Social Learning Theory

You Are Not Your Brain: Against "Teaching to the Brain"

by Gregory Nixon

Published in the *International Handbook of Academic Research and Teaching: Proceedings of Intellectbase International Consortium*, vol 22, Spring 2012, San Antonio, TX, USA, 298-306.

Since educators are always looking for ways to improve their practice, and since empirical science is now accepted in... more Since educators are always looking for ways to improve their practice, and since empirical science is now accepted in our worldview as the final arbiter of truth, it is no surprise they have been lured toward cognitive neuroscience in hopes that discovering how the brain learns will provide a nutshell explanation for student learning in general. I argue that identifying the person with the brain is scientism (not science), that the brain is not the person, and that it is the person who learns. In fact the brain only responds to the learning of embodied experience within the extra-neural network of intersubjective communications. Learning is a dynamic, cultural activity, not a neural program. Brain-based learning is unnecessary for educators and may be dangerous in that a culturally narrow ontology is taken for granted, thus restricting our creativity and imagination, and narrowing the human community.

Case History 2: University of Arizona South: Teaching with Technology

by Max Lieberman

Co-authored with Wayne Brent, Ph.D. and Connie Hackathorn, M.S. Published in Sheldon, Lee. "The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game." 2012, Course Technology: Boston, MA. 81-91.

Game Attributes and Mechanics in Education (GAME) is an experimental project designed to improve learning outcomes for... more Game Attributes and Mechanics in Education (GAME) is an experimental project designed to improve learning outcomes for students in blended classroom/online educational environments. GAME draws on the work of game designers, educational researchers and educational theorists to develop technology and teaching methodology that work together. GAME can be viewed as a case study on “gamification,” intended to explore ways in which games may teach more effectively than traditional educational methods.

Critical Analysis of Social Cognition and Social Learning Theory

by Amanda Studebaker

An Evaluative Study of Social Learning Theory Based Scientific Attitudes on Academic Success, Gender and Socio-economical Level

by Halil Eksi

Murat DEMİRBAŞ, Rahmi YAĞBASAN
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice
6 (2) • May 2006 • 363-371

In this study, the results of educational activities based on social learning theory in
improving scientific... more In this study, the results of educational activities based on social learning theory in
improving scientific attitudes among primary school students were investigated. An
experimental and control group design was used with students who attended 7th
grade classes at three different schools. By determining two control groups, the teacher
effect was minimized. In the experimental group, social learning theory based
activities were carried out; however, in the first and second control groups, activities
in the curriculum of science lessons were given. The data were gathered by administering
the scientific attitude inventory, academic success test, and socio-economic
level inventory as pre-and-post tests along with a permanency test. The results showed
that educational activities based on social learning theory were more effective
in improving students’ scientific attitudes. Moreover, academic success was an important
variable in the process of evaluating scientfic attitudes; but gender and
socio-economical levels were not.

Project-based learning: Teaching them to create and produce

by Timothy Clapper

Clapper, T. C. (2011). Project-based learning: Teaching them to create and produce. PAILAL, 4(1), 1-3. Available on EBCOHOST database.

Social Learning adn Sustainability: Exploring critical issues in relation to environmental change and governance

by Sturle Hauge Simonsen

Full reference: Gerger Swartling, Å., C. Lundholm, R. Plummer, D. Armitage (2011) "Social Learning and Sustainability: Exploring critical issues in relation to environmental change and governance"; SEI Project Report, Mistra-SWECIA Working Paper Nol 5. SEI, January 2011.

This project report is focused on social learning and contains the workshop proceedings from "Social Learning and... more This project report is focused on social learning and contains the workshop proceedings from "Social Learning and Sustainability: Exploring Critical Issues in Relation to Environmental Change and Governance" held on June 1—2, 2010.

The report is a joint collaboration between Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Excerpts from the Executive Summary
Social learning is the focus of applied and increasingly interdisciplinary scholarship in environmental education, climate change adaptation, natural resource governance and ecosystem management.

Despite interest in the concept, important questions remain about the use and application of social learning in these contexts and its relevance to the challenge of global social ecological change.

The workshop provided a unique opportunity for individuals approaching social learning in diverse ways to interact, share insights, ideas and critiques through keynote and speed presentations, open space and small group discussion sessions, and at an interactive plenary. Keynote and speed presentations focused on:

learning and governance of natural resource management with reference to water, forestry, fisheries and environmental change;

social learning in the context of climate change and broader sustainability debates;

the potential of social learning platforms to address emerging issues in dynamic and rapidly changing contexts; and

linkages among social learning, society, and the role of formal and non-formal education.

Transformative Learning for Sustainable Education

by Jody Joanna Boehnert

Delivered at the Design Research Society's Special Interest Group on Experiential Knowledge conference (EKSIG 2011) - “SkinDeep - experiential knowledge and multi sensory communication”. June 2011. Farnham, UK. A slideshow of the presentation can be found at http://www.eco-labs.org/

Designers and educators have a unique role to play in the creation of sustainable futures due to our ability to help... more Designers and educators have a unique role to play in the creation of sustainable futures due to our ability to help people envision new realities, develop new cognitive skills for dealing with complexity and create the social capacity to act on the basis of new knowledge. This paper will describe the theory and practice of transformative learning. Transformative learning aims to build the agency to put new knowledge into practice. Beyond the mere dissemination of information, transformative learning engages participants in dialogical and experiential learning processes with the aim of creating deep learning. Due to the fact that problems with regards to sustainability are both complex and deeply entrenched into our culture, these transformative learning processes are essential for the pedagogy associated with sustainability and ecological literacy. This paper introduces transformative learning and offers a short case study of a ‘Teach-in’ for ecological literacy in design education.

The OHS consultant as a facilitator of learning in workplace design processes: Four explorative case studies of current practice

by Ole Broberg

An exploration of learning: beginning teachers building knowledge about culture and literacy

by Caitlin Dooley

Dissertation Study

The purpose of the study was to explore what and how teachers learn in a course that integrates topics about reading... more The purpose of the study was to explore what and how teachers learn in a course that integrates topics about reading and writing methods for instruction with sociopolitical issues related to culturally responsive education (as advocated by Sleeter, 2001).
Eight beginning teachers participated in this qualitative study in which the researcher acted as participant-observer in their teacher education course titled, “Literacy Methods for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students.” Research questions that guided the study inquired what and how do the teachers learn. In class observations and field notes, class artifacts, out-of-class focus group transcripts, and individual interviews provided
data for inductive and deductive analyses (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1991). Conceptual modeling was used to represent the teachers’ cognitive processing of course related information (Britt, 1997). Two case studies offer individualized accounts of the learning process. Findings indicate that teachers’ learning began with dialogic echoing of course-related ideas and could proceed as teachers integrated those ideas
within their own conceptions about culture, literacy, relational connections, and equitable educational opportunities, and conceptual mapping shows how this cognitive process
took place. Study findings also suggest that learning takes place when sources for knowledge are acknowledged and accepted by learners and when those sources are the subject of response and cognitive tension and/or integration. Viewing learning as a developmental process as well as an on-going, reciprocal process of understanding aided in the examination and description of data. Further examination of courses integrating methods instruction and socio-political agendas is necessary.

Social Transmission and the Spread of Modern Contraception in Rural Ethiopia

by Alexandra Alvergne

Socio-economic development has proven to be insufficient to explain the time and pace of the human demographic... more Socio-economic development has proven to be insufficient to explain the time and pace of the human demographic transition. Shifts to low fertility norms have thus been thought to result from social diffusion, yet to date, micro-level studiesare limited and are often unable to disentangle the effect of social transmission from that of extrinsic factors. We used data which included the first ever use of modern contraception among a population of over 900 women in four villages in rural Ethiopia, where contraceptive prevalence is still low (,20%). We investigated whether the time of adoption of modern contraception is predicted by (i) the proportion of ever-users/non ever-users within both women and their husbands’ friendships networks and (ii) the geographic distance to contraceptive ever-users. Using a model comparison approach, we found that individual socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. parity, education) and a religious norm are the most likelyexplanatory factors of temporal and spatial patterns of contraceptive uptake, while the role of person-to-person contact through either friendship or spatial networks remains marginal. Our study has broad implications for understanding theprocesses that initiate transitions to low fertility and the uptake of birth control technologies in the developing world

What is Social Learning?

by Lindsay Stringer

Reed, M. S., A. C. Evely, G. Cundill, I. Fazey, J. Glass, A. Laing, J. Newig, B. Parrish, C. Prell, C. Raymond and L. C. Stringer. 2010. What is Social Learning? Ecology and Society 15 (4): http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss4/resp1/

Social learning is increasingly becoming a normative goal in natural resource management and policy. However, there... more Social learning is increasingly becoming a normative goal in natural resource management and policy. However, there remains little consensus over its meaning or theoretical basis. There are still considerable differences in understanding of the concept in the literature, including a number of articles published in Ecology & Society. Social learning is often conflated with other concepts such as participation and proenvironmental behavior, and there is often little distinction made between individual and wider social learning. Many unsubstantiated claims for social learning exist, and there is frequently confusion between the concept itself and its potential outcomes. This lack of conceptual clarity has limited our capacity to assess whether social learning has occurred, and if so, what kind of learning has taken place, to what extent, between whom, when, and how. This response attempts to provide greater clarity on the conceptual basis for social learning. We argue that to be considered social learning, a process must: (1) demonstrate that a change in understanding has taken place in the individuals involved; (2) demonstrate that this change goes beyond the individual and becomes situated within wider social units or communities of practice; and (3) occur through social interactions and processes between actors within a social network. A clearer picture of what we mean by social learning could enhance our ability to critically evaluate outcomes and better understand the processes through which social learning occurs. In this way, it may be possible to better facilitate the desired outcomes of social learning processes.

Dissecting the imitation faculty: The multiple imitation mechanisms (MIM) hypothesis

by Francys Subiaul

YOU 2.0: Knowledge, Learning & Embodied Technology

by Bryan Anthony Alvarez

In this paper I intend on taking current concepts of embodied cognition and situated learning and setting them against... more In this paper I intend on taking current concepts of embodied cognition and situated learning and setting them against the backdrop of digital technologies.  How does one embody digital technology?  What are the implications of mass usage of digital technologies? When we are embodying information through interaction with people within environments are changing the way we perceive our selves in relation to others?  This I argue is true, and is due to how the brain learns to use tools and technologies, and the skilled knowledge that is cultivated through fields of practice (Ingold 2001: 114).  By starting off with the creation of knowledge, and then moving into arguments of knowledge (information) transfer, I hope to show that humans are indeed embodying our technologies, because our bodies are in fact a part of the technology itself in that our minds perceive it as such. 
Furthermore, I argue that the mechanism of learning holds two key aspects: the knowledge being forged and the medium to which is shaping this information into knowledge.  Through repetition we indeed start to embody the technologies that we interact with.  Using examples and analogies of the body, the bicycle and finally the digital computer I hope to show that learning is indeed a process that occurs constantly and within a context. 

Form and Shadows: A Play in One Act

by Steve Wilhite

Paper submitted for Instructional Technology Foundations course at IU.

A brief skit that brings Jean Piaget, B.F. Skinner and Plato together for some philosophical debate over morning coffee. A brief skit that brings Jean Piaget, B.F. Skinner and Plato together for some philosophical debate over morning coffee.

Old Communication, New Literacies: Social Network Sites As Social Learning Resources

by Christine Greenhow

The Validity and Reliability Study of the Scale of the Perceived Sociability of Online Learning Environments/ Çevrimiçi Öğrenme Ortamında Algılanan Sosyalleşme Ölçeğinin Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması

by Salih BARDAKCI

Salih BARDAKCI

The aim of this study is to adapt The Perceived Sociability Scale of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning... more The aim of this study is to adapt The Perceived Sociability Scale of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environments developed by Kreijns, Kirschner, Jochems and Buuren (2007) to online learning environments in Turkey. The original scale is in English and includes 10 items. Firstly, the original scale was translated into Turkish, and experts’ critics were obtained. Afterwards, both the English and Turkish forms were administered to students (n=31) of Başkent Universty Computer Education and Instructional Technologies (CEIT) Department in a one-week interval in order to determine the equivalency of these two forms. The construct validity studies were carried out on 94 CEIT students attending to Ankara, Hacettepe and Başkent Universities. Results showed that the Turkish version has one factor and consisted of 10 items like the original scale. The Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient was also
obtained as .82.

Key Words: Online learning environments, Perceived
Sociability Scale
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