Get summaries, questions, answers, solutions, extra MCQs, PDF for Chapter 8 Learning: NBSE Class 12 Education, which is part of the syllabus for students studying under NBSE (Nagaland Board). These solutions, however, should only be treated as references and can be modified/changed.
Summary
Learning is a process that changes our behavior for a long time because of our experiences. When we are born, we can only do a few things. As we grow, we learn how to do many different things, like using a spoon or writing words. This happens because we can learn and adapt. A change in behavior is considered learning only if it is lasting. If you feel tired after studying and stop, that change is temporary and not learning. We can tell someone has learned something by observing their performance, like when a student correctly answers a question.
One way we learn is through trial and error, an idea studied by Edward Thorndike. He observed a cat in a box that had to find a way out to get food. The cat tried many random things until it accidentally opened the door. After many tries, it learned to open the door right away. This shows that we often repeat actions that lead to a good result. This is called the Law of Effect. For this to work well, a person must be ready and motivated to learn. Motivation is sometimes called the “royal road to learning,” which means it is the best and most direct path to learning something new.
Another way we learn is by making connections, or associations. Ivan Pavlov showed this with his experiment on a dog. The dog naturally drooled when it saw food. Pavlov rang a bell every time before giving the food. Soon, the dog started drooling just at the sound of the bell, because it connected the bell with getting food. This is called classical conditioning. B.F. Skinner studied a different type, called operant conditioning. He showed that behavior is controlled by its results. If an action is followed by a reward, the person or animal is more likely to do it again. This is how reinforcement helps shape behavior.
Sometimes, learning happens suddenly with a flash of understanding, which is called insight. Wolfgang Köhler observed apes solving problems this way. An ape that could not reach a banana suddenly realized it could stack boxes to climb on. This learning is not about trial and error but about seeing the whole problem and how its parts fit together. People also have different ways they prefer to learn. Some are visual learners who like pictures, some are aural learners who learn from sound, and others are physical learners who learn by doing. Most people use a combination of these styles to learn best.
Textual
Very Short Answer Questions
1. Define learning.
Answer: Learning may be defined as “any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by experience”. Learning is also defined as a modification of behaviour through experience. It involves the acquisition of habits, knowledge, and attitudes.
2. What is inference? Give suitable example in support of your answer.
Answer: Learning is an inferred process and is different from performance. Performance is a person’s observed behaviour or response or action. An example of inference is when a teacher, on the basis of your performance, infers that you have learned the poem.
3. What is a satisfying response?
Answer: Some responses lead to the goal, and they are known as satisfying responses. For example, in Thorndike’s experiment, the responses of manipulating the latch by the cat were satisfying as they led to the goal of getting food.
4. What is a ‘classical conditioning’?
Answer: Classical conditioning is a type of conditioning where a perfect association occurs between different types of stimuli presented together. For instance, when both food and the sounding of a bell are brought together several times, a dog becomes conditioned to respond to the bell alone. This conditioning is quite different from the conditioning emphasised by other psychologists, so it is called ‘classical conditioning’.
5. How important is the timing in Pavlov’s theory?
Answer: The timing of the stimuli is very important in Pavlov’s theory. The two stimuli, for example, the bell and the food, had to be presented close enough in time, just a few seconds apart, for the association to be established. The theory explains the importance of timing the reinforcement.
6. What is ‘Partial reinforcement’?
Answer: Partial reinforcement refers to reinforcement which occurs for less than one hundred percent of the time.
Short Answer Questions
1. How can you justify that ‘learning involves experience’?
Answer: Learning can be justified as involving experience because it always involves some kinds of experience. We experience an event occurring in a certain sequence on a number of occasions. For example, one learns that if the bell rings in the hostel after sunset, then dinner is ready to be served. Repeated experience of satisfaction after doing something in a specified manner leads to the formation of a habit. Sometimes even a single experience can lead to learning. For instance, if a child strikes a matchstick on the side of a matchbox and gets her/his fingers burnt, such an experience makes the child learn to be careful in handling the matchbox in the future.
2. Explain the ‘Law of Effect’.
Answer: The Law of Effect states that the trial or steps leading to satisfaction stamp in the bond or connection. When a connection between a stimulus and a response is followed by a satisfying state of affairs, the strength of the connection is increased. Later research concluded that while reinforcements in the form of reward or incentives increase the strength of a stimulus-response connection, unpleasant experiences in the form of pain or punishment do not necessarily weaken it.
3. How can one ‘eliminate’ bad habits?
Answer: Bad habits can be eliminated through disuse, which leads to atrophy or forgetting. They can also be eliminated through the use of a deconditioning process.
4. How can fear be eliminated?
Answer: Many fears are the result of a conditioning process and can be triggered by a stimulus associated with an unpleasant experience. Fear can be cured by deconditioning or reconditioning, which involves associating the object of fear with an acceptable and pleasant stimulus. The elimination of conditioned fear can be achieved through the use of a deconditioning process.
5. What is the B.F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning?
Answer: B.F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning is concerned with overt observable behaviour and defines learning as “a chance in the probability of response”. Operant conditioning is the learning process used to make a response more probable or more frequent through reinforcement. It helps in the learning of operant behaviour, which is behaviour that is not necessarily associated with known stimuli. The mechanism involves the emitting of a desired response and its proper management through suitable reinforcement. The organism responds in a way that produces the reinforcement stimulus, and this subsequent reinforcement gradually conditions the organism to emit the desired response, thus learning the desired act.
6. How important is Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning?
Answer: Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning is important for several reasons:
- The principle of operant conditioning may be successfully applied in behaviour modification.
- The development of human personality can be successfully manipulated through operant conditioning.
- It provides an external approach to motivation through motivators like verbal praise, a feeling of success, high scores, and prizes.
- It shows the importance of schedules in the process of reinforcement of behaviour.
- It suggests appropriate alternatives to punishment, such as rewarding appropriate behaviour and ignoring inappropriate behaviour for its gradual extinction.
- The theory has contributed a lot to the development of teaching machines and programmed learning.
7. Describe the various methods of learning.
Answer: The various methods or styles of learning are:
- Visual: Learns best with pictures and other visual aids.
- Aural: Learns best by sound or music.
- Verbal: Learns best with words, both in spoken and written form.
- Physical: Learns best with the body and touch.
- Logical: Learns best with logic, reasoning, and systems.
- Social: Enjoys learning in groups or with other people.
- Solitary: Prefers to learn alone and through self-study.
8. What are the characteristics of insight learning?
Answer: Insightful learning has the following characteristics:
- Learning occurs suddenly and not gradually as in trial and error learning.
- There is a feeling of understanding. The learner understands the relations among the different elements of the situations.
- Such a relation is better retained. It is especially resistant to forgetting.
- It is easy to transfer to new situations.
9. What is Thorndike’s trial and error theory? Elucidate with example.
Answer: Thorndike’s Trial and Error theory is explained through his experiment with a cat in a puzzle box. Thorndike placed a hungry cat in the box, which had a lever that would release the door. Outside the door, he placed some fish to tempt the cat. The cat was given a large number of trials to learn how to release itself. Initially, the cat made many random movements. This was followed by a progressive improvement, and finally, a prompt and “deliberate” opening of the latch.
An analysis of this trial and error learning shows the following characteristics:
- There is learning when there is a motive. The cat was hungry, so its motive was to learn how to get out of the cage to have food.
- The organism makes a number of varied types of responses, such as the cat’s clawing, scratching, and pawing.
- Some responses, known as satisfying responses, lead to the goal, like manipulating the latch. Other responses, known as annoying responses, do not lead to the goal.
- Satisfying responses become better learned because they lead to the attainment of the goal.
- Annoying responses tend to be eliminated gradually as they do not lead to the goal.
Long Answer Questions
1. What are the generalised feelings about the Thorndike theory?
Answer: The “Trial and Error” theory explains that learning capacity depends upon a number of bonds or connections. Practice and repetition itself does not lead to improvement in learning. Reward is more valuable than punishment. Transfer is due to identical elements, such as principle or analogy. Forgetting is explained in terms of the law of disuse. However, the role of understanding in learning has been minimised. This theory says that satisfaction gained by an act tends to “stamp in”, so that it will re-occur.
2. How is the Thorndike theory of learning important in education?
Answer: Thorndike’s work has given stimulus to the scientific movement in education. His theory is important to learning for at least three reasons:
- The law of effect has called attention to the importance of motivation and reinforcement in learning.
- Specificity in learning has encouraged identification of the acts or responses to be learned, and their gradation from simple to complex.
- The theory has placed much emphasis upon experimental verification in the field of learning.
The educational implications of the “Trial and Error Theory” are as follows:
- The teacher should see that the child is motivated to learn before he begins to learn. Motivation is the royal road to learning. Preparatory exercises that will hasten the state of readiness can be given. The teacher should introduce a lesson by relating it to the background experience of the child.
- Interest inventories and aptitude tests can also be administered to know the entry behaviour of the learners, especially in admitting students for specialised courses.
- After learning anything, adequate practice or drill should be undertaken to ensure that learning becomes stable and effective.
- More drills or exercises is not enough; continuous feedback is also necessary.
- Bad habits can be eliminated through disuse, leading to atrophy or forgetting.
- As a reward for further learning behaviour, judicious use of praise, and encouragement in the class promotes better learning.
- As “success leads to further success”, school activities can be arranged in such a way that all learners may have some degree of success and confidence in their work, i.e., all assignments should be so graded that everyone gets some success initially.
3. Define ‘conditioning’. Explain conditioned relationship.
Answer: Pavlov studied the phenomenon where a dog salivated to a bell alone after repeated pairing with food, which he called ‘conditioning’. ‘Conditioning’ means to associate, connect, bond, and link something new with an old relationship.
The new stimulus-response relationship, or conditioned relationship, can be further explained by the following:
- The continuity of the stimuli: The two stimuli, like the bell and the food in Pavlov’s experiment, had to be presented close enough in time—just a few seconds apart.
- Motivation: The subject, like the dog, had to be motivated, for instance, by being hungry and ‘interested’ in order to respond.
- Repetition: The pairing of the stimuli had to be repeated a number of times before the association was established.
4. What is the educational implication of classical conditioning?
Answer: The educational implications of classical conditioning are:
- Classical conditioning is used in language learning by associating words with pictures or meanings.
- It can be used to develop a favourable attitude towards learning, teachers, subject, and the school.
- It helps in developing good habits in children such as cleanliness, respect for the elders, punctuality, etc. through the use of classical conditioning.
- It can be used for the breaking of bad habits and elimination of conditioned fear, through the use of a deconditioning process.
5. How can you say that the theory of conditioning shapes ‘Habit formation’?
Answer: The theory of conditioning considers learning as habit formation or automatic behaviour in a certain situation. It explains how skills in multiplication, spelling, reading, etc., are formed. Many fears, phobias, and prejudices are the result of the conditioning process.
This theory shapes habit formation in the following ways:
- Good habits in children, such as cleanliness, respect for the elders, and punctuality, can be developed through the use of classical conditioning by associating these behaviours with pleasant outcomes.
- Bad habits can be broken and conditioned fear can be eliminated through the use of a deconditioning process, where the object of fear is associated with an acceptable and pleasant stimulus.
6. Give details of B.F. Skinner’s experiment and its outcome.
Answer: B.F. Skinner conducted an experiment with rats using a specially designed apparatus known as Skinner’s Box. This box is a darkened, sound-proof box with a grid floor, a system of light or sound, and a lever connected to a food dispenser.
In the experiment, a hungry rat was placed in the box. The box was arranged so that when the rat pressed the lever, the feeder mechanism was activated, a light or a special sound was produced, and a small pellet of food was released into the food pan. The click sound acted as a cue or signal to the rat that if it went to the food pan, it would be rewarded. The rat was rewarded for each of his proper attempts at pressing the lever.
The outcome of the experiment was that the lever press response, having been rewarded, was repeated. When it occurred again, it was rewarded again, which further increased the probability of the repetition of the lever press response. In this way, the rat ultimately learned the art of pressing the lever as desired by the experimenter.
7. Explain in brief the difference between Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning and Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning.
Answer: The main differences between Skinner’s operant conditioning and Pavlov’s classical conditioning are based on the nature of the response, the role of the organism, and the timing of reinforcement.
In Pavlov’s classical conditioning, the focus is on involuntary, reflexive behaviours, called ‘respondent behaviour’, which are “elicited” by a known stimulus. For example, salivation is an automatic response to food. The organism is passive in this process. The conditioning occurs by associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus before the response occurs.
In Skinner’s operant conditioning, the focus is on voluntary behaviours, called ‘operant behaviour’, which are “emitted” by the organism and are not necessarily associated with a known stimulus. The organism is active and “operates” on its environment. Learning occurs when a behaviour is followed by a consequence, such as reinforcement, which makes the response more probable in the future. The reinforcement is given after the desired response is made.
8. Explain the Gestalt laws of learning that lay emphasis on organisation and dynamic patterning.
Answer: Gestalt psychology explains that learning involves organisation and dynamic patterning. The following laws help in this organisation of patterns:
- Law of Similarity: The perception of homogeneous parts is based on this law. For example, we tend to see a group of boys or a group of girls as distinct units.
- Law of Proximity: This law states that nearness of the parts helps to form groups. Objects that are close together are perceived as a group.
- Law of Closure: According to this law, closed areas are readily perceived as forming one meaningful and complete unit. We tend to complete incomplete figures.
- Law of Good Continuation: In perception, one tends to continue with a series as straight lines and curves as a circle. We perceive continuous, smooth-flowing lines rather than disjointed ones.
- Law of Membership Character: This law states that a single element does not have fixed characteristics. It gets its characteristics in relation to other elements and the context in which it appears.
9. Give details of educational implication of Gestalt theory.
Answer: Gestalt theory, or the theory of insightful learning, has several educational implications. It shows the importance of organisation, meaningfulness, and understanding in education and calls attention to the structure of the problematic situation. It condemns memorising at the expense of understanding. Problems should be approached sensibly and structurally, not mechanically. A learner can act with insight and intelligence if the problem is not too difficult for their age and experience, and when the essential elements of the problem are open to inspection.
Insightful learning has the following specific educational implications:
- Children feel comfortable solving problems using insight when provided with concrete materials they can handle and manipulate. Their perceptual ability remains concrete.
- Grown-ups are freed from dependence on concrete materials. Their thinking is abstract and they use insight.
- At the highest level, thinking becomes quite symbolic, and learners can conceptualise in terms of equations and formulas.
- Wherever feasible, teachers must provide opportunities for students to exhibit and exercise insightful learning. This would pave the way for ‘discovery learning’.
- It is unpsychological to promote Trial and Error learning wherein insightful learning is more viable.
- The transfer effect is greater in the case of insightful learning.
- Less fatigue and more exhilaration would accompany learning by insight.
10. What are the characteristics of insightful learning?
Answer: Gestalt’s learning explains that learning takes place without overt trial-and-error testing. Insightful learning occurs in human learning when people recognise relationships or make novel associations between objects or actions that can help them solve problems.
Insightful learning has the following characteristics:
- Learning occurs suddenly and not gradually as in trial and error learning.
- There is a feeling of understanding. The learner understands the relations among the different elements of the situations.
- Such a relation is better retained. It is especially resistant to forgetting.
- It is easy to transfer to new situations.
11. Describe the mechanism of ‘operant conditioning’.
Answer: The mechanism of operant conditioning involves reinforcing a desired response to make it more likely to occur again. Once a response as desired by the experimenter occurs, it is reinforced through a suitable reinforce, which can be primary or secondary, and positive or negative. Over time, this response gets conditioned by being constantly reinforced.
In Skinner’s experiment, a pellet of food acted as a positive primary reinforcement for the hungry rat, which it received after it emitted a certain response, like pressing the lever. Secondary reinforcement may also produce the same result. This is a neutral stimulus that acquires reinforcing properties after being associated with a primary reinforce. For example, the clicking sound or the lighting of a bulb in Skinner’s experiment could act as secondary reinforcement if they are coupled with the appearance of a food pellet.
The important thing in the mechanism of operant conditioning is the emitting of a desired response and its proper management through suitable reinforcement. The organism responds in a certain way to produce the reinforcement stimulus. The subsequent reinforcement gradually conditions the organism to emit the desired response, and thus it learns the desired act.
12. Describe intelligence as a factor that influence insightful learning.
Answer: Intelligence is a factor that influences insightful learning. An insightful solution depends upon the basic intelligence of the learner. The more intelligent the individual, the greater will his insight be.
Additional
Extra Questions and Answers
1. What is the definition of learning?
Answer: Learning may be defined as “any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by experience”. Changes due to practice and experience, which are relatively permanent, are illustrative of learning. Behavioural changes that occur due to the use of drugs or fatigue are temporary and are not considered learning.
2. What is habituation?
Answer: Habituation is a kind of behavioural change that is due to continuous exposure to stimuli.
For instance, if a loud noise continues in your vicinity, you initially feel disturbed and make orienting reflexes. As the noise continues, these reflexes become weaker and eventually undetectable. This change is called habituation and it is not considered learning.
3. What is the difference between learning and performance?
Answer: Learning is an inferred process and is different from performance. Performance is a person’s observed behaviour, response, or action.
For example, on the basis of a student’s performance, a teacher infers that the student has learned a poem.
4. Define learning according to Daniel Bell.
Answer: According to Daniel Bell, learning is modification due to energies of organism and environment impinging on the organism itself.
5. Define learning according to Gates.
Answer: According to Gates, learning is modification of behaviour through experience.
110. Discuss the practical applications of the three major learning theories—Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, and Insightful Learning—in a modern classroom. Provide specific examples for each theory to illustrate how a teacher could use them to facilitate learning, manage behaviour, and motivate students.
Answer: The three major learning theories—Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, and Insightful Learning—each offer practical applications for teachers in a modern classroom to facilitate learning, manage behaviour, and motivate students.
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov): This theory is useful for shaping automatic responses and attitudes.
- Facilitating Learning: It is used in language learning by associating words with pictures or meanings, helping students to form a direct connection.
- Managing Behaviour and Motivation: It can be used to develop a favourable attitude towards learning, teachers, the subject, and the school. A positive and welcoming classroom environment can become associated with the act of learning itself, making students feel more positive and motivated. It can also help in developing good habits like punctuality and cleanliness through association with positive routines. A teacher can also use deconditioning to eliminate conditioned fear, for instance, by pairing a subject a student fears with a pleasant and successful experience.
Operant Conditioning (Skinner): This theory is applied to shape voluntary behaviours through consequences.
- Facilitating Learning: It is the basis for programmed learning, where learning material is designed to ensure a high rate of success, the learner is given rapid feedback, and can learn at their own pace. This creates a satisfying learning experience.
- Managing Behaviour: A teacher can use this theory by rewarding appropriate behaviour and ignoring inappropriate behaviour, leading to its gradual extinction. This is an effective alternative to punishment.
- Motivation: This theory provides an external approach to motivation. A teacher can use verbal praise, positive facial expressions, high scores, good grades, prizes, and medals as reinforcers to motivate students.
Insightful Learning (Gestalt): This theory focuses on understanding, problem-solving, and perception.
- Facilitating Learning: Teachers can promote ‘discovery learning’ by providing opportunities for students to exhibit and exercise insightful learning. For example, children can solve problems using insight when provided with concrete materials they can handle and manipulate. At higher levels, students can conceptualise in terms of equations and formulas.
- Managing Behaviour: This approach is less about direct behaviour management and more about creating an engaging learning environment. When students learn through insight, they experience less fatigue and more exhilaration, which can lead to better engagement and fewer behavioural issues.
- Motivation: The theory promotes understanding over rote memorisation. When students are encouraged to approach problems sensibly and structurally, they gain a deeper understanding, which is intrinsically motivating and leads to better retention and transfer of knowledge.
Extra MCQs: Knowledge-Based
1: What is the term for a relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential that is produced by experience?
A. Maturation
B. Instinct
C. Learning
D. Habituation
Answer: C. Learning
44: A student being rewarded for every correct answer given is an example of a __________ reinforcement schedule.
A. Fixed Ratio
B. Continuous
C. Variable Interval
D. Partial
Answer: B. Continuous
Extra MCQs: Competency-Based
45: Assertion (A): Changes in behaviour resulting from fatigue or the use of drugs are not classified as learning.
Reason (R): Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential that is produced by experience.
A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
B. Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
C. A is true, but R is false.
D. A is false, but R is true.
Answer: A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
114: A teacher wants to eliminate a student’s habit of shouting out answers. Instead of scolding the student, the teacher decides to completely ignore the shouted answers but gives praise and attention when the student raises their hand. This strategy of ignoring the unwanted behaviour to cause its gradual extinction is a key principle of what?
A. Insightful Learning
B. Classical Conditioning
C. Gestalt Theory
D. Operant Conditioning
Answer: D. Operant Conditioning
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