Principles and Theories of Learning

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Principles and Theories of Learning
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Definition Learning

• A change in a person as a result of experience or
  interaction of a person with his or her
  environment. Changes may be in
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Attitudes
• Values
• Behaviors

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External Factors that May Influence Learning

• Positive Reinforcers Pleasurable consequences of
  actions taken
• Negative Reinforcers or escapes Strengthen
  behaviors a person behaves well to escape the
  wrath of an employer
• Punishers Weaken behaviors A person is punished
  when they act inappropriately
• Extinction When there are lacking positive
  reinforcers, a behavior may stop, such as
  exercising

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External Factors(cont)

• Shaping Deciding when to reinforce behavior to
  shape change
• Timing Reinforcement Immediate positive
  consequences are more effective than those that
  are delayed

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Social Cognitive Theory

• People use role models
• Provide good role models
• Avoid negative models

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Role Models

• Think of positive role models who have shaped
  your life. Explain to a partner
• Think of ones who have shaped your lifestyle
  habits. Explain to a partner
• Think of negative role models

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Cognitive Theories

• Learning focuses on mental activities
• Teachers role is to structure the content of the
  learning experience
• Thinking
• Remembering
• Solving problems
• Internal factors

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Cognitive Learning

• Views learning as an active internal process of
  acquiring, remembering and using knowledge
• Versus the passive process of the behavioralists

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Memory How the mind keeps information

• People must make sense of information to learn
  and remember it
• Steps involved
• Pay attention before information can enter the
  working memory, the person must pay attention and
  screen out other stimuli
• Working memory Person receives information,
  processes it, stores it and retrieves it when
  needed.

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Memory

• Limit regarding the amount of information we can
  take in at once
• Length of time is also limited, most likely 5 to
  20 seconds
• Repetition may help with length of time
• Association may help associate new information
  with current memory
• Chunking also helps numbers instead of 509
  994-9805 chunk it into 509 994 98 05.

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Different forms of new items

• Use oral and written forms to help people learn.
• If giving a diet consult, provide something for
  the client to visualize in addition to oral
  information

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Lets check your memory

• 509 993-2394
• 917 873-0138
• 453 349-7620
• 298 273-9386

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(No Transcript)
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Lets try Chunking

• 345 678 34 54
• 982 846 56 83
• 784 458 09 23
• 509 387 38 65

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(No Transcript)
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Long Term Memory

• If a person takes the input and saves it into
  their Hard Drive, then they can access it much
  later
• The movement from short term to long term happens
  when the person has organized it and integrated
  it into their pre-existing information
• The ability to retrieve rote memorized material
  is limited but retrieval of integrated
  information is much easier

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How to enhance learning?

• Summarize often
• Tell Stories and use examples
• Connect new knowledge with current information
• Use networks already established
• Find out what a person knows and hang the new
  information in that network
• Example what do you know about vitamin C
• 4th of July Firecrackers rancid compounds cause
  damage
• Fuse needed to light firecracker
• Vitamin C takes the fuse out

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Think of your own

• Sat Fat and heart disease
• Overweight and diabetes
• Inactivity and diabetes
• Sodium and hypertension

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Transfer of Learning

• Can a person take the information and apply it in
  a new situation or a dissimilar situation?
• Providing many examples to the client that
  teaches the range of activities that the client
  will need to use
• Important to teach what foods to eat and which to
  avoid
• But also important to provide opportunities for
  the client to practice with incorporation into
  menus and recipes, eating in restaurants or in
  unusual circumstances to hone skills
• PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

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Andragogy Definition

• Andragogy (adult-leading) should be distinguished
  from the more commonly used pedagogy
  (child-leading).
• Four simple postulates
• Adults need to be involved in the planning and
  evaluation of their instruction (Self-concept and
  Motivation to learn).
• Experience (including mistakes) provides the
  basis for learning activities (Experience).
• Adults are most interested in learning subjects
  that have immediate relevance to their job or
  personal life (Readiness to learn).
• Adult learning is problem-centered rather than
  content-oriented (Orientation to learning).

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Andragogy

• Teaching different age groups Adult versus
  children as learners
• Adults
• Become aware of a need to know
• Self-directed as adults versus dependent as
  children
• Expanding experiences as adults
• Readiness to learn as adults learning should be
  relevant to their needs
• Orientation to Learning Children are oriented
  towards subjects adults are oriented towards
  tasks and solving problems
• Motivation Children by external factors, grades,
  etc. Adults by internal factors want or need to
  know.

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Learning Styles and Teaching Styles

• Learning Styles
• Learning styles are a function of a persons
  personality Extroverts enjoy a group
  environment introverts enjoy trying things on
  their own
• Hear-Learners
• See-Learners
• Feel-Learners
• Do-Learners

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Teaching Style the sum of what you do as a
teacher

• Preferred instructional methods
• Activities
• Organization of material
• Interactions with learners
• Whether you are teacher centered or learner
  centered

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Case Studies

• Work in a pair or threesome
• Select a case study from page 226
• Answer questions