Introduction
Project by: Katie Pelkey
Where does knowledge come from? How do humans learn? This Knowledge Base (KB) project addresses these key questions by providing an overview of three learning theories: Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Social Learning. These theories, while they differ in their explanations of how humans acquire knowledge, are not mutually exclusive: they often share characteristics and assumptions, as described in the “Key Features” infographic below. These theories also work together to offer a clearer a picture of human learning as a whole, as one theory alone is not all-encompassing of every possible approach to knowledge. Thus, learning theories interweave, interact, and fill in one another’s gaps to bring us closer to expressing how knowledge acquisition takes place.
Each of the three theories described in this project can be applied to human learning, in general, and instructional design. Instructional design, the process of developing materials and methods to facilitate learning, benefits greatly from each of the three theories. Each theory, in its own way, helps ground instructional decision-making and facilitates learning. The theories also provide different options for how to approach various learning scenarios. This project offers one example of such a learning scenario that can be described by the three theories herein and includes my personal reflections on each theory. I believe that, because instruction is a critical pathway for human learning, streamlining instructional processes can help pave a foundation for smoother learning. Learning theories, put simply, assist learners in gaining knowledge more effectively and help instructional designers/teachers understand how to guide others toward that knowledge.
What are the key features of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Social Learning?
Examples of Instructional Design Applications:
A Child's Picture-Book: BEH, COG, and SL in a Real-World Situation
BEH
A child receives a reward from a parent for successfully completing her homework: a picture-book about amphibians.
COG
A child takes information she from her homework assignment and applies it in class. She asks the teacher, “Since amphibians live on both land and water, is my uncle an amphibian? He lives on his sailboat!”
SL
A child sees a fellow student receive verbal praise from the teacher because she included beautiful, full-color drawings on her homework assignment. The child decides she will make her next assignment more detailed and colorful.