1 Gestalt Learning

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INSIGHT LEARNING

Gestalt View of Learning


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WHAT IS GESTALT?

"GESTALT"

placed, or put together". Common translations

include "form"and "shape". Gaetano Kanizca

refers to it as "organized structure"(Moore,

Fitz, 1993).

BASIC PRINCIPLE:

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.Viewing the "whole," a cognitive process takes

placethe mind makes a leap from

comprehending the parts to realizing the whole.


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What is Gestalt

psychology?

Gestaltians focus on the minds perceptive(insightful) processes (Kearsley, 1998).

Gestalt attacked Wount's structuralism and

emphasized on molar rather than molecular.

For Behaviorists, it argued on looking inside,

perceive rather than what is being presented.

MAIN FOCUS OF GESTALT: Psychology is the

experience of perception. It emphasized the

dynamic nature of perception and the role of

guided discovery rather than what it is.


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How Gestalt model explains process of

learning?

FIRSTLYIt differentiates between senseless (arbitrary)

learning and meaningful learning. In meaningful

learning, an individual learns relevant

structures of a situation or problem.

It stresses the use of GUIDED DISCOVERY to

facilitate understanding in meaningful learning.

The learner organizes, thinks, understands and

carefully forms cues or hints to organize their

knowledge.


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W

SECONDLY

It views the connection between mind and body

to be that the external stimuli experienced

cause reactions in the brain and then we

experience those reactions as they take place

in the brain (Hergenhahn, & Olson, 2001).

The information is tweaked to fit what it needs

to be and make sense of it.


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THIRDL

Y

There are many stimuli in the psychological fieldbut the brain actively applied pragnanz (precision)

to transform the stimuli and create greater

meaning.

Gestalt learning theory came from Kohler in

Canary Island expt. where he studied

primates (e.g., chimpanzee) and conduct anumber of experiments.


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WHAT IS INSIGHT

LEARNING?When perceptual field is well organized in

terms of relationship of each part with the

whole, the meaning will be clear or solution

occurs.

Such clarity occurs all of a sudden (in a flash).

One 'sees' how to solve an equation or finish apuzzle.

It occurs without repeated trails or continuous

ractices.


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WHAT IS INSIGHT

LEARNING?Drawing previous experiences and new way of

perceiving logical and cause-andeffect

relationship, is called insight learning.

Insight is an awareness of key relationships of

cause and effect.

Insight occurs When relevant information arelogically assembled.

Learning through new perception of relationship' '


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WHAT IS DEFINITION OF GESTALT

LEARNING?

A FORM OF LEARNING THAT

OCCURS IN PROBLEM SOLVING AND

APPEARS TO INVOLVE THE (OFTENSUDDEN) UNDERSTANDING OF HOW

ELEMENTS OF A SITUATION ARE

RELATED OR CAN BE

REORGANIZED.


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THE NATURE OF INSIGHT LEARNING

When in problem situation, different cues are related to

each other and focused on problem

Perception plays major role in understanding the

situation.

When total situation is realized, all cues are organizedinto a whole. The wholeness provides insight.

Thus learning is not gradual (as in T&E), it is sudden.

Understanding of a situation does not require trials or

random actions.

Even the error one makes in insight learning is not

meaningless.

Without insight, some forms of learning (ie. Problem

solving) are not possible.


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HOW INSIGHT LEARNING WAS

EXPERIMENTED?

1.Khler's experiments of stick and box problemwith chimpanzees is known to be best example

of insight learning.

2.A rapid perception of relationship" was

observed in animal.

3.Theperception of relationshipendures longer

since it is concerned with part whole

relationship.

4.Learning is all or nothing.

This concept of learning was a big blow to the


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CHARACTERISTICS OF INSIGHT

LEARNING

The concept of insight has two determiningcharacteristics that are acknowledged by

most cognitive researchers (Gredler, 2001).

1.Understanding situation is must. It is not a

process (step by step) but occurs suddenly.

1.Thinking is must. Insight depends on time,

events, and transforming the stimuli into

insightful thought.


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OTHER

CHARACTERISTICS1.Insight leads to change in perception.

2.The change is sudded.

3.The organism tends to perceive a pattern or

organization (that helps in learning).

4.Instead of body parts (hands and legs) understandingplays important role in insight learning.

5.Insight is related with higher order animals and not with

inferior animals.

6.Age influences insight learning. The adult are better

learner than children.

7.Past experience and perceptual organization is

important in perception.

8.Some psychologists also relate insight learning with


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INSIGHT LEARNING VS. S-R

LEARNING

Insight learning is the sudden

production of a new adaptive

response that is not derived by

trial and error behavior. it is a

solution to a problem by asudden adaptive

reorganization of experience.


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MERITS AND DEMERITS OF INSIGHT

LEARNING?

1.Among superior animals, learning is largelyinsight

1.The major characteristic of insight learning is

suddenness. Duncker states that insight is not

sudden. It can be divided into degree of insight.

1.Insight theory was forwarded against the trial and

error theory of Thorndike. The theory does not

emphasize the importance of exercises in

learning. Garrett found that exercises and trials


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WHAT ARE THE MERITS AND DEMERITS

OF INSIGHT LEARNING?

1.Insight theory makes less emphasis on past

experiences. It emphasizes the importance of

present situation and related cues.

Psychologists state that to understand the

(new) situation past experience play crucial

role.

1.Suddenness may be good sign of insight but

understanding does not always come suddenly.

There is always the possibility that covert trial


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Referenc

eMoore, P., & Fitz, C. (1993). Gestalt Theory and

Instructional Design. J. Technical Writing and

Communication, 23 (2), 137-157, 1993.

Kearsley, G. (1998). Explorations in Learning &

Instruction: The Theory Into Practice Database: GestaltTheory. George Washington University On-line.

Available: http://www.gwu.edu/~tip/wertheim.html

Hergenhahn, B. R., Olson, M. H. (2001).An

introduction to theories of learning (6th ed). Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Carole Wade & Carol Tavris (1987). Psychology. New

York : HarperCollins College Publishers,

Spencer A. Rathus. (1984), Essentials of psychology.
http://alokjain.pbworks.com/On-linehttp://www.gwu.edu/~tip/wertheim.htmlhttp://www.gwu.edu/~tip/wertheim.htmlhttp://www.gwu.edu/~tip/wertheim.htmlhttp://alokjain.pbworks.com/On-linehttp://alokjain.pbworks.com/On-linehttp://alokjain.pbworks.com/On-line

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1 Gestalt Learning