Antony Kontellis UTS Blog

Albert Bandura (1977) combines behaviourist reinforcement with cognitive processes for understanding the behaviour of others.

Bandura empasises the importance of observing and modeling – his 2 key elements for learning are: experience and expectations
•    Experience enables us to learn the consequences of our actions
•    Expectations are formed by our experiences

Four processes underlie this type of observational learning:
1.    Attention: focus on the features of behaviour to be modeled
2.    Retention: how well the behaviour is remembered
3.    Reproduction: observed behaviour must be turned into action, practice and feedback
4.    Reinforcement: to motivate learners to reproduce and perform the behaviours

How could you apply Bandura’s Social Learning Theory in an e-Learning context?

Through following the process of Attention, Retention, Reproduction and Reinforcement, Bandura’s Social Learning Theory could be applied in e-learning contexts by enforcing to learners that they must focus on features of whichever e-learning process is being utilised, and then encouraging the thought process of improving, taking action, reproducing and performing activities. This would relate to e-learning in things such as online courses, training programs with online components, development of -learning features of learning, etc.

Read: Social Constructivism
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Social_Constructivism

Watch/listen to the brief lecture:
http://www.coe.uga.edu/epltt/impaticas/Social-Constructivism-PPT.html

Now – consider the learning theories in the context of the technologies you have researched in Module 1.

Which theories are suited or more appropriate?

I believe out of the theories presented, these are most appropriate:

• Social Constructivism (epistemology)
• Piaget’s Constructivism (epistemology)
• Papert’s Constructionism (also called simply Constructionism)