Learning Theories vs. Instructional Theories

Learning theories describe how learning actually occurs, while instructional theories explain how to achieve the desired learning outcomes (Beldarrain, 2006).

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Introduction to Instructional Theory

• Instructional theory is a discipline that focuses on how to structure material for promoting the education of human beings, particularly youth. Originating in the United States in the late 1970s, instructional theory is typically divided into two categories: the cognitive and behaviorist schools of thought. Instructional theory was spawned off the 1956 work of Benjamin Bloom, a University of Chicago professor, and the results of his Taxonomy of Education Objectives — one of the first modern codifications of the learning process. One of the first instructional theorists was Robert M. Gagne, who in 1965 published Conditions of Learning for the Florida State University's Department of Educational Research.
• Renowned psychologist B. F. Skinner's theories of behavior were highly influential on instructional theorists because their hypotheses can be tested fairly easily with the scientific process. It is more difficult to demonstrate cognitive learning results. Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed had a broad influence over a generation of American educators with his critique of various "banking" models of education and analysis of the teacher-student relationship.
• In the context of e-learning, a major discussion in instructional theory is the potential of learning objects to structure and deliver content. A stand-alone educational animation is an example of a learning object that can be re-used as the basis for different learning experiences. There are currently many groups trying to set standards for the development and implementation of learning objects. At the forefront of the standards groups is the Department of Defense's Advanced Distributed Learning initiative with its SCORM standards.SCORM stands for Shareable Content Object Reference Model.

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Reference

50 Learning and Instructional Theories List & Link

Examples of Instructional Theories

• constructivism
• cognitivism
• problem-based learning
• hypermedia/multimedia performance technology
• electronic performance support systems
• systematic thinking

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Major Instructional Theorists

B.F. Skinner

• B. F. Skinner’s entire system is based on operant conditioning. The organism is in the process of “operating” on the environment, which in ordinary terms means it is bouncing around its world, doing what it does. During this “operating,” the organism encounters a special kind of stimulus, called a reinforcing stimulus, or simply a reinforcer. This special stimulus has the effect of increasing the operant -- that is, the behavior occurring just before the reinforcer. This is operant conditioning: “the behavior is followed by a consequence, and the nature of the consequence modifies the organisms tendency to repeat the behavior in the future.”
• Imagine a rat in a cage. This is a special cage (called, in fact, a “Skinner box”) that has a bar or pedal on one wall that, when pressed, causes a little mechanism to release a food pellet into the cage. The rat is bouncing around the cage, doing whatever it is rats do, when he accidentally presses the bar and -- hey, presto! -- a food pellet falls into the cage! The operant is the behavior just prior to the reinforcer, which is the food pellet, of course. In no time at all, the rat is furiously peddling away at the bar, hoarding his pile of pellets in the corner of the cage.
• A behavior followed by a reinforcing stimulus results in an increased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.
• What if you don’t give the rat any more pellets? Apparently, he’s no fool, and after a few futile attempts, he stops his bar-pressing behavior. This is called extinction of the operant behavior.
• A behavior no longer followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in a decreased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.
• Now, if you were to turn the pellet machine back on, so that pressing the bar again provides the rat with pellets, the behavior of bar-pushing will “pop” right back into existence, much more quickly than it took for the rat to learn the behavior the first time. This is because the return of the reinforcer takes place in the context of a reinforcement history that goes all the way back to the very first time the rat was reinforced for pushing on the bar!

More background information on Skinner
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Robert Gagne

His major contribution to the theory of instruction was the model "Nine Events of Instruction". (1965)

1. Gain attention
2. Inform learner of objectives
3. Stimulate recall of prior learning
4. Present stimulus material
5. Provide learner guidance
6. Elicit performance
7. Provide feedback
8. Assess performance
9. Enhance retention transference

Link to Nine Events

• Although Robert M. Gagne's work is often thought of as learning theory, his contributions can most appropriately be considered as an "instructional theory." Smith and Ragan's paper denotes an integrated set of principles based upon learning theory, other relevant theories, and sound replicable research, that permits one to predict the effects of specific instructional conditions on a learner's cognitive processing and the resulting learned capabilities. They discuss in their paper: (1) the status of instructional theory before Gagne, specifically, curriculum theory and applied learning theory; (2) precursors to instructional theory; (3) instructional theory contributions, including the development of the types of learning, the learning hierarchies concept, events of instruction, and conditions of learning; (4) the relationship of Gagne's work to learning theory; (5) the influences of Gagne's theory on instructional design models; and (6) the influences of Gagne's theory on curriculum design. Gagne's process of developing, refining, and extending his theory over time based upon new research and theory distinguishes him among scholars in the fields of educational psychology and instructional theory. (Smith and Ragan, 1996)

More background information on Gagne
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Benjamin Bloom

Benjamin Bloom is recognized as the the leader in the pursuit of defining educational objectives early this century. Developing a classification system (a taxonomy) of educational objectives, Bloom divided his findings into three domains;

• Bloom listed six basic objectives within the COGNITIVE domain:

1. Knowledge - remembering or recognising something previously encountered without necessarily understanding, using, or changing it.
2. Comprehension - understanding the material being communicated without necessarily relating it to anything else.
3. Application - using general concept to solve a particular problem.
4. Analysis - breaking something down into parts.
5. Synthesis - creating something new by combining different ideas.
6. Evaluation - judging the value of materials or methods as they might be applied in a particular situation.

• Bloom listed five basic objectives in the AFFECTIVE domain:

1. Receiving - being aware of or attending to something in the environment.
2. Responding - showing some new behaviour as a result of experience.
3. Valuing - showing some definite involvement or commitment.
4. Organisation - integrating a new value into one’s general set of values, giving it some ranking among one’s general priorities.
5. Characterisation by value - acting consistently with the new value.

• Bloom listed six basic objectives in the PSYCHOMOTOR domain:

1. Reflex movements - actions that occur involuntarily in response to some stimulus.
2. Basic fundamental movements - innate movement patterns formed from a combination of reflex movements.
3. Perceptual abilities - translation of stimuli received through the senses into appropriate movements.
4. Physical abilities - basic movements and abilities that are essential to the development of more highly skilled movements.
5. Skilled movements - more complex movements requiring a certain degree of efficiency.
6. Non-discursive movements - ability to communicate through body movement.

The above information is taken solely from
[[http://educ-reality.com/benjamin-bloom-and-his-taxonomy | Woolfolk, A.E. Educational Psychology Fourth Edition
(New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall, 1990)]]

More Background Information on Benjamin Bloom

Citation:

1. Smith, Patricia L & Ragan, Tillman J. (1996). Impact of R.M. Gagne's work on instructional theory. Retrieved May 6, 2009, from ERICDocs Web site: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/14/a1/3a.pdf

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