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History Of Learning Theories (Work Of Skinner (Skinner showed that there…
History Of Learning Theories
In the late 17th century, the pervading view was that all knowledge derives from experience.
John Locke considered that the mind was a 'tabula rasa' or “blank slate” at birth.
That all acquired knowledge was derived from experience of the senses.
In early 20th century, Edward Thorndike derived his laws.
The Law of Effect
– which stated that learning occurred if it had a positive effect on the individual.
The Law of Exercise
– which meant that repetition strengthened the learning.
Work Of Skinner
A reward could be used to ensure an appropriate response to a stimulus.
Skinner showed that there were three elements that strengthened learning:
Frequency
The number of times a stimulus was presented.
Contiguity
The time delay between the response and the reward.
Contingency
The continued link between the stimulus and the reward.
Skinner demonstrated that some forms of learning could be demonstrated by a simple stimulus-response paradigm.
Chomsky considers that the type of experiments favoured by behaviourists do not explain the acquisition of higher order skills, such as the learning of language.
Chomsky argued that our brains are programmed to acquire higher order skills, which we develop and modify by experience.
Social constructivists, like Vygotsky focus on the way that the learning community supports learning.
A key idea in social constructivism is that of the Zone of Proximal Development, whereby a learner can only acquire new knowledge if they can link it in with existing knowledge.
Conversations between learners/teachers articulating what is already known can extend the zone of proximal development by putting new ideas in the context of current understanding.