TOPIC 3 LEARNING THEORIES

AND INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN (ID)

Hardeep Kaur Darshan Singh
 Learning Outcomes
By the end of this topic, you should be able to
• Explain the fundamentals of behaviourist learning theory
• Explain the fundamentals of cognitive learning theory
• Explain the fundamentals of constructivism learning theory
• Relate ID and learning theories
• Give application of learning theories and instructional design
 Behaviourist Theory

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMwyfbPUstM
• Take notes on the behaviourism theory
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6LEcM0E0io
• Differentiate between classical conditioning and operant
conditioning
 Implication of Behaviourism Learning
Theories in Education
• Audiovisual communication era
• Media provided stimulus, in turn provided the appropriate
response
• Interactive instructional material could provide feedback
to provide positive reinforcement for learning
• Selection of wrong response -> encourage correct response
 Implication of Behaviourism Learning
Theories in Education
• Skinner’s principles of behaviour modification also
enabled behaviour before and after intervention or
instruction, to be observed
• Behavioural Objectives
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Gagne’s Learning Objectives Taxonomy
• Mastery Learning
• Industrial and Military Approach
• Teaching Machine and Programmed Instruction
• Individualised Learning
BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES

• Behavioural objectives state learning objectives

in a specified form.
• Behavioural objectives can be summarised in
the mnemonic ABCD (audience, behaviour,
condition and degree) (Mager, 1984).
• This is important as learning was viewed as a
change in behaviour.
 BLOOM’S TAXANOMY
Levels Descriptions
Knowledge  Observe and recall information such as date, location and basic
lesson contents
 Example: list, define, show, group, tabulate, state, name
Understanding  Understand the information, translate them into new context,
compare and make predictions
 Example: simplify, differentiate, compare, discuss, expand
Application  Make use of the information, method and concept given in new
situation
 Example: show, calculate, check, relate
Analysis  Observe patterns, arrange, identify components
 Example: explain, connect, divide, refer
Synthesis  Use existing idea to generate new idea, make generalisation,
summarise
 Example: integrate, rearrange, design, formulate, rewrite
Evaluation  Compare ideas, evaluate, make selections, confirm evidence
 Example: evaluate, decide, test, support
 GAGNE’S LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Levels
TAXONOMY (1972)
Descriptions
Verbal information  Verbal information is linked to the knowledge that requires students
to memorise information.
 Also known as declarative knowledge.
 Example: Name the capital of Malaysia.
Intellectual skill  At a higher level compared to verbal information as it utilises cognitive
processes.
 Also known as procedural knowledge.
 Divided into three levels – understanding a concept (lowest), use of
rules (intermediate) and problem- solving (highest).
 Example: A student uses the Pythagoras Theorem, square root and
rules to solve problems.
Cognitive strategy  The skill to control own learning and thinking.
 Example: Analyse information before answering questions.
Attitude  Feelings or trust in oneself that motivates a person to perform a task.
Motor skill  Any activity that involves one or all parts of the body in performing a
task.
 Example: Dancing, sewing, typing and conducting experiments.
 MASTERY LEARNING
• Mastery learning was created by Morrisson in the
1930s.
• The formulas used in this method are pre-test, teach,
test result, use procedure, teach and test until real
learning is achieved (Morrison, 1931, in Saettler, 1990).
• Mastery learning assumes that all students can master
the materials provided.
• Bloom expanded on Morrisons idea but believed that
mastery learning was only suitable for lower cognitive
levels and not appropriate for teaching higher
cognitive levels.
 INDUSTRIAL AND MILITARY
APPROACH
• In industrial and military training, the behavioural objectives
are written as an explanation about specific results of the
behaviour which are observable and measurable.
• Robert Mager in “Preparing Instructional Objectives” (1962)
required teachers to employ behavioural objectives so that the
required learning could be envisioned.
• Gagne and Briggs, both from the industrial and military
psychology backgrounds, suggested a set of instructions to
write objectives.
• In the late 1960s, writing behavioural objectives became the
norm.
 TEACHING MACHINE AND
PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION
Contributor Contribution
Sydney L. Pressey Introduced a machine to administer multiple
(1925) choice questions.

Peterson (1931) PresseyÊs student who built a teaching machine.

World War II (1939- Phase checks tool (the 1940s and 1950s) teaches
1945) and tests the skill to assemble and disassemble
instruments.
Norman A. Trained electronic tool function troubleshooting.
Crowder (1921-
1998)
B. F. Skinner (1965) SkinnerÊs Machine. Students answer questions
and receive a response (Saettler, 1990).
 INDIVIDUALISED LEARNING
• Individualised instruction resembles programmed teaching and
teaching machine.
• It was introduced in 1900 and revived in 1960. Keller (1963)
introduced the Keller Plan comprising of the following:
 Individual Prescribed Instruction (IPI) by Learning
Research and Development Centre, University of Pittsburgh
(1964); and
 Programme for Learning in Accordance with Needs (PLAN) (1967).

• Individualised instruction would enable the instruction to cater to

the individual and emphasised the mastery of the subject matter and
achievement of the objectives set before progressing to the next level.
 Cognitivism Theory

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCeWR
39lL9E
• Take notes on cognitivism theory
• Differentiate between cognitivism and
constructivism.
 Piaget’s 4 stages of
Development
Stage Age Characteristics
Sensory-motor 0-2  Master concrete objects.
 Able to control motor movements and
learn about physical objects.
Pre-operation 2-7  Master symbols.
 Acquire verbal abilities. Able to name
objects and explain about them intuitively.

Concrete operation 7 - 12  Master classes, relationship, numbers and

how-to to explain an event.
 Develop abstract concept.
Formal operation 12 - 15  Able to think.
 Able to explain in a logical and systematic
manner.
 Main Concepts of Cognitive Theory-refer to
•
notes in module(41)
Schema

• 3 stages in information processing model

• Sensory register
• Short term memory
• Long term memory

• Meaningful effect

• Serial order effect

• Practice effect

• Transfer effect

• Information processing effect

• Effect of condition /situation

• Mnemonic effect

• Effect of scheme

• Advance organisers
 Implication of Cognitivism
Learning Theory in Learning
• Knowledge structure and organisation
• Procedural knowledge and skills that can be
used
• Knowledge-gathering skills
 Constructivism

• Application of constructivism in classroom

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoTdoj
KImb4
 Principles of Constructivism
 Each individual constructs his own knowledge representation
from his experiences – therefore, there is no single correct
knowledge representation (Kant, adapted from Von Glaserfeld,
1984; Hawkins, 1994).

 In the radical constructivist view, knowledge constructions do

not need to correspond with reality to be meaningful, but not
all knowledge construction can be used as when the learners
test their understandings with their peers and teachers, some of
these constructions are not viable (Reiser & Dempsey, 2007).
 Constructivism
 Learning occurs when there is disequilibrium between the
current framework and new experience or information – Piaget
(1929) named this imbalance as disequilibrium or dissonance.
 The process of changing the knowledge representation to occupy
new experiences is known as accommodation. Brunner further
expands this concept to his discovery learning theory.

 Learning takes place in a social context – interactions between

peers are important in the learning process (Vygosky, 1978).
 Constructivism and Instructional Design

Provide Multiple Reality Representations

Provide Authentic Tasks
Establish Reflective Practice
Allow the Construction of Knowledge Based on Content and
Context
Support the Collaborative Construction of Knowledge
Provide Active Learning Environments
Enable Student-centred and Self-regulated Learning
Encourage Discovery
Provide Activities That Exceed Students’ Ability
Include Intrinsic Motivation
 Needham’s Five-phase Processing Model

Phase Purpose Examples of activities

1. Orientation  Gain students’ interest  Provide events that contradict each
and attention. other.
 Provide motivation.  Give problems for students to think
about.
2. Elicitation of idea  Identified students’  Concept mapping.
previous ideas.  Q&A sessions that lead to
thinking.
3. Restructuring of idea  Expand or modified  Hands-on and minds-on
previous ideas based on activities.
scientific ideas.  Activities that use science- process
 Investigate using skills.
scientific skills.  Group communication.
4. Application of idea  Apply the idea to new  Solve new problems.
situation.  Designing.
 Projects.
5. Reflection  Value how far the ideas  Reflective questioning.
have transformed.  Help students to self-evaluate their
changes of ideas and the processing
skill they have achieved.
 Implication of Constructivism on Teaching

Engage learners in authentic activities;

Provide for collaboration and exploring
multiple perspectives on what is being learnt;
Support learners in setting their own goals and
regulating their learning; and
Encourage learners to reflect on what they have
learnt and how they are learning (Reiser &
Dempsey, 2007).
 Summary
 The behaviourist approach may guide learners towards
mastery of content (knowing what). Meanwhile, cognitive
strategies are useful for problem- solving (why) and
constructivist strategy is suitable for ill-defined domains via
reflection. (Ertmer P. and Newby, T., 1993);
 Tasks that require low-level processing (example
remembering equations, differentiation and rote memory)
suit strategies related to behaviourism;
 Tasks that require high-level processing (example:
classification, rules or procedural instructions) are usually
related to strategies with cognitive characteristics (example
organisation of schemas, hypothesising and solving
algorithms); and
 Tasks that require higher order thinking are usually related
to strategies connected to constructivism.
 Behaviourism
 Behaviorism is a theory of learning based on the idea that all
behaviors are acquired through conditioning, and conditioning
occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviorists
believe that our actions are shaped by environmental stimuli.
 Behaviorism or the behavioral learning theory is a popular concept that
focuses on how students learn. Behaviorism focuses on the idea that all
behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment.
 This learning theory states that behaviors are learned from the
environment, and says that innate or inherited factors have very little
influence on behavior.
 Behaviourism
• A common example of behaviorism is positive reinforcement. A student
gets a small treat if they get 100% on their spelling test. In the future,
students work hard and study for their test in order to get the reward. 
• Behaviorism is key for educators because it impacts how students react
and behave in the classroom, and suggests that teachers can directly
influence how their students behave. It also helps teachers understand that
a student’s home environment and lifestyle can be impacting their
behavior, helping them see it objectively and work to assist with
improvement.
https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-behavioral-learning-
theory2005.html#close
 Cognitivism
• Cognitivism is a learning theory that focusses on how
information is received, organized, stored and retrieved
by the mind.
• It uses the mind as an information processer, like a computer.
• Therefore, cognitivism looks beyond observable behaviour,
viewing learning as internal mental processes.
 Cognitivism
• Cognitivism is a learning theory that focuses on the processes involved in
learning rather than on the observed behavior.
• As opposed to Behaviorists, Cognitivists do not require an outward exhibition
of learning, but focus more on the internal processes and connections that take
place during learning.
• Cognitivism contends that “the black box” of the mind should be opened and
understood.
• The learner is viewed as an information processor.  Knowledge can be seen as
schema or symbolic mental constructions and learning is defined as change in
a learner’s schemata.
• Some important classroom principles from cognitive psychology include
meaningful learning, organization, and elaboration.
 Constructivism
• Constructivism is the theory that says learners construct knowledge
rather than just passively take in information. As people experience
the world and reflect upon those experiences, they build their own
representations and incorporate new information into their pre-existing
knowledge (schemas).
• Constructivism is an important learning theory that educators use to
help their students learn. Constructivism is based on the idea that
people actively construct or make their own knowledge, and that reality
is determined by your experiences as a learner. Basically, learners use
their previous knowledge as a foundation and build on it with new things
that they learn. 
So everyone's individual experiences make their learning unique to them.