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Learning Theories describe the ways people learn new
ideas and concepts. Often explaining the relationship between the
information we know and the new information we are trying to learn.
Behaviourists
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Learning results in a change in the learner's behavior
and the focus is on the outputs of the learning process.
Robert Gagne's theory supports the following ideas:
- Learning causes an observable change in the learner.
Skills should be learned one at a time.
- Each new skill learned should build on previously
acquired skills.
- Learning and knowledge are both hierarchical in
nature.
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Learning occurs when learners are able to add new
concepts and ideas to their cognitive structure by recognizing a
relationship between something they already know and what they are
learning, and the focus of cognitivists is on the inputs of the learning
process.
Ausubel's theory supports the following ideas:
- Inputs to learning are important.
- Learning materials should be well organized.
- New ideas and concepts must be "potentially
meaningful" to the learner.
- Anchoring new concepts into the learner's already
existing cognitive structure will make the new concepts recallable.
- Ausubel, D. P. (1968) Educational Psychology:
A Cognitive View, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, NY
- Braxton, S. Bronico, K & Looms, T (1995),
Instructional Design Methodologies and Techniques, [Online] http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~sbraxton/ISD/isd_homepage.html
[3 Feb 2000]
- Gagne, R. M. (1985), The Conditions of
Learning and Theory of Instruction. Fourth Edition, Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, New York,
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