Filename: LEARNING_THEORY_COMPARISON.DOCXRich Roper

Stage or Process
/ Piaget
(Genetic Epistemology) / Bruner (a fan of Vygotsky)
(Cognitive Interactionist) / Bandura
(Social Cognitive or Social Learning Theory - SLT) / Vygotsky
(Social Constructivist)
Relationship between learning and development / Development precedes learning; learning occurs at particular developmental stages / Insight is defined as taking large steps (leaps) in learning. Readiness is not based on what a learner knows, but how the learner thinks (their thinking process).
“Golden mean” – between apathy and wild excitement. / People learn from one another, by observing others, imitating them or modeling (for) them. Key internal processes: Attention, Retention, physical ability, motivation. This is a lot like instructional theory of ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction). People learn if they are ready and motivated. / Learning precedes development; learning drives development. Learning is a Process of Development. The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is created as development lags learning.
Relationship between age and development / 4 distinct stages corresponding to ages:
Sensimotor (Birth -2 yrs)
Preoperational (2-7 yrs)
Concrete Op (7-11 yrs)
Formal Op (11 + yrs) / 3 Learning stages that are NOT tied rigidly to ages or innate. The 3 stages area: Enactive (using motor skills); Iconic (use of images/graphics – but not symbols); Symbolic (symbols represent such at math, music, language). / Need to have self regulating learning skills: (note: ability to self regulate is very domain specific) efforts to use emotional, cognitive and enviro resources during learning, and observe, judge, react/adjust to one’s progress. NO RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO. / Nothing significant – he rejects the age dependency.
Possibility for regression in development?
/ Generally, no. Some temporary can occur due to instability of transitions between stages. / Can skip a step if learner is ready for next stage, but learner could have difficulty if not all previous stage info in place. But YES, can regress. / Yes, for same reason as Vygotsky (poor peer scaffolding) / Yes, due to poor peer scaffolding – they can teach incorrectly (so can teachers – yikes!)
Role of physical environment in learning / Learning takes place via interaction with environment. Mental processes activated with environmental interaction / Enactive is very related to environment – enactive stage is learning with physical things. / Cognition is developed by interaction of behavior and environment, includes watching others. (behavior affects enviro, enviro affects behavior); reinforcement and punishment. Triangle with corners of: behavior, personal factors, and environment. / Minimal if any. Hey, language is supreme!
Process(es) by which knowledge is constructed / Knowledge is created and modified thru constant interaction with environment. Existing knowledge is schema. Authentic learning helps learners connect new with something familiar (existing in schema)
Assimilate (add new), Accommodate (change old to allow for new)
Equilibration (disequilibrium)! / Key word: Trajectory (from a learner’s need of interaction with environment to interaction with abstract ideas). Continuous scale (small increments), with insight being large increments of learning.
Very similar to Piaget. Acquisition and transformation, check against cultural frame of reference. Note that cultural influences naturally involve social influences. / Learners behave, get feedback from that behavior (direct) (see/experience the consequences) and form mental representations (form schema?). They can also observe others behavior (vicarious) and process similarly.
Behavior can be encoded cognitively either 1) visually with images – abstractions) or 2) Symbolically – math, music, language).
Self efficacy (confidence in learning ability) is very important ingredient of learning. / Language most important impact on learning. Reliance on culture, culture is dynamic. Learning occurs in 2 general stages/phases/steps: first on the social level, then on the individual level. All higher order functions originate as relationships between people.
Role of social interaction in learning
/ 3 types of knowledge (Physical, Logical/Math, Music?, and Social). Social requires interaction with others and is specific to the learners culture.
NOT primary method. / Vicarious learning by observing others. Depends on respect of the model by the observer/learner. / Learning IS a social process. Social interaction a core ingredient in learning process. Learners observe others and incorporate their observations into their schema. This cognitive processing of observations is called mediation.
Role of culture in learning
/ Used to develop social knowledge / CULTURE IS EVERYTHING.
Learners learn knowledge as it is presented to them thru a cultural filter. Cultures provide a frame of reference. Reflective thinking, based on cultural filters is big role in this theory. / Triangle of Reciprocal Determinism: Overt behavior impacts Environment impacts Personal Factors and each affects the other. / Development depends on internalizing cultural tools, but these tools change over time. Mediation: using tools or a medium to convey info/meaning.
Role of metacognition in learning
/ NO, maybe part of formal operational stage / Learners need to be ready for instruction, so need to be familiar with meta-cognitive learning skills to learn some material well. Focus on relevant info: learners need to develop ability to filter out un-relevant info. / Use of self regulatory techniques: monitoring goal attainment, adjusting goal achievement strategies, checking feelings about learning goals, etc. Use self imposed consequences Stronger than Vygotsky.
(“I’ll get myself a piece of choc cake when I finish reading this 20 page Gredler article – in about 2 days!”) / Not a significant role.
Role of semiosis (symbolism) in learning and development
/ Semiotic learning (using symbols or signs to represent objects or events) steps occur in the pre-op (2-7 yrs) stage. Play and pretend in early stages, then gets more abstract. / Symbols is highest of the 3 learning stages. The 3 stages in order or low to high:
Enactive, Iconic (pictures), Symbols (math, music, language). / Transfer of knowledge into other contexts. / Language is verbal thought.
Role of language in learning
/ Since language is a type of semiosis, see above.
Interaction between student and teacher no primary. / Symbolic representations. / Knowledge can be encoded w/language. (verbal-conceptual) – this helps, but not fundamental. / Development of language has very strong impact on cognitive processing. Language frees learners from particular situational constraints, allowing learners to apply concepts in different contexts.
How “readiness” of learner fits into theory
/ This relates to “the American Question” (can learning be “sped up” –occur earlier/faster. Piaget suggests not. “Ya gotta be in the stage, dude” / Learner needs to be ready for instruction, and instruction needs to be ready (appropriate) for the learner. / Ready (not like Utes vs TCU on Nov 6)and motivated. / ZPD: area of exploration that the learner is ready for, but needs guidance from teacher (social interaction!) to get through.
Goal of learning/education
/ Students confront inconsistencies (equilibration) and deal with it. / Learners appreciate the value of exploratory problem solving. Intrinsically motivated learners. Problem solvers! Efficient use of cognitive skills. Intellectual honesty (if don’t know, admit it and go discover and solve!). Learners are autonomous and self propelled. / Self efficacy (confident), self propelled. / Independent learners?
How to think is more important than what knowledge/facts you possess.
Role of Teacher / Guide for learners, support for exploratory learning / Use instruction that best matches the culture, or respects the importance of culture. Use examples and non-examples.
First understand where students are re: prior knowledge and modes of thinking (what stage they are in – Enactive, Iconic, Symbolic). Steer discovery learning. / Teacher efficacy very impactful on learners learning experience. / Push within ZPD via interaction with others.
Teacher provides scaffolding at appropriate levels, then slowly removes the scaffolding.
Weakness / Stage aspect does not reflect empirical observations. More learning advancement beyond the last stage. / Hard to implement the self efficacy concept; self regulation also hard to manage/monitor. / Peer scaffolding can be ineffective or detrimental if peers are unskilled. Teachers might be better, but may have limitations on relating to learners.