LEARNER-

CENTERED
THEORIES OF
LEARNING
 INTRODUCTION
 The term “learning” and all other
concepts related to it, expectedly form
a major part of the experiences for you
who are studying to become teacher.
As such, it is important for you to
understand the nature of learning,
because you play a major role in the
students’ learning. Knowing and
understanding learning related
concepts will enable you to better
develop teaching methodologies and
THE NATURE OF LEARNING
Learning is generally defined as any change in the
behavior of the learner.
 Learning is a process that brings together personal
and environmental experiences and influences for
acquiring, enriching or modifying one’s knowledge,
skills, values, attitude, behavior and world views.

 Burns (1995)
 Santrock (2012)
 Woolfolk (2016)
 Ormrod (2015)
 TYPES OF LEARNING
a. Motor Learning
b. Verbal Learning
c. Concept Learning
d. Discrimination Learning
e. Learning of Principles
f. Problem Solving
g. Attitude Learning
NATURE OF THEORIES OF LEARNING

The nature of learning or the changes

occurring within an individual is to
difficult to visualize and understand
because it is an internal process.
Learning is a very comprehensive
and complex concept, and it covers a
wide range of activities which cannot be
explained with a limited framework.
Learning Theory

Is an organized set of principles

explaining how individuals
acquire, retain, and recall
knowledge. Learning theories
try to explain how people learn
and why they learn.
DEFINING LEARNER-CENTERED
Learner – Centered is the perspective that
focuses on individual learners – their
heredity, experiences, perspectives,
backgrounds, talents, interests, capacities,
and needs, with a focus on learning, the best
available knowledge about learning and how
it occurs. Teaching practices that are most
effective in promoting the highest levels
motivation learning and achievement for all
learners.
COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE FACTORS

1. Nature of the Learning Process

2. Goals of the Learning Process
3. Construction of Knowledge
4. Strategic Thinking
5. Thinking about thinking
6. Context of Learning
MOTIVATIONAL AND AFFECTIVE FACTORS

7. Motivational and Emotional

Influences in Learning
8. Intrinsic Motivation to learn
9. Effects of Motivation on
Effort
DEVELOPMENTAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS

 10. Developmental Influences on

Learning
 11. Social Influences on Learning
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FACTORS

 12. Individual Differences in Learning

 13. Learning and Diversity
 14. Standard and Assessment
LEARNER CENTERED
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
. Problem-Based Learning
 1

This strategy emphasizes real life problem

solving. It exposes learners to authentic life
problems that they meet in their daily lives.
2. Essential Questions
Essential questions are asked of learners, perplex
them. This is followed by other questions, which
motivate the students to explore the questions
and look for answers.
3. Discovery Learning
THEORIES OF LEARNING

 It is the dynamic nature of

theories that enable us to
understand better a
complex phenomenon, as
learning
 BEHAVIORISM
 Is a world view that assumes the learner essentially passive, responding to
environmental stimuli.
 The areas of application of theories under behaviorism (Ormrod, 2015 AND
Kelly, September, 2012).
a. Drill/Rote work
b. Repetitive practice
c. Giving bonus points
d. Giving participation points
e. Verbal reinforcement
f. Establishing rules
g. Giving of rewards
h. Applying punishment
i. Giving feedback
j. Positive reinforcement
k. Token reinforcers
l. Negative reinforcement
 Cognitivism or Cognitive
Contructivism
 Cognitivism requires active participation in
order to learn and actions are seen as a
result of thinking. Knowledge can be seen
as schema or symbolic mental
constructions, thus learning is defined as
change in a learner’s schemata. The
learners mind is compared to a computer
which does a lot of processing of the data
fed into it.
Examples and application of the
cognitive learning theory (Kelly,
September 2012)
a. Classifying or chunking information
b. Linking concepts ( associate new content with something
known)
c. Providing structure (organizing lectures in efficient and
meaningful ways)
d. Real world examples
e. Discussions
f. Problem solving
g. Analogies
h. Imagery/ providing pictures
i. Mnemonics
Social Contructivism

 Learning is seen as an active

contextualized process of constructing
knowledge instead of simply acquiring it.
Each person may have different
interpretation and construction of the
knowledge process. It assumes that all
knowledge is constructed from the
learner’s previous knowledge regardless of
how one was taught.
Application of Social Constructivism
(Kelly, September 2012)

a. Case studies
b. Research Project
c. Problem Solving
d. Brainstorming
e. Collaborative Learning/ Group Work
f. Discovery Learning
g. Simulations
Other Theories of Learning

 1. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

This theory was espoused by Albert Bandura
who work cognitive and behaviorist
frameworks that embrace attention, memory,
and motivation. This theory suggests that
people learn within a social context and that
learning is facilitated through concepts like
modeling, observational learning, and
imitation.
Implications of Social Learning on
the Practice of Education
a. Students often learn a great deal simply by observing
people.
b. Describing consequences of behavior can effectively
increase appropriate behaviors and decrease
inappropriate ones.
c. Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for
teaching new behaviors. It can provide a faster, more
efficient means, of teaching new behavior.
d. Teachers and parents must model appropriate
behaviors and take care not to model inappropriate
behaviors.
e. Teachers should expose students to a variety of other
models to break down traditional stereotypes.
2. SOCIO-CONSTRUCTIVISM

 The essence of this criticism was that

the information-processing
constructivism saw cognition and
learning as processes occurring within
the mind in isolation from the
surroundings and interaction with it.
Implications of Socio-Constructivism
on the Practice of Education

a. Teachers should create opportunities for students

to engage in group work or cooperative learning.
b.In group or cooperative work, teachers should
make sure that each learner is able to make his
contribution to accomplish the task.
c. The topics or subject matter should contain local
instructional materials which are familiar to the
learners. This is for meaningful learning.
d. Local resources should be used as jump-off point
for group discussions, and problem solving task.
3. Experiential Learning

 Experiential learning theories build on social and constructivist

theories of learning but situate experience at the core of the
learning process. Carl Rogers is an influential proponent of this
theories suggesting that experiential learning is “self initiated”
learning as people have a natural inclination to learn; and they
learn if they are fully involved in the learning process.
 Rogers put the following insights:
a) Learning can only be facilitated; we cannot teach another
person directly; b) learners become more rigid under threat; c)
significant learning occurs in an environment where threat to the
learner is reduced to a minimum; d) learning is most likely to
occur and to last if it is self-initiated.
Implications of Experiential Learning
to the Practice of Education
a) Teachers should be keen and sensitive to the history and
experiences of the learners, which could serve as inputs
for related lessons. In so doing, students would feel that
they are involved in the learning process, because it is
their own experiences which they are studying.
b) Teachers should make sure that they have a feel of the
experiences of the students, so that they are better able
to create an atmosphere for students that is relaxed.
c) Teachers should apply strategies meant to facilitate and
guide student’s learning, so that they do not have to
always be the source of learning materials.
4. Multiple Intelligences(MI)

This theory challenges the assumption in many

learning theories that learning is a universal
human process that all individuals experience
according to the same principles.
Howard Gardner’s theory of intelligence
challenges and understanding that intelligence
is dominated by a single general ability.
5. Situated Learning theory and Community
of Practice

These concepts were developed by

Jean Lave and Ettiene Wenger.
Situated learning recognizes that
there is no learning as well as the
engaged nature of learning activity
for the individuals involved.
According to McCarthy (1981,1987) the concept of communities
of practice is based on the following assumptions:

a) Learning is fundamentally a social phenomenon

b) Knowledge is integrated in the life of
communities that share values, beliefs,
language and ways of doing things
c) The process of learning and membership in a
community of practice are inseparable
d) Knowledge is inseparable from practice
e) Empowerment or the ability to contribute to a
community creates the potential for learning
6. 21st Century Learning Skills

The study or exploration 21st century

learning or skills emerged from the
concerns about transforming the goals
and daily practice of learning to meet
the new demands of the 21st century
characterized as knowledge and
technology-driven.
 Thank you!

PREPARED BY:
CANDELARIA, TRISHA MAE
FLORES, ROSALINDA