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What can you do to improve your study strategies? Write a few notes on a technique that you think could help your learning in future, including some information about how the technique works, and what you will have to do to make it as effective as possible.

Social Learning Theories and Development

Social learning theory recognises that learning happens in a social environment. It is most closely associated with the famous Stanford University psychology professor, Albert Bandura. Bandura carried out a series of studies using a large doll, called a Bobo doll. Children observed adults engaging in different types of behaviour towards to doll, either in person (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961) or on a video (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1963). In one experimental condition, the adult behaved aggressively towards the doll, hitting it; sometimes the adult was rewarded for this behaviour, and sometimes they were punished. Bandura and his colleagues found that children often mimicked the behaviour of the adult they had observed, so that children who saw an adult behave aggressively towards the doll were more likely to be aggressive themselves, especially if they saw that the adult was rewarded. The likelihood of aggression was slightly moderated by other factors, such as the sex of both the adult and the child, but generally, the studies supported the idea that children learn by imitation of role models. Modern proponents of social learning, building upon Bandura’s work, argue that looking at behaviour or cognition in isolation can only provide some of the picture with regard to how people learn; we must recognise that learning occurs in a social context, either from instruction, or from modelling. They also accept that competition and reward can play a role in shaping behaviour, and as such, recognise that cognition and behaviourist processes are also part of learning. Scaffolding Since Bandura’s early work, social learning theory has been applied extensively to classroom learning, from nursery through to university study, and has informed much educational practice as a result. In 1976, expert psychologist and instructional designer, Jerome Bruner, integrated ideas from social learning theory with the work of developmental psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, and proposed the concept of learning through “scaffolding” (Wood, Bruner & Ross, 1976). The idea is that children learn from more experienced others, often adults such as parents and teachers, and that the guidance provided by the experienced person enables the child to successfully complete tasks that previously they were unable to complete independently. If you have ever watched a child learning to feed themselves, you will have seen a perfect example of scaffolding; first the parent feeds the child with a spoon, then the child learns to hold the spoon, but usually the parent needs to guide their hand to make sure the food reaches the child’s mouth, and eventually the child learns to manage the process independently, getting more successful as they practice. In Vygotsky’s (1978, p81) words, “what the child is able to with assistance today, he will be able to do independently tomorrow”. However, the value of scaffolding is not limited to the learning of small children and their parents or teachers. If you have learned or are learning to drive a car, then you will realise the importance of having a good instructor, who, at first, talks you through the basic processes, and perhaps models

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