INTRODUCTION

Learning theories are the main guide for educational systems planning in the classroom and
clinical training included in nursing. The teachers by knowing the general principles of these
theories can use their knowledge more effectively according to various learning situations.
Learning theories have helped to clarify how people think and how they incorporate what
they've learned. Many theories have been proposed by educational psychology and scholars
over the last century to understand how people acquire, coordinate, and apply skills and
information. Instead of presenting a single theory, educational psychology has a range of
theories and viewpoints on how learning occurs and whether individuals are motivated to
learn and improve. Understanding learning theories, which are at the center of educational
psychology, is crucial in education because it can assist us in developing a learning
atmosphere, increasing the quality of the educational system, and fostering educational
harmony.

Things are different after we graduate. When adults want to understand more, that is because
they see the merit of it. For instance, we may take up a hobby because we find it fascinating
or soothing. Or we could develop a talent that will help us progress in our professions. Our
desires and goals guide our learning. The distinction is often overlooked in corporate
learning. When this occurs, teaching takes the form of a classroom, with students being
paired together and expected to learn material. It's no surprise the model isn't working. Adults
have varying degrees of experience, so every classroom would have some students who are
trying to keep up and others who are bored by the material. If we are using labels honestly,
there are several different adult learning theories in the research literature. At least, that is the
core argument of transformative learning approaches which is a true learning experiences can
change the participant. In practice, it's best to begin with learning opportunities that cater to
your target audience, then move on to practices that test stereotypes and discuss alternate
perspectives. Self-directed learning, since this approach recognizes that the bulk of adult
learning occurs outside of the framework of formal schooling, the focus is on emphasizing
such informal learning opportunities. This can be accomplished by presenting material,
assisting individuals in planning their learning, or reviewing learning experiences after the
event. Experiential learning makes the case that the essence of adult learning is making sense
of experiences. Adults learn best when they learn by doing. Learning activities thus make
heavy use of role-playing, simulations, and so on. Adult-learning also termed as andragogy,
which is comparatively equivalent to pedagogy (child-learning).

It is the specialized art of effective learning, designs, instructions, deliver for adults to
streamline the learning process that help them meet their needs and achieve their goals. This
theory focuses on collection of learning material along with development, implementation,
and execution of course to facilitate the adult learning experience. The best part of andragogy
is, learner needs to know why they are learning to meet their needs, achieve their goals, be
relevant and organized Malcolm Knowles (1980). Lastly, many of the insights from the
preceding hypotheses are combined in andragogy. This method begins by understanding the
distinctions between adults and children and then creates learning opportunities from there.
For example, learning environments are designed around the premise that adults bring their
own collection of life experiences and motivations to the table, that they can guide their own
learning, that they learn best by doing, and that they want to adapt their learning to specific
circumstances earlier rather than later.

Besides that, Alkadhi (2010) characterised adult learners as person who are actively seeking
the prospect, expanding on their knowledge even needed to balance up the rigorous and time
consuming aspects of learning with the demanding responsibilities of daily life. Adult
learners perceive learning as neither an inconvenience nor a waste. On the contrary, learning
poses as the solution to any shortcomings in their already established routine. Often, adult
learners seek opportunities to expand on their knowledge when they are faced with life
changes that may challenge them to improve upon themselves in difference stages of life.
There are a number of principles in adult education. As we all are aware that the adult and
child learning are totally different so here are a few principles and its applications which has
been stated by Jannette Collins (2004), Adults have accumulated a foundation of life
experiences and knowledge. Connect life experiences and prior learning to new information.
Adults are autonomous and self-directed. Involve participants in the learning process, serving
as a facilitator and not just a supplier of facts. Adults are goal-oriented. Create educational
programs that are organized with clearly defined elements, clearly showing how the program
will help participants reach their goals. Adults are relevancy-oriented and practical. Help
learners see a reason for learning something by making it applicable to their work or other
responsibilities of value to them. Adults (all learners) need to be respected. Acknowledge the
experiences that adult participants bring to the learning environment, allowing for opinions to
be voiced freely, adults are motivated to learn by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Show learners how the learning will benefit them and create a comfortable and appropriately
challenging learning environment.

Adults learn best when they are active participants in the learning process. Limit lecturing
and provide opportunities for sharing of experiences, questions, and exercises that require
participants to practice a skill or apply knowledge. Not all adults learn the same way.
Accommodate different learning styles by offering a variety of training methods example,
group discussion, role-playing, lecturing, case studies, panel/guest expert, games, structured
note-taking, individual coaching, demonstration, and variation in media used and by using
visual, auditory, and kinesthetic techniques. Adults learn more effectively when given timely
and appropriate feedback and reinforcement of learning. Provide opportunity for feedback
from self, peers, and instructor. Adults learn better in an environment that is informal and
personal. Promote group interaction.

In general, all theories of adult education are based on valuing the prior learning and
experience of adults O’Brien G (2004). Adult learning requires building on this prior
learning, using methods that treat learners with respect, and recognizing that people have
different learning styles and have a variety of responsibilities and time commitments.
Effective educators also recognize that adults often learn collectively from each other. The
optimal role of the adult learner in the learning situation is that of a self-directed, self-
motivated manager of personal learning who collaborates as an active participant in the
learning process and who takes responsibility for learning. Educators will be more successful
if they understand the basic principles of adult learning and apply these principles in their
teaching.

The following section will discuss on the basic principles and/or concept of the behaviourist,
cognitive and 21st century skills/ learning.

Behaviourist Learning Theory

B.F. Skinner (1904–90) was a leading American psychologist, Harvard professor and
proponent of the behaviourist theory of learning in which learning is a process of
‘conditioning’ in an environment of stimulus, reward and punishment. Skinner explains the
difference between informal learning, which occurs naturally, and formal education, which
depends on the teacher creating optimal patterns of stimulus and response (reward and
punishment), or ‘operant conditioning’. Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of
reinforcement under which students learn. They learn without teaching in their natural
environments, but teachers arrange special contingencies which expedite learning, hastening
the appearance of behaviour which would otherwise be acquired slowly or making sure of the
appearance of behaviour which might otherwise never occur or happen. In improving
teaching it is less important to find new reinforcers than to design better contingencies using
those already available. Immediate and consistent reinforcement is, of course, desirable but
this is not to deny the importance of intermittent or remote reinforcers. The student who
knows how to study knows how to amplify immediate consequences so that they prove
reinforcing. He not only knows, he knows that he knows and is reinforced accordingly. The
transition from external reinforcement to the self-generated reinforcement of knowing what
one knows is often badly handled. In a small class the pre-current behaviour of listening,
reading, solving problems, and composing sentences is reinforced frequently and almost
immediately, but in a large lecture course the consequences are infrequent and deferred. If
mediating devices have not been set up, if the student is not automatically reinforced for
knowing that he knows, he then stops working, and the aversive by-product of not-knowing
pile up.

This theory is relatively simple to understand because it relies only on observable behavior
and describes several universal laws of behavior. Its positive and negative reinforcement
techniques can be very effective– such as in treatments for human disorders including autism,
anxiety disorders and antisocial behavior. Behaviorism is often used by teachers who reward
or punish student behaviors. Behaviorism is often seen in contrast to constructivism.
Constructivists are more likely to allow for experimentation and exploration in the classroom
and place a greater emphasis on the experience of the learner. In contrast to behaviorists, they
feel that an understanding of the brain informs teaching.

Experiments by behaviorists identify conditioning as a universal learning process. There are

two different types of conditioning, each yielding a different behavioral pattern:

Classic conditioning occurs when a natural reflex responds to a stimulus. We are biologically
“wired” so that a certain stimulus will produce a specific response. One of the more common
examples of classical conditioning in the educational environment is in situations where
students exhibit irrational fears and anxieties for instance fear of failure, fear of public
speaking and general school phobia.

Behavioral or operant conditioning occurs when a response to a stimulus is reinforced.

Basically, operant conditioning is a simple feedback system: If a reward or reinforcement
follows the response to a stimulus, then the response becomes more probable in the future.
For example, leading behaviorist B.F. Skinner used reinforcement techniques to teach
pigeons to dance and bowl a ball in a mini-alley.

There have been many criticisms of behaviorism, including the following, behaviorism does
not account for all kinds of learning, since it disregards the activities of the mind.
Behaviorism does not explain some learning–such as the recognition of new language
patterns by young children–for which there is no reinforcement mechanism. Lastly, research
has shown that animals adapt their reinforced patterns to new information. For instance, a rat
can shift its behavior to respond to changes in the layout of a maze it had previously mastered
through reinforcements. Behaviorism is a worldview that assumes a learner is essentially
passive, responding to environmental stimuli. The learner starts off as a clean slate ( tabula
rasa) and behavior is shaped through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement
(Watson, J. B. 2013). Both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement increase the
probability that the antecedent behavior will happen again. In contrast, punishment (both
positive and negative) decreases the likelihood that the antecedent behavior will happen
again. Positive indicates the application of a stimulus; Negative indicates the withholding of a
stimulus. Learning is therefore defined as a change in behavior in the learner. Lots of (early)
behaviorist work was done with animals (e.g. Pavlov’s dogs) and generalized to humans
(Pavlov, I. P., & Anrep, G. V. 2003). Behaviorism precedes the cognitivist worldview. It
rejects structuralism and is an extension of Logical Positivism.

While behaviorism is a great option for many teachers, there are some criticisms of this
theory. Behaviorism is best for certain learning outcomes, like foreign languages and math,
but aren’t as effective for analytical and comprehensive learning. It is very important for
educators to choose which learning theory is effective for their classroom.

Cognitive Learning Theory

Cognitive learning theory explains how internal and external factors influence an individual’s
mental processes to supplement learning. Delays and difficulties in learning are seen when
cognitive processes are not working regularly. These processes are such as attention,
observation, retrieval from long-term memory, and categorization. Several researchers have
made significant contributions to this theory. Jerome Bruner (1966) focused on how mental
processes are linked to teaching. Bruner (1966) states that a theory of instruction should
address four major aspects which are, predisposition towards learning, the ways in which a
body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be most readily grasped by the learner, the
most effective sequences in which to present material, and the nature and pacing of rewards
and punishments. Good methods for structuring knowledge should result in simplifying,
generating new propositions, and increasing the manipulation of information. Another
researcher by the name Jean Piaget recognized that the environment plays a huge role and
also focused on changes that take place in the internal cognitive structure. Today, cognitive
learning theory is dominant in psychology. It is broken down into two categories.

Besides that, cognitive learning theory has a number of benefits such as the following
enhances learning where cognitive learning theory enhances lifelong learning. Workers can
build upon previous ideas and apply new concepts to already existing knowledge. Then,
boosts confidence for instance, employees become more confident in approaching tasks as
they get a deeper understanding of new topics and learn new skills. Enhances Comprehension
where cognitive learning improves learners’ comprehension of acquiring new information.
They can develop a deeper understanding of new learning materials. Improves problem-
solving skills, cognitive learning equips employees with the skills they need to learn
effectively. They are thereby able to develop problem-solving skills they can apply under
challenging tasks. Moreover, help learn new things faster through the experience of learning,
the employee will be able to recycle and use the same learning methods that worked
previously. This will help them learn new things a lot faster as they already know what works
for them when it comes to obtaining new knowledge. Lastly, teaches to form concept
formation (think abstract) in other words cognitive learning can also teach your employees to
form a range of different concepts such as easily perceiving and interpreting information that
could boost creativity and lead to innovations at the workplace.

21st Century Skills/ Learning Theory

The 21st Century Skills initiative is an education standards and reform movement, located
primarily in the United States, that is focused on improving what US public school students
must learn in school so that they are better prepared to succeed in their school and career
lives. The term “21st century skills” includes the following skill sets like life/career skill such
as adaptability and flexibility, initiative and self-direction, leadership and responsibility,
productivity and accountability, social and cross-cultural skills. Core subjects which are
English/language arts, mathematics, arts, science, history, geography and others. 21st century
themes which are emphasized such as civic literacy, environmental literacy, financial literacy
(including economic, business, and entrepreneurial skills), global awareness, and health
literacy. Information/media/technology skills for instance media literacy and information
literacy. Followed by, learning/innovation skills which are creativity, critical thinking,
collaboration, communication, and problem solving. Students are expected to master these
skills and understand these themes while learning core subject content in meaningful,
interdisciplinary way. Teachers, administrators, schools, and districts are expected to use
these guidelines, known as the P21 Framework, as a foundation for developing curriculum,
assessments, and standards that they deem appropriate for their students. Some organizations,
like the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, provide tools and resources for educators to use
in supporting their students’ acquisition of these skills. In addition, there are also model
classrooms, schools, and districts that can serve to guide others as they develop their
alignment with these standards. Teachers are encouraged to create their own curriculum
following the P21 Framework that would work best for their students.

Application of Cognitive Theory in Learning

Cognitive psychologists, unlike behaviorists, believe that learning is a targeted internal

process and focus on thinking, understanding, organizing, and consciousness. They say that
this type of learning cannot be observed directly and it is associated with the change in
capacity and capability of the person to respond. Essentially, it does not immediately change
the behavior. Fundamentalists believe that the students must be equipped to questioning skills
and problem solving, so by exploration and information processing, they will be able to learn
actively, solving and searching for new information, and reviewing their previous
experiences for better understanding. Gestalt theory is known as the leader of learning
cognitive theories by (Shabani H. Mashhad, & BehNashr 2000). Cognitive perspectives were
inspired by the works of Gestalt psychologists in Germany, who insisted on the person's
ability to organize and transforming what is taught into a general pattern (or Gestalt). They
believed that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and breaking the behavior into its
components, generally destroy the whole concept of behavior. Wertheimer said that
perception of the individual by using the principle of Pragnanz plan is structured or organized
into simplest possible form in order to be able to understand its meaning. It is composed of
four laws of understanding: Similarity, vicinity, relevance, and continuity. Kafka believed
that these laws of understanding could be used as well as learning rules. Thus, it created the
Gestalt theory of learning with insight (Bastable SB. Sudbury, MA Jones and Bartlett).

Learning combined with understanding instead of mechanical repetition of excitation-

response relationship needs to be consistent with previous experiences or existing knowledge
in order to create new awareness. Nursing educators can use these principles in the training
sessions to be seen as a whole not as a collection of discrete facts. For example, if a session is
connected about the structure and function of the respiratory tract disorders such as bronchitis
and the activities of daily life, the students can understand the anatomy and physiology, the
disease state (bronchitis), and its effect on the patient as a whole and not as the unrelated
three units. In the meantime, it is possible to use the methods for solving the problem as cited
by Basavanthappa (2003). For example, rather than to teach the students for caring of a
person with bronchitis, the created disturbance within body's physiology by the disease can
be described and ask the nurse to analyze the problems that may occur to the patient. By
relating these factors into physiology and to the patients who previously had to take care of
them, appropriate nursing care could be identified as mentioned by Zargham A. Isfahan
(2004).

Bruner in learning theory through refers to a cognitive system named representation system
with the concept of knowledge and experience and organizes them. This system has three
modes of practical, visual and abstract has been explained by (Nelson Thornes 2007) &
(Olson MH, Hergenhahn BR, 2005). Bruner also believes that, training should be designed
and implemented to be compatible with learners’ thinking and has forced them to think. It is
better for the teacher to offer the training with all three intellectual systems of enactive, iconic
and symbolic image (Spiegler MD & Guevrement D ,2009). For example, when a student
earns the motion skills of blood pressure measurements without knowing its importance,
he/she is located in the inactive stage. Then the student will begin taking the blood pressure
concept by thinking about the image of a pump (the heart) with a number of narrow and wide
tubes (blood vessels) and the blood flow inside. The student who gradually reaches into
symbolic stage can define blood pressure, and explain the importance of cardiac output and
the environmental resistance. Therefore, the teacher can use this illustration or an example
from daily things help the learners in learning. In addition, there is also a coding system,
which the given facts were grouped by it and are related to each other. This system allows the
learner to go beyond the given information and by inference from the previously learned
principles, which were stored in the system, to create new ideas which has been explained by
Simbar (2004).

Cognitive theory with learning theories is successful method for exploration, witnesses and
information processing, application of the principles of meaningful learning in equipping
learners to problem solving and inquiry skills, curiosity stimulation, and motivation.
However, they are not enough for transferring the required knowledge to all of the learners
and they require more time and trained work force (Nelson Thornes,2007) & (Diane &
Judith, 2009). Although the problem-based learning approach has aided many students in
their learning, it does have some pitfalls. Since problem-based learning is a student-centered
approach, instructors or tutors are typically often allowed to participate in the conversation if
the students are hopelessly off track. If the discussion goes well, the students will definitely
learn everything by discussing with one another and by doing research by their own.

Clinical issues and the development of the learners' ethical ethics should be given more
consideration. A feasible career path in this area may be developed by combining these
hypotheses. In the curriculum of nursing students, a number of learning methods may be used
to help cover their interests and keep their attention in learning. Teachers must be familiar
with all of these perspectives in order to adapt each one appropriately based on the
personalities of students, their motivation level, types of materials, educational goals, and
available resources according to Daley & Torre (2010).
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