What does it really mean when we talk about nature versus nurture? Children are born knowing nothing, but learn through discovery, experience and modeled behaviors. This is an important factor of education because as teachers, we have control over the actions we model in class, but that is it. We do not get to choose the lives at home or our students, but we can work to model positive, encouraging, empathetic and kind behaviors and hope they model that behavior in their own lives.
The Social Learning Theory is the idea that children learn from the environment they are around growing up. It is the idea that students observe and model the behaviors they witness that reap a positive incentive. Children can learn based on personal experiences, but predominately make decisions based upon their observations and experiences with others. Children look to a model for advice on actions and decision-making. If they see someone they look to as a model doing an action and getting positive feedback, the child will imitate this behavior in their own life. "Identification occurs with another person (the model) and involves taking on (or adopting) observed behaviors, values, beliefs and attitudes of the person with whom you are identifying, (McLeod, 2016).
There are 4 parts to this theory:
Attention-When children first observe someone in their live doing an action and they are interested and taking the information in.
Retention- A child retains the memory of the action and continues to remember it and revisit the memory.
Motor Reproduction- When children recreate an action or movement they observed someone else do.
Motivation- when children see others in their lives reap a positive reward for their behavior, children will imitate said behavior. If the continue to get positive reinforcement, they will continue the behavior.
In my context, this theory comes up often. In my 4th grade classroom, I spend 8 hours a day with students and then after that, I have no idea what goes on at home nor do I have control over the environment. I have seen first-hand students model behavior they have learned at home. It can be challenging to navigate the space between honoring a home life and keeping things appropriate and within expectations at school. Since analyzing this model, I have shifted my thinking on the way I react to situations that may not be appropriate for school. Instead of immediately getting frustrated with a student, I make sure to have a discussion with them on why what they did wasn't school appropriate. We discuss how at home you may do things, but it is important to think about school and your classmates when thinking about school-appropriate actions.
On the flip side, this theory is really important for the act of modeling for students. According to this theory, students model actions they see get a positive reward in their lives. If teachers model kind and respectful behaviors this will embody itself in the students you work with. If you create a positive environment, it is likely your students will model and pick up on the positive environment. "If a teacher is positive with their students and they encourage them, this positive energy and verbal encouragement, in turn, helps build self-efficacy, the belief in one’s abilities to succeed in various situations, (Kurt, 2020)." I also believe in modeling mistakes. I think that modeling intentionally (and sometimes unintentionally) making mistakes is hugely important for student learning. It takes away the stigma of making mistakes and makes children feel okay if they make a mistake and know that it is a learning experience. Modeling the behavior you want to see fulfilled in the classroom is a way to implement this theory in the classroom.
This is an infographic I made about the Social Learning Theory to demonstrate some key ideas and the process.
Sources:
Mcleod], [S. (1970, January 1). [Albert Bandura's social learning theory]. Simply Psychology.
Last Updated November 30th, 2018 07:17 pm. (2018, November 30). Social learning theory (Albert Bandura). InstructionalDesign.org. Retrieved July 18, 2022, from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-learning/
Kurt, S. (2020, January 6). Social Learning Theory: Albert Bandura. Educational Technology. Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://educationaltechnology.net/social-learning-theory-albert-bandura/
Social Learning theory. gerardfriel.com. (2020, October 20). Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://www.gerardfriel.com/instructional-design/social-learning-theory/
Comments