LEARNING AND IT’S THEORY

INTRODUCTION:
Learning is a key process in human behavior. All living is learning.
If we compare the simple, crude ways in which a child feels and behaves, with the complex
modes of adult behavior, his skills, habits, thought, sentiments and the like- we will know
what difference learning has made to the individual.
The individual is constantly interacting with and influenced by the environment. This
experience makes him to change or modify his behavior in order to deal effectively with it.
Therefore, learning is a change in behavior, influenced by previous behavior. As stated above
the skills, knowledge, habits, attitudes, interests and other personality characteristics are all
the result of learning
Learning is defined as “any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of
practice and experience”. This definition has three important elements.
a. Learning is a change in behavior—better or worse.
b. It is a change that takes place through practice or experience, but changes due to growth or
maturation are not learning.
c. This change in behavior must be relatively permanent, and it must last a fairly long time.

DEFINITIONS OF LEARNING :-
According to Gardner Murphey
“The term learning covers every modification in behavior to
meet environment requirements”

According to kingsley & garry

“Learning is the process by which behavior (in broader

sense) is organized or changed through practice or training.”

According to Colvin
“Learning is the modification of our ready-made behavior due to
experience”.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING :-

 Change in behavior
 Change in behavior is relatively permanent
 Continuous life long process
 Universal process
 Purposive & goal oriented
 Involves reconstruction of experience
 It a product of activity
 It is transferable from one situation to other
 Not necessary imply improvement
 Not necessarily development in right direction
 Brings desirable change in behavior

1
  Helps in teaching-learning process

PRINCIPLE OF LEARNING: There are five principles of the learning

1. Participation.
2. Repetition.
3. Relevance.
4. Transference.
5. Feedback.

1. Participation-

Learning should permit and encourage active participation of the learner.

Participation improves motivation and apparently engages more senses that reinforce the
learning process. As a result of participation, people learn more quickly and retain that
learning longer.

For example, most people never forget how to ride a bicycle because they actively
participated in the learning process.

The learning activities should be experiential rather than just informational.

Therefore, the trainers should arrange the physical surroundings to facilitate small group
interaction and promote the sharing of ideas

2. Repetition-

An important principle of the learning is to provide the learner with the

opportunity for practice and repetition. To gain the full benefit of training learned behaviors
must be over learned to ensure smooth performance and minimum of forgetting at a later
date.

Proficiency in learning and retaining new skills is improved when individuals visualize
themselves performing the new behavior.

3. Relevance-

Up Learning is helped when the material to be learned is meaningful. The learning should be
problem-centered rather than content centered.

People are motivated to learn when training is immediately relevant to help them solve a
current problem. Learning something just because someone says “it is important” is not as
motivating.

4. Transference

Because the training occurs in a special environment, an important question

to ask is whether learning will transfer to the actual job situation.

2
Transfer of training occurs when trainees can apply the knowledge and skills learned in
training course to their jobs. If the learning in one setting does not transfer to the actual job
situation, the training has failed.

Three transfers training situations are possible

(1) Positive transfer of training when the training activities enhance performance in the new
situation;
(2) negative transfer of training, when the training activities inhibit performance in a new
situation;
(3) no observable effect of training.

5. Feedback

Feedback gives learners information on their progress. Performance feedback is

a necessary prerequisite for learning. Feedback improves performance not only by helping
learners correct their mistakes but also by providing reinforcement for learning.

Knowledge of results is a positive reinforcement itself. Learning activities have more

intrinsic interest if the feedback is available.

Nevertheless, performance feedback should do more than inform learners whether they were
right or wrong.

Merely informing the trainees that they were wrong is not as effective as telling them why
they were wrong and how they can avoid making mistakes in the future. In general,
knowledge of results is an essential feature of learning, and this knowledge comes after the
learner’s response.

DOMAINS OF LEARNING

 Co native domain of learning (doing aspect)

 Cognitive domain of learning (thinking aspect)
 Affective domain of learning (feeling aspect

TYPES OF LEARNING:-
1. MOTOR LEARNING:-
Most of our activities in our day-to-days life refer to motor activities.
The individual has to learn them in order to maintain his regular life, for example walking,
running, skating, driving, climbing, etc. All these activities involve the muscular
coordination.

2. VERBAL LEARNING:-
This type of learning involves the language we speak, the
communication devices we use. Signs, pictures, symbols, words, figures, sounds, etc., are the
tools used in such activities. We use words for communication.

3
3. CONCEPT LEARNING :-
It is the form of learning which requires higher order mental
processes like thinking, reasoning, intelligence, etc. we learn different concepts from
childhood. For example, when we see a dog and attach the term ‘dog’, we learn that the word
dog refers to a particular animal. Concept learning involves two processes, viz. abstraction
and generalization. This learning is very useful in recognizing, identifying things.

4. DISCRIMINATION LEARNING :-
Learning to differentiate between stimuli and showing an
appropriate response to these stimuli is called discrimination learning. Example, sound horns
of different vehicles like bus, car, ambulance, etc.

5. LEARNING OF PRINCIPLES:-
Individuals learn certain principles related to science,
mathematics, grammar, etc. in order to manage their work effectively. These principles
always show the relationship between two or more concepts. Example: formulae, laws,
associations, correlations, etc.

6. PROBLEM SOLVING :-
This is a higher order learning process. This learning requires the use
of cognitive abilities-such as thinking, reasoning, observation, imagination, generalization,
etc. This is very useful to overcome difficult problems encountered by the people.

7. ATTITUDE LEARNING:
Attitude is a predisposition which determines and directs our
behavior. We develop different attitudes from our childhood about the people, objects and
everything we know. Our behavior may be positive or negative depending upon our attitudes.
Example: attitudes of nurse towards her profession, patients, etc.

FACTOR INFLUENCING LEARNING –

 Learner Related Factor

 Learner’s physical and mental health

 The basic potential of the learner
 The level of aspiration and achievement motivation
 Goal of life
 Readiness and will power

 Teacher Related Factor –

 Mastery over the subject matter

 Art and skill teaching
 Personality traits and behavior of the teacher

4
  Level of adjustment and mental health of the teacher
 Type of discipline and interaction maintained by the teacher.

 Contents Related Factor-

 Nature of the contents or learning experience

 Selection of the content or learning experiences
 Organization of the contents or learning experience.

THEORY OF LEARNING
Psychologists have tried to explain how people learn and
why they learn. They have conducted many experiments on animals and children and come to
certain definite conclusions which explain the modes of learning.

These are called as theories of learning. In many books, these explanations are treated as
kinds of learning. In a sense it is true. But the term learning is very comprehensive. It covers
a wide range of activities which cannot be explained within a limited framework. There are
many theories explaining modes of learning. Important among them are:

1) TRIAL AND ERROR THEORY OF LEARNING OR THORNDIKES

CONNECTIONISM (1874-1949)

He used a 24 hours hungry cat. The cat was fully fed 24 hours
back. He used a puzzle box which had a door that could be opened by a device – by pressing
a lever, the latch or pulling a string. The box had ventilation. The hungry cat was put inside
the box and a fish was placed outside. The cat tried to come out by random movements.
These random movements and actions are called exploratory movements. By chance it
happens to press the lever – the door opens, it comes out and eats the fish. The cat is starved
again and put in the box and the whole thing is repeated many times. The cat learns the
method to open the door. Now if it is put in the box, it can easily open the door. It is called
trial and error.
This is a chance learning or S.R. (Stimulus Response) learning. This is also called associative
learning

5
  The Theory
Learning means establishing proper bond between stimulus and response. This
theory is also called connectionism. According to Thorndike Learning is a mechanical
process. We learn from mistakes. The correct responses are rewarded and they are stamped
in.
“Learning is a process of acquiring and stabilizing successful or rewarded responses and of
eliminating the unsuccessful or unrewarded responses.” Education is the process of acquiring
and stabilizing successful habit pattern through rewarded responses.

 Thorndike's Laws Of Learning And Its Educational Implications

1. Law of Readiness:-
First primary law of learning, according to him, is the ‘Law of
Readiness’ or the ‘Law of Action Tendency’, which means that learning takes place
when an action tendency is aroused through preparatory adjustment, set or attitude.
Readiness means a preparation of action. If one is not prepared to learn, learning
cannot be automatically instilled in him, for example, unless the typist, in order to
learn typing prepares himself to start, he would not make much progress in a lethargic
& unprepared manner

2. Law of Exercise:-
The second law of learning is the ‘Law of Exercise’, which means
that drill or practice helps in increasing efficiency and durability of learning and according to
Thorndike’s S-R Bond Theory, the connections are strengthened with trail or practice and the
connections are weakened when trial or practice is discontinued. The ‘law of exercise’,
therefore, is also understood as the ‘law of use and disuse’ in which case connections or
bonds made in the brain cortex are weakened or loosened. Many examples of this case are
found in case of human learning. Learning to drive a motor-car, typewriting, singing or

6
memorizing a poem or a mathematical table, and music etc. need exercise and repetition of
various movements and actions many times.

3. Law of Effect:-
The third law is the ‘Law of Effect’, according to which the trial or
steps leading to satisfaction stamps in the bond or connection. Satisfying states lead to
consolidation and strengthening of the connection, whereas dis-satisfaction, annoyance or
pain lead to the weakening or stamping out of the connection. In fact, the ‘law of effect’
signifies that if the responses satisfy the subject, they are learnt and selected, while those
which are not satisfying are eliminated. Teaching, therefore, must be pleasing. The educator
must obey the tastes and interests of his pupils. In other words, greater the satisfaction
stronger will be the motive to learn. Thus, intensity is an important condition of ‘law of
effect’

4. ) Law of Multiple Response

According to it the organism varies or changes its response till
an appropriate behavior is hit upon. Without varying the responses, the correspondence for
the solution might never be elicited. If the individual wants to solve a puzzle, he is to try in
different ways rather than mechanically persisting in the same way. Thorndike’s cat in the
puzzle box moved about and tried many ways to come out till finally it hit the latch with her
paw which opened the door and it jumped out.

5. The Law of Set Attitude-

Learning is guided by a total set or attitude of the
organism, which determines not only what the person will do but what will satisfy or annoy
him. For instance, unless the cricketer sets himself to make a century, he will not be able to
score more runs. A student, similarly, unless he sets to get first position and has the attitude
of being at the top, would while away the time and would not learn much. Hence, learning is
affected more in the individual if he is set to learn more or to excel.

6. The Law of Associative learning:-

According to this law we may get a response, of
which a learner is capable, associated with any other situation to which he is sensitive.
Thorndike illustrated this by the act of teaching a cat to stand up at a command. A fish was
dangled before the cat while he said ‘stand up’. After a number trails by presenting the fish
after uttering the command ‘stand up’, he later ousted the fish and the overall command of
‘stand up’ was found sufficient to evoke the response in the cat by standing up or her hind
legs.
According to this theory the task can be started from the easier aspect towards its difficult
side. This approach will benefit the weaker and backward children.
A small child learns some skills through trial and error method only such as sitting, standing,
walking, running etc. In teaching also the child rectifies the writing after committing
mistakes.
Habits are formed as a result of repetition. With the help of this theory the wrong habits of
the children can be modified and the good habits strengthened.

2) PAVLOV’S CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY OF

LEARNING
Ivan Pavlov was a famous Russian psychologist .He lived from 1849 to 1936

7
He made many discoveries in the psychology field. Pavlov won the Nobel Prize in
psychology in 1904

 Classical Conditioning:-
A learned reflex/response that you do when evoked by a stimulus
Pavlov performed experiments with dogs on to collect saliva
He noticed that the dogs would salivate when powdered meat was present
Pavlov associated the ringing of a bell with the presence of powdered meat
He rang the bell every time the dogs were served food
Pavlov started ringing the bell and the dogs would salivate without the powdered meat being
present
Thus, a learned reflex

 In the Classroom
Teachers can use classical conditioning to quiet down the students
Example:
First day of class, students walk into class and teacher sits at desk
Teacher goes towards board when ready to teach and children quiet down
Second day of class, students are chatty when the teacher goes to the board. Teacher asks to
be quiet.
Third day of class, students are automatically quiet when the teacher walks to the board
Students will learn the expectations of their teachers
Students will learn the expectations of their school.

3) SKINNER OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY OF LEARNING

 Experiment with Rats Materials
Skinner Box which is a small chamber in which an
animal learns how to make a particular response for which the consequence can be controlled

8
by the researcher, it contains a speaker, signal lights, lever, food dispenser which dispenses
pellets, and grid floors which can deliver a mild electric shock. There is also a cumulative
recorder which records the frequency and speed of the desired response which is made by the
pressing of a lever.

 PROCEDURE: A hungry rat was placed in the Skinner box and every time it pressed
the lever it was rewarded with a food pellet in the food dish which was used to
reinforce its behavior.

 RESULTS: Rats scurried around the box randomly touching parts of the floor and
wall. Eventually the rat accidently touched the lever and a food pellet was released.
The same sequence was repeated and with more trials the time taken to press the lever
eventually decreased. The random movements of the rat eventually became deliberate,
rats then ate the food as fast as they could press the lever.

Operant conditioning can be described as a process that attempts to modify behavior through
the use of positive and negative reinforcement. Through Operant conditioning, an individual
makes an association between a particular behavior and a consequence.
Example- parents rewarding a child’s excellent grade with candy or some other prize.
 Reinforcement
Is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows? There are two kinds of
reinforces:-

(i) Positive reinforces

9
Are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In situations that
reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of
something, such as praise or a direct reward.

(ii) Negative reinforces

Involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display of a behavior. In
these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something considered
unpleasant

In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.

(iii) Schedules of Reinforcement

 Continuous reinforcement schedule
 Fixed interval reinforcement schedule
 Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule
 Variable reinforcement schedule

Punishment: -on the other hand, is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that
causes a decrease in the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of punishment:

(i) Positive punishment:-sometimes referred to as punishment by application,

involves the presentation of an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken
the response it follows.

(ii) Negative punishment:- also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a

favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs.

4) ROBERT GAGNE’S COGNITIVIST THEORY OF LEARNING

 Robert Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning

10
 Signal Learning
 Learn how to respond to a signal, like Pavlov’s dog (Pavlov’s classical conditioned
response
 Usually the response is emotional

 Stimulus(S) – Response(R) Learning

 Learn precise response to precise signal / stimulus
 Different from signal learning, signal learning leads to involuntary responses, whereas
the responses in S-R learning are voluntarily controlled.

 Psychomotor Connection Learning

 Occurs when a chain of stimuli and responses are formed
 Able to chain 2 or more stimulus-response

 Verbal Association Learning

 Use terminology in verbal chains

Multiple Discrimination Learning

 Learn how to distinguish between similar stimuli
 Make different responses to each type of stimulus, even when they may be
perceptually similar.

 Concept Learning
 Singular / common response to an entire class of stimuli

 Principle Learning
 Viewed as a chain of two or more concepts.
 Learn to apply rules

11
  Problem Solving
 Highest learning type which leads to the discovery of higher order rules  all other
types of learning must have been completed for it to be present.

Robert Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction

Robert
Gagne’s
9 Events
of

12
 INSTRUCTION
I. Gain Attention
 Use an “interest device” that grabs learner’s attention

II. Inform Learner of Objective

 Initiates the internal process of expectancy and helps motivate the learner to complete
the lesson

III. Stimulate Recall Prior Knowledge

 Associating new information with prior knowledge / experiences can facilitate the
learning process

IV. Present the Material

 New content is actually presented to the learner.
 Content should be chunked and organized meaningfully, and typically is explained
and then demonstrated.

V. Provide Guidance for Learning

 To help learners encode information for long-term storage, additional guidance should
be provided along with the presentation of new content

VI. Elicit Performance

 Practice by letting the learner do something with the newly acquired behavior, skills,
or knowledge

VII. Provide Feedback

 Show correctness of the learner's response, analyze learner's behavior.

VIII. Assess Performance

 Test / assessment to determine if the lesson has been learned.

IX. Enhance Retention & Transfer

 Inform the learner about similar problem situations, provide additional practice, put
the learner in a transfer situation, and review the lesson.

.
5) BRUNER’S CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY OF LEARNING:-

OBJECTIVE-
 Explain the individual’s ability and development to represent knowledge.
 Differentiate and discuss the kinds of categories of identity, equivalence and coding.
 Explain how spiral curriculum works.

Constructivism
Constructivism is an epistemological belief about what "knowing" is and
how one "Comes to know."

13
CONCEPTS OF BRUNNER THEORY

1. Representation Modes of Presenting Understanding:

 Enactive representation- children learn about the world through actions on physical
objects and the outcomes of these actions.
 Iconic- obtained through using models and pictures.
The learner can now use mental images to stand for certain objects or events.
 Symbolic representation- the learner has developed the ability to think abstract
terms.

2. Spiral Curriculum- instruction needs to be anchored on the learner’s cognitive

capabilities. Principles of instruction:
 Readiness
 Spiral Organization
 Going beyond the information given

3. Discovering Learning- refers to obtaining knowledge for oneself.

Major Aspects in the Theory of Instruction:
 Predisposition to learn- “readiness for learning”.
 Structure of Knowledge- the ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured
so that it can be most readily grasped by the learner.
.
4. Categorization- Bruner believed that perception, conceptualization, learning, decision
making, and making inferences all involves categorization.

6) SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY ALBERT BANDURA

 Basic Social Learning Concepts

There are three core concepts at the heart of
social learning theory. First is the idea that people can learn through observation. Next is the
notion that internal mental states are an essential part of this process. Finally, this theory
recognizes that just because something has been learned, it does not mean that it will result in
a change in behavior.
Let's explore each of these concepts in greater depth.

1. People can learn through observation

Observational Learning
In his famous Bobo doll experiment, Bandura demonstrated that
children learn and imitate behaviors they have observed in other people. The children in
Bandura’s studies observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. When the children
were later allowed to play in a room with the Bobo doll, they began to imitate the aggressive
actions they had previously observed.

Bandura identified three basic models of observational learning:

14
  A live model, which involves an actual individual demonstrating or acting out a
behavior.
 A verbal instructional model, which involves descriptions and explanations of a
behavior.
 A symbolic model, which involves real or fictional characters displaying behaviors in
books, films, television programs, or online media.

2. Mental states are important to learning

Bandura noted that external,
environmental reinforcement was not the only factor to influence learning and
behavior. He described intrinsic reinforcement as a form of internal reward, such as
pride, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. This emphasis on internal thoughts
and cognitions helps connect learning theories to cognitive developmental theories.
While many textbooks place social learning theory with behavioral theories, Bandura
himself describes his approach as a 'social cognitive theory.

3. Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior

While behaviorists
believed that learning led to a permanent change in behavior, observational learning
demonstrates that people can learn new information without demonstrating new behaviors.

7) KOHLER’S INSIGHT THEORY OF LEARNING

 insight learning
Insight learning is the abrupt realization of a problem's solution.
Insight learning is not the result of trial and error, responding to an environmental stimulus,
or the result of observing someone else attempting the problem. It is a completely cognitive
experience that requires the ability to visualize the problem and the solution internally - in the
mind's eye, so to speak - before initiating a behavioral response.

Experiment
1. In one experiment, Kohler put the chimpanzee, “Sulthan” inside a cage and a banana was
hung from the roof of a cage. A box was placed inside the cage. The chimpanzee tried to
reach the banana by jumping but could not succeed. Suddenly he got an idea and used the box
as a jumping platform by placing it just below the hanging banana.

15
2. In another experiment Kohler made this problem complicated that two or three boxes were
required to reach the banana

3. In a more complicated experiment, a banana was kept far outside the cage and two sticks –
one larger than the other- were kept inside the box. When failed to reach the banana by one
stick, with a sudden bright idea the chimpanzee tried to reach the banana by joining the two
sticks.

STEPS IN INSIGHT LEARNING:-

1. Identifying the problem: The learner recognizes the presence of an intervening

obstacles on his way to the goal.
2. Understanding the Problem: The learner observes the problematic situation, analyze
it and perceive the relation between the goal and the obstacles.
3. Incubation of Ideas: After analyzing the total situation he reaches in conclusions
by means of hesitation, pause, concentrated attention etc.

4. Sustained Attention: The learner maintains frequently recurrent attention to the goal
and motivation.

16
5. Insight Development: In a certain moment there is a sudden perception of the
relationship in the total situation and the organism directly performs the required acts.
7. Steady Repetition of Adaptive Behavior :After getting an insightful solution, the
individual tries to implement it in another situation.
8. Comprehension of Ability: The learner reaches the ability to understand the relevant
parts of the situation and overlooking the irrelevant ones.

CONCLUSION:-
The three learning theories have some of the same similarities. They all have
the same focus which is to help people learn. Each one creates it’s on learning experience.
Each theory has a different approach for learning, though. The difference between classical
and operative conditioning is that one deals with voluntary response to stimuli and the other
deals with involuntary. The classical approach deals with involuntary responses to a specific
stimulus. Operant conditioning on the other hand is more focused on the reaction of a person.
The reaction can determine whether a reward or a consequence will be given. Last, but not
least Cognitive-Social learning is done through observation of other individual’s behaviors,
attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviors. In learning theories is the concept that individuals
differ in regard to what mode of instruction or study is most effective for them. People learn
the best in their own way, some people learn best from experience. Others learn best from
people telling them what to do and how to do it. Some people learn better by doing
something. Instead of reading how to do something or being told how to do something they
just go out and do it easy to some people.

17
BIBLIOGRAPHY-

1. Basavanthapa,B.T.(2003), Textbook Nursing Education.1st ed.Noida:aypee,200-235.

2. Neeraja,K.P.(2008).1ST ed Noida; Jaypee,100-140.
3. Maheshawri,A. (2009). Communication technology for nurses. New delhi:N R
Brothers,203-250.
4. Bhaskarraj,D.E..(2020), Test book of nursing education, 2 nded, Banglore:Emmess,81-
87.
5. https://en.m.wikipidia.org
6. https://www.slideshare.net
7. https://www.phsychlogydiscussion.net

18