*For a visual presentation of my main idea as depicted above, please refer to “Appendix” found at the end of this entry.
Behaviourism
ConceptionsThe teacher has an objective in mind and shapes the learner’s behaviour towards the objective by reinforcement (e.g. rewards) so that the learner does it again or by punishment so that the learner does not repeat the mistake.
Assumption
The learner has no free will and is simply shaped by the environment (as set up by the teacher).
Analysis
The teacher is more active than the learner, so he is in better control of the learning process. The teacher also knows the outcome that he wants, so Behaviourism is suitable for less complex problems (i.e. Puzzle Problem, Algorithm and Story Problems) where there is usually one fixed approach to the solution, which does not require the learner to be too active.
Cognitivism
Conceptions
The teacher has an objective in mind and develops an environment to facilitate the learner to respond towards the objective, through active thinking on the learner’s part.
Assumption
The learner has an intrinsic motivation to know, so he becomes the focus (unit of analysis) because active thinking on his own is pertinent to the learning process.
Analysis
The learner is more active than the teacher, so he is in better control of the learning process. Although the teacher knows the outcome that he wants, he cannot change the learner’s thinking at will. Therefore, Cognitivism is suitable for relatively complex problems (i.e. Rule-Using Problem, Trouble-Shooting and Diagnosis-Solutions) where there are a few approaches to the solution, which require a more active learner.
Socioculturalism
Conceptions
The focus (unit of analysis) of the learning process involves a system which is beyond the lone thinking learner. The system constitutes individuals, tools that facilitate learning...etc. that interact together to achieve an objective.
Assumption
People are social creatures who interact with other people or object instead of acting on an individual level.
Analysis
Every component in a system is important in reaching the desired outcome. Hence, Socioculturalism is suitable for more complex problems (i.e. Case Method Problem, Designs, Issue-Based) where there are many approaches to the solution, which require both an active learner and an active environment.
Conclusion
I developed a relationship between the complexity of a problem and the learning theories applicable, after analysing the three learning theories and their application to the different types of problems (based on Jonassen’s Taxonomy of Problem).
I conclude that the more complex the problem, the lesser the learning theories we can apply (from “Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Socioculturalism” to “Cognitivism and Socioculturalism” and to only “Socioculturalism”).
*For a visual presentation of my conclusion as depicted above, please refer to “Appendix” found at the end of this entry.
Thus, we can see that the “universal” learning theory is Socioculturalism. In today’s world, we have entered the Knowledge Age. Therefore, the ability to acquire relevant knowledge is an important 21st century skill. To develop this skill, the new media platform is definitely a solution due to its dynamic environment which supports connectivity and interactivity. New media users gain knowledge by connecting and interacting with a huge pool of talents available online. This method of learning coincides with the learning theory of Socioculturalism because it is a learning process where a system is the focus and the learner interacts with various components (e.g. tools that facilitate learning) within the system. Socioculturalism is certainly useful for the development of 21st century skills, such as acquiring relevant knowledge.
**I’m unsure whether my interpretation is correct, do give me your valuable comments. Thanks! :)
Don't know if this is necessary... Anyway, I responded to LIM Hern Khoon's entry and read more than three other students' blogS.
ReplyDeleteHi Joanne,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point of view, that as a problem increases in complexity, the lesser theories can be applied, because as a problem gets more and more complicated, it is no longer an issue that surrounds only the individual. We have to take into account many other factors, and when this happens, we need to look at the problem as an entire system and not merely concentrating on the individual alone, and only the sociocultural approach is applicable. I guess the chances of meeting complex problems also increase when you age.Therefore at different stages of life, perhaps different theories can be implemented.Let me analyze it this way,when dealing with a child, perhaps bahviorism works best, because a child has yet to determine the ability to discern right and wrong. When the child slowly grows up and matures, cognitivsm will work better because now you want him to be able to think and come out with concepts on his own. We can only interpret in a way that the internal representations that he is depending on right now are formed due to behaviorism learning earlier on. As he gets into society, and especially the 21st century, sociocultural approach works better because now he has to deal with issues in a bigger picture, in a larger system. Just some on the spot analysis of my own,may not be entirely true..nice blog by the way!haha
hey, i came to read your blog after Mr Law mentioned on your blog. :)
ReplyDeletei enjoy reading the entry as everything is well broken down into clear concepts, assumptions and analysis.
the conclusion was well written with the support of the diagram to show ur stand. however i beg to differ when u said that socio-culturalism is the "universal learning theory". in some problems, socio-culturalism as a learning would be an inefficient way of solving a problem. as mentioned in class, there are problems of socio-culturalism as well. in socio-culturalism, the solution of the problem would be dependent on the individual cooporation in the team. if there is a simple algorithm problem, an individual might be more effective and efficient compared to having a team of people splitting up the work to come up with the solution.
using an example that is close to us, is the issue of group projects we have in nus. sometimes doing a group report would be slower than doing an individual report. as we have to wait for each other's inputs and combine the report. on the other hand, the quality of the report produced by a group might be better as there are more ideas generated. so i guess there're pros and cons of the theory.
my 2 cents worth. :)
commented by: Seng Ci Yun Leona
hi, thanks for such a stuctured post. it helps me to understand your interpretation better.
ReplyDeletehowever, my thinking was that all problems involve around the theory of cognitivism. as what you have mentioned, "the learner has an intrinsic motivation to know, so he becomes the focus because active thinking on his own is pertinent to the learning process". therefore, for problem such as issue-based, case method and design, the theory of cognitivism is necessary because learners need to have an intrinsic motivation to discover things to be able to learn from each other from his/her group since these problems are often group-based. In addition, learners of the group have better control to their learning process since they are the one contributing and learning from each other conception.
in conclusion, i would say that both cognitivism and socioculturalism apply to issus-based, designs and case method problems.
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI like your interpretation of the use of different learning theories as one grows older. Since one becomes more complex as one grows, the learning theories that he applies also follows suit, right? Nice one! :)
Hi Leona,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thank you for taking an interest to read my post! I enjoy reading your response too. ^^
I agree with you that every learning theory has its pros and cons. However, I would like to clarify that I did not say that Socioculturalism is the BEST approach to every problem. I merely interpreted that the more complex the problem, the lesser the learning theories we can apply (from “Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Socioculturalism” to “Cognitivism and Socioculturalism” and to only “Socioculturalism”). Hence, making Socioculturalism the "universal" learning theory (as in it can be applied to most problems, regardless of its effectiveness). For example, we most likely will not consider Behavioursim as an approach for a design problem because it seems too simplistic, but Socioculturalism most probably can be applied because it has the capability to deal with complex problems. :)
Hi Yee Ling,
ReplyDeleteThanks you very much for taking an interest to read my post as well!
I have no objection to your interpretation of Cognitivsm. I just think that Cognitivism as a pedagogical approach to learning is more limited compared to Socioculturalism, since the former only has the individual as the unit of analysis whereas the latter consists of contribution from BOTH individual and others. :)