The 9 most important learning theories

A summary of the most important and influential learning theories in Psychology and Pedagogy.

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

For this reason, it is not surprising to see that psychology and related sciences, such as educational sciences, have not agreed on defining what learning is and how it occurs.

There are many theories of learningall of them with their advantages and disadvantages. In the following 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 the educational sciences.. For this reason, it is not surprising that many psychologists and psycho-pedagogues have proposed various theories, each with their followers and detractors, when it comes to what learning is and how it occurs.

Although we have all experienced what learning is, trying to define it is no easy task. It is a difficult concept to delimit, which can be interpreted in many different ways, and the history of psychology itself is a demonstration of this. Nevertheless, we can broadly understand that learning is all changes, both behavioral and mental, as a result of experience, differing from person to person.Theories of learning are as many as there are theories of learning, differing considerably from person to person depending on their own characteristics and the situation.

There are as many theories of learning as there are ways of looking at it. It is difficult to give an exact number of how many theories there are, given that even within the same current two authors may differ on how learning occurs and what it is. However, what we can say is that its scientific study emerged in the early twentieth century and that, since then, there has been an attempt to provide an answer to how this important process in education occurs.

Learning theories, summarized and explained

The following are the main learning theories proposed 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 a true science, by focusing on the purely observable aspects of behavior and experimenting with strictly controlled variables.and experimenting with strictly controlled variables.

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

Thorndike proposed 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.

Skinner is a very important figure in behaviorism, being one of its greatest representatives with his operant conditioning. In his opinion, rewarding correct behavioral actions reinforces them and stimulates their recurrence. Therefore, reinforcers regulate the occurrence of desired behaviors.

Another referent of behaviorism is the figure of Ivan Pavlov. This Russian physiologist is famous for his experiments with dogs, which had a great influence on behaviorism in general.

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

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

2. Cognitive psychology

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

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

The appearance of this trend in the 1950s is not accidental, since it was at that time that the first computers began to appear. These computers had military purposes, and were far from the potential they have today, but they gave rise to the idea that human beings could be compared to these devices, insofar as we process information. The computer became an analog of the human mind.

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

3. Constructivism

Constructivism emerged between the 1970s and 1980s, as a response to the vision of cognitive psychology. Unlike that current, constructivists did not see students as mere 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 the ones responsible for interpreting and making sense of new knowledge, and not simply as individuals who store it.and not simply as individuals who store, purely memoristically, the information received. Constructivism implied a change of mentality, from treating learning as the mere acquisition of knowledge to the metaphor of knowledge-construction.

Although this current matured in the 1970s, there were already a few antecedents to constructivist ideas. Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner anticipated the constructivist view several decades earlier, in the 1930s.

Piaget's theory of learning

Piaget elaborated his theory from a purely constructivist position. This Swiss epistemologist and biologist affirmed that children 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 takes place as a result of changes and novel situations.. Our perception of the world is renewed as we grow. This process is made up of schemas that we mentally organize.

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

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

However, when we see it approaching us and making gestures like it wants us to pet its belly, we are forced to change our classification, we are forced to change our previous classification (accommodation) and recognize that some dogs are nicer 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 consider what his students know about what dogs, cats or any animal that falls into this class of animals are, as well as what they think about them.

Thus Ausubel had a very practice-centered theory.. Meaningful learning contrasts with purely rote learning, such as retaining long lists without discussion. It advocates the idea of producing much more durable knowledge, which is more deeply internalized.

4. Bandura's social learning

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

It is in this theory that Bandura proposes reciprocal determinismwhich holds that behavior, environment and individual characteristics of the person influence each other. In his development he also stated 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 rise of the situated cognition perspective and the the rise of the situated cognition and learning perspectivewhich emphasized the role of context and social interaction.

The critique against the constructivist approach and cognitive psychology became stronger with the pioneering work of Lev Vygotskyas well as the research done in anthropology and ethnography by Rogoff and Lave.

The essence of this critique is that constructivism and cognitive psychology view 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 finds itself.

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

6. Experiential learning

Experiential learning theories are based on social and constructivist learning theories, but placing experience at the center of the learning process. Their objective is to understand how experiences motivate students and promote their learning..

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

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

Rogers defended the view that learning must be facilitated. Learners cannot be threatened with punishment, as this makes them more rigid and impervious to new knowledge. Learning is more likely to occur and be more lasting when it occurs on one's own initiative.

7. Multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner elaborated in 1983 the theory of multiple intelligences, in which argues that the understanding of intelligence is not dominated by a single general capability.. Gardner asserts that the general level of intelligence of each person is composed of numerous different intelligences.

Although his work is considered very innovative and, today, more than a few psychologists defend this model, it must be said that his work is also considered speculative.

Even so, Gardner's theory is appreciated by educational psychologists, who have found in it a broader vision of his conceptual framework.

8. Situated learning and community of practice

The theory of situated learning and community of practice, developed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, brings together many ideas from the theories of situated learning and community of practice. brings together many ideas from the learning theories of various psychological currents..

Situated learning theory emphasizes the relational and negotiated nature of knowledge and learning, the nature of which stems from an action of commitment to knowledge, which occurs most effectively within communities of any kind.

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 knowledge acquisition within the community itself, depending on the context.

Thomas Sergiovanni reinforces the idea that the learning process is most effective when it takes place in communities, stating that academic and social outcomes will improve only when classrooms go from being mere places where students are forced 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 skills is essential in a world that is constantly changing. in a world that is constantly changing. One of the leaders of this trend is the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21).

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

It is not only about knowing facts or being critical of them, but also about acquiring skills that will be useful for the student, once he or she is an adult, to be able to perform as a thinking citizen. It is hacerle consciente de cual es su huella ambiental, cómo puede mejorar la humanidad, ser creativo o cómo desempeñarse como buen vecino y padre.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Skinner, B.F. (1954). The science of learning and the art of teaching. Harvard Educational Review, 24(2), 86-97.
• Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1990). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Gardner, H. (1993a). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. NY: Basic Books.
• Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press.
• Bruner, J. (1960). The Process of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Rogers, C.R. & Freiberg, H.J. (1994). Freedom to Learn (3rd Ed). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Macmillan.