Learning Theory

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Learning Theory

• Viv Golding 2005

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Learning Objectives

• To look at theories of learning the
  relationship with theories of knowledge
  (epistemology)
• To consider briefly some current key thinkers
  the historical context of their ideas
• To observe the strengths and weaknesses of
  different theories
• To examine the value of theory to the museum and
  gallery context
• To observe useful theories in action on the
  Learning in Museums video
• To begin to apply constructivist thought gain
  some confidence in developing learning

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Timetable

• Behaviourism
• Gardner
• McCarthy
• Falk Dierking
• Hein
• Learning in Museums Video
• Csikszentmihalyi
• Your constructivist museum

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Behaviorism

• Ladderlike hierarchies of absolute knowledge
• Incremental assimilation of new knowledge
• Based on observable evidence of how people behave
• Behaviour objective, recordable, measurable
• Scientific. Animal experiments lead to the
  conclusion that humans repeat behaviour has a
  positive outcome
• Associated with laboratory animals desire for
  food (i.e. rats in a maze, Pavlovs dog)

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Behaviorism

• Criticism. Simplistic incremental view of
  learning
• Learning is low level. No account of active
  human engagement, the influence of experience
  the environment, Success failure
• How can the consistent reward of one right
  factual answer lead to deeper conceptual
  understanding?
• How can learners connect across subject
  specialisms develop an overview of specific
  ideas?
• Postmodernism? Multiple viewpoints beliefs?
• Is knowledge independent of external to knower?
• Ethics, morality, power structures in society in
  experiments involving individuals (Miligram)?

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Miligram authority experiment
http//new-life.net/miligram.htm
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Howard Gardner 1990

• At least 7 Multiple Intelligences It is a
  pluralistic view of mind, recognising many
  different discrete facets of cognition,
  acknowledging that people have different
  cognitive strengths contrasting cognitive
  styles 199012)
• Linguistic. Manipulation words meanings. Poet,
  writers
• Logical-mathematical. (Piaget) logic, science,
  abstract models theories.
• Musical. Make, compose, listen to. Musician,
  teenager
• Spatial. Use mental models of spatial world.
  Doctors, sculptor, navigator
• Bodily kinaesthetic. Use all or parts body to
  solve problems or express ideas. Dancer,
  craftsperson, athlete

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Howard Gardner 1990

• Interpersonal. Understand other people,
  motivations aspirations. Teacher, religious
  leader
• Intrapersonal. Understand oneself use this
  negotiate the world
• Naturalistic. (8th) Understand the natural world
  use this to appreciate care for the
  environment
• It is of the utmost importance that we recognise
  nurture all of the varied human intelligences,
  all of the combinations of intelligences. We
  are so different largely because we all have
  different combinations of intelligences (Gardner
  1990 18)
• Can you identify
• The usefulness to museums galleries? Any
  drawbacks?

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McCarthy 1983, types of learner
Sense - Feel (concrete experience)
process
Dynamic
Imaginative
Do (Active Experimentation)
Watch (Reflective Observation)
perceive
Common sense
Analytical
Think (Abstract conceptualization)
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McCarthy 4 types of learner

• Learners have differentiated learning styles and
  learn by
• Trial error. Dynamic. Their favourite question
  is, What can this become? Their strength is
  action
• Listening sharing ideas. Imaginative. Their
  favourite question is, Why or why not. Strength
  is innovation ideas
• Testing theories applying common sense. Common
  sense. Their favourite question is, How does
  this work? Their strength is the practical
  application of ideas
• Thinking ideas sequentially. Analytical. Their
  favourite question is, What? Strength is
  creating concepts/models
• This stresses a range skills ways of learning
  that humans possess, rather those dominant in the
  modern world i.e. the ability to accumulate
  factual information

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Formal informal learning?

• This distinction has become largely
  counterproductive one wonders what formal and
  informal refer to and whether the learning
  process in these settings are somehow different,
  or whether the outcomes expected are different.
  Learning is learning. It is strongly influenced
  by physical settings, social interactions and
  personal beliefs, knowledge and attitudes.
• (Falk Dierking 1992 99)
• Can you identify the reasons Falk and Dierking
  object to the idea of formal (ie schools) and
  informal (ie family) learning?

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Falk Dierking (1992, 2000)

• Stress the Personal, Social, Physical Context of
  learning
• Personal Context
• Different levels of prior knowledge (skills,
  interests, aptitudes preferred styles of
  learning) we bring to the learning environment
• Varied combinations (person to person
  experience to experience)
• Subject to changes in the development of
  intelligences and increasing maturity over time
• Storing processing of information is personal
• Perception of situations is different for each
  individual

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Falk Social Context

• Museum visiting is mostly a group activity
  according to research (colleagues, friends,
  family member, school or other study group)
• Learning is mediated by the social group (CWWA)
• Cultural background influences learning
  membership of particular interpretive communities
  or communities of practice (Wenger)
• ie a social historian or an art historian engaged
  on a museum studies course become part of a new
  interpretive community

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Falk Physical Context

• Memories of the visit are spatially located
• Journey, sensory experience of environment
  influence the willingness to enter the learning
  process
• Formal inaccessible architecture can be off
  putting ie to ethnic groups (Desai Thomas 1998)
• Considering all 3 factors are necessary to
  promote learning can you identify
• What influences the way knowledge changes
  develops?
• What impact do new experiences have on our
  structures of knowledge

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Interactive experience model
Physical Context
Personal Context
Interactive Experience
Social Context
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Contextual experience model
Time
Personal Context
Physical Context
Sociocultural Context
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Constructivism

• Focuses on the learner the ways people learn,
  quality experiences lifelong processes, rather
  than on teaching
• Creates interactive environments uses the
  assimilation/ accommodation tension to generate
  learning (Piaget)
• Sees no absolute knowledge independent of the
  leaner
• all knowledge as linked to experience (Dewey,
  Vygotsky)
• Learning is a way of making sense of our lives or
  constructing meaning, not the simple acquisition
  of facts, feelings, sensory phenomena
• .. Follow a pedagogy provide learners with
  opportunity to (a) interact with the environment
  (b) construct their own world (Hein 1996 33)

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Constructivism

• Learning is an active a social process whereby
  people learn as they learn
• Learners use sensory input to construct meaning
  but physical action alone is insufficient, since
  action that constructs meaning is mental,
  minds-on hands-on (Hein 1999)
• New knowledge needs to be related to prior
  knowledge experience to be accessible, to
  contextualize what is already known and move into
  what is unknown
• Learning takes time, it is not instantaneous
• Motivation is a key component in learning

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Constructivism. Hein (1994)
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Constructivist Museum
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Video National Museum of Welsh Life KS2

• What educational philosophy is being used?
• Why are the collections particularly suited to
  this philosophy?
• What kinds of face-to-face provision is provided?
• How are the activities organised spatially?
• What teaching strategies are being used?
• What words would you use to describe the
  processes the children are engaging in by
  building a wattle daub wall?

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Video KS1. Horniman

• How can we begin to think about the relationship
  between museum work school work?
• What preparation does the teacher do before the
  visit?
• How are the objectives of the visit related to
  the specific group?
• How are the objectives of the visit related to
  the museums collections?
• What teaching strategies are being used?
• How many intelligences (Gardner) are being
  encouraged in the workshop?
• Why is the multiple intelligence approach so
  useful to this specific group of children?

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Video KS3. Fitzwilliam

• What teaching strategies are used for learning
  from narrative paintings?
• How would these strategies translate to other
  types of objects? Think about
• Science Collections? A scientific instrument? A
  stuffed walrus?
• Ethnographic collections? A Midnight Robber
  carnival mask?

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Csikszentmihalyi. Motivation

• Intrinsic extrinsic motivation
• Intrinsic motivation leads growth, desire repeat
• Clear goals
• Appropriate rules
• Immediate unambiguous feedback
• Correspondence actions required skills actor
• Positive state mind, free worries
• Sense discovery
• New challenges

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Csikszentmihalyi. Hook Flow
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A Constructivist Museum

• Develop a constructivist museum. List the
• characteristics activities of your museum

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SWOT analysis successful use of the museum as
educator

• strengths weaknesses
• opportunities threats

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