LEARNING THEORY

Behaviorism

Description
Behaviorism is a branch of psychology concerned with
measurable and observable human behavior
ECED 407: Learning Theory and Description
1

Operant Conditioning: Using positive and negative

Shenell Allen
reinforcements to encourage a desired behavior. Classical
Conditioning: The process of learning a new behavior through
association.
Positive Reinforcement: Offering desirable effects or
consequences after subject displays wanted behavior with the
goal of increasing that behavior over time. Negative
Reinforcement: Giving unwanted effects or consequences after
subject displays undesired behavior with the goal of reducing
that behavior over time.
Conditioned Stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus that the
subject has learned to respond to because of classical
conditioning. Unconditioned Stimulus: A stimulus that elicits an
unconditioned response.
Conditioned Response: A learned response to a previously
neutral stimulus. Unconditioned: A natural response to an
unconditioned stimulus.
Cognitive
Cognitive Information Processing theory explains the basic
Information
concept to show how a mind/brain functions and how
Processing
information/data is absorbed and processed.
Attend to environmental events, encode and process
information, relate to knowledge in memory, store new
knowledge, and retrieve it as needed
Sensory memory temporally (seconds long) holds information
related to stimulation of your five senses
Short term memory and Long term memory
Cognitive
There are (4) stages: Sensorimotor (birth-2 years old),
Development:
Preoperational (2 years old-7 years old), Concrete Operational (7
Piaget
years old-11 years old), and Formal Operational (11 years olddeath).
Object Permanence is when a child knows that an object is still
there even though it is hidden behind or under something.
Conservation is being able to understand that redistributing
materials does not have an affect on its mass, number or
volume.
Egocentrism is the child's inability to see a situation from
another person's point of view, self-centered.
Animism is like pretend play
Schema is past knowledge
Zone of Proximal
ZPD is a theory by Lev Vygotsky about the different ability levels
Development (ZPD)
of students and their limits.
There are three levels: 1. Things the learner can do
independently 2. Things the learner can do with assistance 3.
Things the learner cannot do. ZPD is the second level.
Scaffolding is the support system used by the instructor to
promote optimal learning for each individual learner.
Gagnes Theory of
9 steps of instruction: Gain attention, inform learner of
Instruction
objectives, stimulate recall of prior knowledge, present stimulus,
provide guidance, elicit performance, provides feedback, assess
performance, and enhance, retention, and transfer.
Categories of learning: