The social learning theory emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Thus it focuses on learning by observation and modeling. The theory originally evolved from behaviorism but now includes many of the ideas that cognitivists also hold; as a result it is some times called social cognitive learning.
Social learning theory talks about how both environmental and cognitive factors interact to influence human learning and behavior. It focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling (Abbott, 2007).
Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura was born on December 4, 1925, in the small town of Mundare in northern Alberta, Canada. His father was from Poland and mother from the Ukraine. He was educated in a small elementary school and the only one high school (20 students and 2 teachers) in town, with minimal resources, yet a remarkable success rate.
During summer vacations he worked in several places acquiring carpentry in Edmonton skills and filling holes protecting the Alaskan Highway in the Yukon. While, dealing with lot of people and a horrifying encounter with bears, he developed appreciation for psychopathology of everyday life.
In search of understanding human nature he received his bachelors’ degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia in 1949. He went on to the University of Iowa, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1952. It was there that he came under the influence of the behaviorist tradition and learning theory.
While at Iowa, he met Virginia Varns, an instructor in the nursing school. They married in 1952 and later had two daughters, Mary (1954) and Carol (1958). After graduating, he took a postdoctoral position at the Wichita Guidance Center in Wichita, Kansas.
In 1953, he started teaching at Stanford University, and became full professor as well. While there, he collaborated with his first graduate student, Richard Walters, resulting in their first book, Adolescent Aggression, in 1959. He became the president of the American Psychology Association (APA) in 1973, and received the APA’s Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1980.
At 80 years of age, Professor Bandura continues to research and teach at Stanford University to this day.
During summer vacations he worked in several places acquiring carpentry in Edmonton skills and filling holes protecting the Alaskan Highway in the Yukon. While, dealing with lot of people and a horrifying encounter with bears, he developed appreciation for psychopathology of everyday life.
In search of understanding human nature he received his bachelors’ degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia in 1949. He went on to the University of Iowa, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1952. It was there that he came under the influence of the behaviorist tradition and learning theory.
While at Iowa, he met Virginia Varns, an instructor in the nursing school. They married in 1952 and later had two daughters, Mary (1954) and Carol (1958). After graduating, he took a postdoctoral position at the Wichita Guidance Center in Wichita, Kansas.
In 1953, he started teaching at Stanford University, and became full professor as well. While there, he collaborated with his first graduate student, Richard Walters, resulting in their first book, Adolescent Aggression, in 1959. He became the president of the American Psychology Association (APA) in 1973, and received the APA’s Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1980.
At 80 years of age, Professor Bandura continues to research and teach at Stanford University to this day.
Reciprocal causation: According to Bandura, behavior can also influence both the environment and the person. Each of the three variables: environment, person, behavior influence each other. (p, be, e)
Self efficacy: Self efficacy means learners self confidence towards learning. People are more likely to engage in certain behaviors when they believe they are capable of implementing those behaviors successfully, this means that they have high self-efficacy.
Self regulation: Self-regulation is when the individual has his own ideas about what is appropriate or inappropriate behavior and chooses actions accordingly. There are several aspects of self regulation.
Modeling: Modeling means doing what others do. There are different types of models.
Vicarious reinforcement – behavior is acceptable
Vicarious punishment – behavior is unacceptable
Self efficacy: Self efficacy means learners self confidence towards learning. People are more likely to engage in certain behaviors when they believe they are capable of implementing those behaviors successfully, this means that they have high self-efficacy.
Self regulation: Self-regulation is when the individual has his own ideas about what is appropriate or inappropriate behavior and chooses actions accordingly. There are several aspects of self regulation.
Modeling: Modeling means doing what others do. There are different types of models.
- live model: and actual person demonstrating the behavior.
- symbolic model: a person or character portrayed in a medium such as television, videotape, computer programs, or a book.
Imitation: An individual uses another person’s behavior as a discriminative stimulus for an imitative response. The observer is then reinforced in some way for display imitation.
Vicarious reinforcement – behavior is acceptable
Vicarious punishment – behavior is unacceptable
- Learning by observation (models): students learn simply by observing other people.
- Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for teaching new behaviors. Instead of using shaping, which is operant conditioning, modeling can provide a faster, more efficient means for teaching new behavior. To promote effective modeling a teacher must make sure that the four essential conditions exist; attention, retention , motor reproduction, and motivation.
- Cognition plays a role in learning
- Learning can occur without change in behavior
- Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors and take care that they don’t model inappropriate ones.
- Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models.
- Students must believe that they are capable of accomplishing school tasks.
- Teachers should help students set realistic expectations for their academic accomplishments.
- Self-regulation techniques provide effective metohods for improving behavior.
- Describing the consequences of behavior increases appropriate behavior and decreases inappropriate ones.
- The observer is reinforced by the model: people often reinforce others what they themselves do.
- The observer is reinforced by a third person in some cases a 3 rd person reinforces
- The imitated behavior itself leads to reinforcing consequences. Eg a learner closes uses instructions body positions for tennis
- Consequences of the model’s behavior affect the observer’s behavior vicariously: vicarious reinforcement, vicarious punishment
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). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. (Vygotsky, 1978, p.57)
A second aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development is limited to a "zone of proximal development" (ZPD). This "zone" is the area of exploration for which the student is cognitively prepared, but requires help and social interaction to fully develop (Briner, 1999). A teacher or more experienced peer is able to provide the learner with "scaffolding" to support the student’s evolving understanding of knowledge domains or development of complex skills. Collaborative learning, discourse, modelling, and scaffolding are strategies for supporting the intellectual knowledge and skills of learners and facilitating intentional learning.
The implications of Vygotsky theory are that learners should be provided with socially rich environments in which to explore knowledge domains with their fellow students, teachers and outside experts. ICTs can be used to support the learning environment by providing tools for discourse, discussions, collaborative writing, and problem-solving, and by providing online support systems to scaffold students’ evolving understanding and cognitive growth.
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of human learning describes learning as a social process and the origination of human intelligence in society or culture. The major theme of Vygotsky’s theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky believed everything is learned on two levels.
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). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. (Vygotsky, 1978, p.57)
A second aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development is limited to a "zone of proximal development" (ZPD). This "zone" is the area of exploration for which the student is cognitively prepared, but requires help and social interaction to fully develop (Briner, 1999). A teacher or more experienced peer is able to provide the learner with "scaffolding" to support the student’s evolving understanding of knowledge domains or development of complex skills. Collaborative learning, discourse, modelling, and scaffolding are strategies for supporting the intellectual knowledge and skills of learners and facilitating intentional learning.
The implications of Vygotsky theory are that learners should be provided with socially rich environments in which to explore knowledge domains with their fellow students, teachers and outside experts. ICTs can be used to support the learning environment by providing tools for discourse, discussions, collaborative writing, and problem-solving, and by providing online support systems to scaffold students’ evolving understanding and cognitive growth.
No comments:
Post a Comment