LEARNING

Dr. Vaneeta Aggarwal

 Learning Defined
• Relatively permanent change in behaviour
that occurs as a result of reinforced practice or
prior experience.
• The process of having one’s behaviour
modified , more or less permanently, by what
one does and consequences of one’s action,
or what one observes.
 Components of learning
• Involves change
• Change should be relatively permanent
• Reflective in behaviour
• Change in behaviour should occur as a result
of experience, practice or training
• Practice or experience must be reinforced in
oder for learning to occur.
• Explicit knowledge
• Implicit knowledge
• Knowledge management
Difference Education and learning
• Education -Education, primarily, involves the presentation
of material by the faculty to students who are learning
about the subject matter. The material being studied is
fundamentally well known material. Those activities known
as teaching and training are included in this category.
Learning- Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or
skill through study, experience or teaching. It is a process
that depends on experience and leads to long-term
changes in behavior potential. Behavior potential describes
the possible behavior of an individual in a given situation in
order to achieve a goal.
How do people learn?
Theories of Learning
 Behaviorism
This theory assumes that learning is a process of
building conditioned reflexes through the
substitution of one stimulus for another. It
completely denies the existence to instincts or
inborn tendencies of the individual. It is inferred
that almost all that an individual becomes in
relation to this theory is a matter of
conditioning of reflexes.
 The S-R Bond Theory
It is assumed that through conditioning
specific responses can be directly linked
with a particullar stimuli. These bonds are
the results of biological processes in the
human system.
 Classical Conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov- Nobel prize winner in 1904
• A physical event that initially does not elicit a
particular response gradually acquires the
capacity to elicit the response as a result of
repeated pairing with a stimulus that can elicit
a reaction
• An individual learns when previously neural
stimulus is paired with an unconditioned
stimulus until the neural stimulus evokes a
conditioned response.
 Operant Conditioning
• Behaviour is the function of its consequences.
• Also called instrumental conditioning, refers to
the process that our behaviour produces
certain consequences and how we behave in
the future will depend on what these
consequences are.
 Operant Conditioning
 B. F. Skinner’s concept of Behaviorism: behavior
follows stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner.
 Key Concepts:
◦ Conditioned behavior: voluntary behavior that is
learned, not reflexive.
◦ Reinforcement: the consequences of behavior which
can increase or decrease the likelihood of behavior
repetition.
◦ Pleasing consequences increase likelihood of
repetition.
◦ Rewards are most effective immediately after
performance.
◦ Unrewarded/punished behavior is unlikely to be
repeated.
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Critiques of behaviorism
• It does not account for
processes taking place in
the mind that cannot be
observed.
• Advocates for passive
student learning in a
teacher-centric
environment.
• One size fits all.
• Knowledge itself is given
and absolute.
 Cognitivism
• Grew in response to
Behaviorism.
• Knowledge is stored
cognitively as symbols.
• Learning is the process
of connecting symbols in
a meaningful and
memorable way.
• Studies focused on the
mental processes that
facilitate symbol
connection.
 Assumptions
• People are conscious , active participants in
how they learn.
• People draw on their experiences and use past
learning as a basis for present behavior.
• People make choices about their behavior.
• Recognize the consequences of their behavior.
• Evaluate the consequences and add them to
prior learning
 Gestalt Theory
This theory of learning emphasizes use of
instimct as basic principle and is opposed
to trial and error. Learning in terms of
modification of behavior that takes place
in meaningful patterns and Gestalt stresses
configuration.
 Constructivist theory
• Constructivism is a synthesis of multiple theories
diffused into one form. It is the assimilation of both
behaviorialist and cognitive ideals.

• The “constructivist stance maintains that learning is a

process of constructing meaning; it is how people
make sense of their experience”
 Characteristics of the
Constructivist theory
• Constructivist believe that:

– Peoples construct their own understanding of the

world through experiencing things and reflecting on
these experiences.

– When learners encounter something new, they

reconcile it with previous knowledge and
experiences. In the end they may change what they
believe , or they may discard the new information as
irrelevant.
Implications: Learning environment
• The trainer acts as a facilitator and guide in helping the
employees to become active participants in their
learning. Thus enabling them to make the connection
between prior knowledge and new knowledge.

• The teacher helps the student to construct knowledge

rather than reproduce a series of facts.
Implications: Learning environment
• The teacher provide tools such as problem solving
and inquiry based learning activities so that student
can formulate and test their ideas, and draw their
own conclusions.
 Social Learning
• Observational learning
• Emphasizes the ability of an individual to learn
by observing others.
• Vicarious learning- acquiring new knowledge
by observing what happens to her model.
• Behavior- pay attention to model- practice
model’s behavior---- motivated to imitate
model- Imitate model’s behavior
 Critiques of social learning theory
• It does not take into account individuality, context
and experience as mediating factors.
• Suggests students learn best as passive receivers of
sensory stimuli, as opposed to being active learners.
• Emotions and motivation are not considered
important or connected to learning.
 Situated Learning
• Situated Learning Theory, created by Jean Lave
and Etienne Wenger as a model of learning in a
community of practice, advances that learning is
involuntary and situated within authentic
activity, context, and culture.

• Simply put, situated learning is learning that

takes place in the same context in which it is
applied.
 Situated Learning
• Situated learning is related to notion of learning
through social development
• Regular classroom learning activities involve:
Abstract knowledge which is in and out of context,
 Characteristics

• Lave argues that learning is situated; that is,

– It occurs normally (unintentional rather than
deliberate)
– It is embedded within activity
– It is embedded within context and
– It is embedded within culture.
• Lave and Wenger (1991) call this unintentional
learning a process of “legitimate peripheral
participation” or LPP
 Implications

• Knowledge needs to be presented in authentic

contexts — settings and situations that would
normally involve that knowledge.

• Social interaction and collaboration are essential

components of situated learning — learners
become involved in a “community of practice”
which embodies certain beliefs and behaviours
to be acquired.
 Implications
• As the beginner or novice moves from the periphery
of a community to its centre, he or she becomes
more active and engaged within the culture and
eventually assumes the role of an expert.
COME TO PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING
 General principles of learning
Readiness implies a degree of
concentration and eagerness.
Individuals learn best when they are
physically, mentally, and emotionally
ready to learn, and do not learn well if
they see no reason for learning. Getting
students ready to learn, creating
interest by showing the value of the
subject matter, and providing
continuous mental or physical
challenge, is usually the instructor’s
responsibility.
 Reinforcement

• Reinforcement---Positive vs. negative

• Principle of contingent reinforcement
• Immediate reinforcement
• Reinforcement size
• Reinforcement deprivation
• Scheduling reinforcement
 Exercise
The principle of exercise states that
those things most often repeated
are best remembered. It is the basis
of drill and practice. It has been
proven that students learn best and
retain information longer when they
have meaningful practice and
repetition. The key here is that the
practice must be meaningful. It is
clear that practice leads to
improvement only when it is
followed by positive feedback.
Effect
The principle of effect is based on the
emotional reaction of the student. It has a
direct relationship to motivation. The principle
of effect is that learning is strengthened when
accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying
feeling, and that learning is weakened when
associated with an unpleasant feeling. , every
learning experience should contain elements
that leave the student with some good
feelings.
 Primacy
The state of being first, often creates a strong, almost
unshakable, impression. Things learned first create a
strong impression in the mind that is difficult to erase.
For the instructor, this means that what is taught must be
right the first time. for example, a student learns a faulty
technique, the instructor will have a difficult task
correcting bad habits and “re teaching” correct ones. The
student's first experience should be positive, functional,
and lay the foundation for all that is to follow. What the
student learns must be procedurally correct and applied
the very first time.
 Recency
The principle of recency states that
things most recently learned are
best remembered. Conversely, the
further a student is removed time-
wise from a new fact or
understanding, the more difficult it
is to remember. For example, it is
fairly easy to recall a telephone
number dialed a few minutes ago,
but it is usually impossible to recall
a new number dialed last week.
 Intensity

The principle of intensity implies that a

student will learn more from the
real thing than from a substitute.
For example, a student can get more
understanding and appreciation of a
movie by watching it than by
reading the script. Likewise, a
student is likely to gain greater
understanding of tasks by
performing them rather than merely
reading about them.
 Requirement

The law of requirement states

that "we must have something
to obtain or do something." It
can be ability, skill, instrument
or anything that may help us to
learn or gain something. A
starting point or root is needed;
for example, if you want to
draw a person, you need to
have the materials with which
to draw, and you must know
how to draw a point, a line, and
a figure and so on until you
reach your goal, which is to
draw a person.
 Freedom
The principle of freedom states that things freely learned are
best learned. Conversely, the further a student is coerced,
the more difficult is for him to learn, assimilate and
implement what is learned. Compulsion and coercion are
antithetical to personal growth. The greater the freedom
enjoyed by individuals within a society, the greater the
intellectual and moral advancement enjoyed by society as a
whole.
Since learning is an active process, students must have
freedom: freedom of choice, freedom of action, freedom to
bear the results of action—these are the three great
freedoms that constitute personal responsibility. If no
freedom is granted, students may have little interest in
learning.
 Learning curve
• Initial spurt
• Learning plateau
• Organization of learning
• Disorganization of learning
 Learning styles
• Accommodator- doing and feeling-gut feeling
rather than logical analysis-relies on people
for information
• Diverger- observing &feeling- brainstorming-
imaginative
• Converger- doing and thinking- prefers dealing
with technical tasks and problems rather than
social and interpersonal issues
• Assimilator-observing and doing-concerned
with abstract idea than with people
 Behavior Modification (OB Mod)
The application of reinforcement concepts to
individuals in the work setting
Follows the Five-Step Problem-Solving Model

1 • Identify critical behaviors

2 • Develop baseline data
3 • Identify behavioral consequences
4 • Develop and apply intervention
5 • Evaluate performance improvement

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 Problems with OB Mod and
Reinforcement
 OB Mod ignores thoughts and feelings.
 OB Mod may not explain complex behaviors that
involve thinking and feeling.
 Stimuli may not be consciously given as a means of
shaping behavior.

Modern managers and OB

theorists are using cognitive
approaches to shaping behavior.

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