How do we learn?

1. How do we learn? Introduction to psychology webquest

2. introduction Most often, we think of learning as something we do in school; something formal. Learning, however, takes place continuously every day. We learn not to touch hot surfaces, how to hit a baseball, and how to behave in a restaurant. We essentially learn in one of threeways: • Operant Conditioning (by reinforcement) • Classical Conditioning (by association) • Cognitive Learning (observational & latent learning)

3. How do we learn bad habits? Why do some believe wearing their “lucky” socks will help their team win a game? What study habits work the best? Why? Why are you anxious every time you go to the dentist? THINK ABOUT IT!

4. Your task: Research and design a project of your choosing that illustrates the principles of the three learning theories and provides two original examples of each.

5. The process: Step 1: Research the different ways we learn. Identify the following: • a description / definition of the learning theory • characteristics of the theory (For each learning theory, slides identifying key concepts & suggested websites follow)

6. Step 2: Describe/illustrate two examples of real-life applications of each learning theory.

7. Step Three: Choose a project or presentation type from the menu board below.

8. Classical conditioning Think about: • Principles of learning by association • Clear explanation of unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned response • Examples of generalization, extinction, spontaneous recovery, extinction (if applicable to your example) • Little Albert video clip for those interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI

9. Suggested websites – classical conditioning • http://www.learning-theories.com/ • http://allpsych.com/psychology101/learning.html • http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html • http://www.psychpost.org/2011/04/classical-conditioning-in-marketing.html • http://cla.calpoly.edu/~cslem/101/8-C.html

10. OPERANT CONDITIONING Think about: • An explanation of the role of reinforcement in learning • Types of reinforcersand reinforcement (examples) • primary & secondary reinforcers • Positive reinforcement • Negative reinforcement • Punishment • Role of generalization, extinction, and discrimination (examples) • Schedules of Reinforcement (examples) • Variable and Ratio Schedules It is not necessary to include ALL of the above in your presentation/project. However, you should correctly identify your example(s) using the appropriate vocabulary.

11. Suggested websites: Operant conditioning http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Training/atlearn.html http://www.learning-theories.com/ http://allpsych.com/psychology101/learning.html http://www.psychologyandsociety.com/operantconditioning.html http://peoplelearn.homestead.com/BEduc/Chapter_4.pdf http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Operant-Conditioning.topicArticleId-25438,articleId-25346.html http://www.netplaces.com/psychology/conditioning-and-learning/applications-of-operant-conditioning.htm

12. cognitive LEARNING – OBSERVATIONAL & latent learning Think about: • E.C. Tolman’s research on latent learning • Bandura’s research on observational learning & modeling

13. Suggested websites – social learning http://www.learning-theories.com/ http://allpsych.com/psychology101/learning.html http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/08/ajb/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Observational_learning.html http://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/2009/observational-learning/ http://www.netplaces.com/psychology/conditioning-and-learning/applications-of-observational-learning.htm http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/courses/GPWeiten/C6Learning/ObsvLearn.html

14. HOW DO WE LEARN ? PROJECT RUBRIC School-wide rubric components are underlined. *Graduation competencies are available.

15. CONCLUSION Now that you have become experts on the main ways people learn behaviors: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning, our focus will shift to cognitive learning and the factors which impact our ability to learn. Do learning styles matter in the classroom? What is intelligence and how is it defined? Is there more than one kind of intelligence? What factors impact our intelligence?