Educational Learning Theories - Essay Example

 Educational Learning Theories Relevant Behavioral and Contextual Factors Alisha’s behavior results from the harsh social and environmental circumstances that she has undergone. One can tell from a behaviorism perspective that Alisha’s actions, decisions, and thoughts emanate from her past conditioning. Having lost her husband at an early age, she feels that the whole world is against her, considering that she has a tow-year old baby whom she has to take care of. Indeed, Alisha has acquired her cheating behavior because of the difficult situations that she finds herself in that prevent her from studying well or even catching up with the other students. Her background spells hopelessness although she has struggled to learn since her enrollment. In order to understand Alisha’s case, it is important to look at the educational learning theories alongside behavioral theories. Unlike any other child that struggles to learning school, Alisha’s situation is a bit more complicated in the sense that she is an adult who is learning under stressful circumstances. The whole predicament that Alisha has gone through played a central role in informing her decision to plagiarize someone else’s work and to contemplate withdrawing from school. Her behavior and situation require cognitive, behavioral, and constructivist approaches in order to appreciate her learning conditions (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Constructivism Perspective Perhaps Alisha’s failure in school could be because of her passive involvement in academic work. Looking at her situation from a constructivism perspective, it is worth noting that perhaps she has been learning many theories without applying any of them into practice. Since she is a single mother, she identifies well with practical elements, especially when they relate to parenthood. Perhaps the teacher could have borrowed from constructivist theory in order to make her learning experience more effective just as the learning of other students have been. Additionally, constructivism dictates that the learner ought to construct ideas on his or her own. Alisha’s failure in class resulted from the education system where the teacher gives the students everything that they need before offering them a test. Alisha would have performed better had the teachers, especially her composition instructor, given her an assignment to write about her experiences in the past and how she thinks her past has influenced her present learning outcomes. Probably, she would have gotten a better grade because the composition delves on experiences that he identifies with as a single parent. Indeed, Alisha’s experiences have taught her a lot about life and she probably has some knowledge that the other students who performed better lack. Had the instructors allowed for constructivism in class and in exam, Alisha’s grades would have been better (Porcaro, 2011). Cognitive Perspective When it comes to the cognitive theory of learning, it is worth noting that the thought processes of Alisha developed over time. Her thought processes have had a significant influence on how she interacts with the world around her, particularly how she studies. When one follows the stages of cognitive development carefully, he/she realizes that the events that happened to Alisha’s life, especially the misfortunes, contributed significantly to her weird thought processes. Since Alisha was married at a young age, she had to deal with the challenges of motherhood sooner than most girls of her age did. Besides, her husband’s fatality brought considerable despair to her life, changing her entire perception of the world. Nonetheless, Alisha resolves to attend schools amid a stressful personal life. She struggles in school but only manages grade D in her examinations. This dismal performance leads her to contemplate seeking a counselor before dropping out of school. Clearly, her thought processes are rational in the sense that any other person who would have found himself/herself in the same predicament would have made similar or even worse decisions (Chronister & Ellen, 2003). Behavioral Perspective Conditioning plays a primary role in the acquisition of certain behaviors, including Alisha’s behavior in school and at home. To begin with, Alisha is intrinsically as hardworking woman, as depicted in her life immediately after her husband’s death. She has conditioned herself to be determined no matter the challenges. She has developed good habits that she wants her daughter Sophie to ape when she is of age. Her determination to work, while attending college and taking care of her young child, is something that she has been practicing from childhood. It is so because habits do not occur spontaneously but they are rather developed through constant practice over time. Alisha’s behavior in school is perhaps her habit, especially if she feels overwhelmed by duties or chores. She blatantly admitted to her English instructor that she had plagiarized someone else’s assignment. Perhaps she had formed a habit of cheating in school ever since she joined school because no one can wake up one day and decide to cheat academically if they are not accustomed to such acts. It appears that she had formed a habit of cheating in class and this conditioning led to her behavior. It is so because from a behaviorist learning theory, conditioning plays an important role in language acquisitions. Alisha could have plagiarized the assignments of students who failed and subsequently got a D grade when she could have studied hard and got a better grade (Schwandt, 2013). Relevance of specific Ethical Standards to the case Certain ethical standards are specific to the case, especially considering the unethical behavior of Alisha in school. Schools, colleges, and universities have ethical standards for their academic programs that all students are supposed to uphold. Ethical standards in academics are against cheating and all forms of plagiarism from students. By plagiarizing another student’s work, Alisha fell short of the ethical standards expected of her by the college as a student. The case is a classic ethical case for academic standards (Fritz, O’Neil, Popp, Williams, & Arnett, 2013). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Factors Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors are relevant to Alisha’s case. Concerning the intrinsic motivational factors, it is worth noting that Alisha decided to pursue college education in order to gain personal reward and no outside pressure influenced her decision. Additionally, she works and takes care of her baby because she understands the personal rewards that come with taking good care of a family and raising good kids. On the other hand, the extrinsic motivational factors that forced Alisha to plagiarize were because she was overwhelmed with her studies and she did not want to fail again. She contemplated dropping out of college in order to evade the daunting studies (Hung, Durcikova, Lai, & Lin, 2011). References Chronister, K. M., & Ellen, H. M. (2003). Applying social cognitive career theory to the empowerment of battered women. Journal of Counseling and Development: JCD, 81(4), 418-425. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/219036257?accountid=45049 Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71. Fritz, J. H., O’Neil, N. B., Popp, A. M., Williams, C., & Arnett, R. C. (2013). The influence of supervisory behavioral integrity on intent to comply with organizational ethical standards and organizational commitment. Journal of business ethics, 114(2), 251-263. Hung, S. Y., Durcikova, A., Lai, H. M., & Lin, W. M. (2011). The influence of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on individuals' knowledge sharing behavior. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 69(6), 415-427. Porcaro, D. (2011). Applying constructivism in instructivist learning cultures. Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 5(1), 39-54. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17504971111121919 Schwandt, D. R. (2013). Mind, Mead, and Mental Behaviorism. Emergence: Complexity and Organization, 15(4), 112-116. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1476822053?accountid=45049 Read More