2.7.1 Behaviorist Learning Theories
The origins of behaviorist learning theories may be traced backed to the late 1800's and early 1900's with the formulation of "associationistic" principles of learning. The general goal was to derive elementary laws of learning and behavior that may then be extended to explain more complex situations. Inferences were tied closely to observed behavior in "lower organisms" with the belief that the laws of learning were universal and that work with laboratory animals could be extrapolated to humans. It was believed that a fundamental set of principles derived from the study of learning in a basic or "pure" form could then be applied to the broader context of learning in schools. Three experimental approaches are related to the study of associationistic learning including:
(1)The use of nonsense syllables and individual words to study the association of ideas
(2) The use of animals to study the association between sensations and impulses
(3) The use of animals to study association and reflexology
2.7.2 Cognitive-information processing learning theories
No single point in time signaled the end to the associationistic or behavioral era, and the beginning of the cognitive revolution. Early on, the cognitive revolution was a quiet one. However, as psychologists became increasingly frustrated with the limitations of behavioral theory and methods, and persuasive arguments against radical behaviorist theories were being put forth by linguists studying language development, the "time was right" for the emergence of cognitivism. Another prominent factor was the development of computers (Baars,1986), which provided both a credible metaphor for human information processing, and a significant tool for modeling and exploring human cognitive processes.
One major group of cognitive theories may be classified as cognitive-information processing learning theories. According to the cognitive information processing (CIP) view, the human learner is conceived to be a processor of information, in much the same way a computer is. When learning occurs, information is input from the environment, processed and stored in memory,
and output in the form of a learned capability. Proponents of the CIP model, like behaviorists, seek to explain how the environment modifies human behavior. However, unlike behaviorists, they assume an intervening variable between the environment and behavior. That variable is the information processing system of the learner.
Most models of information processing can be traced to Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) who proposed a multistage theory of memory in which information received by the processing system undergoes a series of transformations before it can be permanently stored in memory. This flow of information, as it is generally conceived. Displayed in the figure are three basic components of memory (i.e., sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory) along with the processes assumed to be responsible for transferring information from one stage to the next. This system provides the basic framework for all learning theories classified under the cognitive-information processing category.