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B Evaluate perspectives on learning (16)
B
Due to the fact that the three perspectives are so different in design, it can be very difficult to say how one method is nomothetically better than another. Each perspective has its own strong and weak points.
- The behaviourist perspective is a very affective method of learning as performance levels tend to be at the highest when the techniques of classical, Operant and SLT are applied. However this suggests that people learn only what they show, valuing nothing but the behaviour of the learner. For example the use of Classical Conditioning can create associations which can benefit the learner (e.g. standing up when a governor enters the room) as it can avoid embarrassment however, it can also be considered unethical to use such techniques as learners ten can become unable to control their own actions as the SR bond created put their behaviour in the control of the subconscious therefore using classical conditioning techniques would not be best when trying to teach something of a creative nature (e.g. art, music etc.) as personal control is very important in these subjects
Another ethical issue with the use of behaviourist tactics in learning is that the reinforcement can hurt the learner’s self esteem. This can be seen in Operant Conditioning techniques like punishment in that although the behaviour may be shaped to an “acceptable standard”, the learners would become less motivated to produce work. This can also play a role in bad association between the student and the subject being taught in that they don’t like how the behaviourists teacher treats them, they would learn to dislike the subject as opposed to simply the teacher.
- The Humanistic view, due to the fact that they value the development of the person more than the acquisition of trivial knowledge, can often very poor exam results within schools. An example of this would be the Summerhill school (Neil) which applied a completely humanistic approach to the workings of the school (e.g. no reinforcement of class attendance, no rules etc.) the results of this experiment showed that with the humanistic perspective, exam results were poor, however follow up studies showed that psychological problems and better stability within alumni
Another possible criticism of the humanistic views of Maslow is that there are people who can learn in school very well yet not have all of their basic needs satisfied (e.g. negligent parenting) however it can be said that the higher meta needs would be easier to pursue if the basic needs were provided for the learner. This goes against Maslow’s theory in that the hierarchy of needs can have exceptions based on individual differences (which can be analysed in the Myers Briggs Personality Indicator)
- Cognitive psychologists believe that all information can be presented in a way that’s best taken on by the learner. However this goes against the theories of Piaget and Ausubel who thought that information was exclusively better if present in certain ways, (bit by bit versus all encompassing respectively) The cognitive approach doesn’t consider the learners as anything but information processors, which can also hurt students self esteem as they are not necessarily regarded as human beings who are valued (Rogers)
When it comes down to it each perspective is very helpful to the improvement of learning within children however if used exclusively can cause their own contrasting problems. The best way in my eyes is to create a hybrid of the systems, for example, in regards to dealing with disruptive behaviour a behaviourist system of punishment be most effective, but then followed up with a humanistic debrief, (explaining why being punished) this would allow the student to learn the behaviour as well as maintain or reinforce self esteem
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C Suggest ways of introducing a new topic in science to 10 yr olds using the cognitive approach. Give reasons for your answer (8)
C
There are several ways which a teacher could use to teach a new subject. According to Piaget’s theory the new topic must be accommodated by creating a new schema of memory for the 10 year olds. This can be done in 2 ways, discovery learning or expository learning. This respectively means that the learners can be taught the material with the basics first, and then have them explore and progress, , or to have a syllabus- like outline of everything that the topic encompasses. For example, if teaching science to 10yr olds, they could be shown how to create an experiment by doing one them selves, (Enactive learning Bruner) and then be told after completing the experiment that this is called the “scientific method” (discovery learning) They could on the other hand be told that there is something called the scientific method and this is how to use it (Ausubel)
When teaching young children, it would probably be best to apply a learning style that could spark a deep interest in the science. This would be best done by using the discovery learning technique in that the students would be more involved in every step of the way and would have to learn fewer arbitrary concepts (which would be more difficult to learn that if they had meaning straight away) this can be done by using basic experiments that are applicable to the topic.; Once this data has been assimilated, research has shown that the knowledge is better retained over long periods of time when DL is applied in the classroom
Ausubel’s theory would work better if the students already had a basic knowledge of the topic and more advanced learning was taking place. This would allow them to be able to link prior knowledge into what there are about to learn more efficiently
Section B
Outline one study which has investigated the effects on performance of physical features in learning environments;
One study which looked at the physical features in LE and their effects on performance was performed by Glass et al he looked into and investigated how performance can be affected by the presence of noise in the LE He used three different types of noise; constant, intermittent predictable and intermittent unpredictable. The results of this study can be expressed in the graph below
The results showed that if the noise was present in the learning environment, the best type for learning is constant while unpredictable noise made learning more difficult. This can be accredited to the idea that unpredictable is more distracting as it is more difficult to zone out while constant noise (predictable) can be kept in the background of the learner’s thoughts.
B Discuss the problems of investigating the effects on performance of physical features in learning environments;
One big problem with investigating effects of this kind on performance is that the range of individual differences is very broad. Although research shows that people work best within a quiet environment, others work just as well in extreme noise. This has to do with the learners being introverts or extroverts as the former tend to work better in more arousing environments (Yerkes dodson arousal levels on motivation) One way in which teachers can find out what type of learner their students are is by the Myers Briggs inventory, which can specifically tell the personality of the students.
Due to the high amounts of individual differences, it can be next to impossible to nomothetically apply rules of how a class environment should be set out.
Another factor which effects how environments can be used best is depending on the subject type being taught. For example, it would be very difficult to learn music in a noisy atmosphere as the sounds would interfere and distort the subject material. On the other hand PE would be less optimally taught in a quiet environment due to the high arousal level present in the nature of the subject. Art is another example when discussing environment, as it would require more than 500 lux (as was described on the Belgrade study) to be able to work at optimum efficiency.
When it comes down to it research into learning environments can never come to a valid nomothetic answer to “what environment is bests?” question All research must be ideographically to the subject and the learner should always expect for there to be exceptions to the rule
