For instance, if a person hurts their hand when touching a hot stove, they will learn not to touch the stove again, and if they are praised for studying for a test, they will be likely to study in the futureĪccording to behavioral theorists, we can change people’s behavior by manipulating the environment in order to encourage certain behaviors and discourage others, a process called conditioning (Popp, 1996).

As people experience consequences from their interactions with the environment, they modify their behaviors in reaction to those consequences. According to behaviorists, learning is dependent on a person’s interactions with their external environment. Behaviorists were concerned with establishing psychology as a science and focused their studies on behaviors that could be empirically observed, such as actions that could be measured and tested, rather than on internal states such as emotions (McLeod, 2015). Behaviorismīehaviorism is based largely on the work of John B. In addition to the examples in practice that are provided in this chapter, you might add some of your own.įigure 3.1: Graphic Organizer for Major Learning Theories This graphic organizer presents a table with columns for students to take note of the theories presented in this chapter, along with major theorists, key concepts, and examples in practice. Figure 3.1 provides you with an example of a graphic organizer, one of the instructional materials that will be discussed in Chapter 11, that you could use to take notes as you read this chapter. These theories provide a foundation to guide the instructional design and reflective practices presented in the rest of this textbook.Īs you read, you might consider keeping track of the key points of each theory and thinking about how these theories could be applied to your practice. This chapter provides a bridge from theory to practice by providing specific examples of how the theories can be applied in the library classroom. As certain learning theories resonate with us and we consciously construct lessons based on those theories, we begin to develop a personal philosophy of teaching that will guide our instructional design going forward. This understanding helps us explain our instructional choices, or the “why” behind what and how we teach. With a basic understanding of learning theories, we can create lessons that enhance the learning process. People who enjoy teaching often find the theories interesting and will be excited when they start to see connections between the theory and the learning they see happening in their own classrooms. The models and processes that they describe tend to apply across different populations and settings, and provide us with guidelines to develop exercises, assignments, and lesson plans that align with how our students learn best.

Sometimes people are skeptical of having to learn theory, believing those theories will not be relevant in the real world, but learning theories are widely applicable.

Learning theories also examine what motivates people to learn, and what circumstances enable or hinder learning. These theories explain the processes that people engage in as they make sense of information, and how they integrate that information into their mental models so that it becomes new knowledge. Learning theories describe the conditions and processes through which learning occurs, providing teachers with models to develop instruction sessions that lead to better learning. 3 Learning Theories: Understanding How People Learn Introduction

The silent age theories