Understanding of Some Humanistic Learning Theories

Humanism

The theories, which come under this umbrella, relate to the nature of the social world and about the knowledge of this world. There is a greater emphasis placed on subjective element of personal experience. Human consciousness makes the social world different from the natural environment. The social world is meaningful and based on perceptions relating to the environment within which we function. ‘Since meaning is not considered to be an effect of the social world, but rather of individual’s intentions and interpretations established through their actions; then in order to understand this world one must do more than merely observe it, one must interpret and understand its significance to the ‘actors’ involved’ (Purdy 1997, pp 193). Therefore the individual and their perception are central to learning within humanistic approach. It puts aside the reductionist approach of the behaviourist and cognitivist; for the behaviourist approach does not take into consideration the consciousness and interpretation ability of the learner and cognitivists do not consider the affective aspect, while the sociological approach seems ‘to reduce the individual to a passive product of the social system’ (Purdy 1997, pp 193).

Humanistic approach to learning encompasses the overall growth of an individual, where Friere feels the learner discovers himself and achieve his humanity by acting upon the world, thereby transforming it (Jarvis 1983, cited by Purdy 1997.) These theories have a great impact on the process of education and curriculum today.

Andragogy / Adult Learning

This theory is proposed by Malcolm Knowles, based on five main assumptions about adults (Knowles 1978). They are :-

1. Adults have a different self-concept. They need to be more self-directed.
2. Adults have a rich source of experience, which contributes to learning.
3. Adults want to confront problem areas, which they regard as relevant. Adults respond to current needs rather than delayed rewards.
4. Adults tend to be problem oriented and not subject oriented. Social roles influence what a person wants to learn.
5. Motivation to learn, as adults have a need to know.

Research indicates that the basic ability to learn remains essentially unimpaired throughout life. Adults should be encouraged to diagnose for themselves their own learning needs and their own objectives for learning. Certain conditions of learning are more conducive to growth and development than others. However critics of Knowles suggest that the way children learn should not be so different to that of adults, indeed the primary purpose of education with children should be to equip them to learn throughout life.

Andragogical model is based on the above mentioned assumptions. Therefore, learning is planned upon the basis of the relevancy of the learning. 

Figure 1

Self-concept of being responsible for own decisions and own life is part of being an adult. This means that adults would like to make their own decision about what they wish and need to learn. Since learning is built upon past experiences as suggested in the earlier part of this section, the role of learner’s experience become important. Adults have a greater volume of experience as well as different quality of experiences (by the virtue of having lived longer). The experiences are more heterogeneous in terms of – background, interests, goals, needs, motivation and learning styles so a greater emphasis on individualisation of teaching and learning strategies is necessary. Use of techniques that tap into experience of learners is likely to be valuable when adults are learning.

Figure 2 Underlying Concepts of Andragogy

Readiness to learn, the law suggested by Thorndike is also taken into consideration by Knowles. He states that the learner must be ready to learn and able to do so in order to cope effectively with real-life situations. Developmental ‘tasks’ associated with moving from one developmental stage to the next enhance readiness. Simulation exercises, problem solving exercises, group discussions, projects, etc seem to be the popular ways of learning for adults as they need to be actively involved in the learning process. Orientation to learning is task / problem centred, as adults are life centred. The improvement in their condition of life is the motivator for learning. Adults are responsive to external motivators like better jobs, promotions and higher salaries. However, the most potent motivators remain internal pressures like job satisfaction, self-esteem and quality of life. Also important is the motivation to keep developing throughout life.

Some of the main criticisms of Knowles work are based on the factors that changes to self-concept occur throughout life. It is not necessary that all adults wish to be self-directed, many may find it hard to be independent learners. While it is true that adults have a larger repertoire of experience to draw upon, the younger learner also has some experience to draw upon as a resource. Motivation is not necessarily the forte of adults, it is very much a part of learning for all. This is evident in the fact that it is referred to in some of the theories already discussed. Day and Baskett (1982, cited by Jarvis 2000, pp. 92) give it merit by stating that, ‘andragogy is not a theory of adult learning, but an educational ideology rooted in an inquiry-based learning and teaching paradigm’.

Experiential Learning

Carl Rogers regards experiential learning as one end of the spectrum while the other end is memory learning. He identifies the following principles of experiential learning :

• Human beings have a natural potentiality to learn. Learning does not have to be stimulated, because it is a natural human drive.
• Significant learning occurs when the learner perceives the relevance of the subject matter. A person learns what he perceives to be necessary for the maintenance or enhancement of own self.
• Learning involves a change in self-organisation and self-perception.
• Learning that threatens self-perception is more easily perceived and assimilated when external threats are at a minimum.
• Learning occurs when self is not threatened and maximised in a threat-free atmosphere.
• Much significant learning is acquired by doing, that is, through experience. Learning is facilitated when the learner participates responsibly in the learning process. When the learner chooses the goals, helps to discover learning resources, formulates problems, decides courses of action, lives with the consequences of each of these choices, then significant learning occurs.
• Learning is facilitated when the learner participates responsibly in the learning process. Learning that involves the whole learner, feeling as well as intellect, is the most lasting and pervasive kind of learning.
• Self-initiated learning involves the whole person.
• Independence, creativity and self-reliance are all facilitated when self-criticism and self-evaluation are basic. Self-criticism is to be encouraged and self evaluation is should be more important than evaluation by others.
• Much socially useful learning is learning the process of learning and retaining an openness to experience, so that the process of change maybe incorporated into the self. (cited by Jarvis 1992)

Thus there are similarities seen in his approach with that of Knowles as they both advocate emphasis on self, in self-direction, self-development and self-actualisation. Rogers argues that ‘the goal of education’ (thereby of learning) ‘is a fully functioning person’ (cited by Jarvis 2000, pp. 97). The teacher is seen as a facilitator of learning rather than unnecessary to the process of learning. The facilitator assists the learner in learning by ensuring a conducive learning environment and necessary resources. The concept of facilitation will be discussed more fully in the later section of this book.

‘Human existence is situated within time and emerges through it, and it has been argued elsewhere that learning is a process through which the human, as opposed to the biological, being grows and develops’ (Jarvis 1992, cited by Jarvis 2000, pp.65). This means that life is about experience and that we develop and mature through the experiences and what we learn from them. Since this is the central focus in learning from experience surely if this process is used consciously learning can be focused and enhanced.  Many theorists like Kolb and Fry (1975), Schon (1983), Boud et al (1985) Gibbs (1988), explain the process of learning from experience as a cyclical in nature, which entails the learner to have an experience, evaluate and reflect on the experience, learn form it and then apply the learning by experimenting. 

Figure 3 Learning through Experience

Though learning may begin at any point in the cycle, generally it starts with an experience, which can occur as a result of an unplanned or planned learning opportunity. This stage is called, concrete experience by Kolb and Fry (1975) or simply as ‘do’ by Kirk (1987). The individual can be actively involved in the situation or the experience or can be an observant. This means that the individual can learn not only from own experience but also from that of others.

The next step in the cycle related to examining the experience minutely. This relates to Schon’s (1991) explanation of reflection, where the learner attends to the feelings and attitudes related to the experience as well as the actual components of the experience. Sense has to be made of this experience so that, conclusions need to be drawn, as to what was done correctly, what could be improved or changed if a similar situation arose again. This stage is called, the reflective observation by Kolb and Fry (1975) or simply ‘review’ by Kirk (1987). Gibbs (1988) and Schon (1991) in their reflective cycle describe this stage in greater detail along with the skills required to reflect appropriately. The importance of this concept makes it central to the process of experiential learning and so worthy of discussion in its own right, so explained further in the next section of this book.

The learner can formulate rules and conceptualise to allow learning to take place. This is the third stage of the cycle. The understanding gained from this experience allows the learner to clarify issues that led to a positive or negative consequence of the actions under scrutiny. This leads to learning about ways of responding to situations that will lead more positive consequences. Kolb and Fry (1975) call this the abstract conceptualisation stage while Kirk (1987) calls it simply ‘learn’.

The last stage in the cycle relates to trying out this new learning by using the rules and concepts in another situation also called active experimentation by Kolb and Fry (1975) or simply ‘apply’ by Kirk (1987). Since we have already stated that the process of learning according to this theory is cyclical in nature, this new experience will be come a starting point for the next cycle of learning.

Experiential learning is also discussed in some depth by Jarvis (2000) as he feels it lends itself to the learner centred approach to education as well as emphasis on learning in the workplace, through work experience has become of importance in education today. He discusses the concept of experience at length. It allows for learning, ‘a process through which the human, as opposed to the biological, being grows and develops’ (Jarvis 2000, pp 65). When people act in a taken for granted manner, almost unconscious manner, it is still a result of prior experiences rather than just intuitive response. However, if this kind of action is not possible as their prior experience does not equip them to deal with the situation, then they have to stop and think, or plan or learn something new. Herein lies the learning from experience. This process of stopping and thinking and defining the problem is essential to learning through experience. This form of learning has become increasingly popular within facilitation of learning in the workplace. Learners gain theoretical understanding within the classroom but the linking of theory to practice comes from the workplace experience, by working through the experiential learning cycle. Thus learning by this process can address all the three domains – cognitive, conative and affective, suggested by Bloom (Brockbank and McGill (1999).

Understanding Cognitivist Learning Theories

Cognitivism

In contrast to the behaviourist approach, McKenna (1995, pp 25) finds that cognitivists view learning as ‘an internal purposive process concerned with thinking, perception, organisation and insight.’ Since there is a change in the capability of the individual to respond to stimulus, it is not possible to directly observe learning. Thinking involves the search for new information as well as recall from the past experiences to gain understanding.

Since many theories adopt an information processing framework (Cust 1995) Gagne’s work is referred to here as well. While behaviourist approach is important in simple forms of learning, the thinking process is felt to be of greater importance where complex human behaviour is considered. Learning is ‘an active, constructivist process in which, learners strive for understanding and competence on the basis of their personal experience’ (Cust 1995, pp. 280 – 281). Therefore success relies on the interaction of the learning and the knowledge required for the task as well as prior knowledge of the learner. This means that the learner will be actively and purposefully extracting and imposing meaning adding to already known information. Since past knowledge and experiences are important, the concept of perception, memory, and cognitive development are considered in the understanding of the process of learning.

Development Theory

Piaget’s work provides an understanding of the way the ‘mental maps’ (also input in the constructivist view) are formed. He states that a developing child builds cognitive structure or mental map to understand and respond to environment. The cognitive structure will increase in sophistication with development. There are four developmental stages :

1. Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years) – through physical interaction with the environment the child will build set of concepts about reality and how it works. The interactions are either sensory or motor in nature, as the baby thinks through action.
2. Preoperational stage (2 years to 7 years) – at this time of life the child still needs concrete physical stimulus to aid understanding as he is unable to conceptualise abstractly yet. Gross (1992) explains that the child’s world is still concrete and absolute and the child is influenced by how things look rather than by logical principles.
3. Concrete Operations (7 years to 11 years) – the child begins to conceptualise and create logical structures, which explain the physical experience. Abstract problem solving is also possible during this stage.
4. Formal Operations (11 years – 15 years) – the cognitive structure is more like that of an adult and conceptual reasoning is possible.

 Figure 1

During all stages learning is taking place by using the existing mental maps to understand the experience. If the experience is a repetition then it is understood and assimilated into the mental make up. If it is new it alters the mental map to accommodate the new experience. This allows for building up more and more adequate cognitive structures. It must however be kept in mind that the ages identified in each stage are only approximate ones as children develop at different rates. Also the process of development is continuous and not taking place in discrete segments. Gross (1992, pp. 741) cites Piaget (1970) to clarify this point, ‘cognitive stages have a sequential property, that is, they appear in a fixed order of succession because each one of them is necessary for the formation of the following one.’

Gestalt Theory

This theory was put forward by a school of German psychologists like Wertheimer, Koffka and Kohler (McKenna 1995). ‘Gestalt’ is a German word meaning form, shape, figure or pattern (Child 1986). The psychologists worked with chimpanzees. When faced with a problem such as how to obtain food that was placed out of reach, the chimp did not tackle it by trial and error as expected, but came to a sudden insightful solution. As soon as the solution is perceived, the learner can proceed to use the insight.

The classical example of this is the insightful deduction by Archemides when he identified that mass of an object is equal to the water it displaces, when placed in water. He had all the related issues but was not just able to perceive the solution. Then one day he sat in a bathtub full of water and the water split over the sides. Suddenly he could see the solution. (Hiero II requested that Archimedes find a method for determining whether a crown was pure gold or alloyed with silver. When he stepped into a bath he realized that a given weight of gold would displace less water than an equal weight of silver (which is less dense than gold); at this point he shouted, "EUREKA" (I have found it!).  That is, he could organise and integrate what he perceived into an over all pattern. From this concept arises the phrase – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Wertheimer (1912, cited by Childs 1981) stated that the individual did not perceive the constituent elements of a phenomenon separately but as a totality. He formulated the Law of Pragnanz to explain the four aspects of perception :

• Similarity – people group phenomena by their familiar salient features and not by their differences.
• Proximity – people group phenomena by their closeness to each other instead of their distances.
• Continuity – objects are often perceived in relation to pattern or shape that they constitute in their totality.
• Closure – there is a tendency to complete an incomplete representation so that the whole is perceived rather than the incomplete parts.

Koffka believed that laws of perception could also be regarded as the laws of learning (Quinn 2000). Since perception is deemed important to learning it will be discussed in greater depth in the next section of the book. Kohler (1947) indicated that solutions to problems appear to come abruptly like a flash of insight. This happens because insight comes from perception of relationship between the different factors and not as a response to different stimuli. All learning cannot be insightful as it would imply that insight is rooted in the past experiences or early socialisation.

Constructivism

This process describes learning as reflecting on experience and construction of own understanding of the world around us. Learning is a search for meaning and this search begins with the issue around which the learner is actively trying to construct meaning. The focus of learning is on primary concepts, as ‘parts’ must be understood in the context of the ‘whole’. Each of us has developed our own mental model and rules (as suggested by Gestalt theorists) to make sense of our experience. So learning is about revising, reorganising and reinterpreting existing knowledge in order to accommodate new information. (Spiro 1977 cited by Cust 1995)

This active and purposeful effort by the learner will make the information more meaningful and lead to deep learning. The active participation of the leaner in the process of learning is possible due to motivation. Motivation is also seen as another explanation into the process of learning because, humanist theorists also discuss it. It will be discussed in greater depth in the next section of this book.

Another concept important to the constructivism is metacognition, which relates to knowledge and regulation of cognition. It involves higher order behaviour such as problem solving, critical thinking and decision making. This comes about from reflecting on experience, learning from it, and to apply the learning to a new situation (Boud et al 1985). Some of these ideas, for example that of active experience, reflection, learning and application of that learning are the basis of humanistic theories discussed later in this section.

Discovery Learning

The concept of discovery learning has often been referred to as a part of the educational philosophy by philosophers like Rousseau, and Dewey, ‘there is an intimate and necessary relation between the processes of actual experience and education’ (Dewey 1938). It also enjoys the support of learning theorists/psychologists, Piaget and Bruner where the objective is to lead the child to discover for himself (Bruner 1962). Discovery learning occurs when individuals must use their mental processes to figure out the meaning of something for themselves. Discovery learning takes place most notably in problem solving situations where the learner draws on his own experience and prior knowledge to discover the truths that are to be learned. It is a personal, internal, constructivist learning environment. This allows the learner to be a constructionist, to organize what he is encountering in a manner to discover regularity and relatedness, as well as to avoid the kind of information drift that fails to keep account of the uses to which information might have to be put.

Discovery learning has a variety of operational definitions. The definitions show its existence on a continuum. At one end lies discovery learning in its purest form. The tools and information needed to solve a problem or learn a concept are provided and the learner "makes sense" of them. At half way is discovery learning as experimentation with some extrinsic intervention - clues, coaching, a framework to help learners get to a reasonable conclusion. At the other end of the continuum, lies the expository teaching model of discovery learning where the learner "discovers" what the teacher decides he is to discover using a process prescribed by the teacher.

In all instances of discovery learning the teacher’s intervention determines how "pure" is the operational definition of discovery learning. The level of teacher intervention recommended maybe an indicator of the philosophy of education of the teacher/facilitator. The current trend of supporting the "teacher as facilitator/learner-centred" model of instruction and its constructivist philosophical orientation could find a home on this continuum, as well as the teacher-centred model and its objectivist philosophical orientation.

The advantage of discovery learning is that questioning and solving problems without expecting someone to give the answer, enables the learner to develop self-confidence to handle problems in this area, leading to further motivation to learn. Active learning supports the belief that knowledge can be constructed by the learner rather than received from a higher authority.

Discovery learning is based on the assumption that education is a process rather than a set of facts.

• Active learning puts the responsibility on the learner. When placed in the position of having to figure out a problem, the leaner much more likely to take charge of own learning.
• Learner is more attentive.
• The activities focus attention on the key ideas or techniques that are being examined.
• Active involvement forces the leaner to construct a response and this results in processing of information deeper than mere memorization.
• Discovery learning provides an opportunity to get early feedback on own understanding: gaps in understanding cannot be ignored.
• Active learning results in "episodic memory," a deeper memory specific to an event so that if you cannot at first remember the idea or technique you can reconstruct it from the event.
• Discovery learning can be more motivating, incorporating the pleasures of solving puzzles and controlling an environment.

From beginning to end, discovery learning programs keep the experience of gaining insights and commitment, interesting and relevant. Several steps in the creation of a discovery learning design make this work:

• Attract and Intrigue - Immediate visual and auditory stimuli attract attention and set an exciting pace and tone. Right from the start, learners are surprised, engaged, excited and involved in the process of learning.
• Jump-start - Fast-paced exercises get learners started in the process of discovery, by providing just enough initial information and directions for them to confidently move ahead.
• Brain-churn - Small groups work on their own. They "play", think, analyse, question, and occasionally compete. Team members rely on each other and learn together.
• Discover and Conclude -  The light bulbs start burning brightly as learners grasp the big picture, "discover" new insights, knowledge and concepts and ultimately draw conclusions that are pulled together into an overall context or concept.
• Bridge and Connect - Finally the learners connect the learning to the real world. Activities that bridge this new learning to personal follow-up action on-the-job, make the learning deep, truly relevant and long-lasting. (Paradigm Learning 2000)

Understanding Behaviourist Learning Theories

Recently Merriam and Caffarella (1991, cited by Jarvis 2000) explain that learning theories can be classified into four types –

•             behaviourist,

•             cognitive,

•             humanist and

•             social/cultural. 

However, it must be kept in mind that not all theories can be placed discretely into a category and that overlap is seen clear when discussing the theories later within this section. Also no single theory can provide us with an explanation of how individuals learn. Therefore understanding of the various theories will allow us ‘an opportunity to examine or re-examine our own beliefs and assumptions about people, knowledge, motivation, environment, assessment and many other factors associated with learning’ (Dean & Kenworthy 2000, pp. 46)

Behaviourism

Learning is very much investigated by psychologists in educational and experimental psychology. Whether we regard life in terms of a community or an individual, it relates to learning. Many of the psychological learning theories indicate that individuals are shaped or moulded by a variety of sources external to him. These theories have been derived from experimentation on animals and not humans therefore they are limiting. Some of the behaviour was also influenced by use of reward to encourage teacher’s desired objectives. These formed the basis of teaching children as well as adults thus there has been a tendency to over emphasise the behavioural approach. These theories are also unsatisfactory, as they do not consider the ‘self’ within them. In the 1800’s, the clinical psychologists did experiments on animals. They were based on either ‘trial and error’ or ‘stimulus – response’ principles.

The school of behaviourism believes that learning is a change in observable behaviour, which arises from a connection between stimulus and response. ‘By manipulation of this link the behaviour can be altered’ (McKenna 1995). Gagne’s (1985) definition of learning represents this approach clearly, ‘a change in human disposition or capability that persists over a period of time and is not simply ascribable to process of growth.’ McKenna (1995) explained the early theory, proposed by Watson, that behaviour was learned when stimulus and response are linked frequently. This was also linked to Guthrie’s theory of contiguity where ‘if a stimulus occurred at the same time as response, the response would be repeated when the stimulus subsequently occurred again.’ (McKenna 1995 pp 29) Behaviour theorists find learning to be an acquisition of new behaviour and nothing else. This, however, does not take into account all kinds of learning, as activities of the mind are not addressed. It also does not explain how some learning, like recognition of new language by children occurs, where there is no reinforcement involved. Cust (1995) criticises that mental activity or thinking is not regarded as important by behaviourists. They believe that learning is a response to the environment around the individual, which leads to building of behaviour by contiguity, repetition and reinforcement.

Connectionism

This was one of the first theories to gain recognition. Thorndike (1928) used the trial and error method to form a learning theory. He imprisoned a hungry cat in a specially constructed cage / puzzle box. A dish of food was placed outside the cage just beyond the reach of the cat. The cat could escape from the cage only if it succeeded in operating a specially constructed latch. First the cat clawed at the bars of the box – random movements that contributed to its escape – by chance it succeeded in operating the latch and escape to enjoy the food. Over a number of trials Thorndike found there was a gradual decrease of errors. Till eventually success! The cat went straight to the latch and the food.

Thorndike stresses the importance of the three laws regarding the learner’s efforts being followed by success. They are :

Law of Effect :

The bond between the stimulus and response is weakened or strengthened because of the level of emotive satisfaction that accompanies the action. The greater the pleasure obtained from the learning experience, the more learning will occur. If the learning does not produce pleasurable experience it will not produce learning. Therefore the emphasis is on the importance of the end effect of the response (McKenna 1995).

Law of Exercise :

Repetition of meaningful actions results in substantial learning. The more meaningful the act to the learner, the greater will be the resultant learning. Thus practice makes perfect, provided the action is seen to be meaningful. This is very much in support of the suggestions of Watson as discussed by McKenna (1995).

Law of Readiness :

If the organism is ready for the connection then the result is pleasurable and learning is increased, if not, then the opposite result occurs. This relates to both physiological and psychological readiness. For example, a child cannot be toilet trained unless his nervous system is sufficiently developed. In higher education, the learner will find it hard to grasp the subject matter unless he has understanding of the foundations of the subject from his school education.

He proposes ‘that is the learner discovers some act or explanation to be effective or valid it will be repeated until such time as the consequences of the action no longer produce the desired or expected results’. (cited by Jarvis 1992, pp 76) Thus the theory started with the learner – something that is very useful when considering adult learning. In fact all his three laws have an implication on the learning theories related to adult learning.

Conditioning

In contrast to the above, theories of conditioning started with the teacher. Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936) a Russian psychologist developed an extensive theory of conditioned reflexes called ‘Classical Conditioning’. It is exclusively concerned with reflexes or automatic responses, which are triggered by specific stimuli.

Pavlov used the salivary reflex – this is triggered by the sight or smell of food and is an automatic response to such a stimulus. Response refers to any action on the part of the organism. Salivary reflex response is an Unconditional response – a natural response, as it is triggered by an Unconditional Stimulus – a natural stimulus.

Food (unconditional stimulus)  Salivation (Unconditional Response)

If a buzzer (Conditional Stimulus) is used in conjunction with the food, the response remains the same. Repeated over a period of time it was found that when the buzzer (Conditional Stimulus) was activated, it was associated with food (Unconditional Stimulus) and salivation (Conditional Response) was produced. Thus the learner learns / is conditioned to associate the presentation of the reward with the stimulus that occurs just prior to the reward being presented. The response once conditioned could be produced by other stimuli similar to the conditioned response. Pavlov called this concept generalisation. Both Woolfolk & Nicolich (1980) and Lovell (1987) are of the opinion that conditioned responses and the emotional component of our attitudes are formed through classical conditioning.

Skinner (1951, cited by Gross 1992) performed his experiments on rats and pigeons. His theory is called ‘Operant Conditioning’, where the response is shaped by the reward. Every action that approaches, approximates or achieves the desired behaviour of the learner is rewarded. He also concurs with Thorndike that the end result of behaviour was important in the repetition of that behaviour and not just random response to a stimulus. The repetition of behaviour can be increased or decreased through positive or negative reinforcement. This means learning can be manipulated.

It is based on – learning at all stages of life. Children must learn social habits acceptable to the community. Adults must learn how to perform their jobs and how to meet the responsibilities of family life. Daily life is about learning as life is a succession of major and minor problems that have to be solved by learning.

Skinner used reward and punishment to influence behaviour. He stated that for any behaviour that is a Conditioned Response, to continue, it was necessary to reinforce the Conditional Stimulus by giving a reward and vice versa, if an alteration in behaviour is required. When learning a new behaviour the reinforcement has to be frequent but to maintain the behaviour intermittent reinforcement is sufficient. It is also important to remember that not all conditioning maybe intentional, or conscious, but that it occurs definitely during the process of education of adults. (Jarvis 1992) This type of learning can be seen during the process of socialisation within a workplace. The reward is being accepted within the work team and this allows for the individual to continue learning in the workplace.

Social Learning Theory

The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modelling the behaviours, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977, pp 22) states: "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action." Social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioural, an environmental influences. 

The component processes underlying observational learning are: 

• Attention - the individual notices something in the environment (this relates to modelled events like distinctiveness, affective valence, complexity, prevalence, functional value, and observer characteristics like sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past reinforcement).
• Retention - the individual remembers what was noticed (this relates to symbolic coding, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal).
• Motor Reproduction - the individual produces an action that is a copy of what was noticed (this relates to physical capabilities, self-observation of reproduction, accuracy of feedback).
• Motivation - the environment delivers a consequence that changes the probability the behaviour will be emitted again (this relates to external, vicarious and self-reinforcement).

Processes integral to Learning from Observation

     Attention

     Retention

Motor Reproduction

     Motivation

Figure 1

So Bandura's work draws from both behavioural and cognitive views of learning. He believes that mind, behaviour and the environment all play an important role in the learning process where the benefits of this process are :

1. The highest level of observational learning is achieved by first organizing and rehearsing the modelled behaviour symbolically and then enacting it overtly. Coding modelled behaviour into words, labels or images results in better retention than simply observing
2. Individuals are more likely to adopt a modelled behaviour if it results in outcomes they value.
3. Individuals are more likely to adopt a modelled behaviour if the model is similar to the observer and has admired status and the behaviour has functional value.

Information Processing Model

As suggested earlier, Gagne finds learning to be a change in human disposition or capabilities, which will persist over a period of time. Individual behaviour must change in order for learning to take place. So according to Gagne the behaviour of the individual, before and after the learning incident must be compared. He presents a teacher centred approach to learning. Teachers carry out the task of promoting learning by designing of instruction, managing of instruction, and evaluating student learning. The teacher plans and controls the events / stimulus, external to the learner. Therefore Gagne’s work is highly regarded in learning of psychomotor skills. He does not however regard the learner as completely passive, (Joyce & Weil 1986) for the learner has to make the needful connections in order to learn.

 Figure 2

Coulter (1990) describes Gagne’s learning process as :

1.            A stimulus from the environment is detected by receptors.

2.            It is sent on to sensory register.

3.            From there it is transferred to the short-term memory.

4.            Later it is moved to the long-term memory.

5.            Encoding takes place.

6.            Retrieval of information from here allows for recall.

7.            Response generator will identify appropriate action

8.            This response is related to the effectors.

Explained thus, it would appear that issues like motivation, goals, expectation and intentions of the individual are of lesser importance, opines Bigge (1982). (see figure 2)

Gagne has proposed 8 types of learning, of which 7 are placed in a hierarchy and the 8th, he feels, can occur at any level. The understanding of these levels of learning leads to the opinion that the information processing model of Gagne cannot be viewed entirely as a behaviourist approach.

             Signal Learning can occur at any level. It is a form of classical conditioning and is one of the ways in which people develop attitudes and prejudices throughout life.

             Stimulus – Response is the same as operant conditioning.

             Motor and Verbal Chaining – are at the same level. Motor chaining refers to learning of skills, while verbal chaining is rote learning. Practice is needed to achieve correctness. Reinforcement is necessary to ensure that acceptable sequence is maintained. This is synonymous with the trial and error learning as well as operant conditioning.

             Multiple Discrimination – relates to intellectual skills with the ability to distinguish between similar types of phenomena, which will allow the learner to decide which similar type is correct for any specific situation. In contrast to discrimination is the ability to classify.

             Concept Learning – Concepts are abstract notions which link similar phenomena together. As the ability to think in abstract starts from adolescence (Piaget cited by Gross 1992) the education / learning in adults will differ from learning in the children. This aspect is important and coincides with Knowles’s concept of Andragogy.

             Rule Learning – where the individual gains the ability to respond to signals by a number of responses.

             Problem Solving – is the highest order of learning and the individual is able to draw upon previously learnt rules to solve particular problem. This is similar to the cognitivism approach of this level of learning as pointed out by Woolfolk & Nicolich (1980) Simply applying the prior knowledge to solve a problem is not problem solving, for it leads to new learning.

Gagne (1985) draws on Dewey’s explanation of the problem solving approach. First, there is a problem presented to the learner. Next the learner, ‘defines the problem, or distinguishes the essential features of the situation’ (Gagne 1985, pp 178). The leaner will form a hypothesis to solve this problem from this definition. Next, this hypothesis will be verified by application, to see if the problem can be solved. If it does not then a new hypothesis will be formulated and tried. Thus the successful hypothesis is learned and new rules maybe formed.