AFRICA NAZARENE UNIVERSITYNAME: RAHABU TOMSTUDENT NO: 17M01ABA038TASK: LEARNING PROCESSLearning in this topic has been categorically defined concurrently by various sources, it is the gaining of knowledge through study, the experience or by way of being taught Honey and Mumford hold that when people demonstrate to have known what they never knew before and that they can undertake a task which they could not manage to undertake before then that can be defined as learning.The various theories of learning under this scope include; cognitive theory, social learning theory, reinforcement theory, goal setting theory, constructivism theory and experiential theory. Trainees get to learn through these theories and this is as discussed below separately per theory.The Cognitive theory involves gaining knowledge and understanding by absorbing information in the form of principles, concepts and facts, and then internalizing it.Two key assumptions underlie this cognitive approach: in this case the memory system is an active organized information processor and that prior knowledge plays an important role in learning. For learning to occur, prior knowledge must exist on the topic.
When the learner applies their prior knowledge to the advanced topic, then the trainee can understand the meaning in the advanced topic, and learning can occur. Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to consider how human memory works to promote learning, and an understanding of short term memory and long term memory is important to educators influenced by cognitive theory. They view learning as an internal mental process usually including insight, information processing, memory and perception where the educator focuses on building intelligence and cognitive developmentThe constructivism theory emphasizes the importance of the active involvement of trainees in constructing knowledge for themselves. Students are thought to use background knowledge and concepts to help them in their acquisition of novel information. On approaching such new information, the learner faces a loss of content with their previous understanding, and this demands a change in cognitive structure.
By asking why students do not learn deeply by listening to a teacher, or reading from a book trainees ought to rectify on this. Constructivism has many varieties such as active learning, discovery learning, and knowledge building, but all versions promote a student’s free exploration within a given framework or structure. The teacher acts as a facilitator who encourages students to discover principles for themselves and to construct knowledge by working answering open-ended questions and solving real-world problems and by this the constructivism theory is helping them learn.
To do this, a teacher should encourage curiosity and discussion among his/her students as well as promoting their autonomyThe social learning theory being an effective learning requires social connection. Under this theory Learning is most effective in a social setting which helps trainees to connect skills and knowledge. Individual understanding is shaped by active participation in the social activities among the trainees. People learn by observing others whom they believe are knowledgeable.
Behaviour that is reinforced or rewarded tends to be repeated. Learning new skills or behavior comes from either directly experiencing the consequences of using a behavior or skill, or the process of observing others and seeing the consequences of their behavior. Learning is also influenced by a person’s self-efficacy, a person’s judgment about whether he or she can successfully learn knowledge and skills. A learner’s self-efficacy can be increased using some methods like verbal persuasion, logical verification, observation of others, and previous achievements. we all participate in ‘communities of practice’ and these categories entail primary sources of learning. The experimental learning theory is a method of educating through first-hand experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting, and may include internships, studies overseas, field outings, field survey, and service learning projects. Under this theory, the trainees fully engage their mind, personality and emotions in the above mentioned activities and many others.
Their skills are fully applied and the they get opportunities to reflect on and discuss their learning experience throughout the process of the assignmentThe reinforcement theory generally states that people seek out and remember information that provides support for their pre-existing attitudes and beliefs. The main assumption that guides this theory is that people do not like to be wrong and often feel disoriented when their beliefs are challenged, we can also hold that it expresses the belief that changes in behavior take place as a result of an individual’s response to events or stimuli. Trainees learn much under the reinforcement theory because they are driven by the aspect of that inner push that inspires them to learn. Trainees are also stimulated by the learning process with the stimuli factor. The response also gets trainees helped by the learning process to develop appropriate responses including namely the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will lead to effective performance.
Learners also learn through reinforcement whereby these responses need to be reinforced by feedback and the know how until they are learnt.The goal setting theory states that goal setting is essentially linked to task performance. It states that specific and challenging goals along with appropriate Larsen effect contribute to higher and better task performance.
therefore, goals indicate and give direction to an employee about what needs to be done and how much efforts are required to be put in. The influence of goal setting theory can be seen in trainees’ development of training lesson plans. Also, goals influence a learner’s behavior by directing energy and attention, sustaining effort over time, and motivating the them to develop strategies for goal attainment. Learning orientation trainees try to increase ability or competence in task. Learners with a high learning orientation will showcase greater attention to the task and learn for the sake of learning in comparison to trainees with a performance orientation.
Performance orientation learners focus on task performance and how they compare to others. They engage more energy and concentration to giving good results and less stress and struggle to learning.REFERENCEShttps://en.oxforddictionaries.com Retrieved 1 June 2018.Smith, M.K. “Learning Theory, the encyclopedia of informal education”.
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