 ustpsych@yahoo.com 17 November 2004 |
Syllabus Unit 1: Introduction to Learning LEARNING is a relatively permanent change in
behavior or behavior potentiality as a result of reinforced practice or
experience. (Kimble,
1961). INCIDENTAL LEARNING refers to learning without the
intent to learn. This happens when there
is an absence of formal instruction. INSTRUCTION involves manipulation of
variables. Behavior is a response to a stimulus while behavior potentiality is the ability to
respond to a stimulus. Not all behavior is caused by learning. For example, Instinctive behavior is innate behavior that is due to instincts; Reflexive behavior is behavior that is
involuntary, innate, immediate response to a stimulus. Conditions of
Learning: 1. Learning is indexed by a change in
behavior. 2. It is a relatively permanent change
in behavior. 3. Results of learning need not occur
immediately after learning situation. 4. Change in behavior must be due to
practice or experience. 5. Practice or experience must be
reinforced. B.F.
Skinner: “Learning is behavioral change
itself, not a process.” However, many theorists believe that
Learning is a process that mediates
behavior. Independent
variable è Intervening Variable è Dependent Variable (Stimulus/Practice) (Learning) (Result/Behavior) Phenomena /
Problems: 1.
Short-Term Memory 2.
Sensitization
(process by which an organism is made more responsive to aspects
of the environment) 3.
Habituation
(process by which an organism is made less responsive to aspects
of the environment) Reinforcer is anything that strengthens
behavior that occurs immediately after occurrence of a response. LEARNING is as activity of an organism in
interaction with his/her environment (Pintner et al.)
Intrapersonal Variable is affected by the following: 1. Physiological Factor (physical condition of the learner, e.g.,
fatigue) 2. Psychological Factor (motivation / attitude of learner) 3. Environmental Factor (atmosphere, climate, classmates,
library, etc.) Teachers should teach when… …students
are physiologically prepared, …students
have proper motivation, and …if environment is conducive to learning. Types of Learning: 1.
Rote Learning is learning without
understanding. 2.
Rational Learning is learning with
understanding. 3.
Motor Learning is the adaptation of movement to
stimuli relating to speed and precision of performance. Product: SKILL a.
Phylogenetic
Skills (unlearned, universal, from
maturity) b.
Ontogenetic
Skills (learned, unique, particular) 4.
Associational Learning is learning through establishing RELATIONSHIP. Involves the development of Associate
Patterns, e.g., EDSA revolution & People Power. 5.
Appreciational Learning is the process of acquiring
attitudes, ideas, satisfaction and judgment concerning values as well as the
recognition of worth and importance which the learner gains from activities. The product, therefore, of this type of
learning is APPRECIATION. Direction of Learning is manifested in a LEARNING CURVE which is defined as the graphical
representation of learning; gauges how much or how little learning has taken
place. A Plateau in the learning
curve signifies no change in the rate of learning or the learner has reached
his/her physiological/psychological limit. Directions of
Learning: 1.
Positive
(increase in the rate of change or growth) 2.
Negative
(decrease in the rate of change or growth) ADAPTATION is the structural or functional
change that enhances the organism’s survival value. Also involves the elimination of emotional
and other behaviors during the early stages of learning. Basic Principles of
Learning: 1.
Recency. Most recent impression or association is more likely to be
recalled. 2.
Frequency.
Knowledge encountered most often is more
likely to be recalled. 3.
Vividness. Learning is proportional to vividness of the process. 4.
Exercise.
Using what has learned will help its likelihood to be recalled. 5.
Readiness. Readiness to learn is proportional to the efficiency of
learning. I. FUNDAMENTAL EQUIPMENT OF LEARNING A.
SENSATION is the transmission of information
regarding an environment from the senses to the brain center. It is formed from External Senses (5 senses to form sensient cognitive processes) and
Internal Senses (senses like
synthetic or common sense, imagination, memory, instinct) Recapitulation on
Sensation: 1. A psychomatic activity, an activity
of an animated organism that involves both body and soul. 2. It is fundamentally the reaction of
the conscious mind to objective material world. 3. Most elementary form of conscious
life. 4. 3 Phases of Essential Conditions: a. Physical (stimulus) b. Physiological (receptor, transmissor, brain center) c. Psychical (perception) 5. Differs in Quality, Intensity, Duration (3 properties & attributes of
sensation). There are cases when it
exhibits an appreciable reaction time. 6. Significant is its Cognitive Value upon which mental
content depends. There’s nothing in the
intellect which has not been in through the senses. 7. Cognitive experience proper only to
animal life as contrasted from any form of purely biological activity which is
incapable of consciousness. 8. It is the first contact of the mind
with matter. 9. Elementary mode of consciousness of
a cognitional character. 10. Vital operation, issuing in
knowledge, resultant upon the stimulation of a sense by an adequate stimulus. 11. Furnishes the raw materials ( the percept produced by the now sensing sense organs and
the synthetic sense) from which all images and ideas are built. The images and ideas are the building stones
with which we build the edifice of knowledge. 12. Provides knowledge of an extended,
bodily universe which exists independent of and apart from the mind. 13. Senses, being material cognitive
faculties, can know only what is material, concrete and
singular. 14. The eye knows the red flower, but
does not know what makes the red flower a flower. Sense grasps only its proper sensible, to the
exclusion of others. 15. Sense organs derive psychological
powers from a single central sense (common/synthetic sense) 16. Some objects have spatio-temporal
aspects that can be sensed not only by one sense (common sensibles). 17. Senses do not tell the whole story
of the universe which is most infinitely various. B.
PERCEPTION is the interpretation of a
sensation. C.
IMAGINATION is an unconscious retention of
images that supplies basis for memorial activity. It is a powerful internal activity that
involves representing in the mind an absent stimulus/object. The product is IMAGE. Imagination may be Voluntary (with desire to imagine) or Spontaneous (without desire to imagine). Functions/Activities: 1. Conservation / Retention 2. Reproduction 3. Reconstruction / Creative Types: 1.
Sensorial is imagination through external
sensation 2.
Eidetic is imagination with vivid/clear
image of an object/stimulus. Has no
rational powers; common among children. 3.
Hallucinatory is imagination without the presence
of a stimulus. May be a symptom of a
psychological disorder. 4.
Hypnagogic is imagination when one is partly
awake and partly asleep. It does not
consider time element (regardless of past, present, or future). D.
MEMORY is the process of brining back to mind or consciousness the
images of past sensory experiences. It
does not project images. Memory may
either be Sense Memory (from the
senses) or Intellectual Memory (in the mind). Function/Activities: 1. Conservation / Retention 2. Recall 3. Recognition Types of Recognition: a. Perfect / Definite Recognition (able to identify every detail) b. Imperfect / Indefinite
Recognition (unable to identify
everything; can be converted to Definite Recognition through Recall) IMAGINATION
& MEMORY Similarities: 1. Imagination and memory are internal
sense facilities 2. Both presuppose original impressions
upon the sense receptors. 3. Both imply unconscious retention of
the effects of such sense impressions. 4. Both exhibit the ability to
reproduce or revive these experiences.
Imagination supplies basis for memorial activity. Dissimilarities: 1. Sensory memory always implies a
reference to the absent past. Imagination simply picture tings absent,
irrespective whether the absent things are present, past or future. Common sense is always something present. 2. Sensory memory has the power to
identify the past as past – recognizes events as past events. Imagination reconstructs / creates novel
images, past, present or future. 3. Functioning of memory is conditioned
by the lapse of time – imagination is not so absolutely conditioned. For memory events recalled must first be
forgotten, i.e., must sink first below actual consciousness before it is
resuscitated or remembered. 4. Imagination projects images. Sensory memory does not. 5. Imagination sis reproductive and
creative – memory is reproductive and recollective. 6. Both are guided by intellect and
will. Creative/Reconstructive
imagination is logistic in its insight and control in producing works of
art. Recollective memory is syllogistic,
for it proceeds in its movements by a sort of syllogism / rational influence. Recollective memory is guided by natural
laws, the Law of Association and Recall. 7. Imagination involves 3
functions: Conservatory, Reproductive
and Reconstructive. Memory involves
Conservatory, Reproductive and Recollective. E.
ASSOCIATION
refers to
the degree of relationship between stimuli. Laws of
Association: 1.
Primary Laws
(what are associated and remembered together) a. Similarity (similar variables are associated together) b. Contrast (very different or contrasting variables are
associated together) c. Contiguity / Propinquity (nearness in Time & Space) 2.
Secondary Laws
(permanence of association) a. Vividness of Impression (the more vivid the impression that triggered
association, the more permanent the association) b. Frequency of Repetition (the more frequent the association is
repeated, the more permanent is the association) c. Recency (the more recent the association, the more
permanent it is) LAWS
OF ASSOCIATION & RECALL Recognition
of past experiences may be perfect of imperfect as we “recollect” or indulge in
“reminiscences.” Recollection is
deliberative which involves Reflection, Comparison, and Choice. Memory
is a stream of images (and ideas, in the case of intellectual memory) which has
its source from the fountains of similarity, contract and contiguity. Through Introspection
we know that memory processes are not entirely random or accidental rivals of
past perceptions (both sense and intellectual).
Even in spontaneous forms of recall there is some connection, however
remote, between images revived in consciousness. This fact is explained by the fundamental
principle: “When a part of a previous
total experience becomes conscious, it tends to reinstate all the remaining
parts of the original whole with it.” F.
ATTENTION, INTELLECT, AFFECTIVE STATES, & HABIT II. TRANSFER OF
LEARNING Transfer of learning refers to the
application of methods, skills, thinking, values, and habits learned in one
situation to another situation or life events.
It is the carryover of habits of thinking, feeling, or working of
knowledge or of skills, from one learning area to another. It can also mean conveying of one’s
knowledge, skills and responses from the situation it has been initially
acquired to another situation. Its
purpose is for adoption, modification, or even transferring the initially
acquired ability. A. Kinds of Transfer: 1. Positive Transfer. It means that learning in one subject, task or situation improves
or facilitates performance in the second subject or situation. 2. Negative Transfer. This happens when learning in one subject, task or situation
interferes, retards or is detrimental to performance in the second
subject, task or situation. 3. Zero Transfer. Learning that produces no observable influence or change in
the efficiency in the second subject or situation. B. Theories on the Transfer of Learning: 1.
Theory of Identical Elements Modern
psychologists believe that the mental function such as perception, attention,
memory, and reasoning, are not separate entities but interrelated aspects of
the total functioning of the mental processes in any given situation. This belief has changed educational
philosophy and practice. The factor
of resemblance or similarity between situations has considerable effect upon
the amount and kind of carryover that can be expected from one situation to
another. Edward Lee Thorndike can to the conclusion that transfer from one
situation to another depends upon the extent to which they are present in both
situations certain identical elements of content, attitude, method or aim. To take a concrete example, improvement in
addition will alter one’s ability in multiplication because addition is
absolutely identical with the part of multiplication and because certain other
processes, e.g., eye movements and the inhibition of all same arithmetical impulses, are in part common to the two functions. 2. Theory of Generalization. The sponsor of this theory, Charles Judd, considered the term
transfer to be synonymous with generalization.
He placed emphasis upon the value of ability to understand and to apply
to specific situations, broad principles, meaning, and to generalize and
organize specific experiences. According
to this theory, the development of special skills, the mastery of specific
facts, the achievement of particular habits or attitudes in one situation have
little transfer value unless the skills, facts, and habits are systematized and
related to other situations in which they can be utilized. C. Experimental Bases 1.
Garrison, a.
similarity
of content b.
appropriateness
of the methods of instruction or guidance c.
ability
of the learner to generalize d.
learner’s
intelligence e.
attitude
or the mental set of the learner toward learning a task f.
desirable
learning procedures 2.
An experiment by Ulmer (1939)
demonstrated that when geometry was taught so that emphasis was given to the
application of principles to non-geometric situations, marked gains on general
reasoning tests occurred; whereas, when no such emphasis was given, the gains
on the reasoning tests were slight. 3.
Katona (1940)
contrasted the results of rote learning by memorization with the results of
learning by understanding, drawing three generalizations: a. The advantage of learning with
understanding does not necessarily appear in the original learning because
learning with understanding may take a longer time than rote learning. b. Retention after a meaningful
learning tends to be greater than retention after learning by rote
memorization. c. Transfer of learning to new tasks is
greater for a meaningful learning as compared to rote learning. 4.
Hilgard et al. (1953)
conducted an experiment with 60 high school students to test Katona’s generalization.
Their findings state that students who learn by understanding would retain more
than those who learn by rote. He
concluded that understanding is superior to rote memorization in learning for
transfer. 5.
Attitude may also reinforce incidental learning initially occurring
without intent on the part of the person to consciously master the task. Skinner
(1958) has pointed out that “behavior organism” at the amount of reinforcement
and during that period preceding reinforcement is part of the stimulating
environment, aspects of which require control over subsequent behavior. 6.
Using Luchin’s water jar problems, Ackerman & Levin (1958) found that
students trained in alternative problem solving methods solved more problems
correctly and offered a wider variety of solutions to the problems. While those trained in only one problem
solving procedure were unable to solve the problem correctly and has less
patience than the former ones. 7.
In another study which presented students with a variety of problems
which could not be solved by just one attack, Schroeder & Rotter (1952) showed that
flexibility in the attack on problems is something that can be learned and that
such a learned behavior pattern had transfer possibilities. 8.
The early studies by Hartshorne
& May (1928) suggest that abstract concepts like “justice” and
“honesty” are more readily transferred if they are learned meaningfully. Thus, the transfer of conceptual learning is
enhanced by ways of learning which make it meaningful and significant to the
student. 9.
Haslerud & Meyers (1958) concluded in their experiment, “has added strong support to the
contention of Katona and Hendrix that independently
derived principles are more transferable than those where the principle is
given to the student.” General
Conclusions: 1.
Overall Task Similarity.
Transfer of learning is greatest
when the learning conditions are highly similar to those of the ultimate
testing conditions. 2.
Stimulus Similarity. When a
test requires the learner to make the same response to new but similar stimuli,
positive transfer increases with increasing stimulus similarity. 3.
Response Similarity.
When a task requires the learner to make a new or different response to
the same stimulus, transfer tends to be negative and increases as responses
become less similar. 4.
Learning to Learn.
Cumulative practice in learning a
series of related tasks or problem leads to increased facility in learning how
to learn. 5.
Insight.
Insight, defined behaviorally as the rapid solution to problems, appears
to develop as a result of extensive practice in solving similar or related
classes of problems. 6.
Mediated Transfer.
Transfer can occur as a result of mediation due to the network of
associative linkage between tasks. 7.
Tasks or Stimulus Variety.
In general, variety of tasks or of their stimulus components during
original learning increases the amount of positive transfer obtained. 8.
Amount of Practice on the Original
Task. The greater the amount of practice on the
original task, the greater the likelihood of positive transfer; negative
transfer is likely to occur following only limited practice on the original
task. 9.
Understanding on Transfer.
Transfer is greater if the learner understands the general rules and
principles which are appropriate in solving new problems. III. INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES A. Principle of Individual Differences Several traits
and abilities of individuals may be very similar to one another. Many individuals may be observed to be very
similar to one another in terms of not only their traits but also interests,
performance, influences, et al. In spite
of this, in depth study of individuals in psychology and psychiatry concluded
that no two individuals are exactly alike.
Some may have specific traits that are identical but the total
personality of each individual is unique.
This understanding and appreciation of the complexity and uniqueness of
the human personality is emphasized in the Principle of Individual
Differences. This principle must
therefore be used hand-in-hand with the principles and concepts directly
related to learning. B. Causation of
Individual Differences It is most important that a teacher
possesses a knowledge of the causes of individual
differences. The causes as listed
generally are: 1. heredity 2. maturation 3. environment 4. training 5. effort of will With reference to individual
differences, heredity implies that native capacities worthy of cultivation must
be discovered, stimulated, and directed.
Heredity bestows the general native equipment, that bodily structure,
the nervous system, and the native endowment of powers and capabilities for the
acquisition of skill and knowledge.
Environment includes all the factors, surrounding conditions,
influences, and forces which modify development. Training is closely allied to environment and
includes all social educational, cultural, moral, and religious agencies with
which the person comes in contact.
Training in the proper environment can make individuals very different
from what they otherwise would have been. By means of the will, inherited
capacities are realized and intellectual opportunities are utilized. Will is man’s capacity to direct and to
restrain thought, action, and emotion. C. Theories of
Individual Differences 1. Theory of Correlation This theory
pertains to the study of the presence and degree of relationship between
variables. Statistical methods have been
formulated to specifically measure the extent to which two sets of data
correlate or agree in which the Coefficient
of Correlation is computed.
Direction of correlation may also be determined – whether proportional or inversely proportional. 2. Theory of Compensation When the
individual utilizes extra energy to alleviate the tensions caused by a real or
imagined defect, he is said to be engaging in compensatory behavior. Compensation takes the form of developing
potential strength, covering up weaknesses, boasting, attempting to be
over-humorous or clowning. Compensation
efforts may either be direct
(overcome weakness) or indirect (excel
in other fields). IV. MEMORY AND
FORGETTING A. Kinds of Memory: 1.
Reintegrative Memory. Forming whole and complex memory from
specific knowledge and experiences.
Repressed experiences may be produced to form a non-threatening memory
without it. Traumatic experiences are
unconsciously forgotten to achieve such kind of memory. 2.
Recall.
Involves bringing back to consciousness what has been learned. 3.
Relearning.
Involves formation of new cognitive structures from the past learning. B. Reasons for Forgetting: 1.
Passive Decay through Disuse.
Lack of practice may lead to one forgetting what has been learned. 2.
Systematic Distortion of Memory
Trace. This occurs when no deep learning has been
established. Certain aspects of what has
been learned may be changed or made incongruent with the original concept of
that learning as caused by intrapersonal and environmental factors. Also, Abolition
of Memory Trace. 3.
Interference Effects. Forgetting may occur when other factors come in to affect
learning. Kinds: a. Retroactive Inhibition (when past learning was forgotten) b. Proactive Inhibition (when present learning was forgotten) 4. Selective / Motivated
Forgetting. Involves unconscious or
involuntary repression of learning that is perceived as traumatic or painful. C.
Theories on Memory and Forgetting: 1.
Information-Processing Model This
involves the use of stimulation for the study of individual behavior. It is a method for discovering how the system
described by the theory will behave, in particular circumstances, over a period
of time. This theory aims at predicting,
not merely some quantitative aspects of behavior, but the actual concrete
behaviors and verbal outputs. 2. Theory of Fading This theory assumes that forgetting takes place
through the passage of time. It assumes
that learning leaves a trace in the brain or nervous system – the memory trace which
involves some sort of physical change.
With time, metabolic processes of the brain causes a fading or decay of
the memory traces so that the traces of the material once learned gradually
disintegrate and eventually disappear. 3. Interference Theory According
to this theory, forgetting increases with time solely because of increasing
interference between connecting memories, as our store of information
grows. It becomes increasingly difficult
to identify or locate a particular item and this constitutes a failure to
retrieve from long-term memory. Near the
beginning of the storage process, interference from extraneous material can
prevent new information from passing short-term memory to long-term
memory. Furthermore, interference causes
memory confusion in which old memories become blended with new ones similar in
content. 4.
Ziegarnik Effect This is the
tendency to remember non-completed tasks better than complete ones. The explanation offered for this phenomenon
is that tension system builds up within the individual until the task is
finished. Once the task is completed,
the individual is in some way satisfies and turns his attention elsewhere. Prepared by: Glody T. Reyes (Reference: Rosalito
de Guzman) | ||||||