Psychology of Learning Lecture - 1 PDF

EL PT Lecture - 1 Prof. Atasi Mohanty N Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Introduction to Psychology of Learning  Learning has been a central topic in psychological research since the inception of ps...

EL PT Lecture - 1 Prof. Atasi Mohanty N Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Introduction to Psychology of Learning  Learning has been a central topic in psychological research since the inception of psychology as an independent science (e.g., Ebbinghaus, 1885/1962; Thorndike, 1911). The psychology of learning focuses on how people learn and how EL they interact with the environments in which they learn. Learning can be defined in many ways, but most psychologists agree PT that it is a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience. Learning as a change in behaviour vs. a determinant of changes in behaviour N Learning involves some kind of change in the organism, which is necessary but not sufficient for observing a change in behaviour.  Learning as an enduring change in the mechanisms of behavior Learning as the contiguous causal effect of experience on behavior Learning can be defined as changes in the behavior of an organism that are the result of regularities in the environment of that organism In order to say that learning has occurred, two conditions must be met: EL An observable change in behavior must occur during the lifetime of the organism. The change in behavior must be due to regularities in the environment. PT Learning is thus seen as an effect—that is, as an observable change in behavior that is attributed to an element in the environment (a regularity in the environment). N  Non-associative learning-refers to a decrease in the intensity of a response as the result of the repeated presentation of a stimulus Functional definitions promote the development of cognitive learning theories EL Cognitive definitions of learning are mechanistic & refer to a specific change in the organism, a change in mental constructs PT (e.g., knowledge, representations, associations)—that can function as a contiguous cause of changes in behaviour, Learning changes the physical structure of the brain through the N process of continuous interactions between the learner and the external environment. THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT MAKES A DIFFERENCE People learn by making sense of the environment and of stimuli around them , the nature of the tasks confronted, the ways in which information is presented, and the expectations for the learner’s involvement, all impact the learning process EL Reinforcements from the environment and the nature of feedback from significant others can stimulate or undermine greater effort PT  LEARNING IS BASED ON ASSOCIATIONS People make connections and draw conclusions based on a sense of what they already know and have experienced N For learning to occur, facts, concepts and ideas must also be stored, connected to other facts, concepts, and ideas, and built upon  EL PT Lecture - 2 Prof. Atasi Mohanty N Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur LEARNING OCCURS IN CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS Culture influences the knowledge and experiences people bring to the classroom, the ways in which they communicate, the expectations that have for how learning will occur The social context created within the classroom—the ways in EL which communication, teachers’ and students’ roles, and opportunities for collaboration are structured—all influence the learner’s understanding and construction of knowledge PT PEOPLE LEARN IN DIFFERENT WAYS Learners also possess inter- and intrapersonal intelligence/s, N musical, kinesthetic , and spatial abilities beyond the linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THEIR OWN LEARNING, AND THEIR FEELINGS MATTER- Both thoughts and emotions shape the learning process  History of the Psychology of Learning One of the first thinkers to study how learning influences behavior was psychologist John B. Watson, who suggested in his work ’Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It ’that all behaviors are a result of the learning process. EL Psychology, the behaviorists believed, should be the scientific study of observable, measurable behavior. Watson's work included the famous Little Albert experiment in which he PT conditioned a small child to fear a white rat. Behaviorism dominated psychology for much of the early 20th century. N Although behavioral approaches remain important today, the latter part of the century was marked by the emergence of humanistic psychology, biological psychology, and cognitive psychology.  Psychology of Learning provides necessary theoretical and empirical data regarding the learning process. It describes the principles of learning, motivation strategies, transfer of learning, memory, retention and forgetting. It is also useful in understanding the fundamental problems or EL emotional development motivation, social behavior and personality of people. To sum up, learning can be described as a process by which an PT individual: i. acquires a novel idea or experience to a situation; N ii. retains and applies the idea, skills and knowledge in solving the confronting problems; iii. modify one’s behavior by the experience gained in the past and making the change permanent.  EL PT N What state is the learner in?  EL PT N The state of “conscious incompetence” may be valuable at the start of a learning experience. Effective Learning … that reflective activity which enables the learner to draw upon previous experience to understand and evaluate the present, so as to shape future action and formulate new knowledge Criteria of learning- Learning involves change EL Learning endures over time Learning occurs through experience PT Learning is: - an activity of construction, - handled with (or in the context of) others, - driven by learner’s agency N Effective learning is- all of these at their best, PLUS the monitoring and review of whether approaches and strategies are proving effective for the particular goals and context  EL PT Lecture - 3 N Prof. Atasi Mohanty Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur 1- more connected knowledge 2- wider range of strategies 3- greater complexity of understanding EL 4- enhanced action appropriate to goals and context 5- increased engagement and self-direction 6- more reflective approach PT 7- more positive emotions and affiliation to learning 8- more developed vision of future self as a learner 9- greater facility in learning with others N 10- more sense of participation in a knowledge community N PT EL  Learning About Learning reviewing how we learn most effectively exploring our thinking and problem-solving reviewing beliefs about successes EL exploring approaches to anxiety-provoking tasks managing feelings that impede learning PT practising our approach to difficult tasks, talking ourselves through them N examining responses to experiences of failure analysing contributions to group tasks  How do students think and learn?  Principle 1- Students’ beliefs or perceptions about intelligence and ability affect their cognitive functioning and learning; intelligence and ability can be developed through effort and experiences with applying different strategies EL  Principle 2- What students already know affects their learning; learning consists of either adding to existing student knowledge, PT known as conceptual growth, or transforming or revising student knowledge, known as conceptual change; Principle 3- Students’ cognitive development and learning are not development; N limited by general stages of Principle 4 -Learning is based on context, so generalizing learning to new contexts is not spontaneous but instead needs to be facilitated;  EL PT Lecture - 4 Prof. Atasi Mohanty N Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur  Principle 4 -Learning is based on context, so generalizing learning to new contexts is not spontaneous but instead needs to be facilitated; Deliberate practice involves attention, rehearsal, and repetition over time & leads to new knowledge or skills that can later be developed EL into more complex knowledge and skills Principle 5- Acquiring long-term knowledge and skill is largely dependent on practice PT Principle 6- Clear, explanatory, and timely feedback to students is important for learning N Learning can be increased when students receive regular, specific, explanatory, and timely feedback on their work Principle 7- Students’ self-regulation assists learning, and self- regulatory skills can be enhanced, specifically through direct instruction, modelling , support, and classroom organization and structure Principle 8- Student creativity can be fostered by making it an EL important outcome of the learning process for students and educators. What motivates students? PT Principle 9- Students tend to enjoy learning and to do better when they are more intrinsically rather than extrinsically motivated to achieve by developing increasing competence, the knowledge and skills N  Principle 10- Students persist in the face of challenging tasks and process information more deeply when they adopt mastery goals rather than performance goals. Principle 11- Setting goals that are short term (proximal), specific, and moderately challenging enhances motivation more than establishing goals that are long term (distal), general, and overly challenging ;  should learn to become intermediate risk takers  Principle 12- Learning is situated within multiple social contexts EL  Principle 13- Emotional well-being influences educational performance, learning, and development PT How to assess student progress? Principle 14- Formative and summative assessments are both interpretations N important and useful but require different approaches and  Principle 15- Students’ skills, knowledge, and abilities are best measured with assessment processes grounded in psychological science with well-defined standards for quality and fairness  EL PT Lecture - 5 Prof. Atasi Mohanty N Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur  Types of human learning Non-associative learning- is the simplest and most elementary of all, since only one element is necessary for the subject to learn something: a stimulus. 1- Habituation Habituation is the decrease in the response that an organism EL gives to a stimulus to which it is exposed in numerous trials or occasions. PT This decrease in the response rate is presumably due to the poor biological relevance of the stimulus in question ; Example- ticking of a Wall Clock. 2- Sensitization N Sensitization can be understood as the phenomenon opposed to habituation; That is, because of repeated exposure of a subject to a stimulus, it will increase its response rate. Example- drugs/cocaine that sensitize the individual who ingests them.  Associative learning- is the type of learning where the learner has to associate two or more elements. Example-instrumental conditioning or learning through associating two events. 3- Meaningful learning EL According to the American theorist David Ausubel , the type of learning in which a student relates the new information to the one he already has, adjusting and reconstructing both information in this process. PT Significant learning occurs when new information is connected to a preexisting relevant concept in the cognitive structure. N  4- Cooperative Learning It is an interactive learning that organizes the activities within the classroom to become a social and academic experience. Special emphasis is placed here on exchanges of information as a way of enriching work and the confluence of ideas. John Dewey, promoted the importance of building knowledge within the classroom EL based on interaction and so-called peer support. For Example-new ideas, concepts, and propositions can be learned significantly to the extent that other relevant ideas, concepts, or propositions are sufficiently clear, and PT function as a point of anchoring the former. N  The information that is being learned is constantly subjected to a recycling process; meaningful learning is not excluded preconceived ideas, but it is, to also dismantle these from the new information that we are collecting and to which we are seeing the meaning and the logic. EL This learning emphasizes the importance of knowing how to relate concepts, rather than memorize. PT Cooperative learning is shaped by three crucial elements: ─ The formation of heterogeneous groups, where the creation of a group identity derived from mutual aid should be promoted. N ─ Positive interdependence, fostering effective communication and feedback among group members.  Individual responsibility, understood as the value of each member of the group separately. 5- Emotional learning It uses stimuli with great affective load to produce some change in the behavior of the subject. EL More than in didactic means or in the classroom, this particular type of learning becomes especially useful in the clinic. Example PT of EL is therapy against phobias; In systematic desensitization , the subject, through the directed imagination, is presented situations that for him have special N affective connotation and great emotional load, all with the aim of enhancing learning in the most effective way possible.  6-Observational learning Albert Bandura stated that another way of learning a behavior is by watching another subject doing it. If the observer realizes that the task that the observed is performing is beneficial or has positive consequences, it will be more likely to EL issue it. We all learn observationally on a daily basis and almost without PT realizing it, and this type of learning is also called social because it is necessary the relationship between two people so that it is unleashed. N  7- Learning by discovery Jerome Bruner promulgated the so-called learning by discovery. This is a new way of learning in which the student, was not given any instructions on how to perform a task that dictated his own curiosity. EL The subject learned for himself, progressively and without mediation as far as possible of directions to undertake the activity. PT In this way, learning became much more meaningful. Bruner wanted to direct education professionals, especially teachers: N the role of the teacher should be no other than to encourage students to be interested in the subject, to make it interesting and useful for his life.  This trend is part of the new methodologies of alternative teaching is having proven benefits such as: ─ The promotion of creative problem solving. ─ Learning by successive approximations as opposed to impulsive learning EL ─ The empowerment of metacognitions or, in other words, learning to learn. PT 8- Rote Learning - Memory learning is one that we perform based on storing information by repetitions usually or known as mnemonic rules. N Almost all of us can think of examples such as the subject of the periodic table or multiplication tables, which we practically learned at school without understanding the underlying logic.  Although many are those who reject rote learning, sometimes it is necessary Memory learning goes through the different phases of the process of storing information and to understand it, rather than… EL a constructivist approach as in theories of pedagogical cut, we have to contemplate them from a cognitive view. The information, until it reaches the memory store, goes through PT several phases according to the model of Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), which are the following: ─ First we perceive the stimulus to be stored. If we do not pay N attention, there will be no learning.  ─ That information passes to the store in the short term. ─ If it is useful or valuable, we will retain it. ─ If we retain it, it will be transferred to the warehouse in the long term and will be available to be retrieved according to the EL relevance it has and the daily use that we give to this information. PT N N PT EL  Major Learning Theories in Psychology During the first half of the twentieth century, the school of thought known as behaviorism rose to dominate psychology and sought to explain the learning process. EL The three major types of learning described by behavioral psychology are classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning. PT N  What is Behaviorism? Behaviorism was the school of thought in psychology that sought to measure only observable behaviors. Founded by John B. Watson and outlined in his EL seminal 1913 paper Psychology as the Behaviorist View It, PT the behaviorist standpoint held that psychology was an experimental and objective science and that internal mental processes should not be considered N because they could not be directly observed and measured.  Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior Behavior is directed by stimuli; changes in behavior that EL result from stimulus-response associations Only behaviors worthy of study are those that can be PT directly observed; does not explain abnormal behavior All behaviors can also be unlearned, and replaced by new behaviors N  J.B. Watson, B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov are the pioneers of Behaviorism EL PT N N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL Expanding on Watson's basic stimulus-response model, Skinner developed operant conditioning based on the premise that satisfying responses are conditioned EL PT N N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL Skinner believed the habits that each of us develops result from our unique operant learning experiences EL PT N Extinction decreases the probability of a response by contingent withdrawal of a previously reinforced stimulus Modeling , Shaping, and Cueing:  Modeling also known as observational learning EL Shaping is the process of gradually changing the quality of a response PT Cueing is providing a child with a verbal / non-verbal cue for the appropriateness of behaviour N Behaviour Modification: has six basic components 1. Specification of the desired outcome: increased student participation in class discussions 2. Development of a positive, nurturing environment 3. Identification and use of appropriate reinforces (intrinsic and extrinsic rewards) 4. Reinforcement of behaviour patterns develop until the student has established a pattern of success 5. Reduction in the frequency of rewards-a gradual decrease the EL amount of one-on-one review 6. Evaluation and assessment of the effectiveness of the approach: based on teacher expectations and student results PT Criticisms: 1. Oversimplifies the complexity of human behaviour N 2. Ignores the internal psychological and mental processes 3.The principles of conditioning are not universal Educational Implications: 1. Students work for things that bring them positive feelings, and for approval from people they admire 2. Behaviours can be learned, unlearned or relearned EL 3. Ignoring an undesirable behaviour will go far toward eliminating it 4. Organizing the time and duration of learning: studying intermittently or intensely; PT Exmpl.- Students who learn in an overall manner by means of studying intensely just before an exam N are more successful at the exams; 5.The structure of the subject to be learnt: learning, as a whole is superior to learning by parts; learning by parts is more efficient in case of a lengthy topic 6. Participation: attention, motivation and readiness 7. Feedback: Knowledge of the results for improvements. Classical Conditioning -is when an unconditioned stimulus and response is manipulated with a conditioned stimulus to create a conditioned response EL Operant Conditioning- is a controlled response with a reward/ punishment system according to the behavior The learner needs reinforcements to keep interest PT  Stimuli are effective in controlling behavior The behaviors can be measured to record learning success N overall learning may fade away after a short time, can be forgotten if the exam is delayed; Intermittent study is more efficient for those who want to achieve a permanent learning N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL N PT EL Summary Basic Concepts of Behaviorism Conditioning: Learning takes place through Condition-- Organism/Human being EL Stimulus-Response:Reaction/Relationship Reinforcement and punishment PT Extinction Generalization N Summary Discrimination Reinforcement ratio EL Spontaneous return High-level conditioning PT Observable & measurable behavior Please visit: N https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM0qolv8GTU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5c4spo7umo N PT EL