Teaching Aptitude: Concepts of Teaching

1    1. Classical Conditioning /Pavlovian conditioning (1897): 

•          Associated with Russian physiologist Pavlov and Stimulus response theory
•          Experiments with dog, bell sound and food  
•          Unconditioned Stimulus (food) and Conditioned stimulus (bell) are paired to produce  conditioned response (saliva), that is different from unconditioned response(saliva) before association -
•          finding: learning occurs rapidity while the interval between CS and US is short.

2.    2. Operant Conditioning / Radical Behaviorism(1938): 

•          Associated with Skinner,  American psychologist,  professor at Harvard University 
•          "Walden Two",  his novel presenting his theories 
•          'operant' referring to modification of behaviour by the reinforcing or inhibiting effect of its own consequences
•        Both reinforcements increase the behaviour, both punishments decrease the behaviour
•         Positive reinforcement (adding a prospective stimulus) : rewarding increases the desired behavior (rat in Skinner box,  while pushing pedals, gets  food,) 
•        Negative Reinforcement ( removal of harmful stimulus, escape) : removal of noxious stimulus increases the desired behavior ( loud noise inside Skinner box,  stopping while lever pressed by rat 
•        Positive Punishment (adding a harmful stimulus) -  punishment decreases the unwanted behaviour in learning (e.g. beating,  spanking ) 
•       Negative Punishment (removal of a prospective stimulus) : punishment by removing a prospective stimulus to decrease the unwanted behaviour –(no increment for poor performance,  no watching TV for poor study) 
•      Extinction : no response from learner,  since stimulus is no longer present – stop food to rat,  it stops pulling the lever.

3.    Neo behaviorism (1930–1955)

• associated with Edward C. Tolman (1886–1959), Clark Hull (1884–1952), and B. F. Skinner (1904–1990)-
• more self-consciously trying to formalize the laws of behavior 
• Tolman focusing his experimental work largely on white rats learning their way through mazes
• Against isolated stimuli and responses, Tolman emphasized their integration with the environment by referring to them as "stimulating agencies" and "behavior acts." 
•  his 1932 famous Purposive Behavior in Animals and Men
• Skinner Baby box (1945) – his experiment with his own  daughter – Finding: we're capable of behaviors that we don't entirely control. –Against the belief that humans are ultimately masters of our destiny rather than products of our circumstances
• Hull -  build-up and breakdown of habit interpreted as the key to all behavior - found the fundamental law of learning or habit-formation—the law of stimulus generalization—and that this law not only underlay all behavior in animals and humans, but  a principle basic enough to unify all the social sciences.

4.    4. Gestalt Theory:

•       German term meaning 'form' or 'pattern' 
•       macroscopic view of the psychological behaviors rather than a microscopic approach understanding and perceiving the whole sum of an object rather than its components
•       based on perceiving reality in its simplest form 
•      the ways humans perceive objects: similarity, proximity, continuity 
•      Associated with productive thinking, solving problem with insight – reproductive thinking, solving problem with past experience 
•       Associated with Graf Christian von Ehrenfels
•       learning takes place as students were able to comprehend a concept in its entirety, rather than broken up into parts 
•       the experiences and perceptions of learners having a significant impact on the way that they learn
•       Learning happens best when the instruction is related to their real life experiences. The human brain has the ability to make a map of the stimuli caused by these life experiences, known as “isomorphism.”

5.    5. Cognitivism: 

•       known as information processing psychology 
•       the way people think impacting their behavior 
•       attention of the learner as the first part of cognitivism 
•       memory,  playing vital role 
•       acquisition of knowledge and growth of mental structures stressed 
•      Rooted in Gestalt psychology and the work of Jean Piaget, cognitivism has been prominent in psychology since the 1960s
•      The learner is viewed as an information processor (like a computer)
•      supporters: Marriner David Merill (1937 – ), Charles Reigeluth (1946 – ), Robert Mills Gagné (1916 – 2002), Jerome Bruner (1915-2016)and Roger Schank (1946 – ), 
•       Knowledge seen as schema or symbolic mental constructions
•       Learning defined as change in a learner’s schemata 
•        people are not “programmed animals" that merely respond to environmental stimuli but rational beings that require active participation in order to learn, and whose actions are a consequence of thinking
•      Changes in behavior being observed, but only as an indication of what is occurring in the learner’s head. 

6.    Constructivism

• learning being an active, contextualized process of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring it 
• The learner brings past experiences and cultural factors to a current situation and each person has a different interpretation and construction of the knowledge process.
• Associated with Vygotsky’s (1978) theory, one of the foundations of constructivism 
• Social interaction playing a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development 
• Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)  -
• Learning from The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)-anyone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner 
• The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) referring to the distance between a learner’s ability to perform a task under adult guidance and with peer collaboration and their ability to solve the problem independently. According to Vygotzky, learning occurs in this zone. 
• in short, his three theories mean: what the learner can do, what the learner can do with help from others, what the learner can’t do yet but will attempt to do

7.    Experiential learning

• .Associated with Kolb (1984) -a four stage model known as the experiential learning cycle - a way by which people can understand their experiences and, as a result, modify their behavior -  (without reflection, people would continue to repeat their mistakes
• Concrete experience Stage - experiencing or immersing yourself in the task given by the teacher -  doing stage.
• Observation and reflection Stage- reviewing what has been done and experienced -Your values, attitudes and beliefs can influence your thinking at this stage -This is the stage of thinking about what you have done.
• Abstract conceptualization Stage-  the stage of planning how you will do it differently.
•  Active experimentation Stage - enables you to take the new learning -This is the redoing stage based upon experience and reflection.

8.    Humanism

•  learning  as a personal act to fulfill potential within the learner 
• insisting to  study a person as a whole, particularly as they grow and develop over their lifetime 
• Associated with Rogers (1983) who developed the theory of facilitative learning and  Maslow
• based on a belief that people have a natural human eagerness to learn and that learning involves changing your own concept of yourself 
• learning to take place if the person delivering it acts as a facilitator 
• to discuss new ideas and learn from their mistakes
• learning not threatened by external factors
• considered behaviorism to be much too narrow in focus to be dealing with significant issues, such as love, values, self-actualization, choice, spirituality, awe, purpose, and meaning.

9.    Pedagogy and andragogy: 

•     Formal teaching , known as pedagogy, where the teacher directs all the learning.  -
•      informal teaching known as andragogy, where the learner is the focus, for example, via group activity and discussions
•      andragogy can include your learners’ experiences and knowledge by involving them whenever possible, and building upon what they already know and what interests them

10.  Pragmatism

• Associated  with John Dewey (1859-1952) 
• believes that learners learnt more from guided experiences than from authoritarian instruction
• learning recognised life, not just preparation for life
• Using different delivery approaches, combined with practical activities, will help reach the different learning preferences of the individuals you are teaching.

11.  Sensory theory

• Associated with Laird (1985) 
• learning occurs when the senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste are stimulated
• easy for a practical session, but not so for  a theoretical subject
• learning session to be full of fun and interesting, relating to all the senses, 
•  helping your learners remember the topics better through sensory approach
• two other senses suggested for teacher by this theory: a sense of humor and common sense.