Learning is a very complex process, whose theoretical definition has been the subject of debate for the last century.

For this reason, it is not surprising to see that in psychology and related sciences, as is the case in educational sciences, they have not agreed to define what learning is and how it occurs.

There are many theories of learning, all of them with their advantages and disadvantages. Next, we are going to see them in more depth, knowing their definition of what learning is and knowing some of their greatest representatives.

How many learning theories are there?

In psychology, there are many theoretical currents, a fact which has repercussions on sciences with which it is closely related, such as educational sciences. For this reason, it is not surprising that, when addressing what learning is and how it occurs, many psychologists and psychopedagogues have proposed various theories, each with their followers and their detractors.

"Although we have all experienced what learning is, trying to define it is not an easy task. It is a difficult concept to define, which can be interpreted in very different ways and the history of psychology itself is proof of this. However, we can roughly understand that learning is all changes, both behavioral and mental, the result of experience, differing a lot from person to person depending on their own characteristics and the situation." source: https://writemypaper4me.co/pay-for-research-paper/

There are as many learning theories as there are ways to see it. It is difficult to give an exact number of how many theories there are since even within the same current two authors can differ on how learning occurs and what is. Likewise, what we can say is that its scientific study arose at the beginning of the 20th century and that, since then, it has tried to give an answer to how this important process in education occurs.

Learning theories, summarized and explained

Next, we will see the main theories of learning raised from the beginning of the last century to the present time.

1. Behaviorism

Behaviorism is one of the oldest psychological currents, having its origins at the beginning of the 20th century. The fundamental idea of ​​this current is that learning consists of a change in behavior, caused by the acquisition, reinforcement, and application of associations between environmental stimuli and the individual's observable responses.

Behaviorism wanted to demonstrate that psychology was true science, focusing on the purely observable aspects of behavior and experimenting with strictly controlled variables.

Thus, the most radical behaviorists assumed that mental processes are not necessarily those that cause observable behaviors. Within this approach, Burrhus Frederic Skinner, Edward Thorndike, Edward C. Tolman, and John B. Watson stand out.

Thorndike suggested that a response to a stimulus is reinforced when this phenomenon is followed by a positive reward effect and that a response to a stimulus will become stronger through exercise and repetition.

The figure of Skinner is very important in behaviorism, being one of its greatest representatives with its operant conditioning. In his opinion, rewarding the correct actions of behavior reinforce them and stimulate their recurrence. Therefore, reinforcers regulate the appearance of desired behaviors.

We have another reference to behaviorism in the figure of Ivan Pavlov. This Russian physiologist is famous for his experiments with dogs, bringing great influences on behaviorism in general.

We must thank Pavlov for his views on classical conditioning, according to which learning occurs when two stimuli are associated simultaneously, one, the conditioned, and the other, the unconditioned. The unconditioned stimulus causes a natural response in the body and the conditioned one begins to trigger it when it is linked to it.

Taking his experiments as an example, Pavlov showed his dogs food (unconditioned stimulus) and rang the bell (conditioned stimulus). After several attempts, the dogs related the sound of the bell to the food, which made them emit in response to this salivary stimulus, as they did when they saw the food.

2. Cognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology has its origins in the late 1950s. Under this trend, people are no longer seen as mere receptors of stimuli and emitters of directly observable responses, as the behaviorists had understood.

For cognitive psychology, human beings act as information processors . Thus, cognitive psychologists have a special interest in the study of complex mental phenomena, which had been largely ignored by behaviorists, who went so far as to affirm that thought could not be considered behavior.

The appearance of this trend in the fifties is not accidental, since it was at that time that the first computers began to appear. These computers had military purposes, and they were far from the potential they have now, but they led us to think that human beings could be compared to these devices, while we process information. The computer became an analog of the human mind.

In cognitive psychology, learning is understood as the acquisition of knowledge , that is, the student is a processor of information that absorbs content, carrying out cognitive operations during the process and storing it in his memory.

3. Constructivism

Constructivism emerged between the 1970s and 1980s, in response to the vision of cognitive psychology. Unlike this current, constructivists did not see students as simple passive receivers of information, but rather as active subjects in the process of acquiring new knowledge. People learn by interacting with the environment and reorganizing our mental structures.

Learners are seen as those responsible for interpreting and making sense of new knowledge , and not simply as individuals who store, in a purely rote, the information received. Constructivism implied a change of mentality, going from treating learning as the mere acquisition of knowledge to the metaphor of construction-knowledge.

Although this current matured in the 1970s, there was already a few antecedents on constructivist ideas. Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner anticipated the constructivist vision several decades ago, in the 1930s.

Piaget's theory of learning

Piaget elaborated his theory from a purely constructivist position. This Swiss epistemologist and biologist stated that boys and girls play an active role in learning.

For him, the different mental structures are modified and combined through experiences, through adaptation to the environment and the organization of our mind.

Learning occurs as a result of changes and novel situations . Our perception of the world is renewed as we grow. This process is made up of schemes that we mentally order.

Adaptation takes place through a process of assimilation, which modifies external reality, and another of accommodation, which is what changes our mental structures.

For example, if we discover that our friend has a dog and we have had a bad previous experience with these animals, such as being bitten or barked, we will think that the animal is going to harm us (assimilation).

However, when we see that he approaches us and makes a gesture as if he wants us to caress his belly, we are forced to change our previous classification (accommodation) and recognize that there are more friendly dogs than others.

Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning

David Ausubel is also one of the greatest exponents of constructivism, receiving many influences from Piaget. He believed that for people to learn it is necessary to act on their previous knowledge.

For example, if a teacher wants to explain what mammals are, he must first take into account what his students know about what dogs, cats or any animal that is within this class of animals are, in addition to knowing what they think about them .

So Ausubel had a theory very focused on practice . Meaningful learning contrasts with purely rote learning, such as holding down long lists without arguing. The idea of ​​producing much more lasting knowledge, which is more deeply internalized, is defended.

4. Bandura's social learning

The theory of social learning was proposed by Albert Bandura in 1977. This theory suggests that people learn in a social context , and that learning is facilitated through concepts such as modeling, observational learning, and imitation.

It is in this theory that Bandura proposes reciprocal determinism , which holds that behavior, environment, and individual characteristics of the person, influence each other. In his development he also affirmed that children learn by observing others, as well as from the behavior of the model, which are processes that involve attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.

5. Social constructivism

At the end of the 20th century, the constructivist view was further changed by the increased perspective of situated cognition and learning , which emphasized the role of context and social interaction.

Criticism against the constructivist approach and cognitive psychology grew stronger with the pioneering work of Lev Vygotsky , as well as research conducted in the anthropology and ethnography of Rogoff and Lave.

The essence of this criticism is that constructivism and cognitive psychology observe cognition and learning as processes "trapped" within the mind, in isolation from the environment, considering it self-sufficient and independent of the contexts in which it is found.

Social constructivism emerged as a response to this criticism, defending the idea that cognition and learning should be understood as interactions between the individual and a situation where knowledge is considered as situated , that is, a product of the activity, the context and the culture in which it is formed.

6. Experiential learning

The theories of experiential learning are based on social and constructivist theories of learning, but placing experience as the center of the learning process. Its goal is to understand how experiences motivate students and promote their learning .

In this way, learning is seen as a set of significant experiences, which occur in everyday life, which lead to a change in the individual's knowledge and behavior.

The most influential author of this perspective is Carl Rogers , who suggested that experiential learning is one that occurs on their own initiative, and with which people have a natural inclination to learn, in addition to promoting a complete attitude of involvement in the process. Learning.

Rogers defended the view that learning must be facilitated . Students cannot be threatened with punishment since, in this way, they become more rigid and impervious to new knowledge. Learning is more likely to happen and is more durable when it is self-initiated.

7. Multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner developed in 1983 the theory of multiple intelligences, in which he maintains that the understanding of intelligence is not dominated by a single general ability . Gardner states that the general level of intelligence of each person is made up of many different intelligences.

Although his work is considered something very innovative and, today, there are not a few psychologists who defend this model, it must be said that his work is also considered speculative.

Still, Gardner's theory is appreciated by psychopedagogues, who have found in it a broader vision of their conceptual framework.

8. Situated learning and community of practice

The situated learning theory and community of practice developed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger collects many insights from learning theories from various psychological streams .

The theory of situated learning highlights the relational and negotiated nature of knowledge and learning, the nature of which stems from an action of commitment towards knowledge, which occurs more effectively within communities, whatever their type.

The interactions that take place within a community of practice are various, such as cooperation, problem solving, understanding and social relationships. These interactions contribute to social capital and the acquisition of knowledge within the community itself, depending on the context.

Thomas Sergiovanni reinforces the idea that the learning process is most effective when it occurs in communities, stating that academic and social outcomes will improve only when classrooms go from being mere places where students have to go to true communities of teaching and learning.

9. 21st century learning and skills

Today we know that learning theoretical and practical knowledge must go beyond what is in books. Immersion in new technologies and in social and creative capacities is essential in a world that is constantly changing. One of the references of this trend is the Association for 21st Century Skills (P21) or Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Among the competencies valued today, in addition to mastering new technologies, are critical thinking, improvement of interpersonal skills and self-directed learning, among many others.

It is not only knowing data or being critical of them, but it is also the acquisition of skills that are useful so that the student, once he is an adult, can function as a citizen with thinking capacity. It is to make you aware of your environmental footprint, how you can improve humanity, be creative or how to act as a good neighbor and parent .