Are the five foundational theories of education still relevant today? If so, how can they be applied to current Nigerian Curricula? Let's explore this.
Academic theorists, teachers, and experts believe the five educational learning theories inform successful learning approaches and serve as foundations and fundamentals for developing stable curriculums. These theories are:
Behaviourism learning theory
Cognitive learning theory
Constructivism learning theory
Humanism learning theory
Connectivism learning theory
Curiosity about education and the foundations of learning began in the early 20th century. Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle explored whether knowledge and truth can be found within oneself, through rationalism or through external observation- empiricism.
What is Rationalism and Empiricism?
These studies and explorations aimed to understand how people learned objectively in the 19th century and then develop approaches accordingly. By the 20th century, the debate began. Behaviourist theory vs Cognitive psychology. In other words, do people learn by responding to external data or using their brains to construct knowledge from it?
In more simple terms:
Imagine your brain is like a giant sponge, and knowledge is like water. When you respond to things happening around you, like talking to people, reading books, or watching videos, your sponge is soaking up that water. That’s learning from external things.
Your brain is also a little factory where it can make its own water. When you think about things, figure things out, or imagine new ideas, your brain makes its own knowledge. That’s constructing knowledge from internal thinking.
Over time, debates, studies, and explorations have risen regarding these educational theories. The following articles will detail the fundamental educational theories of behaviourism, cognitive, constructivism, humanism, and connectivism.
Today, we explore behaviourism learning theory and how we apply it to improve the curriculum.
Behaviourism is only concerned with observable stimulate-response behaviours, as they can be studied in a systematical observable manner. This is a way of looking at how people act based on what they experience from the world around them. It focuses only on behaviours that we can see and measure, like actions or reactions, because those are easier to study in a clear and organised way. It does not try to understand thoughts or feelings, just what we can directly observe happening.
How can this be applied?
Learning is based on routines that ‘drill’ information into a student’s memory bank and positive teacher and educational institution feedback. Students who do an excellent job receive positive reinforcement and are singled out for recognition.
The behavioural learning theory is a psychological perspective that emphasises the role of learning and observable behaviours in understanding human actions. It states that all behaviours are learned through interaction with the environment and are simply a response to environmental stimuli. If we isolate this theory, we can conclude that different behaviours will occur in various environments, and learning techniques will differ in other environments. Therefore, curriculums should reflect the environment they are created for.
They can be learned through the following;
Classical conditioning,
learning by association,
Operant conditioning, learning by consequences.
Classic Conditioning: In marketing, classic conditioning is often used to associate products with positive feelings or experiences. For example, a commercial like the GTBank 737 campaign had everyone, whether they used GTB or not, singing,
“It all begins with oh oh oh oh, 737!”.
The repeated use of this, along with visuals of people dancing and expressing joy, contributed to classical conditioning. Viewers began to associate the code with excitement and stress-free living. Over time, this will trigger positive emotions, encouraging them to use the code for their bank services.
Learning by Association: This happens in everyday life. You might associate certain smells with memories or emotions. For instance, the smell of akara might remind you of Saturday mornings in your house.
Operant conditioning/ Learning by consequence;
Positive Reinforcement: A student receives a gold start (reward) for completing their homework on time (behaviour). This increases the likelihood that the student will continue to complete their homework promptly.
Negative Reinforcement: A child cleans their room (behaviour) to stop their parents from nagging them (removal of averse stimulus). Removing nagging encourages the child to clean their room in the future.
This behaviourism learning theory emphasises the role of environmental factors in influencing behaviour and excludes innate or inherited factors. This amounts to a focus on learning and assumes when we are born, our mind is “tabula rasa” - a blank slate.
These approaches are reductionist; they isolate parts of the complex human behaviour to study. They believe that all behaviour, no matter how complex, can be broken down into fundamental conditioning processes, which is untrue. Freud criticises behaviourism as it does not consider the influence of the unconscious mind and focuses on externally observable behaviour. Freud also rejects the idea that people are born tabula rasa and states that people are born with instincts (e.g. Eros and Thanatos).
For those who love a psychology lesson:
The limitations of the behaviourist theory are also evident when the same stimulus results in 2 different responses:
For example, person A’s response to horror movies might be fear, while person B can watch the same movie, and their response will be laughter and calmness. This is the same way students can write tests nervously after failing a previous test, while someone else might be courageous even though they failed the last test. This theory does not account for these differences. Behaviourism tends to lead to learning for reward and not for the sake of it. It also concerns itself with controlling people and their conditions rather than teaching students to control their own behaviour and responses.
How does this relate to education?
The implications of classical conditioning in the classroom are less critical than those of operant conditioning. However, teachers must still ensure students associate positive emotional experiences with learning. If a student associates negative emotional experiences with school, this can have bad results, such as creating a phobia.
For example, if a student is bullied at school, they may learn to associate the school with fear. This could also explain why some students dislike certain subjects that continue throughout their academic careers. This could happen if a teacher humiliates or punishes a student in class. Everything that happens in the child’s environment slowly conditions them to do things or think about things a certain way.
Through this principle, it is important that our schools operate in a way that students can associate positive emotions with it. Even with the limitations to behaviourism, the environment children grow in must be nurtured and, to some extent, conditioned. This would lead to not only positive feelings but habits and behaviours, too.
The Relevance to Nigerian Education
The goals of Nigerian education, as outlined by the National Policy of Education, are meant to reflect the nature and attitude of Nigerian children today. These expectations include practical knowledge, the adaptability principle, initiative, and a sound mind. Referring back to these expectations, how do we use the behaviourist learning theory to meet them?
Practical Knowledge:
Focus on application: Emphasise hands-on learning experiences that allow individuals to apply theoretical knowledge in real-life situations. For instance, practical exercises, case studies, and problem-solving exercises can be incorporated into educational settings.
Use of examples: Provide concrete examples and demonstrations that illustrate how theoretical concepts are applied in practical content relevant to Nigeria. Use local examples that learners can relate to.
Adaptability Principle:
Exposure to diverse situations creates learning environments that expose individuals to diverse situations and challenges. Present scenarios that require adaption to changing circumstances to encourage problem-solving skills.
Initiative:
Reward initiative: recognise and reward proactive behaviours such as taking on leadership roles, suggesting improvements, or seeking new opportunities. This encourages individuals to continue demonstrating initiative.
Sound mind:
Stress management: teach stress management techniques and coping strategies to help maintain a sound mind in the face of challenges. Promote self-care practices such as mindfulness, relaxation exercise and physical activity. Using positive reinforcements, provide encouragement and support when individuals demonstrate healthy coping mechanisms and emotional regulation.
The importance of the behaviourist learning theory is clear. However, no learning theory can be examined in isolation. Combining these theories into a curriculum creates a steady foundation. In the next article, we will examine Cognitivism—are our minds just information processors?
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