L E A R N I N G

Learning is often defined as a relatively lasting change in behavior that results from experience.

The first step on our way to a memory is getting the information into the brain. The acquisition and/or encoding of new information through experience or practice is typically referred to aslearning, a process whereby attention, perception, and processing of information via various sensory modalities are incorporated.

Forms of Learning

1. Perceptual learning- in simple terms, the establishment of changes within the sensory systems of the brain.

2. Stimulus-response learning- involves learning to perform a certain behavior when a particular stimulus is present, thus establishing connections between sensory perception and movement circuits. Stimulus response learning includes two major classes of learning that psychologists have studied extensively: classical conditioning and instrumental or operant conditioning.

3. Motor learning- is a special form of stimulus response learning wherein establishment of changes occurs within motor systems with sensory guidance from the environment.

4. Relational learning- involves learning the complex relations among stimuli in such a way that we are able to make complex connections.

a. Spatial learning involves learning about the relations among many stimulib. Episodic learning remembering sequences of events that we witness

Types of Learning1. Associate Learning learning or "conditioning" term that refers to learning that two different events occur or happen together.

2. Non-associate Learning refers to learning that some events are irrelevant or not connected to one another.

3. Cognitive Learning acquisition of knowledge and skill by mental or cognitive processes.

4. Computer Assisted Learning using computer technology to assist with, augment or deliver part or all of the instruction and to evaluate participant progress along the way.ASSOCIATE LEARNINGAssociate learning is learning" or "conditioning" term that refers to learning that two different events occur or happen together.Classes of Associate LearningClassical ConditioningDeveloped by the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning is the first type of learning wherein an organism responds to an environmental stimulus.

The Language and Processes of Classical Conditioning by PavlovIn classical conditioning, the stimulus(S)triggers the response(R)of an organism. With the exposure of the organism to the stimulus, reflex results. Reflex is the involuntary behavior which comes from within. One of the most common reflexes seen to us is the blinking of the eye whenever air is blown into it or a foreign object approaches it. The concept of reflex, no conscious control, is incorporated in classical conditioning.1. An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is an event, object, or substance that naturally evokes a response. Example: Pizza makes a person hungry.

2. The unconditioned response (UCR) is the reaction to the unconditioned stimulus.Example: Pizza makes a person hungry.

3. The neutral stimulus under normal circumstances does not give you a distinct reaction.Example: A doorbell doesnt usually make you hungry.

4. The neutral stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus.Example: The doorbell rings when the pizza delivery person arrives.

5. The association is formed.Example: doorbell = pizza

6. The neutral stimulus now elicits the same response as the unconditioned stimulus.Example: The doorbell rings and you get hungry.

7. The neutral stimulus is now called conditioned stimulus (CS), and the response it evokes is called the conditioned response (CR).

Principles of Classical Conditioning1. Acquisition - initial learning. It is influenced by the order and timing of the presentation.2. Extinction - if a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus, then the conditioned response will disappear. 3. Discrimination - ability to distinguish between different stimuli.4. Stimulus Generalization - is the extension of the conditioned response from the original stimulus to similar stimuli.5. Higher Order Conditioning - This is where more than one stimulus is paired and presented; there can be a chain of events that are linked to the same stimulus. It is thought that words may acquire their emotional meaning through higher order conditioning, for example by pairing the words with something that causes emotion, eventually the word alone will have the emotional meaning.6. Avoidance Prevents Extinction - The tendency exhibited by most organisms is to avoid stimuli that bring on unpleasant feeling. It makes sense to do this if we are dealing with events or things that are clearly and imminently dangerous. However the tendency to avoid certain stimuli can work against us. The more you avoid a stimulus that evokes a strong emotional or reflex response, the more the strong feeling associated with that stimulus will be perpetuated. 7. Systematic Desensitization - is a type of psychotherapy that uses the avoidance-prevents-retardation principle to help people overcome phobias by gradually helping them to spend more and more time in the presence of the stimulus that is the source of the difficulty.8. Spontaneous Recovery - For reasons that are not yet quite fully understood by psychologists, a response to a conditioned stimulus sometimes will reappear suddenly after extinction has been achieved. Spontaneous recovery happens even in cases where a long period of time has elapsed since the extinction of the conditioned response.9. Aversive Conditioning - associate unpleasant stimulus with unwanted behavior.10. Aversive Counterconditioning - a stimulus that is pleasurable to the individual or organism is paired with a painful or noxious stimulus. The goal is, through the pairing, to form an unpleasant association that will discourage pursuit of that stimulus. The infliction of pain and suffering in this manner also presents some ethical difficulties even if the goal is to cure the problem.

Operant ConditioningDeveloped by B.F Skinner, operant conditioning is a way of learning by means of rewards and punishments. This type of conditioning holds that a certain behavior and a consequence, either a reward or punishment, have a connection which brings about learning.Types of ConsequencesA. REINFORCEMENTReinforcement is a process of increasing the frequency or rate of a behavior by means of presenting a stimulus shortly after the display of behavior. The event that intensifies the likelihood of the behavior to be repeated is called a reinforcer. There are two types of reinforcer:1. Positive reinforcersare favorable stimuli that are given after the display of behavior. Positive reinforcement strengthens the probability of a behavior by means of the addition of something.

2. Negative reinforcers, on the other hand, is the removal of the unfavorable stimuli after the display of behavior. In negative reinforcement, the behavior or response is intensified by the removal of something.In both positive and negative reinforcements, behavior is increased.B. PUNISHMENTIn contrast to reinforcement, punishment is a process wherein a stimulus is presented after the display of behavior and causes the decline in the likelihood of behavior to reoccur. There are two types of punishments:1. Positive punishmentis the addition of something which causes the decrease in repeating the behavior that was displayed. Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs.2. Negative Punishment, on the other hand, is the removal of something which is favorable, in order to decrease the likelihood of the behavior to reoccur.Some Important Concepts Related To Operant Conditioning Chaining reinforce behavior after completing a sequence of responses. Extinction decline in behavior due to lack of reinforcement.Maintaining BehaviorsBecause extinction occurs if we stop reinforcing a behavior, we must continue to reinforce it in order to keep it going.1. Continuous Reinforcement we reinforce the behavior every time it occurs. It is not necessarily the most effective way to maintain behavior.

2. Partial Reinforcement behavioral response is not rewarded every time.Partial reinforcement schedules comes in two general varieties: Ratio-based schedules - reinforcement pattern I based on the number of responses produced Interval-based schedules the pattern of reinforcement depends upon lengths of timeAdditionally, these schedules are termed either fixed because the number of responses or length of time does not vary; or variable because either the responses or time does vary. Fixed-ratio Schedule (FR) - Reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses. The result is fast, step-like response pattern. Example: Employers pay workers producing a number of products. Variable-ratio Schedule (VR) - Reinforcement occurs after an average number of responses that varies from trial to trial. The number that is required on any one specific trial is unpredictable. Example: playing lottery Fixed-interval Schedule (FI) - Reinforcement occurs after a preset time, not number of reinforcements. Example: You study for the test that your professor gives you which occurs once per month. Variable-interval Schedule (VI) Reinforcement occurs after an average amount of time has elapsed, and the interval varies from trial to trial. Example: You study for the surprise quizzes your professor gives without warning. Skinners Principle1. Operant conditioning involves learning of an association between a spontaneously omitted action and its consequences.2. Behavior is gradually shaped, or guided, by the reinforcement of responses that come closer and closer to the desired behavior. 3. When punishment is strong, immediate, consistent, and inescapable, it does suppress unwanted behavior. However, punishment has the following side effects:a. Behavior that is punished may be temporarily inhibited or hidden from the punishing agent but not necessarily extinguished.b. Even if punishment suppresses unwanted behavior, it does not replace that behavior with one that is more adaptive.c. Punishment can sometimes backfire because stimulus thought to be aversive may prove rewarding. d. Severe punishment can arouse fear, anger, frustration and other negative emotions leading the person to strike back, retaliate or run away. Therefore, properly administered, punishment can suppress unwanted behavior. It is recommended to combine use of reinforcement (to increase alternative desirable behavior) and extinction (to decrease undesirable behavior) to shape new more adaptive way of life.

NON-ASSOCIATE LEARNINGNon-associate learning refers to learning that some events are irrelevant or not connected to one another.Classes of Non-associate LearningHabituationHabituation is a psychological learning process wherein there is a decrease in response to a stimulus after being repeatedly exposed to it. This concept states that an animal or a human may learn to ignore a stimulus because of repeated exposure to it. When we enter a room, we may feel distracted about the noisy sound produced by an old air conditioning unit. But when we spend more time inside the room, we tend to ignore the annoying and sound although it is still present.

Sensitization

Sensitization is a learning process wherein we become sensitive to pain, sound, smell, and other senses. It is a basic type of non-associative learning (i.e. learning that some events are irrelevant or not connected to one another). While sensitization is a good adaptive learning process of an organism, it can also lead to maladaptive process when the organism is sensitized with harmful stimuli.When you rub your arms continuously, you will feel a warm sensation due to the repeated stimulation of the peripheral nerves located in your arms. However, after some time this warm sensation would turn into a painful feeling, so your brain would warn you that rubbing your arms vigorously for a long time would be harmful and painful for you. Theconcept of sensitizationholds that there is a particular cellular receptor that is expected to respond to a stimulus. Once stimulation occurs, that cellular receptor is to transmit information to and from the brain via the peripheral nerves, resulting to sensitization.Types of Sensitization1. Long Term Potentiation or LTP This type of sensitization involves the electrical or chemical stimulation of the organisms hippocampus (memory center of the brain). Many researchers have hypothesized that there are so-called LTP receptors which are responsible for memory and learning new things.2. Kindling

This type of sensitization also includes the hippocampus of the organism just like in LTP. One difference of kindling to LTP, however, is that there is a repeated stimulation of the hippocampal or amygdaloid neurons. Kindling seems to be very dangerous because even a small stimulation would result to seizures in animals studied inside the laboratories. The discovery of kindling has been used as a theory in explaining epilepsy on the temporal lobe of humans. In temporal lobe epilepsy, repetitive stimulation like flickering lights or on and off sounds may cause epileptic seizures. This repetitive stimulation is the reason why kindling may be the process undergone by people who experience seizures.3. Central Sensitization

This type of sensitization comprises the pain receptors (called the nociceptive neurons) located in the spinal cord. When peripheral tissue damage or inflammation occurs, these pain receptors are sensitized, causing a person to feel sensitive to the pain he experiences. The concept of central sensitization has shown a logical explanation for health conditions where long term pain (chronic pain) is a symptom. Because of this, many researchers have developed `desensitization` therapies to relieve the feeling of long term pain.4. Drug SensitizationAs the name implies, drug sensitization happen when a person becomes dependent on a drug due to repeated doses.

COGNITIVE LEARNINGNot all cases of learning can easily be captured by classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Learning would be extremely inefficient if we had to rely completely on conditioning for all our learning. Human beings can learn efficiently by observation, taking instruction, and imitating the behavior of others.

"Cognitive learning is the result of listening, watching, touching or experiencing."

Cognitive learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge and skill by mental or cognitive processes; the procedures we have for manipulating information 'in our heads'. Cognitive processes include creating mental representations of physical objects and events, and other forms of information processing.

In cognitive learning, the individual learns by listening, watching, touching, reading, or experiencing and then processing and remembering the information. Cognitive learning might seem to be passive learning, because there is no motor movement. However, the learner is quite active, in a cognitive way, in processing and remembering newly incoming information. Cognitive learning enables us also, to create and transmit a complex culture that includes symbols, values, beliefs and norms.

Observational LearningObservational learning is the learning of new, voluntary behaviors takes place simply through processes of observation and imitation, and without the use of any direct consequences to shape or maintain it.

Social LearningIn social learning, learning takes place primarily through observation of others behavior and also the consequences that other individuals experience in response to their behavior.

ALTERNATIVE LEARNING METHODS:COMPUTER-ASSISTED LEARNING

Rapid changes in technology have made the computer an integral part of our personal and professional lives. Concurrent with changes in computer technology have been major changes in how the computer is being used to enhance education and training. In many schools, it is now common place to find students using multimedia computers as an integral part of the learning process. Clinicians can take online continuing education courses or learn new information from a CD-ROM. Clearly, learning with the aid of a computer is here to stay. But what are the implications of using computer-assisted learning (CAL) for training reproductive health professionals? CAL means using computer technology to assist with, augment or deliver part or all of the instruction and to evaluate participant progress along the way. There are several terms commonly used in CAL: Multimedia. Multimedia simply means a variety of media together. On the computer, the media can be text, sound and still or moving pictures. Multimedia instruction can simulate a real-life experience, such as decision-making on the job, thereby allowing the learner to progress through training by interacting with realistic situations. Interactive multimedia are those that require the participant to interact with the computer by completing exercises, answering questions and solving problems. Computer-based training. Computer-based training, also known as computer-assisted instruction (CAI) or computer-assisted learning (CAL), is instruction delivered by a computer. Originally, it was text-based, but most computer-based training programs now encompass many multimedia elements. Internet or Web-Based Training. Many organizations are beginning to provide multimedia training materials on Internet websites so that training will be more accessible and materials can be more easily modified. Distance Education. Distance education (also known as distance learning or open learning) is instruction in other than the traditional face-to-face or instructor-led format, often at a time and place of the individual's choosing. It can be in the form of self-study materials, CAL modules, Internet materials or some combination of these or other media.Why Use Technology to Assist Learning?CAL and traditional, group-based learning have the same purpose: transferring information and skills. In many ways, delivering instruction using computer technologies is similar to delivering it in a face-to-face format. Good instruction fulfills the desired learning outcomes, whether instructor-led or technology-based. As with any alternative learning approach, there are advantages and limitations to consider.

Advantages Improves access to instruction Complements a wide variety of learning styles Is non-threatening, allowing participants with varying knowledge and skills to obtain instruction in a more comfortable manner Enables individuals to choose a convenient time and place for learning Increases instructional effectiveness, because learners can review each topic as much as they need to, and do not have to progress to the next topic until they feel ready Results in increased retention because each learner has the same level of participation in the learning process Provides immediate feedback to participants Allows consistent, standardized presentation of material Allows easy updating of materials Reduces training time and costsLimitationsSome of the limitations of CAL are that it involves: Initial development time and high cost Access to computers and, for online learning, the Internet Technical support for computers Training of trainers to facilitate CAL Security for computers

Prepared by: Jamilah Lasaca John Brian Milan