1. learning
Learning and Teaching in HE (core module)
PGCAP, University of Salford

2.  To discuss how people learn
 Introduce major learning theories
aims

3.  Discuss how people learn
 Discuss major theories in education
objectives

4.  Write a definition
What is learning?

5. understanding theory through
boxes...

6. understanding theory through
boxes...

7. Driscoll (2000) defines learning as “a
persisting change in human performance or
performance potential…[which] must come
about as a result of the learner‟s
experience and interaction with the world”
(p.11).
Driscoll, M. (2000). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Needham
Heights, MA, Allyn & Bacon.
learning, a definition

8. •you don‟t •you know
conscious competence learning matrix
know what what you
you don‟t don‟t know
know
http://www.businessballs.com/consciouscompetencelearningmodel.htm
unconscious conscious
incompetence incompetence
5th stage: Reflective Competence
unconscious conscious
competence competence
•you don‟t •you know
have to think what you
what you are know
doing
4 stages of learning

9. Unconscious incompetence - This basically means that you
don't know what you don't know.
Conscious incompetence - This is where the learner is aware
that s/he does not know something or can learn something new.
Put more plainly, you realize that you are not as expert as perhaps
you thought.
Conscious competence - This is where you have to think about a
task or exercise in order to complete it correctly.
Unconscious competence - Eventually you reach a point where
you no longer have to think about what you are doing in order to
complete it correctly. True experts often do things very well without
thinking about it.
4 stages of learning

10.  What is it?
 How can we nurture it in the classroom
and beyond?
 How does learning power relate to values?
Learning Power

11. Knowledge
skills and
understanding
Attitudes,
values,
feelings,
dispositions,
motivations
Double Helix of Learning
(McGettrick 2002)

12.  Values carried in the relationships of life
◦ with self
◦ with others
◦ with an O/other
Holding it all together

13. factor analysis: what impacts on learning?
Institutional Ethos Curriculum and Assessment Practices
Worldviews and Pedagogy
Traditions
Self-regulation
Self Esteem Awareness
Skills and Capacities
Sense of Self
As Learner
Learning Power Interest
Self-efficacy Effort
Dispositions
Locus of
Control Goal Orientation
Home, Family and Community
Peer Culture
Cultural Tools

14. Changing and Being Stuck and
weakness
strength Learning Static
Meaning Making Data
Critical Curiosity Accumulation
Creativity Passivity
Learning Being Rule Bound
Relationships Isolation &
Strategic Dependence
Awareness Being Robotic
Resilience Fragility &
Dependence
the 7 dimensions of learning
power

15. Belief & professional Covering the
inhibiting
facilitating vision
positive classroom
curriculum
results and targets
culture performance
collaborative teaching management
positive relationships workload
professional dialogue large numbers of
& choice students
golden moments OFSTED
being empowered as a large numbers of
professional classes in week
lack of time
lack of know how
facilitating/inhibiting learner
centredness

16. provide the vocabulary and a conceptual framework
for interpreting the examples of learning that we
observe
suggest where to look for solutions to practical
problems
about learning theories

17. from transmission…

18. to constructing…

19. to co-constructing...

20. The “half-life of knowledge” is the time span from
when knowledge is gained to when it becomes
obsolete. Half of what is known today was not
known 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in
the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is
doubling every 18 months according to the
American Society of Training and Documentation
(ASTD). To combat the shrinking half-life of
knowledge, organizations have been forced to
develop new methods of deploying instruction.”
Source: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
knowledge today

21. “The shelf life of information is
now so short that knowing
where to find information is
more valuable than knowing
any particular piece of
information.” (p. 10)
Source: Mason, R (2008) Chapter 1: Social networking as an educational
tool, in: Mason, R, E-learning and social networking handbook: resources for
higher education, Routledge, p.1-24
Shelf life

22.  Many learners will move into a variety of different, possibly unrelated
fields over the course of their lifetime.
 Informal learning is a significant aspect of our learning experience.
Formal education no longer comprises the majority of our learning.
Learning now occurs in a variety of ways – through communities of
practice, personal networks, and through completion of work-related
tasks.
 Learning is a continual process, lasting for a lifetime. Learning and work
related activities are no longer separate. In many situations, they are the
same.
 Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains. The tools we use define and
shape our thinking.
 The organization and the individual are both learning organisms.
Increased attention to knowledge management highlights the need for a
theory that attempts to explain the link between individual and
organizational learning.
 Many of the processes previously handled by learning theories (especially
in cognitive information processing) can now be off-loaded to, or
supported by, technology.
 Know-how and know-what is being supplemented with know-where (the
understanding of where to find knowledge needed).
Trends in learning

23. Behaviourism Cognitivism
Humanism Constructivism
Socio-
Connectivism
constructivism
Communities
Gestalt Theory
of practice

24. filling empty buckets
transmission of knowledge

25.  Behaviourism is a theory of animal and human learning that only
focuses on objectively observable behaviours
 Learning is an acquisition of new behaviour through
conditioning.
 Stimulus-response
 Learner is passive
 Uses reinforcement techniques (positive and negative)
Pavlov: behaviourism

26.  learner is actively engaged in the formation of ideas.
 constructing knowledge
 experiential, based on previous knowledge
 sense-making in naturally embedded activities (active learning) and
problem-solving
 authentic tasks in a meaningful context
 constructing and re-constructing through personal experience
constructing knowledge

27. development comes before learning
focus on human cognitive development (children) through
adaptation and organisation
Just being exposed to something new doesn‟t mean we will
change, there will be resistances
Changes are conceptual
Knowledge expands and widens from within
Building knowledge structures through progressive
internalization of actions based on previous knowledge and
experience
Piaget: constructivism

28. Building knowledge structures through progressive
internalization of actions (constructivism)
focus on learning through making, less on cognitive
potential – „diving-in approach‟
how ideas get formed and transformed within a context
worked out by individual minds through reflection on
experience
situated and pragmatic
self-directed learning
Papert: constructionism

29.  learning comes before development
 co-constructing knowledge within a community or
culture
 learning as a dialogical process
 the connection between people
 collaborative construction of knowledge through social
negotiation
Vygotsky: socio-constructivism

30. Old concept, new name
Communities of practice are groups of people
who share a concern or a passion for something
they do and learn how to do it better as they
interact regularly.
Etienne Wenger:
communities of practice

31. The domain: A community of practice is not merely a club of friends or a network of
connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of
interest. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore
a shared competence that distinguishes members from other people.
The community: In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint
activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build
relationships that enable them to learn from each other.
The practice: A community of practice is not merely a community of interest--people
who like certain kinds of movies, for instance. Members of a community of practice
are practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences,
stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems—in short a shared practice.
This takes time and sustained interaction.
Etienne Wenger:
communities of practice,
3 characteristics

32. Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos,
network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning
is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting
core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual.
Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of
ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on
connecting specialized information sets, and the connections
that enable us to learn more are more important than our
current state of knowing.
Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are
based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is
continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions
between important and unimportant information is vital. The
ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape
based on decisions made yesterday is also critical.
Siemens: connectivism

33. • Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information
sources.
• Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
• Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual
learning.
• Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a
core skill.
• Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all
connectivist learning activities.
• Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn
and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a
shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong
tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the
decision.
Siemens: connectivism, principles

34. “The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe.
Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more
important than what we know today. A real challenge for any
learning theory is to actuate known knowledge at the point of
application. When knowledge, however, is needed, but not
known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the
requirements becomes a vital skill. As knowledge continues
to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more
important than what the learner currently possesses.”
Siemens, G. (2004) Connectivism, A learning theory for the digital age,
available at http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
today and tomorrow?

35.  Theories are best understood in their historical
context.
 They reflect the social „climate‟ or current
thinking at the time of their popularity.
 They first developed after the industrialisation
when „schools‟ appeared and „formal‟ teaching
began.
Learning theories

36.  There are two perspectives on how people
learn most effectively:
Psychological Social
emphasis on the emphasis on the
individual social context
„situated‟
Learning theories

37.  Behaviourism
 Cognitivism
 Humanism
 Gestalt
Learning theories-
psychological

38. Behaviourism

39.  Based on stimulus response (S-R)
 Dominant theory in the 19th century
 Based on application of science to
 Observable, measurable behaviour
 Why the popularity?
 Pavlov (Russian physicist 1849-1936)
Behaviourism

40.  Pavlov – (1849-1936) Russian physicist –
experiments with dogs -conditioned
reflexes - conditioning
Behaviourists

41.  Skinner FB 1904 - 1990
 Skinner – known for experiments with rats.
 Rejected reflex as the only source of
behaviour – recognised feelings as existing
but not as causes of behaviour
Neo-behaviourists

42. Skinner’s box

43.  ‘Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed,
and my own specified world to bring them up in
and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and
train him to become any type of specialist I
might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-
chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies,
abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.’
J B Watson 1878-1958
nature v nurture debate

44.  A scientific approach is based on structure
and measurement.
 What sort of teaching is a behaviourist
approach likely to encourage?
 How does behaviourism still influence
teaching?
Behaviourism: Discuss!

45.  Teacher-centred
 Aims & outcomes
 Schemes of work
 Lesson plans
 Feedback and reward systems
 Grading seen as important –
measurability paramount
Main contributions

46.  What do you think would be the criticisms
of this approach?
 „reductive‟ – humans are more complex
than animals.
Criticisms

47. Cognitivism

48.  Mid 20th century - A rejection of
behaviourism in favour of a theory based
on the principle that learning occurs
through logically presented information in
which the learner organises information
received and makes sense of it.
Cognitivism

49.  Used the analogy of the brain as a
computer – people are able to sort and
sift information and add it to previous
knowledge
 Popular late 50‟s early ‟60‟s
 Why?
Cognitivism

50.  Dewey (1859-1952 Chair of Philosophy)
 Education is „intelligent action‟
 Learning is based on meaning
 The classroom cannot be separated from
the environment of which it is a part.
 „Education is not a mere means to life.
Education is a life’
Cognitivism

51.  Dewey
 Library cataloguing system
 Enquiry based learning
 Problem solving
 Learning outcomes which privilege
thinking skills
Cognitivism

52.  How do you feel about this theory?
 What might the criticisms of this theory
be?
 Another example of reductionism –
human beings are more complex than
machines
Cognitivism

53. Humanism

54.  Also a reaction to behaviourism
 Saw learners as „whole people‟ therefore
needs and feelings important to the
process of learning
 Popular ‟60‟s and early „70‟s
Humanism

55.  Developed in 1960‟s America as a reaction
against behaviourism
 Maslow (1890-1970)(hierarchy of needs)
 Carl Rogers (also influential in
counselling)
 Scientific approach „sterile &
dehumanising‟ – people should be viewed
as „whole beings‟
Humanism

56. Maslow

57.  Teacher as „facilitator’
 Concept of „readiness to learn’
 How useful are these concepts in your
work?
Carl Rogers 1902- 1987

58. Gestalt

59.  Gestalt means pattern or structure
 The theory is concerned with perception
 Also known as „insight learning‟
 The „eureka‟ phenomenon
 Teachers must structure learning so that
learners reach an understanding and
overview of the whole.
Gestalt

60.  German word for pattern or structure
 Stressed the importance of learner
perception of the overall pattern.
 Process:
1. Learner explores and defines
problem
2. Incubates
3. Illumination – Eureka
Gestalt

61. What do you see?

62. What do you see?

63. What do you see?

64. What do you see?

65. Young girl or old woman?

66.  How useful is a concept?
Gestalt

67.  Which of the theories we‟ve looked at
most approximate to yours?
 Which of the theories we‟ve examined do
you find most convincing?
Learning theories

68. Social learning theories

69.  This body of theorists reject the individual
focus of the preceding theories.
 The emphasis is on how people learn in
communal or community settings.
 Vygotsky
 Lave & Wenger
Social learning theories

70. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal
Development:

71.  Lave & Wenger‟s
„Communities of practice‟ People absorb
the practices, attitudes and beliefs of the
community they want to join.
 They learn „how to be‟ something –
teacher, doctor, dancer.
 Develop language, stance etc. initially
through peripheral involvement.
Situated learning

72. Gestalt Situated learning
Humanist
Cognitivist
Expert
Behaviourist
Proficient
performer
Competent
performer
Advanced
beginner
Novice
Rule based learning
Links to learning theories

73. … education was a sieve. The weaker students were „seived out‟
and they left the classroom for the world of work, while the able
students were retained for the next level. „Drop outs‟ were
planned for, and seen not just as inevitable but as desirable. Put
bluntly, the aim was to discover those who could not cope, and
get rid of them.

74. Once learners were thought to have a genetic disposition for learning,
or not, which was measured by their „IQ‟. This placed an upper limit on
their possible achievement. Some students were thought to reach their
„ceiling‟ after which further teaching would be in vain.
This is no longer thought to be the case. Experts on the brain and
on learning now stress that everyone can learn more, if they are
taught appropriately, whatever they have previously achieved.
A vivid illustration of this is provided by the work of Professor Reuven
Feuerstein (theory of Mediated Learning Experience MLE).

75. Education is a ladder, and we expect every learner to climb as
fast and as high as they are able. „Drop outs‟ are seen as a
wasted opportunity, for the learners, and for society as a whole.
Once teachers taught courses, subjects and classes. But no
more. Now they are teaching individuals…

76. flashcards: learning power

77. Growth-orientation v being
stuck & static
I see learning as something I can get better
at, and myself as an improving learner. This
often reflects a more general interest in ‘self-
improvement’, and faith that this is possible. I
have a sense of history and of hope. I tend to
take ownership of my own learning, and like
to be responsible for what I’m learning and
how I go about it. I’m usually quite ready to
‘sign up’ to learning tasks that are presented
to me

78. Meaning making v Data
accumulation
I tend to look for patterns, connections
and coherence in what I am learning,
and to seek links between new
situations and what I already know or
am interested in. I’m on the look-out for
‘horizontal meaning’ I like to make
sense of new things in terms of my own
experience, and I like learning about
what matters to me.

79. Critical curiosity v passivity
I like to get below the surface of things and
see what is really going on. I like to work
things out for myself, and to ask my own
questions. I tend to go looking for things to
understand better, rather than just
responding to problems that come my way. I
am usually excited by the prospect of
learning, and have a good deal of energy for
learning tasks and situations. In general, I’m
attracted to learning and enjoy a challenge. I
value getting at the truth.

80. Creativity v Rulebound
I like new situations, and will sometimes create
novelty and uncertainty ‘just to see what happens’. I’ll
spice things up to stop them being boring. I like
playing with possibilities and imagining how situations
could be otherwise. I am able to look at problems
from different perspectives. I like trying things out
even if I don’t know where they will lead. I sometimes
get my best ideas when I just let my mind float freely,
and I don’t mind ‘giving up mental control’ for a while
to see what bubbles up. I often use my imagination
when I’m learning, and pay attention to images and
physical promptings as well as rational thoughts.

81. Positive learning
relationships v Isolation
I like working on problems with other people, especially
my friends. I have no difficulty sharing thoughts and
ideas with others, and find it useful. I am quite capable
of working away at problems on my own, and
sometimes prefer it. I don’t feel I have to stick with the
crowd for fear of being lonely or isolated, when I’m
learning. I have important people at home and in my
community who share with me in my learning. I am
ready to draw on these when it seems helpful. I feel that
I live within a supportive social context.

82. Strategic Awareness v
Robotic
I tend to think about my learning, and plan how I am
going to go about it. I usually have a fair idea how
long something is going to take me, what resources I
am going to need, and my chances of being
successful.
I am able to talk about the process of learning – how I
go about things – and about myself as a learner –
what my habits, preferences, aspirations, strengths
and weaknesses are.

83. Resilience - dependence
and fragility
I tend to stick at things for a while, even when they are
difficult. I don’t give up easily. I often enjoy grappling with
things that aren’t easy.
I can handle the feelings that tend to crop up during
learning: frustration, confusion, apprehension and so on. I
have quite a high degree of emotional tolerance when it
comes to learning. I’m not easily upset or embarrassed
when I can’t immediately figure something out
I don’t immediately look for someone to help me out when I
am finding things difficult, or when I get stuck. I’m usually
happy to keep trying on my own for a while. I don’t mind if
there’s nobody around to ‘rescue’ me.

84. Banking model
“This model of education sees pupils or students as
depositories to be filled up by teachers who have
already been filled up. The contents are pre-
produced as an abstract body of knowledge, by
researchers whose intellectual labour is already
divided by subject area, and distributed through the
curriculum by teachers in schools and other
institutions which are factories for filling minds.” (p.
79)
Fox, S (2002) Studying Networked Learning: Some Implications from Socially Situated
Learning Theory and Actor Network Theory, in: Steeples, C, Jones C (eds.) Networked
Learning: Perspectives and Issues, London: Springer, pp. 77-91.

85. Banking model
“This model of education sees pupils or students as
depositories to be filled up by teachers who have
already been filled up. The contents are pre-
produced as an abstract body of knowledge, by
researchers whose intellectual labour is already
divided by subject area, and distributed through the
curriculum by teachers in schools and other
institutions which are factories for filling minds.” (p.
79)
Fox, S (2002) Studying Networked Learning: Some Implications from Socially Situated
Learning Theory and Actor Network Theory, in: Steeples, C, Jones C (eds.) Networked
Learning: Perspectives and Issues, London: Springer, pp. 77-91.

86. learning
Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP)
University of Salford
Twitter @pgcap