The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch and Learn
How observation can lead to education
2013160075 Ken Lee
Advanced Academic English
Mr. Jim Connolly
May 30, 2013
Watch and Learn
2013160075 Ken Lee
"You live and learn. At any rate, you live," said Douglas Adams. In other words, he is saying that you are going to live anyway, so make life worth it by learning. Most people learn how to do things or how to act in certain situations by direct experiences, but given a human’s short lifespan, it is unlikely that a person will learn everything by experience. There is no doubt that direct experience is one of the best ways of learning, but it is impossible to experience everything first hand. This is where vicarious learning comes in; through which people learn simply by observing and modelling. This should not sound new to anyone because people have always been learning implicitly, they just never realised it. Then imagine how much people will be able to learn if they started to observe actively. So, let 's find out how observational learning occurs. Albert Bandura, a renowned psychologist from Stanford University, wrote, "In the social learning system, new patterns of behaviour can be acquired through direct experience or by observing the behaviour of others." Learning by direct experience literally means to learn by trial and error, which is the most familiar way of learning. On the other hand, implicit learning occurs when someone enlightens himself by observing someone else 's action and its consequences. Bandura further explains that there are four steps to learning implicitly: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. First, a person must pay attention to the model’s behaviour. Then, one must retain the model’s behaviour and have the necessary skills at one’s disposal. Finally, a person must be motivated to practice the behaviour and activate it into overt performance in order to learn implicitly. With these steps, Bandura claims, "virtually all learning phenomena
How observation can lead to education
2013160075 Ken Lee
Advanced Academic English
Mr. Jim Connolly
May 30, 2013
Watch and Learn
2013160075 Ken Lee
"You live and learn. At any rate, you live," said Douglas Adams. In other words, he is saying that you are going to live anyway, so make life worth it by learning. Most people learn how to do things or how to act in certain situations by direct experiences, but given a human’s short lifespan, it is unlikely that a person will learn everything by experience. There is no doubt that direct experience is one of the best ways of learning, but it is impossible to experience everything first hand. This is where vicarious learning comes in; through which people learn simply by observing and modelling. This should not sound new to anyone because people have always been learning implicitly, they just never realised it. Then imagine how much people will be able to learn if they started to observe actively. So, let 's find out how observational learning occurs. Albert Bandura, a renowned psychologist from Stanford University, wrote, "In the social learning system, new patterns of behaviour can be acquired through direct experience or by observing the behaviour of others." Learning by direct experience literally means to learn by trial and error, which is the most familiar way of learning. On the other hand, implicit learning occurs when someone enlightens himself by observing someone else 's action and its consequences. Bandura further explains that there are four steps to learning implicitly: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. First, a person must pay attention to the model’s behaviour. Then, one must retain the model’s behaviour and have the necessary skills at one’s disposal. Finally, a person must be motivated to practice the behaviour and activate it into overt performance in order to learn implicitly. With these steps, Bandura claims, "virtually all learning phenomena
References: Bandura, A. (1971). Social Learning Theory. pp.1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8. Retrieved from: http://www.jku.at/org/content/e54521/e54528/e54529/e178059/Bandura_SocialLearningTheory_ger.pdf [Accessed: 16 May 2013] Huitt, W. (2004). Observational (social) learning: An overview. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [17 May 2013], from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/soccog/soclrn.html The Brain: A Secret History - Emotions (2011). [video] BBC Four. Albert Bandura Bobo Doll experiment (1961). [video] Stanford University: Albert Bandura, Ross D., Ross S. A.. Haddon, M. (2004). The curious incident of the dog in the night-time. New York: Vintage Books. Doyle, A. (1892). The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York: Harper & Brothers.