NATURE OF LEARNING

The definition of learning covers the following elements:

a. It is a long-term change (though it does not necessarily last forever).

b. The change is brought about by experience.

c. It does not include changes that are physiolagical like maturation, mental illness, fatigue, hunger or the like.

d. It involves mental representation or association, presumably, it has its basis in the brain. 

Learning is also defined as "any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of practice and experience. From the definitions, learning has three important elements: 

a) a change in behavior, better or worse; 

b) change takes place through practice or experience, (not changes due to growth or maturation); and, 

c) behavior change must be relatively permanent and last for a fairly long time. All learning involve activities learned by the individual refer to types of learning.

TYPES OF LEARNING

There are types of learning resulting from engagement or participation in classroom activities.

a. Motor Learning - It is a form of learning for one to maintain and go through daily life activities.

b. Verbal Learning - It involves the use of spoken language as well as the communication devices used. 

c. Concept Learning - A form of learning which requires the use of higher-order mental processes like thinking, reasoning, and analyzing. It involves two processes: abstraction and generalization.

d. Discrimination Learning - It is learning to differentiate between stimuli and responding appropriately to these stimuli.

e. Learning of Principles - It is learning principles related to science. mathematics, grammar and the like. Principles show the relationship between two or more concepts.

f. Problem Solving - This is a higher-order thinking process. This learning requires the use of cognitive abilities.

g. Attitude Learning -  Attitude is a predisposition which determines and predicts behavior. Learned attitudes influence one's behavior towards people, objects, things or ideas. 

NATURE OF THEORIES OF LEARNING

The nature of learning or the changes occurring within an individual is difficult to visualize and understand because it is an internal process. Hence it is not easy to present, or explain in concrete terms what this complex process is all about. Thus, there is a need to look at theories of learning to enable one to better conceptualize and operationalize what learning is all about. 

LEARNING THEORY 

is an organized set of principles explaining how individuals acquire, retain, and recall knowledge. Learning theories try to explain how people learn and why they learn. They also try to explain the phenomenon of learning - its nature, and the conditions under which learning best occurs. The explanations are, however, considered as tentative. These theories especially guide teachers to have better understanding of how learning occurs and how learners learn. 

DEFINING "LEARNER-CENTERED" 

Learner-centered is the perspective that focuses on individual learners - their heredity, experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, talents, interests, capacities and needs, with a focus on learning - the best available knowledge about learning and how it occurs, and about teaching practices that are most effective in promoting the highest levels of motivation, learning and achievement for all learners. 

These are main ideas of these principles:

a. They pertain to the learner and the learning process.

b. They focus on psychological factors primarily internal and under the control of the learner.

c. They deal with external or contextual factors that interact with the internal factors.

d. They are seen as an organized set of principles; no principle to be viewed in isolation.

e. The principles are classified under cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, affective, developmental, social and individual difference factors related to learning.

f. These principles apply not only to all learners but to everybody involved in the educational system.

THORNDIKE'S CONNECTIONISM THEORY (LAWS OF LEARNING) 

In Thorndike's view, learning is the process of forming associations or bonds, which he defined as "the connection of a certain act with a certain situation and resultant pleasure" The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original Stimulus- Response framework of behavioral psychology: Learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses. 

CONNECTIONISM - was based on the concept, that elements or ideas become associated with one another through experience and that complex ideas can be explained through a set of simple rules. 

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

• Type of learning - The trial and error learning

• Connection - Stimulus-response connection, the basic unit of learning according to behaviorist learning theory.

• Stimulus - Stimulus can be an object effecting the senses or an idea/ thought. Its nature is purely individualistic that means it differ from organism to organism from time to time from situation to situation and from place to place

• Response - The Reaction is always in the form of Attraction or Repulsion. Response can be positive or negative, weak or strong, overt or hidden, right or wrong.

• Bond - Bond represents the connection in between the stimulus and response. It is denoted by (-)

• Strength of Connection - The strength of the connection depends upon the reaction time. (The time taken by an organism in giving response after receiving stimulus) the strength of the bond/ connection is inversely proportional to the reaction time. The less the reaction time the more will be the strength of the bond/ connection or vice-versa.

PRIMARY LAWS OF LEARNING

• Law of Readiness - The Law of Readiness means a person can learn when physically and mentally adjusted (ready) to receive stimuli, Individuals learn best when they are ready to learn, and they will not learn much if they see no reason for learning. 

• Law of Exercise - The Law of Exercise stresses the idea that repetition is basic to the development of adequate responses; things most often repeated are easiest remembered. The mind can rarely recall new concepts or practices after a single exposure, but every time it is practiced, learning continues and is enforced. 

• Law of Effect - This law involves the emotional reaction of the learner. Learning will always be much more effective when a fèeling of satisfaction, pleasantness, or reward accompanies or is a result of the learning process. Learning is strengthened when it is accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying feeling and that it is weakened when it is associated with an unpleasant experience. 

SECONDARY LAWS OF LEARNING

• Law of Primacy - This law states that the state of being first, often creates a strong, almost unshakeable impression. For the teacher, this means that what they teach the first time must be correct. If a subject is incorrectly taught, it must be corrected. 

• Law of Intensity -  The principle of intensity states that if the stimulus (experience) is real, the more likely there is to be a change in betavior (learning). 

• Law of Recency - Things most recently learned are best remembered, while the things learned some time ago are remembered with more difficulty. 

PAVLOV'S CLASSICAL CONDITIONING (PAVLOVIAN CONDITIONING)

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian conditioning)

- is learning through association. In simple terms, two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or animal.

Stage 1: Before Conditioning - In this stage, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) produces an unconditioned response (UCR) in an organism. This stage also involves another stimulus which has no effect on a person and is called the neutral stimulus (NS). 

Stage 2: During Conditioning - During this stage, a stimulus which produces no response (i.e., neutral) is associated with the unconditioned stimulus at which point it now becomes known as the conditioned stimulus (CS). For classical conditioning to be effective, the conditioned stimulus should occur before the unconditioned stimulus, rather than after it, or during the same time. Thus, the conditioned stimulus acts as a type of signal or cue for the unconditioned stimulus. For classical conditioning to be effective, the conditioned stimulus should occur before the unconditioned stimulus, rather than after it, or during the same time. Thus, the conditioned stimulus acts as a type of signal or cue for the unconditioned stimulus. 

Stage 3: After Conditioning - Now the conditioned stimulus (CS) has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to create a new conditioned response (CR). 

SKINNER'S OPERANT CONDITIONING (INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING) 

B. F Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, but his work was based on Thorndike's (1898) law of effect. According to this principle, behavior that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is less likely to be repeated. 

OPERANT CONDITIONING - is sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning. It is a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence (whether negative or positive) for that behavior. 

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

• Neutral operant: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated.

• Reinforcers: Responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative.

• Punishers: Responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishment weakens behavior.

Operant Conditioning is not just something that takes place in experimental settings while training lab animals. It also plays a powerful role in everyday learning. Reinforcement and punishment take place in natural settings all the time, as well as in more structured settings such as classrooms or therapy sessions.

COMPONENTS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

Reinforcement in Operant Conditioning - Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of reinforcers. In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.

1. Positive Reinforcers - are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In positive reinforcement situations, a response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of praise or a direct reward. If you do a good job at work and your manager gives you a bonus, that bonus is a positive reinforcer.

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. For example, if your child starts to scream in the middle of a restaurant, but stops once you hand them a treat, your action led to the removal of the unpleasant condition, negatively reinforcing your behavior (not your child's). 

Punishment in Operant Conditioning - Punishment is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows. 

1. Positive Punishment - sometimes referred to as punishment by application, presents an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows. Spanking for misbehavior is an example of punishment by application.

2. Negative Punishment - also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs. Taking away a child's video game following misbehavior is an example of negative punishment. 

3. 
   

Reinforcement Schedules

Reinforcement is not necessarily a straightforward process, and there are a number of factors that can influence how quickly and how well new things are learned. Skinner found that when and how often behaviors were reinforced played a role in the speed and strength of acquisition. In other words, the timing and frequency of reinforcement influenced how new behaviors were learned and how old behaviors were modified.

Skinner identified several different schedules of reinforcement that impact the operant conditioning process:

1. Fixed-ratio schedules - are a type of partial reinforcement. Responses are reinforced only after a specific number of responses have occurred. This typically leads to a fairly steady response rate.

2. Fixed-interval schedules - are another form of partial reinforcement. Reinforcement occurs only after a certain interval of time has elapsed.

3. Variable-ratio schedules - are also a type of partial reinforcement that involve reinforcing behavior after a varied number of responses. This leads to both a high response rate and slow extinction rates.

4. Variable-interval schedules - are the final form of partial reinforcement Skinner described. This schedule involves delivering reinforcement after a variable amount of time has elapsed. This also tends to lead to a fast response rate and slow extinction rate.