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Learning Theories and Their Application to Science Education

In this module you will learn about:

• meaningful learning
• the selected learning theories related to science teaching
• behaviourist and constructivist paradigm (behaviourism and cognitivism)
• Application to science education

3.1. Meaningful learning

Learning is a very important topic in psychology, and yet it is difficult to define.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines learning as follows: “to gain
knowledge, comprehension, or mastery through experience or study”.
However, most psychologists would find this definition unacceptable due to
nebulous terms it has, i.e., knowledge, comprehension, and mastery. Instead,
the trend now is to accept a definition of learning that refers to changes in
observable behaviours. In other words, the outcomes of learning must always
be translated into observable behaviour, viz. after learning , a learner is
capable of doing something that he or she could not do before learning
happened. Moreover, the behvioural change is relatively permanent, the
change in behaviour need not occur immediately after the learning
experience, and as the results from experience or practice (Hergenhahn &
Olson, 2005).

Furthermore, learning is often concerned with the acquisition of information.

Acquisition refers to a change in ‘possession‘. At one time, the organism did
not possess a given bit of information ; at a later time it did. What caused the
acquisition?. At a minimum, something had to happen to the organism to
change its state of information. Typically, we suppose that the organism had
some specific experience that caused or was in some way related to the
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change in its information state; either the world put some sensory information
into it , or it may have tried out some action and observed the consequences.,
or it may have thought out a proof say ,of a geometry theorem, or any number
of other events. However , the accumulation of pieces of information is at the
lowest end of the spectrum of types of learning. We are in fact still learning
about teaching our students for higher form of learning, that is meaningful
understanding and reflective use of that understanding. Recent researches
have shown that the use of instructional strategies that help learners make
connections to what is being learned, the one that is interdisciplinary and
thematic , coupled with a curriculum that is integrated and connected to
students’ life experience, enhance higher levels of thinking and provide the
most meaningful learning. As teachers, we have to bear in mind too that the
students are egocentric, interpretive, persistent, curious , adventurous,
energetic and social. And they also have a variety of psychological needs!.

Psychologists have determined that although most students learn in different

patterns and rates, a generalized process of learning can be charted as
follows: selection and screening of stimuli, which then become sensations;
sensations produced then become percepts which then transform into
concepts; and categorization of concepts into generalizations and
principles. Diagrammatically, it can be summarized as:

stimuli sensations percepts concepts principles

Exercise 3.1

1.Based on the brief introduction of the ‘Meaningful Learning’ above as an

impetus, elaborate the meaning of the key-words ; percepts, ,concepts and
principles to show their differences.
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2. What do you understand by the term ‘meaningful learning’ ?. Give your opinion,
complete with examples.

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3.2. Selected Learning Theories

What is learning theory? Why do we need to know learning theories?. Learning

is really a complex affair which involves a persisting change in human
performance or performance potential. Learning is a lifelong activity and it can
happen intentionally or incidentally. More often than not, ideas and concepts that
students generate are different from the views of teachers or scientists. These
differing concepts or ideas are known in the science teaching literature as
misconceptions, alternative framework, or even sometimes as prior knowledge.
Students do not come to schools with empty-headed or tabula rasa . They have
their own prior knowledge or pre-conceived ideas about anything based on their
own experiences.

Concepts develop as a function of time and maturity . Novak (1998) discovered

how learners developed the concept of relative size or magnitude over time and
maturity as summarized in table 3.1

Table 3.1. Formation of the concept of relative size or magnitude

Time Early Preschool Primary Secondary

Bottle always Sand on Water in the Matter in
full of milk(large beach(infinite lakes and universe
volume) quantity) oceans ( infinite (infinite volume)
volume)
Crib is big; House is big; Cities are large; Some stars are
room is very big doll house is states are much larger
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small larger than Sun

Walk to chair School is close; New York is The nearest
(long distance) grandma lives closer than star is 8 light
Experience
far away London years away
Many beads on There are There are many The number of
the string ‘many’ children shrubs and protons and
in the school trees in the electrons in
forest universe is
infinite
I
Increased conceptualization

Theory of learning is then a set of laws or principles about how students learn. By
mastering the theories of learning, the teachers can make deliberate
arrangement and effort to facilitate a learner’s acquisition of learning goals.
Goals can range from knowledge to skills to attitudes.

ince early seventies of the last century, research on the teaching and learning of
science and in the areas of cognitive psychology have enriched our
understanding on the students’ misconceptions and how it affect their learning. In
the following section, you will be exposed to cognitive (constructivist) learning
theories as well as the behaviorist learning theories.

Exercise 3.2

List at least five common misconceptions in science among secondary school

students.

Types of Learning Theories

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The discussion in this section will focus on the psychological theories that are
commonly associated with teaching and learning of science. The restructuring of
science teaching appears to be focused on the paradigm of constructivism.
Hence more discussion will be on the cognitive learning theories(cognitivism) by
Piaget, Bruner , Vygotsky, and Ausubel. A modicum of behaviorist learning
theories ( behaviorism) especially by Gagnė will be discussed.

Behaviorism
Basically, behaviorist learning theories see learning as a product and are more
concerned with changes in a learner’s behaviour after the learning takes place.
Gagnė views learning as the establishment of a capability to do something that
the learner was not capable of doing previously. Notice the emphasis on the
learner ‘ doing’. He postulates a hierarchy of learning capability. Learning one
particular capability usually depends upon having previously learned one or more
simpler capabilities .Observable changes in behaviour comprise the only criteria
for inferring that learning has occurred. It follows , that the beginning ,or lowest,
level of a learning hierarchy would include very simple behaviours. These
behaviours would form the basis for learning more complex behaviours in the
level of hierarchy.

Gagnė Learning Hierarchy

Level 8 : Problem solving

Level 7 : Principle learning
Level 6 : Concept learning
Level 5 : Multiple discrimination
Level 4 : Verbal association
Level 3 : Chaining
Level 2 : Stimulus-response
Level1 : Signal learning
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Principally, we could see how Gagnė Learning Hierarchy could be used in

designing learning sequences for students. According to Gagnė , and as most of
the learning theorists will agree, problem solving is the most sophisticated type
of learning. Problem solving is also one of the emphases of our science
curriculum, and it is part of the strategies of thinking. When a problem is solved,
new knowledge has been acquired.

Exercise 3.3
In your own group , study the table of Gagnė Learning Hierarchy provided, and
suggest how it can help you to sequence a lesson. Choose a topic for your
deliberation.

Cognitivism

Cognitive learning theory place importance on meaningful learning . Principally:

• it emphasizes on how learners construct meaning of the knowledge learnt
or how learning takes place
• it emphasizes on what happens in the minds of the students
• it begins with what learners know
• it comes from the word ‘cognition’ – the process of knowing; which
involves perception, memory and thinking

Perception – process by which we recognize patterns & begin to know

objects, events, people, and processes.
Memory – process by which we recall, or keep experiences that we have
learned in mind.
Thinking – process of considering ideas and using such skills as
comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
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Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget ( 1896-1980) in his theory of cognitive development proposes four

main stages of cognitive development: the sensorimotor; preoperational;
concrete operational and formal operational. He believes that all individuals
proceed through the stages of intellectual development from infancy to adulthood
gradually. Learning is an individual, internal act that depends on learner’s
cognitive development. To him, knowledge is a process rather than a state.The
mind is considered as collection of cognitive structure- schemata. For example,
students are having difficulty understanding density when it is taught in Form
One, since students had not yet made the transition from concrete to formal
operation.

Infancy- Sensorimotor stage:

The earliest period is called the sensorimotor stage, because child’s thinking
involves seeing, hearing, moving, touching, testing and so on. During this period,
infants develop object permanence, the understanding that objects exist in the
environment whether they perceive them or not. This is the beginning of the
important ability to construct a mental representation. As most parents discover,
before infants develop object permanence, it is relatively easy to take something
away from them. The trick is to distract them and remove the object while they
are not looking, out of the sight, out of mind (Moore & Meltzoff, 2004). Recent
research, however, suggests that infants as young as 3 to 4 months may know
that the object still exists, but they do not have the memory skills to “hold on” to
the location of the object or the motor skills to coordinate a search (Baillargeon,
1999; Flavell et al, 2002).
A second major accomplishment in the sensorimotor period is the
beginning of logical, goal-directed action. Think of the familiar clear plastic
container baby toy with a lid and several colorful items inside that can be dumped
out and replaced. A 6 – month – old baby is likely to become frustrated trying to
get to the toys inside. An older child who has mastered the basic of the
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sensorimotor stage will probably be able to deal with the toy in an orderly fashion
by building a “container toy” scheme:
1. get the lid off;
2. turn the container up-side down;
3. shake if items jam;
4. Watch the items fall.
Separate lower – level schemas have been organized into a higher level
schemas to achieve a goal.
The child is soon able to reserve this action by refilling the container.
Learning to reverse is a basic accomplishment of the sensorimotor stage.

Early childhood to the early elementary years- The Preoperational stage:

By the end of the sensorimotor stage, the child can use many action schemes.
As long as these schemes remain tied to physical actions, however, they are no
use in recalling the past, keeping track of information, or planning. For this,
children need what Piaget called operations, or actions that are carried out and
reversed mentally rather than physically. At the preoperational stage the child
has not yet mastered these mental operations, but is moving toward mastery.

According to Piaget, the first type of thinking that is separate from action
involves making action schemes symbolic. The ability to form and use symbols
words, gestures, signs, images, and so on, thus is a major accomplishment of
the preoperational period and moves children closer to mastering the mental
operations of next stage. This ability to work with symbols is called semiotic
function. In fact, the child’s earliest use of symbols is in pretending. Children who
are not yet able to talk will often use action symbols, pretending to drink from an
empty cup or touching a comb to their hair, showing that they know what each
object is for.
As the child moves through the preoperational stage, the developing ability
to think about objects in symbolic from remains somewhat limited to thinking in
one direction only or using one - way logic. It is very difficult for child to “think
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backward” or imagine how to reverse the steps in a task. Reversible thinking is

involved in many tasks that are difficult for the preoperational child, such as the
conservation of matter.
Conservation is the principle that the amount or number of something remains
the same even if the arrangement is changed, as long as nothing is added and
nothing is taken away. A classic example of difficulty with conservation is found
in the preoperational child’s response to the following Piagetain task. Leah, a 5 –
year – old is shown two identical glasses, both short and wide in shape. Both
have exactly the same amount of colored water in them. She agrees that the
amounts are “the same”. The experimenter then pours the water from one of
glasses into a taller, narrower glass and asks, “Now, does one glass have more
water, or are they the same? Leah responds that the tall glass has more because
“It goes up more here”.
Piaget’s explanation for Leah’s answer is that she is focusing, or centering,
attention on the dimension of height. She has difficulty considering more than
one aspect of the situation at a time, or decentering. The preoperational child can
not understand that decreased diameter compensates for increased height,
because this would require taking into account two dimensions at once. Thus,
children at the preoperational stage have trouble freeing them self from their own
immediate perceptions of how the world appears.
On the other hand, the child is quite egocentric during this stage, that is,
he sees things pretty much from one point of view: his own! She may hold up a
picture so only she can see it and expect you to see it too. Or she may explain
that grass grows so she won’t get hurt when she falls. The concept of
egocentrism, as Piaget intended it, does not men selfish; it simply means
children often assume that everyone else shares their feelings, reactions, and
perspectives. For example, if a little boy at this stage is afraid of dogs, he may
assume that all children share this fear.
Egocentrism is also evident in the child’s language. You may have seen
young children happily talking about what they are doing even though no one is
listening. Piaget called this the collective monologue.
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Research has shown that young children are not totally egocentric in every
situation, however. Children as young as 2 describe more detail about a situation
to a parent who was not there compared to the descriptions they give to a parent
who experienced the situation with them. So young children do seem quite able
to take the needs and different perspectives of others into account, at least in
certain situation (Flavell et al., 2002).

Later elementary to the lower secondary school years: The Concrete–

Operational stage:
Piaget coined the term concrete operational to describe this stage of “hand - on”
thinking. The basic characteristic of the stage are the recognition of logical
stability of the physical world, the realization that elements can be changed or
transformed and still conserve many of their original characteristic, and the
understanding that these changes can be reversed.
According to Piaget, a student’s ability to solve conservation problems
depends on an understanding of three basic aspects of reasoning: identity,
compensation, and reversibility. With a complete mastery of identity, the student
knows that if nothing is added or taken away, the material remain the same. With
an understanding of compensation, the student knows that an apparent change
in one direction can be compensated for by a change in another direction.
Another important operation mastered at this stage is classification.
Classification depends on a student’s ability to focus on single characteristic of
objects in a set (for example, color) and group the objects according to that
characteristic. More advanced classification at this stage involves recognizing
that one class fits into another.
Classification is also related to reversibility. The ability to reverse a process
mentally now allows the concrete – operational student to see that there is more
than one way to classify a group of objects.
Seriation is the process of making an orderly arrangement from large to
small or vice versa.
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With the abilities to handle operations such a conservation, classification,

and seriation, the student at the concrete – operational stage has finally
developed a complete and very logical system of thinking. The system of
thinking, however, is still tied to physical reality.

High school and college- Formal operational stage:

From around 15 onward, we enter the formal operational stage. Here we
become increasingly competent at adult-style thinking. This involves using
logical operations, and using them in the abstract, rather than the concrete. We
often call this hypothetical thinking. The formal thinker can consider a
hypothetical situation and reason deductively (form general assumption to
specific implications).
Another characteristic of this stage is adolescent egocentrism. Unlike
egocentric young children, adolescents do not deny that other people may have
different perceptions and beliefs; the adolescents just become very focused on
their own ideas. They analyze their own beliefs and attitudes. This leads to what
Elkind (1978) calls the sense of an imaginary audience, the feeling that everyone
is watching. Thus adolescents believe that others are analyzing them.
Egocentrism is a normal occurrence, more common in the lower secondary
school than in upper secondary school years. Egocentricity leads some
adolescents to think they are invulnerable (Santrock, 2008).

Exercise 3.4

In your own groups discuss the implications of Piagetian Theory to science

education and teaching and learning practices in the classrooms . The
deliberation should include the ways to foster development of characteristics of
students mentioned in the last two stages of cognitive development. Present
your deliberations to the class.
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Caveat-Rate of Cognitive Development

• Piaget’s four stages are general descriptions of the psychological

processes in cognitive development, but the rate of development varies
widely among children.

• It is affected by individual maturation, child’s health, richness of the

child’s experiences and social interactions and the child’s equilibrium.

Jerome Brunner’s Discovery Learning Model

A major theme in the theoretical framework of Bruner is that learning is an active

process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their
current/past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information,
constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to
do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and
organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the
information given".

As far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage

students to discover principles by themselves. The instructor and student should
engage in an active dialog (i.e., Socratic learning). The task of the instructor is to
translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner's
current state of understanding. Curriculum should be organized in a spiral
manner so that the student continually builds upon what they have already
learned.

Bruner (1966) states that a theory of instruction should address four major
aspects: (1) predisposition towards learning, (2) the ways in which a body of
knowledge can be structured so that it can be most readily grasped by the
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learner, (3) the most effective sequences in which to present material, and (4) the
nature and pacing of rewards and punishments. Good methods for structuring
knowledge should result in simplifying, generating new propositions, and
increasing the manipulation of information.

Using Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, Bruner developed a mode of

learning that is called discovery learning. He defined it as obtaining knowledge
for oneself by using one’s own mind. Bruner (1985) maintains that each child
passes through stages that are age related and biologically determined , and
learning will depend primarily on the developmental level that the child has
attained. The basic tenets of Bruner’s discovery learning is active learning.
The mode of learning also shifts the teacher’s role as a guide and advisor in the
student’s search for information, rather than merely a expositor of information.
Like Piaget, he agrees with the importance of utilizing concrete materials as a
beginning of the learning process.

Remember!

Discovery is learning to learn- the increase in intellectual potency

Discovery is self rewarding- the shift from intrinsic to extrinsic motives
• Discovery means active involvement of learner- learning the heuristics of
discovery
• Discovery learning is more usable and long lasting- the aid to memory
processing

Exercise 3.5

In your own groups discuss the implications of Bruner’s Discovery Learning

Model to science education and teaching and learning practices in the
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classrooms. Based on your experience, is the model being practiced now ?

Present your deliberations to the class.

More information on Bruner’s ideas can be accessed by browsing :

ĕ
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm WEBSITE

Vygotsky: Cooperative Learning in a Supportive Environment

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), agreed with Piaget on most points, but he differed
with him on the importance of a child’s social interactions. Vygotsky argued that
learning is most effective when students cooperate with one another in a
supportive learning environment under the guidance of a teacher. He believed
that at the lowest level students can do activities by themselves. As the activities
become more complex, students need to be aided by teachers, peers and others
to perform the tasks. Learners in fact , can reach the higher ground in a particular
knowledge domain. See Diagram 3.1 for further understanding. Cooperative
learning, group problem solving, and cross-age tutoring used today as
instructional strategies have grown in popularity as a result of research evolving
from Vygotsky’s early works. In summary,

• Learning is a social and collaborative/cooperative activity.

• Learners must utilise the input of others.
• The ‘others’- peers, parents, friends, internet, books, videos.
• The teacher is a facilitator
• Learners can reach the higher ground in a particular knowledge domain.
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• The zone is known as Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), where it is

the distance the learner’s existing level and the target level
• The level can achieved through expert-novice relationship or through
scaffolding.

Diagram 3.1. Vygotsky‘s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning

David Ausubel ( 1963) is an advocate of reception learning , the receipt of

information through transmission not through discovery. His contribution to the
cognitive approach to learning focused on the conceptual rather than the
operative form of knowledge. According to him, reception learning was important
means to acquire certain disciplined-based concepts ( such as science) as long
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as that learning made meaningful connections between new information

procured and the learner‘s pre-existing information. Principally, in Ausubel’s
view, in order to learn meaningfully, students must relate new information
(concepts, etc.) to what they already know. He proposed the usage of advance
organizer or learning tools (concept map, diagrams, graphic organizer,
illustrations) as a way to help students link their ideas with new materials or
concepts. He also urge teachers to use learning situations and example that are
familiar o the students, but he cautions against learning by rote memorization.

Exercise3.6

a). In your own groups, choose a topic and suggest the usage of an advance
organiser in order to help students understand the concepts related.

b). In your own groups, compare and contrast between the Piaget’s Stages of
Cognitive Development and Vygotsky’s ZPD with Ausubel’s Meaningful
Learning and present your ideas to the class.

c). Since there are several theories pertaining to learning, then which one to be
applied in our quest to conduct the best instruction?. there are suggestions to
it: (i). one theory might complement the other; and (ii).eclectic approach.
Elaborate these suggestions.

References
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Bruner, J. (1973). Going beyond the information given. New York: Norton.

Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press.

Chiappetta, E.L., Koballa , T.R., and Collete, A.T . (1998). Science Instruction in
the Middle and Secondary Schools. New Jersey: Simon and Schuster.

Elkind, D.(1978). Understanding the young adolescent. Adolescence,13,127-134.

Flavell, J. H., Miller, P. H., & Miller, S. A. (2002). Cognitive development (4th ed.).
Upper Saddle River,NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Hergenhahn , B.R. & Olson, M.H. ( 2005). An introduction to theories of learning.

New Jersey: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

Kellough, R.D. et.al.,( 2000). Integrating Mathematics and Science for

Kindergarten and Primary Children. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Minzes, J.J. Wandersee , J.H. and Novak , J.D. ( 1998). Teaching Science for
Understanding: A Human Constructivist View. London: Academic Press.

Mukherjee, T.K. (editor) (2004). Methodology of Science Teaching. Kuala

Lumpur: Open University Malaysia.

Novak,J.D.( 1998). Learning, creating, and using knowledge. Mahwah, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum Associate.
Piaget, J. (1970a). Piaget's theory. In P. Mussen, Handbook of child
psychology (3rd ed.) (vol. 1, pp. 703-732). New York: Wiley.
Piaget, J. (1970b). The science of education and psychology of yhe child. New
York: Orient Press.

Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum. (1999). Kemahiran Berfikir dan Strategi Berfikir

dalam Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains. Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian
Pelajaran Malaysia

Santrock, J.W.(2008). Educational psychology ( third edit.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

Soukhanov, A.H. (edit.) (1996). The american heritage dictionary of the english
language , third edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
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