a fuzzy cat.

v Stimulus discrimination: organisms can learn to discriminate between various stimuli.

v Higher order conditioning: this is when a neutral stimulus can cause the conditioned response sense if it had been associated with the conditioned stimulus.

Types of classical conditioning

1.     Forward conditioning: Learning is fastest in forward conditioning. During forward conditioning the onset of the conditioned stimulus (CS) precedes the onset of the unconditioned stimulus (US). Two common forms of forward conditioning are delay and trace conditioning.

2.     Delay conditioning: In delay, conditioning the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented and is overlapped by the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (US).

3.     Trace conditioning: During trace conditioning, the conditioned stimulus (CS) and US do not overlap. Instead, the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented, a period is allowed to elapse during which no stimuli are presented, and then the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented. The stimulus-free period is called the trace interval. It may also be called the conditioning interval.

4.     Simultaneous conditioning: During simultaneous conditioning, the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) are presented and terminated at the same time.

5.     Backward conditioning: Backward conditioning occurs when a conditional stimulus (CS) immediately follows an unconditional stimulus (US). Unlike traditional conditioning models, in which the conditional stimulus (CS) precedes the unconditional stimulus (US), the conditional response (CR) tends to be inhibitory. This is because the conditional stimulus (CS) serves as a signal that the unconditional stimulus (US) has ended, rather than a reliable method of predicting the future occurrence of the unconditional stimulus (US).

6.     Temporal conditioning: The unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented at regularly timed intervals, and CR acquisition is dependent upon correct timing of the interval between unconditioned stimulus (US) presentations. The background, or context, can serve as the conditioned stimulus (CS) in this example.

7.     Unpaired conditioning: The conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) are not presented together. Usually they are presented as independent trials that are separated by a variable, or pseudo-random, interval. This procedure is used to study non-associative behavioral responses, such as sensitization.

8.     CS-alone extinction: The conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (US). This procedure is usually done after the conditional response (CR) has been acquired through “forward conditioning” training. Eventually, the conditional response (CR) frequency is reduced to pre-training levels. Essentially, the stimulus is presented until habituation occurs.

Implications of Pavlov’s Theory to Classroom Situations

1.     The theory believed that one must be able to practice and master a task effectively before embarking on another one. This means that a student needs to be able to respond to a particular stimulus (information) before he/she can be associated with a new one.

2.     Teachers should know how to motivate their students to learn. They should be versatile with various strategies that can enhance effective participation of the students in the teaching learning activities.

3.     Most of the emotional responses can be learned through classical conditioning. A negative or positive response comes through the stimulus being paired with. For example, providing the necessary school material for primary school pupils will develop good feelings about school and learning in them, while, punishment will discourage them from attending the school.

Conclusion

It is believed that the learners and more importantly the teachers have greatly benefited from all the theories. The teachers should be familiar with this theory and apply it to teaching-learning activities where applicable.

LEARNING BY INSIGHT

Wolfgang Kohler, a psychologist trained at the University of Berlin, was working at a primate research facility maintained by the Prussian Academy of Sciences in the Canary Islands when the First World War broke out. Marooned there, he had at his disposal a large outdoor pen and nine chimpanzees of various ages. The pen, described by Kohler as a playground, was provided with a variety of objects including boxes, poles, and sticks, with which the primates could experiment.

Kohler constructed a variety of problems for the chimps, each of which involved obtaining food that was not directly accessible. In the simplest task, food was put on the other side of a barrier. Dogs and cats in previous experiments had faced the barrier in order to reach the food, rather than moving away from the goal to circumvent the barrier. The chimps, however, presented with an apparently analogous situation, set off immediately on the circuitous route to the food.

It is important to note that the dogs and cats that had apparently failed this test were not necessarily less intelligent than the chimps. The earlier experiments that psychologists had run on dogs and cats differed from Kohler's experiments on chimps in two important ways. First, the barriers were not familiar to the dogs and cats, and thus there was no opportunity for using latent learning, whereas the chimps were well acquainted with the rooms used in Kohler's tests. Second, whereas the food remained visible in the dog and cat experiments, in the chimp test the food was tossed out the window (after which the window was shut) and fell out of sight. Indeed, when Kohler tried the same test on a dog familiar with the room, the animal (after proving to it that the window was shut), took the shortest of the possible indirect routes to the unseen food.

The ability to select an indirect (or even novel) route to a goal is not restricted to chimps, cats, and dogs.  At least some insects routinely perform similar feats. The cognitive processing underlying these abilities will become clearer when we look at navigation by chimps in a later chapter. For now, the point is that the chimpanzees' abilities to plan routes are not as unique as they appeared at the time.

Some of the other tests that Kohler is known for are preserved on film. In a typical sequence, a chimp jumps fruitlessly at bananas that have been hung out of reach. Usually, after a period of unsuccessful jumping, the chimp apparently becomes angry or frustrated, walks away in seeming disgust, pauses, then looks at the food in what might be a more reflective way, then at the toys in the enclosure, then back at the food, and then at the toys again. Finally the animal begins to use the toys to get at the food.

The details of the chimps' solutions to Kohler's food-gathering puzzle varied. One chimp tried to shinny up a toppling pole it had poised under the bananas; several succeeded by stacking crates underneath, but were hampered by difficulties in getting their centers of gravity right. Another chimp had good luck moving a crate under the bananas and using a pole to knock them down. The theme common to each of these attempts is that, to all appearances, the chimps were solving the problem by a kind of cognitive trial and error, as if they were experimenting in their minds before manipulating the tools. The pattern of these behaviors--failure, pause, looking at the potential tools, and then the attempt--would seem to involve insight and planning, at least on the first occasion.

HULL'S THEORY

Biological motives are those that are "wired into the nervous system." They include hunger, thirst, the pursuit of pleasure, and the avoidance of pain. Most living creatures do what they must to obtain food and water. That is why these are termed primary reinforcers.

Hull's theory was one of the first systematic attempts to explain motivation. Hull thought he would explain all behavior of all organisms. It was a very ambitious undertaking. Few theories in the history of psychology have soared so high or fallen so low. Hull's theory once dominated American psychology; now it has all but disappeared.

Research on Hull's theory is largely responsible for an old stereotype of experimental psychologists as lab-coated figures watching rats run through mazes for cheese reinforcement. Hull and other researchers performed many thousands of experiments with rats in mazes, trying to discover basic laws of motivation.

For beginning students, Hull's theory remains relevant in several ways. First, the story of its rise and fall is a case study in scientific research. Second, Hull's emphasis on homeostasis is echoed in present day studies of biological motives as regulatory systems. Third, understanding a little about Hull's theory helps one understand the motivational theories that came later, many of which arose in response to deficiencies in Hull's theory. In this respect, Hull's theory is like Freud's: one must know about it in order to make sense of what came after it. It was a very influential theory.

The Hullian Approach

In the 1930s, Clark Hull undertook to construct a grand theory that he thought would unite all psychology. He based his theory on the concept of homeostasis, which he borrowed from biology. Homeostasis is a word that refers to the active regulation of critical biological variables. For example, your kidney regulates the salt and water balance in your body, and your pancreas regulates blood sugar. To Hull, behavior was another way the organism regulated itself or kept itself alive and healthy, so to him it made sense that a theory of motivation would borrow from scientific knowledge about homeostatic processes.

Scientists knew about biological regulation as early as the mid-1800s, but the concept of homeostasis was not widely discussed until Walter B. Cannon's 1932 book The Wisdom of the Body. Cannon pointed out that organisms work to keep biological variables within a healthy or normal range. There are many homeostatic systems in the body. Levels of blood pressure, salt, glucose, water, and carbon dioxide (among other things) must be maintained within normal ranges, for the health of the organism.

Hull reasoned that homeostatic mechanisms might provide a scientific explanation of motivation. Behavior could be regarded as an outward expression of the organism's pursuit of biological health. For example, you shiver to get warm. That is a homeostatic mechanism built into the body. If that fails, you are motivated to carry out a behavior such as putting on a sweater or finding a heater. Many behaviors are extensions of homeostatic mechanisms. Think how many human behaviors are related to eating, which is itself aimed at maintaining glucose and fat levels in our bodies.

Hull conceived of all motivation as coming originally from biological imbalances or needs. The organism was thrown into movement (was motivated) when it needed something that was not present at its current location. A need, in Hull's system, was a biological requirement of the organism. Hunger was the need for more energy. Thirst was the need for more water. Motivation, to Hull, was aimed at making up or erasing a deficiency or lack of something in the organism.

Hull used the word drive to describe the state of behavioral arousal resulting from a biological need. In Hull's system, drive was the energy that powered behavior. But drive was not pleasant. Drive was an uncomfortable state resulting from a biological need, so drive was something the animal tried to eliminate. The animal searched for food in order to reduce the hunger drive. Hull believed the animal would repeat any behavior that reduced a drive, if the same need occurred again. Therefore Hull's theory was called a drive-reduction theory of motivation.

Hull's theory inspired an enormous amount of research. No other psychological theory was so daringly precise. Hull used specific formulas to predict the likelihood of specific behaviors. He specified that the probability that a particular stimulus would lead to a particular response (the "excitation potential") using a formula. You do not have to memorize this; it is offered as an example of the precision to which Hull aspired:

Excitation potential = S H R [D x K x J x V]...where....

S H R was the number of reinforced training trials

D was the amount of biological deprivation or drive

K was the size or magnitude of the goal

J was the delay before the animal was allowed to pursue the goal

V was the intensity of the stimulus that set off the behavior

Each variable was given a precise operational definition, to aid research and replication. Hull hoped to make psychology as scientific and precise in its predictions as physics or chemistry. However, things did not work out that way. Many predictions based on Hull's equations did not come true. Researchers responded by altering the system, adding variables or subtracting others, adjusting parameters, trying to make it all work. Finally researchers began to realize it was never going to work. There could not be such a simple system for predicting animal behavior.

The abandonment of Hull's theory occurred about 30 years after he proposed it. An entire generation of researchers had followed a false lead! By the early 1970s journal articles contained bitter references to "30 years of fruitless Hullian research." The study of learning veered off into different directions. Bolles (1990) commented, "Hull would have been unable to read a present-day research paper; none of it would have made any sense!"

Hull's theory may have disappeared from present day motivational research, but not before it had a big impact on the field. Many motivational theories of the 1950s and 1960s were reactions to then-dominant Hullian theories. These included the proposals for cognitive motives as well as Maslow's motivational psychology, both discussed later in this chapter. All were conceived as alternatives to Hull's drive-reduction approach.

TRANSFER OF LEARNING

Introduction

The ability of the individual to apply the previous experience on the new related experience is what we call transfer of learning. Except students are able to transfer prior skills and knowledge on new ones, the continuity of learning will be difficult. This chapter will explain how old learning can be transferred to a new one. You will know what the classroom teacher needs to do in order to facilitate transfer of experiences among his/her students.

The essence of learning is that a previously learnt fact should be linked with a present experience. This is because human being must be dynamic and that the prior experience will make them to develop the new skills and knowledge. The influence the past experience has on the succeeding experience is called transfer of learning.

Cormier and Hagman, (1987) define transfer of learning as the application of skills and knowledge learned in one context being applied in another context.

Oladele (1998) defines transfer of learning as the effect of prior learning on the present. Learning is meaningful when the past learning smoothens the progress of something else. For example, if a learned experienced refuses to aid the new learning, the goal of training has seized to be accomplished. In the school, the teacher teaches some subjects in order that the experience gained in those subjects could be transferred into another.

Charham (1987) affirms that human and animal learning is normally affected by the past experience, and that the various subjects are included in the school curriculum because of their utility and wide application to real life situations.

 For instance, the teacher who has taught his/her students some skills in Mathematics would believe that such skills be transferred to related subjects like Physics or Accounting. If the students fail to apply these skills in their subsequent learning, it means that the students have not been successful in transferring the learning.

The above example gives us clues into the different types of transfer of learning that we have. These are explained below:

(a) Positive Transfer:

This is a situation whereby a previously learnt fact or information aids in the understanding of a new task. Aside from aiding the learners in their subsequent learning, it also helps the learners to learn better and effectively the new task.

(b) Negative Transfer:

This is a type of learning in which prior experience imparts negatively on the new one. In this case, the understanding of past skills inhibits the mastering of new ones. For example, if a student wrongly connects information, it can lead to negative transfer.

(c)  Zero Transfer:

This type of learning reveals no link between the previously learnt task and the recent one. The evidence of zero transfer is hardly seen, it reveals no clear positive or negative effect.

Theories of Transfer of Learning

                  I.      Theory of Mental Faculties:

This theory was propounded by the Greek Philosophers, notable among them was Aristotle. The basic tenet of the theory is that human mind is sub-divided into different powers of faculties like memory, judgment, reasoning or thinking. It is therefore believed that each of these faculties is reinforced and developed by cast and continuous memorization of poetry/poem and similar works. This theory believes that exercises and regular practice will strengthen the mental faculties. The theory therefore dismisses the concept of transfer of learning, to it a well-trained and disciplined mind is the ingredient needed for understanding of new information.

               II.      Theory of Identical Elements:

The theory which was developed by the duo of Thorndike and Woodworth (American Psychologists) indicates that it is possible for an individual to transfer the prior skills and knowledge to recent ones because both experiences are identical (share things in common). This theory suggests that a successful or effective learning will happen if there are connections or interrelatedness between the old and the new experiences.

For example, it is expected that a student who has learnt about anatomical parts of human being in a Biology lesson, should be able to do well when he/she is asked to name anatomical parts of a goat during Agriculture lesson.

           III.      Theory of Generalization:

This theory was advocated by a Psychologist named Charles Judd. The assumption of the theory is that general principles aid transfer of learning better than segregated facts. This theory believes in Gestalt, an assertion which views learning from a whole or complete form rather than in isolated form.

For example, the theory of generalization indicates that a learnt experience should be useful in other day-to –day related activities.

Classroom Implications of Transfer of Learning

1.     The teacher should know that transfer of learning will not take place when both the old and new are unrelated. Hence, the teacher should endeavor to teach his/her subject-matter in a more meaningful and detailed way rather than by rote.

2.     The teacher should provide the opportunity for his/her students to practice a subject-matter being discussed along with him/her. When the learners are allowed to take active part in teaching learning activities, they will be able to repeat the task at another time.

3.     For a transfer of learning to take place, the teacher should always emphasize the relationship that exists between one subject matter and another.

4.     The teacher should endeavor to develop positive attitudes towards a learning task so that the students can be motivated to like the task rather avoiding it.

5.     It is believed that what students see, touch, feel or manipulate will be better remembered than the one they are not familiar with. Hence, for a meaningful transfer of learning to take place, the teacher should incorporate exercises that task the various senses of learners in the learning process.

METACOGNITION

Introduction

In general, Metacognition is thinking about thinking. More specifically, Taylor (1999) defines Metacognition as “an appreciation of what one already knows, together with a correct apprehension of the learning task and what knowledge and skills it requires, combined with the ability to make correct inferences about how to apply one’s strategic knowledge to a particular situation, and to do so efficiently and reliably.”

The more students are aware of their thinking processes as they learn, the more they can control such matters as goals, dispositions, and attention. Self-awareness promotes self-regulation. If students are aware of how committed (or uncommitted) they are to reaching goals, of how strong (or weak) is their disposition to persist, and of how focused (or wandering) is their attention to a thinking or writing task, they can regulate their commitment, disposition, and attention. For example, if students were aware of a lack of commitment to writing a long research assignment, noticed that they were procrastinating, and were aware that they were distracted by more appealing ways to spend their time, they could then take action to get started on the assignment. But until they are aware of their procrastination and take control by making a plan for doing the assignment, they will blissfully continue to neglect the assignment.

Metacognition and Three Types of Knowledge 

To increase their metacognitive abilities, students need to possess and be aware of three kinds of content knowledge: declarative, procedural, and conditional. Declarative knowledge is the factual information that one knows; it can be declared spoken or written. An example is know the formula for calculating momentum in a physics class (momentum = mass times+ velocity). Procedural knowledge is knowledge of how to do something, of how to perform the steps in a process; for example, knowing the mass of an object and its rate of speed and how to do the calculation. Conditional knowledge is knowledge about when to use a procedure, skill, or strategy and when not to use it; why a procedure works and under what conditions; and why one procedure is better than another. For example, students need to recognize that an exam word problem requires the calculation of momentum as part of its solution.

This notion of three kinds of knowledge applies to learning strategies as well as course content. When they study, students need the declarative knowledge that (1) all reading assignments are not alike; for example, which a history textbook chapter with factual information differs from a primary historical document, which is different from an article interpreting or analyzing that document. They need to know that stories and novels differ from arguments. Furthermore they need to know that there are different kinds of note taking strategies useful for annotating these different types of texts. And (2) students need to know how to actually write different kinds of notes (procedural knowledge), and (3) they need to know when to apply these kinds of notes when they study (conditional knowledge). Knowledge of study strategies is among the kinds of metacognitive knowledge, and it too requires awareness of all three kinds of knowledge.

LEARNING STYLES

Everyone learns differently, that’s nothing new. However, over the years the different styles of learning have usually been cut down to visual, physical (learn-by-doing), or audible. Truth is, we could probably dissect each of these learning three styles down even further and arrive at a handful of sub-levels.

Learning is a complicated concept as everyone is unique in their own way, and learns in their own way as well. That said, it is still very much possible to classify a learning style into one of seven categories. Perhaps you fall into one of the following:

1.     Visual: These people prefer to use pictures, images, diagrams, colors, and mind maps.

2.     Physical: These are the “learn by doing” people that use their body to assist in their learning. Drawing diagrams, using physical objects, or role playing are all strategies of the Physical learner.

3.     Aural: People who prefer using sound (obviously), rhythms, music, recordings, clever rhymes, and so on.

4.     Verbal: The verbal learner is someone who prefers using words, both in speech and in writing to assist in their learning. They make the most of word based techniques, scripting, and reading content aloud.

5.     Logical: The people who prefer using logic, reasoning, and “systems” to explain or understand concepts. They aim to understand the reasons behind the learning, and have a good ability to understand the bigger picture.

6.     Social: These people are the ones who enjoy learning in groups or with other people, and aim to work with others as much as possible.

7.     Solitary: The solitary learner prefers to learn alone and through self-study.

In reality, we all probably fall into each category, depending on the learning that is taking place. Some topics lend themselves better to select styles, and a combination of multiple styles helps to solidify the learning that takes place. When possible, you should always strive to create learning that engages a variety of these styles. Not only will it be helpful for the learner, but it also will go a long way in learning retention.

Using an online learning approach that includes videos, reading, audio, exercises, social forums, and the like is a great way to hit on multiple learning styles. If you create learning for a living as an instructional designer or teacher, then blending your learning approaches is an effective way to make your learning stick.

TEACHER’S ROLE IN CHANGING, STRENGTHENING AND SUSTAINING LEARNING STYLES

There is a small belief that learning profiles do not exist or, if they do exist, they have no place in classrooms. The truth is that every teacher witnesses students learning in different ways. For example, when I’m learning about effective or how not to overcook salmon, I will turn to a variety of resources. I’ll watch videos, read articles, talk to different experts via social networking, and look over models that make sense to me. I have a better chance of learning when I use a combination of these learning modalities rather than using just one.

We all have similar experiences when learning. Some learning approaches simply work better for us than others. If we learn through a variety of ways, then so do students. Therefore, our lesson planning should reflect a variety of ways to offer entry to learning by all students. If you know that a student builds understanding best when she can watch a demonstration and then dialog about the content and its implications, you should provide that experience. While each student has different approaches to learning, learning preferences do overlap in groups of students. The result is activities that are accessible for small and large student groups.

We can start using learning profiles when we know the various ways that each of our students makes sense of content. The more we understand our students, the more efficient we can ensure their learning successes. When we have in-depth understanding for how our students learn, there is a major impact on diagnosing student needs and planning effective supports. Multiple intelligences and thinking styles inventories can be effective tools for gathering data about students. Here are samples of approaches to find what fits your instructional belief system:

As soon as this learner data is collected, you can start differentiating lessons in ways that intentionally and strategically improve student learning.

Cross-Train Learning

Everyone learns through a variety of approaches. Placing learners into a single learning style container ignores the reality of the whole person. Teachers need to cross-train students by using two or more approaches to thinking styles profiles when planning differentiation. The more we know about our students, the more we can be effectively strategic in meeting everyone’s needs. This is where learning profile cards, student profile surveys, and student learning perceptual quick surveys can provide detailed insight about students that spans across multiple thinker processing categories.

Learning profile cards: Completed by students, these cards can give teachers rich detail to inform instructional planning of content, process, and product based on interests and learning profiles. I’ve found this tool to be the best for managing differentiation with large numbers of students.

Student profile survey: Families or guardians complete this survey about their child. Involving the child in the conversation creates a richer response for teachers to support them. When we’ve completed such surveys for our kids, my wife and I have formed a deeper appreciation for those teachers because they demonstrated their commitment to truly meet our children’s learning needs. Here’s an example from Alberta Education.

The student learning perceptual quick survey is a simple and quick five to 15-minute activity to get a classroom view of the students’ learning styles. Students appreciate when the results are posted in a location where they can reflect on them anytime.

Plan Three-Dimensional Lessons

Three-dimensional lessons incorporate a variety of different experiences in a lesson. For example, revise a lesson to teach content in three different ways. This will help all students find ways to connect and delve into key concepts and skills. Here’s one lesson format example:

1.       Content: Show a video that gives an overview.

2.       Process: Summarize the video’s key points in student groups of three, and then share out.

3.       Content: Jigsaw an article or chapter reading while completing a graphic organizer. Groups share their findings.

4.       Process: Use think-pair-share to reinforce student understanding.

5.       Product: Provide three ways to apply the content, such as in a RAFT, Think, or Tearing via Readiness.

Embed Choices

When using learning profiles, one guarantee is that all learners fall somewhere on the learning styles range. Design versions of an activity or product that incorporates different aspects of a learning profile. For example, use Sternberg’s MI to create three product options that reflect analytical, practical, and creative. Let students decide which pathway option they want to take. Sometimes, students will choose an option that may not "align” with their learning profiles. This is okay because they are making the choice. Consider letting students design products based on modes of their own choosing. This approach signals to students that their input matters.

The belief that learning profiles have no place in education fails to understand formative assessment data, absent assessment fog, that shows how not all students are achieving. For challenges like large class sizes, high-stakes testing, and intense focus on teacher and administrative accountability, increasing success by all students means we must engage them into the learning dialog. The mindful use of learning profiles keeps the light on and the door open for them to learn.

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

1.     Define Learning.

2.     What is Metacognition?

3.     What is meant by learning style?

4.     Define kinesthetic learning.

5.     List out the principles of Learning.

6.     Narrate the factors that affecting learning.

7.     List out the elements of Metacognition.

8.     Write down the teacher’s role in changing learning styles.

9.     Enumerate the educational implications of learning theories.

10.                        Explain connectionism and its educational implications.

11.                        Brief account on classical conditioning and its educational implications.

12.                        Explain Skinner’s theory of learning and its educational implications.

13.   Brief account on Reinforcement theory of learning and its educational implications.

14.                        Explain the instructional strategies of metacognition.