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Theories of Learning and Their Implications for Biology Teaching

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 CHAPTER 3

THEORIES OF LEARNING AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

FOR BIOLOGY TEACHING

Isaac Olakanmi Abimbola

________________________________________________________
Introduction

Biology is often defined as the scientific study of organisms. In Nigeria, biology

was a very popular science subject among secondary school principals, guidance
counsellors, and their senior school students, until science subjects were delisted
from the group of core subjects in the curriculum as reflected in the sixth edition of
the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2013). The impact of biology on the life of
every individual globally cannot be compared with any other science subject. The
European Union Forum (2011) asserted that without the study of biology, epidemic
diseases caused by viruses and bacteria such as Lassa fever, Zika fever, Ebola,
Bubonic plague and HIV/AIDS could have wiped out humankind. Milford (n.d.)
also noted that knowledge of biology is one of the fundamental reasons why the
human race has progressed and thrived over the last 2000 years.
In spite of these noble objectives and the significant influence of biology on
human beings, senior secondary school students’ performance in the subject is
worrisome as rightly noted by researchers (Abimbola, 2013; Altunolu, & Seker, 2015;
& Singer, 2015). The appalling performance of students in biology is a clear
indication of the pitiful quality of biology education in Nigeria. According to Jerrard
(2016), the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (2013/2014) states that an
education system is only as good as its teachers. It is thus imperative to improve the
quality of biology teachers to enhance qualitative biology education. Incorporating
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into biology teacher education
could significantly improve the biology teachers’ effectiveness and efficiencies and,
by extension, students’ performance in biology.

Biology Teacher Education

The sixth edition of the National Policy on Education as stated by Federal
Republic of Nigeria (FRN) (2013) clearly stipulated that “All teachers in educational
institutions shall be professionally groomed. Teacher education programme shall be
structured to equip teachers for the effective performance of their duties.
Information Technology (IT) shall be incorporated into all teacher training
programme” (p.30). However, this stipulation is largely not implemented in teacher
education institutions in the nation. Biology teacher education can be conceptualized
as the policies, procedures and programmes designed for prospective biology
teachers to equip them with biology and pedagogic knowledge, skills, attitudes,

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behaviors needed to efficiently and effectively facilitate meaningful learning of
biology. Three levels are usually involved in biology teacher education, namely,
initial teacher education, induction, and continuing professional development
(Abimbola 2012, April 24; Wikipedia, 2012). In Nigeria, the initial biology teacher
education programme is offered in Colleges of Education, National Teachers
Institutes (NTI), Faculties of Education in Universities, and in some Polytechnics
(Ejima, 2010). The sixth edition of the National Policy on Education stated, “All
newly recruited teachers shall undergo a formal process of induction” (p.30) (Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 2013). Nevertheless, dutiful senior biology teachers undertake
the induction of fresh biology teachers within the first few years of teaching because
official induction programme is yet to be implemented fully. Biology teacher
professional development is the last stage. It is a continuing in-service education to
improve biology teachers’ academic and professional currency, efficiency, and
effectiveness. This stage is usually facilitated by government agencies such as, the
National Teachers Institute, Federal, and State Ministries of Education, and Local
Government Education Authorities, as well as the Science Teachers Association of
Nigeria, and so forth.

Learning.
The system of education in Nigeria provides little opportunities for students
to engage in self-instruction because either teachers in schools or coaching classes, or
parents and siblings at home are always teaching them, without knowing how to
study by themselves, with the exception of, perhaps, students in boarding schools
(Abimbola, 2013).
In sum, the school and examination systems do not encourage them to master
any content completely. Most continuous assessment tests and other examinations
require them to answer only a proportion of the whole questions set; never all
questions. The reward system is also along the same line. Generally, 70% score in an
examination is regarded as an excellent score. This situation does not naturally
encourage students to strive harder to score 80s and 90s. Study technology has an
important part to play in this area (Abimbola, 2013).
The main objectives of this chapter are to describe and discuss the major
theories of learning guiding biology teaching. I attempted to describe various
learning theories in a chronological order followed by the implications of each
learning theory for biology teaching and learning.

Learning Theories
Learning theories are conceptual frameworks in which knowledge is
absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and
environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how
understanding, or a worldview, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills

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retained. Behaviorists look at learning as an aspect of conditioning, and advocate a
system of rewards and targets in education. Educators who embrace cognitive
theory believe that the definition of learning as a change in behavior is too narrow
and prefer to study the learner rather than their environment and, in particular, the
complexities of human memory. Those who advocate constructivism believe that a
learner's ability to learn relies largely, on what he/she already knows and
understands, and the acquisition of knowledge should be an individually tailored
process of construction. Transformative learning theory focuses upon the often-
necessary change that is required in a learner's preconceptions and worldview.
Outside the realm of educational psychology, techniques to observe directly
the functioning of the brain during the learning process, such as event-related
potential and functional magnetic resonance imaging, are used in educational
neuroscience. As of 2012, such studies are beginning to support a theory of multiple
intelligences, where learning is seen as the interaction between dozens of different
functional areas in the brain each with its own individual strengths and weaknesses
in any particular human learner.

1. Connectionism
The learning theory of Connectionism was propounded by Edward
Thorndike (31 August 1874–9 August 1949), an American psychologist, who spent
nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City.
His learning theory represents the original S-R framework of behavioral psychology:
Learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses. Such
associations or “habits” become strengthened, or weakened by the nature and
frequency of the S-R pairings. He enunciated his learning theory in three major laws:
(a) Law of readiness—to account for motivational aspect of learning
(b) Law of exercise—comprising of law of use and disuse
(c) Law of effect—involving satisfaction and dissatisfaction derived from
learning
Thorndike supplemented these laws with five other characteristics of learning
as follows:
(i) Multiple response or varied reaction—a process of trial and error
(ii) Set or attitude—prevailing condition at the time of learning
(iii) Partial activity or prepotency of elements—varying degrees of
attention and priority setting
(iv) Assimilation—the use of similar logic to attempt learning where no
new one is available
(v) Associative shifting—transfer of learning

Basic principles.

(a) Learning requires both practice and rewards (laws of effect/exercise)

(b) A series of S-R connections can be chained together if they belong to the same
action sequence (law of readiness).

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 (c) Transfer of learning occurs because of previously encountered situations.

(d) Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned.

Implications for biology teaching.

(a) According to this theory, the task can be started from the easier aspect
towards its difficult side. This approach will benefit the academically weak
children.
(b) A small child learns some skills through trial and error method only such as
sitting, standing, walking, running, and so forth. In teaching also, the child
rectifies the writing after committing identifiable mistakes.
(c) In this theory, more emphasis has been placed on motivation. Thus, before
starting teaching in the classroom, the students should be properly motivated;
there should be willingness to learn.
(d) Practice leads a person towards maturity. Practice is the main feature of trial
and error method. Practice helps in reducing the errors committed by the
child in learning any concept. In the process of committing errors, students
gain knowledge and experience.
(e) Habits are formed because of repetition. With the help of this theory, the
wrong habits of the children can be modified and the good habits
strengthened.
(f) The effects of rewards and punishment also affect the learning of the child.
Thus, the theory places emphasis on the use of reward and punishment in the
class by the teacher.

2. Operant Conditioning

This theory of learning, Operant Conditioning was propounded by (Burrhus

Frederic Skinner (20 March 20 1904–18 August 1990). Commonly known as B. F.
Skinner, he was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social
philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard
University, Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. The
theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in
overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individual’s response to
events (stimuli) that occur in the environment.

Basic principles.

(a) Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur; intermittent reinforcement

is particularly effective

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(b) Information should be presented in small amounts so that responses can be
reinforced (“shaping”)

(c) Reinforcements will generalize across similar stimuli (“stimulus generalization”)

producing secondary conditioning

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Learning is a function of the nature of the stimulus, the nature of the response
and the state of the learning organism.

(b) It requires that the teacher have maximal control over the variables of the
learning situation.
(c) The teacher must arrange for artificial, extrinsic reinforcement and later
prepare the student for natural reinforcers, which are to replace the unnatural
reinforcers.
(d) Skinner much more prefers using rewards to create positive feedback. But
teachers must be alert to their students because all students operate on
different schedules

3. Cognitive Dissonance

The learning theory of cognitive dissonance was propounded by

Leon Festinger (8 May 1919–11 February 1989). He was an American social
psychologist, perhaps best known for cognitive dissonance and social comparison
theory. His theories and research are credited with renouncing the previously
dominant behaviorist view of social psychology by demonstrating the inadequacy of
stimulus-response conditioning accounts of human behavior. According to cognitive
dissonance theory, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among
their cognitions (i.e., ideas, beliefs, or opinions), which may otherwise be
inconsistent, to make decisions and attitude change.

Basic Principles:

(a) Dissonance results when an individual must choose between ideas, attitudes,
and behaviors that are contradictory.

(b) Dissonance can be eliminated by reducing the importance of the conflicting

beliefs, acquiring new beliefs that change the balance, or removing the
conflicting attitude or behavior.

Implications for Biology Teaching

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This is closely related to some misconceptions, alternative conceptions, and accepted
conceptions held by students in Biology. Teachers teaching biology must identify
these misunderstood words and address them accordingly. For instance, teachers
can encourage biology students to do the following to resolve their conflicting
cognitions or attitudes:

(i) Change the behaviour or the cognition through critical analysis of the
elements of the behaviour to identify those that fit and those that are not
consistent
(ii) Justify the behaviour or the cognition by changing the conflicting
cognition positively without self-indulgence
(iii) Justify the behaviour or the cognition by adding new cognitions that
ensure consonance
(iv) Ignore or deny information that conflicts with existing beliefs without self-
deceit

4. Constructivist Theory

Jerome Bruner (October 1, 1915–June 5, 2016) was an American psychologist

who made significant contributions to human cognitive psychology and cognitive
learning theory in educational psychology. Bruner was a Senior Research Fellow at
the New York University School of Law.

A major theme in the theoretical framework of Bruner is that learning is an active

process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their
current/past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information, constructs
hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive
structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to
experiences and allows the individual to “go beyond the information given.”

Basic Principles:

(a) Instruction must be concerned with the experiences and contexts that make
the student willing and able to learn (readiness).

(b) Instruction must be structured (spiral organization) so that the student can
easily grasp it.

(c) Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and, or fill in the

gaps (going beyond the information given).

Implications for Biology Teaching

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Bruner’s learning theory has direct implications on the teaching practices. Here are
some of these implications:

(a) Instruction must be appropriate to the level of the learners. For example,
being aware of the learners’ learning modes (enactive, iconic, and symbolic)
will help you plan and prepare appropriate materials for instruction
according to the difficulty that matches learners’ level.
(b) The teacher must revisit material to enhance knowledge. Building on pre-taught
ideas to grasp the full formal concept is of paramount importance according to
Bruner. Feel free to re-introduce vocabulary, grammar points, and other topics
now and then to push the students to a deeper comprehension and longer
retention.
(c) Material must be presented in a sequence giving the learners the opportunity to:
(i) acquire and construct knowledge, and
(ii) transform and transfer his learning.
(d) Students should be involved in using their prior experiences and structures to
learn new knowledge.
(e) Help students to categorize new information to able to see any differences
between items.
(f) Teachers should assist learners in building their knowledge. This assistance
should fade away as it becomes unnecessary.
(g) Teachers should provide feedback that is directed towards intrinsic motivation.
Grades and competition are not helpful in the learning process.

5. Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura (December 4, 1925) is a psychologist who is the David Starr

Jordan Professor Emeritus of Social Science in Psychology at Stanford University,
California. The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of
observing, imitating, and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions
of others. It is a theory of learning and social behaviour. This theory appears to be a
bridge between behaviourist and cognitive learning theories because of its emphasis
on attention, memory, and motivation.

Basic Principles

(a) Learning is not purely behavioural; it is a cognitive process that takes place in
a social context.
(b) The highest level of observational learning is achieved by first organizing and
rehearsing the modeled behavior symbolically and then, enacting it overtly.
Coding modeled behavior into words, labels, or images, results in better
retention, than simply observing.

- 31 -
 (c) Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior if it results in
outcomes they value.

(d) Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior if the model is
similar to the observer and has admired status and the behavior has
functional value.

(e) Reinforcement plays a role in learning but is not entirely responsible for
learning.

(f) The learner is not a passive recipient of information. Cognition, environment,

and behaviour all mutually influence one another.

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Biology students should engage in cooperative learning of their biology

contents
(b) Biology content materials should be learned a little at a time and on a
continuing basis to ensure reinforcement
(c) Modeled behaviors serve as cues to initiate similar behaviors in others.

(d) They also serve to strengthen or weaken the learner's existing restraints
against the performance of a modeled behavior.

(e) They are used to demonstrate new patterns of behavior.

(f) Biology teachers and students should engage in active teaching and learning,
respectively.

6. Social Development Theory

Lev Vygotsky (17 November 1896–11 June 1934) was a Soviet psychologist,
the founder of a theory of human cultural and bio-social development commonly
referred to as cultural-historical psychology, and leader of the Vygotsky Circle (also
referred to as 'Vygotsky-Luria Circle').

The major theme of Vygotsky’s theoretical framework is that social interaction plays
a fundamental role in the development of cognition; consciousness and cognition are
the products of socialization and social behaviour. The theory is in three categories—
social interaction, the more knowledgeable other (MKO), and the zone of proximal
development (ZPD). Vygotsky’s theory is one of the foundations of constructivism.

Basic Principles:

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 (a) Cognitive development is limited to a certain range at any given age.

(b) Full cognitive development requires social interaction.

(c) The MKO is anybody who has a better understanding more than the child,
such as the teacher, coach, or older adult, peers, a younger person, or a
computer.

(d) Learning occurs in the Zone of Proximal Development, which is the distance
between a student’s ability to perform a task under adult guidance and /or
with peers and the student’s ability in solving the problem on his or her own.

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Students are to play an active role in the learning context

(b) The role of biology teachers is to facilitate learning
(c) It provides clear directions for students
(d) It clarifies purpose of the task
(e) It keeps students on task
(f) It offers assessment to clarify expectations
(g) It points students to worthy sources
(h) It reduces uncertainty, surprise, and disappointment
(i) It delivers efficiency
(j) It creates momentum

7. Conversation Theory

Gordon Pask (28 June 1928–29 March 1996) was an English author, inventor,
educational theorist, cybernetician, and psychologist who made significant
contributions to cybernetics, instructional psychology, experimental epistemology
and educational technology. The Conversation Theory developed by G. Pask
originated from a cybernetics framework and attempts to explain learning in both
living organisms and machines. The theory claims that learning occurs through
conversations about a subject matter, which serves to make the knowledge explicit
and knowable.

Basic Principles:

(a) To learn a subject matter, students must learn the relationships among the
concepts.

(b) Explicit explanation or manipulation of the subject matter facilitates

understanding (e.g., use of teach back technique).

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 (c) Individuals differ in their preferred manner of learning relationships
(serialists versus holists versus versatilists).

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Teacher models or demonstrates certain processes or events;

(b) Students offer explanations of why certain processes take place;
(c) Teacher requests that a learner teaches back his or her conceptions of why certain
things happen;
(d) Students offer verbal accounts of how to bring about certain events;
(e) Teacher asks a learner to provide such an account;
(f) Teacher asks a learner to carry out experiments or other practical procedures
pertaining to particular events or processes.

8. Conditions of Learning

Robert Mills Gagné (August 21, 1916–April 28, 2002) was an American
educational psychologist, best known for his "Conditions of Learning.” Gagné
pioneered the science of instruction during World War II when he worked with the
Army Air Corps training pilots.

This theory stipulates that there are several different types or levels of
learning. The significance of these classifications is that each different type requires
different types of instruction. Gagné identifies five major categories of learning:
verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills, and attitudes.

Basic Principles:

(a) Different instruction is required for different learning outcomes.

(b) Events of learning operate on the learner in ways that constitute the
conditions of learning.
(c) The specific operations that constitute instructional events are different for
each different type of learning outcome.
(d) Learning hierarchies define what intellectual skills are to be learned and a
sequence of instruction.

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Gain attention—show variety of computer generated structure function
(b) Identify objective—pose question: “What is Heritable Information?”
(c) Stimulate recall of prior learning—review definitions of a cell
(d) Present stimulus—give definition of a DNA
(e) Guide learning—show example of the structure of a DNA
(f) Elicit performance—ask students to name the DNA bases
(g) Provide feedback—check all examples as correct/incorrect
(h) Assess performance—provide scores and remediation

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 (i) Enhance retention/transfer—show pictures of objects and ask students to
identify the base

9. Situated Learning
Jean Lave (1952) is a social anthropologist who theorizes learning as
changing participation in on-going changing practice. Her lifework challenges
conventional theories of learning and education. Lave argues that learning as
it normally occurs is a function of the activity, context, and culture in which it
occurs (i.e., it is situated). This contrasts with most learning activities in the
classroom, which involve knowledge, which is abstract and out of context.
Social interaction is a critical component of situated learning where learners
become involved in a “community of practice” which embodies certain beliefs
and behaviors to be acquired. Lave maintains that learning is usually
unintentional rather than deliberate.

Basic Principles:
The major elements in a situated learning are the following:

(a) Content—facts and processes of a task

(b) Context—situations, values, and environmental cues
(c) Community—the group where the learner will create and negotiate
(d) Participation—where a learner works together with others to solve the
problem
(e) Knowledge needs to be presented in an authentic context, i.e., settings and
applications that would normally involve that knowledge.
(f) Learning requires social interaction and collaboration.

Implications for Biology Teaching

Learning situated outside the context of biology teaching, which in turn brings about
better understanding of biology itself, for instance, physics, chemistry, Agricultural
Science, and Computer. In all cases, there is a gradual acquisition of knowledge and
skills as novices learned from experts in the context of everyday activities.

10 Genetic Epistemology

Jean Piaget (9 August 1896–16 September 1980) was a Swiss clinical

psychologist, known for his pioneering work in child development. Piaget's theory
of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic
epistemology" Over a period of six decades, Jean Piaget conducted a program of
naturalistic research that has profoundly affected our understanding of child
development. Piaget called his general theoretical framework “genetic

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epistemology” because he was primarily interested in how knowledge developed in
human organisms.

Basic Principles:

(a) How knowledge is gained determines its validity

(b) There are four stages of cognitive development:
1. Sensorimotor (birth to age 2)
2. Preoperational (2-7 years)
3. Concrete operational (7-11 years)
4. Formal operational (11 and above years)
(c) Learning processes occur in three stages:
1. Assimilation—when new knowledge takes place within an existing
knowledge
2. Accommodation—when new knowledge becomes integrate into an
existing body of knowledge because it is found compatible or made
compatible
3. Equilibration—encompasses assimilation and accommodation, which
make learners change the way they think to get a better answer
(d) Knowledge is a biological function, which is subject to change
(e) Children will provide different explanations of reality at different stages of
cognitive development.
(f) Cognitive development is facilitated by providing activities or situations that
engage learners and require adaptation (i.e., assimilation and
accommodation).
(g) Learning materials and activities should involve the appropriate level of
motor or mental operations for a child of given age; avoid asking students to
perform tasks that are beyond their current cognitive capabilities.
(h) Use teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges to
facilitate equilibration.

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Use concrete props and visual aids whenever possible

(b) Make instruction relatively short, using actions as well as words
(c) Do not expect the students to see consistently, the world from someone else’s
point of view.
(d) Be sensitive to the possibilities that students may have different meanings for
the same word or different words for the same meaning. Students may also
expect everyone to understand words that they invented.
(e) Give children a great deal of hands-on practice with the skills that serve as
building blocks for more complex skills like reading comprehension.
(f) Provide a wide range of experience to build a foundation for concept learning
and language.

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11. Subsumption Theory

David Paul Ausubel (25 October 1918–9 July 2008) was an American
psychologist. His most significant contribution to the fields of educational
psychology, cognitive science, and science education learning was on the
development and research on advance organizers. Ausubel’s theory is concerned
with how individuals learn large amounts of meaningful material from
verbal/textual presentations in a school setting (in contrast to theories developed in
the context of laboratory experiments)

Basic Principles:

(a) The most general ideas of a subject should be presented first and then
progressively differentiated in terms of detail and specificity.

(b) Instructional materials should attempt to integrate new material with

previously presented information through comparisons and cross-referencing
of new and old ideas.

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) To complete the course in time, the Ausubel’s learning theory is most helpful.

(b) Abstract concepts can be taught effectively by presenting the appropriate

advance organizer and can help students to grasp higher order relationship
abstractors.
(c) Since meaningful verbal learning depends upon the critical ability and
readiness to receive, teacher should make use of adequate pedagogical
techniques such as precise and accurate definition of biology concepts giving
similarities and dissimilarities between related concepts and encouraging
learners to define their own words.
(d) Since a single concept is easier to retain than to remember many specific
items, hence, clear, relevant, advance organizer should be provided.
(e) To help thinking in students requires instruction and practice rather than
application. Teacher should address analysis, evaluation, and synthesis using
advance organizers that encourage students to operate at a higher level of
abstraction.
(f) For teaching a new biology concept, the teacher should motivate the students
and by presenting the advance organizer to relate the new concept with pre-
existing knowledge.
(g) For meaningful biology learning, sufficient amount of teaching materials
should be used and the materials should be in accordance with the nature of
the lesson.

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 (h) The student having the good biological skills and verbal capacity should be
taught by verbal expository method. This method increases debating,
reasoning, imaginary, problem solving process and conjecture-making ability
of students.

12. Experiential Learning

Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American

psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach (or client-centered
approach) to psychology. Rogers distinguished two types of learning: cognitive
(meaningless) and experiential (significant). The former corresponds to academic
knowledge, such as learning vocabulary or multiplication tables, and the latter refers
to applied knowledge, such as learning about engines in order to repair a car. The
key to the distinction is that experiential learning addresses the needs and wants of
the learner. Rogers lists these qualities of experiential learning as personal
involvement, self-initiated, evaluated by learner, and pervasive effects on learner.

Basic Principles:

(a) Significant learning takes place when the subject matter is relevant to the
personal interests of the student
(b) Learning which is threatening to the self (e.g., new attitudes or perspectives) are
more easily assimilated when external threats are at a minimum
(c) Learning proceeds faster when the threat to the self is low
(d) Self-initiated learning is the most lasting and pervasive

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Setting a positive climate for learning,
(b) Clarifying the purposes for the learner(s),
(c) Organizing and making available learning resources,
(d) Balancing intellectual and emotional components of learning,
(e) Sharing feelings and thoughts with learners but not dominating.

13. Structure of Intellect

Joy Paul Guilford (March 7, 1897–November 26, 1987) was an American

psychologist best remembered for his psychometric study of human intelligence,
including the distinction between convergent and divergent production. In
Guilford’s Structure of Intellect (SI) theory, intelligence is viewed as comprising
operations, contents, and products. There are five kinds of operations (cognition,
memory, divergent production, convergent production, evaluation), six kinds of
products (units, classes, relations, systems, transformations, and implications), and
five kinds of contents (visual, auditory, symbolic, semantic, behavioral).

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Basic Principles:

(a) Reasoning and problem-solving skills (convergent and divergent operations)

can be subdivided into 30 distinct abilities (6 products x 5 contents).

(b) Memory operations can be subdivided into 30 different skills (6 products x 5

contents).

(c) Decision-making skills (evaluation operations) can be subdivided into 30

distinct abilities (6 products x 5 contents).

(d) Language-related skills (cognitive operations) can be subdivided into 30

distinct abilities (6 products x 5 contents).

Implications for Biology Teaching

The following example illustrates three closely related abilities that differ in terms of
operation, content, and product. Evaluation of semantic units (EMU) is measured by
the ideational fluency test in which individuals are asked to make judgement about
concepts. For example, “Which of the following objects best satisfies the criteria,
hard and round: an iron, a button, a tennis ball, or a light bulb? On the other hand,
divergent production of semantic units (DMU) would require the person to list all
items they can think of that are round and hard in a given time period. Divergent
production of symbolic units (DSU) involves a different content category than DMU,
namely words (for instance, “List all words that end in ‘tion’). Divergent production
of semantic relations (DMR) would involve the generation of ideas based upon
relationships. An example test item for this ability would be providing the missing
word for the sentence: “The fog is a _____ sponge” (e.g., heavy, damp, full).

15. Information Processing Theory

George A. Miller (1920-2012) was one of the founders of cognitive psychology,

psycholinguistics, and cognitive science. He has provided two theoretical ideas that
are fundamental to cognitive psychology and the information-processing
framework. The first concept is “chunking” and the capacity of short-term memory.
Miller (1956) presented the idea that short-term memory could only hold 5-9 chunks
of information (the magical number, seven plus or minus two) where a chunk is any
meaningful unit. A chunk could refer to digits, words, chess positions, or people’s
faces. The concept of chunking and the limited capacity of short-term memory
became a basic element of all subsequent theories of memory.

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Basic Principles:

(a) Short-term memory (or attention span) is limited to seven chunks of

information.
(b) Planning (in the form of TOTE units) is a fundamental cognitive process.
(c) Behavior is hierarchically organized (e.g., chunks, TOTE units).

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Nonverbal working memory (the ability to maintain internal representations of
sensory-motor information)
(b) Verbal working memory (the internal representation of speech)
(c) Self-regulation of affect/motivation/arousal (the ability to delay or modulate
emotional reactions elicited by stimulus events), and
(d) Reconstitution (refers to the verbal and nonverbal analysis/synthesis skills that
contribute to the flexibility and creativity necessary for planning solutions)

16. Cognitive Load Theory

John Sweller (1946) is an Australian educational psychologist who is best

known for formulating an influential theory of cognitive load. This theory suggests
that learning happens best under conditions that are aligned with human cognitive
architecture. The structure of human cognitive architecture, while not known
precisely, is discernible through the results of experimental research. Recognizing
George Miller’s research showing that short-term memory is limited in the number
of elements it can contain simultaneously, Sweller builds a theory that treats
schemas, or combinations of elements, as the cognitive structures that make up an
individual’s knowledge base.

Basic Principles:

Specific recommendations relative to the design of instructional material include:

(a) Change problem-solving methods to avoid means-ends approaches that

impose a heavy working memory load, by using goal-free problems or
worked examples.

(b) Eliminate the working memory load associated with having to integrate
mentally, several sources of information by integrating physically, those
sources of information.

(c) Eliminate the working memory load associated with unnecessarily processing
repetitive information by reducing redundancy.

(d) Increase working memory capacity by using auditory as well as visual

information under conditions where both sources of information are essential
(i.e., non-redundant) to understanding.

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Implications for Biology Teaching

In combining an illustration of blood flow through the heart with text and
labels, the separation of the text from the illustration forces the learner to look back
and forth between the specified parts of the illustration and the text. If the diagram is
self-explanatory, research data indicates that processing the text unnecessarily
increases working memory load. If the information could be replaced with
numbered arrows in the labeled illustration, the learner could concentrate better on
learning the content from the illustration alone.

17. Multiple Intelligences

Howard Earl Gardner (July 11, 1943) is an American developmental

psychologist and the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and
Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. He
is currently the senior director of Harvard Project Zero, and since 1995, he has been
the co-director of the Good Project.

The theory of multiple intelligences suggests that there are several distinct
forms of intelligence that each individual possesses, in varying degrees. Gardner
proposes ten primary forms: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, body-
kinesthetic, intrapersonal (e.g., insight, metacognition), inter-personal (e.g., social
skills), naturalistic, existential, and moral intelligences.

Basic Principles

(a) Individuals should be encouraged to use their preferred intelligences in

learning.
(b) Instructional activities should appeal to different forms of intelligence.
(c) Assessment of learning should measure multiple forms of intelligence.

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Our school system, textbooks, and standardized tests tend to focus on
linguistic and technical biological intelligence while ignoring the six other
intelligences
(b) The traditional model says students who are talented in one area of school in
all the others, but the theory of multiple intelligences challenges tradition
(c) Field trips and sports may be programs may be more important than we
realize, because they encourage bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and on foot
learning
(d) By dividing students into group for team projects, teachers can foster
interpersonal intelligence, and indirectly, intrapersonal intelligence
(e) Ability grouping places student of similar aptitude and achievement together
so they receive instruction targeted to their specialty

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18. Criterion Referenced Instruction

Robert Bob Frank Mager (10 June 1923) is an American psychologist and
author, concerned with understanding and improving human performance. He is
known for developing a framework for preparing learning objectives, and criterion
referenced instruction (CRI), as well as addressing areas of goal orientation, student
evaluation, student motivation, classroom environment, educational change,
performance technology, and instructional design.

Basic Principles:

(a) Instructional objectives are derived from job performance and reflect the
competencies (knowledge/skills) that need to be learned.

(b) Students study and practice only those skills not yet mastered to the level
required by the objectives.

(c) Students are given opportunities to practice each objective and obtain
feedback about the quality of their performance.

(d) Students should receive repeated practice in skills that are used often or are
difficult to learn.

(e) Students are free to sequence their own instruction within the constraints
imposed by the pre-requisites and progress is controlled by their own
competence (mastery of objectives).

Implications for Biology Teaching

CRI has been applied to a workshop that Mager gives about CRI. The
workshop consists of a series of modules (mostly print materials) with well-defined
objectives, practice exercises, and mastery tests. Participants have some freedom to
choose the order in which they complete the modules, provided they satisfy the
prerequisites shown on the course map. Students may wish to apply this to their
own self-instruction, too.

For stating effective objectives for biology instruction, biology teachers may
wish to use Mager’s three components for a CRI: (a) Performance, (b) Condition, and
(c) Criterion.

(a) Performance—this is what students should be able to do as a result of

an instruction
(b) Condition—this identifies the condition(s) under which the learning is
expected to occur

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 (c) Criterion—this determines the performance level that will be
considered acceptable for the learner.

The Criterion Referenced Instruction has four stages involving (a) Goal/task
analysis, (b) Performance objectives, (c) Criterion referenced testing, and (d)
Learning modules.

(a) Goal/Task analysis—This is identification of specific competencies needed

as a result of the instruction
(b) Performance objectives—These are the criteria—which provide well-stated
outcomes for the instruction and learning outcomes and how they are
going to be evaluated
(c) Criterion Referenced Testing—This uses criterion-referenced tests, which
will assess whether the performance objectives were carried out and
achieved to the required standard earlier stated
(d) Learning modules—This involves development and validation of the
actual modules that would be used for training or instruction according to
the stated objectives

19. Gestalt Theory

Max Wertheimer (15 April 1880-12 October 1943), along with Wolfgang
Köhler (21 January 1887-11 June 1967) and Kurt Koffka (18 March 1886-1941), was
one of the principal proponents of Gestalt theory, which emphasized higher-order
cognitive processes in the midst of behaviorism. The focus of Gestalt theory was the
idea of “grouping,” i.e., characteristics of stimuli cause us to structure or interpret a
visual field or problem in a certain way (Wertheimer, 1922).

Basic Principles:

(a) Perceptions are the products of complex interactions among various stimuli
(b) Human beings are built to perceive structured whole as well as the individual
sensations—law of pragnanz (pregnant). We tend to complete missing elements
in a whole to perceive it as a whole
(c) Humans tend to close up gaps in objects in their minds—law of closure
(d) Humans tend to group similar items together, to see them as forming a gestalt,
within a larger form—the whole
(e) Humans tend to see things that are close together as belonging together, which
may be correct or wrong—law of proximity
(f) Humans tend to see objects that are symmetrical as belonging together—law of
symmetry

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(g) Law of continuity—when we can see continuity in two objects even when they
can be perceived differently
(h) Humans have an innate tendency to perceive one aspect of an event as the figure
or foreground and the other as the ground or background—the figure-ground
phenomenon
(i) Human beings often learn the relations between objects rather than the literal
things as they present to us
(j) Learners are capable of identifying the organizing principles behind solving a
problem that would facilitate solving the problem—insight learning
(k) Productive thinking—involves recognizing the meaning behind a problem
situation and doing things that would lead to the solution of the problem
creatively.
(l) The learner should be encouraged to discover the underlying nature of a topic or
problem (i.e., the relationship among the elements).
(m) Gaps, incongruities, or disturbances are an important stimulus for learning

(n) Instruction should be based upon the laws of organization: proximity, closure,
similarity, and simplicity.

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Biology lessons should be made holistic.

(i) An example is students intending to determine the rate of transpiration
in plant, as long as transpiration process is adequate, a standard
procedure can be applied. However, if the procedure were to be
jumped, the standard procedure will not work and students are forced
to solve the problem by understanding the true processes of
transpiration.
(b) Give students opportunities to practice deductive thinking during lessons
(c) Give students practice in pattern recognition that leads to multiple
answers
(d) Get students to practice prediction activities in class to enable them
recognize embedded meanings in objects and situations

20. Triarchic Theory

Robert J. Sternberg (8 December 1949) is an American psychologist and

psychometrician. He is Professor of Human Development at Cornell University.
According to Sternberg, a complete explanation of intelligence entails the interaction
of these three sub theories—componential, experiential, and practical. The theory
takes a cognitive approach to the theory of intelligence rather than the usual
psychometric approach, when he is a renowned psychometrician.

- 44 -
Basic Principles:

(a) Componential-analytical sub-theory (analytical giftedness) is ability to

analyze problems and capacity to find uncommon solutions that others may
not see. Individuals with only this ability may not necessarily be good in
coming up with unique creations of their own. This form of giftedness is what
current examinations commonly test.
(b) Experiential-creative subtheory is about how well an individual performs a
task depending on how familiar the task is. The subtheory relates well with
synthetic giftedness prevalent in creativity and intuition, which current
examinations rarely test. The subtheory has two components—novelty and
automation. Novelty is about tasks that an individual has not experienced
before but he/she is still able to solve it in a new way that others may not
notice. Automation involves tasks that an individual has performed many
times over, which can be done with minimum effort or thought and which
can take place along with the performance of other tasks. Being skilled in one
subtheory does not guarantee that an individual will be skilled in the use of
the other subtheory.
(c) Practical-contextual subtheory (practical giftedness)—this type of intelligence
is about “street wiseness” where an individual has forged a fit between
himself or herself and the environment, through a process of adaptation,
shaping, and selection. It involves ability to apply a combination of synthetic
and analytic skills for solving day-to-day problems.

Implications for Biology Teaching

(a) Training of intellectual performance must be socio-culturally relevant to the
individual
(b) A training program should provide links between the training and real-world
behavior.
(c) A training program should provide explicit instruction in strategies for
coping with novel tasks/situations
(d) A training program should provide explicit instruction in both executive and
non-executive information processing and interactions between the two.
Training programs should actively encourage individuals to manifest their
differences in strategies and styles

Conclusion
Biology teachers need to adopt appropriate theory in their instruction process
as this will go a long way to put the Nations’ science teaching on the road to
excellent pedagogy and, in turn, will produce resourceful products, because sound
science education is crucial to industrialization. It would equally produce a new
generation of biology students who can successfully explore the full possibilities in
the field of biology education in line with global best practices.

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Revision Questions

1. What is learning theory?

2. Identify the major lesson learnt in Jerome Bruner’s theory
3. Identify the major difference in social learning theory and social development
theory
4. Highlight the major principles of Robert Mills Gagné’s theory
5. Discuss Jean Piaget (Genetic Epistemology) theory.
6. Choose a concept in biology and relate the implication of Ausubel’s Subsumption
theory.
7. When the first theory of learning postulated and what was the theory all about?
8. Relate the Information Processing Theory (George Miller, 1956) to the learning of
biology and its implication to teaching biology.
9. Who proposed the theory that emphasized higher-order cognitive processes in
the midst of behaviorism?
10. Which of the learning theory is directly proposed from the field of biology?

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