Generic Definition of Learning Lecture Notes

Lecture Notes:

The word learning exists as a social construct of social action. When viewing learning this way (as in a learners’ view), what people say is learning is a way to represent the observable processes of a person interacting with her or his environment immediately before, during, and after that person begins a new behavior pattern. Behavioral and social scientists, using various technical words and phrases reported observing parts of this process occuring at four levels (ALV Orders of Learning) of social activity. Artist, novel writers, philosophers and others have recorded these parts and processes for eons.

Four Orders (Levels) of Learning

The fours orders of learning correspond to the four levels of Parson’s hierarchy of control and influence formed by latent pattern variables in his theory of social action. Using the word Order instead indicates that learning (change in a behavior pattern) begins with a learner sensing/attending to something in the immediate environment.

First Order

Second Order

Third Order

Fourth Order

Comment

Observing correspondence of Parsons’ pattern variables in empirical data collected during analysis of observations and scaling during development of The REAL Scales was a surprise. When Parsons was advised of this correspondence, he too reportedly was surprised, commenting that no one else that he knew about had used the pattern variables as part of an empirical analysis of social action.

In short, responses by house parents to questions that applied choices in latent pattern variables predicted better than nine out of ten times changes in behavior pattern of residents of homes for people with mental retardation. No other data had such a high level of results at that time.