THE ROLE OF MEMORY AND MOTIVATION IN HUMAN LEARNING

Social Cognitive Theory This theory states that the process of learning involves three variables: environment, personal factors such as cognition or information previously stored in memory, and behaviors. It involves the environment because one can learn either enactively through actual doing or vicariously by observing models function (Schunk, 2012). Schunk states that much of human learning occurs vicariously, or without overt performance by the learner, at the time of learning. However, learning complex skills typically occurs through a combination of observation and performance (Schunk, 2012, p. 120). Deciding what to learn and how to learn can be challenging to some individuals. Some believe that they are capable of performing a particular task despite the challenges associated with it; others believe that, although learning is important, they do not have the time or skills to get involved in the process. Regardless of the situation, it is evident that people always desire to control the events that affect their lives and to perceive themselves as agents (Schunk, 2012). Schunk (2012) states that in learning situations, self-regulation requires that learners have choices [] for example, students enter learning activities with such goals as acquiring knowledge and problem-solving strategies, finishing workbook pages, and completing experiments. With these goals in mind, students observe, judge, and react to their perceived progress (p. 407) Modeling the process of observational learning taking into consideration the goals, outcome expectations, and values of students can have an impact on motivation. Educational Psychology places emphasis on the study of the individual as a unique entity and how he or she fits within the social context. At the community college level, I reach out to the

disadvantaged, underserved or at-risk student populations because, at one point in time, I belonged to one of the categories mentioned above; I was an at-risk college student. For this reason, my teaching philosophy stems from my personal beliefs and educational experiences. I want to facilitate the process of change for students and also, to motivate them and open their eyes to the possibilities and opportunities a higher education can provide. Many students attending a community college are working and juggling their family responsibilities in addition to going to school. Some come from impoverished backgrounds with little educational support. At the community college level, I have to be mindful that students are in the process of meshing their personal and educational lives as I create and enforce classroom policies and procedures. As a facilitator growing in the Educational Psychology field, I use all possible resources to ensure that every lesson my students learn, inside and outside my classroom, impacts their lives positively. A positive impact will facilitate the transfer of skills to situations that involve planning, decision-making, and problem solving.

Behaviorism This theory states that behaviors can be learned according to trial-and-error experiences, law of exercise and effect, and law of readiness unlike the Social Cognitive Theory. Schunk (2012) states that trial-and-error experiences occur gradually and that connections are formed mechanically through repetition. Although the law of exercise and effect can be easily associated with the acquisition of information through repetition, it emphasizes the consequences of learning or adopting a particular behavior. Schunk (2012) asserts that in the law of effect, responses resulting in satisfying (rewarding) consequences are learned; responses producing annoying (punishing) consequences are not learned (p. 74). Last but not least, the law of

readiness states that when one is prepared (ready to act), to do so is rewarding and not to do so is punishing. From a personal standpoint, learning has positive and negative consequences. Positive consequences will be retained in memory prompting individuals to perform the same task again while negative consequences generate avoidance. Additionally, learning is seen as an impulse or drive that derives from within the human psyche after a particular stimuli is perceived. Pursuing this further, responses become conditioned, extinguished, and generalized according to classical conditioning theory. Emotional responses might become conditioned to an initially neutral object. Schunk (2012) explains that a reliable means of producing emotional conditioning is with systematic desensitization, which is often used with individuals who possess debilitating fears (p. 82). Schunk exemplifies this by pointing out that some students may be anxious about teaching complete lessons to an entire class. Anxieties should be lessened when students spend time in classrooms and gradually assume more responsibility for instruction. Pairing classroom and teaching experiences with formal study can desensitize fears related to being responsible for childrens learning (Schunk, 2012, p. 83). Although behavioristic theories did not place much emphasis on motivation as the Social and Constructivist Theories did, one can assume that punishment or having unpleasant experiences such as those that make stress levels rise will affect the motivational state of a particular individual (self-regulation). A vivid example is when students look at the syllabus of a particular class and realize that there is an oral presentation worth 200 points (discriminative stimulus). Those students with great leadership abilities will perceive this class as an opportunity to put their skills to the test. Those students that are shy or sensitive to criticism will hold a negative attitude towards the class; thus, feeling fatigued and unmotivated about it.

Using contiguous conditioning principles can aid in the transferring process by combining human movements to produce acts. Schunk explains that contiguous learning implies that a behavior in a situation will be repeated when that situation recurs; however, contiguity learning is selective. At any given moment, a person is confronted with many stimuli, and associations cannot be made to all of them. Rather, only a small number of stimuli are selected, and associations are formed between them and the responses (Schunk, 2012, p. 84). The transferring process from a behavioristic perspective relies more on the neural connections the brain can make compared to the Social Cognitive Theory that involves a more hands-on transfer process.

Constructivism Although is not seen yet as a theory, constructivism can be used as a reference when examining the how humans develop new knowledge. This particular philosophical perspective places a lot of emphasis on the sociocultural context in which a particular individual interacts. It shares with Social Cognitive Theory the assumption that persons, behaviors, and environments interact in reciprocal fashion. A key assumption of constructivism is that people are active learners and develop knowledge for themselves (Schunk, 2012, p. 231). Proponents of constructivism closely examined the development of children and were interested in how activity plays a leading and learning role in the development of younger generations. Researchers like Vygotsky believed that as humans evolve so do their psychological functions and cognitive skills. In other words, higher psychological functions are a result of interiorization of initial practical human forms of activity. The idea that true teaching must lead development made it possible to understand the process of instruction as a type of activity with a

structure and content that can be specially organized and guided. With this being said, it is pertinent to assert that teachers and classroom facilitators are responsible for leading the process of interiorization and transference of new information when they expose their students to different learning experiences. Discovery learning, inquiry teaching, peer-assisted learning, discussions and debates can help transfer occur as these strategies pose problems of emerging relevance to students, structure learning around primary concepts, and assess student learning in the context of teaching (Schunk, 2012, p. 261). Every time an individual is exposed to new information, he/she will develop a system of signs which, as stated by Bozhovic, enter into certain relationships with thinking and become amenable to the individuals control (p. 22). This relationship is again what Vygotsky defined as a process of interiorization; once the individual receives new information, he/she internalizes it and makes it his/her own. Individuals will tend to interiorize information that is somewhat meaningful or important to them. Therefore, it is plausible to assert that the meaning/importance of information has a proportionally direct effect on memory. In order to analyze motivation and self-regulation from a constructivist perspective, one needs to have a clear understanding of the critical components of psychological development. A main component is the zone of proximal development. The ZPD represents the amount of learning possible by a student given the proper instructional conditions. [] Broadly speaking, the ZPD refers to the new forms of awareness that derive when people interact with their society social institutions (Schunk, 2012, p. 244). Another component is the individuals private speech. From Vygotskys perspective, private speech helps develop thought by organizing behavior. Children employ private speech to understand situations and surmount difficulties. [] Children internalize word meanings and use them to direct their actions. (Schunk, 2012)

Classroom structure and teachers expectations play an important role in the internalization of word meanings as they involve the coordination of mental processes such as planning, synthesizing, and forming concepts (p. 252).

References: Bozhovich, L. I. (2004). L.S. Vygotsky's Historical and Cultural Theory and Its Significance for Contemporary Studies of the Psychology of Personality. Journal Of Russian & East European Psychology, 42(4), 20-34.

Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Miguel Llovera Da Corte