LEARNING

Preliminary Group Activity:

• 1. What is learning?

• 2. How can you determine that an

individual has learned?

• 3. What are the factors why we can

learn?

4. Why is learning important?

Learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviors,

skills, values, preferences or understanding, and

may involve synthesizing different types of

information.

۩ Learning can be defined as a process which brings a relatively permanent change in an individual's way of responding as a result of practice and experience.

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۞ It is simply a change in behavior – a form of adaptation and a mode of adjustment

The Principal factors affecting the rate of human learning can be divided into 3 main groups are:

those within the individual Methods of learningThe meaning of the materials to be

learned

Those within the individual that influence learning fall

into 5 categories:1. Intelligence – People

with higher I.Q score high in intelligence tests, learn things rapidly. But one implication of this is that intelligence cannot be defined solely in terms of learning ability.

2.Chronological Age - All kinds of learning

depend in part on chronological age.

3. Previous learning– It is the amount of transfer from previous learning. It will partially determine the rate of learning here and now. Both positive and negative transfer effects are possible.

4. Anxiety Anxiety tends to influence learning. Some of us are generally anxious than others. High anxiety may mean that the student cannot keep his mind on his studies. In any case, there are strong relationship between anxiety levels and such measures of learning.

5. Arousal and Motivation –

For efficient learning , the learner must desire or intend to learn. The most fundamental condition for learning to take place is that the organism be in reasonably high state of arousal .

There are at least 3 ways in which motivation in learning is very

important: 1. It is a condition for eliciting behavior.

Through motivation you can elicit a certain kind of behavior. You can also modify a certain behavior by using motivational concepts.

2. Motivation is necessary for reinforcement, which is an essential condition

for learning. A single response should be reinforced in order to

increase its strength, like reward, which allows for response to be repeated

and valued.

3. Motivation controls the variability of behavior when learning a new habit; a motivated organism will run into an extensive repertory of responses, one of which may be “correct.”

collection of available things

The 3 factors which creates an efficient learning process by these methods of learning:

A. Classical Conditioning - This kind of learning gets its name from the fact that it is the kind of learning originally studied in the classical experiments of Ivan Pavlov (1849-

1936).

Pavlov introduced the concept of conditioning and established many of its basic principles. He was the first to conduct systematic studies of conditioned responses.

Ivan Pavlov introduced his experiment in three ways:

Step 1: Unconditional Stimulus and Response

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) – This stimulus will trigger or elicit a physiological reflex, such as salivation.

Ivan Pavlov introduced his experiment in three ways:

Unconditioned Response (UCR) – This response is unlearned, innate, involuntary physiological reflex that is elicited by the unconditioned stimulus.

Step 2: Establishing Classical Conditioning

Neutral Stimulus (NS) – This causes a sensory response such

as being seen, heard or smelled, but does not produced

the reflex being stated. Unconditioned RESPONSE

(UCR) - This stimulus will elicit response, which is salivation.

Step 3: Testing for Conditioning

Conditioned Stimulus (UCS) - It is formerly neutral stimulus that has acquired the ability to elicit a response that was previously elicited by the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response (CS) – This response,

salivation of the dog, is elicited by the the

conditioned stimulus. This stimulus is similar to but

not identical in size or amount with the

unconditioned stimulus.

EXAMPLE

CANCER PATIENT UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPHY TREATMENTS.

IT INVOLVES INJECTING TOXIC SUBSTANCES INTO THE PATIENTS AS A RESULT OFTEN BECOME NAUSEOUS AND SICK TO THEIR STOMACHS….

2. YOUNG CANCER PATIENTS WHO ARE GIVEN ICE CREAM BEFORE THE CHEMO THERAPHY SESSION. THE ICE CREAM BECOMES CONDITIONED TO THE CHEMO EXPERIENCE. NOW, THE PATIENT WILL BE LESS LIKELY TO EAT ICE CREAM EVEN OUTSIDE CHEMO THERAPY SESSION.

His most famous experiment is the use of dogs to demonstrate classical conditioning. The dogs he used showed a salivation response when they where offered food (unconditional stimulus). The food was offered a number of time with the sound of a buzzer (conditional stimulus). After this, the sound of the buzzer alone could produce the salivation response.

 

IVAN PAVLOV

B. Operant Conditioning – Operant conditioning is also called “ Instrumental conditioning.” It is

a kind of learning , in which an animal or human performs some behavior, and the

following consequences, increase or decrease the chances that they will repeat to perform the same behavior or response. And this response is called Operant Response.

OPERANT REPONSE - is a response that can be modified by

its consequence and is a meaningful unit doing behavior that can be measured easily.

REINFORCEMENT – means a consequence that occurs after a behavior and increases the chances that the behavior will occur again.

PUNISHMENT – is a consequence that occurs after a behavior and decreases the chances that the behavior will occur again.

OPERANT CONDITIONING IS GOOD FOR CHILD REARING, SHAPING BEHAVIORS .

EX: A YOUNG BOY HAD TEMPER TANTRUMS DURING BEDTIME TO TGET ENOUGH ATTENTION FROM PARENTS….

EX: ALONE IN A CRIB, A BABY MAY KICK AND TWIST AND COO SPONTANEOUSLY. THIS BEHAVIOR WILL BE REPEATED WHEN THIS IS FOLLOWED BY PARENTAL ATTENTION.

EX: DOG WILL PICK UP THE BALL MORE OFTEN IF THIS ACTION IS FOLLOWED BY PETTING OR A FOOD REWARD.

C. Cognitive learning –

cognitive learning involves perception and knowledge necessary in order to learn with understanding. It is also known as ‘Insight learning.’

Insight – is a mental process marked by the sudden and expected solution to a problem: a phenomenon often called the “ah-ah experience.”

Laws of learning

1. The law of Effect – This states that if the responses are rewarded and the reward is satisfying or pleasant, the connection or behavior is strengthened. If the effect is unpleasant or annoying, the connection is weakened.

1. 2.The Law of readiNESS– It stresses need motivation of learners through building up of the proper background and fostering the proper mindset. This includes the understanding that learning follows a maturation level. It says that an appropriate learning activity depends on the capacity of the learner.

3. The Law of Exercise – This states that more connections are exercised, the stronger the connections become. When a connection or behavior has not been practiced or repeated, its strength decreases. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.”

* E.L Thorndike - formulated the laws of effect, readiness and exercise.

EVALUATION:

THE END…….