“Better Brain Health.” – Kushi Institute. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

“Bobo Doll Experiment.” YouTube. YouTube. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Koszalka,Tiffany. IDE 621 Principles of Instruction and learning. 2014.

Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Human Learning. 6th ed. Pearson, 2012. Print.

“Zone of Proximal Development.” Zone of Proximal Development. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

• The social learning theory makes a lot of sense to me.
• I really agree with the model and imitation aspect of the theory. I believe I learn best, especially with basketball, if I can see the model first and then imitate what was being done.
• Another aspect that really stood out to me is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of mental development. Without interacting with others I don’t think its possible to truly learn in this world. I believe that interacting with others and learning from their experiences really help shape a person.
• As humans I think we really do learn from observing the behaviors of others and observing the outcomes of those behaviors. If I see someone run down a hill of ice and slip, I know to either carefully walk down that hill or avoid the hill all together so the same outcome won’t occur.
• The last class activity we did when we had to do a mini knowledge base on social learning really helped me understand this theory.

 

Observation Checklist	Yes/No
Instructor gains the learners attention	Yes
Instructor clearly states the expected outcome	Yes
Instructor uses an activity for the learner to show what they have learned	Yes
Instructor uses modeling and imitation to show appropriate behaviors	Yes
Instructor describes unsuitable behaviors	No
Instructor makes the learner believe that he or she will be able to accomplish a specific task.	Yes

 

Learning Situation: Making Fried Chicken

A new chef is shown a picture of fried chicken. The Head chef describes all the characteristics of perfectly fried chicken and the ingredients used. The head chef provides the new chef with seasonings, flour, oil, a pot, and other tools used to make the chicken. The head chef demonstrates to the new chef how to properly clean and season the chicken. The new chef is encouraged to try to clean and season the chicken while the head chef provides constructive and positive feedback. After the new chef masters the task, the head chef then demonstrates how to dump the chicken in a bag of flour and shake it up so that all pieces are covered thoroughly with the flour. The new chef tries to do the same. The head chef then slowly drops the chicken in the hot-pot of oil and prompts the new chef to do the same. The lesson continues with the new chef taking all the steps and repeating them alone, while the head chef only provides feedback.

1. Modeling: The head chef is modeling each step so the new chef can imitate the steps.
2. Imitation: The new chef is imitating each step the head chef is modeling.
3. Symbolic Model: Occurs when the new chef is shown a picture of fried chicken.
4. Observation: When the head chef is observing the new chef after each step and gives feedback.
5. Apprentice-like activity: The new chef is learning how to make fried chicken from a skilled head chef.

Here are three instructional theories that I have decided to talk about.

Reciprocal Teaching: an instructional activity where the students become the teacher and the teacher models and helps the students with group discussions or reading sessions. This helps students learn actively and also forces students to think about their own thought process.

Collaborative Learning: an approach to teaching where students are grouped up and work together to solve problems or complete a task. Basically a group of students team up to learn something together. Members actively interact, share ideas, and depend on each other to get the work done.

Expository Learning: Where a teacher stands in the front of the room and lecture while students take notes. The students are being told what they need to know. It involves giving students clear information in a purposeful way so that the students can make easy connections from one concept to the next. Also, the teacher presents the students with the subject matter rules and provides examples that show the rules. One of the most common instructional strategies.

The theorists that will be discussed are Albert Bandura, Julian B. Rotter, and Lev Vygotsky.

Bandura

• Believed that modeling plays a major role in learning.
• People can learn through observations.
• Positive or negative reinforcement will have little impact if the reinforcement offered externally does not match with an individual’s needs.
• Intrinsic reinforcement like pride, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment could influence learning and behavior.
• Models provide examples of behavior to observe and imitate
• Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior.

 

Rotter

• The expected outcome of a behavior has an impact on motivation. So if a person knows they will get an A+ for doing the extra credit that will motivate the student to do the work.
• People try to avoid negative consequences
• If a person thinks that the outcome will be positive they are more likely to engage in that behavior and if a person thinks the outcome will be negative they are less likely to engage in that behavior.
• To understand behavior, you must take into account the individual and the environment.
• Four main factors:
  1. Behavior Potential: The likelihood of engaging in a particular behavior in a specific situation. Depending on the situation there are multiple behaviors that someone can engage in.
  2. Expectancy: The probability that a certain behavior will lead to a particular outcome.
  3. Reinforcement Value: This is the desirability of the outcome. Things that we want to happen have a high reinforcement value and things that we don’t want to happen have a low reinforcement value.
  4. Psychological situation: Different people interpret the same situation differently.

Vygotsky

• Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of mental development.
• Learning takes place through the interactions with peers, teachers, and others.
• When creating the learning environment it must maximize the learner’s ability to interact with each other through discussion, collaboration, and feedback.
• Language is the main tool that promotes thinking, develops reasoning, and supports cultural activities like reading and writing
• Cognitive development varies across cultures.
• Zone of Proximal Development: The difference between what the learner can do independently and what the learner can do with help.

Social Learning Theory is the last learning theory I will discuss.

• According to this theory learning is a construction of those behavior patterns which society expects.
• It is developed through a process by which there is shared control between three factors:
  1. Behavior
  2. Environment
  3. Perception
• The relationship between these three factors is known as reciprocal causation.

Key Principles:

• People learn by watching the behaviors of others and the results of those behaviors.
• Learning can happen without change in behavior.
• As humans we learn through social interactions like conversations, observations, and collaboration/cooperation.
• A major role in learning is self-regulation.
• Cognition also plays a major role in learning meaning the student practices mental repeating, memory codes, and paying attention.
• Consequences of behavior also plays an important role in learning. If there is an expected reinforcement that promotes learning.

Important Vocabulary:

• Self-efficacy: an individual’s belief that he or she will be able to accomplish a specific task.
• Self-reinforcement: Rewarding ourselves for appropriate behavior.
• Self-Regulation: having self-control; self-direction either towards positive behaviors or away from negative behaviors. Involves goal setting.
• Vicarious Reinforcement: learning behaviors through observation of rewards and punishment.
• Modeling: The individuals that are being observed are called models.
• Imitation: when the observers copy the actions of the models.
• Reciprocal Causation: the shared control between behavior (B), the environment (E), and the internal events that influence perceptions (P).
• Social Nature of Learning: how humans learn through social interactions.
• Cognition: the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension. Such as thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem solving.
• Live models: an actual person whose behavior serves as a stimulus for an observer’s response.
• Symbolic models: cartoons, pictures, television, and books.
• Self-Evaluation: the way a person views him or herself and looking at the progress, development, and learning to determine what has improved and what still needs improvement.

Koszalka,Tiffany. IDE 621 Principles of Instruction and learning. 2014.

“Learn the Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization.” About. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Human Learning. 6th ed. Pearson, 2012. Print.

“Piaget’s Theory about Stages of Cognitive Development: Implication to Teaching Young Learners.” D Stories. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

“Tolman – Latent Learning | Simply Psychology.” Tolman – Latent Learning | Simply Psychology. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

• I’m not quite sure if I really agree with this theory in whole but I definitely agree with certain aspects of it.
• One thing I do like about this theory is the belief that cognitive development occurs in stages and is controlled by maturity.
• I really learned about how memory works and how the five senses has a big role in how things are remembered.
• I also agree that when prior knowledge is related to new material that is being taught the learner has a better chance of actually learning and comprehending the new information.
• Also, I think its critical that as learners we interact with the environment and other people for cognitive development. Without the environment and other people learning would never occur.
• The class assignment when we had to use the cognitive knowledge organization techniques to explain important definitions with this theory really helped me break down the key terms and really understand the meaning of the words.

 

 

Observation Checklist	Yes/No
Instructor grabs the attention of the audience	Yes
Instructor communicates the objectives	Yes
Instructor organizes the knowledge	Yes
Instructor reinforces new knowledge	Yes
Instructor generalizes information to new situations	No