Arun-Kumar Tripathi (tripathi@amadeus.statistik.uni-dortmund.de)
Wed, 19 May 1999 07:06:57 +0200 (MET DST)
Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 07:06:57 +0200 (MET DST) From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi <tripathi@amadeus.statistik.uni-dortmund.de> Subject: MAJOR LEARNING THEORIES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (fwd)
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hello ifets community,
--With thanks to Professor Rick Reis.
--I am sure, below will be adding some points on the Phillipe Duchastel's
paper.
Folks:
The following abstract, prepared by Vaibhavi Gala of the Stanford Learning
Laboratory under the direction of Dr. John Nash, synthesizes research in
the field of educational theory and examines the main learning theories of
the twentieth century namely, the Information Processing Model, the
Response Strengthening Model, Constructivism and Sociocultural theories.
Details are presented about the latter two theories including their values
and practices, how they address shortcomings observed in earlier theories
and the instructional techniques that they advocate. Let me know if you
would like a complete copy of the article.
Regards,
Rick Reis
Reis@cdr.stanford.edu
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---------------------- 658 words ---------------------
MAJOR LEARNING THEORIES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Pantel, C. (1997). Educational Theory. A Framework for Comparing Web-Based
Learning Environments.
Chapter 2 of Masters Thesis: Simon Fraser University.
Abstracted by Vaibhavi Gala
copyright ©1999 Board of Trustees Leland Stanford Junior University.
THE RESPONSE STRENGTHENING MODEL, which influenced the first half of this
century, lays emphasis on the role of feedback to enhance learning.
Knowledge is considered to be the associations people make between stimuli
and responses. Drill and practice was the instructional method of choice by
the proponents of this theory.
THE INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL proposes that knowledge is a definite
entity that can be transferred from one person to another. This assumption
gave rise to didactic instruction and classical instructional design with
lecturing as the prevalent instructional technique.
CONSTRUCTIVISM came into light in the early 1980s and proposes that
knowledge is 'constructed' individually in a person's mind. Individuals
have their own mental framework which is a function of their beliefs, past
experiences and knowledge. When a person comes across new information, he
understands and assimilates it in the context of his existing mental
structures thereby constructing new knowledge. Hence, learning is seen as a
process of internal negotiation of meaning.
Under constructivism the goal of instruction is to help learners 'develop
learning and thinking strategies' and evaluation of learning outcomes
consists of 'determining how the student structures and processes
knowledge'. Constuctivism propagates creating a learning environment that
facilitates higher-order thinking and metacognition (awareness of one's own
cognitive abilities and the ability to apply them to the task at hand). It
shifts cognitive labor such as analysis and synthesis of information from
teachers to the learners. Constuctivists advocate that students be allowed
and encouraged to take ownership of their learning thus ensuring that
learning activities are more authentic and meaningful to them.
Within the constructivist community there seems to be agreement that
constuctivist learning environments are good for advanced knowledge
acquisition. There is no consensus however, on its appropriateness for
lower levels of education, which involve introductory knowledge acquisition
SOCIOCULTURAL THEORIES are rooted in Constuctivism but they focus on the
role of community and environment in the creation of knowledge as opposed
to the constructivist focus on internal negotiation of meaning. They
acquiesce that meaning can vary but contend that it is defined by the
community of practitioners which uses it. Thus, knowledge resides in
communities. Meaning-making is the result of active participation in
socially, culturally, historically, and politically situated contexts.
Socioculturalism is more extreme in its beliefs than situated learning in
that it focuses on the development of the collective knowledge of a
community as opposed to the development of individuals' knowledge within a
community.
Adherents to the sociocultural theories of learning, like constuctivists,
argue that it is important to reflect the complexity of the application
domain in the learning environment. This would contribute to the
authenticity of the learning activities.
Instructional Techniques based on the constuctivist and sociocultural
theories include:
a) Scaffolding : Teachers support a learner's personal construction of
knowledge by offering comments, suggestions, feedback or observation
b) Fading: Once the learner progresses towards mastery, teachers remove
the supports they provided to make the learner self-sufficient.
c) Cognitive Apprenticeship: Learners learn by actually engaging in the
activity they want to learn about with the support of knowledgeable others
in the field. (similar to traditional apprenticeships: learning by doing)
d) Collaborative Learning: Learners develop their knowledge by sharing
ideas, reflecting and interacting in learning groups.
RELEVANCE
The author provides a reasonable account of the contemporary educational
theories of constructivism and socioculturalism (though he has not
elaborated on situated learning, a variant of socioculturalism).
Understanding the theoretical framework which describes the meaning of
knowledge and the process of learning would enable the Learning Lab
personnel to form their own informed opinions about the models, reflect on
what a learning environment should support and articulate their reasoning
for the basis of the various projects. It would also inform the design of
the framework for future endeavors.
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Kind Regards
Arun Tripathi
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