Learning There Is No Simple Essay

The reinforcement is positive if it results in strengthening the response, or negative when its removal strengthens the response. The reinforcer must immediately and directly follow the response and be appropriate. Varying the schedule of reinforcement makes it more effective; either changing the time interval between reinforcements or the number of correct responses needed for reinforcement to be offered. Punishment on the other hand is an undesirable or painful consequence of a response and will usually lead to suppression of the behavior. According to Bouton and Moody (2004) conditioning is not necessarily such a simple process of learning and that the quality and length of duration of the conditioned stimulus can influence the type of behavioral response that results. They also emphasize the importance of distinguishing between "learning the hypothetical psychological and physical changes in the brain, from performance, the manifestation of that change in behavior" (p. 663).

Two of the main supporters of the cognitive learning theories were Jerome Brunner and Jean Piaget. The cognitive learning also known as constructivist theory basically says that learning is not a result of changing behavior; but that it involves thinking. People use previous information or knowledge to build new concepts with the present information. According to MarkWindschitl (1999, cited in Gordon, 2009) "constructivism is based on the assertion that learners actively create, interpret, and reorganize knowledge in individual ways" (p.39. When the learner is exposed to the environment, he selects and transforms the incoming information, uses it to construct hypotheses and make decisions using cognitive structures from previous experiences.Piaget believed that each child is born with a few natural reflexes such as sucking, looking and grasping. He called these abilities to act in a certain ways a schema (an element in a person's cognitive structure). As the child interacts with the environment he matches his existing schema with the stimuli in the environment and builds knowledge or learns. He further attested that a child's cognitive structure increases in sophistication with development, moving from a few innate responses such as crying and sucking to highly complex mental activities.

Cognitive theories, unlike behaviorist theories believe that reinforcement is not necessary for learning to occur. Learners think about a problem until they gain an insight into its solution, whereas behaviorists will emphasize behavioral trial and error. Also, behaviorists believe that the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) whereas the cognitivists think that the mind is not blank and is active.

Effective teaching practices depend on the understanding of how learning takes place and the learning style of each individual student.

References

Alexander, Patricia, Schallert, Diane & Reynolds, Ralph. "What is Learning Anyway? A

Topographical perspective Considered." Educational Psychologist 44 (3) 2009: 176-

Bouton, Mark & Moody, Erik. "Memory processes in Classical Conditioning."

Neuroscience and Biochemical Reviews 28 (2004): 663-674.

Gordon, Mordechai. "Toward a Pragmatic….....