MAED 206- Sociological and

Psychological Theories

Prepared by: Mayflor S. Barile

Jerome Bruner’s Theory of Learning

One of the first proponent of

Constructivism.

Learning is an active process

in which learners construct

new ideas or concepts based

upon their current/past

knowledge.

Bruner’s Main Concepts1.Representation

a.Enactive representation – at the earliest

ages, children learn about the world through

actions on physical objects and the outcome

of these objects.

b.Iconic representation- learning can be

obtained through using models and pictures.

c. Symbolic representation – the learner has

developed the ability to think in abstract

terms.

2. Spiral CurriculumTeaching should always lead to

boosting cognitive development.

Student will not understand the

concept if teacher plans to teach it

using only the teacher’s level of

understanding.

Instruction needs to be anchored on

the learner’s cognitive capabilities.

In a Spiral Curriculum,

TEACHER MUST REVISIT THE CURRICULUM BY TEACHING THE SAME CONTENT IN DIFFERENT WAYS DEPENDING ON STUDENTS’ DEVELOPMENTAL LEVELS.

Principles of Instruction stated by Bruner

1. Instruction must be concerned w/ the

experiences and context that makes the

student willing and able to learn (READINESS).

2. Instruction must be structured so that it can

be easily grasped by the student (SPIRAL

ORGANIZATION).

3. Instruction should be designed to facilitate

extrapolation and or fill in the gaps (GOING

BEYOND THE INFORMATION GIVEN).

3. Discovery Learning

Refers to obtaining knowledge

for oneself.

Learning becomes more

meaningful when students

explore their learning

environment rather than listen

passively to teacher.

Four major aspects of Theory of Instruction

1. PREDISPOSITION TO LEARN

* he introduced the idea of “readiness for learning”

* He believed that any subject could be taught at

any stage of development in a way that fits the child

cognitive abilities.

2. STRUCTURE OF KNOWLEDGE

* refers to the ways in which a body of knowledge

can be structured so that it can be most readily

grasped by their learner.

3. EFFECTIVE SEQUENCING

* No one sequencing will fit every learner, but in

general, the lesson can be presented in increasing

difficulty.

4. REINFORCEMENT

* rewards and punishments should be selected and

paced appropriately.

* interest in the subject matter is the best stimulus for

learning.

* Bruner did not like external competitive goals such

as grades or class ranking.

CATEGORIZATION

Bruner’s gave much attention to

categorization of information in the

construction of internal COGNITIVE

MAPS. He believed that perception,

conceptualization, learning, decision

making and making inferences all

involved categorization.

Kinds of Categories1. Identity Categories = categories include

objects based on their attributes or features.

2. Equivalent Categories = Equivalence can

be determined by affective criteria, which

render objects equivalent by emotional

reactions, functional criteria, based on

related function.

3. Coding systems = categories that serve to

recognize sensory input.

“Learners are encouraged to discover facts and relationships

for themselves.”

-Jerome Bruner

Information

Processing

Theory

Information Processing is a

cognitive theoretical framework

that focuses on how knowledge

enters and is stored in and is

retrieved from our memory. It is

one of the most significant

cognitive theories in the last

century and it has strong

implications on the teaching

learning process.

Information Processing Theory

IPT described how the learner

receives information (stimuli) from the

environment through the senses and

what takes place in between

determines whether the information

will continue to pass through the

sensory register, then the short term

memory and the long term memory.

TYPES OF KNOWLEDGEGENERAL VS. SPECIFIC: This involves

whether the knowledge is useful in many tasks, or only in one.

DECLARATIVE : Refers to factual knowledge. They relate to the nature of how things are. Can be in the form of word or image.

PROCEDURAL = includes

knowledge on how to do things.

EPISODIC = this includes

memories of life events.

CONDITIONAL = this is about “knowing when and why” to

apply declarative or procedural

strategies.

Three Main Stage in the

Memory Process1. SENSORY REGISTER is the first step in the IP

model holds all sensory information for a very

brief time.

CAPACITY: Our mind receives a great amount of

information but it is more than what our mind

can hold or perceive.

DURATION: 1 to 3 seconds only.

* The Role of Attention

To bring information into Consciousness. We can only perceive

and remember later those things that pass through our

attention “gate”.

Getting through this attentional filter is done when the learner

is interested in the material; when there is conscious control

over attention, or when information involves novelty, surprise

and distinctiveness.

Before information is perceived it is known as “precategorical”

information. Once it is perceived we can categorize, judge

,interpret and place meaning to the stimuli. If we fail to

perceived, we have no means by which to recognize that the

stimulus was ever encountered.

* Short-Term Memory

(STM or Working Memory)

CAPACITY: The STM can hold only 5 to 9 chunks

of information. It is called working memory

because it is where new information is

temporarily placed while it is mentally

processed.

DURATION: Around 18 seconds or less

To reduce the loss of information you need to

do MAINTENANCE REHEARSAL.

* Long- Term Memory (LTM)

The LTM is the final or permanent storing

house for memory information. It hold

the stored information until needed

again.

CAPACITY: LTM has unlimited capacity

DURATION: duration in the LTM is

indefinite.

2. EXECUTIVE CONTROL PROCESSES

The ECP involve the executive processor

or what is refered to as metacognitive

skills.

This process guide the flow of information

through the system, help the learner make

informed decisions about how to

categorize, organize or interpret

information.

3. FORGETTINGIt is the inability to retrieve or access

information when needed.

TWO MAIN WAYS IN WHICH FORGETTING

OCCURS

a. DECAY: Information is not attended to, and

eventually ‘fades’ away.

b. INTERFERENCE : new or old information

‘blocks’ access to the information in question.

METHODS FOR INCREASING

RETRIEVAL OF INFORMATION

•Repeating informationRehearsal

• Making connection between new information and prior knowledge.

Meaningful Learning

• Making connection among various pieces of informationOrganization

• Connecting new info with old to gain meaning.Elaboration

•Forming a picture of the information.

Visual Imagery

•Things we ‘produce’ are easier to remember than things we ‘hear’Generation

• Remembering the situationContext

•Making the info relevant to the individual.

Personalization

Other Memory Methods

• remember the beginning and end of a ‘list’ more readily

Serial position Effect-

• Chunk Information

Part Learning –

• breaking up learning session than cramming all the info at once

Distributed Practice-

• memory techniques

Mnemonic Aids –

Maintenance Rehearsal Rehearsal, Elaboration,

Meaningful Learning,

Organization, Visual,

Imagery, Generalization

Executive Control Processes (including Metacognition)

Senses PerceptionSensory

Memory

Short

term

Memory

Long Term

Memory

decay retrievalforgetting

The Information Processing Model

Learning Theories

and Their Application

to Classroom and

School Practices

In the classroom settings, teachers are

said to reinforce the kind of behavior

they want see through praise, smiles

marks, rewards and the like. Since in

the typical classroom situation, a

teacher cannot supply reinforcement

quickly enough or often enough,

Skinner introduced programmed

learning.

Programmed learning Is a system of learning in which pre-established subject

matter is broken down into sequential steps, the learner is

immediately reinforced after each step as soon as he

makes the correct response.

The emphasis on cognition and insight by cognitive-field

theories has far-reaching implications for the present day

classroom and school practices. It implies that the teacher

has to select and provide appropriate learning experience

whereby the learners can discover relationships between

elements in various situations and understand them as a

whole in an organized, unified pattern.

Applied to classroom situation in generals

the filed theories implied the need for

emphasis on looking at the total situation

at the beginning. This is accomplished by

having learners discuss both the

immediate and ultimate goals of

learning. The teacher has to preview the

activities involved in the problems to be

encountered.

For Example in primary readings the

teacher should tell briefly what the story is

about describe the characters and relate

the story to the pupils experience.

At the high school level instead of

introducing the study of chemistry by

detailed analysis, of a given element, the

teacher must first discuss the operation of

chemistry in daily living, the overall field,

and the problems to be encountered.

Although this theories emphasize the place of

generalities in introducing any subject area,

emphasis is also make on the details which are

aspects of the larger area.

Example: the teaching of world analysis and

phonetics is subsidiary to the importance of

getting the idea. Word analysis and phonetics

are significant as they contribute to better

understanding. Teachers know that there are

many pupils who can read the words but fail to

grasp their meaning.

The interest of cognitive-field theories in developing

reflective thinking implies setting up school program

that are focused on teaching students to think

effectively in a wide variety of situation.

It implies teaching approaches which are child-

centered as well as problem- centered.

This calls for a teacher who understands the nature of

the learner and perceives the learner’s life space,

one who advocate greater learner participation;

one who plans, executes and evaluates learning

tasks in a problem-centered matter.

Transfer of

Learning

Transfer of Learninghappens when learning in one

context or with one set of materials

affects performance in another

context or with other related

materials.

Simply put, it is applying to another

situation what was previously learned.

Types of Transfer

A. POSITIVE TRANSFER = occurs when learning in one

context improves performance in some other context.

B. NEGATIVE TRANSFER = occurs when learning in one

context impacts negatively on performance in

another.

C. NEAR TRANSFER = refer to transfer between very

similar context. Referred to as SPECIFIC TRANSFER

D. FAR TRANSFER = also called GENERAL TRANSFER,

refers to transfer between context that on

appearance, seem remote and alien to one another.

Conditions and Principles of TransferConditions/Factors

Affecting transfer of

Learning

Principles Of Transfer Implication

Similarity between

two learning

situation

The more similar the two

situations are, the greater

the chances that learning

from one situation will be

transferred to the other

situation.

Involve students in learning

situations and tasks that are

similar as possible to the

situations where they would

apply the tasks.

Degree of

meaningfulness/rele

vance of learning

Meaningful learning leads

to greater transfer than rote

learning

Remember to provide

opportunities for learners to link

new material to what they

learned in the past.

Length of

instructional time

The longer the time spent in

instruction, the greater the

probability of transfer.

To ensure transfer, teach a few

topics in depth rather than

many topics tackled in a

shallow manner.

Variety of

Learning

Experiences

Exposure to many and

varied examples and

opportunities for practice encourage transfer

Illustrate a new concepts

and principles with a variety

of examples. Plan

Context for

learner’s

experiences

Transfer of learning is most

likely to happen when

learners discover that what

they learned is applicable

to various context.

Relate a topic in one subject

to topics in other subjects or

disciplines. Relate it also to

real life situations.

Focus on

principles rather

than tasks

Principles transfer easier

than facts.

Zero in on principles related

to each topic together with

strategies based on those principles

Emphasis on

metacognition

Students reflection

improves transfer of

Learning

Encourage students to take

responsibility for their own

learning, and to reflect on

what they learned.