1. Learning Theories Presentation Team D:
David Obiora, Lynn Black,
Anita Hardy and Samiena Gatson
AET 500
September,
Professor Elizabeth Pace 1

2. Introduction Behaviorist Perspective Cognitive Perspective
Learning theories primarily fall into two major categories: behavioral/connectionist theories and cognitive/gestalt theories
but not all theories fit into these two groups, (Knowles, MS. 2011).
Behaviorist Perspective
Learning occurs as a result of a change in behavior caused by external stimuli.
Cognitive Perspective
Learning is an internal process where information is internalized in one’s intellectual structure.

3. Behaviorism
The primary tenet of behaviorism is that mastery leads to learned behavior, and that selective stimuli and concrete presentation strategies will build the subskills. Designers assume that an instructional strategy that has a desired specified effect in the past will continue to reproduce the desired effect (Burton, Moore, & Magliano, 1996).

4. B. F Skinner and His Operant Conditioning Theory
Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904 – 1990) is the best known proponent of behavioral learning theory. He was an American psychologist who believed that human behavior was purely caused by external stimulus and response relationships. He was renowned for his use of Skinner boxes in the study of animal behavior. His theory of operant conditioning based on 3 fastly held tenets of behavioral reinforcement:
positively reinforced behavior would reoccur.
information must be presented in small chunks in order to adequately schedule patterns of reinforcement.
reinforcements are generalized across similar stimuli and will produce secondary conditioning
(Pappas, 2014).

5. B. F Skinner and Learning Negative Reinforcement
Operant conditioning applied to learning involved reinforcing or not reinforcing behaviors that one wanted to reoccur or not repeated.
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is utilized to achieve a desired effect. Example: Mommy wants Johnny to take out the trash every morning. Each morning that Johnny takes out the trash before heading to school, mommy places his favorite lunch snack in his lunch bucket.
Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement occurs when an unpleasant experience is removed and continues to be removed because the removal produces a positive outcome. Using the trash scenario again, Johnny begins taking out the trash because it removes the outdoor and overflow of the trash. He continues to take out the trash to continuing enjoying the relief from the odor and disarray caused by overflowing trash.
(Cherry, 2005)

6. B. F Skinner and Learning (Cont'd) Schedules of Reinforcement
Extinction
Extinction is the removal of a stimulus without the cessation of the behavior. Example: Johnny continues to take out the trash despite not receiving a reward for taking out the trash.
Punishment
Punishment involves a stimulus or an event that produces a negative or unwanted effect upon an organism causing the organism to cease unwanted behavior. Example: mommy reduces Johnny's allowance for each morning that he fails to take out the trash before leaving for school.
Schedules of Reinforcement
Schedules of reinforcement are the rate and patterns of reinforcement which perpetuate the desired behavior/outcome. Example: every time Johnny takes out the trash before leaving for school, mommy rewards him. However, once the conditioned response is achieved may not be necessary for mommy to reward Johnny each time as long as Johnny believes that eventually he will be rewarded.
(Cherry, 2005)

7. Implications of Behavioral Theory on the Traditional Adult University Classroom
Direct instruction
Teacher/External determines what should be taught and learned.
Organizes lessons and plans teaching in detail.
Prescribes how teachers and students should interact.
Lectures, videos presentations, web-based presentations, guest speakers, controlled group discussions, etc.
Mastery learning
Instruction must be broken down in to manageable parts.
Units should be presented in logical progression, from concrete to abstract.
Students demonstrate mastery through testing and formative assessment.
Teachers must provide concrete objectives and guided instruction.
Additional or specially-designed activities provide for remedial students.
Practice assignments, quizzes and formative tests, lesson plans, achievement/standardized tests
(Pham, 2011)

8. Teacher-centered Student status
Implications of Behavioral Theory on the Traditional Adult University Classroom
Teacher-centered
Teacher delivers required information for learning.
Teacher administers assessments
Teacher supervises any and all activity.
Teacher rewards desired behavior/outcomes.
Student status
Students are passive receptors.
Students have no input into the learning process, nor can they evaluate their learning experience or the capability of the teacher.
Students are required to have prerequisite knowledge.
Students who are unable to maintain pace with the rest of the class fall behind.
Students receive little/no individualized attention.

9. Analysis of the Traditional Classroom
Implications of Behavioral Theory on the Traditional Adult University Classroom
Analysis of the Traditional Classroom
External stimuli alone are not sufficient to create an optimal learning environment, or to provide sufficient motivation for students to embrace lifelong learning.
The behavioral approach does not encourage independent or creative thinking or acting.
There is little/no room for reflection in the behavioral approach to learning.
Collaborative processes are hampered by the behavioral approach to learning.
Community, and therefore, transformational learning is stifled by the behavioral approach to learning.

10. Cognitivism
Tolman believed individuals do more than merely respond to stimuli; they act on beliefs, attitudes, changing conditions, and they strive toward goals. Tolman is virtually the only behaviorists who found the stimulus-response theory unacceptable, because reinforcement was not necessary for learning to occur. He felt behavior was mainly cognitive,
Tolman, E. C., & Honzik, C. H. (1930).

11. Description of Edward Tolman’s Cognitive Learning Theory
Tolman suggest that learning is a complex internal representation or “image” of the external environment.
He thought of learning as mental processes including thinking, memory, planning, decision making, computing, etc.
Tolman experimented with rats, allowing them to practice in a maze over a period of days; then blocked their usual route.
Tolman determined that the rats, acquired sets of gestalts (internal maps) which enable them to route themselves based on these internal maps.
Tolman’s theory suggest that latent learning occurs regardless of reinforcement and manifest itself when suitable motivation and circumstance appears.
Tolman and Honzik 1930

12. Tolman - Latent Learning
Toleman and Honzik (1930)

13. Cognitive Theory – Tolman
Describe the setting of the training and examine the impact of the selected mode on Adult University traditional classroom.
Traditional classroom setting: In their famous experiments Tolman and Honzik (1930) built a maze to investigate latent learning in rats. The study
The goal of the experiment was to show that rats actively process information rather than operating on a stimulus response relationship.
Impact of Mode of Delivery: Adult learners use their cognitive mapping in order to complete work/assignment with the skills they have acquired in their every day life experience.
The cognitive mapping adult learners use conforms to mental representation of how they manipulate and figure out how to complete task. This allows the adult learner to be self-directed in their learning.

14. Implications of Cognitive Theory on the Traditional Adult Classroom
Tolman coined the term cognitive map, which is an internal representation (or image) of external environmental feature or landmark. He thought that individuals acquire large numbers of cues (i.e. signals) from the environment and could use these to build a mental image of an environment
By using this internal representation of a physical space they could get to the goal by knowing where it is in a complex of environmental features. Short cuts and changeable routes are possible with this model.
Tolman and Honzik 1930

15. Implications of Cognitive Theory on the Adult University Classroom
Teacher-centered:
That learning does not need response on demand to check its progress (think of rote learning).
That the cognitive map apllies to more than spatial awareness, it works for other sensory aspects and abstractions as well.
Student Status.
Using computers or sat' nav's too much to do the job of finding our way around is a significant part of our brain's innate functions opportunities to develop-which no doubt has negative effects on other brain development.
Tolman and Honzik 1930

16. Implications of Cognitive Theory on the Traditional Adult Classroom
Analysis of the Traditional Classroom
The delayed reward group learned the route on days 1 to 10 and formed a cognitive map of the maze. They took longer to reach the end of the maze because there was no motivation for them to perform. From day 11 onwards they had a motivation to perform (i.e. food) and reached the end before the reward group.
This shows that between stimulus (the maze) and response (reaching the end of the maze) a mediational process was occurring the rats were actively processing information in their brains by mentally using their cognitive map.
Toman and Honzik (1930)

17. Cognitive Theory – Tolman
Evaluate the applicability of this theory for the selected traditional adult education
Adult learners are using their cognitive mapping skills which are allowing the adult learners to self-direct their learning in developing the medical office layout in the classroom as a team with other adult learners.
The cognitive theory in the mode of delivery allows the adult learners to learn by doing. The adult learners are applying their skills from learning and memory to develop the medical office layout.
The traditional classroom environment will allow adult learners to work together using supplies in the classroom computer programs and or prints offs from websites and supplies brought from home to work to developing their medical office centered around the needs of patients.
Tolman and Honzik 1930)

18. Conclusion
Individual learning is goal oriented and adults learn differently based on their individual goals, so training should take into account the learner’s goals.
Learning is a meaningful process so training should include a process where learners can understand what they learn.
Each learner learns through his own cognitive map.

19. Reference
Knowles, M. S., E. F., & Swanson, R. A (2011). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. (7th ed.). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Lloyd, R. (2000). Self-Organized Cognitive Maps. Professional Geographer, 52(3), 517. Retrieved from...
Pappas, C. (2014, February 12). Instructional design models and theories: Operant conditioning theory. Retrieved (2015, September 12) from
Cherry, K. A. (2005). Operant conditioning. Retrieved from
Pham, Huong. (2011, June). Theory-based instructional models applied in classroom contexts. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (LICEJ), 2(2), pp Retrieved from
Tolman, E. C., & Honzik, C. H. (1930). Introduction and removal of reward, and maze performance in rats. University of California Publications in Psychology 19