Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 130

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015
Early cognitive theories examine the role of "proactive interference and inhibition"
or the interference of old and new knowledge in the context of successive memorization of
word lists. Other cognitivists examine the role of prior knowledge in learning. Piaget
stressed the role of knowledge structures and their reformulation through the processes of
assimilation (i.e., incorporating new information into existing structures), accommodation
(i.e., incorporating new information by revising existing structures) and equilibration (i.e.,
the overall interaction between existing ways of thinking and new experiences). He states
that we achieve states of more complex, satisfactory, and stable equilibriums with the
environment through successive reformulations.
On the other hand, Dewey (1938) explored the role of problematic experience in
stimulating inquiry. He concluded that we feel confused, uncertain, and unable to coordinate
prior knowledge and habit to meet the demands of the present moment during the
experiments. Additionally, Vygotsky (1978) highlighted the role of social interaction in the
reconstruction of prior knowledge. He explored the "zone of proximal development" or the
difference between what a learner can do without help, and the capabilities of the same
learner engaged in interactions with others.
One of the fathers of constructivism, Bruner's theoretical framework (1961) is based
on the theme that learners construct new ideas or concepts stemming from existing
knowledge. Learning is an active process that includes a) selection and transformation of
information, b) decision-making, c) generating hypotheses, and d) making meaning from
information and experiences.
Further, Bruner's theories stress the significance of categorization in learning. Bruner
(as cited in Anderson, 1998) expands this significance by emphasizing that "To perceive is
to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn is to form categories, to make
decisions is to categorize." Interpreting information and experiences by similarities and
differences is a key concept.
Most of the learning we experience is continually added to our existing knowledge
therefore in order for the facilitation of unlearning to occur we must begin with the tacit
dimension. We as learners, are reliant upon tacit knowledge, therefore we cannot bypass
what we rely on. Most of what constitutes tacit knowledge is the fact that many times we are
not even aware of the knowledge that we possess; therefore the process of modifying our
own tacit knowledge can be very difficult and challenging and even impossible for some to
change. his/her own.
The behaviorist theory approaches learning as new stimulus-and-response sets that
allow learners to forge through powerful external reinforcements. In this light, the
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