Cognitivist, Constructivist and Postmodern Models

Edward Thorndike

Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory (also known as Social Cognitive Theory) is the idea that
people learn by watching what others do and that human thought processes are central to
understanding personality.
The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing
and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977)
states: "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people
had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do.
Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from
observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later
occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action." (p22). Social learning
theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between
cognitive, behavioral, an environmental influences.
The component processes underlying observational learning are:
(1) Attention, including modeled events (distinctiveness, affective valence,
complexity, prevalence, functional value) and observer characteristics (sensory capacities,
arousal level, perceptual set, past reinforcement),
(2) Retention, including symbolic coding, cognitive organization, symbolic
rehearsal, motor rehearsal),
(3) Motor Reproduction, including physical capabilities, self-observation of
reproduction, accuracy of feedback, and
(4) Motivation, including external, vicarious and self reinforcement.

Because it encompasses attention, memory and motivation, social learning theory

spans both cognitive and behavioral frameworks. Bandura's theory improves upon the
strictly behavioral interpretation of modeling provided by Miller & Dollard (1941).
Banduras work is related to the theories of Vygotsky and Lave which also emphasize the
central role of social learning.
In the book "Educational Psychology: Developing Learners" (2003) author Jeanne
Ellis Ormrod lists the main principles of social learning theory:
1.

People learn by observing others.

2.

Learning is an internal process that may or may not change behavior.

3.

People behave in certain ways to reach goals.

4.

Behavior is self-directed (as opposed to the behaviorist thought that behavior is

determined by environment.)

5.

Reinforcement and punishment have unpredictable and indirect effects on both

behavior and learning.

Problem-based Learning
Problem-based learning thus has several distinct characteristics that may be
identified and used in designing such curriculum. These are:
1.

Reliance on problems to drive the curriculum - the problems do not test skills;
they assist in development of the skills themselves.

2.

The problems are truly ill-structured - there is not meant to be one solution, and as
new information is gathered in a reiterative process, perception of the problem,
and thus the solution, changes.

3.

Students solve the problems - teachers are coaches and facilitators.

4.

Students are only given guidelines for how to approach problems - there is no one
formula for student approaches to the problem.

5.

Authentic, performance-based assessment - is a seamless part and end of the

instruction.

Cognitive Flexibility Theory

Cognitive flexibility theory focuses on the nature of learning in complex and illstructured domains. Spiro & Jehng (1990, p. 165) state: "By cognitive flexibility, we
mean the ability to spontaneously restructure one's knowledge, in many ways, in adaptive
response to radically changing situational demands...This is a function of both the way
knowledge is represented (e.g., along multiple rather single conceptual dimensions) and
the processes that operate on those mental representations (e.g., processes of schema
assembly rather than intact schema retrieval)."
The theory is largely concerned with transfer of knowledge and skills beyond
their initial learning situation. For this reason, emphasis is placed upon the presentation
of information from multiple perspectives and use of many case studies that present
diverse examples. The theory also asserts that effective learning is context-dependent, so
instruction needs to be very specific. In addition, the theory stresses the importance of
constructed knowledge; learners must be given an opportunity to develop their own
representations of information in order to properly learn.
Cognitive flexibility theory builds upon other constructivist theories (e.g., Bruner,
Ausubel, Piaget) and is related to the work of Salomon in terms of media and learning
interaction.
Principles:
1. Learning activities must provide multiple representations of content.
2. Instructional materials should avoid oversimplifying the content domain and support
context-dependent knowledge.
3. Instruction should be case-based and emphasize knowledge construction, not
transmission of information.
4. Knowledge sources should be highly interconnected rather than compartmentalized.

References:
Retrieved from:
1.

http://tip.psychology.org/spiro.html on 13 September 2009.

2.

http://www.innovativelearning.com/teaching/social_learning_theory.html on 13
September 2009.

3.

http://www.ed.psu.edu/nasa/probtxt.html on 13 September 2009.

4.

http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/tip/bandura.html on 13 September 2009.