Social Learning

Originally derived from the work of psychologist Albert Bandura, social learning theory focuses on a learning occurring within a social context. In other words, it states that people learn with and from others through modeling, observational learning and imitation. Social learning takes place within a social group such as a work team, a class of students, a department, etc... According to the learning focus, the social group can be identified as a:

• Community of practice, where professionals working in the same field share best practices and lessons learnt within the profession;
• Learning community, where a group of people is working together to learn the same subject;
• Professional network, where people either working in the same field or belonging to different professions ask questions or offer advice;
• Personal network, where friends and family exchange more personal information.

In the 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, TV characters, friends within their peer group and teachers at school. Models are an important source for learning, and according to theory learning can occur following:

• Live models, where an actual person demonstrates the desired behaviour.

E.g. students watching their parents reading;

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

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

• Symbols, where modelling involves a real or fictional character seen through media (movies, television, Internet, radio).

E.g. students watching a short video with fictional characters about the recycling process.

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

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

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 of this behaviour;
• Teachers must model appropriate behaviours;
• Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models;
• Teachers should encourage a sense of self efficacy in students. 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.

Manifestations of Social Learning

Social learning represents either simple or complex learning processes and mixes well with other forms of learning. This can be seen in the following manifestations of social learning:

• Open discussion resulting in feedback from other learners;
• Dialogue with a teacher, expert, coach…;
• Collaboration on a single project, involving contributions from different team members;
• Group activities performed by a team rather than individuals;
• Discussions embedded in other forms of e-learning;
• Individuals learning to function as members of a team by developing abilities to collaborate, share information and motivate others;
• Team learning where a group learns to function as a unit. ^[1] See also: Learning Styles, Social Constructivism, Social Media