Social Learning

According to social learning theory, individuals that are observed are called models. For example, in society children are surrounded by many influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends within their peer group and teachers at school.

Models are an important source for learning. According to theory, the learning can occur in relation to the following models:

• Live model, in which an actual person is demonstrating the desired behaviour.

E.g. students watch their parents reading;

• Verbal instructions, in which an individual describes the desired behaviour in detail and instructs the participant in how to engage in the behaviour.

E.g. students watch a teacher solving a mathematics problem on the blackboard;

• Symbolic, in which modelling involves a real or fictional character and occurs by means of the media (movies, television, Internet, radio).

E.g. students watch a short video about the recycling process.

There are four conditions necessary before an individual can successfully model the behaviour of someone else:

1) Attention, for an individual to learn something, they must pay attention to the model; 2) Retention, the observer must be able to remember in order to later reproduce the behaviour; 3) Reproduction, the observer has to be able to replicate the behaviour that the model has just demonstrated; 4) Motivation, an incentive driving the observer’s reproduction of the behaviour.

Benefits of social learning theory:

• teaches new behaviours;
• encourages the replication of behaviours individuals were used to perform ;
• increases the frequency of similar behaviours.

Implications of social learning on education:

• Students often learn by observing other people;
• The adoption of new behaviours can lead to class discussion where students talk about the rewards and consequences;
• Teachers must model appropriate behaviours;
• Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models;
• Teachers should encourage a sense of self efficacy for students. In fact, people are more likely to engage in certain behaviours when they believe they are capable of executing those behaviours successfully.
• Teachers should help students set realistic expectations for their accomplishments.

Social learning Techniques:

• Role-playing is a technique that works well with others, whether it is one on one or with a group of people.
• Mind maps and systems diagrams are great to work on in class.
• Working in groups to practice behaviours or procedures help students understand how to deal with variations: seeing the mistakes or errors that others make can help students avoiding them later.