Basic Principles of Learning for Classroom Teaching
Organizing Concepts of Learning from Educational Psychology

William G. Huitt

Citation: Huitt, W. (2012). Basic principles of learning for classroom teaching: Organizing concepts of learning from educational psychology. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [date] from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/summary/basic-principles-learning.html

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Learning Theory Basic Principles
Operant
Conditioning
  • Learner viewed as reactive adaptor
  • Pay attention to observable behavior
  • Identify desired outcomes (target behaviors)
    • Connect to beginning circumstances
    • Perform task analysis and backwards planning
    • Develop baseline data of present performance
  • Feed what you want to grow (reinforcement)
  • Starve what you want to die (ignore; extinction)
  • Shape behavior through reinforcement of partially appropriate behavior
  • Minimal, selective use of punishment and response cost; look for opportunities to turn these into negative and positive reinforcement
  • Appropriate for impacting classroom instruction and management
Information Processing
  • Learner viewed as information processor
  • Three critical processes
    • Attention
    • Repetition
    • Elaboration
  • Use it or lose it—even though information is stored in long-term memory, retrieval unlikely to occur without periodic processing
  • Most likely to process information in same manner as it was encoded
  • Use Bloom et al.’s taxonomy (or Anderson & Krathwohl revision) for designing learning activities (Levels of elaboration)
    • Knowledge
    • Comprehension
    • Application
    • Analysis
    • Synthesis & Evaluation
  • Provide opportunities to impact knowledge structure and organization
    • Declarative
      • Semantic
        • Data -- independent statements of facts
        • Information -- organizations of data that allow for grouping, categorization, explanation of meaning
        • Knowledge -- organizations of information that allow for critical and creative thinking
        • Wisdom -- appropriate application of information and knowledge based on personal experience
      • Episodic -- time-sequenced information based on personal experience
    • Procedural -- "how to" knowledge and skills
    • Imagery -- pictorial representation and organization; must connect to declarative
Social
Learning
  • Learner viewed as observer reactor
  • Modeling and imitation are important learning experiences Combination of information processing and operant conditioning
    • Attention
    • Retention
    • Reproduction
    • Motivation
Constructivism
  • Social (Vygotsky & Dewey)
    • Learner viewed as apprentice
    • Provide opportunity for learners to engage in authentic tasks
    • Identify individual’s zone of proximal development for specific learning tasks
    • Language is critical for thinking
    • Provide mediation and scaffolding during teaching/learning process
    • Social signs and symbols first processed holistically and then personally modified
    • Important to have correct worldview that is presented to students
  • Cognitive (Piaget & Bruner)
    • Learner viewed as inquirer
    • Create disequilibrium (primary influence or energy source for initial action)
    • Expect qualitative changes in thinking and knowing
    • Provide hands-on experiences especially for younger students
    • Systematically address movement from concrete to formal operations
Humanistic
  • Learner viewed as autonomous agent
  • Affect and valuing are as important as knowledge and cognitive processing skills
  • Emotional attraction is key concept
  • Subjective, personal viewpoint is important for guiding one’s own learning
  • Encourage identifying personal aspirations and setting of personal goals
  • Encourage personal choice of learning activities
  • Allow for variety of ways to demonstrate learning
Social Cognition
  • Learner viewed as embedded or situated agent
  • Reciprocal determination is basic principle of relationships among influencing factors
    • Environment
    • Personal attributes
    • Behavior
  • Provide opportunities of social interactions while learning
  • Self-efficacy (It can be done; I can do it) best developed with successful experience; modeling/imitation and social persuasion are less effective
  • Self-regulation, conation, and volition
    • Vision, mission, goals
    • Action plans
    • Commitment and perseverance
    • Self-reflection and evaluation
    • Adjustments of activity
Connectivism
  • Learner viewed as node in network
  • Knowledge assumed to lie in network, not in individual
  • Provide opportunities to connect to, engage with, and create virtual networks
  • Provide opportunities for learners to describe characteristics and practices that lead to the development of networks


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